Reflective Analysis of Portfolio Artifact Rationale/Reflection NAEYC Standard: Standard 5 - Health

Program Standard: The program promotes the nutrition and health of children and protects children and staff from illness and injury. Rationale: To benefit from education and maintain quality of life, children need to be as healthy as possible. Health is a state of complete physical, oral, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (World Health Organization 1948). Children depend on adults (who also are as healthy as possible) to make healthy choices for them and to teach them to make healthy choices for themselves. Although some degree of risk taking is desirable for learning, a quality program prevents hazardous practices and environments that are likely to result in adverse consequences for children, staff, families, or communities.

Brief Description of Evidence:

As part of my ECED 101-Health, Safety and Nutrition course, I created a lesson plan for teaching a lesson on health and nutrition. After selecting a healthy snack and pairing it with a health, safety and nutrition Indiana Academic Foundation, I planned a developmentally appropriate activity, using a variety of resources, for a diverse group of children. I created a rubric to assess and demonstrate positive learning outcomes for each child.

Analysis of What I Learned:

I learned how to properly create and utilize an efficient lesson plan that includes all components of teaching. I investigated developmentally appropriate activities and determined which developmentally appropriate practices to use to teach the foundation. I learned how to obtain and apply the best resources when constructing a lesson plan. I collaborated with peers to locate and share quality resources for lesson planning.

How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence on the NAEYC Standard:

My competence in this standard is demonstrated by my ability to design, implement and evaluate a lesson plan within the guidelines set by the Indiana Academic Foundation for Young Children. The lesson shows my understanding of the developmental domains and academic disciplines, identification of quality resources, and the appropriate manner in which to implement these concepts to a developmentally diverse group of children.