final project

Graded Project Final Project Contents Contents iii OVERVIEW 1 INSTRUCTIONS 2 GRADING CRITERIA 6 SUBMITTING YOUR PROJECT 7 Graded Project 1 Graded Project Final Project OVERVIEW As this course draws to an end, you’re likely reflecting on everything you’ve learned about health, safety, and nutrition for the young child. In earlier assignments, you conducted researched and summarized information gathered from outside sources; in this essay, you’ll instead share your own ideas, plans, perspectives, goals and objectives as influenced by this course and as related to health, safety, and nutrition in the early childhood setting. As with all ECE exams, begin with your Title Page formatted in APA style. Refer to the Sample APA Title Page on the Early Childhood Learning Resource Center https://pflibrary. pennfoster.edu/earlychildhoodcenter/college. Format your paper using a standard font such as Times New Roman or Arial, 12-point type. Set the margins at a standard 1 inch on all sides. Set your line spacing for double-spacing. Because you’ve already provided your information (your first and last name, your student ID number, the examination name and number, the course name and number and the date of submission) on your Title Page, no running header is necessary. The standard style format for citations, if required, is American Psychological Association (APA). For assistance with proper APA in-text citations and references, please review the APA in ECE – Oh My! recorded webinar and Keep Calm and APA! reference page on the Early Childhood Learning Resource Center https://pflibrary.pennfoster.edu/ earlychildhoodcenter/college. 2 Final Project Your completed work will be submitted in essay format consisting of at least nine (9) fully developed paragraphs; each paragraph will include at least five – seven fully developed sentences. Begin your assignment by selecting one of the following age groups to focus on throughout your essay: n Infants, 6 to 12 months n Toddlers, 1 and 2 years n Preschoolers, 3 to 5 years INSTRUCTIONS This graded assignment requires you to again imagine yourself in the role of director of a center-based child care facility. Your submitted assignment will reflect your responses to this hypothetical situation and won’t reflect any real-world early childhood setting at which you may currently work or observe. One of the many responsibilities you would face as the center’s director is to promote your child care facility to prospective parents and new families. In this assignment, you’ll explain your fictional center’s approach to ensuring and maintaining the health, safety, and nutrition of all children enrolled. In an early part of your essay, you’ll share information about the center’s indoor and outdoor environments and the many ways in which they’re kept sanitary, safe, and secure. In a later portion of your essay, you’ll explain four detailed lessons included in your curriculum that effectively teach children about health, safety, and nutrition. Finally, you’ll explain a planned modification to one of these four lessons to accommodate a child enrolled with a hypothetical special need or disability. As always, your written work will include introductory and concluding paragraphs, and it will be supported by APAformatted in-text citations and references wherever needed. Include the following components: Introductory paragraph. Share an opening paragraph that previews for the reader (in this instance, any prospective parent and family considering enrollment at your imagined center) what they’ll be reading and learning about in your essay. In 60584900 3 your introductory paragraph, you’ll want to express to your reader the important role your center plays in ensuring their child’s health, safety, and proper nutrition. Your introductory paragraph is the best place to include your thesis statement (the most important statement, summary, point or argument to be made in your assignment). Your introduction is also the best place to identify which one of the three age groups your center enrolls (this is the one age group you’ve selected to write about). Your introductory paragraph will be composed of at least five – seven fully developed sentences. Second paragraph. Discuss the ideal location, space, and security of your child care facility, and explain appropriate facility maintenance and upkeep. Share specific information about the outside environment of the center, including the facility’s outdoor play area. The course video on the Early Childhood Learning Resource Center offers specific suggestions about how best to write about and explain your center’s approach to the outdoor environment. This paragraph will likely be composed of at least five – seven fully developed sentences, and it will include specific examples of quality of care rather than generalized statements. Third paragraph. Next, share specific examples to prospective families to demonstrate how your center’s indoor space, security, materials, and maintenance keep children healthy and safe. Share specific information about the interior environment of the center, including the facility’s classroom areas. The course video on the Early Childhood Learning Resource Center offers specific suggestions about how best to explain your center’s approach to the indoor environment. This paragraph will likely be composed of at least five – seven fully developed sentences, and it will include specific examples of quality of care rather than generalized statements. Fourth and fifth paragraphs. It’s sometimes helpful to describe sample lessons to families in efforts to demonstrate how children are engaged in learning at your center. Select two indoor lessons that are age- and developmentally-appropriate, play-based, hands-on, fun, and engaging while also (and importantly) teaching children about any topic related to health, safety, or nutrition. Consider specific lessons that you would teach to children only once per school year; do not write about everyday activities such as washing hands, brushing 4 Final Project teeth, or tying shoes. Science experiments are a terrific way to satisfy the requirements of this portion of your assignment. In two separate paragraphs, identify the titles of the two lessons, then share the materials needed, the step-by-step procedures, the physical space, the expectations for behavior, and the measurable objectives involved in each lesson. The course video on the Early Childhood Learning Resource Center offers specific suggestions and examples about how best to explain your planned indoor lessons. Each paragraph will likely be composed of at least five – seven fully developed sentences. Sixth and seventh paragraphs. Next, write about two outdoor lessons that are age- and developmentally-appropriate, play-based, hands-on, fun, and engaging while also (and importantly) teaching children something specific about any topic related to health, safety, or nutrition. Again, select specific lessons that you would teach to children only once per school year; do not write about everyday activities such as putting on coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and boots before going outside to work and play. Science experiments are a terrific way to satisfy the requirements of this portion of your assignment. In two separate paragraphs, identify the titles of the two lessons, then share the materials needed, the step-by-step procedures, the physical space, the expectations for behavior, and the measurable objectives involved in each lesson. The course video on the Early Childhood Learning Resource Center offers specific suggestions and examples about how best to explain your planned outdoor lessons. Each paragraph will likely be composed of at least five – seven fully developed sentences. Eighth paragraph. Now that you’ve planned indoor and outdoor lessons that teach children about an important topic related to health, safety, or nutrition, consider the impact enrolling a child with a special need or disability might have on one of these four lessons. Pretend the child of a prospective family reading your essay has an identified disability, special need, medical condition, or allergy. Select one of your four lessons, and explain the ways in which you would modify that lesson so their child could safely participate and be fully included in the experience. Describe the adaptions you would make in to the lesson so all children are equal participants. The course video on the Early Childhood Learning Resource 60584900 5 Center offers specific suggestions about how to select then modify one of the four lessons for a child with a special need. This paragraph will likely be composed of at least five – seven fully developed sentences. Ninth paragraph. Share your conclusion in your final paragraph. Remind the reader of your supported thesis statement and reiterate what they’ve learned about your demonstrated commitment to children’s health, safety, and nutrition at your center. This paragraph will likely be composed of at least five – seven fully developed sentences. Additional notes: • Unlike your Menu Project, this assignment is not required to be written in a letter format; you have the option to share this information as a letter and to include a greeting and closing if you wish to do so. • This assignment does not require you to utilize outside sources or conduct research. If you wish to use outside sources, to borrow lesson plans and ideas from teachers’ resources, or to support your work with information that isn’t original, you’re welcome to do so; be sure to include in-text citations in APA format and a references page to appropriately credit the external source. • There’s no specified word count for your ECE130 Final Project. Your instructor will consider the quality of your expressed ideas rather than count the quantity of your words. 6 Final Project GRADING CRITERIA Final Project Grading Criteria Exemplary Proficient Fair Poor Not Evident Selected age group specified 5 3 2 1 0 Introductory paragraph shows the importance of providing safe learning environments; the concluding paragraph summarizes the main points of the paper. 15 12 9 5 0 Paragraphs 2 and 3 discuss an ideal location, space, and security of a center, school, or other facility, and they explain appropriate facility maintenance and upkeep. 15 12 9 5 0 Paragraphs 4 and 5 identify and describe two age-appropriate indoor learning activities that reinforce the importance of health, nutrition, and safety. 15 12 9 5 0 Paragraphs 6 and 7 identify and describe two other ageappropriate indoor learning activities that reinforce the important of health, nutrition, and safety. 15 12 9 5 0 Paragraph 8 identifies a disability or allergy that may have an impact on a child successfully completing at least one of the activities identified. An adaptation is included to allow him or her to participate. 15 12 9 5 0 Grammar, sentences, mechanics, and format. 10 8 6 4 0 Title Page in APA format and references page included (as needed). 10 8 6 4 0 60584900 7 SUBMITTING YOUR PROJECT Prior to Submitting Your Assignment for Grading Before submitting your Final Project: n You’re encouraged to access and review the course resources available on the Early Childhood College Programs and Courses Learning Resource Center for additional guidance on completing this assignment https://pflibrary.pennfoster.edu/earlychildhoodcenter/college. n To learn how to cite sources in APA format, please review the APA in ECE – Oh My! recorded webinar and Keep Calm and APA! reference page on the Early Childhood Learning Resource Center https://pflibrary.pennfoster. edu/earlychildhoodcenter/college. n Proofread your work for any spelling, punctuation, grammatical, or formatting errors. n Review the Grading Rubric (above) to ensure all portions of the assignment are satisfied. n Save your assignment (including the Title Page, Essay, Menu, and References Page) as ONE continuous file in Microsoft Word or other rich-text format. 8 Final Project Submitting Your Assignment for Grading Each project is individually graded and therefore could take approximately 5–7 business days to grade. Follow this procedure to submit your project online: Make sure the following information is in the heading of each document: n Your name n Your email address n Your student number n Course name and number n Project number (file number) To submit your graded project, follow these steps: 1. Go to http://www.pennfoster.edu and log in to your student portal. 2. On your student portal, click on Take an Exam. 3. In the box provided, enter the project number. The number for this project is file number. 4. Click on Submit. 5. On the next screen, enter your email address. (Note: This information is required for online submission.) 6. If you wish to tell your instructor anything specific regarding this project, enter it in the Comments. 7. Attach your file or files as follows: a. Click on the first Browse box. b. Locate the file you wish to attach. c. Double-click on the file. d. To attach the additional files, click on the next Browse box and repeat steps b and c. Repeat until all files are uploaded. 8. Click on Submit. Be sure to keep a backup copy of any files you submit to the school!