Imagine you are an early childhood teacher. Your task is to design lessons/activ
Imagine you are an early childhood teacher. Your task is to design lessons/activities that will support positive cultural identity development for the children in your class. Follow the steps below:
Step One:
Read the bio’s of each of the children listed on the Biography Sheets and choose a group of children (Class A, B, C,or D). These children make up your “class”. Choose one child in your classroom to focus on. Choose a child that is not of the same race and ethnicity as you. Consider questions such as: What strengths might the child possess? What challenges might they be facing? (You do not need to turn this part in.) It may help to highlight key words and make notes.
Step Two:
Using your readings, notes from class, articles shared in class, or any other important materials, research early childhood activities that support children’s positive cultural identity development. (For example, if you have a child who just moved to the US, you may include books in the library in their family’s primary language, or invite their family to share their traditions with the class.) You may “borrow” a lesson from your resources, design your own, or duplicate a lesson from another class or your own experiences. You are not graded on the quality of the lessons/activities (I know you are not all seasoned teachers), but rather how well the activities address diversity and cultural identity issues.
Step Three:
Create an activity plan for your class, with your chosen child in mind keeping anti-bias goals in mind. You must use the provided PDF Activity Plan Template.
If you do not submit your assignment using this template, your submission will not be graded until you do. I have provided sample assignment submissions below to help guide your own thinking. Here is the Activity Plan Template in Word format.
Focus Child
Curriculum Area
Name of Activity
Materials Required
(Include at least two books relating to the activity)
Facilitation
How will you introduce the activity?
What will you expect the children to do?
How will you support the children?
Step Four:
Upload your completed activity plan pages to Canvas for credit.
***Tips to Remember:
The activity should encourage positive cultural identity development.
It is not enough to say, “Jennie likes blocks, so I’ll set out blocks.” Instead, consider how the blocks could inspire a cultural identity activity specific to Jennie, and valuable to other children as well. For example, could you discuss different homes (apartments, trailers, houses, shelters) and encourage the children to build them from blocks? Could you read books on different families who may live in these homes? This would address family structure. Could you add a book on homes and families in other countries/cultures? You get the idea…
