Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum

Blog: Topic #1 Developmentally Appropriate Curricula

In planning an activity as a teacher I would ensure that the activity being taught is appropriate for my students. It should integrate the Topic that is currently being taught. There is also the need for the teacher to have available enough materials for each students during the lessons. Therefore the environment should be well prepared to encourage learning. You have to ensure that the materials is age appropriate and can be use during the lessons.

Children attention span is short, so make sure your lesson plans are not too long and boring. Children will learn better if the activities given to them are interesting and stimulating. So sometimes children may get bored and restless and disturb this activity time. As a Teacher, we have to be prepared for such interruption. According to an excerpt, Advice to a new teacher “Many discipline situations can be corrected by examining your schedule and environment to prevent problems before they occur. While it's important to have a consistent routine, it’s also important to be flexible”. Hence, the reason for proper classroom management.

When a child is accustom to following a routine but suddenly it changes he may become confuse and reluctant to engage it whatever new activity is given. Children sometimes find it hard to adjust to changes, so having sudden change can cause children to become distress.

According to an excerpt in an article Songs and Chants for Daily Routines, “Transition songs will remind children of the behaviors you expect and will allow the children to self-correct in a playful and positive manner”. Using transition songs/rhymes to leave one activity to go to a next one makes it less chaotic and stressful for teachers. Teacher themselves have to enjoy these songs, they should not be distracted or rush down these songs. For transition songs to work, as teacher have to enjoy doing it so our little ones enjoy it to and for it to work. It is a great way to help teaches with classroom management.

The transition song “Clean up, Clean up” teaches children responsibility, listening skills and rules. It enables the children to go through the transition process easily without fuss. Such songs as “Clean up” and “Let’s make a train” allows the teacher to finish one activity smoothly and to go into another one without