Nursing

Emergent Themes Recall that big ideas can also emerge from the interests or questions of a particular group of children, either to initiate a study or change the path of work under way. Published accounts of project work from Reggio Emilia schools often describe topics deeply embedded in the social studies. For example, a project […]

Big-Idea Themes for Social Studies Theme and NCSS links Questions Key Concepts Activities and Strategies Families 1,2,3,4,5,9 What is a family? Who is in my family? Where do families live? What do families do? How do families communicate? Relationships Continuity of human life The past Methods of the historian Humans are alike and different Families

Planned Big-Idea Themes Table 9.5 identifies nine inquiry themes that many teachers and curricular programs choose to use because they relate to children’s immediate environment, prior experiences, and typical interests. These themes are also flexible and can be readily adapted to the age/developmental level of children, and connected with local or regional culture, geography, demographics,

Identifying and Organizing Big Ideas In choosing ideas for social studies themes, teachers should guide children toward questions that promote sustained investigation, with many opportunities to integrate other areas of the curriculum. Remember from Chapter 6 (Planning) that activities can be preplanned and also emerge as work progresses to change the direction of an original

Social Studies Standards Today, a high-quality and developmentally appropriate approach to social studies in early childhood is one that is integrated with other areas of the curriculum and includes experiences that are meaningful to children’s lives and understanding and are highly engaging (Seefeldt, 2001). The national standards focus not just on content knowledge but also

Social Studies A large piece of the development of the whole child involves helping each child acquire a sense of self in the world. The content area of social studies focuses on how children learn about themselves and groups of people in relation to others (National Council for the Social Studies [NCSS], 2010). The integrated

The Class Meeting An extension of the time-honored custom of “circle time” (which traditionally includes group activities or routines planned by the teacher) is the class meeting, a forum for informal and intentional discussions including those that help foster self-regulation (Gartrell, 2012; Pawlina & Stanford, 2011; Vance & Weaver, 2002) Like its adult counterpart, a

Rules vs. Guidelines As early educators work to help children develop self-regulation, they need to identify socially acceptable behaviors as goals for them to achieve. Traditionally this has meant establishing a set of classroom rules for children to follow. However, research has shown that rules for young children tend not to be helpful because they:

Sarah and Maria Solve a Problem The problem, part 1 Sarah found a small black volcanic-looking rock on the playground; it looked very interesting.She loves science and loves to collect interesting natural things, and she thought that the rock was exceptionally “cool.” She showed it to her good friend Maria who also liked it a

Problem Solving and Conflict Resolution iStockphoto / Thinkstock Teachers help children learn how to solve problems by modeling and coaching them through the necessary steps in a calm and reasoned process. As children begin to identify, acknowledge, and express their feelings, they also need practice to learn how to solve problems and resolve conflicts. Key