Term 1
Healthy Lifestyle
For the first term of the year, the theme for all classes in Athena Atelier was Healthy Lifestyle. The Nursery 1 children covered the topic of Personal Hygiene, specifically Brushing Your Teeth. The children did a fun activity where they learnt the proper ways of brushing their teeth by trying it on a life size model. They also threw balls with different images on them representing healthy and unhealthy food, to see if these foods will stick to their teeth. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves during the activity and were able to answer questions on the topic when asked.
Term 2
Farm Animals
The Nursery 1 children did the topic of Farm Animals in Term 2. A math lesson was done and the children were required to separate the farm animals based on the activity card chosen from the two decks presented. For example, if the child were to choose one card that says “3 chickens” and another that says “5 ducks”, the child will have to pick out 3 chickens and 5 ducks from a pile of animals and paste it onto the worksheet. This activity teaches children to count up to ten and also identify and differentiate between the animals. The children enjoyed the activity and displayed their work proudly on the bulletin board in the classroom.
Term 3
Shapes
The children in the Nursery 1 class covered the topic of Shapes this term. The children did a group art activity where they made an object out of the 4 basic shapes – squares, triangles, rectangles, and circles. After they completed the activity, they coloured their object and presented it to the class. Their work was also presented on the class bulletin board. The children were seen proudly showing off their work to parents when they came for the term’s Parent Teacher Meeting.
Term 3 Lesson Overview
Shapes
Lesson Rationale
Why was this lesson crafted?
This lesson was crafted based on the children’s new interest of vehicles, while incorporating the concept of shapes. This activity also promotes group discussions which allow the children to interact with one another and work on their language and social emotional skills as well.
Lesson Objectives
What we hope for the children to be able to accomplish by the end of the lesson.
Objective #1
Children will be able to use different materials and paste them onto a board to make an object.
Objective #2
Children will be able to identify the shapes they use in the collage.
Term 3 Lesson Video
The teaching techniques shown in this lesson are Scaffolding and Facilitation. Scaffolding was presented when one of the children, Kevin, had wrongly identified a square for a rectangle. According to MacNaughton & Williams, 2009, there are 6 steps to scaffolding. These 6 steps include a less knowledgeable child learning from a more knowledgeable one, followed by him carrying out the activity independently, becoming the more knowledgeable one and teaching someone else. Facilitation refers to the preparation of materials and providing children with verbal and non-verbal cues. Additionally, the teacher should ensure that the environment is appropriate for the lesson.
Teaching Techniques Presented
Facilitation
Video timestamp 1:03-1:32
One of the teaching techniques presented in the video is the teaching technique of facilitation. According to MacNaughton & Williams (2008), facilitation refers to selecting materials and providing verbal and non-verbal instructions to the children.
In the video, the teacher is shown introducing materials that have been prepared before the class had started. These materials included cut-outs of the four shapes that will be used during the activity, glue sticks, a board and colour pencils for the children to creatively express themselves. The teacher also explains the activity the children will be doing to them verbally and also uses non-verbal instructions such as demonstrating to stick the cut-outs on the board provided.
Scaffolding
Video timestamp 2:34-3:30
The teaching technique of scaffolding was presented in the video. According to MacNaughton & Williams (2008), scaffolding refers to the process where a more competent peer or adult helps a less competent child to become more competent and eventually function independently of the original person’s help.
In the video, the children seemed to be having a disagreement on which shape was a rectangle. One of the children, Hannah (pseudonym), informed the other child, Ken, that the piece of paper he had picked up was not a rectangle but a square. The teacher intervened and let the children explain why they feel that it was a square or a rectangle. After explaining, Ken was able to independently identify which shape was a rectangle and the children continued to work on their collage.
