unit 8

unit_8.docx

For this Discussion Board you will be developing a thematic unit for preschoolers. Choose your overarching theme and explain the main parts or features of your unit. Summarize the activities you will use to integrate content areas into you unit.

Your activities need to focus on the creative arts as well as content areas and include activities that are open-ended and allow children to make choices.

Your unit needs to be your own and not one that you have discovered on the internet or in a teacher’s manual.

1) The first part of this DB topic requires you to “Develop a developmentally appropriate thematic unit for preschoolers.” A thematic unit is one that focuses on a specific topic/theme. The unit can be a week to a month long – one to two weeks is appropriate for preschool-aged children.

2) Next, you’re asked to “Choose your overarching theme and explain the main parts or features of your unit.” For example, if I were to develop a unit on Thanksgiving, I would include activities and/or learning centers to include social studies, math, science, language arts, art, drama, and music.

3) Then you must describe “summarize the activities you will use to integrate content areas into your unit.” The activities must “focus on the creative arts as well as content areas and include activities that are open-ended and allow children to make choices.” Remember: “Your unit needs to be your own and not one that you have discovered on the internet or in a teacher’s manual. **I will check TurnItIn.com and the internet to ensure that your units are original!**

SAMPLE DB POSTING

I would introduce the Thanksgiving unit by reading If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma and The First Thanksgiving by Nancy Davis. I would continue reading these books and others throughout the week and incorporate both story retelling activities and puppets into our meetings and reading time throughout the week. I would create learning centers to incorporate math, language arts, dramatic play, art, and music. Books about Thanksgiving would be located throughout the classroom and in each learning center. In addition to addressing language arts, these activities and books would also incorporate social studies content into the classroom. (Here, I would insert information on why incorporating the arts into the content areas is important – from my textbook or other unit readings.)

In the math center, I would provide tubs of Pilgrim and Indian figurines along with play foods that are traditionally found at today’s Thanksgiving table. I would also provide Dots Plates on which children could place their figurines and/or play food to help with counting skills and numeral recognition, as well as blank pieces of paper, Thanksgiving stickers, and a variety of writing utensils for the children to create their own math problems. (Here, I would insert information from my course materials on how the arts can be incorporated into other content areas – specifically math.)

In the writing center, I would provide a variety of blank and lined paper, paper with blank turkey and cornucopia backgrounds, and a variety of writing and coloring utensils for the children to create freely. In the library, the children would find an abundance of books (multiple copies of each) about Thanksgiving, Pilgrims, Native Americans, and other November holidays around the world. (Here, I would insert information from my course materials on how the arts can be incorporated into other content areas – specifically language arts.)

In the dramatic play center, I would provide play food and real (empty) boxes and cans. I would also provide Thanksgiving-themed paper plates along with plastic utensils and a Thanksgiving tablecloth and napkins for the children to use to decorate the house and create their own Thanksgiving dinner. I would also provide aprons as well as Pilgrim and Indian costumes for the children to use.

In the music/listening center, I would provide both music and books on CDs for the children to enjoy. I would also teach a song entitled “The Pilgrims and the Indians” that we would perform for the parents at our Thanksgiving Feast on Wednesday before the holiday. In the art center, I would provide a variety of materials for the children to use in creating their own original Thanksgiving-themed pieces of art. I would also have three activities throughout the week that children would complete in small groups in which they would create their own turkeys, cornucopias, and Pilgrims or Indians. Finally, the children would create a handprint turkey (with help from me or my assistant / parent volunteers) on cardstock printed with the Thanksgiving Handprint Poem I’ve used with my students since my first year of teaching (1998). (An example of the project can be found online at http://www.mrsnelsonsclass.com/photos/thanksgiving/handyturkey.jpg) These will be presented to the children’s parents at our Thanksgiving Feast.

To further address social studies, the children will choose to dress as either Pilgrims or Indians for our feast and parents would be asked to send traditional Thanksgiving foods for our feast. The children would participate in a variety of cooking (science and math) activities to prepare desserts on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before the feast. Our unit of study would conclude on Wednesday with our Thanksgiving feast, for which we would be joined by the children’s parents/guardians. (Here, I would insert a conclusive sentence or paragraph about integrating the arts throughout the curriculum, based on my course materials.)

DB QUESTION

100 WORDS OR MORE

· Your activities need to focus on the creative arts as well as content areas and include activities that are open-ended and allow children to make choices.

· Your unit needs to be your own and not one that you have discovered on the internet or in a teacher’s manual.