Education Essay: Activity Plans (Constructed-response question)

PAGE 103 OF Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum
BEST PRACTICES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
SIXTH EDITION
Applying What You’ve Read in This Chapter
1. Discuss
a. Suppose a student in another major says, “Early childhood teaching is so easy, all you have to do is put out some materials and let the kids play all day.” How would you respond based on what you have read in this chapter?
b. Imagine that you are planning to support children’s learning using art materials. The supplies available include modeling dough and various utensils such as forks, spatulas, cookie cutters, and rolling pins. Discuss what you would do to promote children’s learning in an exploratory activity. Discuss how your strategies might change if you switched to a problem-solving mode. What kinds of problems might children investigate with the dough?
c. You observe a classroom in which the children are to learn about the relative size of objects by circling the largest items in rows depicted on a worksheet. How does this activity correspond with your ideas about how children learn best? What other, if any, teaching types might you suggest to support children’s learning?
2. Observe
a. Observe the exploratory play of a younger child (younger than 5 years old) and an older child (6, 7, or 8 years old) in an open-ended activity such as sand play, block play, or water play. Describe similarities and differences between the two children in terms of what they say and do in their explorations.
b. Watch a seasoned practitioner interact with children in an activity for at least 15 minutes. Refer to the activity types outlined in this chapter and identify the type of activity used by the adult. Describe what the adult said and did that fit the definitions offered. Explain your answer.
3. Carry out an activity
a. Refer to the Turnip Story Sequence activity outlined in Figure 3.3. If you were to carry this activity out in an early childhood setting with which you are familiar, what adaptations would you have to make to suit the children in your group? Write out your answers and rework the plan to match.
b. If you are in a practicum setting, obtain a written activity plan provided by your head teacher. Compare the format of that plan with the activity plan format presented in this chapter. Describe the similarities and differences. Are there segments you would like to borrow from either plan that would make the other plan more useful? If so, explain these. If you cannot obtain a written plan from your placement, carry out an activity in your practicum setting. Afterward, develop a written plan for that activity using the format in this chapter.
4. Create something for your portfolio
a. Develop a statement of no more than one page that describes your beliefs about planning and the ways in which you intend to engage in effective planning as you work with children.
b. Select a written plan that you have implemented with children. Evaluate the effectiveness of your teaching. Finally, write a synopsis of how you might teach the lesson again with the same group of children.
5. Add to your journal
a. What is the most significant concept that you learned about planning and teaching from your readings and your experience with children?
b. Reflect on the extent to which the content of this chapter corresponds with what you have observed in the field. What is your reaction to any discrepancies you perceive?
c. What goals do you have for yourself related to planning and teaching activities for young children? How do you intend to pursue these goals?
5. Consult the standards
a. Refer to the National Mathematics Standards published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. These can be found in the publications entitled Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (1989) and Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000). Select a subsection of standards to examine (Consider Problem Solving, Number and Operations, or Patterns and Relationships). Consider these standards in light of the Principles of Developmental Direction addressed in this chapter. Describe any evidence of these principles that you see in the standards you selected.
b. Secure an example of the literacy early learning standards from your state. Find a standard that would be supported by the story sequence activity presented in Figure 3.3.
Practice for Your Certification or Licensure Exam
The following items will help you practice applying what you have learned in this chapter. They can help to prepare you for your course exam, the PRAXIS II exam, your state licensure or certification exam, and for working in developmentally appropriate ways with young children.
Writing Activity Plans
The kindergarten teachers have a common planning time each week, during which they share new lesson plans with one another. Each teacher writes a draft for the others to go over before using it the next week. Here is an example.
Domain Aesthetics
Activity Name Finger Designs in Sand
Goal Children will respond to basic elements of visual art, such as line, design, and texture.
Content
Sand is finely ground bits of stone.
Pebbles are small, rounded stones that have been worn smooth by erosion.
Designs are combinations of lines, shapes, and empty space.
Lines may be straight or curved, long or short, thin or thick.
Textures range from rough to smooth.
Materials Large jellyroll pans or cafeteria trays. Coarse sand, fine sand, aquarium gravel
Procedures
Prepare in advance by filling each tray almost to the top with one type of sand or stone.
Invite children to make designs with their fingers in the different pans.
Talk with children about the lines, designs, and textures they are creating.
Ask children to make letters of the alphabet in the sand/rocks.
Simplification Focus on only one element at a time, such as line or texture.
Evaluation
What letters did children make?
1. Constructed-response question
a. Identify the primary purpose of this plan. How did you decide?
b. Based on principles of good planning, suggest three ways to edit the plan to improve it. Explain your revisions.
2. Multiple-choice question
A characteristic of good activity plan objectives are that they:
a. Are fun for children to do
b. Describe how children will participate in the activity
c. Clearly relate to the theme of the day
d. Describe child behavior/actions