During our work with children and
families and as teachers, we often worked with students who were just beginning
in a structured learning environment.
To determine first goals and
objectives for them, we considered what the children could already accomplish
as well as their emerging skills. We thought about the developmental or
curriculum areas that were important to address.
We hope the following example of goals
and objectives for one such beginning child will add to your knowledge about
“where to start.”
· Developmental
or Curriculum Area: Imitation/One
way children learn is by copying what they see others do.
· Objectives: Have
your child copy your actions with objects – plays musical instrument as you do,
activates toys as you demonstrate, pretends to feed, give a drink, bathe, brush
teeth of stuffed animal or doll
· Developmental
or Curriculum Area: Fine Motor/Maneuvers
hands or fingers for some desired result
· Objectives:
1.
Uses 1 finger to poke a hole in a ball of playdoh or uses 1 finger
to push object through opening in lid of a container.
2.
Uses
2 hands together to pull apart pop beads or Legos or play cymbals or roll a
ball or make a ball of playdoh.
3.
Squeezes
to pull clothespins or clips off can rim.
4.
Scoops
beads or water with shovel or scoops and empties into larger container.
5.
Turns
wrist to empty container with a small opening to get treat.
6.
Scribbles with a crayon or marker.
· Developmental
or Curriculum Area: Thinking/Young
children work on problem solving skills with different types of play.
· Objective: Explores a variety of cause and effect toys
figuring out how to operate them.
· Developmental
or Curriculum Area: Matching/Sorting/Children organize all the
sights and sounds they see and hear by grouping them into categories.
· Objectives:
1. Matches and sorts 2 dissimilar objects that
are identical sets (spoons versus blocks, for example).
2. In everyday life, practices putting away socks
vs. underwear.
3. Matches pairs of socks.
· Developmental
or Curriculum Area: Number Skills/First
children learn the concept of 1-to-1 correspondence.
· Objectives:
1.
Places 1 object in each section of a muffin tin, egg carton, etc.;
at first using objects that completely fill the opening.
2.
Once successful with this task, next places objects that are
smaller so that more than 1 could fit into the opening. Label each section with the numeral 1.
3.
When the student child puts in the object, point to the 1 and say,
“1”.
4.
After much practice with this 1-to-1 correspondence task, next
mark another egg carton, with the numeral 2, and see if he can place
2 objects in each section.
5.
After practicing with 2, then introduce 1 and 2 at the same time
and see if the student can then make this discrimination between counting 1 or
2.
· Developmental
or Curriculum Area: Eye-Hand
Integration/This involves a child’s coordinating his motor movements with what
his eyes see.
· Objectives: Types
of tasks include simple puzzles, shape boxes, placing pegs in pegboard, placing
beads on a spindle, pipe cleaner, or string.
· Developmental
or Curriculum Area: Understanding Language/How a child listens
and responds to nonverbal cues and spoken words.
· Objectives:
1.
Responds to nonverbal gestures, such as a point which shows where
to place an object, outstretched hand which tells to give, or a gesture that
means come here.
2.
Follows 1-step directions as part of a daily routine; for example,
GET _________.
3.
Touches facial body parts when named (eye, ear, nose, mouth,
hair). You can draw pictures of the
body parts and show him the picture as you help the students touch the correct
body part. Or have them look in the
mirror as they respond.
· Developmental or Curriculum Area: Expressing
needs and wants/Children express what they want in a variety of verbal and
nonverbal ways.
· Objectives:
Gives an object to represent what
he wants (bubbles, candy wrapper, cup). When he gives the object, give him what
he wants and say the one word labeling the object.
In addition to these beginning skills, remember how important it
will be to teach your students the meaning of first-next sequences. These can
easily be incorporated into daily routines. Some examples include first, work—then
bubbles; first, shoes – then outside; first brush teeth – then bath.
Also important is designing learning situations so that the
students know when the end of the work will be. For example, if a student is working
on identifying body parts, there might be 5 pictures of different body parts that
represent how long the activity will last. As each is touched, the card for
that body part is put into a finished container. Teaching the concept of
finished within the work routines is equally valuable to the student. Knowing
when some activity will be completed and what will be next enhances the
students’ attention.
Our Tasks Galore books provide multiple visual tasks that can
address the objectives in this example and many, many others.
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| Tasks Galore Books offer many task ideas to assist you in addressing your educational objectives. |
