Learning Opportunity Planning Form

(Avoid opportunities associated with holidays)

Student Name: Taylor and Brittany

Resource Used:
Gorman, D. (2010, July 11). Playfully Learning. Retrieved from Playfully Learning: http://playfullylearning.blogspot.co.il/
2010/06/painting-with-spaghetti-oh.html
Date to be presented: 4/23/15
Site Supervisors Signature _________________________________________ Date __________________

It is required to discuss your final written plans with your site supervisor and obtain a sign-off signature one week before presenting this learning opportunity.

Primary Curriculum (content) Area: Art

Learning Opportunity Name: Painting with Spaghetti
Brief description/type: Children will take spaghetti, grasp it, dip it into paint, and place on paper to create a design.
WHO Its For: Four and Five year olds 4/5
List specific accommodations/adaptions:
Children are having difficulty following directions during an activity. Set the tone of the classroom by telling children it is okay
to ask others (i.e., adult or another child) for assistance. Use pictures in addition to providing verbal directions to demonstrate
what you want the children to do. Pair children with buddies who serve as role models. Have them complete the activity
together. (CARAs Kit pg.10).
WHY-Rationale:
Small motor skills require the child to manipulate objects with accurate, controlled, and precise movements. Caring adults can
support childrens small motor skills through providing a variety of age appropriate materials and plenty of opportunity for play
and exploration. Art gives children a way to communicate and to come to know about the world.
Objective(s): By participating in this opportunity, the children will

Uses hand-eye coordination to perform self-help and small motor tasks with variety of manipulative materials such as
beads, pegs, shoelaces, and puzzle pieces.
Demonstrates increased skills in using scissors and writing tools for various learning experiences.

Expresses ideas about his/her own artwork and the artwork of others, relating artwork to what is happening in the
environment or life experiences.
Standard(s): 8.3 Small Motor Development Children develop small motor skills.
13.1 Art Children participate in a variety of art and sensory- related experiences.
HOW to Prepare: What you need:
MATERIALS: 1 pound spaghetti noodles, 5 different kinds of tempera paint, 5 paper plates, 5 paint shirts, 18 gloves
TIME: 15 minutes
SETTING: small group
SET UP/SPACE: one table five chairs
HOW to Teach:
Introduction: Here are our materials. Go through what all the materials are and if they dont know what it is explain what you
use it for. What do you think we can do with them? (Wait for a response) What does the spaghetti feel like? give them
noodles in the hard form and let them explore it. Give them the bowl of spaghetti and have them explore it. How are they the
same? How are they different? What does it feel like? What does it smell like? What do you think it would be like to
paint with spaghetti?
Teaching steps:
1. Let the children play with the spaghetti. What does it feel like? Teacher then adds paint color of childs choice.
2. What do you think will happen when we put the spaghetti on the paper? Take the spaghetti and put it on your paper.
What does your picture on your paper mean to you?
3. Choose another color and repeat steps.
Closure & Transition:
Tell me about you art and how you felt while doing this art activity?
When you are done, go place your picture on the drying rack and wiggle like spaghetti over to the next activity.

HOW to assess and Document (needs objectives from the top and evidence of learning things)
Objectives
Evidence of Learning
How to Document This Evidence
Children might

Uses hand-eye coordination to

perform self-help and small motor
tasks with variety of
manipulatives materials such as
beads, pegs, shoelaces, and puzzle
pieces.
Demonstrates increased skills in
using scissors and writing tools
for various learning experiences.
Expresses ideas about his/her
own artwork and the artwork of
others, relating artwork to what is
happening in the environment or
life experiences.

Use pincer grasp to pick up

spaghetti

Grab the spaghetti as a whole

Say to another child Wow, look at

you picture it is different from
mine. Why is that?

Video, pictures with captions,

anecdotal record

Video, pictures with captions,

anecdotal record

Video, pictures with captions,

anecdotal record

Assessment Documentation:
I observed a girl who at first picked up only one noodle than I told her to dig in and she started too but she was like me
when I was younger I didnt like to get dirty so I can relate to her.

Evaluation:
What evidence of childrens engagement and learning did you see during this learning opportunity? How were the
objectives met? The evidence of childrens engagement and learning I seen during this learning opportunity is that Taylor is so
used of working with them she knew exactly what to say and do. I could tell the children were engaged by how their pictures
turned out, facial expressions like smiling and talking with us about it. The objectives were met by they used eye hand
coordination when they picked up the noodles with their hands and the other learning opportunity was met by when they
grabbed the spaghetti as a whole.
What did you learn from planning and presenting this learning opportunity?
a) About the learning opportunity itself: I learned from planning and presenting this learning opportunity was it was
challenging working with another classmate because we have very different philosophy and I didnt want to mess
anything up for her and I learned that I have strengths that I need to use next time when I have the opportunity.

b) About children: I learn from planning and presenting this learning opportunity about children is that I didnt think they
would like painting with spaghetti. I also learned that it was something new and they really liked it.

c) About your own abilities: I learn from planning and presenting this learning opportunity about my own abilities is that

I asked good open ended questions and was really involved but I need to keep that strength that I know what Im doing
instead of always looking at my plan.

Evaluate this learning opportunity as a whole. Share suggestions, as discussed with your site supervisor, for improvement.
a) As I reflect on this learning opportunity, I feel my strengths were: In this learning opportunity, my strengths were
good open-ended questions and really listening to what the children had to say when they gave me their answers back.

b) As I reflect on this learning opportunity, I realize that I could improve by: In this learning opportunity I could

improve by being more confident in my work and not always depending on my learning opportunity as my map I should
instead use it as a blueprint.