Module 1 Assignment Assignment: DEVELOPING YOUR PRESCHOOL UNIT PLAN AND MEANINGFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCES The joys and challenges of learning with young children through meaningful, engaging experien Original Papers

Module 1 Assignment 

Assignment: DEVELOPING YOUR PRESCHOOL UNIT PLAN AND MEANINGFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCES

The joys and challenges of learning with young children through meaningful, engaging experiences merit thought and planning. In the best-case scenario, you would have time to get to know the children; tune into their interests, participate in ongoing conversations where children are excited to share their thoughts and responses to your open-ended questions, do research together, and ask more questions. Who knows what learning adventures would await you as a group of co-learners!

For this assignment, you are challenged to focus your thinking on child-centered learning and design three meaningful learning experiences as part of a unit that builds on and inspires children’s interest. Keep in mind that planning and designing in an early childhood setting is a more prolonged, evolving process. However, it is abbreviated due to the time frame demands of this course.

For this Assignment, you will use the Meaningful Learning Experiences Preschool Unit Planning Template Unit Planning Template Download Meaningful Learning Experiences Preschool Unit Planning Template Unit Planning Templateto guide the development of your integrated unit. 

Part 1: Developing Your Unit Framework

For this part of the template, identify the big idea(s), understandings, and/or questions that you want to explore with children around a specific topic or focus. You will also be asked to explain why you chose the focus of your unit and how it builds on children’s interests, is relevant to the context you have been learning about and supports learning across developmental domains  and developmentally appropriate practice. 

Note: As you begin to plan and design your unit, take time to recall all that you have learned about developmentally appropriate practice, building on children’s interests, and involving children in active, discovery learning. Ideally, you would have time to spend with children, getting to know their interests and engaging in conversations that would reveal the type of sparks referred to in the article “The Plan: Building on Children’s InterestsLinks to an external site..” Take time to carefully review the resources. You may recognize some of the key resources from your past courses on Play and Creativity, Engaging Environments, Meaningful Curriculum, and Responsive Learning and Teaching. Feel free to draw on favorite key resources as well as assignments you developed for those courses—and others— to support your work. Your unit plan will evolve as you develop learning experiences. Keep in mind that this is an iterative process and revisions are to be expected.

Part 2: Completing Your Unit Plan and Meaningful Learning ExperiencesAfter you have completed Part 1 of the Unit Template, continue the Assignment by completing;

• Part 2: Connecting to Content Areas
• Part 3: Learning Experiences
• Part 4: Celebrate!

Note: Your unit will include three learning experience

THE DOG PROJECT

RESOURCES

 Note: You will be familiar with these resources about The Project Approach from MSEC 6108. Use them as needed to help support your work completing the Analyzing quality Learning Experience template.

• Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2015, August 13). What the heck is project-based learningLinks to an external site.? Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-heck-project-based-learning-heather-wolpert-gawron
• Alfonso, S., (2017, March). Implementing the project approach in an inclusive classroom: A teacher’s first attempt with project-based learningLinks to an external site.. YC: Young Children, 72(1), 57–65.  https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/mar2017/project-approach-inclusive-classroom
• Illinois Early Learning Project Approach. (n.d.). Project approachLinks to an external site.. https://illinoisearlylearning.org/pa/Note: Take time to explore the many aspects of this website for a multitude of resources that will help you understand the project approach and design a project approach experience for your Assignment. In the Week 6 Discussion, you will be focusing on one of the projects featured on this website: Recipes for Learning: A Baking Project.
• The Project Approach. (n.d.). About this websiteLinks to an external site.. http://projectapproach.org/about/project-approach/Note: Explore this website to learn essential information about doing the project approach with young children.
• The Project Approach. (n.d.). Sample projectsLinks to an external site.. http://projectapproach.org/project-examples/
• Brookes Publishing. (2018, September 11). 9 reasons to use the project approach in your inclusive early childhood classroomLinks to an external site.. Brookes Blog. https://blog.brookespublishing.com/9-reasons-to-use-the-project-approach-in-your-inclusive-early-childhood-classroom/
• Queensland Government. (n.d.). Age-appropriate pedagogies. Project approachLinks to an external site.. https://earlychildhood.qld.gov.au/newsResources/Documents/age-appropriate-pedagogies-project-approach.PDF