421 Placement Syllabus II

PROJECT JUSTIFICATIONA. Rationale

•1 page essay addressing, in detail, the following questions.

1. What is your topic? 2. What constraints, conversations,

observations and other factors led you to choose this topic?

3. Why is this a worthy project topic (consider your criteria list)?

4. How does your topic meet the requirements of being tangible and accessible on a daily basis?

5. What prior experience do the children have with this topic?

6. What are some possible investigative activities and representations?

1. PROJECT JUSTIFICATIONB.Webs (teacher planning webs)

2 clearly labeled webs: 1 regular(whole topic) 1 zoom (sub topic)

Both webs should include:• inherent concepts of topic• ISBE Early Learning standards that will be addressed• anticipated child questions• possibilities for:

methods for representationsresources/artifacts and activities that help build

common knowledge and/or go deeper into the topic do NOT word processmust take up entire page

1. PROJECT JUSTIFICATION(C. Criteria-page 1)

1. Does it build upon what children already know and experience?Yes. All students use chairs on a daily basis.

2. Can it be investigated in your particular local situation and is it within walking distance of your site? Yes. We can investigate the different types of chairs in the classroom or in the building.

3. Can children touch it directly?Yes. The chairs are accessible.

4. Is it rich enough for kids to explore for an extended period?Yes. Based upon my detailed topic web, there is a wide range of possible directions that this project could take.

5. Does it increase children’s awareness of their everyday environment (their local situation) and their daily life more closely?Yes. Children use chairs every day but don’t really “see” them. This project would help them look at chairs in a new way.

6. Can children talk to people who touch it directly? (secondary resources) Yes. There are many furniture making companies and craftsmen in this area. An expert could visit our site.

7. Does it allow for integration of wide range of subjects, for example, literacy, math, science? Yes. Literacy examples include: reading books about chairs, telling stories about chairs, taking a dictation about a chair in their house. Math examples include: tallying chairs, counting parts of chairs, sorting by size, categorizing by shape, material or function. Science examples include: weighing chairs, examining the construction of chairs, experimenting with chair support systems.

Your question must meet all the above criteria. Other questions to consider:

8. Does it allow for rich dramatic play? Not necessarily, We could use the pretend center to act out a repetitive chair story such as “Goldilocks & the 3 Bears.” But dramatic play would not be the focus.

9. Does it allow for investigative skills such as experiments, problem solving, data collection, and representation etc. Yes. This project’s strength is the wide range of investigative possibilities as we examine & compare and contrast different chairs. Children could organize data, conduct observational drawings and create small or large representations.

10. What resources are available? Furniture makers, woodworkers, parents

11. How can you involve parents? Parents can conduct home surveys, do drawings of chairs at home, send in pictures, and help their child write stories.

1. PROJECT JUSTIFICATION(C. Criteria-page 2)

2. DAILY SCHEDULE & GOALS

• Create a template of your daily schedule that you will use for this section.

8:00-8:40 Free play-

8:40-9:00 Breakfast-

9:00-10:30 Centers-

10:40-10:50 Large group-

10:50-11:30 Outside-

11:30-12:00 Lunch-

2. DAILY SCHEDULE & GOALS

• For each segment of your day, write one specific goal.

• These can be general goals, personal goals for your own growth, or a goal about a specific child or group of children. Keep long-term goals in mind.

• Goal should give you a specific, deliberate purpose as well as a method to achieve them.

• Start each goal with “I will…”• Goals should NOT focus on children’s

behavior (Children will learn a new song)but on YOUR behavior and how you will facilitate learning experiences (I will model joyful singing and use call/response to teach them the song), not manners and routines.

• Write up daily-one page per day.

October 10, 2011 (date) Week 8 (week)

DAILY SCHEDULE & GOALS (title)

8:00 Free play-I will help Will enter play situation skillfully by modeling language (“Can I play?”)

8:40 Breakfast-I will sit with Yumi (non-English speaker) and help her learn the word apple by using the word and pointing to the fruit while saying it.

9:00 Centers-I will play at the playdough table and focus on spatial relationships (on, in, under, through, behind) and take play-based data for my coop.

10:40 Large group-I will read a book, focusing on slowing down the pace of my reading and projecting my voice.

10:50 Outside-I will encourage Gabriel to walk the balance beam with me to determine how many steps he can take before losing his balance. I will record this and enter it into our online assessment grid.

11:30 Dismissal-I will sing songs as I lead the children to the buses in order to make this transition smoother.

Unacceptable goals for this assignment=goals lacking a specific action you can take, goals that don’t focus on an

important learning situation

• I will encourage children to listen to the speaker. (how will you encourage?)

• I will set up snack. • I will lead the children outside. • I will prep for my activity while the

class is in the gym.• I will encourage Angie to eat her

peas. • I will model good manners at the

table.

3. S-E-R (Summarize-Evaluate-Reflect)

•This section is used to document your investigation. Consider it as the “thread” running throughout your takeover. Pay special attention to how each day’s work relates to the next. Write a short paragraph daily. Compile weekly.

11/03/08 Monday: Today at story time I read the students a book called “Lets Go by Bus” and after the book we talked about where they have all taken a bus to. Some of them had only been on a bus when we went to the Curtis Orchard. Other students rode the bus on vacation or from the airport to their hotel. After they all shared their story, we made a list of everything they already knew about buses. The list is pictured below. I explained to them that tomorrow we would make a web of the information that we already know about buses so they should continue to think about the book we read and what they remember about the bus they rode.

• 11/04/08 Tuesday: Today the students drew pictures of buses by looking at pictures and books about buses. This took place during center time at the art center so only some of the students chose to draw buses. At circle time we started our web with the information we already know. I told them to go home and ask their parents about buses to see where they have taken a bus to and also to find out any more information they could. I explained to them that we would add that information to the web tomorrow.

• 11/05/08 Wednesday: Today I had the students who had more information come to a small table with me and add that information to the web. Many of them were able to gain more knowledge about buses by asking their parents. They learned more about city buses and also more about bus safety. One student also made a representation of a bus out of play-dough. I told the students that tomorrow we would be making predictions about how many wheels, windows, and doors the Cheterbrook bus has.

• 11/06/08 Thursday: Today during free time I called children over one at a time who were interested in making predictions about the Chesterbrook buses. I used tally marks to represent how many wheels, how many windows, and how many seats were on the bus. Some of their predictions were correct and they told me that they had counted them as they left school the night before. I also allowed them to refer to books if they did not have a guess, but I told them that the Chesterbrook bus might be different. I told them to begin thinking of questions that they had about buses and what they would like to ask Mrs. Sue in order to find out more.

• 11/07/08 Friday: Today the students labeled the parts on a large scale picture of a bus that I drew. They looked at the different parts and came up with questions that they would like to ask Mrs. Sue. I had to guide them to think deeper about the different parts but we came up with a great list of questions to ask. I told them that on Monday we would be going out to the buses and Mrs. Sue would tell us about the Chesterbrook buses. I told them that we would also be able to ask her all of the questions we have about buses and she will answer them for us.

What is the difference between Daily Goals & SER?

• SER follows your project work only. • Daily Goals are conducted before

your project work begins.

(Week) Week 8

4. Parents/CaregiversKeep records of any involvement. These can be brief descriptions of any contact you have, any assistance they provide you, etc. Have one entry per day in your placement. There may be days you have no contact so note it. However, take initiative, try to make contact on a daily basis. Date each record.

Monday (10/12) (day and date)This morning I said hello to Vera’s mom who drops her off on Mondays. We talked about Vera’s favorite backpack which she brings to school each day.

Tuesday (10/13) I had no contacts today.

Wednesday (10/14) I sent home a letter asking parents to send in pictures of family members. We will use these photos to initiate discussion about my topic.

Thursday (10/15) I received 5 family photos. I wrote thank you notes to these families. I also greeted Caitlin’s dad this morning. This is the first time I met him.

Friday (10/16) Today I sent home our weekly classroom newsletter.

Parents/Caregivers guidance

•if you greet numerous parents daily at your setting, describe 1 or 2 significant, extended interactions. Focus on pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone.

• focus on INITIATING contacts. Be active versus passive. “I said hello to Elsa’s mom and told her about Elsa sharing blocks with her friend yesterday.” vs “Elsa’s mom waved at me and told me she will bring in cupcakes for snack tomorrow.”

• Focus on DETAIL: Each day, what is one SPECIFIC comment or observation that you can share with parents to give them the sense that you really know and care for their child. For example, “Today, Teagan worked so hard on his painting in the art center. He spent a lot of time there, and used the entire piece of paper. It’s drying on the rack if you’d like to take a look.” VS “Teagan had a great day.”

5. Resources

• Same as Segment I.

• Update regularly, at least every other week.

Project DocumentationRequired elements

The following are required elements of your project. These must be documented with a photograph and a short explanatory paragraph:

•web(generated with children; different colors to show additions as the project progresses

•visual representation of data (e.g. tally graph, bar graph, line graph)

•list/chart

•photo board

•observational drawings

Project DocumentationOptional Elements

Optional elements my also be documented in the same manner as the required elements. These will vary according to the investigation and representation methods you use during your project. Some examples are:

•large scale representation

• small scale representation

• survey

•field site visit information

•centers

•interview data

The time spent documenting your project will result in a valuable artifact that can be used in interviews as it will clearly demonstrate you understanding of and ability to apply the Project Approach. Keep your future audience in mind as you document your work.

6. Lesson Plans

• Word-processed. Use Lesson Study Planning Template

• You will be formally observed two times, so you will do two detailed lesson plans. (Observation date/time to be arranged with your mentor.) For each observation, follow these instructions:– Follow your mentor’s instructions as to how to

get a lesson plan to her (email, hard copy etc)

– After your observation, go back to your lesson plan and complete the Post-Lesson Reflection section. Then print it and submit it in your Notebook Packet.

– Observations #3 and #4 must be related to your project work (not a classroom routine).