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Repetition on lesson plan

  • 1.  Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-15-2021 01:16 AM
    Any Suggestions on repeating activities?

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    OLIVIA Nelson-Green
    Lead Cypa
    Fortsill CDC
    Lawton OK
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  • 2.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-16-2021 08:32 AM
    Olivia- I don't think it is a question of repeating the lesson plan. Focus on repeating or re-teaching  the content or concepts. I can't give too much advice since I don't have a full description of the context requiring a repeat of your lesson.

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    Joshua Salinas
    Gatesville TX
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  • 3.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-16-2021 11:22 AM
    I agree with Joshua.  Can you give more context?  What do you mean by "trainer?"  What curriculum (if any) are you using?

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    Cathy McAuliffe, PhD
    Early Childhood Coordinator
    NorthWest Arkansas Community College
    Bentonville, Arkansas
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  • 4.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-16-2021 11:35 AM

     Dr . McAuliffe- wanted to ask you what you think of the intense push down in academics into preschool and kindergarten versus using a developmental appropriate process? I taught  Kinder for 5 years. My interest has always been early grades. PK -1. Play as an educational tool has been all but eliminated. I have seen the changes since 2006. Thanks

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    Joshua Salinas
    Gatesville TX
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  • 5.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-16-2021 12:58 PM
    Johsua, it worries me greatly.  This a "fight" in which I've been engaged for many, many years now. People forget (or don't know) that the preoperational stage of cognitive development encompasses the years from about age two to age six or seven.  And age six or seven is when children were traditionally taught to read.  Kindergarten, as I'm sure you know, was never meant to be academic.  Froebel must be spinning in his grave. Head Start was never meant to be academic either.  The founding educators and professionals knew that exposing children to books and developmentally appropriate toys and environments was the key to giving children what they needed in order to be successful in first grade and beyond.  Today we have plenty of research that shows that early academics is actually damaging to children.

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    Cathy McAuliffe, PhD
    Adjunct Professor
    NorthWest Arkansas Community College
    Bentonville, Arkansas
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  • 6.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-16-2021 02:46 PM
    I agree. These grades were meant for children to develop a live and interest for learning. Even the Soviet Union knew this. Davydov, a student, of Vygotsky wrote about this regarding mathematics. He argued that early education should be about exploring, making mistakes, questioning and developing a mathematical mind. Very frustrating indeed. Thanka

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    Joshua Salinas
    Gatesville TX
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  • 7.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-16-2021 06:28 PM
    I haven't read anything written by Vygotsky's students! Fascinating!  I've always asked my students to imagine if Piaget and Vygotsky could have communicated with each other about their theories and ideas.

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    Cathy McAuliffe, PhD
    Adjunct Professor
    NorthWest Arkansas Community College
    Bentonville, Arkansas
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  • 8.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-16-2021 07:19 PM
    I too am worried about the push down of academics to 4 year olds and would love to have specific research to back me up. At least 20 years ago I saw research indicating that early academics  was actually detrimental to higher order thinking in the upper grades.  Is there anything recent along those lines? Where would you recommend to search?

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    Julia Capper
    ECSE teacher
    San Diego Unified School Distric
    San Diego CA
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  • 9.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-16-2021 09:44 PM
    Julia C. - Yes, I agree that early academics can hinder DA skills and abilities. I like some academics but it has to be gradually introduced. I agree with you. I appreciate your reply. Thank you. Hope all is well.

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    Joshua Salinas

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  • 10.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-18-2021 09:47 PM
    Thank you 






  • 11.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-18-2021 09:26 AM

    Julia Capper:

    NAEYC has position papers that might interest you.  You can also look at Defending the Early Years, the organization whose mission is "to work for a just, equitable, and quality early childhood education for every young child, by informing educators, administrators, and parents about how children develop and learn best and advocating for the active, playful, experiential approaches to learning informed by child development theory and evidence-based research."  Website is https://dey.org



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    Aren Stone
    she/her/hers
    Child Development Specialist
    The Early Years Project
    Cambridge, MA
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  • 12.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-18-2021 10:24 AM
    Thanks Aren, I'll check out that website.

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    Julia Capper
    ECSE teacher
    San Diego CA
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  • 13.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-18-2021 12:31 PM
    Wonderful research and website - Defending the Early Years.  It was very inspiring listening to educators and reading research to support developmentally appropriate programs with play-based learning for the early years - which does NOT just mean preschool.  I have feel so strongly on providing these play-based experiences for kindergarten and first grade as well.
    Thank you for sharing Aren!

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    Jennie Morrell
    Preschool Teacher
    Andover Elementary School
    Andover CT
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  • 14.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-18-2021 09:48 PM
    Thank you






  • 15.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-16-2021 07:29 PM
    In answer to Olivia's question, I would say that children need repetition.  Observe how many times they ask for the same story.  Observe how many times a toddler learning to walk up stairs will go up and down, up and down.  The key is to observe how the children respond to information and activities.  If they are learning from it, they will be engaged.  If they are not learning from it, they will be bored and uninterested.  Sometimes they need to see or hear or engage in the same activity a few times before they grasp the concept.  I am the same way when I start trying to build some furniture from IKEA.  I have to look at the instructions, walk away, look again and do a little bit, walk away and ponder again.  It's the same for children.  Children, teaching and learning are too complex to whittle down to a rule.  It's about observation and reflection.

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    Julia Capper
    ECSE teacher
    San Diego Unified School Distric
    San Diego CA
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  • 16.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-17-2021 12:43 PM
    Julia - I love the connection you made to building IKEA furniture - so true, so true!
    In a NAEYC accredited program - there definitely should be repetition of lessons, materials, and self-guided activities over both short term and long term.  How could we expect young children to learn something with just one exposure time?  There are also many ways you can revisit the skills when repeating  learning experiences/lessons without doing the same exact thing too.  Bring a little variety into the experience with materials or locations and you will reinforce the children's learning without it getting stale or boring.  I'd say - repeat, repeat, repeat - but find a way to repeat that will still hold the children's interest and engagement.

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    Jennie Morrell
    Preschool Teacher
    Andover Elementary School
    Andover CT
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  • 17.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-19-2021 07:57 AM
    This is such an interesting thread!  I agree that repetition is an important feature of a quality early childhood program.  It allows children to gain new levels of understanding at each encounter of the experience AND allows them to progressively gain a sense of mastery.  Perhaps something that can be explored with the initial poster's inquiry is intentionality:  
    • Are you able to explain WHY you are repeating certain experiences for children?
    • Are you able to articulate the various ways you are looking to see how children respond to the repeat experiences?  We see this so often when we read the same book on multiple days and highlight different aspects of the story (plot, vocabulary, etc.) and then use the multiple experiences to assess what the children are recalling and understanding and able to apply.
    This may help to counter any potential negative assumptions about why you are repeating in your lesson planning.

    Kristen Kennen

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    Kristen Kennen
    Early Childhood Education Specialist
    EdAdvance
    Danbury, CT
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  • 18.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-29-2021 01:15 AM
    I regularly repeat concepts yearly, but the delivery and information is new or added to and taken to another level. I see what they liked the first time around and then add to it. They grow and their understanding of concepts grows, so you are able to provide them with different levels of experience each time.   It will all depend on your students and their interest and level of comprehension each time.  For example; this year when we did our weather theme; It was more of a focus on Meteorology, which was a step up from where we first started. It all will be based on you and your students and the learning outcome.

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    Tatina Lloyd
    Chula Vista CA
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  • 19.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 01-29-2021 04:32 PM
    Thank you 







  • 20.  RE: Repetition on lesson plan

    Posted 02-01-2021 11:41 AM
    Hi, Olivia,
    A tip that has been very useful for me over the years - let the level of children's interest be your guide. If they are excited about the material (you hear it as a topic around the classroom, like in dramatic play or building), if they're responsive to it, if they ask for it - then go for the repetition. If their eyes are glazing over or their mostly distracted, drop it for now. Bring it up in a few days and gauge their interest, or even wait a few weeks. That will give you the best teachable moments.
    Good luck and thanks for all you do!

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    Hazel Osborn
    Consultant
    Loveland CO
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