Complete Guide to Early Childhood Care & Education(ECCE) from Udemy

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) is the essence of foundational learning and development in children. The formative years, during which neural connections are being formed inside the brain, are most significant to initiate the cognitive, linguistic, social-emotional, physical and motor development in children.

Saamarthya Teachers Training Academy of Research (STTAR) self-paced learning course on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) aims to equip teachers with knowledge and skills to stimulate the development of these fundamental faculties in children through play-based learning, active-learning, inquiry-based learning, and storytelling, as envisioned in National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Highly recommended for all pre-primary teachers, educators and aspirants, this e-learning course covers all the important elements of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), namely,

Importance of Foundational Learning
Phonics
Art Of Storytelling
Developing Critical Thinking Curriculum for Pre-Primary

Key Takeaways:

Develop competencies in ECCE in line with NEP 2020
Learn International Synthetic Phonics techniques
Understand Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) and its benefits
Leverage the power of storytelling for better student engagement and learning
Learn to develop critical thinking through literacy, numeracy, stories, science, art, and STEM
Adopt the interdisciplinary approach in pre-primary teaching
Implement strategies to trigger critical thinking in children through the integration of subjects

Importance of Bonding in Early Years

Importance of Play Based Learning in Early Years

Higher Brain and Lower Brain

Practices to be followed in Early Years

Theories in Early Years

What is Phonics?

Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. It helps children hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from another in the English language.

Systematic Synthetic Phonics or SSP, which is based on the alphabetic principle. It is a structured, cumulative, multi-sensory and evidence-based method of teaching reading whereby students are taught the link between letters and the speech sounds they represent.

But, how does it benefit our young learners?

With actions for each of the 44 letter sounds, the multi-sensory method is very motivating for children.
Systematic Synthetic phonics approach teaches children the five skills for reading and writing.
Systematic Synthetic phonics enables building words as early as possible.
Systematic Synthetic Phonics makes children fearless to pronounce a word that they have never seen earlier.
Research says the progress made by children using synthetic phonics far exceeds that of children using rote learning methods.

Once upon a time Amy and Adam wanted to go for a picnic. Their dad quickly prepared jam sandwiches and mum drove them to the park. They openend the picnic mat, laid it and sat on it. It was very, very hot and Amy was wearing a hat. Adam, Yes her brother picked up an apple and went grunch- munch. It was hot so dad was drinking juice from a can. Suddenly, Amy realized that there were ants and those ants crawled all up on Amy’s arms.

Now, you can open your arm like this and you can move your finger on your arm one at a time like you are walking and say /a/ as you can hear this in apple, ant, alligator.

Now, sing with me

/a/-/a/! Ants on my arm

They’re causing me alarm!

Now, comes the letter B

Once upon a time there was a little girl who’s name was Bubbly and she loved to bat but her friends, those naughty boys never ever gave her the bat and today she’s with her grandma and

grandma’s with her baby sister and they are right there in the park. You can feel the breeze blowing and the birds chirping on the branches of a huge tree. Yes, there is also a band playing music. There’s some people sitting on the boat and they are boating in the lake but Bubbly quickly grabs her bat and she goes /b/

The action for this is to join your hands and pretend to bat in the air and say the sound /b/ as you can hear this in bat, balloon, baby

Sing with me,

Bring your bat and bring your ball

/b/-/b/

Bring your bat and bring your ball

To the park to play!

The next letter is C

There’s a Spanish family that’s going right up there to the castle and in their car they are going to the castle on a picnic right there and the children are hungry, it’s 4 on the clock. They come to a café to have coffee and cookies. This beautiful Spanish lady comes down with her fan and she’s going to click her castanets and it goes /c/

Put your palm and fingers together and do an action of playing a castanets like this and say /c/ as in Car, Cap, Cub

We are clicking castanets,

/c/-/c/-/c/

We are clicking castanets,

/c/-/c/-/c/

We are clicking castanets…

Clicking castanets

…we are clicking castanets

/c/-/c/-/c/

So the next letter is D

This boy’s name is Dino and he loves to play his drums but his dad says ‘Dino! Clear up your toys from the floor and put them inside your cupboard’ Dino loves to play his drums and he does /d/

Imagine you are playing an imaginary drum like this and say /d/ as in Drum, Dog, Doll

Sing along!

See me play on my drum.

Playing drums is lots of fun,

With a /d/-/d/-/d/-/d/

/d/-/d/-/d/-/d/-/d/.

See me play upon my drum!

Our next letter is E

This is Eric and he isn’t naughty, he just helps his mum in making breakfast and she wants him to fetch some eggs, right from the farm and she wants to make some eggs for breakfast. So quickly she takes an egg and cracks it in the pan and she goes /e/

Take your hand close and try to break an imaginary egg and say /e/ As in Egg, Eggplant

Eggs in the pan, /e/-/e/-/e/

Crack the egg like this../e/!

The next letter is F

The girl named Fig went to a beach and wanted to make a sand castle, her friend Francis wore fins and goggles as he wanted to go for a swim. He got a big floating fish and found a big hole and it goes /ffff/

Stretch your hand in the air and clap them together like this and say /f/ as in Fish, Frog

Sing with me –

My friends and I

Went to the beach

With my floating fish.

It got a hole….

The air came out.

/fffff/!

The next letter is G

There’s a little girl, she’s playing with her grandma in the garden and they are gardening. She’s watering the guava plant right in the middle of the garden. There’s a goat and a goose too in the garden. She rushes to the restroom and she turns on the tap alas, there is no water. Grandma quickly calls the plumber and once the plumber comes, he fixes it and the water gurgles down the drain with the sound /g/

With the help of your palm swirl it with the sound /g/ as in Grapes, Gate

The water gurgles down the drain.

With a /g/-/g/-/g/-/g/-/g/

I hope it was interesting. Let us move on to the next letter H.

Next letter is H

It’s a hot sunny day, the children are hopping and they are huffing and puffing and they say /h/

Put you hand in front of your mouth and say /h/ as in Horse, Hat, Hen

I like to hop, hop, hop

Up and down

I like to hop, hop, hop

All around

I like to hop, hop, hop

Up and down-

/h/-/h/-/h/-/h/-/h/

Here the sweet little mouse enters the room and is happily playing when he stumbles on the inkpot and the ink falls on him. The mouse is very itchy and it goes /i/

Put your hand on either side of your face as in pulling the whiskers of a mouse like this and say /i/ as in Inkpot, Igloo

Inky the mouse is my pet

She spilled the ink and got wet.

The ink it spread all over the desk.

/i/-/i/-/i/-/i/- Inky’s wet!

This is Jasmine and her daughter Julie. Julie has come back from school and she tells her mom ‘ Ma, papa has said there’s a surprise for us in the refrigerator’. Quickly, they opened the refrigerator and there’s a jelly. They took the jelly out of the fridge and the jelly is jiggling.

Twist your waist and jiggle and say /j/ as in Jam, Jar

Sing with me-

Jelly and jam,

Jiggling on the plate.

Oh! What will I eat with it?

/j/-/j/-/j/-/j/-/j

There are some children who fly kites. They go out in the park and they want to fly their kites.

Put your hands up and pretend to fly an imaginary kite and say /k/ as in Kettle, Kite

Sing with me-

Kites are flying in the sky,

/k/-/k/-/k/.

Kites are flying in the sky,

/k/-/k/-/k/

Kites are flying in the sky,

Flying in the sky

Kites are flying in the sky,

/k/-/k/-/k/

This is Lina and it’s her birthday and they have lettuce sandwich and there’s a lemonade, lemon cake and a loaf of bread. Children love playing the game where they have to tail the donkey.

Put your finger in front of your mouth and roll your tongue behind your teeth and say /l/

Sing with me-

We lick our lollipops.

/l/-/l/-/l/-/l/!

We lick our lollipops.

The next letter is M

These children are waiting and thinking what could their mum be cooking for them in the kitchen. When mum comes out, they eat their food and go /m/

Put your hand on your tummy and join your lips and say /m/ as in Mango, Moon

Sing with me-

The mum and dad makes many meals.

/mmm/!

The mum and dad makes many meals for their hungry children.

The next letter is N

Nina is a naughty girl and she’s playing in the park. Her grandpa wants some silence and says ‘Quiet, Nina or else the fish aren’t coming right here’. Grandpa is losing his fishes and Nina is quickly sitting holding the net and suddenly there’s an aeroplane that flies in the sky and says

‘Grrrrr’ Nina looks at the sky and teases her grandpa and says ‘nnnnn’

Take both your hand out in a straight line and fly like an aeroplane and say /n/ as in Nose, Net

Sing with me –

Hear the aeroplane,

/nnnn/!

Hear the aeroplane,

/nnnn/!

Hear the aeroplane,

/nnnn/!

Making lots of noise.

Our next letter is O

There are two little kids and they are very naughty. The kids are reading something. Their mother calls out “ Turn off the lights and go off to sleep!” but the children want to turn the light on and off.

With your finger do the action of pressing the switch on and off like and say /o/ as in Orange, Octopus

Sing with me –

Now it’s dark,

The lights go on.

/o/-/o/-/o/-/o/-/o/

Time for bed,

The lights go off!

/o/-/o/-/o/-/o/-/o/

The next letter is P

It is Peter’s birthday and it’s a big pink pig cake and mum wanted Peter to puff the candle slowly . he blew the candle with a /p/

Hold one finger in front of your mouth as it is a candle and blow slowly and say /p/ as in Pig, Pan

Sing with me –

Puff out candles on the pig pink cake.

/p/-/p/-/p/,

/p/-/p/-/p/.

Puff out candles on the pig pink cake.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Our next letter is Q

Mr. Q is always sad he doesn’t have any friends, there is no one around. One morning he wakes up and sees there is a new neighbor ‘U’ so Mr. Q quickly calls U and since then they are seen together. QU are best of friends and you never ever separate them.

Put your hands together and move up and down like the mouth of a duck like this and say /qu/ as in Quack, Quilt, Queen

Sing with me –

The duck in the pond quacks,

/qu/-/qu/-/qu/,

The duck in the pond quacks,

/qu/-/qu/-/qu/, all around the pond.

Let us move on to R

Ronny has his roller skating classes today and his sister Rina has a rat, and a rocking horse and a rhinoceros and a rack of books there. All of a sudden it starts to rain. Oh no! He cannot go for his classes but they have a brand new puppy dog and they haven’t given him a name yet. The little dog is ripping a rug into a rag.

Roll the sides of your tongue upwards and say /r/ as in Rat, Rabbit, Rain

Sing with me –

See my puppy rip the rag.

/rrr/ ! /rrr/ !

See my puppy rip the rag, when he pulls so hard.

Let us learn about the letter S

Simon and Simba went to park for an afternoon stroll. The Sun was shining brightly. They found lots of snails leaving a trail in the mud. Suddenly there was a snale peeping from the bushes and saying hissss

Curve your hand in the shape of a snake head and slide it downwards like a moving snake and say /s/ as in Socks, Six, Snail

Sing with me-

The snake is in the grass.

/sss/! /sss/!

The snake is in the grass.

The next letter is T

Tina and Tony are playing a game of tennis and people have to look at the players passing the ball and when racket hits the ball it makes the sound /t/

Move your face from one side to another as the looker watches the passing of ball and say /t/ as in Tree, Tap, Top

Sing with me-

When I watch the tennis game,

/t/-/t/-/t/-,

/t/-/t/-/t/..

..when I watch the tennis game,

My head goes back and forth.

Our next letter is U

Two naughty children wanted to play in the rain and quickly opened their Umbrella’s and ran to play in the rain.

Close your fist and keep them on one over the other and do the action of opening your umbrella like this and say /u/ as in Up, Umbrella

Sing with me –

/u/-/u/ up go umbrellas.

When it starts to rain.

Let us move on to V

This is uncle Vicks and he is driving a van, up the violet valley. He sells vegetables and he’s driving it like /v/ and that makes the /v/ sound

Bite your lower lips and say /v/ and feel the vibration on your lips as in Vet, Van

Sing with me –

Drive Vic’s van

Round the village.

Drive Vic’s van

Round the village.

Drive Vic’s van

Round the village.

/v/-/v/-/v/-/v/-/v/!

The next letter is W

Uncle Wicker is climbing up the hill and suddenly the wind started blowing loudly and uncle could hear the sound of /w/

Make a O with your lips like a kiss and blow it in your palm and say /w/ as in Watch, Web, Well

Sing with me-

I see the clouds moving,

/w/-/w/-/w/.

I see the kites flying,

/w/-/w/-/w/.

I see the trees bending,

/w/-/w/-/w/.

The wind is blowing strong!

The next letter is X

There is a little boy who loves taking pictures and he grabs his camera and takes a picture /ks/

Take an imaginary camera and click and say /ks/ as in Fox, Wax, Box

Sing with me –

/ks/-/ks/! Take an x-ray.

X-ray of my hand!

Our next letter is Y

Yasmin goes to the supermarket and she loves buying yogurt. Today, she has a yellow colored yoghurt. Yes, banana flavored yoghurt and she wants to share it with Joseph. Joseph tastes it and says “yummy”.

Take an imaginary spoon and eat with it and say /y/ as in Yak, Yawn, Yellow

Sing with me-

I like to eat, eat, eat,

Yoghurt and bananas.

I like to eat, eat, eat,

Yoghurt and bananas.

I like to eat, eat, eat,

Yoghurt and bananas.

/y/-/y/-/y/-/y/-/y/!

And the final letter is Z

There is a little girl and her name is Zanelia, she wants to go to the zoo with her dad. She quickly wears her zipped dress and they are off to see a zebra. They went to the zoo and saw many wings buzzing and she goes “zzzzz”.

Open your hands on your side and fly like a bee like this and say /zzz/ as in Zebra, Zero, Zigzag

Sing with me-

Did you ever hear

A bee buzz,

A bee buzz?

Did you ever hear

A bee buzz,

“/zzzz/”, like this ?

So, how can we teach Phonics in an interactive way to our students? You guessed that right, through some fun activities.

ACTIVITY 1:

The first one is Phonics Recognition activity:

In this activity, every alphabet is written in big font and pictures starting from that respective alphabet while some other alphabets are drawn inside the alphabet. The student will have to recognize and colour the objects related to that alphabet.

ACTIVITY 2:

Lock & Key:

In this activity, the image of an object (door, boy, car, etc.) is pasted on the lock and the starting alphabet of the object is pasted on the keys (d, b, c, etc.). The keys are then mixed.
The teacher can divide the class in groups and fabricate a story saying that one of the friends is locked up in a jail and the rest of the members of the group have to save their friend by finding the right key to the lock. This can only happen if the students recognize the sound of the object pasted on the lock.

ACTIVITY 3:

What’s in the box?

In this activity, a list of words are given where the starting alphabet is missing. The cue of the word is given in the form of a picture. The student is asked to look at the picture, recognize the sound of the missing alphabet and then write the missing alphabet.

ACTIVITY 4:

Clip cards

In this activity, the student has to look at the image, say it aloud and identify the starting sound of the image. He/ She will then clip the identified sound.

These activities will surely help your students understand the sounds of alphabets better.

CVC Words

A CVC word is a single syllable three-phoneme (sound) word that follows the pattern of consonant sound, vowel sound, consonant sound.

SIGHT WORDS:

Sight words are the words that appear most frequently in our reading and writing as these are common words that a child recognize instantly without sounding them out.
Recognizing words by sight helps children become faster and more fluent reader.
Many sight words are tricky to read and spell as they aren’t spelled the way they sound.
According to a study, upto 75% of the words used in text edited towards young readers are sight words.

For Example: I, you, he, she, with, this, that, come, some, etc.

Some interesting Activities of Blends & Diagraphs would be-

ACTIVITY

First, Pick the blend

In this activity, the teacher can cut out the blends and mix it in a bowl for the students to identify the correct blend and match it with the respective word.

ACTIVITY

Pick the Diagraph

In this activity, the teachers have to mix the diagraphs for the students to identify the correct diagraph and match it with the respective word.

ACTIVITY

Clip the blends

In this activity, the student has to identify the image and clip the correct diagraph used in the word.

ACTIVITY

Pop the diagraph

In this activity, the teachers will place a lot of images on the table and ask the students to pick any of the pictures and put it inside their respective diagraph box.

ACTIVITY

You may now fill in 5 blends and diagraphs each in the given circles.

· Understanding Phonics and the sound of alphabets with jingles and stories.

· Understanding Phoneme

· CVC Words

· Blending, Segmenting along with activities

· Sight Words along with activities

· Blends and Diagraphs and their activities

Choose the correct option:

To get an insight into how critical thinking skills can be woven into the Pre Primary curriculum, it is first and foremost important to understand the nature of a child. It is equally important to know how important the 0 to 5 years are and how they impact learning and the future growth of a child into a healthy well balanced individual. Thirdly, what is the role of parents and educators in tapping into the potential of this immensely important period, so that they can provide an optimal learning environment and experiences and also be loving and nurturing caregivers so that the child grows up feeling loved, safe and secure.

Module one also spells out the learning outcomes of this self paced module and how it can be achieved.

This module focuses on the brain and it's development. How loving relationships, a nurturing and stimulating environment, and exposure to rich experiences can impact brain development, trigger neurons and synaptic connections. The opposite is also true and negative impressions can lead to life long damage, anxiety and stress that hampers learning and maladjusted individuals. The synaptic connections are broken and lost , very hard to repair in future.

The module throws light on the nature of the brain. How it is like a muscle and both elastic and flexible.. The more it is used and challenged, the more it will develop. Hence nurturing critical thinking is imperative.

Module 3 gives an insight into Thinking which is a skill and needs to be nurtured. It does not develop automatically. Thinking can be developed through questioning, not telling. The teachers must be very clear as to what kind of child they want to nurture.

This module provides a glimpse into the art of questioning, how to go beyond the text and ask questions that will expand knowledge and compel the child to think.

True or False

Tick the incorrect answer.

Match the following.

This module moves from stories to poems and rhymes and how exposure to poems of all kinds can help a child pick up the language. It talks about the art of questioning to enhance critical thinking , shows how literary devices can easily be introduced through stories and rhymes and also the regular use of sight words to enable recognition of words and written text.

In this module, numeracy is introduced from a different perspective. It enlists what early educators generally don't teach in Math. There are invaluable tips in this module, on how to make Math fun, how to focus on patterns in Math, how to learn through rhymes and stories and where in the real world numbers can be found.

Answer the questions by ticking the correct answer.

Identify the literary device.

Numbers can be reinforced through

Tick the correct answer or answers.

Match the following

In this module, numeracy skills are further extended to math in the real world, and developing the critical skills of observing, sorting, comparing, estimating and predicting. There are tons of ideas that teachers can use for hands- on learning and integrating with other subjects.

Module 8 gives a peep into the power of music songs and rhymes in sharpening the brain and enhancing creativity. It shows how critical thinking questions that follow a song or rhyme can not only extend learning but help to integrate other subjects as well.The art of questioning, the 'what if' questions are crucial and must be learnt by both pre primary as well as music teachers.

Module 9 takes us into the magical world of fairy tales and stories. It gives detailed insight into how questioning after story reading leads to deep thinking. It lays a foundation for some life long values and also challenges stereotypical beliefs and behavior. Some strategies to re-think stories in the local cultural context, makes this a module one that is not to be missed.

Which Fairy Tale am I talking about? (They have been given an Indian name )

Which skill is being developed?

This module focuses on Environmental Studies but with a shift from traditional to contemporary, local to global. It gives the child a world view on a range of themes covered in this subject. Smart thinking by the teachers and use of the questioning techniques mentioned, can make EVS an exciting subject at the Pre primary level.

Module 11 is about STEAM activities. How Science and engineering can be woven into the curriculum through simple experimentation, observation and comparison . Again there is integration with poems and stories. Connecting with the real world is imperative.

This final module extends Science teaching further by providing strategies to do so. It throws light on AR and VR as exciting options to enhance the quality of classroom teaching and learning. The module wraps up the self-paced study program by doing a recap of the learning outcomes defined in the introduction.

Tick the correct answer

Match the STEAM activity to the principle/concept intended to be observed.

True or false.

The history of storytelling goes back thousands of years, when cave dwellers used pigment to paint on walls with their hands to create stories. The Chauvet -Pont-d'Arc Cave in the mountains of Southern France contains cave drawings dating back to 30,000 years ago. On the walls of the cave, explorers found paintings depicting the prehistoric period. The cave drawings tell us stories about early man encountering mammoths, rhinos and lions, their everyday activities of using homemade weapons. This was how early man formed unspoken and unwritten language to communicate.

Moving ahead the ancient Greeks lived on islands and they discovered several ways to use their tools to carve messages into slates and tombs. Their stories were communicated only through oral storytelling for thousands of years. The Greeks are also the first known civilization to develop writing and apply it to storytelling, which they used to leave messages and write poems.

There was then a shift to words formed into narratives, such as written, typed and printed stories. Over several centuries, the art of the written storytelling would evolve and develop into cohesive works such as the Bible. Before this point many fairy tales were stories that were passed down from generations orally before they were put on paper. The tales were mostly written with children in mind. They were created to teach children basic life lessons in storytelling form, one such popular story of Hansel and Gretel was meant to scare children from wandering off in the forest. In India tales of Tenali Rama and Birbal were also written to pass on their wisdom to the upcoming generations. Telling a story is a tangible instance of how legends and myths make storytelling much more valuable to an audience.

As generations grow and develop, the tradition of storytelling got stronger. The gift of photography in the 21st century is remarkable. In 1939 the television was invented and video games would go on to become one of the most popular mediums for telling simple stories of the 20th and 21st centuries. In this day and age, having a social media account means you have access to see everyone's life without actually being there. With social media, looking someone up on the internet has never been easier. The internet has created a space for blogs, posting pictures, and events that you attend.

To sum it up storytelling originated with visual stories, from the cave drawings, and then shifted to oral storytelling, in which stories were passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. The evolution of storytelling reflects how people learn and communicate. Through oral storytelling or written storytelling, the voice of narration will always have a way place and a purpose. Though the mediums have changed, the core concept of using a sequence of events in an exciting narrative has remained the same. Today, social media has become the modern way we tell the stories of our lives and in the 21st-century, social media is a time capsule for all humankind.

In this video we shall explore the elements or essentials of a story and Story Arc. Let us begin with the key elements of a good story.

setting or the plot

characters

problem/ conflict

solution

Classic story arc elements are:

Exposition or introduction, which gives the background, setting, and characters.
Inciting incident or Inciting action is the exciting force of the story. The story is building up here, it explains the events that happened before the main conflict.
Rising action can include a trigger or conflict, a quest, a surprise twist, and a critical choice. Each step of the rising action adds to the story and pushes toward the climax.
Climax is the turning point of the story. Usually it is also the point of highest point of the story, tension or action in the story is what the audience has been waiting for!
Falling action follows the climax, reduces the tension, and points toward the final resolution.
Denouement or resolution brings the story to an end by presenting a conclusion that completes the story.

There are 3 crucial components in storytelling, the story, the listener and the teller. Story telling will be ineffective; if anyone is weak the process will be in effective. In this video we will focus more on you as a story teller.

Eye Contact

Voice modulation

Facial Expression

Body Language

Use dramatic pauses

Enthusiasm and spirit

let’s take an example of the one of my favourite classic story “The 3 little pigs”

Exposition starts with 3 little pigs leave their house for the first time
Inciting incident or Inciting action is when the first pig builds a house of straw, second one builds a house of sticks and the third pigs build a house of bricks.
Rising action starts with the big bad wolf comes, he huffs and puffs blow the first pigs house down,. He is sacred and runs to the second pig’s house. The wolf blows the second pig’s house too. Now both pigs are scared they run to the third pig’s house. Big bad wolf tires to the blow the brick house, but he can’t. Wolf tries to trick the pigs to come out of the house
Climax starts when the wolf is frustrated and jumps down the chimney to get the three pigs. Wolf falls into the boiling pot over the fire.
Falling action starts when wolf shouts for help and runs away.
Denouement or resolution ends with the three pigs dancing and singing “we are not scared of the big bad wolf.”

Props are powerful substances. They have a great impact on a story. It either lifts a story or works as a bullet kills it completely.

Types of props

- Stick puppet

- Glove or hand puppet

- Story dice

- Headgears

- Body puppet

- Sock puppet

- Box puppet

- Finger puppet

- Story ka pitara / story box with story cut outs

Types of props

- Stick puppet

- Glove or hand puppet

- Story dice

- Headgears

- Body puppet

- Sock puppet

- Box puppet

- Finger puppet

- Story ka pitara / story box with story cut outs

- Flashcards

Call and Response: is a succession of two distinct phrases usually written in different parts, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or in response to the first. There are two main types of call and response patterns: leader/chorus call and response, and question/answer call and response. This gets participation and interaction from the audience.

Pourquoi Stories: A pourquoi story is known as an origin story, pourquoi means "why" in French. It is a fictional narrative that explains why something is the way it is, for example why is the sky blue, or why a tiger has stripes.

Drawing Stories: Here the teller draws the tale and narrates it simultaneously.

Rhyme away stories: Here the teller draws a picture on the board. The students fill in the missing rhyme from the picture and the teller erases the corresponding portion of the picture

Chain Story: A cumulative tale is also called a chain story, action or dialogue repeats and builds up in some way as the tale progresses.

Finger Story: Stories narrated using our hands and fingers as puppets to narrate stories.

Musical Stories: Music ignites all areas of child development and skills for school readiness, including cognitive, social-emotional, motor, language, and overall literacy. It helps the body and the mind work together. Exposing children to musical stories during early development helps them learn the sounds and meanings of words. Musical stories are compositions of a narrative or descriptive sort, and they are intended to depict non musical incidents, ideas. There are many musical stories available on the internet such as we are going on a bear hunt and some other popular classic stories like 3 little pigs

The first thing that happens is neural coupling psychologists refer to this as “flight of imagination as narrative transport”. It occurs when we are fully immersed in a story’s world. It is understood that the greater the level of empathy in the reader/listener the deeper the transportation experience becomes. But what is actually happening is the brain begins to engage in the story. 4 to 5 years of children have developed the theory of mind, this relates to the ability to put themselves in another person’s shoes to be aware of their awareness.

Then mirroring occurs when listening to reading or watching a story we have the similar brain activity to others engaged with the same story and when it is a live event to the storyteller themselves. Storytelling breeds compassion.

When we are engaged in a story it activates the cortex areas and hormones along with other parts of the brain when our brain is processing information alone. An activated brain means a more engaged heart. “Emotions triumph logic”.

Listening to a story that is being told or read to you activates the auditory cortex of the brain. Engaging with the story also fires up the left temporal cortex of the brain the region that is receptive to language. This part of the brain is capable of filtering out overused words. That is why the most skilled storytellers are extremely careful about the language they employ a host of literally techniques to keep the brain engaged.

Stories are a fun and a key element in developing a child’s skills. Stories can shape the way children view the world and even influence their personalities. Children love stories, whether they are telling them or listening to them, and there are some real benefits to immersing our young children in a world of stories.

Some of the major benefits of storytelling for children are:

· Increasing socio - emotional awareness

· Helping them to make sense of the world

· Developing literacy skills

· Making childhood connections

· Strengthens the class community bond

· Develops imagination, emotions and confidence

Tips for great storytelling

Telling stories to young children is a good way to enhance their language, social and emotional skills, but it is often challenging to know which stories to tell, and how to tell them in an engaging way. Here are some tips on storytelling.

· Tell stories you love

· Use props

· Be expressive

· Structure your story

· Practice your story well

Stories stimulate a child’s brain like nothing else. Tell a gripping tale with twists and suspense and you will have the child all agog. And what if we can weave these stories with exemplary characters, extraordinary situations, and important lessons of moral or academic nature? The power of storytelling should be harnessed in pedagogy.

Reviews summary

Ecce guide for modern educators

According to learners, this course provides a solid foundation in Early Childhood Care and Education, particularly aligning with NEP 2020 guidelines. Students found the modules on Phonics and the Art of Storytelling to be particularly detailed and useful, offering practical techniques like Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) and various storytelling methods. The focus on developing critical thinking through integrated subjects and activities was also highlighted as a key strength. Reviewers appreciate the practical strategies and activities provided, which can be immediately applied in a classroom setting. Overall, the course is seen as a valuable resource for pre-primary teachers and aspirants seeking to enhance their skills in early years education.

Well-organized modules with clear explanations.

"The course content is very well-structured and easy to follow step-by-step."

"Explanations are clear and concise, making complex topics understandable."

"Each module builds nicely on the previous one."

Strategies to foster critical thinking in young learners.

"The course emphasizes developing critical thinking, which is a crucial skill for children today."

"I gained practical ways to weave critical thinking into various subjects like EVS and Math."

"Understanding how to use questioning to promote deeper thinking was a key takeaway for me."

Includes hands-on, applicable teaching activities.

"Lots of practical activities are suggested, making it easy to implement the concepts taught."

"The ideas for blending and digraphs activities are great and easy to replicate."

"I appreciated the hands-on learning ideas shared in the Math and Science modules."

Provides useful strategies for engaging children.

"The storytelling module gave me so many ideas and ways to make stories more engaging for kids."

"Learning about story arcs, props, and voice modulation for storytelling was incredibly helpful."

"I particularly enjoyed the different types of stories and how to use them effectively in class."

Detailed methods for teaching phonics effectively.

"The module on Phonics, especially Systematic Synthetic Phonics, was very thorough and practical."

"I learned new and effective techniques for teaching phonics that I can use right away."

"The phonics part with sounds and actions is fantastic for teaching young children."

Content aligns well with the latest education policy.

"The course structure really reflects the new education policy (NEP 2020). It's good to see this alignment."

"I was looking for training aligned with NEP 2020, and this course delivered exactly that."

"Relevant to NEP 2020, which is very important for current educators."

Complete Guide to Early Childhood Care & Education(ECCE)

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Ecce guide for modern educators

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