As a government school teacher in Western Australia, I program within the Curriculum Framework which is a set of documents outlining the concepts, skill and values that children should learn in the following Learning Areas:
Each learning area has a guide written for it outlining the levels of achievement children must work towards, and other supporting documentation to assist teachers in their planning. The Curriculum Framework is very involved and lengthy and limited time and space will prevent me from explaining it in great detail. Click here for information from the Curriculum Council of WA.
Early Childhood Teachers also tend to program within domains of development and these are:
Integrating Learning Areas and Domains
It is quite easy to integrate the domains with the learning areas to ensure that learning is developmental whilst also covering the relevant learning areas of the Curriculum Framework. For example:
Physical = Arts, Physical and Health Education, Technology
Creative = Arts, English, Technology
Language = All of the Learning Areas but focusing particularly on English and LOTE
Social and Emotional = Society and Environment, Physical and Health Education, English
Cognitive = Science, Technology, Mathematics
Program Planning in 6 Easy Steps
1 Decide on skills to be developed in the domains and integrate these with Learning Areas 2 Consider children's interests 3 Design lessons and activities that will achieve development of the skills you wish to introduce 4 Outline objectives for each lesson 5 Plan resources and equipment needed for each lesson 6 Plan assessment and evaluation methods |