Justification

Fish Frenzy by Kayla Harrison

Kayla Harrison
Dr. Perkins
TLC 2
March 31, 2015

Throughout high school I always imagined planning lessons for my future class. I took
an Early Childhood class my senior year, and got a taste of writing lesson plans. I would have
never thought that so much went into creating lesson plans. Lesson plans require justifications
that correspond with standards, and the lesson plans should reflect childrens interests.

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In my Early Childhood class, I had the opportunity to write my own childrens book for
Preschool aged children. One reason I chose to incorporate this story in my lesson is because it
is a part of my journey of becoming a teacher. Another reason I chose this book to include in my
lesson is due to the rhyming words at the end of each sentence. When I wrote the book, I was
thinking about what children in Preschool would be learning about, or would be familiar with.
Recently, I have observed in my classroom that the children could easily recognize when words
rhymed. The cooperating teacher spoke to me about it, and said that she had been working on
certain rhyming patterns with the children.
After I had learned what rhymes the children knew, I decided that since my story
included rhyming words that they would be familiar with and some that were unfamiliar to them,
the book would be great for teaching. I incorporated rhyming words in an activity the children
will engage in once the story has been read, and weve finished reviewing the rhyming words the
children know.
Another component of my lesson is a take-home family project. I thought an interesting
idea would be for the children to take home a stuffed animal fish, like the fish we read about in
the story, and bring him with them wherever they go that night. The children will then, with
parental or guardian help, write about what they did with the fish that night. The children will
add pictures for additional detail. They will receive a few pages that contain an area for drawing,
an an area for writing. The title of the book they will make will be, A Night with _____, and
the child will fill in their first name. This is, in a way, their own story. I thought since I had
gotten the chance to write my own story, the children should get an opportunity to write their
own stories, as well. Having the families be a part of this project is important because they
should be involved in every aspect of their childs life. The children cannot properly develop

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without their family. I wanted this project to reflect the NAEYC Standard, involving families
and communities in their childrens development and learning (Brinks, 2009). I think that
through the parent interviews, I have developed supporting and engaging relationships with some
of the families (Brinks, 2009). My goal at the end of this lesson, is to help the children recognize
diversity within families, and to engage families in the project, with the purpose of forming
relationships and encouraging them to be a part of their childrens education.
Overall, I think that my lesson incorporates families, diversity, and childrens interests. I
also planned my lesson around what was being taught in the classroom. I believe that my lesson
will help further childrens knowledge of rhyming words, and it will also encourage them to feel
confident when doing anything.
The last component to my lesson is based upon social-emotional needs of the children. I
observed that some children showed a lack of confidence when completing tasks. I felt that my
story about a fish who feels discouraged, but then gets a word of encouragement and confidently
wins the next race, is a great starting point for the lesson. The purpose behind focusing on this
particular social-emotional aspect is to encourage the children to go into anything and feel
confident in themselves. I feel that confidence is such an important part of childhood. Children
in Preschool are in the Initiative vs. Guilt stage of Erik Eriksons stages of development
(Morrison, 2014, p. 101). During this time, the children explore, and try new things. However,
if they dont go in with confidence, they may feel that they dont have the ability to lead others,
or complete difficult tasks. They may never get through this stage, and move on to the next.
Developing confidence is crucial in this age group. My lesson will show children the positive
consequences of having confidence in their own abilities through a story, and discussion about

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confidence. I feel that my lesson incorporates many aspects that are important to childrens
development, and that involves their families.

References
Brinks, B., Bullard, J., Cruz, J., Fredericks, S., Johnston, J., Rust, F., & Thomas-Fair, U.
(2009, January 1). NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation
Programs. Retrieved March 30, 2015, from
https://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ProfPrepStandards09.pdf
Morrison, G. (2014). Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education (7th ed., p. 101).
Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill.