You’re Not off the Hook Yet! – Programs may use whatever lesson plan form called for by their curriculum or they can create their own. The plan I ask teachers to create is a modified version of a traditional or typical preschool lesson plan. It is a theme-based plan called the Weekly Experience Plan.

The Weekly Experience Plan must be posted weekly for parent and licensing agent view.  Most  teachers send copies of this plan home so parents can stay informed of their child’s activities or be reminded of opportunities for participation. 

This plan includes the Unit to be introduced, the Catalyst used to spark interest, the Vocabulary to be encouraged, a brief description of Materials staged in the Centers, and the Experiences that will be offered delineated NOT by Learning Center, but by Learning Method (Movement, Sensory, Manipulation, Construction, Role Play, and Expression).  It also asks for a weekly Home Connection.

It may sound tedious, but it is not.

The Unit is the block of information you want to use to deliver knowledge and concepts. The Catalyst is a book, game, or challenge you use to introduce the Unit and spark interest. The Vocabulary, placed on a Word Wall, comes from words you want to introduce and words the children themselves offer as you brainstorm about the Unit. The Center Materials are a general description of your staged Centers. The Experiences are the activities you will offer to encourage learning in each of the children’s Learning Methods. The Home Connection is an ACTIVE family participation event used to reinforce the concepts of the unit and encourage family involvement

The Experiences will come from the basic facts of child development, your knowledge of your little learners and their interests, and your own fertile imagination (or the thousands of early childhood resources available to you at the library, the educational resource store, or online.

Voila! Lesson Plan Done.  Here is a completed sample.

Sample Weekly Experience Plan

The most important information on any ‘lesson’ plan is WHAT and HOW children will learn, not WHERE they learn. Listing Unit, Catalyst, Vocabulary, Materials, Experiences (by Method, not Center) and Home Connection give a total picture of WHAT and HOW.

Next Blog: Hour by Hour – Routine Elements of the Day, Part One