NAEYC Standard 5. Using Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful Curriculum
5a. Understanding content knowledge and resources in academic disciplines
5b. Knowing and using the central concepts, inquiry tools, and structures of content areas or academic disciplines
5c. Using their own knowledge, appropriate early learning standards, and other resources to design, implement, and evaluate meaningful, challenging curricula for each child
As a teacher, understanding and knowing the importance of each main content area is very important because it will help me to create, carry out, and evaluate a challenging curriculum for the children I teach. They are being exposed to these areas for the first time so it is up to me to set their foundation for learning. I must create a meaningful curriculum that is structured appropriately and is supportive to their learning and development. As a teacher I must understand children’s knowledge level and interests to plan activities to strengthen their learning in each of the main content areas.
In the course Teaching Art, Music, and Movement to Young Children (CHD145), I created a lesson plan that was in structured around the VA Foundation Blocks and VA Standards of Learning that promoted children’s learning and creativity through movement. The lesson plan was called, “Show me your moves,” and this activity helped children develop their physical and mental state by using their creative imagination to act out as they liked. Teaching children to be creative helps develop their thinking skills, problem solving skills, and also in expressing themselves. This activity also helped develop their listening skills and cooperative behavior. In this activity, children would listen to the teacher and follow her directions as she would call out to, “be a tree, river, etc.” The children would choose how to act out these instructions using their imagination. From this course, I learned to be creative in planning activities for young children as well as the importance of letting them be creative. I also learned that teaching children to be creative will benefit them in many ways in their lives because only having knowledge is not enough to cope with problems they will face.
In studying to be a professional in early childhood education, I learned that teaching children to understand the ‘big idea’ for each of the content areas is very important. I learned why the various content areas are so important for young children. This is because they will be the foundation of their learning in the future, and it will help them with their academic, problem solving, and self-regulation skills. I must know and understand each basic content area, and demonstrate them in an appropriate learning environment for children. I must encourage them, interact with them, and be a role model for them. I learned how to create an appropriate curriculum that will help children learn best while still having fun. This will help build their learning skills in all areas. I have studied from many resources to include the classroom, journals, and the internet. After that I can use this information and adapt it to fit with my own class in the future. Moreover, I also learned how to integrate different activities to teach children higher level subject matter. Providing appropriate learning goals and experiences is an essential part of building meaningful curriculum.