Language Development in the Primary Years

SAMPLE

Unit 6 DB – Step-by-Step Instructions / APA Info

In the Unit 6 reading, you will learn that children receive more formal instruction in the primary years. With this change in the classroom, there is a shift in how exploratory activities evolve into investigative play.

Please respond to this three-part discussion in three paragraphs and support your responses with research and references from your reading:

Again this week…

THERE ARE THREE (3) SEPARATE COMPONENTS TO  THE UNIT 6 DISCUSSION. PLEASE BE CAREFUL!!

Part 1:  Use and identify a story book of your choice, design a lesson for a Read Aloud that you would use in your classroom or center to enhance the primary child’s language development. Model your lesson after the one you observed in SEDL’s video: “Read Aloud: Bringing Stories to Life.”

What does this mean? What should I do?

1. Review the SEDL Video “Read Aloud: Bringing Stories to Life.” (click to open)

2. Identify a story book of your choice appropriate for use in the primary classroom (Grades 1-3).

3. Design a lesson / Read Aloud activity you would use with your chosen book to enhance the children’s language development.

4. Your lesson should follow the same steps as that presented in the video.

Part 2: In your role as early childhood professional, describe a creative drama based on your selected Read Aloud activity for use in the primary years.

What does this mean? What should I do?

1.     Explain how you would extend the Read Aloud lesson (from Part 1)  into a Creative Drama activity.

2.     **May NOT be the same as the activity presented in Workshop 1 for the Unit 6 Assignment*

3.     Use information from the textbook [p. 324] to help understand what Creative Drama entails, then identify the elements of Creative Drama in your activity on the DB, citing your textbook in your response.

Part 3: Apply your knowledge as an early childhood professional to a discussion on investigative play and developmentally appropriate practices in a primary classroom. Please be sure to support your answer with research and references.

What does this mean? What should I do?

1.     Review the information in your text on p. 315 (and from the Unit 5 seminar) concerning investigative versus exploratory play.

2.     Explain how investigative play reflects developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) for the primary classroom (Grades 1-3).

3.     Use information from BOTH the textbook and the NAEYC article on DAP (from your unit readings) to support your statements (i.e., in-text citations and direct quotations as needed).

Weekly Requirements for EVERY DB:

         After you have completed the reading, and without reviewing your classmates’ responses, post your initial response to the discussion.

         Your post should be at least 200 – 250 words in length (not including a repetition of the questions) and should extend the discussion of the group supported by your course materials and/or other appropriate resources (i.e., in-text citations as illustrated by the Prof. each week, see below).

         After you have submitted your initial post, take time to review your classmates’ responses and to respond specifically and substantially to at least two of them. Refer to the Discussion Rubric in your Syllabus (as well as your gradebook feedback from previous units) for specific grading explanation.

 

References

Coplan, R. J., & Weeks, M. (2009). Shy and soft-spoken: shyness, pragmatic language, and socio-emotional adjustment in early childhood. Infant & Child Development, 18(3), 238–254.

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2009). Core considerations in

            developmentally appropriate practices, pp. 9–16. Retrieved from    

            http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSDAP.pdf

Otto, B. (2014). Language Development in Early Childhood Education (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

SEDL. (2012). Afterschool Training Toolkit: Read Aloud [video file]. Retrieved from

            http://www.sedl.org/afterschool/toolkits/literacy/pr_read_aloud.html

In-text Citations as follows:

Paraphrase / Summarize:                                          Direct           Quotations:

(Coplan & Weeks, 2009)                                     “Blah…yadda…blah” (Coplan & Weeks, 2009, p. 203).

(Otto, 2014)                                                       “That’s what I said” (Otto, 2014, p. 79).

(SEDL, 2012)                                                     “Isn’t this interesting” (SEDL, 2012, ¶ 4).

First citation:  (National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC], 2009) Subsequent citations:  (NAEYC, 2009)                   Direct quotations: “This is the quotation” (NAEYC, 2009, p. 2).