Activity Plan

Date: Tuesday, May 29, 2018 : Student Name: Heidi Beck___ _

Name of Experience: Fishing at the water table

Initial Observation:

Age(s) of Child(ren) [Year, Months]: 4 years, 6 months to 5 years, 3 months

During free play, three children were pretending that they were fishing.

The children were sitting on a low shelf holding string that had a piece of wood tied to the end. The piece of wood
was touching the floor and the children at different times would lift the wood off the floor. One child said, “we’re
fishing,” and another child responded with “Yes, I caught a fish” as they pulled up the piece of wood.

Interpretation:

Based on my observation, I can infer:

a) Interest(s): It can be inferred that the children are interested in fishing and playing together. I can also infer that
the children are interested in mixing materials together, as they had string tied to other objects from the room. It
appears that the children have a strong imagination, and enjoy dramatic play, as they were able to create their own
fishing rods as there were no rods in the classroom.

b) Strengths (describe 2)

Domain: Social Skill: Co-operating; the children were listening to each other and cooperating on where to play
and what to play. The children did not get mad at each other, as they played well together (BSEP,2007; OMEd,
2014).

Domain: Cognition Skill: Representation; by using materials in the room to make what they needed for their play
and then using what they had created to represent something else and then use it in the correct context (BSEP,2007;
OMEd, 2014).

c) Opportunities for growth (describe 2)

Domain: Communication, Language and Literacy Skill: Vocabulary; the children were able to use new words
during their play experience (BSEP,2007; OMEd, 2014).

Domain: Communication, Language and Literacy Skill: Listening to Others; during the observed play the
children were able to listen to each other and their responses to other children connected to what the other children

Adapted Humber College ITAL, ECE Department 2015-2016 1

had said (BSEP,2007; OMEd, 2014).

d) What type of play do the children demonstrate - [] Solitary? [] Onlooker? [] Parallel? [X] Associative?
[X] Cooperative? How do you know?

The children from the observation demonstrated associative play as they were involved with what each other were
doing, as all the children were fishing but there did not seem to be a set goal. There were also times when the play
was cooperative, as they were playing and communicating together, and some children helped other children make
their own fishing rods by getting the materials that they needed to make it.

e) Whom do the children play with? What did you notice about their interactions?

The children were playing together with no adult guidance or support and interacted with each other by doing the
same movement and talking about fishing. The children were on the same topic as they were all fishing and were
not talking about other things like driving a car or going on a treasure hunt. The children allowed each other to be
there and apart of the play, no child was told they could not fish all were welcome, and some had help in getting the
materials needed for a fishing rod.

Planned Response:

Based on the initial observation, reflection, and interpretation.

The plan is to set up the water table in the classroom to be a fishing experience, where the children will be able to
catch fish. This activity will make the water table a new and exciting activity and change it up a little for the
children.
I planned this experience because…

a) Interest(s): The children seemed to have an interest in fishing and also in using the water table (from other
observations) which supported the creation of this activity. By using two interests it will help engage the children
in the classroom by adding to the water table.

b) Strength used in the planned activity:

Domain: Social Skill: Co-operating; by being at the water table with other children the child will need to
cooperate by sharing the same space and materials. They will also be able to engage socially with other children
during the activity (BSEP,2007; OMEd, 2014).

c) Skill to improve through the planned activity:

Domain: Cognition Skill: Classifying; by being able to sort the fish by colour (BSEP,2007; OMEd, 2014).

d) With whom? Number of children? Why?

The planned activity is for the children in the room, and it will be for two to three children at a time, due to the
environmental teaching strategy already used in the classroom. Normally only two children are allowed at the water
table, however, considering that this is a new activity allowing a third child when a teacher is observing will allow

Adapted Humber College ITAL, ECE Department 2015-2016 2

more children to take part and less children will have to wait to have a turn.

e) Where will the experience take place (e.g. Indoors; Outdoors; Learning Area)? Why?
The experience will take place indoors at the classrooms indoor water table. The water table inside is used more
often during the day; however, when the weather outside is warmer the activity could also be implemented outside.

f) When will the experience take place? Consider: time of day; duration and frequency of implementation.
Why have you made these choices?
The experience will be set up in the morning, so that it can be available for the whole day to allow children the
opportunity to use it as they please.

g) What materials and resources will you use? Why will you use them?
I will need to make magnetic fish to be able to implement this activity. To do this I will make a tracer and trace a
number of fish onto coloured paper. The fish will be cut out and then taped to make them water proof. A paperclip
will be added and taped to each fish to make them magnetic. The fishing rod will be a stick with a string attached to
one end, and on the other end of the string a magnet will be attached.

h) What is your role? What one (1) teaching strategy will you use? How will you use it? Why will you use
it?
My role will be to observe and supervise the children at first, to make sure that they are safely using the fishing
rods. Teaching strategies that I will use include silence, by not talking when observing the children. This will allow
the children to talk to each other during their play and be less engaged with an adult. I will also use environmental
cues as a teaching strategy to help show the children how many can play at a time. There will be three rods
available to use, which shows children the three people can fish at a time and that if all the rods are being used they
are going to have to wait to have a turn.
My plan is responsive inclusive because…
i) Foundation for Learning and Development (describe 1); NOTE: You must refer to “How Does Learning
Happen” to support your plan:
Foundation for Learning and Development: Engagement
Connection to Plan: The activity will support engagement, by engaging children at the water table by setting the
area up in a new way for the children. Through engaging the children, they will be able to learn, as they explore
how to fish through play and inquiry (OMEd, 2014).

j) Elements of responsive inclusive practice (choose and describe two elements):

[X] The value of play: This activity values play as the children are not told what to do, they can take it upon
themselves to play and explore the materials how they feel fit.
[] Diversity:
[] The value of relationships:
[X] Development (individual; variations; holistic): Children that take part in this activity are able to develop a

Adapted Humber College ITAL, ECE Department 2015-2016 3

number of skills such as coordination and colour recognition as well as sorting.

k) Adaptions and modifications include: The fish do not need to be in water, they can be placed on a table and
the children can try to pick them up with the magnet. The children can also sort the fish by colour to develop an
understanding of sorting.

Follow-up & Reflection:

a) What did you see? What did you hear? What does it mean? I saw children using the rod and trying to catch
a fish in the water. Children were also seen picking up fish with their hands and placing them in a bucket. Children
were heard saying, “I caught a redfish,” “Hey, I caught a bluefish.” This means that the children are able to identify
colours and have the coordination to use a tool to pick something up with a magnet. Later on, I saw children
wanting to take the fish home. Instead, we made more of the same fish that they could take home. Other children
wanted their own fish, so they traced the fish and one child added tape to her fish to make it look like the fish I
made for the activity.

b) How did your planned response support your anticipated focus? Refer back to your Planned Response
(interests, strengths and opportunities for growth).
The activity supported my focus as the children were able to fish at the water table. The activity required the
children to cooperate, as they needed to leave the fish in the water and use the fishing rod, as some children did not
like it when other children used their hand to get the fish. The activity also supported the development of
classification, as the children were able to sort the fish by colours or state the colour of the fish they had caught.

c) What did you learn about responsive inclusive planning (e.g. about children’s abilities and skills; group
size; material choices; use of time/space; environmental considerations; etc.)?
I learned that the children were able to figure out what to do with no support, some children did need to be
reminded to share the fish and to let other children have a turn. Having three children was good as more children
got a turn to participate at a time, but when the activity is no longer new it would be best for there to only be two
children due to the size and number of fish. Doing the activity in the morning was a great idea as the children were
able to do something new and exciting when they arrived for the day.

d) What might you do differently next time you engage in a similar experience? Next time, I would laminate
the fish to make them more durable. I would also do this activity outside as the water table is bigger and would
allow up to four children to participate at a time. I would have used string instead of elastic for the fishing line so
that the magnets do not fly back if they get stuck on something. To help develop the children’s classification skills,
I would have buckets that are the same colour as the fish (orange, purple, blue, etc.). When a child catches a fish,
they have to put the fish in the bucket that is the same colour as the fish they just caught.

Adapted Humber College ITAL, ECE Department 2015-2016 4

 Pictures of the fish that I made for the water table activity.

References

Ontario Ministry of Education (2014). Excerpts from “ELECT”. Toronto: Queen’s Printer for
Canada. [NOTE: Original publication prepared by the Best Start Expert Panel, 2007]. Retrieved
from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/ExcerptsFromELECT.pdf
Ontario Ministry of Education (2014). How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the
Early Years. Toronto: Queen’s Printer for Canada. Retrieved
from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/HowLearningHappens.pdf

Adapted Humber College ITAL, ECE Department 2015-2016 5