S.T.E.M. Activity Planning
ECE203: Intro to Cur & Inst for the Early Child Classroom
Content Area or Developmental Focus: Science/Sensory
Age/Grade of Children: Early Childhood Kindergarten (5-6 years old)
| Goal | To teach the students about plant life. |
| Materials | 1 Cup of raw sunflower seeds in the hulls Dixie Cups Water Flat surface such as a plate, pan, or a gardening trey. Soil Paper towels |
| Teaching Strategy/Process | Have the students put their sunflower seeds in a cup and fill it with water, leave them over night so they can soakIn the morning you will drain and rinse off the seeds together, you will need to remove any hulls that come loose during this process.Help the students fill the trey with soil.Put the seeds in the soil on the trey and cover the seeds evenly with the dirt. You will need to put the paper towels over the dirt. Make sure the paper towels are damp.Have the students check the trey anywhere from once to twice a day making sure the paper towels do not dry. In about 3 to 4 days you will start to see where the sprouts are starting to push through the paper towels, you will need to remove the paper towels and make sure the tray gets put in a place that gets a lot of sunlight. On days 5 and 6 the plants will then be pretty big, you can pull one of them p from the soil to show the students how their roots, steps and leaves look when it has started growing. Make sure to ask lots of questions about what the roots look like and what they do for the flower. How about the leaves and the stems?Harvest the greens on days 7 and 8, before they start out growing their second set of leaves.Have students fill their own Dixie cup of soil and replant their sunflowers into their own cup to take home. |
Explain specifically how the above activity is developmentally appropriate:
Having the students start learning about plant life in Kindergarten is crucial because it is great physical development but also great for Science and Sensory. Having the children feel the soil and seeds will help them feel the difference between textures between the two. It also teaching them a form of responsibility and how to keep a plant alive. It also shows them that they can grow their own food.
According to Paige Keeley “Understanding the needs of plants helps students make the initial connection between the Sun and the flow of energy in ecosystems, a foundational idea that grows in complexity throughout the Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC 2012)”.
Content Area or Developmental Focus: Language and Literacy
Age/Grade of Children: Kindergarten (5-6 years old)
| Goal | Students will recognize the alphabet and what associates with each letter |
| Materials | Laminated alphabet letters with Velcro on back. Laminated Pictures with Velcro on back. Each picture will be associated with a letter. |
| Teaching Strategy/Process | Instruct students that they are going to be matching the alphabet with the picture that goes with the letter for example P would go with Pig.When the students find the correct picture, they will Velcro the letter to the picture. |
Explain specifically how the above activity is developmentally appropriate:
This activity is appropriate because it will help students recognize letters and what words associates with that letter. By showing the students what letter goes with what word we are setting them up for success. It is the first step in learning what the letter sounds sound like and what they look like.
Content Area or Developmental Focus: Creativity
Age/Grade of Children: Kindergarten (5-6 Years old)
| Goal | Teaching students to make their art work in their own unique way. |
| Materials | Small plastic containers to hold the paint mixture Food coloring in different colors.Liquid dish soapWater Straws Push pins Small pieces of thick paper such as card stock. Construction paper and water color paper. |
| Teaching Strategy/Process | Poke a hole through the straw so the kids can’t suck up with solution Pour water, dish soap, and food coloring in plastic container Mix the solution and make sure it is the right consistency to paint with. You may have to add more to make it the consistency you want and need. The liquid needs to be thin enough so the kids can blow bubbles into the container and have the bubbles go over the container.The kids can then gently press their paper over the bubbles and then remove it to see what kind of design they created. Let the children use their wildest imagination on this activity. |
Explain specifically how the above activity is developmentally appropriate:
“It is where creativity, imagination, and problem solving are rewarded with acceptance, joy, and satisfaction.” (Jaruszewicz, 2008). Allowing Children to be creative and use their imagination will help them fell more freedom in their choices as they grow up. I believe we should allow our children to be who they want to be and to as creative as they can. This is appropriate for this grade because it is still fun for them do to and it shows how colors mix and how they can create different shapes by laying the paper on the bubbles in different ways. This will allow children to become more independent.
Content Area or Developmental Focus: Fine motor (please choose an indoor activity)
Age/Grade of Children: Kindergarten (5-6 Years old)
| Goal | Develop skills needed for writing |
| Materials | Masking Tape Construction Paper (colored paper)Marker or PenColoring toolsStickers |
| Teaching Strategy/Process | Prep the activity by sticking various sizes of tape onto an “Easy to peel” off surfaces such as desk, table, and laminate floor. Have the students choose a color of paper Let the student decide if they want to start with a blank piece of paper or to have a scene already drawn on the paper for them Have the students then peel off the tape from the surface and tape it the paper they have creating a scene.The student can tear the tape anyway they want to and put in on the paper you have provided for them. Once the student is done, they can add color and stickers to their picture. |
Explain specifically how the above activity is developmentally appropriate:
Fine motor skills help children get ready to start hand writing. By letting them tear pieces of tape this will help their fine motor development because they will need to learn how to control where they tear and how big and small, they need to tear.
Content Area or Developmental Focus: Gross motor (please choose an outdoor activity)
Age/Grade of Children: Kindergarten (5-6 Years old)
| Goal | Helping students learn how to balance |
| Materials | 4 wood planks (4×4) |
| Teaching Strategy/Process | Get your balancing beams ready for the students by putting them on the grass create any kind of design you want but make sure they are touching sides so they can go from one plank to the other. Have the students line up in a line and go one at a time on the balancing beam.Try to get them to walk to beam without falling onto the grass. |
Explain specifically how the above activity is developmentally appropriate:
Balancing beams are a great gross motor activity for this age group because during kindergarten is when students will most likely start learning how to ride a bike on just two wheels. This helps them learn balance to do so. It also helps by strengthen their core to make them stronger as they get older. “Although balance maturation is not generally achieved in children until the age of 12, improving balance and sensory processing skills early in life will help children to excel and those with challenges or weaknesses (such as dyslexia, Down Syndrome, ADD and ADHD) improve dramatically” (Bounceability 2019)
Any physical activity is going to help a child focus on a task when they are done with their physical activity such as balancing on a beam. “Decrease in off-task behaviors increased students’ perceptions of their ability to pay attention and remain on-task.” (Wiebelhaus, Sara E; Hanson, Michelle Fryer)
Content Area or Developmental Focus: Self Concept
Age/Grade of Children: Kindergarten (5-6 Years old)
| Goal | Helping my students build a positive view of themselves by evaluating specific areas |
| Materials | 24 (My Self-Esteem pages)Pencils Crayons Construction paper |
| Teaching Strategy/Process | Print off “My self-esteem” pages for students you will need one page per child You may need to help the students with writing on this project. Read the paper to the classroom and help students as neededAfter they are done filling out their paper have them color a picture of themselves doing something they love to do. |
Explain specifically how the above activity is developmentally appropriate:
Children will start doubting themselves when the realize they are not perfect at everything. Every child has their own strengths and weaknesses. And that is okay. We do need to teach our children that some kids need to work harder than others. This activity shows the students who they are loved by, what they love to do, how they feel and that its okay to feel the way they do. I believe this is appropriate because feelings need to be addressed even though they are younger in age.
Content Area or Developmental Focus: Emotional Skills/ Regulation
Age/Grade of Children: Kindergarten (5-6 Years old)
| Goal | Helping students by creating a constructive way to help them calm down. |
| Materials | Play DohPlastic bagsMarkers |
| Teaching Strategy/Process | As a glass you will explain what this project is about. They each will have their own calming playdoh.Each child will have their own plastic bag with their name on it with their own playdoh. Their will be multiple colors to choose from When a child is visibly upset the teacher will then get the child’s playdoh down for him/her and let them knead, tear, roll, and create something for the next 5 min. After they are done with their 5 minutes the child then needs to come to the teacher and explain to her why they were upset and come to a conclusion on what needs to happen. |
Explain specifically how the above activity is developmentally appropriate:
When a student is getting upset and needs to calm down and focus on something just enough to calm down, they will have 5 mins to do so. This is appropriate for kindergarten because its not something brand new to them its easy to understand and they can focus on the playdoh more than talking when they are upset. After the child is done with their time with the playdoh, they will then talk to the teacher to determine what happened and what needs to happen next time.
Content Area or Developmental Focus: Social Skills
Age/Grade of Children: Kindergarten (5-6 Years Old)
| Goal | Teaching Children to be kind to others. |
| Materials | Kindness paperPencil Crayons |
| Teaching Strategy/Process | Print out Kindness paper Instruct the children to draw a picture of someone doing something nice for them. It can be anyone they know Have them write a sentence about how it made them feel when that person did something nice for them.You may need to help with writing to please be available for the students. |
Explain specifically how the above activity is developmentally appropriate:
Kindergarteners are just beginning to learn how to socially act when their parents aren’t around during school time. This is a great activity for them because they can write about anyone who they feel was really nice to them. It will show them that just the simplest things are kind and can have a positive impact on their day.
Content Area or Developmental Focus: Math
Age/Grade of Children: Kindergarten (5-6 Years Old)
| Goal | Helping the children learn how to write their numbers but also count how many apples they will need. |
| Materials | Math Playdoh MatsPlaydoh (various colors)Dice |
| Teaching Strategy/Process | Grab math mats, playdoh, and dice for the students The students will roll the dice and whatever number they got they have to give the tree that many apples for example if I roll 5 on my dice, I will then have to roll out 5 apples and put them on my tree. After they are done making the apples, they will then create the number 5 with the extra playdoh. They will continue this until they have gone up to 15. |
Explain specifically how the above activity is developmentally appropriate:
This is appropriate for kindergarten because they are creating the numbers out of playdoh instead of just writing the number, they will have to concentrate more on how the number looks. They will also have to count the dice so they can create that many apples for the tree. This is also fun for the kids so they will have more fun than if I were to say I need you to write your numbers up to 15.
Resources:
Jaruszewics, Candace. (2013) Curriculum and Methods for Early Childhood Educators Retrieved from: https://content.ashford.edu/books/Jaruszewic.6108.18.1/sections/copyright
Keeley, P. Science and Children. (Oct 2017) Uncovering Young Children’s Concept of a plant. Retrieved from: https://search-proquest-com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/docview/1943030001/8C2D9AFAEC04CB8PQ/1?accountid=32521
Wiebelhaus, Sara E; Hanson, Michelle Fryer, (Aug 2016) Effects of Classroom-Based Physical Activities on Off-Task Behaviors and Attention: Kindergarten Case Study. Retrieved from: https://search-proquest-com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/docview/1813537829?accountid=32521
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