EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT

Lesson 17: Curriculum planning in ECE Programme

Steps in Curriculum Planning

Teaching young children requires much preparation. The day must be planned and organized before the children arrive. Several vital parts of planning are-

1. Choosing a theme and overall goals for the entire unit.

2. Brainstorming activities to teach or support the theme i.e.

   Unit plan: Once a theme is selected, the unit plan can be constructed. A unit plan includes numerous possible activities for coordinating and carrying out the unit. It results from brainstorming ideas for experiences in various areas of the curriculum. Ex. Science experiences, art activities, excursions, food experiences, music experiences and language arts. It encourages the teacher to plan coordinated activities that support the general theme. For ex. A theme on seeds for 3 - 7 years could include the following suggested activities.
   
   

   
   
   
3. Determining daily activities, making sure to have a balance of kinds of activities i.e. daily activity plan.

   Model of an activity plan

   Activity plan: Once the unit plan has been developed, the teacher selects the specific experiences to include in the teaching. This selection should be made with respect to the goals the teacher desires to accomplish by following the particular theme. An activity plan which is a sketch of activities planned for each day throughout the duration of the unit. It provides the teacher with an overview and enables the unit to be viewed in its perspective.

   Model of an activity plan

   	Whole group activities	Small group activities	Individual activities
   Day 1	Science: How seeds grow?	Excursion: Nature walk	Sowing seeds
   Day 2	Music: Rhythmic experiences by using seeds	Art: Seed shakers	Painting with Seeds
   Day 3	Visit to grocery	Art: Seed Collages	Corn cob painting
   Day 4	Science: study of edible and non edible seeds	Food experiences: Pop corn making	Tracing of seeds
   Day 5	Story telling on seeds	Finger painting by adding seeds	Sorting or classifying seeds

4. Deciding on a daily schedule of activities i.e. what will be done first, second etc and about how long each activity will last.

   Daily schedule of activities

   The daily schedule of activities is an elaboration of the activity plan and a simplification of the lesson plan. The daily schedule of activities specifies the order of activities, approximate length of time, person responsible, specific responsibilities of individuals and materials needed.

   Model of a day’s programme

   Time	Activity
   9.30 to 9.45 AM	Receiving children, informal talk with children & general health checkup.
   9.45 to 10.30 AM	Outdoor play - visit to grocery
   10.30 to 10.45 AM	Informal talk- Properties of seeds
   10.45 to 11.00 AM	Creative activity- to provide experiences with different textures and colours of seeds -Seed collage
   11.00 to 11.30 AM	Snacks or SNP
   11.30 to 12 Noon	Rhymes - seeds
   12.00 to 12.20 PM	Story telling on seeds/ indoor play- sorting and classification of seeds
   12.20 to 12.30 PM	Sending off children

5. Setting objectives for each activity and organizing the lesson plan.

   Lesson plan

   After the unit is seen in broad prospective through the activity plan and specifics defined with the daily schedule of activities, and then lesson plan takes place. This lesson plan adds the procedures for the activities and reminds the teacher of the overall goals and specific objectives to be accomplished.

   Model of a day’s programme
   

   Activity	Methodology	Objectives
   Outdoor play- visit to grocery	Children will be taken to grocery shop by arranging transport	To acquaint children with variety of seeds To provide first hand experiences on different seeds
   Informal talk- Properties of seeds	Informal discussion on various seeds and their properties	To stimulate the interest of children in learning and developing concepts associated with seeds
   Creative activity- Seed collage	Children will be provided different seeds for pasting to make designs	To provide experience of different textures with seeds To allow for creative expression
   Rhymes- seeds	Children will be provided rhythmic experiences related to seeds	To allow for creative rhythm expression To develop the vocabulary
   Indoor play- sorting and classification of seeds	Sorting of seeds based on shape an size	To reinforce concepts associate with seeds To develop the skill of problem solving through sorting and matching of seeds

   
   

6. Preparing materials and resources and organizing each activity.
   
7. Arranging the room environment. Major room changes may be made each week or less often and minor room changes made daily to accommodate the needs of the activities planned

Theme: A unit theme or concept must be selected before further planning can take place. The possibilities of unit themes are infinite ex: Seeds, Air, Animals, color etc.