Unit Plan of Farm Animals - Coursework Example

Farm Animals When designing lesson plans for young children (kindergarten – grade three), it is important to work with all the available research regarding the most effective way of imparting knowledge to students as well as current standards held in the national curriculum. These standards provide several benefits to teachers, students, districts and governments by providing common reference tools to compare effectiveness of educational programs, a framework for teachers around which to develop their instruction and assessment plans and clear performance expectations for students (Steiner, 1997). In addition, they strive to provide equal opportunity to all students regardless of nationality, economic or social status. Although there continue to be concerns that national standards reduce the level of innovation within the classrooms and severely limit student diversity, there remains a large amount of room for individuation. “The curriculum defines what pupils are expected to do at different levels of performance in four areas of language learning: social interaction, access to information, presentation and appreciation of literature, culture and language” (Steiner, 1997). While teachers are expected to provide adequate instruction to help students achieve the standards, they are at liberty to determine the best way to accomplish this based upon their local standards, specific learning groups and special needs within the classroom, such as a high degree of poverty among students. Knowledge of how children learn can work to great advantage in bringing out the natural abilities and strengths of students while providing them with activities that reinforce the standards curriculum. The following unit course based on farm animals takes an interdisciplinary approach to learning while incorporating several of the content area standards deemed essential for sufficient education of a child. One example of this multi-modal approach is in the first lesson, the visit to a farm. The trip to the farm heightens interest while providing plenty of hands-on activities for the children. “Research has shown that people remember things better when they learn them by doing. … The learner is actively involved instead of just sitting and listening. … In order to learn best, children must be actively involved in hands-on activities every day” (Jindrich, n.d.). This visit appeals to all of their senses as the children tour the farm and have the opportunity to talk with the farmers. It helps to further their social development by introducing them to other members of society, encouraging them to interact with others and to help them realize (those who have not visited a farm before) that there are other ways of life than the one they are familiar with in their own homes, meeting the social studies standards for this age group. National Educational Technology Standards for science in grades K-4 include “Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry”, in which students learn how to “ask a question about objects, organisms and events in the environment” (National Science Education Standards, 1996). Mathematics standards can be reinforced while visiting the farm by counting the various different types of animals even as further science is explored in the identification. “Interdisciplinary instruction capitalizes on natural and logical connections that cut across content areas and is organized around questions, themes, problems, or projects rather than along traditional subject-matter boundaries” (Consortium for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning, 1994). This memorable trip outside of school and to an exciting and interesting place serves as an ideal stepping stone for the rest of the unit even while accomplishing several of the instructional goals as the children enjoy the day. Science is again incorporated into the unit when students are asked to reflect upon what they saw in a language arts assignment undertaken in the second lesson of the unit. By making reasonable conclusions about what they saw and heard while visiting the farm, the students are engaged in more complex thinking. When writing about a particular animal that impressed them, or process they witnessed (perhaps milking a cow or feeding the chickens), the children are learning to communicate the results of their experiences, one of the first essential steps in scientific inquiry (National Science Education Standards, 1996). Activities using word lists relative to the farm unit help to build the students’ vocabulary as well as provide further opportunities for interactive learning. Students can use these word lists to create fun games or silly stories or to help them write their own narrative regarding their experiences of the day before. Independent writing, such as finishing a sentence regarding how they felt about their visit to the farm, can encourage children to communicate further with others, providing them with examples of how they can illustrate what was most important to them and building their self-confidence as they become aware that their own opinions matter in the completion of the assignment. Simple rules of grammar can be discussed while these responses are being prepared and discussion among students regarding the assignment further develops the social objectives of this grade level curriculum. The open-endedness of these activities provides plenty of room for students to explore their diversity and to challenge their own level of accomplishment. The third lesson provides a number of opportunities for meeting national standards while engaging students in the lesson. Putting together a production involves a great number of talents and skills, requiring students to put together a coherent storyline, exploring the principles of motion and effective communication and taking part in planning and design, which can also include several aspects of math and science. This lesson takes full advantage of the interdisciplinary approach by allowing the students to naturally gravitate toward those activities in which they feel they have a certain competence. At the same time, they are required to learn something of what the other students are doing, encouraging them to explore other areas in a non-threatening environment. Finally, this lesson allows the teacher to incorporate as many of the core curriculum standards as she wishes while providing her students with a working knowledge of the information being imparted to them. One of the primary criticisms of dividing instruction among subjects rather than using the interdisciplinary approach remains the concept that students are not able to remember the lessons as well because they are not able to put them into a usable, applicable context. By taking an interdisciplinary approach, students are able to immediately see the applicability of numbers, for instance, when trying to determine how many chicks the farmer will have this year or how to best communicate the idea that not all of the eggs in the nest will produce a baby chick and why, beginning to understand the importance of science in the equation. Each lesson seems to provide greater benefit to one specific type of learner, but careful attention to detail actively engages all three learner types. “Learners use three main ways of processing information: auditory, visual, kenesthetic. Learners use all three to received information but one of these styles is normally dominant” (“Types of Learners”, 2003). A hands-on visit to a farm quite strongly indicates a preference for the kinesthetic learner, or the learner who benefits most from external stimuli. However, room remains for the auditory learner in the ability to interact with the people at the farm as well as for the visual learner, who might choose to bring along a notepad to make notes or sketches. The second lesson approaches the unit from an aspect that seems to allow the visual learner to excel, but does not exclude the auditory or kinesthetic learner. By discussing the answers students have to the sentence prompt, auditory learners are able to become more engaged with the lesson and encouraged to strengthen their written language arts skills. By providing interactive activities with the words of a word list kinesthetic learners can become engaged in finding new ways of expressing themselves and their ideas. The third lesson, an artistic performance, encourages the combination of all three learning styles to produce a variety of responses. In this lesson, students are able to express themselves in the style and format that feels most comfortable to them. With a careful attention given to the national and local standards for a particular age group and a keen understanding of the special needs and abilities of the specific student set, units and lesson plans can be devised that actively engage all students, regardless of learning style and level of experience, while still complying with standardized educational programs. This hands-on approach has been proven to provide people of all ages with more vivid memories, enabling lessons learned at these times to be further incorporated into the child’s general knowledge. Interesting, engaging activities centered upon a major theme such as farm animals helps students enjoy their learning experience while serving to introduce several various concepts included in the core standards. The variety of activities ensures none of the students feels inadequate to accomplishing the task at hand, yet still affords each type of learner an opportunity to excel. By providing each student with equal opportunity to each activity, students are able to naturally gravitate toward those activities that afford them the greatest success. So, while a visual learner may usually retain the most information by taking careful notes and writing about what they’ve learned, this student may discover the chance to milk a cow has given him/her a fresh new perspective. References Consortium for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning. (1994). “Interdisciplinary Learning, Pre-K Grade 4.” National Council for the Social Studies. Maryland. Retrieved June 25, 2006 from Jindritch, Susan. (2006). “How do Children Develop?” The Global Development Research Center. Retrieved June 25, 2006 from National Science Education Standards. (1996). “Curriculum and Content Area Standards.” National Academy of Sciences. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press. National Educational Technology Standards. Retrieved June 25, 2006 from < http://cnets.iste.org/currstands/cstands-sK4.html> Steiner, Judy. (1997). “Why Have a Standards-Based Curriculum and What are the Implications for the Teaching-Learning-Assessment Process?” English Teacher’s Journal. Retrieved June 25, 2006 from “Types of Learners.” (2003). EcoMentors. Toronto, Ontario: Earth Day Canada. Retrieved June 25, 2006 from < http://www.ecomentors.ca/pub/get/training/learners.cfm> Read More