The Instant Curriculum, Revised: Over 750 Developmentally Appropriate Learning Activities for Busy Teachers of Young Children

Overview

The Instant Curriculum is a resource for teachers who create and implement comprehensive early childhood programs. The new and revised edition of this book contains many brand new activities. Activities are designed to encourage the development of skills and practice specific concepts. This book reduces both the amount of time teachers spend in preparation, and the amount of money spent for purchasing supplies. The chapters in this book represent the primary domains included in a comprehensive early childhood ...

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Overview

The Instant Curriculum is a resource for teachers who create and implement comprehensive early childhood programs. The new and revised edition of this book contains many brand new activities. Activities are designed to encourage the development of skills and practice specific concepts. This book reduces both the amount of time teachers spend in preparation, and the amount of money spent for purchasing supplies. The chapters in this book represent the primary domains included in a comprehensive early childhood curriculum. Each chapter begins with an overview providing the basic philosophy behind that particular curriculum area. This book will be an essential tool for new teachers, and a useful resource for teachers who may have the first edition of The Instant Curriculum.

Special features of this book:

  • The focus on concepts and skills provides a flexible format that allows teachers to select activities that strengthen a specific skill for one or many children.
  • Teachers can customize an activity to match curriculum themes. For example, the "Pasting Sets" activity in the Math chapter can be changed from pasting circles and squares to pasting sets of cats and dogs for an Animal theme
  • Activities are assigned to a specific area, but are not limited to that area. For example, to develop the concept of four (Math curriculum area), a teacher using an integrated approach will provide opportunities to clap-count four (Music & Movement), to collect four leaves on a nature walk (Science) or to use four colors on a collage (Art).
  • Activities for Teachable Moments are interspersed throughout the book.
  • Special sections on Transitions and Family Connections are included.
  • A chapter on problem solving and critical thinking focuses on the potential application of these skills to all areas of learning and life.
  • Chapters on literacy and math are in sub-divided into skill areas. In both cases, activities move in a developmental continuum that, if used in order, allows children to build from easier skills to more complex skills. Teachers will be able to use these activities to meet literacy, language, and math expectations.

The Instant Curriculum emphasizes allowing children to learn at their own level of development and progress accordingly. The book also encourages teachers to provide choices for children to make and to allow children to experiment and discover. In this way, young children will develop skills in independent learning and will feel confident in their ability. Learning will become an interesting process that continues for a lifetime.

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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780876590027
  • Publisher: Gryphon House, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 5/1/2005
  • Edition description: Revised
  • Pages: 576
  • Sales rank: 872,269
  • Product dimensions: 8.00 (w) x 11.00 (h) x 0.80 (d)

Meet the Author

Pam Schiller, Ph.D., is an early childhood author, consultant, and highly sought after speaker. She has written numerous articles for early childhood journals, including Child Care Information Exchange and Texas Child Care Quarterly. Pam is the author of five early childhood curriculums, eleven children's books and more than 30 teacher and parent resource books. Joan Rossano began her career in education as a public school teacher. Since then, she has worked as a department chair, established a private school and day care center in Firewood, TX, and founded and directed the Child Development Laboratory School in her hometown of Alvin, TX.
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Table of Contents

Ch. 1 Bringing the inside out - self-expression through art 21
Drawing 22
Painting 25
Designs 29
Prints 34
Collages 37
Sculpting and molding 40
Art and crafts recipes 43
Ch. 2 A pot, a pan, and a wooden spoon - cooking 49
No-cook recipes 51
Toaster oven/oven recipes 57
Refrigerator/freezer recipes 59
Hot plate/electric skillet/popper recipes 60
Ch. 3 The magic of make believe - dramatic play 63
Imaginative play 66
Creative play 72
Ch. 4 Expanding horizons - language and literacy 77
Listening 80
Oral language 86
Phonological awareness 94
Letter knowledge and recognition 99
Print awareness 107
Comprehension 117
Ch. 5 First things first - making math meaningful 121
Free exploration 123
Spatial relationships 126
Classification 130
Patterning 138
One-to-one correspondence 145
Ordering 149
Numeration 154
Shapes 163
Measurement 165
Graphs 169
Fractions 172
Ch. 6 The universal language - music and movement 173
Songs 174
Chants 178
Creative movement 180
Moving freely 185
Music makers 185
Dances 187
Games 190
Ch. 7 Building muscle mastery - physical development 193
Gross motor 195
Fine motor 202
Ch. 8 The wonder of wonder - science 209
Air 211
Water 217
Force and motion 221
Simple tools 229
Light and color 231
Weather and seasons 236
Senses 239
Change of state 242
Plants 243
Animals 249
Ch. 9 Everyone's a piece of the puzzle - social studies 255
Feeling good about me 256
Understanding and controlling emotions 259
My family 261
Sharing and cooperating 262
Participating and contributing 263
Likenesses and differences 264
Community workers and friends 266
Concepts of time 268
Environmental awareness 269
Health and safety 272
Ch. 10 Preparing for the future - critical thinking and problem solving 279
Critical thinking and problem solving 281
Ch. 11 Adapting to change - transitions 289
Transitions 290
Ch. 12 Keeping connected - families as partners 295
Families as partners 296
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