Reflective Analysis of Portfolio Artifact

Rationale/Reflection
NAEYC Standard:
STANDARD 5. USING CONTENT KNOWLEDGE TO BUILD MEANINGFUL
CURRICULUM
Candidates prepared in early childhood degree programs use their knowledge of academic
disciplines to design, implement, and evaluate experiences that promote positive development
and learning for each and every young child. Candidates understand the importance of
developmental domains and academic (or content) disciplines in early childhood curriculum.
They know the essential concepts, inquiry tools, and structure of content areas, including
academic subjects, and can identify resources to deepen their understanding. Candidates use their
own knowledge and other resources to design, implement, and evaluate meaningful, challenging
curriculum that promotes comprehensive developmental and learning outcomes for every young
child.
(NAEYC, 2010)
Brief Description of Evidence:
During my ECED 235 Preschool Practicum course, in the spring of 2013 I produced
multiple lesson plans that taught a variety of subject areas within the classroom. The two lesson
plans that I chose to display are teaching math, social studies, science, as well as using fine and
gross motor skills. For these two lesson plans I had my children go on a nature scavenger hunt
where they searched for multiple items on a list and then we played mosquito tag. In this game
children had to use stickers to tag their friends and then at the end of the time they had to count
how many each friend had and compare who had bigger numbers and who had smaller ones.
These activities worked on the childrens cognitive, physical, and mental developmental skills.
Analysis of What I Learned:
As a result of completing these assignments I learned how to incorporate multiple subject
areas into my lesson plans. I learned how to create a well diverse classroom curriculum and
implement the knowledge that I have gained in my classes at Ivy Tech into my own classroom as
a teacher. I was able to create these activities by thinking through Gardners theory of the
different ways that children learn and how I could make these subject matters fun for all types of
learners. In writing these plans I had to take into account all of the different learners I have in my
classroom.
How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence on the NAEYC Standard:
By completing this assignment I was able to use my knowledge of academic disciplines
to design, implement, and evaluate experiences that promote positive development and learning
for each and every young child in the classroom by creating lesson plans that understand the
value of developmentally appropriate assessments within the classroom. I am competent in my
ability to utilize different styles of learning in order to reach all children. I was able to take the
knowledge that I have gained throughout my early childhood education courses and provide
hands on learning activities for the children in my class.