When I was implementing the lesson plan based on “Little Quack’s New Friend” by Laueren Thompson, various teaching skills and strategies were utilized to engage and support my classroom children. Here are some Effective Teaching Skills and Strategies which I used effectively.

Differentiated Instruction:

Example:

During the lesson, I used differentiated instruction to carter to the diverse learning styles of the children. For visual learners, I emphasized the vibrant illustrations in the story. I co-operated hands-on activities such as drawing scenes from the story. I read the story aloud and incorporated with sounds, emotions, and questions.

Impact:

This approach allowed each child to engage with the lesson in a way that resonated with their preferred learning style, resulting in higher engagement and we worked on the better comprehension of the story.

Sensory Awareness:

Example:

Kids thoroughly enjoyed the sensory feeling of the hand paint, and kids are so creative talking all about colors like brown for mud, blue for water yellow for ducks. This activity showed difference between painting using hands, brush and stamp paint.

Impact:

This approach helped my kids explore different texture, curiosity, problem solving and show all their creativeness. The sensory stimulation and hands-on approach helped kids from brain and memory development, gross and fine motor skills and strength.

Peer Collaboration:

Example:

I organized activities that required teamwork, such as creating a collaborative mural scene from the story.  Children worked together decide on the design, share materials, and help each other with the artwork.

Impact:

This strategy fostered social skills, teamwork, and a sense of community in the classroom. It also allowed children to learn from and support each other, enhancing the overall learning experience.

Kids thoroughly enjoyed the finger puppets, expressed their emotions, and actions from the story.

·      Social skills: I observed LF, and other kids acted out the story which promoted the social interaction and collaboration.

·      Emotional Understanding: Kids explored different emotions through puppet helped children understand and they enjoyed the activity by express their feelings.

Impact: Drama activities enhance social-emotional development and improve children’s ability to understand and express emotions (Zins et al., 2007). By using puppets to act out the story, children explored and expressed different emotions in a safe and controlled environment. This lesson plan helped the kids develop empathy and emotional intelligence.

According to Art as a Way of Learning Language and Literacy Experiences,

children are provided with abundant,

intentional literacy learning opportunities

• Children represent and express ideas through verbal and written languages

• Imitate friendly words, signs/gestures, and actions

• Pretend to be someone or something else

• Tell/retell stories

• Share information

• Invent spellings


• Read signs, symbols, their own words, others’ words

• Re-enact the plots and dialogue of stories

• Represent and/or interpret the knowledge they are constructing

Evidence:

According to “ART AS A WAY OF LEARNING” teaching skills and strategies, LF explored the language of the visual arts, drama, and movement to enhance literacy learning. By acting out the scene with puppets, LF understood the narrative, engage more deeply with the text, and enjoyed the learning process.

I asked LF and her friends questions about the story and encouraged them to use the puppets to act out scenes.

·      Engagement: By involving LF in the story telling process, she stayed engaged and interested.

·      Comprehension: Interacting questions helped LF and her peers understand the story and it encouraged critical thinking about the story’s event and characters.

This strategy helped LF and kids to think critically about the narrative, they understood the character motivation, and predicted future events, all of which are key components of reading comprehension.

According to AWL – Page no: 10 2. Children inquire and solve challenges with musical languages when they are familiar of the tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. Using a well-known melody helped children feel comfortable and engaged, as they were able to follow easily and participate. The familiarity of the tune also aided in memory retention, this song helped them to work on new words and concepts introduced in the new lyrics.

The lesson plan centered around adapting “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, to “Twinkle Twinkle Taffic Light”, was designed to specific curricular goals in line with the PA Standards and AWL. These goals are well planned and implemented by developing their vocabulary, phonological awareness, and comprehension skills through engaging by singing song, and added interactive games.

Evidence:

The “Twinkle Twinkle Traffic Light” lesson was designed to engage three-years old children in language and literacy development through music, visual aids, and interactive activities.

Throughout the lesson, children demonstrated high levels of active participation. During the singing activity, children eagerly joined in, trying to match the new words to the familiar tune. The repetitive nature of the song helped them quickly pick up the lyrics. Children were observed smiling, clapping, and even dancing along, indicating their enjoyment and engagement.

The traffic light game was particularly successful in maintaining children’s interest. Most children were enthusiastic about pretending to be cars and responding to the traffic light signals. They showed excitement when it was their turn to move according to the colored cubes, demonstrating their understanding of the concepts of “stop”, go”, and “slow”. The game allowed them to learn through play, which is a natural and effective method for this age group.

Many children were able to correctly identify and use the new words introduced in the song, such as “red”, “green”, “yellow”, “stop”, “go”, “slow”. This was evident when they responded accurately during the traffic light game and in subsequent discussion.

• “Cuddly Cow” book by Axel Scheffler.

• Finger puppets of farm animals (cow, pig, sheep, chicken, etc).

• Story telling area (e.g., carpet or table)

• Optional: Farm animal sound or music.

The implementation of the “Cuddly Cow” finger puppets lesson plan inspired in various positive responses from LF and other kids. The lesson plan was generally well-received by LF and the other children. It indicated that it is appropriately challenging for their age-group. When the story was read aloud and the puppets were used to act out the scenes, LF and the kids are visibly engaged. LF was excited to see the finger puppets, she loved carrying the animals and mimicked the actions with enthusiasm. LF and friends eagerly waited for their turn to put the puppets on the fingers to act their turn.

• Book: “8 Little Planets” by Chris Ferrie, Pictures by Lizzy Doyle,

• Printouts of Solar system,

• Laminator to laminate the solar system printouts,

• Brown bags,

• Glue, and

• Scissors

Introducing young children to the solar system through "8 Little Planets" by Chris Ferrie offered an engaging educational experience. Utilizing brown bag planet puppets for a dramatic retelling, children were excited to bring the story to life. The lesson began with a review of materials, followed by distributing puppets and a brief recap of each planet's features. The activity included reading lines from the book, with children actively participating by showcasing their planet puppets. Effective planning, support, clear directions, and stimulating elements like visual aids and animated storytelling ensured a memorable and educational experience, fostering creativity, participation, and a deeper understanding of the solar system.