Assignment:
Final Argument Paper
Throughout this course you have acquired knowledge about best practices in creating developmentally appropriate curriculum for early childhood education across all developmental domains. This summative project will synthesize your learning by modeling, in a meaningful way, the strategies and knowledge gained throughout this course through the creation of a thematic unit resource. "Thematic teaching supports children in forming connections among individual bits of information. These connections contribute to children's concept development and are the most important reason to use themes/projects as part of your program" (Kostelnik, Soderman, Whiren, & Rupiper, 2015, p. 512). Your thematic unit will consist of revisions of course material as well as additional lessons and supports.
Final Paper Scenario:
As a supervisor, you strive to help the teachers and staff of your school or center realize the many benefits of thematic teaching. For this reason, you have decided to do develop a resource for your staff to support their use of thematic units with children. The resource you create will include a rationale, so that your staff understands why you are using this approach to creating a developmentally appropriate curriculum. In addition, the resource will include sample lessons, information on how you can ensure your unit is aligned, and how this information can be utilized to develop curriculum.
Using Word your thematic unit resource must include the following:
1. Unit Introduction: For your introduction please include the following:
- Explain the benefits of a thematic curriculum to teachers, children, and to the program.
- Describe the explicit connection between the principles of effective thematic teaching and developmentally appropriate practice.
- Describe how thematic curriculum and instruction aligns with your philosophy of education.
2. Lesson Plans: Use the Lesson Plan Template to develop four lessons that are all connected to your central theme for your unit. Each of your lessons will focus on a different developmental domain and must be developmentally appropriate. In addition, use the Lesson Plan Template to create each of your lessons. The guidelines for creating your lesson plans around each domain are as follows:
- Self-Regulation: Develop a lesson using one of the self-regulation objectives you created for your Week Three Self-Regulation in Curriculum assignment; your lesson must be connected to your unit theme to teach this objective.
- Social/Emotional: Revise the Aesthetic and Affective Lesson Plan you developed for your Week Four assignment. Make sure to incorporate any feedback from your instructor in your revised lesson. Make sure that your lesson is connected to the overall theme of your unit.
- Cognitive and Physical Development: Develop a complete lesson plan using the physical activity you proposed in the Neuroscience,
- Cognition, and Physical Activity: A Dynamic Trio discussion from Week Five. Make sure that your lesson is connected to the overall theme of your unit.
- Language Development: Develop a literacy based lesson plan based on one of the strategies you shared in your Balanced Literacy Presentation assignment in Week Five. Make sure that your lesson is connected to the overall theme of the unit.
3. Unit Evaluation: Evaluate your thematic unit using the Activity Plan Self-Check that is found on page 101 of your course text. Discuss, using specific examples from your Activity Plan Self-Check, how you know your unit is aligned. Refer back to the Evaluating Effective Lessons assignment in Week Two to help you develop this section.
4. Rationale and Conclusion: Summarize how a thematic unit, such as the one you developed, coincides with Wilson's (2014) The Profile of a Modern Teacher image below by including the following:
- Describe how the unit you developed was based on intentional planning. Refer back to the Developmentally Appropriate Planning discussion from Week Two of the course to help you develop this section.
- Explain how you will engage families in the thematic unit you have planned. Refer back to the Engaging Families in Curriculum discussion from Week Three of the course to help you develop this section.
The Profile of a Modern Teacher
Wilson, R. (2014). The profile of a modern teacher [Image].
The Integrating the Curriculum through Thematic Teaching Final Paper
Must be seven to eight double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined.