Question:
Describe about the Literacy Program for Kindergarten?
Early learning experience of a child has significant impact on their development. The early interactions have profound influence on the cognitive as well as physical development of a child. Hence, early learning experience is considered to be crucial for behavior as well as learning in later life. The major aim of the kindergarten learning programs are to satisfy the development needs of the children through provision of a respectful, secured and nurturing atmosphere. In order to achieve literacy and numeracy, it is very important to develop an effective literacy program for the children. To provide a best start for the children, the literacy programs of Kindergarten level offers several learning opportunities as well as encounters on the basis of assess information, personal interest, development needs, strengths and weaknesses of the child (Coolahan, Fantuzzo, Mendez & McDermott, 2000). The educators, parents and community members are responsible for working together in order to offer an engaging learning experience which will help in overall development leading to a strong foundation for the future social, physical and intellectual development of a child (Bagdi & Vacca, 2005).
The learning outcomes of a child are presented in this section categorized into six major groups.
|
Areas |
Learning Outcomes |
|
Personal and Social Development |
It is expected that this program will help in demonstrating a sense of identity along with a positive self image. Additionally, it will help the child in recognizing the diversity elements in people and community. Development of ability for using problem solving skills in different social context along with eagerness to participate in the learning activities (Abu Taleb, 2013). |
|
Language |
The children will be able to effectively communicate with their surroundings and it will demonstrate awareness and understanding of the things taught in the class through verbal and written communication. |
|
Mathematics |
It will help the child in exhibiting an understanding of the numbers through number relationship, counting quantity etc. It will help in estimation as well as comparison of height, temperature, mass, area, capacity etc. Children must be able to identify and describe the 2D and 3D objects. They will be able to develop pattern (Lee, 2005). |
|
Science and Technology |
Children will be aware of environment trough observation and questioning. They will be able to exhibit clear understanding of the natural world. Additionally, children will be able to indentify as well as use of common technologies safely. |
|
Health and Physical Activity |
Children will be aware of health and safety practices along with the awareness of well being. Participation in several activities for utilization of small and large muscles. |
|
Arts |
The children will get engaged into the activities relating to dance, music, drama, visual arts etc. It will help in demonstrating the basic knowledge as well as skills which will be learnt through the art activities (Kramer, Caldarella, Christensen & Shatzer, 2009). |
3.1. Child as a Learner:
Research studies have exhibited that effective learning among children can be facilitated through activities which has relevance with real world and found to be engaging. If the children find learning to be a pleasurable experience, they will be naturally inclined to learning. Development of children in different areas such as physical, intellectual, social, linguistic, emotional can be facilitated through development a suitable learning environment (Lin, Lawrence & Gorrell, 2003).
Involvement of the parents helps in better performance children in kindergarten. It has been found that parents can contribute in various ways for supporting the learning process of children. For instance, parents can encourage and exhibit their interest in the education of the child (Wildenger & McIntyre, 2010). The awareness of parents will significantly help the parents in communicating with the teachers for offering relevant information as well as for asking about the progress of the child (Barnett & Taylor, 2009). Assessment of the child will help the parents in identification of the key issues related to the child’s learning. Hence, the parents need to play active role in the learning process of the child.
The role of teachers in the kindergarten is considered to be complicated as well as multidimensional. The teachers are responsible for implementation of a program which is efficiently planned, appropriate and linguistically and culturally responsive so that it helps in promoting positive results for the children. The teachers must be aware of the expectations of the curriculum of kindergarten for supporting the continuum of learning. In kindergarten literacy program, the teachers need to adopt reflective practice, effective observation along with appropriate assessment strategies for identification of the strengths, development needs and personal interest of each child for providing distinct instruction for each child (Ness, 2011). It is the responsibility of the children to ensure that every child must get equal opportunity for all children to deal, explore as well as experiment with various materials which are familiar or they can relate with the real life. Thus the teacher plays a major role in promoting integrated learning. Additionally, they also consult with the parents for facilitating a smooth transition of the children between their house and the environment of school. Often the teachers in kindergarten are found to be encouraging the parents for becoming engaged in the school life so that they can play a major role in the education of the children (Baker & Dever, 2005).
The teachers and the kindergarten organization must emphasize on identification of the major strengths, demands along with the distinctive characteristic of the community for optimizing the participation of the parents in the learning process of child. In case of multilingual community, an arrangement for the interpreters is very important. Through promotion of a philosophy of teamwork as well as respect, the kindergarten schools can develop positive partnerships. Parents and other family members of the child must be encouraged for participating in regular school activities and events for enhancing the effectiveness of the literacy program (Neuman & Dickinson, 2001).
The major purpose of the kindergarten learning plan is to assist the children in developing on the previous experiences and knowledge from the concepts which can be acquired through foundation skills from the positive attitudes in order to learn. In the learning plan, there are three major segments such as developmental considerations, learning environment and teaching approaches.
Physical Well Being: Children have enormous potential for learning and appropriate learning programs need to be supported by developmental assessments for the individual children. Physical well being of the children is one of the most important development areas. If it is observed that the children are very active the teachers must focus on providing an open space for moving feely within the classroom. They will be engaged in activities which require short time to sit. On the other hand, in case of children who have been found to develop co-ordination between hand and eye and attentive to the details, the teacher needs to develop physical capacity of the children by asking them to cut with some accuracy. Children who need food in regular interval must be taken care of and the caregivers as well as the teachers must be aware of the allergy (Neuman & Dickinson, 2001).
Social Knowledge and Competence: If it is found that the children have been able to make distinction between the acceptable and non-acceptable behavior, the teacher must encourage them. On the other hand, some children will be in the class who has just started to relate to others. For these children, the kindergarten educators must provide models for problem solving or can facilitate discussion for sharing social ideas. Learning and playing activities can be conducted where the participation of the entire class is required. Thus, the social knowledge and competence can be developed (Doliopoulou & Rizou, 2012).
Emotional maturity: The kindergarten educators must focus on providing ample opportunities for expressing the perspective as well as independent choice of the children. The teachers must recognize the strengths of individual child and their distinct characteristics along with encouraging development of independence. Thus emotional maturity of the child can be developed (Logue, 2007).
Cognitive Knowledge: The educators need to develop effective plan for the earning experiences which are interactive, concrete and associated with the world of the children. Additionally, consistent and balanced routine must be developed for providing support to the learning experiences. Teachers must provide some opportunities for the children in order to connect the new learning with the previous knowledge or experience (Lemke, 2001).
Communication Skill and General Awareness: planned oral activities can help in offering chances to utilize as well as develop language in various contexts and purposes. The learning stage of each child must be considered for developing the learning contexts for expanding the learning (Macintyre, 2001).
Space, time and resources are considered to be three principle components of the learning environment in kindergarten. It is very important to develop a learning environment appropriately so that the learning outcomes are achieved. Teachers are actively engaged in development of plan for small group of children or the entire class. This section will focus on designing a suitable learning environment for kindergarten children. The major purpose is to satisfy the need of the children and it has allowed them for demonstrating their progress towards achievement of the overall expectation in various ways.
Space Utilization:
In kindergarten while planning for utilizing the space in the classroom as well as outdoor, the teachers must keep the right materials in the group related centers. For example, in the painting and arts room, all the painting materials must be kept along with relevant books and drawing table. The visual displays such as the paintings, charts, atlas etc must be kept at the eye level of the children. The teachers must provide an open area for free movement along with the musical activities. It is very important to take care of health and hygiene of the children (Sansolios & Mikkelsen, 2011). Hence, adequate space must be allocated for wash rooms. A common meeting area must be there for conducting big events where large group can participate. In outdoor area for playing, some space must be allocated for plating, nature study, water play etc. Small spaces must be designed to small areas for dramatic play or specific activities such as writing centre, puppet theatre etc. through using dividers. In kindergarten, it is important to ensure that the children have free access to the classrooms and open areas so that they can move independently. The defined areas must provide space where the children having different learning style can be catered properly. There must specific area for the children with special needs. Additionally, children having mobility issues must have easy access to the classroom (Turbill, 2001).
Time Utilization:
The teachers need to consider the attention span of the children while planning the time for large group instruction. Additionally, it is important to consider the time span they have attended in the school, their familiarity with the daily routine, personal interests and strength must be considered as it will help in adjustment of the dynamics of the group. The educators need to ensure that the routine must be simple and suitable for that age group. It will help in making best use of the time of children (Perels, Merget-Kullmann, Wende, Schmitz & Buchbinder, 2009).
It must be noted that the teachers must allow some time for revising or extending the activities. Additionally, there must be a balance between the teacher initiated and child initiated literacy activities. In kindergarten a specific time must be assigned for the children initiated learning activity. Adequate time must be allocated for the children to get engaged in the self initiated activities in depth. The activities associated with the verbal instruction must be planned on the basis of the attention span of the children. The kindergarten educators must plan for a time regularly for literacy as well as numeracy instruction applicable for both small and large groups (Mashburn & Henry, 2004).
Resources
One of the important tasks of the educator in kindergarten is to plan the utilization of resources. First of all, the resources, learning materials and equipments need to be organized ad labeled so that the children can have easy access to those things as well as they can put away those materials safely. It is important to use symbols, word and photo labels for guiding the children. The kindergarten children must be offered wide variety of learning resources and materials which can be explored, manipulated and utilized by the children for different learning activities and improves their imagination (Macintyre, 2001). The students with special needs must be offered assistive devices along with appropriate educators and supportive technology for catering the developmental needs. The teachers must distribute suitable literacy as well as numeracy materials within the classroom. For example, dual language books, newspaper flyers, writing materials etc. The parents and community partners can be engaged for assisting as well as interacting with the children (Gunter, Caldarella, Korth & Young, 2012).
In kindergarten the teaching approach must be a balanced combination of the exploration and instructions. In kindergarten, the children must be allowed to learn through experiences for clarifying new understanding and development of cognitive skills. This section will focus on implementation of different teaching approaches which will be adopted by the kindergarten educators.
Learning through Play
Play based learning focuses on engaging the children in play activities which help in overall development of the child. Play activities help in development of intellectual skills as the child gets an opportunity to integrate his emotion, motivation and thinking which helps in establishment of neural connections which is found to be crucial for effective functioning of brain (Duncan & Lockwood, 2008). At the time of playing, the children use their imagination which significantly contributes in enhancing the literacy skills. Moreover, playing as a team helps in improving the communication skill along with the development of social skills. Additionally, it also helps in improving the physical health of the children (Broadhead, 2006).
Learning through Inquiry
Most of the children are curious by nature and they have large interest in exploring the surroundings. The major aim of the kindergarten literacy program will be to capitalize the natural tendency of inquiry. The teacher will guide the children in learning through inquiry. The questions asked by the children must be listened carefully and help them to explore various events and objects. The children must be guided to ask open ended and thoughtful questions. Another important reasonability of the educators is to provide appropriate and adequate resources and materials for clarifying and teaching how to observe and reflect. The students must be encouraged to share their experienced with fellow students which will lead to improve the communication skill (Ray & Smith, 2010).
Learning in Real Life Context
Utilization of the real life contexts in the kindergarten is found to be very effective for motivating the children. Children have significant potential for grasping ideas easily and effectively. Integrated learning is an important aspect of kindergarten literacy program. Development of concepts in the real world context significantly helps in bridging the gap between abstract and concrete. Visiting museums, dance programs can help in integrating learning in the classroom (Neuman & Dickinson, 2001).
Learning through Exploration
Children tend to explore their surroundings through different activities. For example, experimenting with various materials will help in learning procedure of the children. Through learning based play, children learn to identify natural objects and procedures. The teachers in the kindergarten must acknowledge the exploration activities of children. Additionally, the educators need to guide the children for making connection and leading them to reflect in the right direction (McClelland, Acock & Morrison, 2006).
Learning through Instruction
This is one of the most common approaches which states that the instructions should be followed by the children. However, this approach will be utilized as minimum as possible. It has been observed that children do not like to get instructed and they enjoy free activities (Ness, 2011).
Social learning theory was proposed by Alfred Bandura which has tagged learning as a cognitive procedure which occurs in the social context. This theory emphasizes on the observation or instruction. The traditional behavioral theory has been expanded in this approach (Akers, 2009). This theory states that three modeling stimuli: verbal instruction, symbol and live model and a series of behavioral and cognitive process such as attention, retention, reproduction and motivation are associated with the learning procedure. In the designed literacy program the social learning theory has been applied. In this program, cognitive learning process has been emphasized and the literacy program has been designed accordingly.
Social Learning Theory
Socio-cultural theory has been proposed by Lev Vygotsky which focuses on influence the parents, community, caregivers and the society as well as culture on the individual development. According to this theory learning and development are simultaneous process. The society and culture plays an important role in shaping the perception ad ideas of a child (Wang, 2007). This theory has been applied for developing the literacy program for kindergarten. It has extensively focused on the participation of the parents along with the community which will helps in effective cognitive as well as social development of the child (Packer & Goicoechea, 2000).
Socio-cultural Theory of Learning
The understanding of children can be demonstrated through their activities and conversation. In kindergarten level, the teachers need to develop appropriate strategies for assessing the progress of the child. The evaluation technique will help in assessing whether the learning expectation shave been achieved during the literacy program. Additionally, it will help in identification of the further development needs and their strengths as well as weakness (Whitebread, 2000).
Observation in the Class
It is the major responsibility of the educator to observe each child and their activities. The nature of questions and interest must be noted by the educators. It has been found that the assessment strategies include writing samples, conferences, portfolios, self assessment etc. The observation strategy of the teachers must include on the spot observation as well as planned observation (Ness, 2011).
Parents Observation
Parents can reflect on the change in behavior and communication style of the children. The feedback of the parents significantly helps in assessing the progress of children (McIntyre, Eckert, Fiese, DiGennaro & Wildenger, 2007). The teacher must gather all possible information from the parents for identifying the strengths developmental needs and the future steps for literacy program (McClelland, Acock & Morrison, 2006). Additionally, the teachers must communicate their observation with the parents for ensuring effective engagement of parents in the literacy program.
7. References
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Akers, R. (2009). Social learning and social structure. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers.
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Duncan, J., & Lockwood, M. (2008). Learning through play. London: Continuum International Pub. Group.
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