Thematic or integrated instruction allows the teacher to integrate language, writing, listening, speaking, maths, science, art, music, dramatic play and culture into activities that are both meaningful and appropriate.
Thematic instruction is also designed to accommodate a variety of individual development levels, as well as individual differences and needs, and sets the stage for creative problem solving.
Planned in conjunction with a good understanding of children’s development stages, such a learning programme integrates the needs, abilities and interests of young learners.
The theme-designed curriculum provides an opportunity for children to share and explore meaningful experiences that are important to them.
Children enhance their thinking and learning when they make connections between one curricular experience and the next.
- Science And Mathematics Concepts
The children were encouraged to find out more about goats – their type and appearance, diet, habitat, life span and usefulness to humans.
One to one ‘correspondence and matching’ games were played, where each child was provided with a set of 7 picture cards depicting
the 7 kid goats. They were also given 7 flashcards numbered 1 to 7 and instructed to match the numbers to the correct pictures. The objective was to teach children to count objects up to seven.
- Language And Literary
After reading the story, the children discussed what they liked or disliked about the tale.
They were then introduced to some new words to add to their vocabularies, and encouraged to
write a few words from, or sentences about, the story on sheets of A3 construction paper.
The papers were compiled into a book, and displayed in the library/language corner.
- Learning Through Play
The young learners from this Early Learning Centre had plenty of fun pretending in turns to be a goat, a wolf, a baker, a miller and a shopkeeper. They experimented with different movements, tones and facial expressions.
Lots of excitement was obvious as the children made chocolate goats milk using Milo, as well as goat’s cheese crackers. The children also put up a chart to indicate their preference for either cow or goat’s cheese.
- The Benefits Of Thematic Learning
Young children naturally make connections with what they learn in their day-to-day lives. Trying to make sense of their world, they pull together
related experiences and ideas.
Through thematic learning, a child’s thinking continues to be stimulated. Through research, comparison, description, analysis and synthesis,
multiple opportunities for talking, reading, writing and creating are presented.
With opportunities to explore materials and work hand-in-hand with their peers, children immerse themselves in thematic experiences.
In essence, through a variety of interactive experiences, children explore the underlying theme, visit and revisit the topic, and support
their understanding through learning new facts and information.
Learn more about your handling & developing children at:
http://www.Child-Central.com
Creativity in Mathematics explores the world of Inquiry-Based Learning and seeks to identify the reasons behind its celebrated success. More than twenty-five influential teachers, top researchers, inventors, and leaders of industry attest to the life changing rewards that began for them in a classroom taught by IBL and the Moore Method. A wealth of resources is available on the web at www.discovery.utexas.edu/rlm or please call 512-469-1700 for more information.
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Tags: kid goats, language corner, learning through play, life span, matching games, mathematics concepts, meaningful experiences, picture cards, thematic instruction, young learners