Major Assignment (20% of final grade)

Applying the course to a real-world setting using the full set of course material
Please read carefully the entire description and instructions below so that you understand how to
approach your assignment. Also, please see the PowerPoint presentation that walks you through
the material you will want to include for this assignment.
Imagine that you have been awarded a very generous sum of money from a private foundation to
open a preschool or elementary school of your very own! You will design the curriculum for
your chosen school.
NOTE: the vast majority of students find it easier to choose the preschool age range, but I will
leave this up to you. DO NOT try to cover too many age ranges, as this will result in an
unsuccessful assignment. You need to choose an age range that makes sense developmentally.
Formatting:
Complete your assignment in Word using Times New Roman 12 point font, with 1 inch margins.
You are allotted 3 double-spaced pages of text, PLUS an Appendix (see below), PLUS a separate
cover page. You do not need a reference page; cite the source briefly in parentheses (page
number of book, module number, video, etc.).
How to approach this assignment:
1. The best way to begin is to first choose your age group and/or grades of interest and describe a
typical day or half day of activities in a chart in an Appendix. An Appendix is simply the last
page of your assignment and it does not count toward the total. Your chart should be organized
by Time of Day and List and Description of Activity. The activities that you choose should be
developmentally relevant to children in this age group based on what you have learned in this
class. Which brings us to the next point…
2. You will need to use the full course content from the modules and text (theory and research on
physical development, social development, cognitive development, and emotional
development…do not forget about the videos that you have watched!) to create a curriculum that
is developmentally appropriate and comprehensive for a particular age group/grade.
3. Once you have settled on the above, you should spend the 3 allotted pages of your assignment
explaining the developmental relevance of the activities. Do NOT describe the activities in the
body of your paper; you will not be awarded points for doing so. Your purpose here is instead to
tell me HOW the activities will foster social, cognitive, physical, and emotional development
with specific reference to course material. Do not use outside resources; the purpose here is to
show me that you know this course. The more that you can add to show me your understanding
of the course, the better! Make sure that you pay attention to each aspect of development. Also,
you should ensure that you explain the connection between the activity and the course material;
simply listing terms without an explanation is not enough; you need to show that you understand
the material and how it applies in this context.
Note: if you find that you are unable to fill 3 full pages, then you are not approaching this
assignment correctly. You should be using the entire space to show me your knowledge and
application of the course.