Carousel Curriculum Ocean Animals: A Literature-Based Thematic Unit for Early Learners

By Bridgett Parsons M.Ed

CAROUSEL CURRICULUM



Definition- carousel: a merry-go-round, a conveyer on which items are placed for later retrieval. (Education should be fun, and we learn by retrieving old information and building on it.)

My curriculum is a collection of literature-based thematic units for early learners. The units are developmentally appropriate for all early learners. They are standards based and Creative Curriculum friendly. Carousel Curriculum has been used successfully with young learners including English language learners, children with special needs and diverse learning styles as well as homeschoolers.

I am a teacher with 35 years of teaching experience in the areas of early childhood education and early childhood special education. Principals and co-workers always expressed an interest in my thematic units. This planted the bug for me to write down and market what I have used successfully for so many years. The curriculum was created through years of education, experience, trial and error, revisions, and updating.

Each unit covers a span of 4-6 weeks. Each unit includes an introduction, weekly outlines, daily plans, poems and songs, a book list, additional activities listed by domain, and related ideas for centers.

Each unit can be used independently or be used as part of the collection of units to create an interwoven curriculum: Animals And Their Environments. The total collection includes: Farm Animals, Forest Animals in Winter, Polar Animals, Jungle Animals, Pond Animals, and Ocean Animals. Additional units available are Farm Crops, A Safari, The Zoo, and The Circus.

I hope the units will be a great resource for you and your class. Enjoy!!!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469174525

Bridgett Parsons M.Ed

NA

Book preview

Copyright © 2012 by Bridgett Parsons, M.Ed.

ISBN:          Softcover                                 978-1-4691-7451-8

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4691-7452-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Day 20

Ocean Unit Book List

Ocean Related Poems And Songs

Activities Listed By Domains

Center Ideas And Suggestions

Hope You And Your Children Enjoy The Unit!!!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A special thanks to Joanne Schondek for sharing some of her ideas for this Ocean Animal Unit. Joanne is a friend and a former co-worker in Central Falls, Rhode Island.

INTRODUCTION

The following 20-day unit plan consists of daily lesson plans. I have used and refined these lessons over the course of 35 years of teaching early learners—both regular education settings and special education classes.

In developing these units, first I collect books on the topic. I look for a variety of fiction and non-fiction books—Big Books, books with audio tapes/CDs, books with flaps, tactile books, scratch and sniff books, books that make noises or light up, etc. I also choose different versions of the same story.

For each lesson, I select a specific unit-related concept or theme, a book/story that exemplifies this concept or theme, a related song/poem or rhyme, and a follow-up related activity (art, cooking, math, science, etc.). These concepts or themes are reflected in each lesson’s Question of the Day and Related Activities sections on the Daily Lesson Plans.

Additional Suggestions:

1.   In the classroom, place some books in the Book Area and in other various activity centers, but keep some specifically for Language Arts/story/circle time.

2.   Choose concepts from the story that the