Lesson Plans for Babies

Teaching Children to Learn

Activity 1

Activity name: Color Recognition

Age group: 4-year-olds

(What should the child know or be able to do at the end of the activity? Why are you doing this activity?)The children should be able to complete this activity and know all of their colors.

Developmental domain addressed: (cognitive, physical, communication, social/emotional, adaptive -- include a short paragraph explaining how the activity focuses on the chosen domain)

Color recognition is a basic part of cognitive development. It requires basic analytic skills to interpret sensory images and associate a consistent word (the name of the color). Color association is a valuable skill to use throughout one's life and has certain didactic value as well. Utilizing finger painting as a mechanism for this process is akin to making that process fun and evocative of toys, which correlate to childhood cognitive development (Bradely, 1985, p. 11).

Environmental arrangement:

The students will be arranged throughout the classroom so that they are comfortably sitting next to a piece of paper and a palette of finger paint.

List of materials:

White board

Finger paints

Paper on which to paint

Multicolored markers

Sequence of events (be very specific!):

The lesson will begin with the teacher explaining the various colors to the children. The teacher will utilize examples of each color with her multicolored markers. The pedagogue will then instruct the students to draw a line with the color that she names while the colors are still on the board. Finally, the teacher will erase the white board and direct students to draw lines with colors by name alone.

Quick ideas for follow-up activities: (After doing this activity, where could you go from here with the knowledge they have gained?)

Follow up activities can include distinguishing primary colors from secondary ones, and utilizing the former to create the latter.

Activity 2

Activity name: Shape Training

Age group: 4-year-olds

Objective(s): (What should the child know or be able to do at the end of the activity? Why are you doing this activity?)

Children should know how to make basic shapes at the end of this activity. Shape creation is the basis for forming letters.

Developmental domain addressed: (cognitive, physical, communication, social/emotional, adaptive -- include a short paragraph explaining how the activity focuses on the chosen domain)

This activity addresses the physical domain. Specifically, it assists children with their fine motor skills development to foster, "specific, goal-oriented reactions that become increasingly precise" (Gerber et al., 2010, p. 267). It helps them to create the various shapes that they will eventually utilize for writing letters.

Environmental arrangement:

The students will be spaced comfortably apart from one another so they can access their finger paints and papers, yet still see the teacher at the same time.

List of materials:

White board

Finger paints

Paper on which to paint

Multicolored markers

Sequence of events (be very specific!):

This activity will ideally occur subsequent to the first one. The teacher will once again demonstrate the creation of very basic shapes. These shapes include horizontal and vertical lines, circles, triangles and squares. After demonstrating each one, the children will mimic the demonstration on their own paper with their finger paints. Lastly, the teacher will then name these shapes without creating them, and have the children attempt to replicate them.

Quick ideas for follow-up activities: (After doing this activity, where could you go from here with the knowledge they have gained?)

A follow up activity would include the teacher naming both shapes and colors, and having students use the appropriate color and shape.

Activity 3

Activity name: Paining Well With Others

Age group: 4-year-olds

Objective(s): (What should the child know or be able to do at the end of the activity? Why are you doing this activity?)

The children should learn to play well with others at the end of this activity. This activity is designed to foster appropriate social interaction.

Developmental domain addressed: (cognitive, physical, communication, social/emotional, adaptive -- include a short paragraph explaining how the activity focuses on the chosen domain)

The developmental domain addressed is the social/emotional one. Students must have a degree of equanimity and control over their emotions to interact in positive, significant ways. They can demonstrate their ability to do so by combining their artwork with one another to involve and engage their fellow students in an abstract manner of playing together, which is linked to social and linguistic competence (Bergen, 2002).