Paramus High School
Paramus, New Jersey
CURRICULUM OUTLINE
Department: Creative Arts
Course: Child Development I CA 414
Level: Grades 9, 10, 11, and 12
This segment of the music curriculum fulfills the following NJCCC Standards for Cross Content/Workplace readiness: 1,2,3 and 4
I.Course Description:
Child Development I will offer a foundation for boys and girls who will begin to think realistically about the roles, responsibilities and rewards of a competent parent. Career opportunities related to children will be explored. Students gain insight into development by studying, observing, and actually working with young children on a regular basis in the high school’s Early Childhood Center. The course offers a framework for understanding the forces that shape children’s development and opportunities to develop competencies while working with pre-school students.
II.Course Objectives:
A.To demonstrate an understanding that healthy self-esteem and self-concepts develop early in life and are an important influence on behavior and success in later life.
B.To demonstrate a range of competencies when working with children with respect to discipline.
C.To learn how to foster creativity in children and understand its importance.
D.To understand how children learn and how different play activities contribute to learning.
E.To explore how language develops in children and how to foster language development.
- To express the viewpoint that anyone responsible for the care of the child is performing a crucial and fulfilling task.
- Major Concepts and Topics:
This segment of the music curriculum fulfills the following NJCCC Standards for Cross Content/Workplace readiness: 1,2,3 and 4
A.A Child’s World
B.Orientation and Experience in the Early Childhood Center
- Self-Esteem and Self-Concept
- Discipline
E.Child Abuse
F.Creativity
G.Play
H.Language Development
I.Disabilities
IV.Student Skill Objective (Upon completion of this course, a student should be able to...)
A.Work effectively a minimum of two periods per week with children in the Early Childhood Center.
B.Use preschoolers materials and spaces to gain a better understanding of them by trying to see things from the preschoolers point of view.
C.Demonstrate an understanding of pre-schoolers intellectual development by preparing a visual/oral presentation or creating a manipulative project.
ID. Evaluate the manipulative project by assessing the problems and how to modify the project to adapt to the developmental level of the child.
E.Demonstrate an understanding of how the Early Childhood
Center environment affects the preschoolers via the E.C.C.
Observation Room.
F.Evaluate a pre-schoolers level of creative development by observing, recording and interpreting children’s behavior while drawing a picture.
G.Develop an understanding of a preschooler’s attention span by completing an observation assignment from the observation room.
H.Identify at least three precautions necessary to assure safety for young children.
I.State four reasons why children need guidance.
J.List four kinds of problem behaviors and demonstrate ways to handle each.
K.Exhibit three ways that a caregiver’s personal behavior affects guidance.
L.State four benefits children derive from outdoor play.
M.Demonstrate four ways a child care aide can enhance self-esteem through cognitive and creative activities-.
N.Demonstrate at least three ways to stimulate small and large motor development.
O. Demonstrate and understanding of the importance of a good self-concept by examining the self-concept of a child in all areas of development.
P.Name at least four ways to increase children’s language skills.
Q.List at least three language arts activities that child care aids are responsible for and describe how each should be performed.
R.Name three benefits of art experiences for young children and identify four ways to encourage creativity.
V.Evaluation Procedures:
A.Projects
1.Creativity
a.storybook cover
b.fingerprinting/printmaking
c.children’s story
2.Intellectual Development
a.choice of play activity
b. presentation:
1. oral
2. visual
3. written summary
4. test questions
c.evaluation
3.Discipline
a.assigned discipline method
b. presentation
1. oral
2. visual
c.evaluation
4.Language Development
- puppet show
- b. theatrical play
B.Reading Assignments/Questions
1.Separation Anxiety
2.Guiding children’s behavior
3.Helping children learn
4.Value of play
C.Observation Assignments
1.ECC environment
2.Attention span
3.Level of art development
4.Direct and indirect guidance
5.Individual development in all areas
D. On-Hands Experience at ECC
1.Attendance
2.Punctuality
3.Concentration on pre-school students
4.Evidence of responsibility
5.Evidence of developmentally appropriate practices and discipline methods
E.Quizzes
1.Printing
2.Creativity
3.Intellectual Development
4.Discipline
F.Class Participation
G.Final Exam: Case Study
1.Observation of a child’s development
2.Opinion
3.Specific examples of a child’s behavior to justify opinion.
- Completion of case study based on outline.
VI.Suggested Materials
A.Textbooks
1.Parenting: Rewards and Responsibilities
Hildebrand:Glencoe Division of Macmillan/McGraw-Hill School Publishing Co. 1994.
2.Children’s Art: Education Development Center, Inc.
1973.
B.Videos
1.The Ugly Duckling
2.Footsteps: About Self Concept
3.20/20: Spanking
4.How to Raise a Street Smart Kid
5.And Then Came John (Down’s Syndrome)
6.Out of Control (Attention Deficit Disorder)
7.I Am Your Child (Parenting)
8.Child Abuse
9.Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
10.Positive Discipline/Positive Children
11.Mirrors (Self-Concept)