Early Childhood Curriculum Essay

One of the goals of preschool education is to improve children’s school success. Early childhood educators need to enhance a child’s developmental skills and knowledge. We are to build upon their ever growing need of curiosity and creativity. Without knowing what, why, and how to developmentally teach preschool children in an early childhood environment teachers will not have a great impact on the knowledge children will gain and retain in this environment. Children are eager to learn and acquire new life changing skills. The text (2008) emphasizes the importance of a child-centered curriculum that encompasses the whole child- physical, social, emotional, creative, and cognitive. Teachers practical knowledge of how and what to teach children is not taught in school. Teachers receive and understand the theoretical knowledge of children learning but they are unable to blend the theories with practical applications appropriate for young children. There are many preschool classrooms with qualified teachers but they do not understand the steps needed to provide a curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate. Most teachers have the book knowledge but their hands on and one on one skills are lacking when it comes to implementing activities to stimulate and excite children in learning. Kostelnik states that, â€Å"Teachers who lack adequate knowledge in any of these areas are hampered in their attempts to create developmentally appropriate programs for young children. The areas are: the fundamental components of early literacy and numeracy; how children experience literacy and mathematical concepts in their play; what teachers can do intentionally to support literacy and numeracy in all areas of the curriculum throughout the day†. Teachers must know and understand a child’s developmental needs and how to develop ways to meet these needs. Early childhood education recommends that programs utilize Developmentally Appropriate Practices. It is vital that young children have a curriculum that provides learning goals and guidance for teachers to develop activities and interactions. The National Association for the Education of Young Children approved the Early Childhood Standards and Accreditation Performance Standards and Accreditation Performance Criteria in 2005. These standards guide programs in a variety of areas including the curriculum (pp.232-233). †¢ Children have varied opportunities to be read books and to be read to in individualized ways. †¢ Children have activities that allow them to become familiar with print. †¢ Children are given opportunities to recognize and write letters, words, and sentences as they are ready. †¢ Books are displayed and writing is encouraged in one or more areas of the classroom. Curriculum development should focus on promoting learning and development in the areas of social, emotional, physical, language, and cognitive growth (NAEYC Program Standards). There should be themes that are hands on and developmentally appropriate. Activities should include: art, math, science, social, studies, reading, and creativity. Classroom s should be filled with laughter and excitement. Hands on learning should take place, stories should be told, and play encouraged. Play is child’s work and when they enjoy what they are doing, then, they are more apt to learn, discover, and investigate their surroundings and environment. So how do we know that play is child’s work? This question and many more are answered when we look at research and theories of education. Theories are the foundation for which teachers choose to teach from. Theories help guide teachers in understanding the reason why they set up their classrooms and for carrying out the lessons they teach children on a daily basis. Theories teach us that relationships are the foundation for learning. We need to have relationship with the children we teach and with families of the children we provide a program for. Theories teach us that children learn through play and that they learn when they interact with their peers and their environment. There are many theories of learning to use to decide what type of curricula to use  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Vygotsky’s Constructivist theory- puts the learner in the center and believes that teachers should provide experiences that link prior knowledge to what they are studying. The constructivist teacher organizes the classroom with children’s stages of development in mind. Children learn when they collaborate with others, discussion and talking about the how and why of things. †¢ Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development- learning is viewed as active, constructive process in which students seek organization and meaning in their worlds. †¢ Abraham Maslow focused on human potential and proposed that all persons strive to reach the highest within them. His theory also asserts that children learn best when their physical needs are met and they feel a sense of psychological safety and security. †¢ B. F. Skinner Behaviorist Theory emphasizes the roles of environmental conditions and overt behaviors in learning. Children learn through the effects of their own intentional responses. Consequences will determine whether a person will repeat a particular behavior that led to the consequences. Our theorists teach us that as children play they are learning about themselves, other people, and the world. As the text (2008) states, learning and development in the early years are critical to the child’s long term well-being. This theoretical base in early childhood education guides and provides a framework of understanding for how children learn. The text also states that, theoretically, there is widespread acceptance of the idea that play is important- that it is the serious business for the young child. Elkind reviewed a variety of theories that support the role of children’s play, including Montessori, Freud, Piaget, and Vygotsky. By taking these theories and putting them into perspective we provide ways to meet the differences and developing needs that children have. For children to excel and have success in school we have to address all areas of their development. Research has shown us that it is during these times of play that a child’s brain is affected. Connections are made as a child repeatedly does the same types of activities. If these connections are not made or used they will eventually disappear. Our text (2008) states that, â€Å"Play is a time where children needs are met. Good play experiences unite and blend all aspects of development, reaping social, emotional, physical, intellectual, moral, creative, and cultural benefits for young children. † As children engage in play in the early childhood classroom they are learning and growing developmentally. Age appropriate activities are provided for them. Vanderwater says that, â€Å"Play is simply shorthand for our capacity for curiosity, imagination, and fantasy — our creative dispositions. † In order for children benefit from play a curriculum is needed to meet their needs. It is important for young preschool children to have a curriculum that includes planned environments and activities in the classroom, such as music and creative movement, dramatic play, singing, and creative art. Planned and unplanned spontaneous learning should take place everyday. We know that children are unique and different therefore they all learn differently. With this knowledge we have to teach the whole child. This includes teaching social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and language development to preschoolers. Preschool curriculum models vary widely. Some may detail exactly what to teach and how to teach it with step by step instructions. Others on the other hand leave room for teacher ideas and input. Then there are some that provide guidance in developing activities and interactions that are crucial to social development. When choosing curricula, programs need to take into account children’s ages, needs, behavior, language and cultural backgrounds. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Association of Early Childhood Specialist in State Departments of Education (NAECS/SDE) therefore advise the following: â€Å"Curriculum is more than a collection of enjoyable activities. Curriculum is a complex idea containing multiple components such as goals, content, pedagogy, or instructional practices. Curriculum is influenced by many factors including society’s values, content standards, account ability systems, research findings, community expectations, culture and language, and individual children’s characteristics. † The early childhood (preschool) classroom has a need for a developmentally appropriate curriculum. Designing a curriculum gives teachers the opportunity to come together and brainstorm on what is needed to meet the needs of individual children. Dodge states, â€Å"When teachers build curriculum with each other and with the children and are willing to really listen to each other and to the children’s ideas, and really value them, there is a very different kind of relationship being established and a climate of mutual trust is formed. She also shares that, the nature of this relationship between teachers and children and parents would be very different in our opinion, if the teacher’s plan were already written and all the planning spaces filled in, and all the outcomes predetermined and articulated ahead of time. Relationships again are the foundation that is needed in the early childhood classroom. Society has put a lot of pressure on early childhood programs to produce results. Kostelnik states that, kindergarten teachers report that one out of three children begin formal schooling lacking the basic experiences they need to succeed. Because of this, programs make decisions each day about the type of curriculum to use. They see the importance of early learning experiences that will build a firm foundation for learning and development later on in life. There are many types of curriculum in our society today. The two most commonly used in the Unites States according to Dodge are: The Creative Curriculum and High/Scope. In addition to these many directors used a variety of models and resources to supplement their planning. These include the Project Approach, Reggio Emilia, Montessori, and what several called â€Å"emergent curriculum†. There is evidence that high quality early childhood programs can and do make a difference in children’s development. Children can develop the skills they need as they participate in child care and other early learning programs from birth to age eight. Kostelnik states that children need to know the fundamental components of early literacy and numeracy for literacy involves listening, viewing, speaking, writing, and reading. Some of the numeracy components are: understanding number, how people represent number, the relations among numbers, and number systems, using mathematical tools, and recognizing, describing, and extending patterns. Literacy and numeracy can be displayed in the classroom when the dramatic play area has been transformed into a hairdressing shop. The children can create signs that say haircuts, shampoo, curlers, and perms. The children can also include prices on the signs. The children can move in and out of this area taking turns as customers, receptionist, haircutters, and cashiers. They will pretend cutting hair, giving permanents, making appointments, writing out receipts, using the play cash register, and making change. Literacy and numeracy is also seen in the block center as children make signs and count trucks, in the writing center as children write in their journals and in the art center as children draw and create pictures of their choice. Kostelnik tells us that, skilled teachers intentionally create opportunities for children to become engaged in varied literacy and numeracy experiences every day. Developmentally appropriate activities do not happen by chance, they have to be planned out. Children are looking for direction and opportunities to investigate. Teachers are being provided with training and professional development on how to teach, what to teach and why they need to follow a curriculum. As teachers gain the skills they need they begin to understand the developmental need s of children. They create opportunities for learning through play and they advocate for the needed changes in the system. As curriculum choices are being made and teachers are trained in how to implement the curriculum children are excelling. In an early childhood classroom teachers are better equipped and have a greater impact on what, why and how to teach children in a developmentally appropriate way. References: Eliason, C. F. , Jenkins, L. (2008). A Practical Guide to Early Childhood Curriculum (8th ed. ). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Dodge, D. (2004). Early Childhood Curriculum Models Why, What and the How Programs Use Them. Retrieved from the Exchange magazine. www. ChildCareExchange. com Kostelnik. M (2008). Academics in Early Childhood. Retrieved from the Exchange magazine. www. ChildCareExchange. com. National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS/SDE). (2003). Joint position statement on early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Washington, DC: NAEYC, p. 6 Vanderwater, E. A. , Rideoout, V. J. , Wartella, E. A. , Huang, X. , Lee, J. H. , Shim, M. S. (2007). â€Å"Digital Childhood: Electronic Media and Technology Use Among Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers. † Pediatrics 119(5): e1006-e1015 [pic].

The Civil War Essay Example

The Civil War Essay Example The Civil War Essay The Civil War Essay Essay Topic: Diary Of a Madman Many historians agree that the Harpers Ferry raid was to the Civil War what the Boston Massacre had been to the American Revolution. They were both incendiary events. Defenders of the union generally condemned Brown and called the raid the work of a madman. Everywhere the threat of slave insurrections fed fears, and the uproar strengthened the hand of secessionists who argued that the South needed to rid itself of northern influence. The eventual view in the living North that John Brown was a martyr, combined with the abhorrence of Brown by the masses in the South showed that a Civil War was imminent. The North and the South had an ideological difference about the practice of slavery. What the North considered incorrigibly evil, the South considered a positive good. The conflict between the North and the South sprung from the slavery issue and men like John Brown were part of the causes of the war. To his men and to Frederick Douglass, Brown made clear that he intended nothing les s than to provoke a slave insurrection. All evidence points to that motive. Brown constantly warned his conspirators that such a raid might fail; yet even in failure he hoped a sectional crisis would unfold leading to the destruction of slavery. Browns contradicting statements has provoked speculation over the man and his hidden motives. Some saw Brown as an insurrectionist, others as a self-deluded martyr, and still others as insane. (Document A) The way Brown conducted the raid was disappointing to many intellectuals in the North, as they saw that violence was not the answer to the slavery question. However, men like the transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, (Document B)s saw Browns raid as a confirmation of the living Norths commitment to the egalitarian roots of the new nation.

History of the Internet and Inventor Tim Berners-Lee

History of the Internet and Inventor Tim Berners-Lee Before there was the public internet there was the internets forerunner ARPAnet or Advanced Research Projects Agency Networks. ARPAnet was funded by the United States military after the cold war with the aim of having a military command and control center that could withstand a nuclear attack. The point was to distribute information between geographically dispersed computers. ARPAnet created the TCP/IP communications standard, which defines data transfer on the internet today. The ARPAnet opened in 1969 and was quickly usurped by civilian computer nerds who had now found a way to share the few great computers that existed at that time. Father of the Internet Tim Berners-Lee Tim Berners-Lee was the man leading the development of the World Wide Web (with help of course), the defining of HTML (hypertext markup language) used to create web pages, HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol), and URLs (Universal Resource Locators). All of those developments took place between 1989 and 1991. Tim Berners-Lee was born in London, England and graduated in Physics from Oxford University in 1976. He is currently the Director of the World Wide Web Consortium, the group that sets technical standards for the web. Besides Tim Berners-Lee, Vinton Cerf is also named as an internet daddy. Ten years out of high school, Vinton Cerf began co-designing and co-developing the protocols and structure of what became the internet. History of HTML Vannevar Bush first proposed the basics of hypertext in 1945. Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, HTML (hypertext markup language), HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) and URLs (Universal Resource Locators) in 1990. Tim Berners-Lee was the primary author of html, assisted by his colleagues at CERN, an international scientific organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. Origin of Email Computer engineer, Ray Tomlinson invented internet-based email in late 1971.

Introducing Phrasal Verbs to ESL Students

Introducing Phrasal Verbs to ESL Students Getting students to come to terms with phrasal verbs is a constant challenge. The fact of the matter is that phrasal verbs are just rather difficult to learn. Learning phrasal verbs out of the dictionary can help, but students really need to read and hear phrasal verbs in context for them to be able to truly understand the correct usage of phrasal verbs. This lesson takes a two-pronged approach to helping student learn phrasal verbs. It begins with a reading comprehension which can also serve to introduce some interesting student stories for discussion. This comprehension is peppered with phrasal verbs which can then be discussed as a class. The second part of the lesson includes a brainstorming session for students to create lists of phrasal verbs to share with one another. Once students have become familiar with phrasal verbs, you can refer them to these resources to continue their learning. This phrasal verbs reference list will get students started with short definitions of approximately 100 of the most common phrasal verbs. This guide in how to study phrasal verbs will help them develop a strategy to understand and learn phrasal verbs. Aim: Improve phrasal verb vocabulary Activity: Reading comprehension followed by brainstorming session and discussion Level: Intermediate to upper intermediate Outline: Have the students read the short story full of phrasal verbs.Ask them some general comprehension questions about the text. Once they have read the text, ask them to tell a story of their own from their youth.Now that you have discussed the text, ask the students to find the phrasal verbs from the list which occur in the reading selection. Once the students have found these phrasal verbs, ask the students to provide synonyms for the phrasal verbs.Tell the students a little bit about what you have done that teaching day:Example: I got up at seven this morning. After I had breakfast, I put together tonights lesson plan and came to school. I got into the bus at X square and got off at Y square...Ask students which of the verbs you used were phrasal verbs and ask them to repeat those verbs. At this point, you might want to ask them if they have ever taken a look under the heading get in a dictionary. Ask them what they discovered.Explain that phrasal verbs are very important in English - especially for native speakers of the language. You can point out that it might not be important for them to be able to use a lot of phrasal verbs if they use their English with other non-native speakers. However, it is important that they have a passive knowledge of phrasal verbs, as they will need to understand more and more phrasal verbs as they become used to reading, listening, seeing and exploring authentic materials in English. Obviously, if they are going to use their English with native speakers, they will really need to buckle down and get used to using and understanding phrasal verbs. Write a list of common verbs that combine with prepositions to make phrasal verbs. I would suggest the following list:TakeGetMakePutBringTurnBeCarryDivide students into small groups of 3-4 each, ask students to choose three of the verbs from the list and then brainstorm to come up with as many phrasal verbs using each of the three verbs that they can. They should also write example sentences for each of the phrasal verbs.As a class, ask students to take notes while you write the phrasal verbs down that each group provides. You should then give a spoken example or two for each of the phrasal verbs so that students can understand the phrasal verbs from the context of what you are saying.Once you have provided the students with examples, ask the students to read their own examples and check to make sure that they have used the phrasal verbs correctly. NOTE: Dont introduce the idea of separable and inseparable phrasal verbs at this point. The students will already be dealing with almost too much new information. Save that for a future lesson! Adventures Growing Up I was brought up in a small town in the countryside. Growing up in the countryside offered lots of advantages for young people. The only problem was that we often got into trouble as we made up stories that we acted out around town. I can remember one adventure in particular: One day as we were coming back from school, we came up with the brilliant idea to make out that we were pirates looking for treasure. My best friend Tom said that he made out an enemy ship in the distance. We all ran for cover and picked up a number of rocks to use for ammunition against the ship as we got ready to put together our plan of action. We were ready to set off on our attack, we slowly went along the path until we were face to face with our enemy - the postmans truck! The postman was dropping off a package at Mrs. Browns house, so we got into his truck. At that point, we really didnt have any idea about what we were going to do next. The radio was playing so we turned down the volume to discuss what w e would do next. Jack was all for switching on the motor and getting away with the stolen mail! Of course, we were just children, but the idea of actually making off with a truck was too much for us to believe. We all broke out in nervous laughter at the thought of us driving down the road in this stolen Postal Truck. Luckily for us, the postman came running towards us shouting, What are you kids up to?!. Of course, we all got out of that truck as quickly as we could and took off down the road. Phrasal Verbs to make outto make off withto drop offto set offto get out ofto get intoto get readyto be up toto take offto grow upto make upto set offto turn downto get intoto bring upto break out There are at least 7 other phrasal verbs in the text. Can you find them?

Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice Management Term Paper

Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice Management - Term Paper Example There has been a 605% increase in violent crimes in U.S.A alone since 1953. Americans view violence and crime as the most significant issue being witnessed in the U.S.A. A good criminal justice system helps to maintain law and order of a country under control. Even though the administration is toothed with an exhaustive power to trace and punish criminals, many procedures have been set out by the American Constitution like the right to engage a counsel, right to remain silent, right to appeal, etc. for an accused. The main intention of a criminal law is to safeguard society. One of the famous maxims about criminal law is that the punishment must fit the crime. Thus, this research study helps to evaluate what a criminal system is, a comparison between traditional and contemporary policing, legal, diversity and ethical issues associated with American Criminal Justice System and about its intricacies in detail. [Summers &Hoffman, 2002, p.173]. Criminal justice system consists of a great number of actors executing different jobs like judges, police officers, probation officers, bondsman, etc. Each player in the criminal justice system requires to gain assistance and cooperation of the other actors by assisting those players to accomplish their objectives. The federal system of the United States is founded on the substratum notion that the states administer the principal responsibility for criminal justice and hence, criminal justice is the nucleus of state and not national responsibility.[Barkow,2003,p.33]. Currently, there is no single criminal justice system in U.S.A as different states follow many systems that are identical but individually distinctive.  

Economic Injustices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economic Injustices - Essay Example t involves exploitation of children as labor, also they are forced to work for longer hours, paid low wage rates, poor working conditions that endanger their health and they are denied their rights to education. (Liz Stuart (2005)) There are two factors that lead to child labor and they include the demand factor and supply factor, the demand factor refers to the demand by employers to employ children, firms will employ children given that the children are paid less wages, they are more obedient given that they are not members of any labor union and that these children can be coerced to work more hours. The supply factor refers to the supply of labor, children may want to work in order to support their families or even earn a living. An Article by Liz Stuart (2005) provides a good example of child labor, the article states that in 1996 it was discovered that some products that were being sold in Mark & Spencer shops were produced using child labor, it was discovered that the shops were importing cloths from a factory in morocco that employed children aged 12 years, when this was made public the girls were dismissed from the factory. (Liz Stuart (2005)) On going efforts to eliminate child labor include product boycotts, consumers refuse to buy products produced using child labor, in the above example of Mark Spencer the company was afraid of the consequences of a boycott and this is why they stopped employing children. Another effort to stop child labor is the implementation of laws by various organizations, example the UN declaration on children rights regarding child labor. (Katharine Johnson (2004)) Sweatshops refers a factory that employs labor for long hours and at the same time offering low wages, it is an economic injustice given that this is a form of exploitation whereby laborers are forced to work for more hours against their will and also are paid low wage rates. The firms earn large profits as a result of this form of exploitation, due to high

Module 7 Crisis Intervention Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Module 7 Crisis Intervention - Research Paper Example The reasons for not reporting sexual assaults, although those violated wanted to, also included minor punishments for those military men who would be found guilty by the military court. This was the impression kept in the military. Their superiors might not even report the incident in order to seek justice for the victim. In the military, it is said that the commanding officers serve as the judge. To initiate the investigations and change policies in the military, over a dozen complaints were filed in 2011 alone. Reflecting on these widespread cases of sexual assault in the military, one would have to consider the various possible root causes. If these were not in the military, the victims can simply file their complaint by first reporting the assault to the police force, who will in turn document the incident in preparation for a legal case against the attacker. However, the assaults taking place in the military are different. If the victims complain and their superiors do nothing about it, they can become a laughing stock in the military. There were reports about sexual assaults done not by just one man but by several men. Yet nothing might be done to bring the case to justice. One probable reason could be due to the fact that the commanding officers themselves would be found partly guilty of mismanaging the behaviour of their soldiers. If the soldiers are kept busy doing some things productive, there won’t be opportunities to be idle and tempted. What the victims can do is to avail of free consultations online in order to take full control of the emotions and anger while finding ways to bring the matter to justice. This refers to getting psychological advices as well as legal advices even while in the military, with the condition that such advices are not from outside of the United States, for the purpose of keeping military matters confidential at least to foreigners. That is if the government will eventually allow military personnel to