Early Childhood Education Commons^™

“Your Body Is For You”: Possibilities For Size Acceptance, Criticality, And Social-Emotional Wellness In Upper Elementary English Language Arts Education, Veronica B. Walton

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This Integrated Master’s Project explores how body image literature can be used in upper elementary classrooms (grades 3 to 5) to support critical literacy and psychosocial development, and vice-versa. Using the approaches Health at Every Size® (HAES), affect theory, and critical literacy, I propose a new analytical framework for thinking about weight stigma and children’s self-image through the lens of literature. There is a growing presence of fiction and nonfiction books that address weight stigma and center children’s experiences of their bodies, and incorporating these books into literacy/English Language Arts (ELA) curricula can help educators shape their classrooms into spaces …

Progressive Virtual Learning For Our Youngest Learners, Erica B. Held

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study addresses how teachers build a progressive curriculum online for our youngest learners. Our youngest learners learn through play and the author sought to gather data in order to understand how teachers approached this age group in an online space. To conduct the research, ten observations were made of a pre-k class and a first grade class. Throuobservation and recording, four main themes were identified that progessive educators were using to create progressive curricula: Building Community, Progressive Pedagogy, Student Voice and the Home-School Connection. To build community the teachers observed had students bring objects from home, offered consistent morning …

Good Things: An Original Picture Book, Maryah Greene

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The research collected in this study aims to support students, teachers and parents on their journey of building a relationship with houseplants. Whether in a classroom, at home or in a work space, a relationship with a houseplant should be one that is intentional, personal and provides an opportunity for growth both physically and mentally. The following research aims to support this belief while also supporting students, teachers and parents through the creation of the original book material, Good Things.

Barrington Bunny: Case Of The Curious Clouds A Narrative Picture Book For Symbolic Play And Stem Curriculum, Claudia Chung

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Adults constantly use their imagination to help them visualize, problem-solve, enjoy a book, empathize, and think creatively. Therefore, using one's imagination is a critical cognitive skill that can be used throughout life. And it is crucial for educators to encourage imagination, creativity and original ideas in childhood through pretend play, story, picture books, and narrative make-believe if we want our students to be mindful and functioning adults in society. Pretend play is also known as "symbolic play" because it involves the use of symbols. This type of symbolic thought is also needed for language and reading, as our words are …

Technology In Education: The Ongoing Debate Of Access, Adequacy And Equity, Kristiana Roth

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Technology is intertwined in all aspects of our lives. Technology has evolved in ways that were once considered unimaginable. Yet, access to these advancements in technology are not adequate, especially throughout our education system. The purpose of this paper is to bring to light the significance technology can have on our education system today. This paper will reflect research which supports the integration of technology beginning in early childhood classrooms. This paper will also reflect on the injustices that exist in how educational technology is unequally distributed between socio-economic status. More is available to wealthy, white students. While people from …

Elements At Play: Influences Of Gender On Play In Single-Sex Settings, Elizabeth "Lily" Geiger

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This thesis will examine the ways that gender impacts dramatic play in early childhood classrooms by analyzing experiences in two single-sex school environments. The paper will review past and present literature as it pertains to the general topics of play and gender and pose insights about the role that both play in single-sex classrooms. It will also take into consideration the various gendered elements of our world and the impact of our social environments. The aim of the paper is not to propose next steps for gender education, but to examine current work through descriptions and observations in two classroom …

How To : An Original Picture Book For Children, Morgan Wright

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This independent study was focused on the creation of an original, social-emotionally oriented “how to” picture and poetry book for children ages five through seven. A wide variety of books for children, from old classics to recent publications, deal with themes relevant to children’s social-emotional lives. However, many of these books are written in narrative fiction form, or are framed using a logical, adult-centered lens. The goal of this book project was to create poetry and illustrations which authentically conveyed the unique emotional textures and roundabout logic of childhood associated with everyday experiences. Child development research included cognitive and emotional …

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 …

Process & Research Of Dyslexia? A Book On The Demystification Of Dyslexia For Students With Dyslexia, Anna Slavin

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper focuses on the ways in which the demystification of dyslexia for diagnosed or pre- diagnosed students alters their ability to self-advocate. It examines effective ways of demystification and, specifically, how literature can be used to directly teach children how to talk about their difference. This review of research highlights positive and negative effects of providing students with learning disability labels. It also notes that the majority of studies on the subject show that providing students with a label for their learning variations positively impacts self-esteem and academic engagement. However, it is noted that a dearth of children’s literature …

From Page To Place: Wordless Picture Books And Field Trips For A 21st Century Curriculum, Margaret Stein

Graduate Student Independent Studies

With the purpose of education being to produce successful world citizens, the educational system must grow with the changing economic and social climate. Operating in a creative and knowledge-based economy, students educated in the 21st Century must be in an environment that fosters creativity, critical thinking, and recognition of complex patterns in order to thrive in the new economic structures. Proposing a curricular sequence using wordless picture books and field trips to develop and strengthen these skills, this paper focuses on the growth of literacy in all forms as the strongest foundation for creating curious and life-long learners. Utilizing the …

The Meal Gap: A Food Activist Curriculum, Kameshia L. Shepherd

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The Meal Gap: A Food Activist Curriculum is a series of fifty-four lessons for fourth grade students that introduces them to the topic of food insecurity. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations initiated the World Food Summit in 1996 to discuss and call attention to the “widespread undernutrition and growing concern about the capacity of agriculture to meet future food needs” (Food and Agriculture Organization, n.d.). The June 2006 Policy Brief of the FAO reaffirmed the 1996 definition of food security, which states that “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and …

Lucy Takes The Stage: A Story For Children With Anxiety, Rachel Beckman

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Childhood anxiety is explored through the lens of child development as well as children’s literature. The book written for this integrated masters project was created to help engage children around age 5, recognizing that it could be for ages 5-7, in thinking about anxiety. Anxiety disorders in children can take many different forms, but the major distinction between a disorder and normal worries is that it causes stress that disrupts normal functioning. Additionally, read-alouds are a common and beneficial way to introduce children to literature in schools. Young children can learn to read, take another’s perspective, as well as gain …

A Case For The Inclusion Of Graphic Novels In The Classroom, Brittany Rosenberg

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper will explore the use of graphic novels in the context of the classroom, ultimately arguing that graphic novels not only deserve a place in elementary through high school classrooms, but are an effective and successful learning tool. The paper is divided into four central arguments utilizing a review of relevant literature to support each section’s argument. It will begin with an examination of the motivation for the paper’s creation, detailing the circumstance unto which the author of this paper decided to write it. The paper will then move into the four central parts. Part one will examine research …

Pizza Bagel Sundays, Kate D'Auria

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Kate D’Auria worked on an independent study where she created her own children’s book. The book is called Pizza Bagel Sundays and was illustrated by Yan Gabriella Peropat. Pizza Bagel Sundays is a memoir about her childhood and how she grew up in a single parent household. Though single parenting is one of the focuses of the book, it does have other themes such as family, love and how we spend time together. Research was done to see what other types of children’s literature is out there and see where the book fit in. Look at the literature that was …

Childhood Anxiety, Julia Post

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The following paper closely examines anxiety in school-aged children, especially those predisposed through environmental and biological factors. While there are many typical worries and fears in children, atypical signs that point to an anxiety disorder include severity and high frequency of worry and avoidance behavior. Anxiety disorders affect roughly a third of children ages six through eleven, and early intervention and cognitive strategies are extremely effective in giving children coping skills for their separation, social, or generalized anxiety. Some of the treatment plans examined in this paper include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Narrative Therapy and …

"See, Two Yellows Make A Rectangle!": Constructing Meaningful, Emergent Learning Moments In A Structured Special Education Program, Lucy Bayer

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper explores the relationship between emergent, child-driven learning and the structured curricula of a special education program. Relying on current research and theory as driving forces, the author designed and implemented a series of math lessons with a small group of kindergarten students in a self-contained, special-education setting. The paper begins in narrative form, detailing the author’s journey to her current line of inquiry. Empirical research and educational theory about both emergent, child-driven learning and math instruction are then summarized. The following two chapters chronicle the author’s work with her students. These chapters are presented as both narrative documentation …

The Apple Trees School : Adapting The Developmental-Interaction Approach In South Korea, Jeffrey B. Rogers

Graduate Student Independent Studies

In August 2016, one year from this writing, a team of educators will embark on adapting the developmental-interaction approach to a newly founded early elementary school in Gyeongsan, South Korea. This paper seeks to address the challenges and rewards inherent in such a project through examining critical issues such as intercultural competence and teacher relationships

Improving Pre-Service Teachers' Preparation To Integrate Music And Movement In Early Childhood Classrooms, Elaine Myrianthopoulos

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study examines student teachers' fieldwork experiences, in order to better support their efforts to integrate music and movement in early childhood classrooms.

Orchestrating A Kindergarten Block Program : The Teacher's Role, Abbey Butcosk

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Analyzes the role of the teacher in kindergarten block building

The Early Years : A Handbook For New Early Childhood Progressive Educators, Mallory Morris

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This master's project provides research, advice, and suggestions that will continue to prepare progressive early childhood teachers for their first years in the classroom.

Roots Of Farm And Family, Carol Gjenvick

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The current food industry is a vast and confusing system that often generates contradicting information, new jargon and trends on how and what to eat. Most families in urban and suburban regions shop at local grocery stores, supermarkets or chains and are far removed from the origins of their food supply. Even with the growing support of farmers markets and local farmers, the average person no longer has access to an actual farm. Children in particular, are less likely to understand how a farm operates, the essential role of the farmer, the impact of seasonal changes on food supplies and …

Who Is Telling This Story? : A Study Of An Aesthetic Education Collaboration Between A Classroom Teacher And A Cultural Institution, Katherine Fox

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study explores the classroom teacher's role in a collaboration between a New York City classroom teacher and Lincoln Center Institute. Aesthetic education, imaginative learning, and collaboration between classroom teachers and teaching artists, the core practices of Lincoln Center Institute's inquiry units, are defined through a review of other established approaches to these concepts. The perspective of a third-grade teacher who participated in an inquiry unit focused on MytholoJazz, a storytelling performance illustrates the purpose, planning, and action that characterize Lincoln Center Institute's programs. Qualitative analysis of the teacher's work, in addition to her own reflection on the process, reveal …

Fueling Small Explosions Of Conversation: A Reading Curriculum For Fourth Grade, Rebecca Blake Eisenberg

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The purpose of this fourth-grade reading curriculum is to teach students to become active readers who can articulate and communicate their thoughts about reading. By communicating about text, readers construct meaning and develop a rich understanding and appreciation of their reading. The curriculum uses the reading workshop framework (Atwell, 1998; Calkins, 2001; Rief, 1992) and the literature circle structure (Daniels, 2002). Process- and content-based mini-lessons provide explicit instruction for literature circle discussions. Comprehension strategy mini-lessons are provided to complement the literature circle instruction and provide support for students as needed.

Art Speaks! Connecting Visual Arts And Language Arts A Program For Fourth-Grade Students In The School District Of Philadelphia, James Stein

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) received a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to support a partnership among PMA, Pennsylyania Academy of the Fine Arts, The Barnes Foundation, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, and Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania. These five art institutions collaborated with each other, and with the School District of Philadelphia (SDP), to develop a literacy-based museum visit program called Art Speaks! that is open to all 13,500 fourth-grade students in SDP public schools. The program features a museum visit to one of the five collaborating institutions …

Real Work: A Museum Studies Curriculum For Early Adolescent Learners, M. Lucinda B. Furlong

Graduate Student Independent Studies

A museum studies curriculum for seventh and eighth graders. This curriculum is in the form of a case study and was conducted over a three year period at Montclair Cooperative School with Montclair Art Museum. Through regular visits to the museum students explored the roles of artist, docent, and curator. Students did the following tasks: discussed and made art, created exhibits, wrote interpretive wall labels for exhibitions, and became docents for younger students.

Finding Our Way Back Home: Reintroducing Mythology Into The Lives Of Children, Faith Klavan

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Mythology is present in almost all aspects of modern life. Though many books, movies, video games and advertisements make reference to ancient myths, the myths themselves are no longer readily accessible to children. This thesis provides a rationale for writing a children's book which retells an ancient Greek myth. An outline for the book, entitled Perseus, as well as two sample chapters, are included. The thesis deals with mythology's relevance to the modern child asserting that it can help him/her deal with issues such as step-parents, separation anxiety and the need for individuation. The thesis also discusses the ways in …

A Museum-Based Curriculum For Middle School Students In New York City, Nayantara Mhatre

Graduate Student Independent Studies

India Inquiry is a museum-based curriculum designed for middle school students in New York City. The curriculum is organized by the following themes: Geography, Wildlife, Culture and Crafts, and Religion. Within each theme there is one out-of-classroom trip, including three visits to the American Museum of Natural History, and one to the Ganesh Temple in Flushing, Queens. In addition there are seven lessons that compliment and support the organized field trips.

The curriculum was developed to appeal to the social, emotional, and intellectual needs of students emerging from the latency period of late childhood and approaching early adolescence.

India Inquiry …

Making Sense: Reflections On Developing A Social Studies Curriculum For Five- And Six-Year-Olds, Anne Tobias

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper is a reflection on the writing of a social studies curriculum for five and six-year-olds-a study of a neighborhood construction site. It examines the way in which one teacher's commitment to offering children meaningful content evolved into the formulation of her educational philosophy, as influenced by such progressive educators as John Dewey, Lucy Sprague Mitchell, and Caroline Pratt.

Part One of the thesis is divided into three major sections. The first consists of a developmental overview of five- and six-year-olds. The second describes the connections between understandings of basic child development, understandings of a particular group of children, …

Domestic Life In Dutch New Amsterdam A Social Studies Curriculum For Third And Fourth Grade Children, Michael W. Parrish

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This thesis presents a social studies curriculum for third and fourth grade students on the domestic life of New Amsterdam. Beginning with the geography of the region, the study focuses on the role that the environment has on meeting basic human needs of shelter, food and clothing. Based on a framework of objectives and ideas, the study is divided into three major units: shelter, food and clothing. Meeting each basic need required of New Amsterdam residents a vast amount of time and dedication. As children experience this curriculum, they can begin to understand the effort and many layered processes the …

Squeezing In Constructivist Mathematics: A Second Grade Curriculum, Deborah Potvin

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This curriculum consists of a collection of mathematics activities intended to complement a standard second-grade curriculum. The activities within this collection focus on the topics and concepts addressed by a traditional curriculum; however, they allow the students to approach the subject from a slightly different angle. The problems, projects, and games create situations in which students can create their own understanding of numbers.

By providing ready-to-use, well-organized activities designed to promote constructivist learning, this collection aims to make constructivist mathematics accessible to teachers working within a more traditional curriculum. The inspiration for the activities within this curriculum comes from a …