Paper Sample: Some Issues of Particular Importance in Work with Young Children

1. Although young children often have difficulty communicating their thoughts and feelings verbally, their behavior often communicates meaning implicitly. Note instances in which a teacher seemed to correctly "read" a child's implicit communication through behavior.

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A. During nap time one girly suddenly woke up and started to cry and rolling on the floor. The teacher asked if she was okay and she said not. The teacher said she might have a fever and when her temperature was taken, it confirmed she was developing a fever.

B. During snack time, one girl seemed restless and was constantly jiggling in one place. The teacher asked if she needed the restroom and she said yes.

C. One day as the class was going one, one boy constantly hold his tummy and seemed uncomfortable. The teacher asked if he had a stomach problem and he said yes.

D. During morning circle, one girl started rubbing her eyes. The teacher if she had enough sleep and the girl said no. She was allowed to take a nap early.

E. One boy during snack time started waving his plate in the air. When the teacher asked if he needs more snack he said yes.

Comments: One experience I have gathered interacting with the students is that is key to pay more attention to their behavior and reactions to different things. Some students are unable to articulate their ideas, thoughts, and emotions verbally and it our role as teachers to anticipate their behaviors and have an idea of what they want.

1. Teachers incorporate a variety of teaching approaches that appeal to various learning styles and modalities. Highlight various teacher activities that are responsive to different learning styles and modalities.

A. To improve peer interaction among the children, the teacher asked the children to share some moments they had during the weekend. Instead of the teacher asking all the students, they were given an opportunity to as one another any questions they wanted.

B. To foster high order thinking among the students, the teacher would ask the students open-ended questions especially when they are reading aloud. The teacher would point to illustrations, for example, some picture and ask the students some questions to know what they think about what is on the pictures.

C. To get the attention of the auditory learners, the teacher taught the students various educative music and the students were expected to sing and memorize the songs.

D. During morning circle that focuses on math skills, the teacher used a counting game to assist the children to master math and reinforcement songs accompanied this.

E. To get the attention of the naturalistic learner, the students would be taken out to the field and asked to identify various things they see around them.

Comment: students have different learning style and it's, therefore, the duty of the teacher to ensure that they come up with effective techniques. The techniques should eliminate barriers that may exist in a student learning capability.

3. Shy children are often hesitant about joining group play activities. What have you observed teachers do with such children that are responsive to their fears, needs, and wishes?

A. To improve the confidence of the shy student, the teacher usually gives them a chance to be the counters every morning during the "counting wand".

B. The shy students we were given various responsibilities such as door monitor, lunch monitor or line leader to give them a sense of belonging and so that they know, they are important.

C. When children are afraid of doing some task, the teacher usually accompanies them. For instance, when one student was afraid of getting in the pool, the teacher accompanied him and this gave him more confidence.

D. One child was constantly hesitant to take lunch and the teacher joined her and told her to assume she was her family. The child mood improved and she began to eat.

E. One girl was shy to take part in some dancing practice as she felt she was not good enough. The teacher called her and to her, she can do it and the teacher offered to help her practice. This gave the girl more confidence.

Comment: some students shy because of a lack of confidence and not because they cannot perform various tasks. It is important for the teacher to help these shy students so they are not left behind.

4. Creating a safe, secure emotional as well as physical environment is particularly important in working with young children. What are some ways you have observed teachers contributing to the creation of secure relationships and a safe emotional climate?

A. After the children eat their snacks, they are full of energy and always ready to play. Sometimes this play can become too much as they children keep on jumping everywhere and creating an unhealthy environment. When this happens, the teacher usually calms the children and tells them to lie down as they take a ten min break.

B. during play time, two girls started fighting over a white costume since each one of them wanted it. The teacher called them and calmed them down said she will keep the costume until tomorrow when there enough for everyone.

C. One girl was crying in the morning because she was left by her parents. The teacher called her and told her not to worry the parents will soon come to pick her up just like another student. She was told to be strong just like other children.

D. to demonstrate the importance of respecting other student's space, the teacher illustrated to the students that each one of them should not come out of their "bubble". This bubble was made out of spreading the arms and it made the student respect one another.

E. when emotions got out of hand for some students, they were taken to a safe corner which has toys and personal space that always calmed the children. However, these space was completely optional and the teacher would ask the student if they were to move over to it.

Comment: emotions are part of human beings whether adults and children. I learned that controlling children emotion is not an easy task but it's essential to have a good learning experience.

5. The developmentally appropriate curriculum provides for a child's physical, emotional, social, linguistic, aesthetic, and cognitive development. Cite some of the ways in which teachers you have observed encourage development in these areas.

A. To improve student's social interaction, the teacher usually asks the students to check each other's work during group time and enable students to interact more.

B. Every Friday, the teacher always take the children to the pool where engage in different types of games.

C. During group time, the teacher teaches the children some songs related to counting and this helps improve children counting capability and overall cognitive ability.

D. The classroom and in every student's sitting place, they have a chart labeled home on one side and school on the other side. When each student enters the classroom, they turn it to the side that says school. Students are also expected to see if their friends came to school and this allows them to grow emotionally by always caring and thinking about others.

E. Every picture or illustration in the class incorrectly matched with a word that describes what it means. This improves children literacy skills even though they cannot read the words at the moment.

Comment: child's physical, emotional, social, linguistic, aesthetic, and cognitive development are all key to the development of a child. I learned that all these types of development must be addressed if the student is to grow in the right way.

6. How do teachers you have observed provide opportunities to support children's home culture (and possibly language), while also developing their ability to comfortably participate in the shared culture of the school community?

A. Students who are not native English speakers can are helped by the assistant teacher to understand and master English as the second language.

B. During special days such as Thanksgiving, children are requested to bring a different kind of foods from their cultures.

C. Students are exposed to different greetings from different languages such Spanish, French, etc.

D. The teacher allows students who are good in English to teach other students who struggle in this language during the morning circle.

E. The teacher always ensures that each student respects and appreciates other student's culture by telling the students they are equal despite their differences.

Comment: what I learned from this experience is that language can be a huge barrier in student's learning capability but teachers have a role in reducing this barrier. Care must be taken when dealing with students from different cultures.