In the unit, “Curricular Issues,” Paciorek (2016) asserts that teachers have a role to inspire, encourage and influence children in the learning process. God’s love enables teachers to assist the children. The Bible states that we should love one another. The teacher should use questions so that children can learn about the world from different perspectives. Questions and discussions assist children to learn from practical experiences as well as relate the information to the immediate environment. In particular, appropriate literacy skills, scientific, social, and numeracy experiences are necessary for a child’s future success. Early childhood education is the foundation for future success in school and society.
The first principle concerning curricular issues relates to social studies. The teacher should introduce social studies as part of the curriculum. Interactions with peers, teachers, and members of the society enable children to understand strategies they can use to ask and request for assistance. Social development also involves informing children about social diversity. God created human beings in His image. Children should understand that no child should be discriminated against. The teacher should explain to the children the diverse cultures, races, and religions so that tolerance towards other children in the classroom does not become a major challenge (The National Institute for Play, 2014).
The second principle involves the use of photographs and illustrations as instructional materials. Curriculum development about kindergarten children should focus on photographs and illustrations. The teacher is not required to concentrate on recitations and role learning. Reading passages is not a suitable method of teaching children. When discussing any text in the classroom, the teacher must use illustrations and diagrams.
The third principle in curricular issues relates to the introduction of practical skills. The teacher should introduce practical experiences so that a child’s motor skills that necessitate coordination are achieved. Activities such as painting, drawing, playing and other hands-on experiences enable a child to develop fine motor skills necessary for coordination. Motor skills relate to coordination of the whole arm, whole hand, pincer, and pincer coordination.
The last principle relates to the availability of choices. The teacher should avail of choices. The freedom to choose what to read enables a child to be motivated in the learning process. As a result, the teacher obtains an opportunity of matching each child to a text they can read. The teacher ensures that a child’s needs and desires based on text preferences are considered.
Internet References summary
Social studies for Kids
“SocialStudiesforKids” is a site with articles and links. Teachers benefit from subjects on social studies so that they focus on practices that improve a child’s learning. Also, focus on teachers and parents ensures that there is an understanding of the relationship between culture and education. Links to articles on cultures, holidays, languages, and religion are necessary so that teachers and parents understand the relationship between social aspects of society and a child’s growth. Research papers published by scholars about the role of social studies in the education of children can be obtained by teachers and policymakers so that evidence-based practice is adopted (Socialstudiesforkids, 2016).
International Reading Association (IRA)
IRA is concerned about the improvement of reading instructions. IRA commissions research on reading so that teachers and professionals understand curriculum approaches necessary for children in school. The need to encourage the habit of reading also motivates the IRA to improve reading instructions so that children are encouraged to read as many texts as possible that can develop literacy and reading skills. The organization also ensures that over 50,000 members have access to research papers at a discounted fee. IRA also ensures that researchers, educators, and others receive research grants so that they can introduce new practices into the teaching profession (IRA, 2016).
International Children’s Digital Library (ICDL)
ICDL supports children in all parts of the world to be part of the global community that respects and tolerates other cultures, languages, and ideas. The organization is concerned with children’s literature that is available through the online digital library database. Children worldwide can access resources from the library without any charges or costs. A digital library that contains children’s books from all parts of the world is necessary so that communities of children and adults are supported (ICDL, 2016).
Busy Teacher’s Café
Busy Teacher’s Café is a large resource site for teachers. The organization ensures that the enormous size of information on the internet is shifted so that teachers and educators locate appropriate information useful for practical teaching situations. The need to avoid relying on irrelevant information from the internet is achieved through efforts by the organization to classify relevant information in one site. The organization as a resource site enables teachers to locate research articles as well as instructional materials necessary for effective teaching without relying on unclassified information readily available on the internet (Busyteacherscafe, 2016).
References List
Busyteacherscafe. (2016). About Me. Web.
ICDL. (2016). Mission Statement. Web.
IRA. (2016). About Us. Web.
Paciorek, K. M. (2016). Annual editions: Early childhood education (36th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Web.
Socialstudiesforkids. (2016). Subjects. Web.
The National Institute for Play. (2014). The Institute. Web.