Teaching students about self-esteem is important at any age, but it’s super important to emphasize how critical it is to a child’s development. In this lesson I share some ideas and activities that help students understand what self-esteem is, the difference between positive and negative self-esteem, how it’s developed, why it’s important and who/what helps to influence it. So, read on to learn more about this lesson!
Hands down…teaching about literacy and all that it entails is one of my most favorite concepts to teach in child development! Maybe it’s my love of reading, my love of great children’s books or my love of seeing children engaged in reading great children’s books! Either way, it’s an engaging and fun unit to teach and share with my students. In the past I’ve shared many posts about literacy and reading to children, but I have never shared my lesson on evaluating children’s books. Read on to learn more about this lesson!
There are a ton of documentaries out there related to Family & Consumer Sciences. I’ve compiled a list by content area and included links to both the documentary and a viewing or discussion guide, if it was available, for easy access. Documentaries can make great sub plans especially when you know you are going to be gone for a few days! Please share, in the comment section below, any documentaries that you use that you do not see listed and I will add them along with any viewing or discussion guides.
I remember watching Mister Rogers Neighborhood on PBS when I was a child! I had no idea then that I would grow up and become a child development teacher, nor did I fully realize the influence and impact this man had on children’s programming, education and development! The following lesson is a tribute to this man and contains a variety of activities that can be used all together or completed individually depending on your time and classes. Even if you don’t use this lesson, I highly recommend watching the documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” if you grew up with Mister Rogers like I did!
Always wanted to do a breakout but didn’t have the locks or boxes to do so? Now, thanks to Sahvanna Mease and Mary Mullikin of Colorado, you can do just that using Google Forms! How cool is that…less prep, less expense, but just as fun! Even cooler, the same materials are used as in the original version of Human Reproduction & Anatomy Breakaway! Thank you for the adaptations, ladies!
After teaching about P.I.E.S: The Areas of Development, I move directly into the characteristics of development because they tend to go hand in hand. This concept seems to be a bit more difficult for my students to wrap their brains around, so to help them better understand, I have interactive stations set up throughout the room that they work through, completing activities that mirror each of the characteristics. Students must utilize their notes to help discern between the answers. Students enjoy completing the activities and after discussing correct responses and showing the connections, most students have an easier time with the practice scenarios that follow.
One tradition that my family practiced as I was growing up was eating family dinner together regularly! I have wonderful memories of that dinner table; the fun and laughter as well as difficult conversations that ensued between my sisters and parents. This important tradition continued while raising our own children! How my husband and I will miss this daily routine as we rapidly approach the empty nest stage of our lives. Below you will find a lesson that promotes eating together as a family and the benefits along with a variety of engaging activities and projects that can be implemented in the FACS classroom. Hopefully, students will carry this concept to their home life so it becomes a recurring practice and a potential tradition with both their present and future families!
There seems to be a lot of concerns about motor skill development or the lack thereof when it comes to children being school ready. Normally, I teach about motor skills and the difference between fine or small and gross or large to my students. This year I took it a step farther and had my students explore the connection to academic success and motor skills. Below, you will find the lesson and activities that I used with my students to open their eyes to the importance of motor skill development in relation to a child’s academic success.
Several months ago a Texas FACS teacher, sent me a message suggesting that I create a lesson on this topic. I loved the idea and immediately had ideas swirling in my head. However, before sharing, I wanted to try it out with my own child development students to make sure everything went as I envisioned. Thankfully, The lesson and activities went according to plan and students had a lot to say about this topic and some great discussions ensued! If you have suggestions for future lesson and/or activities, send me a message and I’ll take a look!
If you teach child development or a related course where students are learning about or developing materials for young children, you are most likely teaching about developmentally appropriate practice. We all know as educators that children and activities are not all created equal! This lesson introduces students to this concept with an interactive introductory activity and then continues with student exploration of the concept and what it entails. Students also explore what can happen when developmentally appropriate practices are ignored. Finally students participate in a variety of activity stations to determine if DAP or not!
