Table of Contents

Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum in Action

For this project, you’ll create a weekly thematic lesson plan and a short reflection on your curricular choices.

Step 1: Choose an Age Group

First, you must decide on an age group for your project. Keep in mind that you’ll be basing your entire weekly lesson plan around this age group and a selected topic of study. Acceptable age groups for this project are

  • Infants (6 weeks to 17 months)
  • Toddlers (18–35 months)
  • Preschoolers (3–5 years)

Step 2: Develop a Weekly Thematic Lesson Plan

You’ll create a weekly lesson plan by selecting a topic of study that you’ll address in all of the developmental domains and areas of the lesson plan. This topic should be connected in all areas of the lesson plan throughout the week. Examples of topics of study include community helpers, transportation, dinosaurs, Diary of a Worm theme, or All About Me. You should focus on developing activities that will be incorporated into the various learning centers within the classroom during free play. Keep in mind that these activities are self-selected and child-driven rather than teacher-directed activities. No worksheets or coloring pages should be included.

Choose the appropriate lesson plan template for the selected age group from the . There is one template for Infants and Toddlers and one template for Preschoolers.

Step 3: Essay

Paragraph 1: Begin your essay with an introduction that identifies the selected age group and topic of study for the developed weekly lesson plan. Clearly identify the purpose of a developmentally appropriate weekly lesson plan; details will be discussed in the subsequent paragraphs. This paragraph will include 4 to 6 fully developed sentences.

Paragraph 2: In this paragraph explain the rationale for creating a detailed weekly lesson plan. Utilize the information covered in your course textbook, study unit, and any outside research you have independently conducted to support your rationale.  is a valuable resource for this type of information. Clearly make a connection between lesson planning, state early learning standards (goals), and DAP guidelines. This paragraph will include 4 to 6 fully developed sentences.

Paragraph 3: In this paragraph, research developmentally appropriate lesson planning and connect the DAP guidelines to your weekly lesson plan. Identify how all activities included within your lesson plan meet best practices and are appropriate for the selected age group. Again,  is a good resource for this type of information, especially the . This paragraph will include 4 to 6 fully developed sentences.

Paragraph 4: When developing the weekly lesson plan, it was noted that worksheets and coloring pages could not be included. In this paragraph, research and discuss why worksheets and coloring pages are not considered developmentally appropriate. This paragraph will include 4 to 6 fully developed sentences.

Paragraph 5: While developing your weekly lesson plan, it was important to consider that the majority of the activities planned should be provided to children during free play. In this paragraph, research and discuss the importance of providing self-selected, child-driven activities during free play rather than teacher-directed activities. This paragraph will include 4 to 6 fully developed sentences.

Paragraph 6: In your final paragraph, summarize what you have learned through the completion of this project. How will you apply this information to your current or future work in the early childhood field? This paragraph will include 4 to 6 fully developed sentences.

Writing Guidelines

  1. Type your submission, double-spaced, in a standard print font, size 11 or 12, depending on font type. Use a standard document format with one-inch margins. (Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial are recommended fonts.)
  1. Include a Title Page in APA format that includes your full name, the name and number of this assignment, the name and number of this course, the name of the school, and the date of submission. Refer to the Sample APA Title Page on the .
  1. Read the assignment carefully, and include all of the necessary information. Be sure to cite all of the websites and articles you use in both part one and part two of the assignment.
  1. Include in-text citations in your essay and a References page; use APA format for both.
  1. You’re encouraged to access and review the course resources available on the  for additional guidance on completing this assignment.

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 .

Title Page

The first page of your assignment will be an APA-formatted title page that includes the following information:

  • Project Name/Title of Paper
  • Student Name
  • Student ID Number
  • Name of School
  • Course Number: Course Name
  • Project Number
  • Date of submission



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