Week 6 Reading Summaries

Goldstein, L. S., & Bauml, M. (2012). Supporting children's learning while meeting state standards. YC Young Children, 67(3), 96-103. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1019288593?accountid=10910

Children learn subjects most effectively when they are drawn into each topic with interest and new experiences. Teachers are unable to create individual programs that support the interests of them, rather have a prescribed program dictating the areas that need to be taught within the classroom. In order to provide an adequate learning environment where understanding and progress is paramount it is important for educators to support the children whilst following the standards already set in place. The methods educators use to teach and the level of support provided has changed dramatically since the introduction of state standards in the US. Due to the high demand to ‘follow’ the programs created, educators are concerned about the lack of personal connection with early childhood students, sometimes being unable to teach effectively whilst meeting the individual needs and interests of the children in their care. The article states “asking teachers to stop making decisions about what to teach and how best to teach it is as unrealistic as asking artists to stop choosing which colours to use on their canvas.” The programs defined in modern days are treated merely as guidelines to assist with lesson structure as priority is not how well an educator can ‘follow’ the plan, but is to engage with the children and help them reach their full potential and understand the experiences. Each classroom is individual and has unique ability levels in each, indicating the need for flexibility and modification best suited to the needs of the students and to aid in the progression of their learning. The main methods of altering the program to fit the needs of the students are replacement with something best suited but with the same content, incorporating extra thoughts or using supplementation that will grasp the interest of the children. Children are the main concern when working in education, with their ability and understanding leading the programming. Although educators cannot change the state plan, they can alter them and best adapt the learning to the specific needs to their students.

Sarama, J., & Clements, D. H. (2006). Mathematics in kindergarten. YC Young Children, 61(5), 38-41. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/197600862?accountid=10910

Young children have the beginnings of problem solving and the desire learn more at a very early age and do not have to be taught. This type of inquisitive behaviour comes naturally and if enhanced early and appropriately, taking every opportunity that arises; children can progress at speeds faster than those of students who were not exposed at an early age. Some say that kindergarten is where mathematic concepts should be introduced and children molded to understand new thoughts, however some believe that young children have not got the depth to grasp such difficult numeracy subjects. The article shares that learning potential is the key skill that children already have and learning comes naturally to all children, which offers the kindergarten a head start to mathematics as students begin school already having acquired knowledge from short life experiences. Educators must take every opportunity to fuel their student’s learning by offering a vast array of activities that include all mathematic subject areas. Children incorporate ‘play’ into their daily activities which can be used as the link between ‘interest’ and ‘learning’ which in turn includes math. Simple connections between ordering toys and using directions in the yard use mathematical concepts without the children even being aware of it. This will no doubt spark an interest in numeracy as children will have the knowledge and therefore the confidence to continue and strive to explore new methods of learning. Studies show that children in modern day society are showing greater knowledge in mathematical skills by the time they arrive at school specifically in counting and shape recognition than the curriculum programs assume for children of the same age. Constantly evolving knowledge proves difficult to keep up with making observations quite important to learn the abilities of each child. Educators watch the students grow and develop new skills, keeping an extension program close by to aid in knowledge increase and offering a variety of new lessons to learn where appreciation of mathematics can develop. Starting this process early in kindergartens will help learning and confidence grow faster within children who are included in the topic experiences when compared to those who are not exposed to extra ideas and numeracy subjects.

Week 5 Reading Summaries

Wood, D., & Wood, H. (1997). Communicating with children who are deaf: Pitfalls and possibilities. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools, 28(4), 348. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/232584387?accountid=10910

Attempting to communicate with a deaf child can be thought of as near impossible, with many wondering how you can talk to someone who is unable to hear what you are saying or respond to the message you are sending. Many people, who normally have this thought, quickly change their opinion when methods of communication are explored and learnt, in order to better include these children in everyday life. In the educational setting challenges are apparent when children are unable to communicate effectively or understand what is being taught. Social connections and behaviours are stressed as peers of deaf children do not have the abilities to interpret and return the message with understanding, putting strain on relationships and quite often leaving the child quite lonely. Educators of children with hearing impairments have the responsibility to learn and understand different methods of language in order to teach and answer questions for all of their students. Often confusion is seen but this can be improved with a language easily understood however this can only be done face to face, limiting the conversations these children are involved within. A lot of the time the conversations had by deaf students are with teachers on an educational subject indicating that a lot of child talk and imaginative role play are missed due to students not having the ability to ‘sign’. Deaf students in the school environment are guided through the subjects by teachers with the skill to ‘sign’ and often language is ‘controlled’ by perspective and levels of adult communication. This is often negative as children do not get to experience a regular childhood with play and storytelling amongst fellow students, rather only communicating and interacting on an adult level. The article also poses positives that will alter the methods of teaching and assist with management of child communication using different kinds of language other than vocal.

Espada, J. P. (2012). The native language in teaching kindergarten mathematics. Journal of International Education Research, 8(4), 359. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1433384089?accountid=10910

Studies from the Philippines have been researching the benefits to using the native language in the early years compared to English as a second language to teach numeracy. Instructions are fundamental to understanding and developing mathematical concepts and need to be flexible to cater for all ability levels. Using the native language that children hear for the first time is thought to be the fastest developing and therefore has the most benefits when learning a new subject using the ‘mother tongue’. The kindergarten in the study had 34 children participate in a variety of tests using English as the control group and the native Waray language as the experimental group. Assumptions were made, those children who received instructions in their native language were to fair better and have a deeper meaning than those who heard it only in English. Results proved to be in favour of the original assumptions with a significant comparison apparent between the two groups and a higher success rate for the experimental group. Academic quality was high and results have since caused all educators to continue thinking that in order to support and cater for all students’ individual needs, the natural language that children find comforting needs to be used when describing new information for an effective result. Mathematics instruction is difficult to teach to students for multiple reasons, but can be made simpler by steering clear from a foreign language and aiming for a growth in performance. It is said that the best time to introduce new subjects with intense instruction in the student’s native language is during the younger years when children are first starting school. This is a good time as children are still developing their communication skills, and automatically think and respond in the language that comes naturally. Each child is unique and in an island situation, there may be many more languages and dialogues that prevent children from developing social connection due to misunderstanding. Educators need to develop flexibility and judge each scenario accordingly, keeping child benefits and progress in mathematical concepts at the core of their instruction.

Week 4 Reading Summaries

Lee, Cindy,R.N., M.Sc, Walter, Garry, MB BS, BMedSc,PhD., F.R.A.N.Z.C.P., & Cleary, Michelle,R.N., PhD. (2012). Communicating with children with autism spectrum disorder and their families: A practical introduction. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services, 50(8), 40-44. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20120703-06

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a birth disability having significant effects on the abilities to communicate and develop social connections with others that they interact with. Difficulties are apparent in multiple areas that consist of intellect and the ability to learn effectively in all areas. It may be hard for parents to grasp the new techniques to cope with their child’s needs but it is equally if not harder for educators to care for children with ASD. Communication is a huge factor that challenges people involved due to child’s attention span being shortened and having differences with their senses. Sciences and studies have stated that with an increase of knowledge and new methods to help understand and communicate with their child will enhance the ability to connect. Unorganized language is most noticeable along with expressions made with facial and body gestures as they are impaired and require skills to translate and understand. Communication is a form of transferring messages to one another where direction is required and followed with interpretation of that message to understand what is being said. Connections between individuals is in direct relation to the ability to communicate and understand one another with a response, most commonly using verbal language but a child with ASD is unable to do so. Children with autism will show communication containing high levels of non-verbal language along many hand gestures, often not showing their feelings or voicing the interactions they need to develop socially. Methods that parents and educators may find useful in helping children with ASD learn and communicate effectively include using patience and commitment to help learn the triggers and observe gestures and their meanings. Having the ability to understand is only apparent when there is commitment and knowledge that fuel connection and interpretation between the relationships. Using language that is spoken in short passages and simple phrases rather than detailed long conversations is noticed to be more beneficial as children with ASD can grasp the concept and follow the thoughts. Learning how to communicate with an autistic child is not only rewarding for the educator but helps the child develop trust and connect with people using communication that does not come naturally for them.

Chard, D. J., Baker, S. K., Clarke, B., Jungjohann, K., Davis, K., & Smolkowski, K. (2008). PREVENTING EARLY MATHEMATICS DIFFICULTIES: THE FEASIBILITY OF A RIGOROUS KINDERGARTEN MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM. Learning Disability Quarterly, 31(1), 11-20. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/233087514?accountid=10910

Success rates of subjects in schools are of most concern in the education setting particularly for mathematics subjects. Reasons for low grades are defined as possible distractions when key information is being spoken along with possibilities to learn ‘more’ at a younger age was missed. Some children, although they ‘heard’ the information may not have fully grasped or understood the concept behind what they were learning indicating that educators need to be aware of individual students within their class and alter the program to suit their needs. Mathematics education is being encouraged to start as early as the kindergarten setting to focus on early development of concepts involved when the mind is eager to learn more and can understand at a fast pace. Children require understanding in mathematical subjects to create a successful and progressive society. The ability levels around United States schools cause concern when compared to the average National levels, with many different impairments and backgrounds being attributed to this cause. Children in the early education setting are encouraged now to ‘think’ mathematically and use these thoughts to help them ‘learn’ in order to turn the results into positive understanding. Overcoming obstacles are needed to change the result statistics, including teachers that have not correctly prepared their lesson to fit the needs of their students or followed the guide lines described within the standards will need to change how the class is conducted. Due to the age levels of the children, high expectations are not made and quite often subject interpretation is dependent on the quality and consistency of instructions given. Early Leaning in Mathematics (ELM) Program has been designed to enhance student learning and development with number sense at the kindergarten age level where they already showing signs of using mathematical concepts. This program also helps the educators learn how to effectively teach young children a potentially daunting subject.

Week 3 Reading Summaries

Van Kraayenoord. C E; Elkins. J, (2004). Learning Difficulties in Numeracy in Australia, The Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37, 32-41.

As children grow, numeracy proves to be equally as important as literacy instruction in order to function and contribute to the world around us. Numeracy is thought of as harder to instruct due to the constantly evolving techniques related to it however there are methods that include the fundamental subjects for children to grasp the concept of numeracy. Learning difficulties offer another challenge and this article provides techniques available to best support these students both for parents as well as educators. The knowledge that is required to assess each situation and develop a progressive curriculum to include all students is based around the use of outcome frameworks.

Outcomes within the curriculum propose different strands that act as goals for teachers to strive for in their classroom and support the children where necessary. The different strands also provide variety in order to excite the students into numeric enjoyment while helping children understand the different concepts and methods for resolving the puzzle. Numeracy is present in everyday activities and it is important the educators make children aware of this so as to apply their knowledge to different situations and extend themselves further in daily routines. The results of the outcome material assist with knowing where to improve upon in the classroom curriculum and the methods that suit each individual student successfully.

Some teachers use a dominant approach to pass on their knowledge and information where concepts are a high priority to teach over procedures. Solving the activities is encouraged and the understanding of the problem is enhanced by actual assistance from the teacher whilst being connected to real life activities. Within these assisted lessons, learning difficulties are being noticed and supported at a growing rate with student goals encouraged to include forms of numeracy. The curriculum is flexible enough to change the methods of learning in order to fit the abilities of all students learning at different rates. Meaning and understanding is the highest priority for educators to teach within their centres as students will learn to recognize the connections between concept and procedure.

Kovach, B., & Da Ros-Voseles, D. (2011). Communicating with babies. YC Young Children, 66(2), 48-50. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/874262859?accountid=10910

Babies are valuable members of society and communication with them are very important for their social and physical development. The value of talking to young babies is often unnoticed by adults in all fields including parents and educators as language hasn't developed and other methods are not explored. Without communication, babies will become unaware of their surroundings and feel unimportant in the childcare centre. Babies view their opinions and emotions through methods of communicating, for babies this is forms of sounds and chatting not understood as English but nonetheless a form of connecting and passing on information. Using a form of conversation with young children with not only model communication for them to learn but also off a place to practice and develop social interaction. Different goals are advised to enhance talking with babies where acknowledgement is high priority and respect for the child’s presence decides on when and how you communicate with a child. Ignoring children and talking in front of them as though they are not there is quite demeaning and impersonal, leading to a decrease in self-worth. They are individuals and have the right to be treated accordingly rather than forgotten about. Talking to babies may seem awkward at first due to an attitude that English language is the only method of communication. This is not the case as babies have their own language used to pass messages and voice emotions and thoughts. Different gestures form most of the ‘talk’ which need to be carefully studied due to being visual. Sounds and babble form the rest of the baby ‘talk’ in which adults need listening skills to hear information as opposed to only voicing their opinions. Babies have a great influence on adult development in many different forms as communicating with them not only benefits the child but also changes the attitude of the educators.

Week 2 Reading Summaries

Pasnak, R., Monica, S.G., Ferguson, E.O. & Levit, K. 2006, "Applying Principles of Development to Help At-Risk Preschoolers Develop Numeracy", The Journal of psychology, vol. 140, no. 2, pp. 155-73.

Numeracy is necessary for all children to learn, and will improve skills to solve many problems that arise in the classroom. There are different tests created and curriculum activities provided that caters for all levels of ability. Children of a more advanced level find the basic numeracy program easy to understand and pick up new tasks, while some children struggle to understand the new concepts and find it difficult to connect the skill to the definition.

This article discusses a test created to help children develop numeracy from the ‘at-risk’ category into a positive and improved ability. Each of the children from the Head Start childcare was given an extra piece of skill learning for 10 minutes with outstanding results. The experiment was conducted to see if the addition of this extracurricular activity in preschools would improve numeracy levels in all children and how different these results were specific to numeracy learning.

Results from this test were measured by primarily cognitive actions as opposed to verbal or quantifying results, due to the test subjects being young children. Two varied forms of tests were created and studied as ‘learning to learn’ and the second was to pick abilities that focused primarily on reasoning as this is high priority when entering early childhood centres. Every small piece of learning even occupying such a short amount of time will benefit children’s understanding and ability to grasp more information. Skills will improve and knowledge will grow with the exposure to new ideas and methods to learn. Children act as sponges and require new knowledge in order to learn more, so the best way to provide new knowledge is to offer tests and activities where children can educate themselves and learn.

Barratt-Pugh, C. Literacy learning in the early years: socio-cultural context of literacy learning. Buckingham [England] ; Philadelphia : Open University Press, 2000 Chapter 1, pp. 1-26

This article places the numeracy under the title of literacy along with reading and writing; claiming that the methods used to teach these subjects has changed dramatically over the time of schools evolving. Methods used to teach literacy in early schools have progressed to four different perspectives that have high correspondence to the society in which we live and relate our past beliefs to the current and new knowledge we are learning. Individual experiences all contribute to the rate at which we understand literacy education as well as the impact we have when we are teaching it as parents or teachers.

Maturational

The theorist Gesell said in 1954 that children would only have the developmental maturity to learn to read once they have reached a specific age mentally. This age is generally school age students after they have completed a series of tests to prove whether they were ‘ready’ or not to receive an official education. They say the official education only began when the child reached school and parents did not have any role in helping or preparing any knowledge of reading or writing beforehand, with children effectively starting with a clean slate and no influences.

Developmental

This theory agrees with children entering school when they are mentally ‘ready’ for formal education and as described by Thorndike the process of being mentally ready can have small influences from home to help assist and prepare the children for the things they will learn. The kindergarten has a higher responsibility in creating specific programs to assist the students in preparing themselves for a confident learning environment where they have started to learn the basics of reading and writing. The schools have not yet given the parents the role of teaching their children but have given the kindergartens and pre education institutes the role of using workbooks and basic instructions to aid in a faster understanding of basic literacy.

Emergent

Piaget convinces us that numeracy and literacy are not only subjects that need to be taught specifically but basic skills learnt at an early age and continues throughout life. The child is an active member of this learning and best learns when immersed in an environment of constant activity. This occurs for most children, indicating that most children have access and will learn a variety of routines using literacy and numeracy subjects that are intertwined and connected in experiences from the family life. All people involved in the child’s life will play a role in creating and defining the beginning processes of learning. Learning rich environments will need to have high levels of written text and different forms of language in order to maintain a high level of curiosity and integrate all forms of “reading, writing, speaking and listening.”

The method of teaching children authentic language with specific skills in reading and writing is labelled as the ‘whole language’ approach to understanding how children learn and make decisions. The opposite method titled ‘process writing’ encourages children to be in charge of their own learning and make decisions based around the understanding of spelling.

Socio-cultural

This theory followed on from Piaget’s emergent views and was developed by Bourdieu claiming it to be a “cultural capital” which is education that can be enhanced into knowledge and succession. This method was thought to assist children through their schooling to heighten each of their progress, measured by wealth and status. Literacy comes in many different forms as we have already discussed and is unanimous amongst the different theories; however it is said to have many different methods of teaching and learning these literacy skills. The different forms of literacy across a child’s lifetime come in two categories being the small skills that parents value, whilst schools think are insignificant and the skills that schools teach and class as important values for life lessons. Within the school environment competition levels between students are high, as knowledge about language can alter amongst schools and progress levels are varied between lower socio economic schools and formal teaching spaces.

The following table shares a condensed version of these four perspectives and theorists views on the comparisons between how literacy is perceived in schools. All agree that literacy is important in a child’s growth but each have their positives and negatives on methods of teaching literacy to the early age levels. Constant expansion and improvements in not only the methods of teaching but the child’s basic skill level from the home environment with technology on the rise. Social and cultural contexts are varied greatly but have the same end goal of teaching children reading and writing that they will use to expand their horizons and become educationally successful in language.

Table 1: Four perspectives on early literacy

Week 1 Reading Summaries

MUNN, P., 2005. YOUNG CHILDREN'S RIGHTS TO NUMERACY. International Journal of Early Childhood, 37(3), pp. 61-77,125-126.

The rights to the child are paramount and every child has the right to access numeracy instruction. This article shares some outstanding studies that many British schools are actually not fulfilling these rights and children are not being taught nor are they exploring their basic numeracy abilities (Munn, 2005). There are no separate outcomes described in math education and this has an effect on the availability of numeracy education and current success rates of young children in British schools.

Schools in the UK provide extensive education in literacy as language development is linked between school programs and childhood experience (Munn, 2005) such as communication and writing. The early stages of narrative and role play is connected to reading and reflected well in the studied schools, providing a clear differentiation between teaching literacy and the lessons in language and literature (Munn, 2005). There is no clear program when teaching numeracy in comparison as many assume there is no use for it outside the educational setting. Instead specific activities are created to teach mathematical meanings with each topic chosen carefully to extend progression at school (Munn, 2005).

The rights to numeracy extend further than the classroom as it is an essential topic for future areas of life in work satisfaction and personal success (Munn, 2005). There is a competition for numeracy to prove its worth to the curriculum, as it stands behind literacy that claims to be of higher value and requirement for present day issues. Numeracy has many varied definitions and each of these have a different overview, with many links to everyday routine, proving vital for all to learn during the course of their lives; why not start at an earlier age? The specific methods of using numbers in day to day life proves to be a more accurate form of quantifying than measuring the knowledge each person has of mathematical concepts (Munn, 2005).

Xue, Y. & Meisels, S.J. 2004, "Early Literacy Instruction and Learning in Kindergarten: Evidence From the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999", American Educational Research Journal, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 191-229.

Direct testing is a common way to level students in certain subjects and scale each of them into classes best suited to their knowledge. Student success outcomes are dependent on a variety of reasons including teachers approach to education and the quality of their instruction at the right level for children to understand (Xue, 2004). There are also different methods used to teach the same topic that can have a wide difference on positive progression through the schools. This article speaks mainly about the methods “breaking the code” using phonics or “meaning-emphasis approach” which uses the whole word definition to teach literacy in kindergarten classrooms (Xue, 2004). This article believes that both methods provide their positives and share the fundamental focus on teaching children to read and write effectively and consistently (Xue, 2004).

The phonics method involves explicit teaching of specific sounds and skills to connect and decode the alphabetic connections and therefore helping students learn how to read the relationships between letters (Xue, 2004). The teachers are in control of the knowledge instruction as they share the information for the students to imitate and support the progress, focussing on the final outcomes of word recognition as opposed to the process involved in learning comprehension (Xue, 2004).

Using the whole word helps children construct an understanding when reading and learn to immerse into a whole text scenario to read with a natural and meaningful flow. The students are in control of this form of learning as they direct their own curiosity to the instructions and are free to choose their own pace at which to study (Xue, 2004). The differences between this method and the one mentioned before are the purposes of the process. Phonics teaches children to decode the sounds and learn the relationship between letters, while whole word methods teach children to read the whole word with meaning construction. The words are therefore not broken down into sections to learn individually; rather the skills are learnt in order, mimicking the way children learn to speak (Xue, 2004).

Both methods prove useful when they are taught simultaneously, where children gain the benefits of both programs. Each child however absorbs information at different rates creating an impossibility when measuring literacy skills for each child (Xue, 2004). Society has placed a high level of importance on literacy, more so than numeracy as it is the basis for many routines in everyday life and success. This may be the case however I personally believe that literacy and numeracy equally share the responsibility in scaffolding our young children for growth, they relate to each and need to be taught alongside one another in the school system to gain the most benefits.

Port Folio Objective 4.3

Objective 4.3

Shows recognition of your own potential prejudices & projections, noting ways you hope to overcome them.

Ability

Within the educational scene there are many different values experienced by the educators. There are times when bias opinions come into play which can either bring progress but also has the potential to be detrimental to the learning abilities. I have always been one to believe that no matter what gender you are, every ability and career can be performed equally and to a high standard. It is important for children to realize that they can achieve anything if they want and believe in themselves. I do however without even realizing, offer gender specific activities to children and more exact offer colours that represent genders to children.

Within my swimming classes I have noticed myself giving the pink noodles to the girls and the blue noodles to the boys within the class. Since taking part in this university degree, I have made myself aware of this and changed my thought process to ask the children which colour they would like. This works well as children get choice and although it may be the colour that represents their gender, it is nice to see children not focus too much on colour but on the activity at hand. I have asked my supervisors to include noodle colours that are gender neutral, for example yellow and green that are often favourite colours among the children.

Other colour prejudices I have made changes to, is giving out toys to the children in the pool. Originally I would give the pink horse to the girls while the boys would get the toy boat or hammer. I have since changed how I distribute the toys and rather give out the toys, I instead allow the children to pick their own toys that they would like to work with for the lesson. Choice is important when it comes to working with children and I have come to realise that if I give a child the ‘wrong’ toy they get quite upset and don’t perform as well in the activity as they would if they got to choose the toy that most interests them.

These are some prejudices that I have noticed in my own behaviour when working around children and I have made the conscious efforts to change the methods I teach. I have noticed these proving to be beneficial to child’s ability and learning interests, and will continue to put these ‘choice’ actions into practice. As I learn and understand new methods of teaching, I am sure to stumble across some prejudices within the learning environment, however I am confident that I will be able to recognise such bias and change tactics for the better of the individual.

Port Folio Objective 4.2

Objective 4.2

Describes how parents, peers & communities may see, feel & shape young children’s early literacy & numeracy experiences.

Experience

As we have learnt in lectures and workshops, numeracy and literacy is all around us and included in every aspect of daily life and routines. For this objective I have chosen to share experiences with you about children and their constantly changing ages. Ages always change and the number always grows making this is a perfect example of teaching children to count and compare numbers.

The family that I nanny for have three children aged 4/5/6 and are constantly commenting on their ages and counting the years as they grow older. When there is a birthday in the family the children are aware of it and use their mathematical skills to work out the time left till the siblings reach that age and how many years are left till the children reach the ages of major mile stones. Major mile stones include when children reach double digits and when they start school. The eldest of these children is well aware of what age she will be when she is allowed to drive a car and when she becomes an adult.

Parents and peers contribute to the experiences largely by communication and acknowledgement with birthdays and cards. They teach children about the connections between numeracy and literacy using age numbers and vocab containing comparative words. The method of problem solving is enhanced and can be tested using word problems. For example how old will you be in four years using your fingers to count on and how old will your sister be in four years knowing she is one year younger than you? So using worded problems, kids are able to understand and explore numeric comparisons. Using opposite words and different words that have the same meaning will expand general knowledge and vocabulary while encouraging methods of discussion and inquiry.

As the children join different out of school activities, ages come to play quite often, deciding which levels they participate in, what activities they should have mastered and what needs to be improved. Swimming lessons in the community are a good example of aged based levels where water babies are between the ages of 6 months to 2.5 years and move into the next level based on age rather than skill level. Teachers at schools also shape these skills by commonly having birth dates displayed in the classroom alongside the months of the year which is visually literacy but includes time duration and order of numeracy. The daily calendar helps use the days, dates, months and years repetitively allowing children to absorb and remember information without realizing it is learning.

Port Folio Objective 4.1

Objective 4.1

Critiques other plausible perspectives on early literacy & numeracy awareness & immersion.

Ability

Using topics that numeracy and literacy can be seen and incorporated into everyday activities for both adults and children, I would like to create a challenge for children to complete during the school holidays. They will be encouraged to make a list and write down every activity they perform during the day from waking up to brushing their teeth and getting dressed for school. The following is an example of what they might write on the left of the column.

Wake up and get out of bed	Read clock
Walk to bathroom to use toilet	Direction
Flush the toilet	Use the whole or half flush
Wash hands using cold tap	Reading the C or H tap, turn in clockwise or anticlockwise
Walk to kitchen for breakfast	Direction
Butter and vegemite on toast	Estimation, how much to cover the surface area
Cut into baby squares	Fractions
Glass of milk	Volume or liquid in glass
Sit at the table and eat	Talking with mum, read weather
Brush teeth in bathroom
Walk to room to get dressed	Direction
Put my school clothes on	Coordination
Put socks and shoes on	Pairs and L & R
Brush hair
Pack school bag with lunch	Weight of bag
Out the door, lock it	Turn the key direction
Helmet on to ride to school	Order
Climb on bike and pedal	Balance and direction of pedals
Ride to school	Reading road signs
Etc continue for the day

At the beginning of the next day, children are encouraged to sit down with the adults and work through their list labelling which activities include some form of numeracy or literacy. This will help not only children but also adults become aware of just how much learning is involved in day to day routines.

Children will go through their list as I have done on the right of the column and label the learning portions of each specifically distinguishing the literacy and numeracy within each activity. There may be a form of each learning subject in the activities which children can discover and learn.

Labelling the subjects in different colours can help differentiate between the two and know which skills need to be improved upon for each child. Ability levels will differ for each child, but this will provide a good indication of areas to expand on and emphasize around the home.

When the skills are labelled, parents can incorporate each aspect into routine much more frequently, for example asking children to help keep an eye on the time and reading the clock with them, while using television shows as a visual experience. Another idea could be to incorporate drinking a glass of water every hour and learning about time lapse in the day. This exercise is based around the personal observations made by the child, in their daily routine, and then interpretations and analysis are responsible for children being able to extract the learning in each activity. 

Port Folio Objective 3.3

Objective 3.3

States the strengths & possible limits of your own ability to observe & offer literacy & numeracy experiences with children less than 4 years of age.

Experience

My every day activities and my life experiences have given me many qualities that not only would be beneficial to pass onto young children but excite me to do so and share my knowledge. I am a very passionate person in whatever field I am completing but my biggest love in life is the natural environment. Due to this excitement for any outdoor activity, I do find it difficult to remain inside and see the discipline needed to perform certain subjects for an extended time. My knowledge is based around facts which I enjoy as I feel an accomplishment when I reach the correct answer. I find it frustrating to base learning around reading literacy that does not have a specific outcome and children spending more time doing brainless activities.

I completed my first university degree in science with a major or biodiversity and conservation, which I believe to be highly important for young children to learn as they are responsible for reshaping the future. This degree has many different elements revolving around science and wonder of the natural world around us. As I am incredibly passionate about this subject, I am confident that I will be able to share my knowledge along with my enthusiasm for learning the ‘how’s’ and ‘whys’ of the world. Biology is a strength of mine as I still find it incredibly amazing to learn how things grow, about the small particles that are responsible for life and look forward to learning and researching more with young children. Animals or plants, it doesn’t matter what the subject as long as it is changing, growing or alive. The possibilities for learning are endless as the subjects have so much detail, and due to this amazing ability it is important to protect and conserve such wonders. The biggest strength I contain is the knowledge of importance when it comes to protecting what we have in the world today. Using natural resources, encouraging farming and using our own produce will be a high priority on the learning list as once something is gone or spoilt, it will never come back.

I do have limits to my teaching tolerances however as I believe outdoor education should be a priority, where all activities are performed surrounded by nature and in the fresh air. Inside activities such as set ‘group’ time is not of a high importance to me as I don’t believe it promotes or teaches specific lessons that could otherwise be included elsewhere. Firm beliefs have been engrained in me that old fashioned role play and toys where creative minds are required have a high educational value. Unfortunately I cannot say with as much confidence the same about some toys with set play subjects and no variety that leads the directional play instead of offer a blank canvas for choice. Having choice and endless opportunities are fantastic as one object can be the main attraction for many students and offer many learning focal points for the classroom. One of the strongest intolerances I have is books, while I agree and encourage reading and the need to learn literacy; I feel too many story books offer a lowered educational value. Fiction books do have a place in the centre for relaxing and a sense of make believe however the benefits I believe are in no comparison to nonfiction books where factual learning can be done. In my centre I will have many more nonfiction books available and encourage the love of research and learning to the students. I will not encourage the use of electronics, whether it be television or children’s tablets as I don’t see the value in brainless activities that has no learning value rather to use as a ‘babysitter’ when there are so many other options available to teach children all the time.

Port Folio Objective 3.2

Objective 3.2

Shows competence in observing & planning for literacy & numeracy experiences & environs, adapting to specific learner needs, interests & contexts.

Resource

The following URL is a direct link to the resource I am using for this objective http://himh.clients.squiz.net/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/2758/2-Equity-in-Early-Childhood-Education.pdf

The title of this article is equity in early childhood education and is written by Kylie Thomas who shares her concerns for fairness and rights in the classroom for children of all ages. The article is based around two fundamental rights that all children should have access to. The first is the opportunity to actually attend the early learning environment and the second is having the ability to participate within that location fairly and without judgement.

All children should have the right to attend school and learn the curriculum for use in everyday life; however attendance alone does not teach children the fundamentals of numeracy and literacy. Subject lessons are necessary for specific instruction in each topic, with emergent curriculum a successful way to learn through play and interest.

Modern society has large diversity of races and cultural backgrounds, with children of many different nationalities attending childcare together. Due to different beliefs children may find it difficult to feel included and participate in group activities. It is crucial to help these children feel confident and maximise their learning from the activities, however this can prove to be difficult as social groups share differently within their community and environments.

When programming the curriculum, it is important to have broad topics that are flexible and can be scaffolded around any opportunity and curiosity. The set-up of the room can also play a part in offering areas of interest and imagination where children can share their personal experiences and knowledge of the world. In order to increase the variety of subjects in the room, the activities can be moved around or changed completely within the week to encourage children to use their imaginations in a different way.

Such flexibility may include literacy subjects using different countries as a focus and therefore including the nationalities present in the class. Art and imaginative play can incorporate many different role playing experiences and creative moments into literacy subjects. Overall it is important to include a variety of cultural and social experiences for all children to partake in.

Participation not only includes joining in with learning activities but the decisions made around the child that directly involve how they are to be affected. Educators have a responsibility to included children in all matters and to provide a variety of activities in order to include all cultural differences. To have the best possible experiences with the new programs educators need to listen to the opinions and ideas of the children as well as observe the interactions between student and environment. The interpretations can be significantly different to the original outcome desired where children can take the activity and change it. In this situation sometimes it can be better to just continue with the new idea so as to keep the child’s interest and expand new horizons with emergent learning. Rather it would be wise to include conversation that inspires thoughts about equal opportunities and the similarities that connect with the differences in cultures and social groups.

The classroom needs to be a coherent and functioning area for children to learn at their best, where working together and learning about their peers individual characteristics enhances the most learning. The rights of the child are paramount and educational progress depends on the inclusion and belonging of the student and their family to the centre.

Port Folio Objective 3.1

Objective 3.1

Offers a careful interpretation & analysis of children’s early literacy/numeracy skills & interests.

Action Plan

This activity is using a simple recipe to follow and help children learn to interpret quantities of ingredients and understand precision when measuring. The following recipe is making your own mini pizzas with homemade dough and a variety of toppings. This will be a great activity for children to do with their parents as a bonding moment as well learning opportunity.

Bottom of Form

Make Your Own Mini Pizzas + Homemade Pizza Dough

Made by Georgia August 2, 2012

Pin ItPin ItPin ItPin ItPin ItPin It

Yield: Makes 18-20 mini pizzas / 2 balls pizza dough

Ingredients:

Mini Pizzas

1 ball refrigerated pizza dough, store bought or homemade (see recipe below)
1 cup pizza sauce or jarred pizza/pasta sauce
Your desired toppings (see below for ideas)

Topping Ideas
· Cheese: Mozzarella, Mexican cheese, Asiago, Parmesan, Romano, bleu cheese, feta, provolone
· Meat: Chicken, Italian sausage, bacon, ham, beef, chorizo, pepperoni, prosciutto, shrimp
· Vegetables: Tomatoes, artichokes, roasted red peppers, onions, green peppers, jalapenos, spinach, cherry tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, banana peppers, squash, sweet corn, peas, avocado
· Other: Pineapple chunks, black beans, fresh basil, garlic, sprouts, capers

Pizza Dough
1 (1/4 oz.) envelope yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Chopped dried herbs, such as basil, oregano or rosemary, optional

Directions:

Pizza Dough
Stir together yeast and warm water in a small bowl; set aside for 5 minutes.

Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and olive oil in a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Optionally, add dried herbs like basil, oregano or rosemary. Stir in the yeast water. Knead with the dough hook or by hand on a well floured surface for about 5 minutes. If using the stand mixer, once finished kneading, remove dough from bowl and shape into a large ball by hand.

Oil two bowls lightly with olive oil and set aside. Divide the dough into two pieces and roll into balls. Place each ball into the oiled bowls, seam side down, and coat the tops with a little olive oil. Top each bowl with plastic wrap or a clean, dry towel and place the dough in a warm place (I use an oven preheated to 250 degrees F, then turned off). Let rise 2 hours.

Once risen, either use immediately by turning dough out onto a floured surface and shaping. Or, wrap dough in plastic wrap, then a plastic bag, and freeze or refrigerate to use later.

To assemble pizzas:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick aluminum foil. Place pizza dough on a well-floured surface, press dough firmly with your fingers to shape, and stretch gently into a 12” x 8” rectangle.

With a round cutter, cut dough into 18-20 rounds; place rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Top each with pizza sauce, cheese, and your desired toppings.

Bake mini pizzas for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

__________________________________________________________________________________

The recipe above will not only be fun and enjoyable for children to make with their parents at home, but also provide an ideal learning experience for children to compare and calculate quantities, measurements and follow instructions. I believe this to be a form of emergent curriculum where children may show an interest in cooking or eating and parents can use this to extend the learning opportunities.

Reading the recipe and the ingredients will help children practice different forms of literacy by comparing the notes and following instructions. Children will need to make sure they complete each method in the correct order and can explore the reasons why they need to do so.

Numeracy is apparent in this exercise as children will need to measure in many forms. They will need to measure the quantities of ingredients to use and learn how to share them around the pizza. The levels of learning will depend on the age and ability of each child and you can extend the learning as you go. For beginners it is will be important to learn the comparisons between one tomato and one cup of diced tomatoes. This is a great example of learning standard units of measurement and non-standard units as there are endless possibilities for both. As the children become more advanced you can include harder measurements such as cups and ml. Using spoon measurements and whole quantities will help children understand size, but as the quantities get smaller and fractions are introduced having a visual experience will help children understand the sizes.

The main learning experience for children is visual and is increased with the large use of comparative vocabulary. The simple differences of more or less will help teach children many forms of literacy and numeracy. This exercise is fun and enjoyable for children of all ages and with the bonus emergent learning that comes from the experience and language used, children can learn methods of reading and measurement without even trying.

Port Folio Objective 2.3

Objective 2.3

Sources further information: developing &/or collecting resources for literacy & numerical teaching & learning.

Resource

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/73887250110425868/

This is an educational document that I was able to find on pinterest which contains the pictures and ma

tching labels detailing the butterfly life cycle. It appears to be the advertising of a matching pairs game with biology focus as well as both numeracy and literacy included in the educational lessons.

This will be beneficial to my teaching style as I am passionate about biology and learning facts about the world around us. It also shares literacy words that children may not come across in day to day life and offers opportunities to expand knowledge of words and research into potential words that are different but mean the same thing. For example we can look at the word ‘metamorphosis’ and examine what this word means and look for similar words, while another possibility is researching other animals that also use a form of metamorphosis in their growing and living.

Numeracy is also apparent in this game where orders of actions are very important and labelled in number order using 1^st, 2^nd etc. The lower picture shows a directional cycle where children can learn the clockwise direction as they move through the transformation of change. I would use the terminology and explore what other things travel in a circle direction leading the children through other natural directions and life cycles. 

Using the cyclic direction and terminology may lead to a discussion of the clock and time. We can also use the biology subject to tie it in as children need to learn about time durations and that some animals have different time lines and life expectancies. Using this simple learning game will help encourage and open up many opportunities for children to learn and reach out for subject expansion.