kindergarten unit plan
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This is a unit plan that I created in the middle of my third field, and it focuses on the curriculum area of science. I did not implement this unit plan in my field placement, but it does reflect the students that I had in that placement. My placement was at Divine Mercy School in a kindergarten classroom. This unit plan demonstrates my understanding of the Alverno Education Ability of Coordination, Communication, and Conceptualization.
I demonstrate the Alverno Education Ability of Coordination. Coordination is the teacher’s ability to manage resources to support students’ learning. In this unit plan I show that I can find many resources to support my students’ learning. I found many books, non-fiction and fiction, which children can explore to learn more about frogs and the life cycle of a frog. These books are developmentally appropriate for kindergarten children which supports their learning.
I also found different songs that I can sing with the children. These songs could be used during times of transition and to catch their attention before we start discussing our learning objectives. Singing songs is an activity that is age appropriate for kindergarten.
In the unit plan I also explain the different materials that I will need in order to implement this unit. All of the materials are important because they support the students learning. For example, having the students actually observe tadpoles grow into frogs will be much more meaningful than having a diagram of it. Providing students with tadpoles to observe every day will allow them to witness the changes that tadpoles go through to become a frog. This experience will support students learning, because it allows them to be responsible for their own learning by making their own observations and discussing those observations with peers. It also engages them with real life experiences which makes their learning more meaningful. When the learning is meaningful, it is more likely to be remembered. These are all ways that I demonstrated my ability to manage materials to support my students learning.
Communication is also an Alverno Education Ability that is demonstrated in this unit plan. Communication is the teacher’s ability to use effective communication that creates an effective environment to support students’ learning. I chose this unit plan to show this ability, because there are several ways that I use communication to support my students.
One way that I use communication is through my parent letter towards the end of the unit plan. This letter is important because parents should always be aware of what their children are doing at school. Keeping the parents in the loop will allow them to work with their child at home. They can ask questions about what they are learning and what activities they have been doing. Having discussions at home can help students think deeper about what they are learning and make the learning more meaningful.
I also have a variety of ways that I communicate with my students throughout the unit plan. I use verbal communication with them throughout the whole unit. There are many class discussions that will allow students to share their learning with each other and hear other students’ perspectives which and broaden the children’s learning. This is supported by the Sociolinguistic theory. There are also ways that I can communicate to my students non-verbally throughout this unit plan. One example of non-verbal communication is the anchor chart that I will have for them. Students can refer to this anchor chart when they need to instead of coming to me right way. This supports their learning because it gives them responsibility for their own learning. Also, the students will have daily observations that they will need to make. They can create drawings and label their drawings. I will look at these every day and respond to them. Feedback supports student learning because it allows them to see if they are on track with their learning. These are all ways that I have shown my ability to use communication to support my students learning.
Finally, this unit plan also demonstrates the Alverno Education Ability of Conceptualization. Conceptualization is the teacher’s ability to create instruction that integrates the content that he/she is teaching with an appropriate educational framework that integrates liberal arts. I have demonstrated my ability to conceptualize throughout this whole unit plan.
One way that I demonstrate conceptualization is that I was able to integrate liberal arts into the activities that the students will do. There are many times when the students need to work together and have discussions. For example, their turn and talks. This allows students to explain their thinking to another student and hear another students thinking. This helps them gain multiple perspectives on learning objectives. Having students working together is supported by the Sociolinguistic Theory. They believe that learning is a social activity. Throughout this unit the children have many opportunities to work together. This supports integrating liberal arts because students are going to have to learn how to work with other people in real life situations. If they never get a chance to practice working with others, then they will struggle with doing this in real life.
I also have the children making observations and inferences about their observations. The students will make daily observations about their tadpole as it grows into a frog. They will need to make inferences about why the tadpole goes through different changes and how those changes help them survive. Making inferences is a skill that all students should know how to do. They will make inferences all of the time throughout their life. Learning how to make inferences will also support their reading comprehension.
In this unit the students and I will have discussions that get them to think critically about their observations and what they are learning. Teaching children how to be critical thinkers will help them to become their own investigators about the things that are happening in the world around them. This is supported in the Critical Literacy Theory. Group discussions are very important to integrating liberal arts.
The educational framework that I follow is the Sociolinguistic theory. Lev Vygotsky's theories helped me in planning this unit. Vygotsky believes that children learn best when they are social. He believes that language helps students organize their thoughts. Discussions and conversations also help students hear other perspectives and gain a better understanding of the topic at hand. Throughout my unit plan, I give the student many opportunities to discuss their learning. I have the students do "turn and talks" where they are able to reflect on their learning with a partner. I also make time for many whole group and small group discussions. This is supported by the Sociolinguistic theory because they believe that students learn best when they can work together and discuss their learning.
The Sociolinguistic theory also believes in the gradual release of responsibility. The gradual release of responsibility is based off of how much support a teacher gives the students. Teachers give the greatest amount of support when the learning is new. I demonstrate this by having mini lessons. My mini lessons model the new learning objectives so that students can see/hear how they need to be thinking when they are working on their own. The next step to the gradual release is when the students work with the teacher. This is when the students start to have a little responsibility for the learning. This is demonstrated when I have the students do turn and talks. The students are responsible for having a conversation with a partner about their learning. The next step is to give the students more responsibility for the learning and the teachers supports the students when they are needed. One example of this in my unit plan is during one whole group activity that I have. I have an anchor chart with a life cycle diagram up on the board and the students have to tell me what the order is for the life cycle of the frog. First they will turn and talk and then they will share their answers with the whole group. The students are responsible for the learning, because they are the ones that are telling me the information. I support them by guiding and questioning them. I also give support by clearing any misconceptions. The final step in the gradual release of responsibility is to give all of the responsibility of the learning to the students. The teacher gives the least amount of support at this point. In my unit the students have to create their own life cycle of a frog. They have to create a diagram and accurately label the diagram. The students are responsible for all of the learning, because they have to create the diagram on their own. I support the students by being there if I am needed and by giving them feedback on the work that they do.
I demonstrate the Alverno Education Ability of Coordination. Coordination is the teacher’s ability to manage resources to support students’ learning. In this unit plan I show that I can find many resources to support my students’ learning. I found many books, non-fiction and fiction, which children can explore to learn more about frogs and the life cycle of a frog. These books are developmentally appropriate for kindergarten children which supports their learning.
I also found different songs that I can sing with the children. These songs could be used during times of transition and to catch their attention before we start discussing our learning objectives. Singing songs is an activity that is age appropriate for kindergarten.
In the unit plan I also explain the different materials that I will need in order to implement this unit. All of the materials are important because they support the students learning. For example, having the students actually observe tadpoles grow into frogs will be much more meaningful than having a diagram of it. Providing students with tadpoles to observe every day will allow them to witness the changes that tadpoles go through to become a frog. This experience will support students learning, because it allows them to be responsible for their own learning by making their own observations and discussing those observations with peers. It also engages them with real life experiences which makes their learning more meaningful. When the learning is meaningful, it is more likely to be remembered. These are all ways that I demonstrated my ability to manage materials to support my students learning.
Communication is also an Alverno Education Ability that is demonstrated in this unit plan. Communication is the teacher’s ability to use effective communication that creates an effective environment to support students’ learning. I chose this unit plan to show this ability, because there are several ways that I use communication to support my students.
One way that I use communication is through my parent letter towards the end of the unit plan. This letter is important because parents should always be aware of what their children are doing at school. Keeping the parents in the loop will allow them to work with their child at home. They can ask questions about what they are learning and what activities they have been doing. Having discussions at home can help students think deeper about what they are learning and make the learning more meaningful.
I also have a variety of ways that I communicate with my students throughout the unit plan. I use verbal communication with them throughout the whole unit. There are many class discussions that will allow students to share their learning with each other and hear other students’ perspectives which and broaden the children’s learning. This is supported by the Sociolinguistic theory. There are also ways that I can communicate to my students non-verbally throughout this unit plan. One example of non-verbal communication is the anchor chart that I will have for them. Students can refer to this anchor chart when they need to instead of coming to me right way. This supports their learning because it gives them responsibility for their own learning. Also, the students will have daily observations that they will need to make. They can create drawings and label their drawings. I will look at these every day and respond to them. Feedback supports student learning because it allows them to see if they are on track with their learning. These are all ways that I have shown my ability to use communication to support my students learning.
Finally, this unit plan also demonstrates the Alverno Education Ability of Conceptualization. Conceptualization is the teacher’s ability to create instruction that integrates the content that he/she is teaching with an appropriate educational framework that integrates liberal arts. I have demonstrated my ability to conceptualize throughout this whole unit plan.
One way that I demonstrate conceptualization is that I was able to integrate liberal arts into the activities that the students will do. There are many times when the students need to work together and have discussions. For example, their turn and talks. This allows students to explain their thinking to another student and hear another students thinking. This helps them gain multiple perspectives on learning objectives. Having students working together is supported by the Sociolinguistic Theory. They believe that learning is a social activity. Throughout this unit the children have many opportunities to work together. This supports integrating liberal arts because students are going to have to learn how to work with other people in real life situations. If they never get a chance to practice working with others, then they will struggle with doing this in real life.
I also have the children making observations and inferences about their observations. The students will make daily observations about their tadpole as it grows into a frog. They will need to make inferences about why the tadpole goes through different changes and how those changes help them survive. Making inferences is a skill that all students should know how to do. They will make inferences all of the time throughout their life. Learning how to make inferences will also support their reading comprehension.
In this unit the students and I will have discussions that get them to think critically about their observations and what they are learning. Teaching children how to be critical thinkers will help them to become their own investigators about the things that are happening in the world around them. This is supported in the Critical Literacy Theory. Group discussions are very important to integrating liberal arts.
The educational framework that I follow is the Sociolinguistic theory. Lev Vygotsky's theories helped me in planning this unit. Vygotsky believes that children learn best when they are social. He believes that language helps students organize their thoughts. Discussions and conversations also help students hear other perspectives and gain a better understanding of the topic at hand. Throughout my unit plan, I give the student many opportunities to discuss their learning. I have the students do "turn and talks" where they are able to reflect on their learning with a partner. I also make time for many whole group and small group discussions. This is supported by the Sociolinguistic theory because they believe that students learn best when they can work together and discuss their learning.
The Sociolinguistic theory also believes in the gradual release of responsibility. The gradual release of responsibility is based off of how much support a teacher gives the students. Teachers give the greatest amount of support when the learning is new. I demonstrate this by having mini lessons. My mini lessons model the new learning objectives so that students can see/hear how they need to be thinking when they are working on their own. The next step to the gradual release is when the students work with the teacher. This is when the students start to have a little responsibility for the learning. This is demonstrated when I have the students do turn and talks. The students are responsible for having a conversation with a partner about their learning. The next step is to give the students more responsibility for the learning and the teachers supports the students when they are needed. One example of this in my unit plan is during one whole group activity that I have. I have an anchor chart with a life cycle diagram up on the board and the students have to tell me what the order is for the life cycle of the frog. First they will turn and talk and then they will share their answers with the whole group. The students are responsible for the learning, because they are the ones that are telling me the information. I support them by guiding and questioning them. I also give support by clearing any misconceptions. The final step in the gradual release of responsibility is to give all of the responsibility of the learning to the students. The teacher gives the least amount of support at this point. In my unit the students have to create their own life cycle of a frog. They have to create a diagram and accurately label the diagram. The students are responsible for all of the learning, because they have to create the diagram on their own. I support the students by being there if I am needed and by giving them feedback on the work that they do.