Miss Luke Child Development Preschool Plan Miss Luke Child Development

How does society ensure children develop properly? The continuation of our society depends upon the proper development and education of our children. How do we ensure that our children are receiving services that will help them develop appropriately? This is going to be a question you will address as you apply for a job as a Preschool Teacher. You are going to be presenting a Preschool Plan that answers this question as a part of your job interview process.

Task In a team, you will create a Preschool Plan. You will create a schedule for one day of a four hour preschool and a list of ten developmentally appropriate toys to have in the classroom. Each part of the schedule and each of the toys should be deemed developmentally appropriate for three to five year olds by the four members of your group. This task ties in directly with the Utah State Core Curriculum Standards 20.0102-05 and 20.1012-08 found at this link: -Utah Child Development Core Curriculum

Process- Page 1 You will break up into groups of 4. You are allowed to pick your own groups, but if there are any problems picking or if there are odd numbers, Miss Luke gets to step in and make a final decision on the grouping. Each person in your group will become the resident expert on a particular area of a preschooler’s development. You and your group members can decide amongst yourselves the assignment distribution. The “Expert” assignments are: Cognitive Development Expert Physical Development Expert Emotional and Social Development Expert Language and Communication Development Expert

Process- Page 2 Once the assignments are given, each of you will become experts by researching the websites provided in the “Resources” section and you will also find one more website on your own to supplement what you’ve learned. You will learn all about your area of development so you can contribute to the creation of your group’s final task. You will fill out the “Expert Record Sheet“ that coordinates with your area of expertise with the important information you got from each listed website. Miss Luke will give you a copy of your sheet, but you can also find a link to the sheets on the Resources page. You will also record the additional website you found and the important information you learned from it. You will turn this page in to Miss Luke at the conclusion of your task. You’ll want to evaluate the websites you come across for their quality as you decide which one you will choose as your additional resource. You can find information regarding the evaluation of web pages here. Use the information provided to find a website that has helpful and reliable information.

Process- Page 3 When each member is done researching, you will begin to create your Preschool Plan. As your group starts to create your schedule and toy list, you will need to submit one question for a real Preschool Teacher that will help you in your process. We will then submit them as a class and will have his/her expert answers as helps in the completion of our tasks. Miss Luke will tell you what day your question is due. Once your group is done, you will present your preschool plan to the rest of the class. You will need to explain in detail each of the activities in your schedule and why your group felt they were developmentally appropriate. You will also need to do the same with your list of ten developmentally appropriate toys. There is a rubric included to show you exactly what you’ll need to have in these presentations. This rubric will guide Miss Luke as she grades your presentation, but it will also serve as a guide for your classmates. Your classmates will be filling in as the School Administrators in your job interview process. At the end of all of the presentations, the class will vote on which group they would hire. No one can vote for their own group and the votes will be anonymous. Each person will record their vote on a slip of paper and turn it in to Miss Luke. She will tally the votes and “hire” the winning group.

Resources Though Miss Luke will give you copies of your “Expert Record Sheet”, links are provided on this page just in case you need another. Cognitive Development Expert (Cognitive Expert Record) http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Preschool_Years_ages/ http://www.education.com/magazine/article/How_child_thinks_preschoolers/ http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/brain-growth.htm http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_trawick-smith_early_3/0,5295,382713-,00.html Physical Development Expert (Physical Expert Record) http://www.universalpreschool.com/how-to/teach/motor_skills.asp http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_trawick-smith_early_3/5/1494/382681.cw/index.html http://articles.directorym.net/Childrens_Physical_Development-a1045761.html Social and Emotional Development Expert (Social and Emotional Expert Record) http://www.serve.org/SS/presocial.php http://www.universalpreschool.com/how-to/teach/social_development.asp Language and Communication Development Expert (Language and Communication Expert Record) http://www.parentingme.com/language.htm http://www.asu.edu/clas/icrp/Research/Enhancelang.pdf http://www.fcs.msue.msu.edu/mediapacket/JanMarch05/Let'sTalkLanguageDevelopmentofPreschoolers.doc

Resources I have provided several websites with already created preschool activities to aid you in the creation of your Preschool Plan, but you and your group will need to determine whether the ideas listed are developmentally appropriate and whether they’re worth including in your schedule. You may also find your own resources on the web to aid in your work. These provided websites are: http://www.preschoolexpress.com/ http://www.first-school.ws/themes.html http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/index.htm http://www.enchantedlearning.com/categories/preschool.shtml For information on starting a preschool, setting up a preschool, and other early education teaching tips, you can visit this website: http://www.expertvillage.com/video-series/10080_early-education-teaching-tips.htm

Working Together As you use your knowledge and expertise to decide on appropriate activities that will enhance all areas of a preschooler’s development, you will need to work well together as a group. This will involve brainstorming ideas for your preschool and then building a consensus as to which activities and toys you will include in your curriculum and schedule. To find out more about the process for brainstorming or building consensus, visit these websites: Brainstorming Building Consensus

Evaluation Click on the picture to find a web version of the rubric with which your Task will be evaluated: You can also find the rubric on the next page in this PowerPoint Presentation.

Schedule of Activities Presentation Delivery Presentation Components Preschool Plan Rubric Needs Improvement Satisfactory Good Excellent Schedule of Activities The four hour schedule is not completely filled and/or there are more than two activities that are not developmentally appropriate. The group cannot explain why the activities would be beneficial to a child due to the developmental appropriateness of the activity. The four hour schedule is completely filled, but there are two activities that are not developmentally appropriate. And/or the group is able to satisfactorily explain why all activities but two would be beneficial to a child due to the developmental appropriateness of the activity. The four hour schedule is completely filled, but there is one activity that is not developmentally appropriate. And/or the group is able to clearly and accurately explain why all activities but one would be beneficial to a child due to the developmental appropriateness of the activity. The four hour schedule is completely filled with developmentally appropriate activities for preschoolers. The group is able to clearly and accurately explain why each activity they chose would be beneficial to a child due to the developmental appropriateness of the activity. List of Toys One to seven toys are listed and/or the group cannot adequately explain why the toys are developmentally appropriate for three to five year olds. Eight toys are listed and they are all developmentally appropriate. The group is able explain why each is appropriate for three to five year olds satisfactorily. Nine toys are listed and they are all developmentally appropriate. The group is able to clearly and accurately explain why each is appropriate for three to five year olds. Ten toys are listed and they are all developmentally appropriate. The group is able to clearly and accurately explain why each is appropriate for three to five year olds. Presentation Delivery Overall, the presentation was virtually impossible to hear or understand. There were frequent parts of the presentation that were hard to hear or understand. Most of the presentation was easily heard and understood. The entire presentation was easily heard and understood. Group Participation One of the four members of the group participate in the presentation by speaking. Two of the four members of the group participate in the presentation by speaking. Three of the four members of the group participate in the presentation by speaking. Every member of the group participates in the presentation by speaking. Presentation Components The group didn't clearly outline their preschool schedule or toy list. The group was unable to correctly explain why four or more of their activities and toys were developmentally appropriate. The group outlines the four hour preschool schedule and the toys in the classroom. However, the group tried to explain how each activity and toy was developmentally appropriate, but they weren’t able to satisfactorily explain on two to three items. The group outlines the four hour preschool and the toys in the classroom. However, the group tried to explain how each activity and toy was developmentally appropriate, but they weren't able to satisfactorily explain one item. The presentation clearly outlines the four hour preschool schedule and the toys in the classroom. The group clearly and accurately explains how each of these activities and toys are developmentally appropriate for three to five year olds. Visuals The presentation has seven or less visuals. The presentation has eight appropriate visuals. The presentation has nine appropriate visuals. The presentation has at least ten appropriate visuals.

Conclusion Teaching is no simple matter! There is a lot of research and work that goes into planning and preparing each and every lesson. Educators and researchers are continually working to find better ways to educate children. There is constant research happening because educators understand the importance of a child’s development. The preschool years are vital developmental years for a child. So much of a child’s later development depends upon what happens in their early years. As a result, it is very important that Preschools have developmentally appropriate activities. For those of you who plan on becoming Preschool Teachers, Child Care Providers, or Parents, your research and planning for this task will help you guide the children with whom you interact into better and more appropriate activities and education. Work hard and your projects will be great!