Transitions and DisruptionsTransitions & Disruptions:

• The video is just here for an example of a lesson to get your minds thinking.  Don’t focus so much on the lesson itself, but rather what you will do to transition to an activity after reading a book to the class, or after singing a song, etc.  Again, the video is just an example lesson.
• Chapter seven of the course text has some great strategies.  Also, check out the recommended resources in the course, because they too have some great strategies!
• You can use examples that you have experienced or even ones that you anticipate could happen if you are not currently working with children. Again, chapter seven lists several.
• The NAEYC article Planning Transitions to Prevent Challenging Behavior (Links to an external site.) is a useful resource for all sections of this discussion.

Transitions and Disruptions

Within a busy classroom there is a lot happening throughout the day. To accommodate the hustle and bustle, it is important that early childhood teachers plan effectively. While many teachers understand the importance of lesson planning, an often forgot about aspect of planning is the need to plan for transitions and disruptions. “Transitions are worth thinking about and managing well so that children can move as smoothly as possible from one activity to the next” (Weissman & Hendrick, 2014, p. 183). 

For this discussion you will reflect on the video, Front Loading for English Language Learners (Links to an external site.) and discuss the possible disruptions and issues related to transitions that can occur as a result of this fun and engaging lesson. You will then develop a plan for how you will manage the transition between activities, as well as possible disruptions.   

Initial Post: For this discussion, be sure to include the following:

• Watch the video, Front Loading for English Language Learners (Links to an external site.). Imagine that after this interactive book reading, you need to transition your students into center-time. 
• Describe the strategies you will utilize to transition from the interactive book reading (done in the video) to centers. 
  • What are at least three things you will need to take into consideration (i.e. behavioral concerns, classroom environment, children with special needs, etc,)? 
  • What strategies will you use to ensure you have the children’s attention? 
  • How will you incorporate movement into your transition plan?
• Discuss some behavioral challenges or disruptions that might occur during transitions and your plan for dealing with those challenges. 
• What strategies will you utilize to effectively manage these challenges? 
  • In what ways do your strategies support the notion of developmentally appropriate practice and the developmental needs of all children? 
  • Support this portion of your plan with your text or one scholarly resource.

Resources:

Teaching Channel. (n.d.). Front loading for English language learners (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/vocabulary-english-language-learners

Feldman, J. R. (n.d.). Transition time tricks (Links to an external site.). Earlychildhood NEWS. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=309

• This article provides some strategies that teachers can use to aide in transitioning from lesson to lesson, and is suggested.