Reference no: EM133139001

Part 1:

-Is their chosen theme inclusive of all learners? Do they include diverse perspectives? If so, how? If not, how might it be modified?

-Based on the thematic unit chosen by your peer, provide a link to an activity or Pinterest board that your peers could use in their chosen units, and explain why you have selected that particular one.

-Define thematic units. Discuss why we use thematic units. A thematic unit is when a teacher chooses a theme, such as space or oceans, and builds the entire lesson plan around that theme, including all subjects and activities. Thematic units increase student engagement and retention and connect more abstract concepts like mathematics and grammar to a real-world situation that early childhood-aged students can understand.

Part 2:

Friendship and Communication Thematic Unit (Links to an external site.)

-Why did that particular theme catch your interest? I chose the friendship and communication theme for two reasons. The first is that since my career goal is to be a school librarian, I was looking for a theme that allowed for culturally responsive, inclusive lesson planning built around children's books. This theme felt like a good fit as many diverse options available in children's literature would connect well. My second reason for choosing this theme was that I appreciated the concept of exploring friendship at this time of year, close to Valentine's Day, which can be a challenging holiday to teach while respecting students' home lives and families. There are also many options to incorporate the school and larger community into this lesson- creating appreciation "Valentines" for teachers, school staff, and service personnel in the community would be a fun addition.

-What did you notice about how the unit was organized? This unit offers many options for students to improve their social skills, as well as plenty of sensory play, and even has a lesson involving sign language. I appreciated the breakdown of what activities and lessons incorporated specific subjects and skills, and the creator offered multiple options for additional subjects like art and dramatic play.

-How will this thematic unit inspire the thematic unit that you will design during the course? As I mentioned above, I intend to choose a thematic unit that strongly incorporates children's literature because of my career goals. This unit gave me some excellent ideas about transferring a story into lesson planning, including many ways for students to learn and interact and having multiple options in each area of study. The friendship and communication theme I chose to discuss also presents a unique way to instruct students about all the diverse types of love and the importance of good social and communication skills.