Choosing the Topic
Instead of coming up with the appropriate topic as the teacher, I felt that it was best to select a topic by first understanding what the children’s interests were, and this would be through an assessment of their conversations, drawings, observations, questions and parental reports. Most of the children were interested in pets that they had at home, and a majority of the pets that interested them were dogs. Their conversations and drawings revolved around their pets. I realized that this would be a relevant topic for investigation because it would focus on the following vital aspects of children growth and learning:
The children would understand their surroundings better and more accurately
It would ensure that the children appreciate the phenomena in their environments through a strong disposition.
Children would get an opportunity to highly interact with one another
Children’s web
The curriculum unit has been designed around all children’s ability to make sense of the worlds and it develops the kids’ skills in literacy, math and physical development in a meaningful context. The unit is age-appropriate for three and four year olds and it establishes a positive interpersonal relationship among children, staff and families. The child is able to learn the English Language Art by learning how to spell and read out the words learned during the unit. Preschool children should be introduced to spellings and writing according to Michigan State Department of education
List of terms/facts/ principles
Children should read the following terms loudly and spell them correctly:
Dog
Facts are as follows:
1. Dogs come in different sizes, colors and breeds
2. Dogs have needs such as water, food, shelter and attention
3. Their behavior should range from jumping, running, playing and communicating (Lakestani, Waran, Verga & Donaldson, 2009)
The following principles are required in order to form a deep investigative study:
The goal of the study is to integrate the areas of science, social studies, English language arts, and mathematics in order to assist the pre-school children to gain knowledge and experience in the phenomena surrounding their environment. The children are expected to have a ‘focusing’ activity whereby they will take a walk around their neighborhood and learn about dogs. The children are expected to learn the following integrated areas:
Science: They will learn on how to care for a dog, how to feed and how the dogs are different from people (Lakestani et al., 2009)
Social studies: They will learn how people use dogs for petting and for protection (for instance, they are intelligently trained to know the owners).
English Language Arts: The children will write down, spell or dictate the main terms learnt through the activity, according to the anticipatory web that was designed by the teacher
Mathematics: Children should be told to tally and keep the number dogs observed during the activity so as to understand simple calculation of numbers.
Children should be given practical activities to do on their own
The children who carry out those activities right should be considered to have passed the application cognitive level.
Children Literature titles
1. Pat them Gently: This is a book written by Melanie O’Brien. It is a board book similar to the earlier ‘’Pat the Bunny’’ and it teaches children how to handle and pat their pets gently. It basically talks about how animals especially dogs love attention
2. May I Pet Your Dog?: The How- to Guide for Kids Meeting Dogs: This book is written by Stephanie Calmenson and it talks about how children should do when they meet with dogs (or when dogs meet with the children). It clearly articulates how children can interact with dogs safely and the author recommends it for pre-schoolers.
3. Good Dog, Carl: this book is written by Alexandra Day. The book consists of pictures of a dog named Carl. Each page is filled with a large picture of a dog, with no words, just beautiful illustrations. This book is meant to familiarize children with the types of dogs and the differences between dogs.
4. Are you ready for me (Sit! Stay! Read!): The book is written by Claire Buchwald who says that parents should ensure that children do understand what owning a dog really entails. The family needs to have commitment in order to make the dog a pet.
5. Buddy Unchained (Sit! Stay! Read!: The book is written by Daisy Bix. The story is a narration from a yellow mixed breed dog that narrates his ordeal in a former owner’s house. He hardly got enough food or clean water and he was always chained outside. The dog was later rescued and he joined a very caring family.
A field experience that might be included in the curriculum unit is a visit to a pet (dogs) day care by all the children. One of the best dog day care centers is the Central Bark Dog Center where dogs benefit from special services such as doggy day care, dog sleepovers, dog salons, dog boutiques and dog trainings (Lakestani et al., 2009). These activities are carried out by experts such as nutritional experts and grooming experts. The Address is 838 Poplar Place South, Seattle, WA98144, United States and their phone number is (206) 325-3525.
Parents of the children can participate in the curriculum unit by accompanying ensuring that each of the children involved in the unit has an access to a dog pet. The parents must ensure that they also understand the basics about how to feed, groom, play and handle dogs so that they can be great role models. Home communication should ensure that the children share detailed information about the classroom work going on with the thematic unit. For instance, family members should use the internet to learn more about dogs. Parents may show the children different types of dogs through the internet and how to take care of them.
Choosing the Topic
Possible topic could have emerged from an initiation by the teacher or from the 3rd graders interests. After realizing that the children had diverse interests regarding curriculum units, I decided to come up with the topic of a garden theme. I created an anticipatory web that would make use of resources and field- sites available to get a common experience for the children. The children would be involved in making the decision of whether the topic was interesting to them as third graders. All the children agreed on going ahead with a garden theme for the unit. I realized that this would be a relevant topic for investigation because it would focus on the following vital aspects of children growth and learning:
The children would understand their surroundings better and more accurately
Comparison with the Michigan State Department of Education
Elementary (Grade K-4) Science organizational structure includes life sciences whereby children learn about the organization of living things and ecosystems. This means that the curriculum unit on gardening is relevant to the university’s expectations.
Children in Grade K-4 are expected to learn the measurement domains such as units and systems of measurements. This means that by measuring the growth of plants and planting depths will be very relevant to the children. Also, measuring time through clock and calendar measures to understand how long the plants will take to grow is vital in these grades
In English Language Arts, the children are also expected to learn how to read, write, speak, listen and view. This is why the curriculum unit includes a process of reading books and writing a journal of the plants’ growth process. Interpersonal and social skills are enhanced according to the expectations of the Michigan State Department of Education. This is because the children are supposed to carryout the curriculum unit as a group of older adults including teachers and parents.
List of terms/facts/ principles
Children should learn and spell the following words correctly:
Facts are as follows:
4. Seedlings require soil to grow
5. Crops usually have nutritional value namely proteins, vitamins and carbohydrates
6. There are different tools that should be used to prepare land, dig the garden, plant the seedlings and harvest the crops (Gibbs, Staiger, Johnson, Block, Macfarlane, Gold, Kulas, Townsend & Long, 2011)
Assessment Plan Chart
Goal/Objective of the study
The goal of the study is to integrate the areas of science, social studies, English language arts and mathematics in order to assist the third graders to gain knowledge and experience in the phenomena surrounding their environment. The children are expected to have a ‘focusing’ activity whereby they will practically plant some crops in a small garden in the school vicinity. The children are expected to learn the following integrated areas:
Science: They will learn on how to prepare the garden for planting, dig the land, plant the seedlings and harvest the crops (Study of plants and nutrition)
Social studies: They will learn how people work together in the community in order to achieve certain goals (Gibbs et al., 2011).
English Language Arts: The children are expected to keep a journal of each and every activity of the day for the period between land preparation and harvesting of the crops. This will be an opportunity for the kids to learn how to read and write in grammatically correct English.
Mathematics: The third graders will tally the number of seedlings planted in order to calculate how many plants were damaged during planting and growth. They should also draw graphs that depict germination, planting depths and growth stages of the plant (Gibbs et al., 2011).
Children Literature titles
1. Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert. This book explains the detailed steps of growing vegetables and the recipe for making vegetable soup. This book is meant to create excitement among kids regarding vegetable farming.
2. Garbage helps Our Garden Grow by Linda Glaser and Shelley Rotner. This book offers a clear introduction to using composite manure in gardening and it has beautiful illustrations of children practicing how to garden
3. From Seed to plant by Gail Gibbons: The book consists of clear illustrations of the stages that crops undergo during plant development. The book also consists of directions on how a child can do a beans project.
4. Corn is maize: The Gift of the Indians (Let’s-read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Aliki. The book describes the history of maize and its benefits.
A field experience that might be included in the curriculum unit is a visit to Ian Potter Foundation Children’s Garden, a place where children can practice digging and planting as they wish. The garden is located at the royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Observatory Precinct, Birdwood Avenue, South Yarra 3141. The Postal address is Private Bag 2000, Victoria, Australia and the telephone number is +61 3 92522300.
Parents of the children can participate in the curriculum unit by accompanying the children to the trip to the Australian Ian Potter Foundation Children’s Garden. These gardens usually recommend that the children are accompanied by their parents so as to ensure that the parents learn more about their children’s activities. Back at home, parents should also allow the children to participate in simple gardening such as kitchen gardening. This will make the children to grow well physically, mentally and intellectually.
Home communication should ensure that the children share detailed information about the classroom work going on with the thematic unit. For instance, family members should use the internet to learn more about gardening, plants, soil, nutrition, farming tools and nutritional value. Parents may show the children different types of crops through the internet and how to take care of them.
Resources
Lakestani, N.N., Waran, L. N., Verga, M., & Donaldson, M. (2009). Pre-school children's attitudes to dogs in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications And Research, 556-57
Gibbs, L., Staiger, P.K., Johnson, B., Block, K., Macfarlane, S., Gold, L., Kulas, J., Townsend, M., & Long, O. C. (2011). RESEARCH ARTICLE: Expanding Children’s Food Experiences: The Impact Of A School-Based Kitchen Garden Program. Journal Of Nutrition Education And Behavior,
