Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

What is it? Independent Component 1 is an opportunity for you to add a dimension of creativity and/or and additional outlet for research. The goal of the component is for you to explore your topic in more depth with this component. 

Please answer the following questions for independent component idea approval.

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

For my 30 hours, I plan to design a mini reading and writing unit for first graders and also work with my mentor as an additional outlet for research. My topic, elementary school teaching, goes hand in hand with a child's psychological and behavioral development. I feel that if I have constant exposure to the age group (first graders) and their raw potential, I'll be able to discover more about the way they think and learn. The unit will include several activities and different approaches to teaching sight words (or vocabulary) in a fun and artistic manner. An example could be shaping Play-Dough into a sight word or with yarn, outlining each letter of a word on their weekly spelling list. Endless possibilities. 

2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

In order to meet the expectation of showing evidence, I will be documenting what I do by taking pictures. For any activities or crafts that I do, I'll keep some of the hard copies. Other than keeping record of the time spent working on the component in google docs, I'll be able to show the unit once finished. 

3. And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

As mentioned before, I believe that being out in the field and working with the elementary school students, would allow me to learn more about the way they process things. By shadowing my mentor and designing a unit, I'll be able to observe the students little quirks and be able to (hopefully!) determine which teaching stye would best fit their needs. By doing these fun activities, I would be reinforcing what the teacher taught them, almost like reviewing the content, allowing them to have a positive interactive experience with the basis of the arts. 

4. Update your Senior Project Hours log.

My Senior Project Hours log is updated and can be viewed here.