Education Commons^™

The High Lonesome Sound In Little Voices: The Use Of Appalachian Balladry In The Early Childhood Classroom, Lance Piao

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Although both music and poetry are thoroughly-integrated into the Early Childhood classroom, the ballad, their intersection, has not been studied. Appalachian music features a prominent tradition of balladry, a synthesis of several different music traditions. With the increased interest in Appalachian Studies after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the study of Appalachian custom has become increasingly relevant. From a critical-historical perspective, the ballads, their collection, and their analysis have been used to perpetuate the oppressive structures that have come under increased scrutiny since 2016. This study is a hypothetical curriculum for integrating the study of Appalachian ballads into the Early …

L’Dor Vador: Storytelling For The Holiday Cycle In A Jewish Early Childhood Setting, Krista Bogetich

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Storytelling is an effective and appropriate method of engaging young children in complex concepts such as values and ethics. This paper provides rationale for using storytelling in an early childhood setting, background information on Jewish holidays, and highlights the values in the stories told during those holidays. It includes synopses of stories told through original storytelling, descriptions of activities incorporated in the experiences, as well as children’s responses and photographs of children’s work.

Facilitating A Block Program In Kindergarten And First Grade: A Manual For Kindergarten And First Grade Teachers, Hannah Rau

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Many preschool classroom have unit blocks. Unfortunately, not as many early primary classrooms incorporate blocks into their programs. This paper discusses the power of using unit blocks in a Kindergarten and first grade. The first three sections of the thesis focus on the importance of a unit block curriculum in early primary classrooms by discussing the developmentally-appropriate ways blocks invite problem solving and mathematical and scientific thinking. The final section is a teacher’s manual designed as a guidebook to support teachers who are starting a block program in their Kindergarten and first grade classroom. In this manual, critical components of …

Play As A Social Justice Issue In Early Childhood Education, Britt Kroll

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Play is a vital part of the early childhood experience to develop in cognitive and social-emotional realms. Schools are taking away an important tool for children to process new information and build skills needed for lifelong problem-solving by allowing less time for play in early childhood classrooms. This research combines data gathered to show the unique benefits of play in both cognitive and social-emotional areas, as well as qualitative data collected in a play-based and a non-play-based classroom.

The research defends the importance of play-based learning in early childhood and equips teachers with rationale to use play as a tool …

A Study Of The Evolution Of Mindfulness Practice In An Early Childhood Classroom, Katherine Berninger

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper studies the use of mindfulness practice in a preschool classroom. Combining participant observation, personal journaling, and interviews with children, this study explores the relationship between the introduction of mindfulness practice, changes in classroom culture, and growth in emotional vocabulary.

¿CóMo Se Dice En EspañOl? : Language, Self-Expression, And Development Of A Young Bilingual Child, Margaret Blachly

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper addresses three areas of early childhood development and education: a Language development of a native Spanish-speaking child in a dual-language school environment. Guided art experiences as a vehicle for self-expression, language development, and personal self-awareness in a young child. The role of a non-teacher/non-family member in a young child's development of self-awareness and language. The paper presents a case study with related research, analysis, and suggestions for educators. Lauren Rodriguez (pseudonym), currently 7.8 years old, is a Mexican- American girl whose first language is Spanish. She first encountered English at her bilingual preschool, where she began attending school …

Please Pass The Crackers: Classroom Rules In The Early Childhood Environment And Their Impact On Moral Development, Odette C. Muskin

Graduate Student Independent Studies

One of the major public debates in education today revolves around an area of study called character education. It is a debate that is politically, socially, emotionally and educationally charged. The question facing educators is whether children develop morally from a specific plan of study or from the examples given to them by adults in their environment. In an attempt to answer this question, this study focuses on the early childhood environment. It does so because young children in preschool must begin to formulate conceptions of rights, values and principles as it pertains to social conduct. They must learn to …

A Neighborhood Curriculum For Kindergarten And First Grades, Kathy L. Rubin

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper is a curriculum study of a school neighborhood designed for children ages 5 through 7. The goal of this study is to provide an opportunity for students, who at this age are beginning to expand outward from the roots of their homes and families, to understand their next immediate neighborhood (their school). They will have a chance to meet people who work in the neighborhood, learn about how we get around and from where things come. And then, from that vantage point the students can begin to broaden their perspective and view of their world.

This study is …

Going Home: The Relevance Of Philippine Folktale To Early Childhood Education, Eleanor A. Rivera

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study focuses on the value of introducing Philippine folktales to children of Filipino heritage. The primary objective in this project is to demonstrate how Philippine folktales can serve as a potent vehicle for taking American-born Filipino children home, that is teaching them about their roots and celebrating their cultural identity. I believe that by recognizing their Filipino heritage the children gain a fuller appreciation of and pride in their uniqueness as well as the interest and ability to share aspects of their culture with other children. It is my hope that consideration of their own cultural identity will help …

"The Family" As A Core Curriculum For A Nursery-Kindergarten Class, Marcy Zweig

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The curriculum described uses the central theme of "the family" as a core idea to connect and organize different areas of knowledge such as language arts, science, music, etc. The curriculum was implemented in a nursery-kindergarten class in a small, private elementary school in Manhattan. The class was a mixed age grouping of three, four, and five year olds. The first chapter describes a philosophy of education based on the philosophy and writing of John Dewey. The second chapter looks at the developmental level of the age group, based on the theories of Erik Erikson and Jean Piaget. The third …