Part B - Selecting experiences to support children's holistic development
As you worked through the Learner Guide for this Unit of Competency you were asked to collect ideas for appropriate experiences that support the different areas of children's development. Now it is time to collate your ideas into a Resource Kit. Your ideas for experiences must support the development of children aged 0-6 years.
Divide your Resource Kit into six sections as follows:
- physical development
- social development
- emotional development
- cognitive development
- communication development
- creative development.
In each section you need a minimum of three ideas; therefore you will have a total of 18 entries. For example, physical development will have three experiences as will social development and so on.
Each entry should be a maximum of two pages.
Ideas should be gathered from a minimum of five different sources. Sources include books, journals, internet articles, CDs and so on.
The following information should be included in each entry:
- name of the experience
- specific age range (in years and months) for whom the experience is appropriate
- suggested group size
- skills supported by the experience
- resources required for the experience for example, a list of equipment, words of a song, recipe, instructions for playing a game
- how the experience will be conducted (teaching method used to intentionally scaffold children's learning)
- suggested interactions to support children's efforts and achievements.
Your Resource Kit can be either paper-based or in an online format using a free downloadable software product. If presenting the tool in an online format, make sure you provide a Web link and instructions so that your Assessor can easily access the tool.
Part C - Exploring communication development through stories
This assessment task requires you tosource a range of developmentally appropriate stories for young children that could be used in an early childhood setting to support their communication development.
Select three developmentally appropriate stories for each of the age groups that follow:
- 0-2 years
- 2-3 years
- 3-5 years.
As a broad rule for babies look for stories and books that have good rhymes, rhythm and repetition. Books with simple large and bright pictures, with pictures of babies and faces would be appropriate selections.
For toddlers look for books about food, transport, animals, shapes, community helpers and other babies and toddlers to help them make sense of their environment.
For preschool age children look for books that have illustrations that tell a story, engage the imagination, large letters to see and have a storyline that is easy to follow. For example Pamela Allen's book ‘Bertie and the Bear' provides children with a well-illustrated picture like storyline.
For each age group stipulated include at least one book that draws the children's attention to symbols and patterns typically found in their environment, and which could be used to promote and encourage further discussion with the children about the patterns and their relationships. This can include the relationships between letters and sounds, or symbols systems such as numbers, time, money or musical notation.
In making your selections, be mindful that books used in early childhood education and care settings should reflect different types of people, cultures and communities.
Complete the table that follows, identifying the book title and its' author, a brief description of the book and how you would introduce the book with the age group it has been selected for.