Running Head: Introduction of Curriculum Project Sprowes 1

Introduction of Curriculum Project

Jessica Sprowes

University of Northern Colorado

Comprehensive Exam

Fall 2022
Introduction of Curriculum Project Sprowes 2

This comprehensive curriculum project will demonstrate my learning and the knowledge

that I have gained at the University of Northern Colorado as a student in the Master of

Education: Curriculum Studies Program. This curriculum project is designed to help Preschool

Teachers in an educational setting or child center preschool that operates half day for three hours.

The main audience is a group of twenty-four preschoolers that are currently attending either the

three year old or four year old classroom in a small rural district outside of El Paso County in

Colorado. The surrounding community consists of farm land and the Space Force Base. The

target audience consists of eleven male students and thirteen female students. There are eleven

Caucasian students, ten Hispanic students, one African-American student, one

Japanese-American student, and one European-American student. Two students have IEPs

(Individualized Educational Plans), three students are on MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of

Supports) plans, and seven students on English Language Development plans.

The design of the curriculum project was strongly influenced by the theories of Eisner

and Dewey. Eisner’s theory about curriculum focuses on developing critical thinking skills with

the use of the arts. Dewey's theory focuses on linking curriculum to the relevance of students'

lives. These two theories helped guide the creation of my curriculum project. Eisner (2002)

states, “We ought to view ideas as tools, not as blueprints; they are things to use, not things to

follow” (p. 125). This is why I have provided several options for the sensory table, sought out

multiple book readings, and listed various activities to use in the classroom throughout the daily

lessons. The purpose of this curriculum is to offer preschool teachers meaningful ways to help

students learn about different environments through engaging activities that enable students to

access their prior knowledge and encourage student exploration of materials in the classroom.

Students will be learning about different types of environments through positive peer
Introduction of Curriculum Project Sprowes 3

interactions, visual arts, book readings, and environmental experiences. The content of the

curriculum project focuses on three specific environments. Students will be learning about

oceans, farms, and woodlands. The curriculum is broken down into different parts of the three

hour day by starting each week with several theme focused options for the sensory table, an

opening introductory activity, a small group activity, meaningful book readings, whole group

writing, and gross motor activities. At the end of each weekly theme focused unit, the students

will create projects to show their overall understanding of each environment explored and taught

throughout that week.

Children learn the most when given the opportunity to explore content in multiple ways.

Allowing students to develop skills in communication, critical thinking, writing processes, and

positive peer interactions will help children become lifelong learners. When teachers only

provide information through lecturing to students, those students are not given the opportunity to

explore the relevance of the information to their lives. Therefore, the teacher needs to be able to

provide students with activities that allow them to interact with peers, guide their own learning

about information, and find a way to create a final product to present the information collected.

Weisman (2012) states, “Ideally, what we teach our students should serve as a floor on which

they stand to reach greater heights rather than as a ceiling that limits what they are able to

achieve” (p. 113). Students need to be engaged in content through visual arts, meaningful book

readings, and environmental experiences to help them make a connection between content and

their learning. This concept is what has driven my reason for developing this curriculum unit for

preschoolers. Children are our futures and deserve to have a strong foundation in learning for

future success, and this curriculum project will build that foundation.