This document discusses effective planning and implementation of group time activities in early childhood classrooms. It describes the four parts of group time: opening, body, closing, and transition. It provides examples of songs, activities, and strategies to engage children at each part. These include singing familiar songs during opening, reading purposeful books and asking discussion questions during body, reviewing the next activity during closing, and using games like hot potato to transition children in a fun way. The document emphasizes keeping group time short at 10-15 minutes and considering children's individual needs and abilities when planning.

1. Running Head: Signature Assignment: Becoming an Expert 4.4
Signature Assignment: Becoming an Expert 4.4
Teresa Puga
Fresno Pacific University

2. Signature Assignment: Becoming an Expert 4.4
Signature Assignment: Becoming an Expert 4.4
Planning and implementing effective group-time activities is a challenging yet
enjoyable portion of an early childhood program day. Group-time is a small portion of
the day that all the members of the classroom gather together. Some activities that are
held in group-time can be: to discuss a specific topic for the day, to sing songs, read
books, dance, and simple come together as a class. This portion of the day all starts with a
well-constructed lesson plan. The actual group or large group circle time is constructed of
four parts, 1: The Opening, 2: The Body, 3: The Closing, 4: Transition. This lesson
should be short, engaging, and meaningful for the children.
The first section of the four parts of group–time is the opening. In the opening the
teacher will head to circle when she notices that no more than two children are ready to
transition to group-time. A group of children should never have to sit and wait for the
teacher to conduct a group-time. Once at circle the teacher will sing a song to engage the
children that are in other areas, and let them know that it is group-time. The children will
want to come to group-time and participate. This song is a familiar song that the children
already know, and they enjoy. Once they have sung the song, the children may sing
another song. This song should incorporate a dance, simple dance with scarves, or do a
silly dance to a song. The activities should be fairly short no more than two to three
activities; the entire group-time should be no longer than 10 to 15 minutes.
Some songs that can be sung during this time can be the five little monkeys; this
may be done with the use of finger puppets. Another engaging opening song could be the
hello song that incorporates the individual children’s names (Stuart, 2013). Some songs
that are great to dance to can be; Wiggle Those Sillies Out or they can dance with
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beanbags doing the beanbag dance. The chicken dance is also a great dance to
incorporate into group-time. Some songs to sing with the children that have hand gestures
that may be incorporated into the song may be: The Itsy, Bitsy Spider, or Slippery Fish.
Once most of the children have joined group-time they then, move to the body of
group-time. The teacher then moves on to the main purpose of group time. This is the
time when the teacher introduces new materials and new activities. This is the time that
children engage in social interactions as stated in the High Scope Education article,
Inspiring Educators to Inspire Children (NA, 2014). This is the section of group-time
that is known as having a community of learners (Stuart, 2013) the children share
thoughts, listen to others, participate, and respect one another.
The teacher during this time may read a purposeful book to the children. These
books should be selected carefully and should be on the lesson plan for the group-time
section, as was stated in the text Literature for Young Children (Giorgis & Glazer, 2013).
These books should be enjoyable for children. Many different types of stories should be
read with diverse settings and an array of characters. When selecting a story to read it
should have a purpose. The book should be meaningful, have a lesson, or teach the
children something new. When reading the book the author should be stated and the parts
of the book identified. A great book that may be selected is Guess How Much I Love You,
by Sam McBratney. This book covers different topics that can be addressed in the
discussion after the book is read. After the book is shared with the children, the teacher
should then ask open-ended discussion questions.
When the teacher conducts the body of group-time, they should use an expressive
face, voice and gestures, use props, demonstrations, pictures, and humor to keep the
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child’s attention (Kostelnik, Soderman, & Whiren, 2011). Some of the props that can be
utilized for this group-time may be: flannel boards, puppets, musical instruments,
audiotapes, natural items, real objects, pictures, charts, posters, and large storybooks. All
of these items need to be selected in advance and the teacher should be familiar with the
items.
The closing is the next portion of group-time; in this time the teacher is transition
to the next part of the day. The teacher will go over what are their choices or options that
they may make in the next area. The teacher will tie the lesson learned with the next
activities or the small group that they will be participating in. The teacher may show an
example of what the small group will consist of. This is the time to fully explain what
they will be doing in small group, so that when they come to small group. The children in
small group will have some knowledge of the activity. The teacher will not have to
explain the steps several different times to each small group in full detail. The teacher
will need to guide the children through the small group activity.
The fourth and final portion of group-time is the transition. In this portion of
group-time the teacher has to dismiss the children one at a time in a fun and engaging
way. The teacher needs to keep the children focused while they wait for the other
children to complete their transition. A teacher can do many different activities to
transition to the next activity. An example of an activity that is enjoyed by children is hot
potato. The children are asked to sit in a circle if not already there. The teacher leads the
children in the song hot potato hot potato, as they sing they pass a beanbag around they
circle to one another. When the children count 10, the child with the beanbag is excused
to the next area. That child will state what area that they will be working in. It is very
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important that the children are not excused all at once to the next activity; this will cause
chaos and problems. Other ways that a teacher can excuse children from circle is by the
color they are wearing, or the letter of their name.
As was stated earlier group-time should only be 10 to 15 minutes any more and
the children are unable to focus. The children will start to exhibit challenging behavior if
the group-time runs too long (Hemmeter, Ostrosky, Artmun, & Kinder, 2008). Toys or
equipment that may be too close to the group-time area may distract the children. The
group-time area should be away from these distractions. The area should be spacious
enough for the children to move, dance, and sit at circle comfortably. The leader of
group-time should have a spot to view all children and welcome the new arrivals. The
children can sit on a rug with designated seating areas, or the seating area may be marked
with tape. The children need their own personal space, but should be close enough to hear
others and see the illustrations in the books.
The teacher should also make sure that she is not implementing too many learning
goals onto the group-time, only 2 to 3 goals should be chosen at a time. The children are
unable at this age to retain several different ideas or lessons being taught. When
conducting these group-time sessions, if applicable the other teachers in the classroom
should be involved in the activities. They should sit in the circle with the children and
sing the songs, do the dance, and the hand movements. These teachers are setting a good
example to model the correct behavior for group-time. A teacher should work with the
children on listening and speaking skills, to obtain a controlled group discussion this may
take many trials. Have children practice outside of circle to listen to a friend and then it is
their turn to talk.
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If children are having difficulties at group-time there may be several different
causes. The time may be too long, not enough movement; the time may involve too many
routines that leave no time for new fresh ideas to learn. Another option to consider may
be if the child has special needs. This should be assessed and this child should be
included in the group-time on their level, make adjustments to the activities so they may
participate.
Group-time in a preschool classroom may be intimidating to some teachers for
lack of control over the children. The teacher needs to be comfortable with experimenting
and try new ideas to engage the class. The teacher needs to be receptive and understand
how the child is feeling with the activities and lessons, through their actions. Some
teachers may feel that all children need to attend the group-time. This up to the individual
teacher, the teacher needs to have confidence, and trust that the child will observer her
fellow classmate participating in fun and engaging activities. The child will be drawn into
the group on their own there is no need to force.
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References
Artman, K.M., Hemmeter, M.L., Kinder, K.A.,& Ostrosky, M.M. (2008). Moving Right
Along… Planning Transitions to Prevent Challenging Behavior. Beyond the
Journal. Young Children on the Web, http://www.journal.naeyc.org
Giorgis, C.& Glazer, J.I. (2013). Literature for Young Children(7th
ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
Kostelnik, M. J., Soderman, A. K., & Whiren, A. P. (2011). Developmentally
Appropriate Curriculum (5th
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education
Inc.
N.A. (2014). High Scope- Inspiring Educators to Inspire Children. High Scope
Educational Research Foundation, http://www.highscope.org
Stuart, D.J. (2013). Ten Tips for Children in the Preschool Classroom. Teach Preschool-
Promoting Excellence in Early Childhood Education,
http://www.teachpreschool.org
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