CHDV 210 Curriculum Activities Self Evaluation Form

Please reflect on these questions as you evaluate each of the 5 activities that you present.

Why did you choose this particular activity? (DRDP, conversation with child, etc.)
I chose this activity because I feel it covers a lot of childrens language and literacy
development. The children practiced their prewriting skills and reading all with personal
drawings and writing that they can recognize. Children learn a lot of their language and
literacy skills through activities such as, role playing, exploring print materials, and doing
inventive writing (Epstein, 2007, p. 24). In this case, it is all kept in a book of their very
own that can be kept by the teacher to refer back to to learn where the child is at
developmentally.

What were the strong points of this activity?

The children enjoyed drawing their family, favorite food, and toy. When it came to drawing
themselves, some were able to draw basic facial features like eyes and a mouth. Because it
was a book about them, they were able to draw whatever they felt like even if it had nothing
to do with the whole purpose of the book. It was a perfect way for them to express
themselves in their drawings and they were able to use their language skills trying to explain
what they were drawing. This activity was strong because it was relevant and meaningful to
them. According to the text, When children can apply language and literacy learning to their
everyday interests and activities, that learning will be genuine, deep, and lasting. (Epstein,
2007, p. 24).

What were the weak areas?

The first time I did the activity, I had the loose pages for them to draw on and then after I put
the book together when they were done. It made it a little chaotic for me because I was trying
to pay attention to each child while trying to put their books together and having to hand each
page to them as they were finishing one after the other.

What specific changes did you try out when you presented the activity a second time?
The second time I presented the activity I premade the books. I had all the pages together and
stapled with the titles written at the top. That way the children were able to just turn the page
and continue without really having to wait on me.

Evaluate the success of these revisions. How might you improve next time? (Focus on your
teaching skills)
With these revisions I was able to scaffold more by asking more open-ended questions and
when a child got stuck on a page I was able to support that child by asking questions that
might spark some ideas. I also had more opportunities to take down the childrens dictations
of their drawings and read them back to them. Providing the children with dictations is a way
for them to understand one-to-one correspondence between spoken and written language
(Epstein, 2007, p. 35).

Did your curriculum activity meet your stated objective? Support your answer with specific
examples from your observation of the childrens involvement in the activity.
I believe my activity did meet my objectives. As the children were drawing their faces, I had
one girl (Jasmin) tell me that she was drawing cheeks on her face. Im drawing pink cheeks
because I have pink cheeks. She was also able to explain that she was drawing brown hair
because her hair is brown. Another girl, Alayah, gave me a whole description of her parents
and how her dad was taller than her mom and how she was the shortest out of both of them.
In this case, they were able to use prewriting skills with their drawings and reading skills as
they described each picture.

Based upon your informal assessment of the children during this activity, how would you
build upon this activity? What would be the next curriculum activity you would plan in this
area to enhance the childrens learning and why would you choose this next activity?
I would want to see if each child could read their book back to me so I know their skill level
in one-on-one correspondence. I would like to have the children make their own class
journals where every day they can add entries. This also supports the childrens development
in one-to-one correspondence between spoken and written language, therefore improving
their language and literacy development. It is clearly stated that, adult-guided experience
seems especially significant in understanding the relationship between spoken and written
language, as well as gaining alphabet knowledge (Epstein, 2007, p. 32).