Thanksgiving Lesson Plan for Early Childhood Preschool

Introduction

Thanksgiving is going to be celebrated next week.

        1.  What is Thanksgiving?

         2.  Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving?

         3.  What will your family and you do on Thanksgiving?

History says the Pilgrims and Indians were the ones who celebrated the first Thanksgiving.

         1. Who lived her first?

          2.  Where did the Pilgrims come from?

          3.  How did they get here to this country?

          4.  Why did they come to this country?

Task

Objectives for this lesson will be; (a)____________________ (b)_______________

         and ________________.

Th.e preschoolers will increase their cognitive skills    How?

       1.                                                              

       2

       3.

       4.

 

 

 

Process

The high school students will create a lesson plan based on the Thanksgiving theme.

       1.  Create a lesson plan where you teach the preschoolers some facts about the

Thanksgiving holiday and why we celebrate it.

        2.  Plan a craft project centered on the Thanksgiving theme.

        3.  The lesson plan should include the following: 

              a.  The objectives of your lesson--what you want the preschoolers to learn.

              b.  The step by step directions for making the craft, the supplies needed, and a    

                    shopping list for any supplies that we do not already have.

              c.  Divide the responsibilities for the lesson and plan on who is going to be

                    responsible for the various tasks.

               d.  Display the finished projects and clean up.

Evaluation

Each high school student will evaluate the lesson before handing in the lesson plan for a grade.  Evaluate the following:

       1.  How well was the cognitive part of the lesson presented and did the preschoolers

              learn the concepts of the Thanksgiving holiday and why we celebrate it?

       2.  How well were the steps for making the craft organized?  Were they easy to follow?

       3.  Was the craft too easy or too hard for the preschoolers?

       4.  How did their craft projects turn out?

       5.  Did all members of the group participate in the planning and execution of the    

            lesson?  How well did they fulfill their responsibilities?

       6.  If you were doing the lesson again, what would you do differently?

Teacher Rubric:

        1.  Did all members of the group participate in the planning, executing, and clean up

             of the lesson?  Responsibilities divided evenly among group members?

        2.  Was the lesson plan well written.  Spelling and grammar correct.? 

        3.  Objectives and steps to make craft were logical and complete?  Was the craft too

              hard or too easy for the preschoolers?  Was the supply list for the craft complete?

        4.  Did the high school students teach the preschoolers cognitive skills, motor skills,

              and social/housekeeping skills?

         5.  How well did the high school students follow their lesson plan?

         6.  Did the high school students give the preschoolers praise and proper reinforce-

                ment for their efforts in making the project?

        7.   Did the preschoolers learn anything from the lesson?   Was the lesson and craft

              appropriate for the ages of the preschoolers? 

 

Conclusion

      As the teacher of the Child Care and Development class, it is my responsibility to teach the high school students the importance of teaching the preschoolers age appropriate cognitive skills, fine and gross motor skills, crafts, social skills, and housekeeping skills.

        My responsibility is to teach the high school students the developmental skills and strategies for working and teaching young children and preschoolers.  And then guide them in using those strategies and skills in working with the children.

         My responsibility is to see that the high school students choose projects and age appropriate activities and skills for nurturing the preschoolers.

 

 

For the Observers:

Grade the above lesson plan on the following four categories:

The Efficiency Expert: You value time a great deal. You believe that too much time is wasted in today's classrooms on unfocused activity and learners not knowing what they should be doing at a given moment. To you, a good WebQuest is one that delivers the most learning bang for the buck. If it's a short, unambitious activity that teaches a small thing well, then you like it. If it's a longterm activity, it had better deliver a deep understanding of the topic it covers, in your view.

The Affiliator: To you, the best learning activities are those in which students learn to work together. WebQuests that force collaboration and create a need for discussion and consensus are the best in your view. If a WebQuest could be done by a student working alone, it leaves you cold.

The Altitudinist: Higher level thinking is everything to you. There's too much emphasis on factual recall in schools today. The only justification for bringing technology into schools is if it opens up the possibility that students will have to analyze information, synthesize multiple perspectives, and take a stance on the merits of something. You also value sites that allow for some creative expression on the part of the learner.

The Technophile: You love this internet thang. To you, the best WebQuest is one that makes the best use of the technology of the Web. If a WebQuest has attractive colors, animated gifs, and lots of links to interesting sites, you love it. If it makes minimal use of the Web, you'd rather use a worksheet.