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(Unit 5) Topic 2: Planning Developmentally Appropriate Activities for Children

2 Clock Hours of Early Childhood Education

Applying Intentional Teaching Strategies 

​Topic 2 Page 18

Infants
The daily routines provide infant teachers with opportunities to interact with each infant.  During diapering encourage language development by naming body parts or singing songs.    

Toddlers
Toddler teachers spend a great deal of time on the floor with the children engaged in various activities.  Sit down on the floor with something of interest and the children will usually join you.  Once you have the children’s attention you might focus on fine motor skills by building with blocks or language development by reading a story and naming pictures.  Toddlers are built with a curiosity to figure out the world around them. Your best strategy in working with toddlers is to observe what interests them and what they want to do.  You can then provide an appropriate experience for them to explore that concept.  For example, if a toddler is throwing books, give the child some soft balls to throw and maybe add a basket for him/her to aim the ball.  

Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten
Planning for preschool and pre-kindergarten begins with observing the children during their daily activities.  Observations may be recorded and compared to the development checklist or learning standards. 

​Teachers combine the developmental activities with activities based on the children’s interests.  As an example:  A classroom of 4 year olds visits the zoo. Returning from the field trip the children continue to talk about the zoo animals.  The teacher responds to the children’s interest by adding zoo animals to the block area, gathering books on zoo animals for the book area, and having the children write stories about the trip to the zoo.  

Creating a Learning Environment for Young Children

The following is an excerpt from Teaching Our Youngest. Effective preschool classrooms are places where children feel well cared for and safe. They are places where children are valued as individuals and where their needs for attention, approval, and affection are supported. They are also places where children can be helped to acquire a strong foundation in the knowledge and skills needed for school success. 

• Young children need teachers who welcome all children to their classrooms, including children from various cultures, whose first language is not English and children who have disabilities.
• Young children need teachers who take time to work with them individually, in small groups, and sometimes with the entire class–to help them develop their cognitive and social skills, their language abilities, and their interest in learning new things about the world. 
• Young children need instruction to develop thinking, language, and early literacy skills needed for continued school success.   

• 12 Principles of Child Development and Learning, NAEYC

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