Saturday Afternoon

Hi Lynn,
As always, it was great to talk with you this morning. I truly hope this illness subsides soon and that you get feeling better. Just think, if you eventually decide to leave the high school and teach online full time, you won't be exposed to those germy students any longer! ;) I was never so sick as I was for the first six months of working in the early childhood environment - and to add insult to injury, there was a probational waiting period before my health insurance benefits kicked in. It's a wonder I lived through it!
Below you will find the slightly revised Preliminary Syllabus, a Methods and Materials blurb (which contains the verbiage about the structure of the week, discussed this morning), my General Instructions I use for all of my classes (most useful for brand-new students).
As always, revise to your heart's content!
Take care,
Suzanne


Methods and Materials
Methods:
Weekly reading assignments from the textbooks and outside reading assignments; Weekly questions to be answered on the Discussion Board (DB), which are reflective of your reading; responses to posts on the Discussion Board.
Course Structure:
For the purpose of this course, our week begins on Tuesday, when the Discussion Board for the week opens. Your post in which you respond to the question(s) is due by midnight on Friday. Your responses to your peers’ posts are due by midnight on Sunday. If you meet these deadlines, you may continue discussion throughout Monday and earn credit for them.
Textbook:
Early Education Curriculum, 4th ed., by Hilda L. Jackman, ISBN 1428322523
(Note: You must use this ISBN because it denotes a bundled set of materials you will need for this course.)


GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
The format for this class will be as follows:
Important: It is your responsibility to read every post in every Discussion Board.
You will begin each week’s lesson by reading the assigned pages in the textbook, as well as any additional assigned readings. Part of the grading process depends on how you synthesize the readings into your discussion board posts. After reading the assignments, you will compose an essay in response to the Discussion Board Instructions. There will be a separate Discussion Board set up for each week and you will submit all posts to that board. From the menu at the left, click on “Discussion Board.” Scroll to the DB for the current week. Open the DB by clicking on the underlined title. Click “Add a Thread,” and compose your answer in the dialog box. Initial weekly posts should be at least 300 words in length and will be labeled “Chapter __.” Responses to fellow students will be labeled “Response to (student’s name.). Note: All Discussion Board posts and replies must be proofread and spell checked prior to submission.
The Discussion Board will open on Tuesday, and your initial responses to the discussion question will be due by midnight on Friday. Responses to your peers’ posts will be due by midnight on Sunday. Responses to assigned readings must be submitted by Friday at midnight in order to receive credit for the posting. It is your responsibility to read everyone’s posts. This is a critical element of online learning and will require careful time scheduling.
The second part of the week’s assignment will be to respond to other students’ posts. These must be posted by midnight on Sunday. Again, it is your responsibility to read these posts as well. Of course it is fine for you to use the syllabus to see what the next week’s assignment will be, but please do not submit posts in advance of the opening date for each week’s discussion board. The discussion board is your virtual classroom, and it doesn’t make sense for you to speak to an empty room. It is also important to remember that may be changes to the syllabus, or additional outside reading or research that should be reflected in your weekly posts.

I hope these general guidelines are helpful to you. Let us know if you need clarification on anything throughout the semester.




Curriculum Development for Early Childhood Education
Preliminary Syllabus
(Note: This syllabus is subject to change prior to the first class. Please see the Discussion Board Instructions for changes.)
The structure of this course will include weekly reading assignments in the textbook and from other sources, weekly submission of homework assignments to the discussion board, and substantial participation in asynchronous discussion on the discussion board every week. Grading will be judged based on quality of your submissions, depth of your contributions to discussions, and evidence of critical thinking as you relate what you are learning to what you know, and how you will use what you are learning.
In this course, learners develop an understanding of the philosophical principles, societal expectations, and practical demands of building curriculum for early childhood education. Emphasis is on developing a child-centered, integrated, and developmentally appropriate curriculum for the early years from infancy to age 8. A variety of curricular approaches will be modeled and assessed.
Topics covered in this course include Started the Process; Creating Curriculum; Language and Literacy; Literature; Math; Science; Social Studies; Art; Sensory Centers; Music and Movement; Puppets; Dramatic Play and Creative Dramatics.
Activities and projects shared in this course will include (but are not limited to) essays in response to significant issues in curriculum development; substantial participation in discussions; development of lesson plans and activities related to learning domains, as well as activities for helping students bridge the gaps between learning domains; strategies for making curriculum accessible to diverse classroom populations, including students with different learning styles and special needs; the development, over the course of the semester, of a curriculum for use with a particular age group.


Preliminary Syllabus:

May 26: Chapter 1 – Starting the Process
Reading Assignment: Pg. 2-35
Submission of an introductory essay and your response to the discussion board questions; substantial participation in the discussion is required.

June 2: Chapter 2 – Creating Curriculum
Reading Assignment: Pg. 36-84
Submission of your response to your choice of several discussion board questions; substantial participation in the discussion is required.

June 9: Chapter 3 – Language and Literacy
Reading Assignment: Pg. 86-116
Development of a language activity for a chosen grade level; substantial participation in the discussion is required.

June 16: Chapter 4 – Literature
Reading Assignment: Pg. 117-154
Creation of an annotated bibliography for a selected grade level; substantial participation in the discussion is required.

June 23: Chapter 5 – Math
Reading Assignment: Pg. 155-184
Development of a math activity for young children; Parent involvement activity; substantial participation in the discussion is required.

June 30: Chapter 6 – Science
Reading Assignment: Pg. 185-213
Development of a science activity for young children; substantial participation in the discussion is required.

July 7: Chapter 7 – Social Studies
Reading Assignment: Pg. 214-238
Development of a family survey, which will be used in creating a social studies lesson for young children; substantial participation in the discussion is required.

July 14: Chapter 8 – Art
Reading Assignment: Pg. 239-268
Development of an age appropriate art activity for young children; substantial participation in the discussion is required.

July 21: Chapter 9 – Sensory Centers
Reading Assignment: Pg. 269-298
Development of a multi-cultural cooking activity to be used with young children; substantial participation in the discussion is required.

July 28: Chapter 10 – Music and Movement
Reading Assignment: Pg. 299-324
Development of a music and movement activity to be used with young children; substantial participation in the discussion is required.

August 4: Chapter 11 – Puppets
Reading Assignment: Pg. 325-349
Development of an activity in which puppets play an important role; substantial participation in the discussion is required.

August 11: Chapter 12 – Dramatic Play and Creative Dramatics
Reading Assignment: Pg. 350-401
Development of an activity for the dramatic play area of the classroom; substantial participation in the discussion is required.

August 17: Presentation of finals, including Culmination Essays