Activity Plan

Preliminary Information:

Name of Student Educator: Britannia MacDonald

Curriculum Area: Language Developmental Domain: Cognitive

Descriptive Title of Activity: Letter Treasure

Indoor Activity

Age of Children: 2 ½ – 4

Date of Implementation: November 2, 2017

Resources Used to Prepare Plan (in APA format):

Letter Hunt for Early Literacy. (2016, February 22). Busy Toddler. Retrieved from
http://busytoddler.com/2016/02/letter-hunt-for-early-literacy/

Best Start Expert Panel on Early Learning. (2007). Early Learning for Every Child Today: A framework for
Ontario early childhood settings. Ontario. Ministry of Child and Youth Services.

Children’s Resource or Storybook (in APA format, to be used as part of activity-

before/after/extend/enhance learning):

Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book. (1963). New York: Random House Children’s Books.

Part I – Planning

Rational for the activity (sentence form):

My co-operating teacher is trying to teach the children how to recognize and write their names. She currently
has laminated name tags for the children to write on with dry erase marker. I have heard the children refer to
certain letters as “their” letters- meaning the letters that their name begins with. I have also seen groups of
children sitting in the dramatic play surrounded by objects and claiming that they are sailing in a boat as pirates.
I decided to include a “buried treasure” concept to this activity to encourage and extend their interest in the
activity.

Overall and Specific Skills:

Cognitive
ELECT 4.5 Observing (Page 53)
Specific: Naming and describing the things they have observed.

Physical
ELECT 5.3 Fine Motor Skills- Tool Use (Page 60)
Specific Skill: Using tools to find letters buried in sensory bin.

Social/Emotional
ELECT 1.3 Peer Group Entry Skills (Page 43)
Specific Skill: Offering objects and ideas that are relevant to play.

Learning Materials needed:

-Large clear bin

-rice
-21 pages with the children's name on the top
-Letter stickers
-Magnetic letters from a-z
-Foam alphabet
-Word Cards

Description of Set-Up:

Guidelines to Foster Self-Regulation:

1. “Please walk around the activity.”

2. “Only three friends at the activity at one time.”
3. “Use your inside voices, please.”

Health or Safety Considerations:

-There should only be three children at the activity at one time to prevent overcrowding.
-Wash hands before and after the activity to wash away any debris from the sensory bin.
-Shoes should be worn properly around the activity to prevent tripping accidents.
-Check equipment to ensure there are no loose parts or other hazards.

Part II – Implementation

Invitation (aimed at getting children’s attention and interest):

I'll put some of the confetti in my pocket and hide it from the children. When someone asks what I have
in my pocket, I will ask, “Can you guess what it is before I show you?”. I will let them guess and then show
them the confetti. Then I'll ask the children if they'd like to come find more hidden toys with me.
Teaching Steps (detailed and clear):

1. I will set up the activity at the table nearest to the magnetic white board. The box will be set up on
the table, and the white magnetic board will be cleaned off and will have the alphabet from A-Z
written on it. As children come in from outdoor play, the activity will be partially hidden away and
this will make my invitation more effective. I will introduce my invitation, and then bring three
interested children over to the table to start the activity.

2. I will open the clear sensory bin and tell the children to look at the bin, but not to touch it yet. I will
ask them, “Can you tell me what you see right now?” and then ask “Do you think there is anything
else in the bin other than rice?”. Once they have answered, I will ask them what tool I should use to
stir up the confetti, and reveal to them that there are different materials of letters hidden inside the
bin.

3. I will show all the children the different kinds of letters inside (magnetic, foam, and stickers.) I will
ask them, “What do you think we can do with this type of letter?” and allow the children to lead the
activity with if they want to sort the letters, or if they want to put the letters on the magnetic white
board.

4. I will show the children that they have a paper with their name that they can use to group their letters
on, to find letters that spell their name, or simply to draw on and finish some art to bring home to
their parents. I will also show them that they don't have to use a card with their name on it, and there
are also different word cards that they can complete to bring home that are festive for the Halloween
season.

5. As the children participate in their chosen activity, I will ask the children, “Do you know what letter
that is?”. I will let them identify the letter. If they cannot, I will identify it for them. I will ask them
about different letters that they pair and examine, “What are the same about your letters?” and “What
are different about your letters?”. If a child has a specific inclination towards one letter, or is
grouping a lot of a specific letter, I will ask them, “Can you find your letter anywhere else in the
classroom?”.

6. The children can participate for however long they want. Any children who don't participate during
the original activity, or don't finish a name page, will have the name page reintroduced to them as an
art activity on the following morning, in order to promote the inclusion of all of the children.

Wonderment Questions:

1. “What is the same about the letters? What is different?”

2. “Where else in the classroom can you see your letter?”
3. “Do you have a favorite letter? Why?”

Closure:

“Thank you for finding the letters of the alphabet with me!”

Transition:

“If your name starts with a/n ___, please wash your hands.”
Ways in which the following are incorporated into this activity:

i) Creativity:
(Explain in sentence form how activity promotes creativity)

This activity encourages children to interact with the materials in creative ways. They have a variety of
materials to choose from, and there are several different ways with which they could use all three of the
materials. Open ended questions are asked throughout the activity to extend the children's learning and
encourage creative thinking, and all of their answers are accepted without judgment or criticism. This activity
has no clear pre-determined product and is instead entirely focused on the process through which the children
are learning.

ii) Inclusiveness:
(Explain in sentence form how activity fosters inclusiveness)

This activity is planned to allow for success for all the children. The purpose of the activity is to gain a
better concept and recognition of the letters in the alphabet. Children can do this by recognizing and matching
letters to the letters in their name, sorting similar letters, understanding that two letters are different, or even just
by exploring the materials in an independent and sensory way. This allows for the inclusion of children in the
classroom who are independent learners, and others who have learning or physical disabilities that might hinder
their ability to express their understanding in an apparent way. An appropriate group size was chosen in order
for the student educator to properly engage each of the participating children at the activity, and to decrease the
problems that arise due to overcrowding. The student educator listens to and accepts all ideas, thoughts, and
other contributions without judgment or criticism. Finally, the word cards that are introduced to the children
feature familiar words that are in English, but also feature other languages.

Part III Reflective Practice

The Learning Story:

Letter Treasure

I brought the materials into the classroom, and took out the magnetic alphabet and asked the
children if they wanted to help me put the letters onto the whiteboard. The children were
immediately excited and begin to sort the letters into lines, and group them by color, size, and
similarity (if the letters were circular, if they were lines, etc). I allowed them to explore
independently, and then asked the children, “What do you see?”. I was surprised when they
expressed that what they were seeing were images. I had answers such as “its an umbrella!” for
the letter ‘j’, and “it’s a rainbow” for the letter ‘u’, and even “it’s a circle” for the letter ‘o’.
Throughout the activity, I was able to use the imagery that they had developed to give them
helpful cues of the letter names. For example, I was able to tell the children, “Remember: this
letter is a rainbow”, and the children would then be able to recall that it was a ‘u’. In doing this,
the children showed a prior development as well as a fostered development of important
observational skills, namely the ability to name and describe items that they are observing.
(ELECT 4.5 Page 53: Observing).

Continuing into the activity, I asked the children if they wanted to look into my bin with me. I
asked them, “What do you think is in the box?” and got various answers ranging from
“spaghetti!” to “colors!”. I opened the sensory bin, with three children gathered around the table
and one boy still standing at the whiteboard, content to play with the magnetic letters. The
children were immediately interested in the boxes contents. Some of them were very excited
about the stickers, and others immediately recognized the stamps that were hidden in the rice.
The children used different methods to scoop out the materials in the box. They began by using
their hands, but as the activity progressed and they received their name paper, they also used the
paper to scoop out a small amount of rice and treasure from the box and sort through it while the
materials were directly in front of them. Some of the children began to enjoy the rice, and I
suggested that they get a glue stick and glue their rice onto the paper around their stickers. J
became crafty with his glue stick, and decided to use the glue stick and rearrange the rice out of
the way so he could press the glue stick down and retrieve the stickers that he wanted. Some of
the children even grasped the stamps and used them as small shovels to push the rice out of the
way and explore the contents of the box. In doing this, the children displayed a fostering of their
fine motor skills by being creative in their approach to pick up and use their materials. (ELECT
5.3 Page 60: Fine Motor Skills- Tool Use).

When the activity began there were seven kids in the classroom, and seven kids were outside
with the other RECE in the preschool classroom. The seven children worked together and
collaborated in creative ways by showing each other that they could glue the rice down, they
could group together similar stickers, and they even showed each other how the stamps worked,
and shared with their friends their excitement at their different colors on the paper. The children
remained engaged for around 30 minutes, and then the first group came from inside and the
original seven children at my activity had to go outside for outdoor play. During the transition, I
encouraged the children to share the art they made with the newly-entering children. They shared
their enjoyment of the stamps, stickers, and rice and convinced some of the returning children to
join into my activity as well. By sharing their ideas and offering up objects that were relevant to
the activity, the children demonstrated a fostering of their peer group entry skills. (ELECT 1.3
Page 43: Peer Group Entry Skills).

The activity ended when all of the children were back in the classroom and it was time for circle
while the RECE’s prepared the room for lunch, and nap time following the children’s meal. I put
away the materials and read my book to the children for circle.

Analysis of Learning:
(What did the child(ren) do and understand during this experience?)

The children understood similarities and differences between letters. This was shown when they grouped similar
letters together, such as circular letters and linear letters, and also when they began collecting stickers from the
sensory bin that were from different sticker packs (different styles and colors), but were the same letter. They
showed an understanding and recognition of the physical make up of a letter, sometimes referring to letters as
“having a circle and a line”. The children also demonstrated an incredible fostering of peer group entry skills by
sharing ideas for the use of materials, and explaining the activity to new friends who were joining the table and
welcoming them warmly.

Extension of Learning:
(What opportunities will the student educator provide to extend on this experience?)

I left the magnetic alphabet on the whiteboard for the children to explore and play with throughout the week.
During the activity, the all created an art piece with their name and their favorite letters. This art has been
brought home with them to remind them of the activity, and remind them of the letters that are around them,
which will help in their continued language development. I will also be periodically returning to the whiteboard
to talk about letters with the kids, and draw attention to the letters of words that are on their toys when they
share their play with me. Overall, my goal is to increase their observation of language within their regular
environments in order to further their linguistic abilities.

C –Self-Reflection of Student Educator’s Learning / Performance

**Must be completed before the cooperating teacher’s evaluation

Strengths:
(how did the student impact the success of the activity minimum of 2)

1. I was able to get all of the children to participate in the activity. I did this by encouraging the
children and warmly welcoming the children, and upon any hesitation suggesting that they watch
and see what their friends had created. In my success of having them all participate, I was able to
foster linguistic development in all of the children using one activity. This also helped me foster a
deeper connection with the parents of the children, because all of the children who were present
completed a piece of art using stickers, stamps and rice on their name card and I was able to send
this art home to the parents, who could then see the development I am trying to accomplish with
their child.

2. I was quick to accept all answers about the letters whether children saw an image in the letter, they
noticed what the letter was composed of, or if they called the letter by its name. Every approach to
using the box was accepted, and new approaches to the use of materials was encouraged.

Recommendations:
(what can the student do differently to change, improve, enhance the experience
– minimum of 2)

1. I should remember that some children are simply not comfortable doing activities in a group with
other children, even if they are completing their own craft. With a reminder from my co-
operating teacher I was able to make a round through the room when I was done and the children
who seemed uninterested in my activity previously decided to join, now that the activity was less
busy and was a one-on-one experience. This was a learnable moment for me, and I should
remind myself to accommodate for intrapersonal learners when planning my activities.

2. Ask wonderment questions to individual children more often. I ask many wonderment questions
during my activities, but I usually ask them to the group as a whole. Asking the children
individually would allow me to increase their feeling of inclusiveness, as well as my personal
understanding of the child as their own person and how they are interpreting and enjoying the
activities that I am creating for them.