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Nursery 1 Brave
Welcome to N1 Brave! Based on our class name, we practice bravery! We are learning to be brave every step of the way and learning even when things might be tough!
For Term 1, the topic was Primary Colours. For Term 2, the topic was on Identifying Plants and for Term 3, the topic was Domestic animals (Pets).
Term Overview
Term 1
Theme: Rainbow
Topic: Primary Colours
During free-choice play time, as they were playing with legos, one of the N1 children approached me and asked “why are there only 3 colours?”. From this observation, I felt that it was important to teach the children about primary colours and the more common colours that they see in their daily environment. This would enable them to have a clearer understanding and be able to name and identify these primary colours when seen.
Term 2
Theme: Plants
Topic: Identifying Plants
In our centre, we choose to expose children to the outdoors at a young age and incorporate outdoor lessons. After one of the outdoor lessons, as the class walked back to their classroom, they passed by the garden and one of the children pointed at a plant and asked, “What’s that teacher!” and all the rest crowded around what he had pointed at and looked confused. This sparked a common interest in all the children, hence this term’s topic will be focusing on identifying plants they see.
Term 3
Theme: Animals
Topic: Domestic Animals (Pets)
During a show-and-tell lesson conducted, there were a multiple of children who brought their preferred stuffed animals to share. This sparked off a curiosity in them as they were unable to identify between wild animals and domestic animals. Hence i felt that this lesson would better aid them in identifying what are safe and harmless domestic animals.
Term 4
To be updated in September 2020
Lesson Documentation
Term 1 Theme: Rainbow
Topic: Primary Colours
N1
Teacher Zoe started her lesson by showing the children a youtube video of the “Colour Song”. This would be the introduction of the colours that will be taught to them. It gives examples of the objects that are frequently associated with the colours.
The focus of this lesson will be on their “Aesthetics and Creative Expression” where the children will be able to decorate the primary colour wheel and add and paint to their liking. There will also be different objects of the colours that they will have to stick onto the respective colours on the wheel.
This activity will also build on their “Numeracy” skill of matching where they have to match the colours of the objects to the colour on the wheel. This would be do-able for the Nursery 1 children as there are only 3 colours involved
Lesson Overview
Lesson Objectives
Children will be able to:
1. Identify the primary colours (red, blue, yellow)
2. Paint the colour wheel with the primary colours
3. Practice matching skill as they match the colour of the object to the colour on the wheel
4. Name the 3 primary colours without the help of the teacher
Teaching Technique used
Scaffolding:
According to MacNaughton and Williams (2009), Scaffolding refers to the process of providing temporary guidance and support to children moving from one level of competence to another. In the classroom setting, scaffolding is used when a more competent adult helps the less competent child in supporting the exploration of new meanings, relationships and knowledge. Since the teacher is working with a younger age group that might not be able to voice out their struggles, the teacher can begin the lesson doing a demonstration of the activity so that they are able to watch and follow. Scaffolding is helpful as it aids young children to build their confidence while learning.
Importance of Scaffolding in our school:
In Nurturing Rainbow Preschool, we value the importance of a holistic learning experience in a safe and open-ended learning environment. By incorporating scaffolding into the lesson, the teacher is then able to break down the lesson into simpler terms for the children to learn as a whole. Through understanding their level of competence, the teacher is able to inculcate a safe and open-ended learning environment for the children to thrive in.
Teaching Technique:
Scaffolding
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To begin the lesson, Teacher Zoe started by using visual aids pictures of the colour, along with the written word. By adding visual aids, the lesson is broken down into simpler bite sized pieces for them to grasp.
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Next, Teacher Zoe demonstrated the teaching technique of Scaffolding by using demonstrations on how the colour wheel should look like. She will show an end product and leave it on the whiteboard while explaining the activity.
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While sticking on the same coloured objects onto the colour wheel, Teacher Zoe notices one of the children struggling to figure out the colour. By using scaffolding, she can use probing questions like “what colour is this?” or “Where do you think this should go?” or “Is this red or blue?”. By using probing questions, she is breaking the lesson down even further for the child to be able to grasp.
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When Teacher Zoe notices the children struggling, she can also think of alternatives to tweak the activity according to the child’s ability. In the class, one of the children engages at a lower level and learns slowly, hence, she kept close to the child and provided support by placing the same coloured toys together. This way, the child would be able to do the activity.
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Lastly, during the closure, Teacher Zoe provided the children with high levels of encouragement for going through the activity. Things like “Good job!”, “You did so well” will enable the child to boost their confidence and increase self competence.