10/15/15

I.

II.

Observation 2:
Planning
Grade:
Preschool

III.

Students:
6 boys, 4 girls

IV.

Setting:
Preschool classroom at the Childrens Campus on R.V.C.C

V.

VI.

Pre-Observation
The purpose of this observation was to talk with and ask the cooperating teacher what
planning techniques they use. Within this conversation you also ask for examples of the
plans to further explain your findings. Many of the questions I asked were, What is it
you do to plan? Is there a set curriculum you follow? How does your planning
session work? Do you plan daily, weekly, or by month? Is there a yearly sequence
used for the age level? Are the children involved in the planning? When do you
submit your plans to the director? With these observations I can learn how the process
of planning works for a teacher and what techniques I may use in the future. I also
looked out for any changes that I would make if I were the teacher during the planning.

Data:
My cooperating teacher uses the Creative Curriculum for Preschool for her planning
techniques. (See Appendix I). This is the yearly sequence each of the teachers use for the age
levels. Within this creative curriculum there are different skills and objectives that the children
are expected to learn before they enter kindergarten. Each set of objectives deal with
social-emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, mathematics, science and technology,
social studies, arts and English language acquisition skills. To help children learn these skills,
there are different centers set up in the classroom that each deal with a specific skill set. For
example, to help the children explore drama through actions and language, there is a dramatic
play center. Here they can dress up as a fireman, policeman, or a business man. There are props
such as a fire hat, flashlight and computer to help children to act as each of these professions.
Since I wasn't able to attend a common planning meeting I asked the teacher how her planning
session works. She doesnt have planning meetings but will meet separately with different age
level teachers to coordinate their plans. She wants to make sure theyre not repeating anything
and that there is variety in each of their plans. The teacher plans weekly and has two plans she

uses. (See Appendix II and III). Her weekly plans arent set in stone and could change at
anytime. If this occurs she will just rearrange the lessons from a different week to the current
week. For example, during the week of 10/5-10/9 the students were supposed to learn about fire
safety. A firefighter was going to come with his firetruck. However this did not happen so the
teacher moved this lesson to the following week and stuck with the routine plans she had. Other
changes that occur with the planning are changes to the environment. The classroom has eleven
different centers set up. There are blocks, dramatic play, toys and games, art, library, discovery,
sand and water, music and movement, cooking, computers and an outdoor setting. Each setting
is set up the same way for about three to four weeks. After this time the teacher will make
different changes to the centers. For example, the sand and water center consists of a huge bowl
filled with sand or water. For a couple weeks the bowl will be filled with sand and the children
can use measuring tools and cooking implements. When the bowl is filled there are tubes and
cylinders that the children can play with. In the arts center children can make different collages.
The materials they use vary every few weeks with clay, construction paper, stencils, glue, pom
poms, or colored feathers. In the mathematics area, different games are put out to help the
children with counting. The childrens interests do impact planning a lot. If the teacher sees the
children are not interested in a certain activity she will get rid of it and decide not to go through
with it for that day. She also allows for show and tell each week which involves the children and
their parents. For example, the children can bring in their favorite book from home or a picture
of their family. Their parents will also come in to tell the other children what their occupation is
and will come in uniform if they have one. The day I observed one of the parents were telling
the children about being a nurse and she had her nurses uniform on. The teacher doesnt have to
send in her plans to the director for approval. The director will pop into the classroom to see
whats going on and if she sees anything she does not like then shell talk to the teacher
privately.
VII.

Analysis:
From what I observed, the effects of the planning seem to be very positive. The children
enjoy each of their time at each center. For them learning is fun, and that is something I feel
strongly about. I believe that improvisation plays a big part in planning and the teacher does a
good job with changing up the plans.

VIII.

Recommendations:
One technique that preschool teacher Amanda Morgan recommends is having a checklist
for parents of children to fill out. There are certain skill sets that the children need to achieve for
the year. As you begin to plan out your preschool curriculum for the year, it helps to know
where your children are developmentally so that you know where you want to go. You write
them out on a piece of paper and then give the checklist for the parent to keep at home. The
parent then sees if at home they have acquired the skill sets that they learn in the classroom. I

believe this is a nice way to see if the children can take what theyve learned in the classroom
and use it at home. I know that the teacher at the preschool I observe does talk with the parents
if there have been any problems and if changes need to be made but thats all they discuss. With
this method they would be able to see what the child really needs to work on and can approach
them in the classroom and also at home. Its a great way to see if the child has acquired all the
knowledge they need before going on to the next level.
IX.

Citation:
Know Where Youre Going-Using a Developmental Checklist as a Guide. (n.d.).
Retrieved October 15, 2015).

X.

Appendix I:

XI.

Appendix II:

XII. Appendix III: