education

Choose a tentative topic As the teachers revisited their observation journals and looked back through the childrens writing journals, their insight was that the concepts of power, force, and motion were themes the children had already been exploring for months; but because the contexts for this exploration had seemed so disconnected, they had not recognized […]

Captured in a Woodland Forest Once upon a time, on a spring night, a troop of fairies were visiting a woodland forest. Owls hooted and small animals were scurrying in the forest. The fireflies were dancing among the trees and the little fairies tried to catch them. When they got bored, they began to play

Materials for Insect Unit Emergent Project: Power, Force, and Motion Planning for an emergent study represents the other end of the road-trip analogy, a “bottom-up” process. This type of planning focuses on identifying starting points for the exploration of an idea or topic, developing insightful observations via teacher-child interactions, documentation about what is happening, and

Week Four: Bees Activities focusing on honey and bumblebees were added to the unit, some as extensions of activities already in place and others new. Table 6.5: Materials List for Insect Unit Books/Media Manipulatives and Props Food Art Supplies I am a Caterpillar Very Hungry Caterpillar Ten Little Caterpillars Butterfly Alphabet The Butterfly Kiss *Over

What We Have Learned about Bees They have 2 plus 3 eyes: that equals 5 You can see out of their wings Girl bees sting and boy bees dont When the mommy or the eggs are in danger, the girl bee stings them They make honey from nectar They sprinkle pollen on the flowers to

Making adaptations to the plan as the unit progresses based on observations about learning and interests As the unit progressed, both teachers made notations in their daily journals, jotting down anecdotes, observations, and questions as they conducted activities and guided exploratory experiences. They rearranged some of the materials and noticed in particular that the children

Lifecycle Strip Phyllis designs a simple task-based activity to use as an additional assessment activity, asking children to place pictures of the stages of the life cycle in proper order. Preparing materials and resources With plans in hand, the teachers then took stock of available materials and supplies and made a list of those to

Deciding on how to evaluate childrens learning to determine the extent to which the unit objectives and learning standards are met Phyllis and Stephanie decided that the matching and memory games, observation log, felt board stories, and whole group discussions could also serve as assessments. As Phylliss children were a bit older, she devised an

Planning for accommodations to address the needs of individual children There was one child in Phylliss class with a sensory processing disorder and language delay; this child was easily overwhelmed and Phyllis made notes about particular activities he might find soothing (sand table, sponge printing, easel painting). She also noted activities he might not enjoy

  Brainstorming Ideas for Activities and Experiences This organizer represents ideas for activities that will support the concepts map and indicates where they will take place. Table 6.4: Week-at-a-Glance Plans for Insect Unit Sunflower Week-at-a-Glance Planner Week April 30 to May 4 May 8 to May 11 May 14 to May 18 Study topic Butterflies/Insects