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Texas ISD School Guide
Texas ISD School Guide







Lessons & Classroom Games for Teachers

Preschool Lessons - Developing an Age Appropriate Curriculum
By:Mary Robinson

Students will lose interest in preschool lessons if they are not direct and focused. Lessons should have a clear purpose, and teachers should remind students of the lesson multiple times. Just as in speechmaking, teachers should tell students what they are going to learn, teach them, and then tell them what they learned.

By repeating preschool lessons multiple times throughout the day or over a series of days, the material sinks in better for students and encourages retention. By forcing the lesson to be repeated, it also helps the teacher focus on the most important aspects of the lesson.

Age Appropriate

There are some lessons that are simply too advanced for preschoolers because of the abstract quality of the material being presented or the detailed data required for understanding. Teachers should always take into account the maturity of their students and their cognitive development.

However, this does not mean that teachers should hold back on educating preschoolers. Teachers should always push their students forward, encouraging them to learn and grow through preschool lessons and other activities. If a teacher feels that the class is beyond preschool lessons, they should introduce more advanced concepts, similar to those taught in kindergarten.

If a teacher is dealing with one or two students who are clearly more advanced than the group, the teacher should consider additional activities for those students. Such activities should be individual, so the students can still participate with the class but be challenged on their own level.

Tasks for such students could include learning to write the alphabet, learning to tie their shoes, or memorizing their home address. These individual activities challenge students but will not interfere with a teacher's lesson for the class at large.

Teach Right and Wrong

Preschool Lessons are a great place for teachers to bring in the ideas of right and wrong. Because students will probably be reprimanded for inappropriate behavior or speech, teachers should strive to impart these lessons explicitly for students. By including components of social values, customs, and appropriate behavior, teachers help students grow into fully-functioning members of society.

Including lessons of right and wrong is not hard for an everyday lesson. If teachers are telling students about nature, they can include a sentence or two about the importance of keeping nature clean and preserving our resources. While talking about holidays, teachers can show customary greetings for that holiday and how to respond when someone says something to you.

Preschool lessons must be specifically tailored to the needs of young students. Teachers should make lessons interesting, focused on a specific topic, and repetitive. By repeating the point of the lesson, teachers give students more chances to absorb and truly understand the material presented.

Preschool lessons should also challenge students at their own level. Advanced students can have individual projects to work on to help keep them interested, and teachers can include lessons of right and wrong to help all students understand proper social behavior.

Mary Robinson has been teaching preschool for well over a decade. You can get instant access to her preschool activities, crafts, and lesson plans by visiting her website:

http://www.mypreschoolplan.com

For a limited time, all visitors to Mary's site will also get a free copy of her special report: "The 7 Biggest Mistakes Preschool Teachers and Parents Make". Go get your free copy today!





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