Marazon Planning System : Developmental Planning for Early Childhood

Summary: What is the Marazon Planning System: A system - not a curriculum - to support early childhood teachers in planning individualized lessons. It keeps all developmental characteristics visible & ties them to activities, lesson-plan posting, planning form authentic assessments & parent conferences. This is a true "whole child" approach to developmentally appropriate practice. An excellent training tool. What does the sys...tem do for teachers: It makes Early Childhood Development visible, understandable & usable for both experienced & inexperienced teachers. It is easy to use. Teachers typically say, "Now I can really tap into the knowledge I have of childhood development. And, I can use it every day in my classroom." How does the System do this: By: 1) defining 6 basic developmental domains & their 91 characteristics (target objects) & displaying the characteristics in attractive posters in the teachers' lounge or classroom, 2) providing target objectives to be posted above learning centers, 3) indexing 91 activity cluster plans to the target objectives, & 4) teaching teachers a systematic approach to writing, organizing & using anecdotal observations of individual children. Why is this system right for Head Start? It helps teachers meet Head Start Performance Standards which require teachers to write individualized lesson plans each year & to consider the child, the child's family, community & general environment in designing the curriculum. It includes CDA Competency Menus. [read more]