Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
Department of Teaching and Learning
ECED-GE 2314 Social Studies and Science for the Young Child
Fall 2011, Thursdays, 4:55-6:25 pm
25 West 4th, Room C7
Rebecca Light
[email protected]
East Building, 2nd Floor
314 324 4902 (cell phone)
212 992 9481 (office phone)
Office hours: Mondays and Tuesdays from 2:00-5:00 and by appointment
COURSE OVERVIEW:
This course will explore the goals of early childhood science and social studies: two important content
areas which deal with the changing nature of the child's world, its inhabitants, and how the child interacts
with both. Emphasis will be on developing curriculum appropriate for young children's abilities and
interests, as well as utilization of local environmental and community resources. Students will participate in
and design activities based on the tenets of emergent curriculum and inquiry-based learning.
COURSE TEXTS AND READINGS:
Brooks, J.G. (2011). Big Science for Growing Minds: Constructivist Classrooms for Young Thinkers. New York,
NewYork: Teachers College Press.
Copple, C., Bredekamp, S. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood
Programs, 3rd edition. Washington, DC. NAEYC
Diamond, Julie (2008). Welcome to the Aquarium: A Year in the Lives of Children. New York: The New
Press.
Fraser-Abder, P. (2011) Teaching Emerging Scientists: Fostering Scientific Inquiry with Diverse
Learners in Grades K-2. New York: Pearson Education
**Additional readings to be posted on Blackboard**
COURSE OUTCOMES:
As a result of participating in this course, students will be able to:
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Plan integrated curriculum that builds on children's developmental abilities.
Develop emergent curriculum that reflects the interests of children using learning theory and
curriculum models discussed in ECED-GE 2037.
Plan curriculum that integrates social studies and science with age and grade-level standards.
Develop curriculum that integrates literacy and the arts with social studies and science.
Develop curriculum that utilizes local resources and community-based resources.
Design learning experiences outside of the classroom that support and enrich classroom activities.
Use differentiated instruction to reach diverse learners within emergent curriculum.
Embed ample opportunities to support the linguistic growth of English Language Learners within
the integrated curriculum.
SPECIAL NOTICE TO ALL STUDENTS:
The Lucy Moses Center for Students with Disabilities provides comprehensive services and programs for
undergraduate and graduate students with hearing and visual impairments, mobility impairments, learning
disabilities and attention deficit disorders, chronic illness and psychological impairments. The Moses
Center functions to determine qualified disability status and to assist students in obtaining appropriate
accommodations and services. Services provided are designed to encourage independence and selfadvocacy, backed by a comprehensive system of support.
619 Broadway, 2nd floor, Phone and TTY: 212-998-4980 http://www/nyu.edu/csd
Class Policies and Etiquette
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Students with special needs will be accommodated per NYU’s policy.
Students are responsible for ALL information conveyed through NYU email - you should check it
at least once every 24 hours.
Students are responsible for adhering to NYU’s policy on plagiarism.
Students are expected to come to each class except in cases of illness and family emergencies. All
absences must be cleared with the professor. Two unexcused absences will result in a drop of half
a grade. (Ex: an A- would become a B+)
Students are expected to arrive on time. Two late arrivals or early exits=1 unexcused absence.
Students are expected to remain in class for the full hour and 30 minutes except in cases of medical
or personal emergency.
ALL cell phone use is prohibited. Use of computers is STRICTLY limited to note taking.
Violations will result in a drop in grade.
Students can feel free to eat during class as long as it doesn’t interfere with participation.
Expectations of the Professor
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Professor will arrive on time and prepared for each class.
Professor will present material in a variety of ways to reach diverse learning styles.
Professor will present and explain assignments at least three weeks before the due date.
Professor will make all important documents available on Blackboard as well as post all reading
assignments at least a week before they are due.
Professor will make reading assignments outside of the primary texts accessible to students at least
a week before they are due.
Professor will be available to answer questions readily over email, during office hours, on the
phone, or during appointments scheduled outside office hours. Emails and voicemails will be
responded to within 24 hours.
Professor will present clear expectations for written assignments.
Professor will hear out all requests for extensions and/or other exceptions and grant these at her
discretion.
Professor will give feedback on assignments in a timely fashion - within one week for all
assignments.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS:
Weekly Read Alouds (10 points)
One or two students will be assigned each week to bring in a science or social studies-related book. You
will read the book aloud and share with the class how you think this book could be used with young
children. Be sure to consider what age child you would use this book with. You can borrow a book from
your placement, use one you own, or come see me for a suggestion or to borrow one of mine. Before you
present the book, please email me the title, author, illustrator, and a short paragraph describing
the book. I will be posting these so everyone will leave the class with an annotated bibliography.
Lesson Plans and Implementation (25 points)
On 10/13 and 10/20 you will be presenting and conducting science/social studies lessons that you and
your group develop. More details on this assignment will be given as it gets closer. Please note: You will be
responsible for gathering all materials to conduct these lessons with the class, but you will NOT be required to spend a penny.
Anything that you do not have or cannot get from your CT, I will obtain for you.
Field Trip Paper (20 points)
On 11/17 you will have a paper due that will require you to visit a possible field trip site and do some
research to find out how to plan a field trip to that site with young children. You will write up your
findings in the format provided on the assignment sheet.
Final Inquiry-Based Project (35 points)
As a culminating activity, you will be designing a final inquiry-based unit plan. This will begin with YOU
engaging in your own inquiry and then using what you learn to create activities around this topic for young
children. You will be presenting your findings and ideas to the class during our final sessions.
This assignment will be completed in pieces throughout the semester:
9/15 Inquiry Question (5 points)
9/29 Data Collection Plan (5 points)
11/3 Data Collection Report (5 points)
12/1 Draft of Unit Plan (5 points)
12/15 Final Inquiry Project Plan (15 points)
Participation (10 points)
As is clear from above, many of your assignments are presentations. Your participation grade will be
determined by how much you contribute to class discussions, as well as how enthusiastically you participate
in and respond to your colleagues’ presentations. Additionally, this is a very hands-on class and not a
lecture course. Learning to teach young children is about DOING rather than HEARING, so you are
expected to participate in activities that may be a little out of your comfort zone, but the class provides a
safe and productive environment to do so.
GRADING
Weekly Read Alouds
Lesson Plans and Implementation
Field Trip Paper
Final Inquiry Project
Participation
10%
25%
20%
35%
10%
** Exceptional participation will result in grades being rounded up if they fall in between.
STRUCTURE OF MEETINGS
Each session will begin with a class meeting. This consists of presentations of designated read-alouds by
your colleagues. This will be followed by a 15-30 minute discussion of the readings, your field experiences,
and the guiding question for each week that is indicated below. These questions may change throughout
the semester as our group becomes curious about different topics. The rest of each session will be devoted
to one of three things:
1.
An early childhood activity led by the instructor that pertains to an important integrated
content area for science and social studies. (See “Content Topic”) After participation in the
lesson, we will deconstruct the steps to design the lesson and discuss its use in larger curricular
units.
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Presentations of lesson plans, field trip designs, and unit plans by your colleagues.
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A guest speaker that will engage you in activities and interactive discussion.
Although guiding questions and topics are assigned to particular weeks, all themes and ideas will
come up consistently throughout the semester.
COURSE CALENDAR
Below is a tentative outline of topics for the course and due dates of important assignments. Weekly
reading assignments will be posted on Blackboard each Wednesday (to be due the NEXT Thursday) so
make sure to check every week. Reading assignments will also be announced in class. Anything that is not
out of the course texts will be distributed in class or posted on Blackboard well in advance.
9/8
Introduction to Course
Guiding Question: Where do we find science and social studies curriculum?
Activity: Outisde Our Window
9/15
Emergent Curriculum in Science and Social Studies, Part One
Guiding Question: How do your educational and cultural beliefs and experiences impact how you
teach science and social studies?
Content Topic: Cooking, Chemistry, and Culture I
Inquiry Question Due
9/22
Emergent Curriculum in Science and Social Studies, Part Two
Guiding Question: How do the lives of your children create the curriculum and how does the
curriculum impact their lives inside and outside of school?
Content Topic: Cooking, Chemistry, and Culture II
9/29
Inquiry-Based Learning, Part One
Guiding Question: How do we turn children’s interests and questions into learning experiences in and
out of the classroom?
Preparing for our outdoor field experience- Workshop with Mary Leou
Data Collection Plan Due
10/6
CLASS TO BE HELD AT FIELD LOCATION
Inquiry-Based Learning, Part Two
Guiding Question: How do we use children’s interest as a starting point to scaffold them to new
levels of thinking?
10/13 Assessment and Observation, Part One
Guiding Question: How can we organize lessons and integrated units to include ongoing
opportunities for assessment?
Content Topic: Living Things in Our Neighborhood I
LESSON PLAN PRESENTATIONS
10/20 Assessment and Observation, Part Two
Guiding Question: How can we use what we learn from assessment of children’s growth to build on
our emergent curriculum?
Content Topic: Living Things in Our Neighborhood II
LESSON PLAN PRESENTATIONS
10/27 Long-Term Planning, Part One
Guiding Question: How do we design our learning environment to lend itself to emergent curriculum
in science and social studies?
Guest Speaker: Julie Diamond
11/3
Long-Term Planning, Part Two
Guiding Question: How do we include families consistently in our emergent curriculum?
Content Activity: Exploring Geography with Young Children
Data Collection Report Due
11/10 Designing Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom
Guiding Question: How can we seamlessly blend learning experiences outside the classroom with our
classroom curriculum?
Content Activity: The Local Environment Labratory I
Preparing for our outdoor field experience- Workshop with Mary Leou
11/17 CLASS TO BE HELD AT FIELD LOCATION
Guiding Question: Same as last week.
Content Activity: The Local Environment Labratory II
Outdoor Field Experience
12/1
Using Community Resources for Instruction and Long Term Planning
Guiding Question: How do we connect to the community through our emergent curriculum?
Guest Speaker: Dr. Pamela Fraser-Abder
Draft of Unit Plan Due
12/8
Unit Presentations
Guiding Question: Revisiting the content standards - how do our units achieve these standards?
12/15 Complete Unit Presentations and Wrapping Up
Final Unit Plan Due