To be an effective early childhood educator in the United States today, it is imperative that you are able to adapt curriculum and instruction to meet each and every child’s varied needs across each developmental domain, regardless of the age of the children. This discussion builds on Week One’s discussion about creating trust with students, and further prepares you to design for each and every child’s success in your classroom, which is a component of the final project in Week Five.
Prepare for this discussion by selecting a case study and creating a developmentally appropriate activity that enhances each domain of development: cognitive, physical, and affective. Remember, “researchers and curriculum specialists also emphasize that growth and learning occur as an integrated process across multiple domains” (Gestwicki, 2011; Hull, Goldhaber, & Capone, 2002; Levine & Munsch, 2011, as cited in Jaruszewicz, 2013, section 4.1, para. 7). This means that you do not need to create three separate activities – just one or more activities that address multiple domains simultaneously. An example activity for this discussion is located in the Week Two Instructor Guidance.
Initial Post: Create a message that includes your activity or activities, making sure to include descriptions of each of the following:
- The name and age of the child as indicated in the case study you chose.
- A description of the setting the instruction will take place in (e.g., childcare center, classroom).
- The goal of each activity, including which domain it is geared toward and the desired learning outcome.
- The materials necessary to support student learning for the activity or activities.
- The procedure for how the activity will be implemented. This section of your response must be at least one full paragraph, provide a substantial description of the procedure and be supported by at least one scholarly resource.
