Hawkins Instructional Design Plan

Instructional Design Plan
Grade: Kindergarten
Theme: Fall, Properties
Julie E. Hawkins
Texas A&M University
EDCI – 711 – 600
Robin Rackley, Ph.D.
December 06, 2019

Julie Hawkins
EDCI-711-600
Instructional Design Plan
TEKS and Objectives
TEKS:
Lesson #1: Science
§112.11. Science, Kindergarten, Adopted 2017.
(b) Knowledge and Skills
(5) Matter and energy. The student knows that objects have
properties and patterns. The student is expected to:
(A) observe and record properties of objects, including
bigger or smaller, heavier or lighter, shape, color, and
texture; and
Lesson #2: Integrated Social Studies and Science
§113.11. Social Studies, Kindergarten, Beginning with School Year 2011-
2012.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(5) Geography. The student understands physical and human
characteristics of place. The student is expected to:
(A) identify the physical characteristics of place such as
landforms, bodies of water, natural resources, and weather;
and
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(8) Earth and space. The student knows that there are recognizable
patterns in the natural world and among objects in the sky. The
student is expected to:
(A) observe and describe weather changes from day to day
and over seasons;
(B) identify events that have repeating patterns, including
seasons of the year and day and night; and
Lesson #3: Math
§111.2. Mathematics, Kindergarten, Adopted 2012.
(6) Geometry and measurement. The student applies mathematical
process standards to analyze attributes of two-dimensional shapes
and three-dimensional solids to develop generalizations about their
properties. The student is expected to:
(A) identify two-dimensional shapes, including circles,
triangles, rectangles, and squares as special rectangles;
(D) identify attributes of two-dimensional shapes using
informal and formal geometric language interchangeably;
(E) classify and sort a variety of regular and irregular two-
and three-dimensional figures regardless of orientation or
size; and
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(F) create two-dimensional shapes using a variety of
materials and drawings
Lesson #4: English
§110.11. English Language Arts and Reading, Kindergarten, Beginning with
School Year 2009-2010.
(6) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme and Genre.
Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about
theme and genre in different cultural, historical, and contemporary
contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their
understanding. Students are expected to:
(A) identify elements of a story including setting, character,
and key events;
(8) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. Students
understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the
structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to
support their understanding. Students are expected to:
(A) retell a main event from a story read aloud; and
(B) describe characters in a story and the reasons for their
actions.
Lesson #5: Social Studies
§113.11. Social Studies, Kindergarten, Beginning with School Year 2011-
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2012.
(1) History. The student understands that holidays are celebrations
of special events. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the reasons for national patriotic holidays such
as Presidents' Day, Veterans Day, and Independence Day;
and
(B) identify customs associated with national patriotic
holidays such as parades and fireworks on Independence
Day.
(12) Culture. The student understands the importance of family
customs and traditions. The student is expected to:
(A) describe and explain the importance of family customs
and traditions; and
(14) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking
skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of
valid sources, including electronic technology. The student is
expected to:
(B) obtain information about a topic using a variety of valid
visual sources such as pictures, symbols, electronic media,
print material, and artifacts; and
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(15) Social studies skills. The student communicates in oral and
visual forms. The student is expected to:
(A) express ideas orally based on knowledge and
experiences; and
(B) create and interpret visuals, including pictures and
maps.
Objectives:
• Lesson #1: Science
o The student will describe the physical properties of objects orally with 100%
accuracy.
o The student will group and sort objects by their physical properties on their
desks while grouping the objects at least two different ways with 100%
accuracy.
o The student will draw the physical properties of a leaf on a graphic organizer
with at two properties, shape and color, correctly represented.
o The student will write a description of their leaf on a worksheet with a simple
sentence, sight words, and a period.
• Lesson #2: Integrated Social Studies and Science
o The student will identify each of the four seasons orally with 100% accuracy.
o The student will describe the properties of each season orally with 100%
accuracy.
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o The student will draw four trees on a graphic organizer with all four seasons
accurately represented.
o The student will sort season cards on a worksheet with 100% accuracy.
• Lesson #3: Math
o The student will sort shapes by their similarities on their desk and orally
describe their reasoning with 100% accuracy.
o The student will be able to recognize circle, triangle, rectangle, and square
orally with 100% accuracy.
o The student will be able to identify the number of edges and vertices that a
circle, triangle, rectangle, and square has orally and on a worksheet with
100% accuracy.
o The student will be able to construct shapes such as a circle, rectangle,
triangle, and square using popsicle sticks on a worksheet with 100% accuracy.
• Lesson #4: English
o Students will be able to retell the important events and characters that were in
the story Big Pumpkin orally and with visual props with 100% accuracy.
o Students will be able to retell and sequence the important events in the story
using picture cards and a chart with 100% accuracy.
• Lesson #5: Social Studies
o Students will examine the customs associated with Thanksgiving and how
they have changed over time through analyzing historical photographs
through circling and describing two or more elements in the image that
indicate a Thanksgiving custom.
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o Students will display how Thanksgiving is celebrated impacted society by
drawing pictures the customs associated with Thanksgiving with 80%
accuracy.
o Students will describe their understanding of the reasons for Thanksgiving
orally, through recording a 1-minute Voki video of themselves discussing the
photographs they analyzed and their own drawings.
Student Background, Knowledge and Experience
o Prior to this lesson, students must understand observing objects.
o Students must know what colors are.
o Students must understand how to group objects.
o Students must be able to use words like bumpy, soft, small, large, round,
square, colorful, etc. before describing their objects.
o Students must be able to color and write simple sentences.
o Students must understand that objects are distinct.
o Students should know that the weather describes the way it feels outside.
o Students should know that the weather changes from day to day, and often
changes over months.
o Students should know there are periods of time where the weather is warmer
and cooler.
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o Students should know that the weather affects what people can do outside and
how they dress.
• Lesson #3: Math
o As these students are in Kindergarten and have no prior geometry instruction,
they will not have much background knowledge.
o Students should know that objects have a definite shape.
o Students should know that there are different shapes and different properties
that make each shape unique.
o They should be familiar with the words square and circle, even if they cannot
identify them.
o Before this lesson students must have listening comprehension skills.
o Students must have an idea of characters, events, and setting.
o Students should know what a picture walk is.
o Students should be able to retell simple stories and information.
o Students need to be able to communicate ideas orally.
o Students will know that holidays exist.
o Students may have previously celebrated Thanksgiving with their own family
and remember what their family told them.
o Students should understand that holidays are a reason to celebrate, and should
be able to make a connection to learning about Veterans Day and Halloween
in the prior months.
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o Students should understand how to pull details out of photos from their
reading instruction and picture walks.
Essential Content Knowledge
o Students must know that objects have many different properties. Some of
these properties include color, size, weight, texture, shape, length and
material. Students should have an understanding of what each of these
property words mean. Students can describe what these property words mean,
and also apply them to objects they see. Students should be able to describe
the properties of objects as well as be able to sort objects into groups based on
their properties.
o Students must understand that different places are associated with a certain
weather. Weather is also associated with the time of year and the season. The
student should be able to know that there are patterns of the weather within
out world. They can observe and describe how the weather changes from
season to season. They should be able to identify each of the four seasons as
well as the basic properties that are associated with it. Spring is a season when
the weather starts to get warmer, plants start growing, and there are a lot of
baby animals. Summer is a season that is the hottest and when people usually
go on vacation or swimming. Fall is a season where it starts to get colder, the
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leaves start changing color and falling, and is around Thanksgiving. Winter is
a season where it gets cold, may snow, and is around Christmas.
• Lesson #3: Math
o Students must understand what a shape is. They should be able to recognize
and discuss the properties of basic two-dimensional shapes such as circles,
triangles, squares, and rectangles. They should be able to discuss why an
object is this shape. They should know what an edge/side is, be able to
identify it on a shape, and be able to count the number on a shape. They
should know what a vertex/corner is, be able to identify it on a shape, and be
able to count the number on a shape. Students should be able to sort shapes
based on their similarities and differences. Students should be able to create
these shapes on their own.
o The student should be able to comprehend the text that is read aloud to them.
Once they are read a story, they should be able to make inferences and draw
conclusions about the theme of the story. Students can identify story element
such as character, setting, and key events. They should be able to then make
inferences and draw conclusions about the story based on text evidence. Once
they have heard the story read aloud, they should be able to orally retell the
main events and describe important details such as the characters, the setting,
and why the characters completed certain actions.
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o The student should know what holidays and customs are. They should
understand that holidays are celebrated across a large area of the world and
have a reason behind them. Everyone has different customs, but there are
traditional customs associated with each holiday. Students should understand
that we celebrate Thanksgiving to remember when the pilgrims came to
America and as a way to remember what we are thankful for. Students should
know that at Thanksgiving we typically have a large meal, including turkey,
with our family and say what we are thankful for. Students should be able to
analyze photos and obtain information from what they see. They can us this
information to express their own ideas on social studies both orally and
through drawing.
Unit Assessment Plan
This entire unit is centered around the theme of Fall and somewhat about the properties an object
or event has. Lesson #1 focuses on learning about the properties of objects while using fall-
themed items such as pumpkins, gourds, and corn. Lesson #2 focuses on learning about the
properties of the different seasons and heavily will discuss the season of fall. Lesson #3 focuses
on learning the properties of different shapes while also keeping the fall theme by being centered
around the book The Legend of Spookley The Square Pumpkin and using pumpkin sorting cards
in different activities. Lesson #4 is centered around a Halloween and fall themed book called Big
Pumpkin and discusses the properties of a story and what details are important to retell the story.
Finally, the last lesson, Lesson #5 focuses on the holiday of Thanksgiving and focuses on the
properties that make this holiday unique and the details that can be pulled from photographs.
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While all of these lessons have a similar theme, they are all covering different subject areas and
teach different content. In most cases, the lessons go together due to the theme, but the lessons
do not build upon each other to teach one piece of content. Therefore, there could not be one
singular form of assessment at the end of this unit to measure student understanding. Instead, the
unit assessment would lead up to a culminating event where students could be assessed for all
five lessons.
For this event, we would have a sort of Fall Festival. This festival would last the entirety of the
day and would serve as both a fun day as well as a day to evaluate the students. Often around
Halloween time, and right before Thanksgiving, there are many events that occur within the
school and the days right around it are not the optimal instructional days. Therefore, having a fall
festival on one of these days could be the perfect way to merge these parties and performances
with an assessment tool. The fall festival could begin with the assessment, and then that
afternoon would be more of the party.
For the party, the teacher could invite family members and plan several small activities such as
pumpkin painting, apple sweeping, and pumpkin bowling. These activities would stay within the
fall theme and could just be small activities that students could participate in with their family
and other classmates. If done on/around Halloween, it could even be when the students are
dressed up as their book characters and could involve any treats. This part would not be actually
involved in the assessment plan, but could rather be added on to the assessment so the students
see the whole day as a fall festival with learning mixed in instead of looking at it like we have to
learn in the morning so we can have fun later in the day.
Now getting to the actual unit assessment plan. I would have the sort of fall party. At this fall
party, students will spend their time completing many different fall activities. However, there are
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two different ways this could be facilitated depending on what the teacher wants and how they
used the assessments in previous lessons. This entire assessment could be completed at several
different stations that students would rotate through and the teacher could monitor, or the teacher
could walk the student through each culminating event/assessment for each lesson, with some
slight differences, and have a more formal assessment.
First this could be done with stations. The teacher would set up several stations around the
classroom. All students would rotate through them. Depending on the size of the class, you could
have one station per lesson plan, or have multiple for some of the lesson plans. To begin the
stations, the teacher should reread Big Pumpkin to the class so the story is fresh on their minds
before they are assessed on the retelling of it. The teacher could also choose another book to read
instead with a similar theme such as The Enormous Turnip, The Enormous Potato, or The Giant
Carrot. Then the teacher would send the students into stations. Some of these stations may be
more of informal assessments, while others could have the students complete a sort of worksheet
to be formally assessed.
o Give the students sorting cards of many different fall items. Then have sorting
sheets for things such as color, texture, shape, and size. Students will sort their
items on these sheets.
o Have students draw pictures of two different groupings for each property.
Give them a sheet with a property listed such as color, and then they need to
draw two groups of colors. EX: Red with an apple, a firetruck and then
Yellow with a lemon, the sun, and a sunflower.
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o Give the students sorting cards of properties associated with different seasons.
Then have sorting sheets for each season: spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Students will sort their items on these sheets.
o Have students draw pictures of a tree during each season. Their tree should
represent the weather associated with this season.
• Lesson #3: Math
o Shape Hunt. Have students use shape magnifying glasses. Then have them go
around to identify shapes around the classroom. Have specific fall shaped
items set around to help. When they find the shape, they must define its
attributes. They will do this by recording their response through taking a video
on the iPad and orally describing. Apply their knowledge of shapes to a new
area and the teacher can see their understanding of shapes.
o Shape Sort. Give students several cards and objects from around the room.
Use fall themed items and pumpkin shape cards to keep within the fall theme.
Have them organize the objects/cards into the correct shape category. Students
will sort the shape cards onto the shape maps and match the shape to their
name.
o Retell the story that the teacher read. Use the cutout puppets at the station to
retell the story while recording themselves on the iPad. They would orally
retell the story.
o Complete a sorting worksheet with pictures from the story. The student would
have to correctly sequence the events.
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o The students will draw two pictures. The first detailing what Thanksgiving
looked like a long time ago, and one detailing what their own Thanksgiving
looks like today. The students can draw the pictures any way they want to.
However, the photos should show some understanding of why we celebrate
Thanksgiving, the customs associated with Thanksgiving, and the importance
of family traditions.
o Give them students some photos detailing different holidays. See if the
students can identify what these are and why they would be important. See if
they can analyze the photos to determine what holiday it is. If they cannot
pick the specific holiday that is okay, but you will even see their
understanding if they say “I see green and gold. So, I know it’s not
Thanksgiving because that’s not a custom you see.”
o Students can describe why we celebrate Thanksgiving while using Voki.
Next this could be done more formally through structured activities. The teacher would choose
the culminating event from each individual lesson, and slightly change it. Then, the entire class
would complete each individual activity at the same time. The teacher could structure the
activities in any order they see fit. Then the teacher would send the students into stations. Some
of these activities may be more of informal assessments, while most would have the students
complete a sort of worksheet to be formally assessed.
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o Give the students sorting cards of many different fall items. Then have sorting
sheets for things such as color, texture, shape, and size. Students will sort their
items on these sheets.
o Have students draw pictures of two different groupings for each property.
Give them a sheet with a property listed such as color, and then they need to
draw two groups of colors. EX: Red with an apple, a firetruck and then
Yellow with a lemon, the sun, and a sunflower.
o Complete another sort of the objects but have them do it individually this
time. Give them access to fall items. First ask them to sort them however they
see fit, then ask the student how they sorted. After that try to get them sort
more ways. You could also call out, “Okay now sort by shape.” Then you
would see if their grouping matches to assess them.
o Give the students sorting cards of properties associated with different seasons.
Then have sorting sheets for each season: spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Students will sort their items on these sheets.
o Have students draw pictures of a tree during each season. Their tree should
represent the weather associated with this season.
• Lesson #3: Math
o Shape Hunt. Have students use shape magnifying glasses. Then have them go
around in small groups to identify shapes around the classroom. Have specific
fall shaped items set around to help. When they find the shape, they must
define it’s attributes. Continue to have them explain their shape to you. Apply
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their knowledge of shapes to a new area and the teacher can see their
understanding of shapes.
o Shape Sort. Give students several cards and objects from around the room.
Use fall themed items and pumpkin shape cards to keep within the fall theme.
Have them organize the objects/cards into the correct shape category. Students
will sort the shape cards onto the shape maps and match the shape to their
name.
o The teacher should reread Big Pumpkin to the class so the story is fresh on
their minds before they are assessed on the retelling of it. The teacher could
also choose another book to read instead with a similar theme such as The
Enormous Turnip, The Enormous Potato, or The Giant Carrot.
o Have the students create paper cutout props to match along with the story.
Work in groups to retell the story. The teacher can record their “performance”
on the iPad.
o Recreate the book. Give them blank paper stapled like a book. They need to
retell the story physically. Obviously, it will not have the same number of
pages as the actual book and instead just enough for them to retell the main
details. They will write a sentence on each page along with a picture. EX:
“The witch pulled the pumpkin.” “The ghost pulled the pumpkin.” “They all
helped.”
o Complete a sorting worksheet with pictures from the story. The student would
have to correctly sequence the events.
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o The students will draw two pictures. The first detailing what Thanksgiving
looked like a long time ago, and one detailing what their own Thanksgiving
looks like today. The students can draw the pictures any way they want to.
However, the photos should show some understanding of why we celebrate
Thanksgiving, the customs associated with Thanksgiving, and the importance
of family traditions.
o Give them students some photos detailing different holidays. See if the
students can identify what these are and why they would be important. See if
they can analyze the photos to determine what holiday it is. If they cannot
pick the specific holiday that is okay, but you will even see their
understanding if they say “I see green and gold. So, I know it’s not
Thanksgiving because that’s not a custom you see.”
o Students can describe why we celebrate Thanksgiving while using Voki.
For the unit assessment plan, the teacher would choose between having their students complete
structured activities or stations at a Fall Festival. All students would work through activities for
each lesson and would build up to more traditional fall festival activities to make the most out of
a day at school where a party would take away from instructional time.
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Lesson Plan #1: Science
Name of Lesson Plan: Properties of Objects
Subjects and Grade level: Science, Kindergarten
Objectives:
• The student will describe the physical properties of objects orally with 100%
accuracy.
• The student will group and sort objects by their physical properties on their desks
while grouping the objects at least two different ways with 100% accuracy.
• The student will draw the physical properties of a leaf on a graphic organizer with at
two properties, shape and color, correctly represented.
• The student will write a description of their leaf on a worksheet with a simple
sentence, sight words, and a period.
TEKS:
(b) Knowledge and Skills
(5) Matter and energy. The student knows that objects have properties and
patterns. The student is expected to:
(A) observe and record properties of objects, including bigger or
smaller, heavier or lighter, shape, color, and texture; and
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Materials:
• Cob of Corn • Leaves • Sandpaper • Pencils
• Pumpkins • Hay • Tape • Crayons
• Apples • Cotton Balls • Straws • Worksheets
• Magnifying • Laminated • Colored
Glasses Property Unifix
Cards Cubes
Preparation:
Be sure to deliver clear expectations for students during each activity and transition.
Students will come in the classroom and sit down on the rug in front of the
smartboard/projector. Students will be sitting on their designated spot and not invading
any other student’s personal space. If students are misbehaving, the teacher will deliver
consequences as necessary. CHAMPS: Level 0 during instruction, raise your hand,
Properties of Objects, sitting on your pockets, Listening and answering questions.
The teacher will have a few objects at the front of the class. The group stations should
already be set up. Each table will have several objects and magnifying glasses.
When transitioning from working as a whole class to working in groups, students will
move from the rug to their desks. Students will sit in their assigned seats, with four to
five students per table group. Students will then work with their group to sort the objects.
CHAMPS: Level 2, Raise your hand, Sorting Objects, Sitting or standing in your desk
space, working together with your group to sort the objects in different ways.
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Teaching Procedure:
1. Motivation/Anticipatory Set:
Dress up like a scientist to get the students engaged. “Today I will need a lot of scientists to
help me make discoveries. Mrs. Simpson told me that you all are incredible scientists, so I
thought I would come to you for help!”
Students will be sitting down on the rug in front of the smartboard/projector. Students will be
sitting on their designated spot and not invading any other student’s personal space. Give the
students their expectations: CHAMPS: Level 0 during instruction, raise your hand, Following
the Trail of a Tornado, sitting on your pockets, Properties of Objects, sitting on your pockets,
Listening and answering questions.
“In science we have been investigating pumpkins. When we’ve looked at pumpkins, what
have you noticed?” *Show a pumpkin*
*Let students answer: They’re orange, round, have bumps, etc.*
“Great! We have already explored pumpkins a lot. What if I had an apple? Would we say the
same thing about an apple?” *Show them an apple*
*Students will say no. Prompt them to list properties of the apple*
“You all are so smart! Today we are going to look at a lot of different objects and talk about
what we see. When we look at objects and talk about what we see we are observing their
properties.”
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“So, if we wanted to group the pumpkin and apple what are some ways to do that?”
- *Just go through two or three ways to sort, so that the students can explore more on
their own*
- *Right now, the focus on the lesson is color and texture, as well as shape and size. If
students sort them other ways, encourage and introduce this, but try to focus on these
few concepts*
- Color –
o “Do they have the same color or different? So, if one is orange and one is red,
would they be in the same group? Right, the pumpkin would be in an orange
group, and the pumpkin would be in a red group.” *Hold up a red unifix
cube* “Which group would this go in? Why?” “Yes, the unifix would go with
the apple because they both have the same property of being a red color.”
- Size –
o “What do you notice about their size? Which one is bigger? Which one is
smaller? So how would we group them? Good, we could say the pumpkin is
medium sized and the apple is smaller.” *Bring in the larger pumpkin* “Now
what if we added this pumpkin? Would our smaller pumpkin still be in the
bigger group? Right, now we would have our big pumpkin as large, and the
apple and pumpkin as small.”
o If you have many above grade level students, or students who are
understanding this concept well, bring up the idea of circumference.
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▪ Sometimes how “big” an object is cannot be easily determined because
of shape differences.
▪ Circumference is for round objects, much like our pumpkins and
apples.
▪ Use yarn to show how you can still measure round objects like this and
then sort them by the size of their circumference.
- Length –
o *This concept may not naturally come up with the pumpkin and the apple.
Would be better with pencils. However, you could talk about the stems of the
food to show this property*
o “What do you notice about them being longer and shorter? So how could we
group them? Right, we could put them as the pumpkin stem is longer, and the
apple stem is shorter.”
o If you have many above grade level students, or students who are
understanding this concept well, bring up the idea of circumference.
▪ Circumference is for round objects, much like our pumpkins and
apples.
▪ Use yarn to show how you can still measure round objects like this
and then sort them by the length of their circumference.
- Weight –
o “What do you notice about their weight? Which one is heavier? Which one is
lighter? So how would we group them? Good, we could say the pumpkin is
heavier and the apple is lighter.” *Bring in the larger pumpkin* “Now what if
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we added this pumpkin? Would our smaller pumpkin still be in the heavy
group? Right, now we would have our big pumpkin as heavy, and the apple
and pumpkin as light.”
- Texture –
o “How do these objects feel?” *Let students feel the objects* “Right, the apple
is smooth. What about the pumpkin? Some of the pumpkin is smooth, but it
also has bumps. So, these objects have different textures. We could put the
pumpkin as bumpy and the apple as smooth. What if we added a cob of corn?
Where would the corn go?”
- Material –
o *This will probably not come up and will be difficult to explain with the
objects. If any student brings up that “One is a pumpkin and one is an apple”
say “Yes you’re right! These objects are made of different things.” Do a
demonstration with paper (white, and colored construction paper). Students
will be able to see that the objects look different and maybe even feel a bit
different, but they are both paper.
- Shape –
o “We have learned about shapes in math, what are the shapes of our objects?
They are both round like a circle or oval! What are some other shapes we
could see in objects?”
“Today we are going to start learning about object’s properties. You are going to be scientists
and use your magnifying glasses to investigate and learn about your objects. All objects have
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many properties that make them the way they are. As we look at your objects, you will look
at their properties and group them based ways they are the same.”
2. Prior Learning:
Prior to this lesson, students must understand observing objects.
Students must know what colors are.
Students must understand how to group objects.
Students must be able to use words like bumpy, soft, small, large, round, square, colorful,
etc. before describing their objects.
Students must be able to color and write simple sentences.
Students must understand that objects are distinct.
3. Statement of Objective:
“I will be able to identify and describe the properties of objects and group objects based on
these properties.”
4. Purpose/Rationale:
“In life, everything we look at has properties. Learning about these properties gives us
information we can use in the real world. Knowing about these properties allows us to be
scientists in real life and make observations. Today we are going to explore the properties of
objects so that we can learn more about them and why they’re important!”
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The ability to identify and describe physical characteristics of objects will help you to be able
better observe and describe objects. These concepts allow students to apply their scientific
knowledge into real-life scenarios. Students always observe the world around them, and this
lesson will give them insight to what they are seeing and words to connect to their
observations. Knowing how to describe the world around them is an important
communication skill. Without being able to have the vocabulary and knowledge to describe
objects, students will not be able to accurately communicate with others.
5. Instructional steps
Guided Practice
Students should already be seated on the rug, facing the smartboard. As you detail the
instructions for each group, show the students the materials. Model your expectations for
them while giving instruction.
“Now you are going to get to observe and sort objects with your table group. At your
table you will have multiple objects and magnifying glasses. It is your job to be the
scientist. You will use your magnifying glasses to observe the objects and group them
just like we all did together. I will be walking around the classroom to see how you are
grouping your objects and working together.”
“I need you to listen for when it is time to stop and share with the class. During this
activity I expect you to be at a level 2. If you need help, first ask your group members
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then raise your hand. Our activity is sorting objects. For movement, you should be sitting
or standing in your desk space. Finally, to show me you are participating you should be
working together to look at the properties.”
“Are there any questions before we begin?”
*Have students transition into their table groups. Call table by table 1 – 4*
Grouping:
Give the students about 5 – 10 minutes to create their groupings.
As they work, walk around the classroom observing and providing feedback. Do not
correct them, but rather help guide them to make new discoveries and encourage them to
use descriptive words and make connections to vocabulary.
Some statement or questions you can make while walking around are:
“What did you notice about these objects?”
“Why did you group these objects that way?”
“If you have a group of hard objects and a group of soft objects, you would be
grouping by texture.”
“I see you have a group of a pumpkin, orange crayon, then an apple and a red
unifix cube, and then corn. How did you group your objects?”
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“If you aren’t sure how to group them, let’s start looking at the properties. What
can you tell me about the pumpkin? Oh, it’s orange and bumpy. What can you tell
me about the corn? It’s yellow and bumpy. So, what do these two objects both
have? Right they’re bumpy! So, you could group by texture.”
This is a great time to see which students are understanding that objects have properties
even if they do not know quite what those properties are yet. Use this time to start
assessing students.
As students finish one group and they have given you their rationale, tell them to group
the objects a different way. You could even swap out a few objects to help them look at a
new property of the object.
Present New Information
Get the students attention back to the front of the room.
“Look at me, copy me.”
“I saw all of you making wonderful groupings of your objects! Now I want you to be able
to share the with the class what your group found.”
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Call on students from each table to share their thoughts one at a time. Have them tell you
what objects they have in each group, how they grouped their objects, and what they
noticed about each object to make that grouping.
After students share their grouping, provide them with content knowledge and vocabulary
for that topic.
- Color –
o Color is a property that makes the object look a certain way
o Some colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, pink, gray,
and black
o What color are the objects in group 1? Group 2? Etc.?
- Size –
o What do you notice about their size? Which one is bigger? Which one is
smaller?
o Size is how big something is.
o Size can change depending on what objects you have.
o You may say a car is big, but compared to a hotel, the car is now small.
- Length –
o What do you notice about them being longer and shorter?
o When something is longer or shorter it is called length.
o You can also see length with some people being taller and shorter.
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o In class we may be able to see who is taller and short, but then if we count a
teacher, then you all would have a smaller length.
- Weight –
o “What do you notice about their weight? Which one is heavier? Which one is
lighter?
o When objects are heavy or light, that is their weight.
o We all also have weight.
- Texture –
o “How do these objects feel?”
o How objects feel is their texture.
o What are some ways that you could say that an object feels?
▪ Hard, Soft, Smooth, Bumpy, Rough, Sharp, Sticky, etc.
o Soft is something you could want to cuddle with while smooth is like an
apple, or your desk and has no bumps.
- Material –
o Material is what something is made up of.
o We can see that the objects look different and maybe even feel a bit different,
but they can be made of the same material.
o Paper and wood are good examples.
- Shape –
o What are the shapes of our objects?
o What are some other shapes we could see in objects?
▪ Square, circle, oval, rectangle, triangle
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o Like we’ve talked about in math, objects can have different shapes.
o Sometime objects may not be a perfect shape like the pumpkin, but we can
say it is round like a circle.
Whichever concepts students do not hit on, give them a brief explanation of and tell them
they will explore it more in the next two weeks.
“You all are so smart about observing the objects properties! Can someone remind me of
all the different properties objects can have?”
Wait until color, texture, shape, material, weight, length, and size are all said,
prompting them if needed.
“Now we’re going to do one more investigation with leaves to look at their color and
texture.”
Independent Practice
“Lucas is going to pass a worksheet to everyone. I need the table managers to grab your
table’s material bucket. Everyone will need a leaf, a magnifying glass, a pencil, and
crayons.”
First model the activity for the students, before allowing them to work.
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“Everyone will have your leaf. First, I am going to observe my leaf. Then I am going to
draw my leaf with crayons on my paper. I want to make sure my leaf looks correct, so I
will use the same colors to create the shape. Once I have colored my leaf, I will flip my
paper over and write a sentence about my leaf. I could write “The leaf is brown.” Or “I
see a green leaf.” Or “My leaf is pointy.” I want to see that you can really look at your
leaf well to see its properties.”
Allow the students to work on drawing their leaves and writing sentences. As they work,
walk around the guide instruction and answer questions. Ask students what they are
noticing about their leaves as they draw. Ask them what properties they thought were
important to draw.
As they write their sentence, help them to sound out the words and write a sentence.
Make sure they are writing a full sentence and help them to write about a property of the
leaf. For Kindergarten, a full sentence is very simple and should only be a few words to
make their thought.
6. Questions
All questions asked throughout the lesson are highlighted. They are highlighted due to the
level they fall on the Bloom’s Taxonomy Scale.
Remembering Applying Evaluating
Understanding Analyzing Creating
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7. Closure:
Review:
Come back as a whole group and take a seat on the carpet. Have a group discussion about
the lesson today.
Have students summarize the lesson and some new information they learned.
“What one thing did you learn today?”
“What was one property you noticed about your objects?”
“What properties did we learn about?”
Future Learning:
“I hope that you are excited to learn more about properties of objects and continue to be
scientists. The next two weeks we will keep investigating the properties of objects and
learn more. As you get older, you will have to always be scientists and look at the world
around you. You can now use this information to describe objects around you!”
8. Lesson Extension and Modifications:
• Reteach – Below Grade Level
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o For students who are struggling, take them into a small group while the rest of the
class is working independently. Work with these students through sorting the
objects once again with more instruction. Walk through with them focusing on
what they see and how to apply what they see to other objects. Work to justify the
groupings with observations.
o When writing their sentence, instead of asking them to come up with it on their
own, help them. Have them give you a property of the leaf such as green. Then
make a sentence for them like “My leaf is green.” Then help them to write it and
sound it out.
• ELLS
o Since there are no ELLs in the class, these modifications will not be too large.
▪ All students can barely read and write, so this lesson is structured so that
reading, and writing is minimal. Students mostly have to listen and speak
in this lesson.
o Say some basic words such as color in both English and Spanish.
▪ For example, say Orange then Naranja, and Red then Rojo.
o Provide them with more support especially when sounding out words for their
sentence.
o For ELLs, encourage them to work more on the discussion of the concepts and
they can tell you the sentence instead of writing it.
o Provide students with translators to help them understand the meaning of more
complex vocabulary.
o Give ELLs more time to complete their assignments during independent practice.
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o Peer Tutoring
▪ Use as a last resort if other methods are not helping - Have students work
in heterogenous pairs. These activities listening and speaking that young
ELLs may struggle with. Assigning them a partner to help them by
retelling the information and working slowly as they discuss the material
without having the barrier of not being able to fully complete the
worksheets on their own.
• Extension – Above Grade Level
o Students working ahead can create more groupings.
▪ For example, if grouping by texture instead of just having bumpy and not
bumpy, encourage them to make more groups. Bumpy, smooth, and soft.
o When grouping these students can group by two properties instead of one.
▪ So instead of grouping by color and having a red, orange, and yellow
group, each group must have two properties in common. So, you could
have red and smooth with have an apple and a red unifix cube, orange and
bumpy with a pumpkin and sandpaper, and yellow with a yellow blanket
and a sunflower petal.
o Instead of being limited to the objects given, they can use other objects from
around the classroom to help with their groupings.
o When discussing size or length, consider talking about circumference with the
students.
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▪ Circumference is a way to show how big a round object is. When students
are sorting their objects by shape, have them use yarn to show
circumference of the objects to determine if it is big or small.
• Modifications for Specific Students
o Flexible seating
▪ Many students have flexible seating. Allow them to utilize this or stand up
when completing the observation to help keep them on task.
o Behavioral
▪ H.B. and L.W.
• Work closer in proximity to these students and encourage sharing.
Give this table a few extra supplies so they are less likely to take
supplies from each other and argue.
o Social Emotional
▪ W.B.
• Make sure to give him warning before the lesson/activity is ending.
• He gets upset very easily if he feels like he doesn’t have a chance
to answer or finish his assignment
• Do not call on him an unfair amount, but make sure he feels
recognized
▪ A.R., E.B., and R.L.
• They are all a bit behind, especially in terms of writing
• If they are discouraged, they will not do their work
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• Really build them up and make sure that they know you believe in
them and now they can complete the task
• Build up their small accomplishments to keep them moving
throughout the activity
o If there is time, record the students on a cell phone completing their observations.
This way students have a chance to retell and feel important. Mrs. Simpson then
uploads these recordings to her class website for parents to see what they are
doing in class.
9. Assessment of Learning:
During this lesson, students will mostly be assessed informally by the teacher walking
around, asking questions, and observing students.
As the students are describing their objects, the teacher will listen to see if they are able
to make correct statements about the physical properties of the objects.
As students are working to group their objects, the teacher will walk around and listen to
their rationales to see if students are able to group their objects by two different
properties correctly.
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The teacher will use the student’s worksheet to check for understanding. The teacher
should see a drawing of a leaf that is a similar color and shape of the leaf that the student
had.
The teacher will use the student’s worksheet to check for understanding. The teacher
should see a sentence that is complete, has sight words, and describes the leaf.
10. Resources
Teachers Pay Teachers:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Properties-of-Objects-An-Early-
Childhood-Science-Unit-1108215
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Lesson Plan #2: Integrated Social Studies and Science
Name of Lesson Plan: The Leaves are Falling, and Seasons are Changing!
Subjects and Grade level: Integrated Social Studies and Science, Kindergarten
Instructional Objectives:
• The student will identify each of the four seasons orally with 100% accuracy.
• The student will describe the properties of each season orally with 100% accuracy.
• The student will draw four trees on a graphic organizer with all four seasons
accurately represented.
• The student will sort season cards on a worksheet with 100% accuracy.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS):
§113.11. Social Studies, Kindergarten, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.
(5) Geography. The student understands physical and human
characteristics of place. The student is expected to:
(A) identify the physical characteristics of place such as landforms,
bodies of water, natural resources, and weather; and
(8) Earth and space. The student knows that there are recognizable
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patterns in the natural world and among objects in the sky. The student is
expected to:
(A) observe and describe weather changes from day to day and
over seasons;
(B) identify events that have repeating patterns, including seasons
of the year and day and night; and
Rationale:
“In life, we are always affected by the weather. Whenever you go outside, the weather
affects how you feel and dress. Your whole life you will have to deal with the weather
and making decisions based upon it. Understanding how the weather behaves within
certain seasons can help you prepare for your day!”
Students must understand that different places are associated with a certain weather.
Weather is also associated with the time of year and the season. The student should be
able to know that there are patterns of the weather within out world. They can observe
and describe how the weather changes from season to season. They should be able to
identify each of the four seasons as well as the basic properties that are associated with it.
Spring is a season when the weather starts to get warmer, plants start growing, and there
are a lot of baby animals. Summer is a season that is the hottest and when people usually
go on vacation or swimming. Fall is a season where it starts to get colder, the leaves start
changing color and falling, and is around Thanksgiving. Winter is a season where it gets
cold, may snow, and is around Christmas.
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This content knowledge is crucial for the students because they need to know about the
world around them. Everyday when they go outside, they will have an encounter with the
weather depending on what season it is. Students need to be aware of the world around
them so they can adapt and make sure they are comfortable. It is a life skill to understand
if you need to wear a jacket or bring an umbrella. This lesson will help students build this
understanding.
Materials:
• Computer
• Smartboard
• Projector
• Internet
• Texas Studies Weekly – 2nd Quarter Week 13
o Individual Issue for Each Student
o Big Issue for Teacher Use
• Pencils
• Crayons
• Seasons Sorting Sheets
• Seasons Sorting Cards
• My favorite Season Worksheet
• Seasons Trees Worksheet
Resources:
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• The Ever Changing Seasons Lesson
o https://betterlesson.com/lesson/628569/the-ever-changing-seasons
• Video: Four Seasons in a Year sung by Harry Kindergarten.
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0zKV6j1MDg&feature=emb_logo
• Book: A Tree for All Seasons
• Worksheets and Sorting Cards
o https://betterlesson.com/lesson/628569/the-ever-changing-seasons
Preparation:
Make sure you have loaded the video onto your computer and Smartboard or before the
students come to the rug so you can quickly begin the lesson.
Have all worksheets and cards printed out.
Print out the sorting cards and sheets. Cut and laminate these for student use.
Prior Background Knowledge:
Students should know that the weather describes the way it feels outside.
Students should know that the weather changes from day to day, and often changes over
months.
Students should know there are periods of time where the weather is warmer and cooler.
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Students should know that the weather affects what people can do outside and how they
dress.
Teaching Procedures:
Focus (Anticipatory Set):
Begin with all students on the rug. Use the attention getter, “Stop, look, listen.”
The students stop what they are doing, look at me and listen for the direction.
“When I say go I would like you to clear your space, push in your chair and go
take a spot on your dot. Walking feet go.” This will help students get ready to
begin the activity and have a remind of how to act safely in the classroom.
When all of the students are seated on their dot in the rug area, “Today we will
start by watching a video about what we are going to learn about today!”
Video: Four Seasons in a Year sung by Harry Kindergarten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0zKV6j1MDg&feature=emb_logo
“This song allows you to be creative and choose your movements. However, we
need to remember your body is in your control you tell it what to do, so I should
see everyone keeping their actions in control and doing what is safe for
everyone.”
Allow the students to listen to the song, and then return to the carpet.
Once there, ask the students some questions about what they learned about.
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Questions:
What is one sign of Spring?
What is a sign that it is Summer?
How would we know that it is Fall?
What is a sign that it is Winter?
“Good job! Those were all good signs of the different seasons. Today we are
going to read a book about a tree. As we read, I want you to look closely to see
how you can tell what season it is by what the tree looks like.”
Explanation:
Show the students the book A Tree for All Seasons
“Look at the cover of this book. What season do you think it is and how do you
know?”
“Today we are going to read a book trees and how they can change throughout the
seasons. Pay attention to how the seasons and weather affect this tree.”
Now I go ahead and read the book to the students. While reading I will stop and
have discussions about words they may not know.
Questions:
What season is this?
Why do you think it is this season?
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What season do you think will come next? Why?
Guided Practice:
TEXAS STUDIES WEEKLY
Teacher
Walk through the Texas Studies Weekly packet with the students. Use the
Big Issue at the front of the class as they have their own.
Ask: “What are the four different seasons?”
Wait for student responses and discuss their responses.
“Great! We have Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. What season are we
in now? How do you know?”
“There are four seasons – winter, spring, summer, and fall. The weather
changes in each season. In some places on Earth, the weather changes a
lot. In some places on Earth, the weather changes a little.”
“Winter is the coldest season. When it is winter in North America, the sun
shines more strongly on the southern half of the Earth. In some places,
people wear lots of warm clothes in the winter. They wear heavy coats,
boots, hats, scarves, and gloves to stay warm. In some places, trees rest
during the winter.”
“The weather starts to get warmer in the spring. In many places, there is
more rain. The rain helps the trees and plants grow. Many animals have
babies in the spring.”
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“Summer is the warmest season. When it is summer in North America, the
sun shines more strongly on the northern half of the Earth. It can get very
hot during the summer. People wear clothes like shorts, t-shirts, and
sandals. The trees and plants keep growing.”
“The weather starts to get cooler in the fall. Sometimes the leaves on some
trees change colors. They turn red, yellow, orange, and brown. Then they
fall to the ground. These trees are getting ready for their winter rest.”
“Now we are going to work through the back together! First, put your
name at the top. Then we are going to look at the pictures of the seasons.
We need to draw a line from the picture of the season on the top to the
name of a season on the bottom.”
Walk around and see where students are at and provide help.
“Next we are going to look at the pictures of Earth and the sun. Draw a
line from the sun to North America.”
“What season is it in North America when the sun shines more strongly on
the norther half of the Earth? Circle your answer.”
Independent Practice:
Hand each student a worksheet and tell them to write a seasonal word in each one
of the four boxes. The student can either write the words themselves or use the
word bank as a resource. The students should have all four seasons listed on their
paper.
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Next the student will color and decorate the tree to match the season that they
wrote in the box. Try to have students do this on their own to utilize what they
learned from the lesson but provide some examples and resources around the
classroom they can use if needed.
The student will show their understanding if:
Spring – Growing leaves, flowers, animals
Summer – Green leaves, bright sun
Fall – Leaves changing color, some leaves falling off the tree
Winter – No leaves on tree, leaves are all brown, snow
Closure:
the lesson today.
Students will tell me which season they are most likely to use the sorting card I hold up
and show them.
“Today I am going to hold up a card for you to see. Your job will be to tell me the season
that is card is with. For example, if I held up a picture of people dressed for Halloween,
which season am I most likely in?”
Let students answer.
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“That’s right; I am most likely going dress for Halloween in the fall. Raise your hand if
you can tell me why?”
Questions:
What season would this be associated with?
Why would this belong to that season?
Future Learning:
“I hope that you are excited to learn more about the four seasons. This month, we will
continue to learn about fall as we are in that season now and can experience the changes
that come with this season. Then the rest of the year, we will continue to go through more
seasons and experience their weather. As you get older, you will have to make decisions
on what to wear depending on the weather or what you can do. You can now use this
information to understand why it feels the way it does outside every day!”
Modifications:
class is working independently. Work with these students through the photo
sorting once again with more instruction. First, use the Texas Studies Weekly
packet to remind them about the properties of each season and provide them with
photo examples. Then have them slowly sort once again, explaining their
reasoning as they sort each card.
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o Have them combine the guided and independent practice. After the complete a
section on the sorting, have them draw the tree for that season. They way they do
not have to come up with the knowledge on their own as much and can use it
more as a reinforcement of concepts instead of an assessment.
• ELLS
in this lesson.
o Say some basic words in both English and Spanish.
circling.
complex vocabulary.
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o Peer Tutoring
o Students working ahead can write about their favorite season and discuss why.
o Have the students create their own tree using arts and crafts materials. They will
make their tree match their favorite season.
o Students can start to examine what seasons look like in other parts of the world.
Let students explore on appropriate websites to see if Asia has winter the same
way we do, and if it is at the same time of year.
o Flexible seating
o Behavioral
▪ H.B. and L.W.
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o Social Emotional
▪ W.B.
recognized
Assessment:
For this lesson, the teacher can be assessing throughout. They can monitor students
during the card sort to get an understanding and then use the Four Seasons Worksheet as
the formal assessment.
Hand each student a worksheet and tell them to write a seasonal word in each one of the
four boxes. The student can either write the words themselves or use the word bank as a
resource. The students should have all four seasons listed on their paper.
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Next the student will color and decorate the tree to match the season that they wrote in
the box. Try to have students do this on their own to utilize what they learned from the
lesson but provide some examples and resources around the classroom they can use if
needed.
The student will show their understanding if:
Spring – Growing leaves, flowers, animals
Summer – Green leaves, bright sun
Fall – Leaves changing color, some leaves falling off the tree
Winter – No leaves on tree, leaves are all brown, snow
Questions:
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Texas Studies Weekly Pages:
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Lesson Plan #3: Math
Name of Lesson Plan: Hunting for Shapes with Spookley the Square Pumpkin
Subjects and Grade level: Math, Kindergarten
The student will sort shapes by their similarities on their desk and orally describe their
reasoning with 100% accuracy.
The student will be able to recognize circle, triangle, rectangle, and square orally with
100% accuracy.
The student will be able to identify the number of edges and vertices that a circle,
triangle, rectangle, and square has orally and on a worksheet with 100% accuracy.
The student will be able to construct shapes such as a circle, rectangle, triangle, and
square using popsicle sticks on a worksheet with 100% accuracy.
I Can Statements:
I can sort shapes in groups by things that are the same. K.6(E)
I can pick out a circle, a triangle, a rectangle, and a square. K.6(A)
I can describe a circle, a triangle, a rectangle, and a square by identifying the
number of sides and corners (vertices). K.6(D)
I can make a triangle, a rectangle, a circle, or a square using objects such as clay,
straws, string, or toothpicks. K.6(F)
§111.2. Mathematics, Kindergarten, Adopted 2012.
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(6) Geometry and measurement. The student applies mathematical process
standards to analyze attributes of two-dimensional shapes and three-
dimensional solids to develop generalizations about their properties. The
student is expected to:
(A) identify two-dimensional shapes, including circles, triangles,
rectangles, and squares as special rectangles;
(D) identify attributes of two-dimensional shapes using informal
and formal geometric language interchangeably;
(E) classify and sort a variety of regular and irregular two- and
three-dimensional figures regardless of orientation or size; and
(F) create two-dimensional shapes using a variety of materials and
drawings
Rationale:
“In life, everything we look at has a shape. As you continue to learn about math, shapes will
become more and more important. Understanding an objects shape can help you know more
about the different objects in the world around you!”
The ability to identify and describe shapes will help you to be able better observe and
describe objects. These concepts allow students to apply their mathematical knowledge into
real-life scenarios. Students always observe the world around them, and this lesson will give
them insight to what they are seeing and words to connect to their observations. Knowing
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how to describe the world around them is an important communication skill. Without being
able to have the vocabulary and knowledge to describe objects, students will not be able to
accurately communicate with others.
Materials:
• Teacher
o Spookley the Square Pumpkin Book
o Hula Hoops (2 – 3)
o Shape Cutouts
o Pattern Blocks
o Shape Manipulatives
o Computer
o Smartboard
o Speakers
o Printouts of Shape Songs
o The Shape of Things Book
o Shape Printouts
o Shape Song Printout
• Student
o Shape Cutouts
o Pattern Blocks
o Magnifying Glasses
o Shape Beanbags
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o Colored Popsicle Sticks
o Popsicle Shape Printouts
o Pattern Block Worksheet Printout
o Geoboards
o Rubber Bands
o Shapes Mini Book Printouts
o Pencils
o Crayons
o Shape Sort Cards
o Shape Sort Worksheets
o Shaped Snacks
Resources:
• Spookley the Square Pumpkin Book
• The Shape of Things Book
• Shape Song Printouts
o https://misskindergarten.com/free-shape-poems/
• Popsicle Shape Printouts: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/STEM-
Challenge-Craft-Stick-Puzzles-2828558
• Shapes Mini Book Printout
o https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Geometry-2D-Shapes-and-3D-
Solids-Fractions-First-Grade-Mindful-Math-2901984
• Shape Sort Cards
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o https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pumpkin-Shape-Sorting-Mats-
3435736
o https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pumpkin-Themed-Shape-Sorting-
Mats-and-Cards-4942285
• Shape Beanbags: https://www.target.com/p/educational-insights-shapes-beanbags/-/A-
51922957?ref=tgt_soc_0000059195_pd&afid=pin_ao&fndsrc=bcm&campaignid=62674
0698882&adgroupid=2680063870310&device=c&pp=0&epik=dj0yJnU9Rl9FbGNZaHp
peC02Uk9YRzlzY2hORmxjbFJyanRtcGEmbj01VVNXZERMSkdHNl9HYTBjOHVFaE
5RJnQ9QUFBQUFGMm5Zb28
• Shape Songs
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teif6M9FjHE
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Uv8Cl5hvI
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnoNb2OMQ6s
Preparation:
There is a lot the teacher needs to do to prepare for this lesson, as it is more of a unit plan
for math. Therefore, the start of each day will begin with the students on the carpet. The
teacher will need to go through all of the resources and compile them together. There are
many printouts, books, and sorting cards that need to be gathered.
As these students are in Kindergarten and have no prior geometry instruction, they will
not have much background knowledge.
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Students should know that objects have a definite shape.
Students should know that there are different shapes and different properties that make
each shape unique.
They should be familiar with the words square and circle, even if they cannot identify
them.
Day 1:
Engage
Read The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin book. Encourage students to
call out the shapes they see and talk about what they notice about the shapes.
As you read through this book, encourage students to call out the shapes they see
and start applying their prior knowledge.
Discuss with students the various geometric shapes that are used to create the
pumpkins in the story.
Questions:
What are the characteristics of each shape?
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Ex. a cube has four equal sides.
Can the shape slide and/or roll?
Ex. a circle can roll but not slide.
Engage
Complete a life size shape sort. Have students sort shapes by their similarities and
differences.
Before defining shapes have the students sit around two hula hoops
Show students jumbo shape cut outs and have them sort them
Let the students discover similarities and differences and assess what they already
know about the shapes
Only interfere to correct misconceptions
Questions:
What shape is this?
How do you know it is that shape?
What is the same with these shapes?
What is different about these shapes?
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Why did you sort the shapes here?
Explore
Give the students shape manipulatives and a magnifying glass. Have the students
explore the characteristics of the shapes and discuss.
The teacher will pass out mini magnifying glasses to each of her students, along
with various shape manipulatives.
The students will explore the characteristics of each shape(s) and write down in
their math journal different characteristics they notice.
Questions:
What shape is this?
Why did you sort the shapes here?
Day 2:
Engage
Bring out the shape beanbags. Have the students play with them and discuss what
they notice.
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When students come in in the morning, have them play with the bean bags for a
little bit, you can answer any questions they may have. Then come together as a
class and discuss the bean bags. Ask questions like “What are these?” “What kind
of shapes are they?”
Tell the students, “There are some beanbags on your desks, I want you to play
with them for the next five minutes. You may exchange with friends if you'd like,
but they must stay at a desk at all times.”
Wait 5-10 minutes.
“Okay! Now let’s come to the carpet and discuss the beanbags we played with
this morning.”
Questions:
What shape is this?
How many edges or sides does that shape have?
Have many vertices or corners does that shape have?
What did you see about these beanbags?
Explore
Popsicle stick shapes. Give the students colored popsicles to form their own
shapes. Give them challenges to put shapes together as well.
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Use colored popsicle sticks to form the 2D shapes with straight sides. Leave them
in a center for kids to put together independently.
After initial introduction to shapes students would get popsicle sticks and/or pipe
cleaners and have to form various shapes. They could choose the shapes or the
teacher could assign and provide an example or no depending on the intended
rigor of the activity.
Questions:
What shape are you building?

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Explain
Identifying shapes and attributes with pattern blocks. Have students sort each
shape and identify their attributes.
Take pattern blocks of each shape. (Square, Triangle, Rectangle, Rhombus,
Diamond, Trapezoid, Hexagon)
Tell the students we will be learning about shapes.
Start with a simple shape like a square or triangle.
Ask students if they know what shape it is.
Make sure to reinforce the name of the shape with the students.
Ask them how they know it is a square
It has four sides
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It has the same sides
It looks like a cube
Make sure students are hitting attributes like Number of sides, number of vertices
(or corners), and the length of sides
When students say something along the lines of “It’s a square because it has four
sides” show them another shape with 4 sides like a rectangle, trapezoid, rhombus,
etc. Ask them if this shape is a square?
Do not focus on comparing the shapes, just the attributes that are unique to this
shape
Continue this process until we have covered all the shapes.
Questions:
What shape is this?
Day 3:
Engage
Play shapes songs for the students. Have them sing along and identify the shapes
they see.
Song Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teif6M9FjHE
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Uv8Cl5hvI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnoNb2OMQ6s
The teacher will introduce fun and engaging songs that involve shapes. The
teacher can invite students to stand up and dance along to the shape songs. After
the songs have played the teacher will receive feedback from the students about
the song, and their understanding of shapes.
Students will watch the shape songs, and dance to the songs as well.
Questions:
What shape is this?
Explore
Geoboards. Give the students geoboards and rubber bands to create their own
shapes. Have them explore how to create the shapes.
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Use rubber bands to make different shapes on the geoboard.
Choose one of the shapes you make and draw it on paper.
Describe the shape you drew.
Questions:
What shape are you building?
Explain
Shape Songs.
Have print outs of each shape song and sing it with the class. Have them identify
the attributes as they sing.
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Questions:
What shape is this?
Explain
Shapes Mini Book. Have students complete the mini book and write the attributes
of the shapes.
Students will write and color on each page of the book. They will write the name
of the shape, then trace it three times. Next, they will draw it three times on their
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own. Then they will write the numbers of corners/vertices and the number of
sides/edges that the shape has.
Questions:
What shape is this?
Day 4:
Engage
Read The Shape of Things Book to the class. Encourage students to call out the
shapes they see and talk about how shapes can be put together to make something
new. Read books about shapes in the real world. The Shape of Things is a good
book with lots of picture examples. As you read through this book, encourage
students to call out the shapes they see and start applying their prior knowledge.
Questions:
What shape is this?
What shapes are put together to build the picture?
Explain
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Shape Sort. Give students several cards and objects from around the room. Use
fall themed items and pumpkin shape cards to keep within the fall theme. Have
them organize the objects/cards into the correct shape category.
“This morning we have got to do a lot of fun things and have been learning about
shapes. We are going to discuss what each shape is now and then sort some
objects based on how they are shaped.”
This activity will be best to do as an initial group sort, and then used at a station
later.
Students will sort the shape cards onto the shape maps and match the shape to
their name.
Questions:
What shape is this?
What are some other things that are that same shape?
Extend
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Snack Sort. Give the students a worksheet, or have them create their own with
basic shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle). Then give them several snacks
and have them sort the snacks into the categories.
Questions:
What shape is this?
Extend
Shape Name Game. Pull out the shape song cards. Sing the song and have the
student holding that shape stand up and describe their shape.
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After learning and talking all about the shapes, we sat in a big circle {applying
what we learned about circles!}. Then I walked around with a bunch of shapes in
a bag and had each student pull out one shape.
They told their neighbor what shape they pulled out {to practice identifying and to
help their neighbor if they weren’t sure} and then we played the Shape Game!
Questions:
What shape is this?
Day 5:
Engage
Read book Shapes, Shapes, Shapes. Encourage students to look at shapes in real
life.
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Questions:
What shape is this?
Extend
Real Life Shapes. Give students a variety of cut out shapes and have them create a
picture with them.
Give students various of cut out shapes with different textures as well. In their
math notebooks students will create pictures with shapes. These pictures may
include representations such as : a house, a rocket ship, or even a bike. Students
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will be given cutouts of different shapes from different materials that will add
texture to their final picture. Students will paste the different textural shapes onto
their paper to create real life relatable representations.
Questions:
What shape is this?
What shapes are put together to build the picture?
Evaluate
These shape sorting cards are both fun and educational for students. It will help
students learn the name of the following 2D shapes: circle, triangle, square,
rectangle, oval, rhombus, trapezoid, hexagon, and an octagon.
Students will match pictures of objects to their corresponding shape.
Questions:
What shape is this?
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Future Learning:
“I hope that you are excited to learn more about shapes and continue to be
mathematicians who look for shapes all over the world. In the future, we will keep
investigating different shapes and their properties. As you get older, you will have to use
math the learn about the world around you. You can now use this information to describe
objects around you!”
Lesson Extension and Modifications:
class is working independently. Work with these students through sorting the
objects once again with more instruction. Walk through with them focusing on the
shapes and using references.
o Shapes All Around Me
▪ Have students cut out and color the shapes to make a flip chart to help
them recognize the shapes.
▪ Have the pictures and words already printed for the students ahead of
time. Have students cut and paste their pictures onto construction paper as
seen below (also have your own model ready to demonstrate). Instead of
sorting pictures, you will define the terms and draw a picture of one item
that the student identifies is that shape. For example, if they say a pool is a
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circle, then you would draw a pool and so would they. If you are working
with multiple students, then have them draw their own examples.
▪ “Today we are going to make a chart about shapes by cutting and pasting
these shapes onto some construction paper! Under each shape we will
write what it is and an example of it! I am going to show you how to do it
and work through it with you.”
▪ https://thestemlaboratory.com/2d-shapes-sorting-activity/
▪ Questions:
• What shape is it?
• How do you know it is that shape?
o Playdough Shapes
▪ Let kids form shapes in a hands-on way with Playdough.
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▪ Questions:
• Show me the edges?
• Show me the vertices?
• How many edges are there?
• How many vertices are there?
• ELLS
in this lesson.
o Say some basic words such as shapes in both English and Spanish.
o Provide them with more support especially when sounding out words on the
sorting cards and worksheets.
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o For ELLs, encourage them to work more on the discussion of the concepts.
complex vocabulary.
o Peer Tutoring
o Pattern Block Shapes
▪ Have students use shapes to create larger shapes. Have them apply their
knowledge of certain shapes to pick out the pattern blocks and use them to
create other shapes.
▪ Questions:
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o 2D vs 3D Shape Match
▪ In this acceleration activity students would find 2-d shapes in three
dimensional shapes and match them. Students that are able to identify
regular 2-D shapes would benefit from having to identify them in other
contexts instead of by themselves.
▪ Questions:
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o Flexible seating
o Behavioral
▪ H.B. and L.W.
o Social Emotional
▪ W.B.
recognized
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o If there is time, record the students on a cell phone completing their observations.
This way students have a chance to retell and feel important. Mrs. Simpson then
uploads these recordings to her class website for parents to see what they are
doing in class.
Assessment:
Most of the assessment throughout these lessons will be occurring informally and will
involve the teacher monitoring where the student is at through their answers to the
questions the student asks. However, there are two final evaluations that can be used to
help assess the student learning.
Summative Evaluation
Shape Pizza. Give the students shape cutouts. Have them build their pizza and
identify what and how many shapes they used.
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Students would each be given a paper plate and various small cut out shapes
The students would glue whatever shapes they want on the plate then report how
many of each shape they used
This is a great project based assessment to evaluate their shape recognition and
practice counting skills specifically, cardinality.
Questions:
What shape is this?
How many of that shape do you have?
Culminating Event
Shape Hunt. Have students create shape magnifying glasses. Then have them go
around the school in small groups to identify shapes around the school. When
they find the shape, they must define it’s attributes.
“Today we are going to be shape finders! We just learned about some shapes and
now I want you to find shapes in our classroom. In order to do so, I have some
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shape finders for you all to use. However, these shape finders are only for finding
shapes, we do not hit friends with our finders. Once you have found a shape, draw
it in your math journal!”
When they find a shape ask them the listed questions.
Continue to have them explain their shape. Apply their knowledge of shapes to a
new area and the teacher can see their understanding of shapes.
Questions:
What shape is it?
Show me the edges?
Show me the vertices?
How many edges are there?
How many vertices are there?
Questions:
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Lesson Plan #4: English Language Arts
Name of Lesson Plan: Telling the Story of The Big Pumpkin
Subjects and Grade level: English Language Arts, Kindergarten
Students will be able to retell the important events and characters that were in the story
Big Pumpkin orally and with visual props with 100% accuracy.
Students will be able to retell and sequence the important events in the story using picture
cards and a chart with 100% accuracy.
§110.11. English Language Arts and Reading, Kindergarten, Beginning with School
Year 2009-2010.
(6) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme and Genre. Students
analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about theme and genre in
different cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide
evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are
expected to:
(A) identify elements of a story including setting, character, and
key events;
(8) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. Students understand,
make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of
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fiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding.
Students are expected to:
(A) retell a main event from a story read aloud; and
(B) describe characters in a story and the reasons for their actions.
Rationale:
Listening and reading comprehension is an important skill for our students to learn. They
need to be able to comprehend material presented to them in different ways. This lesson
mostly deals with listening comprehension since it is a read aloud and these students
cannot fully read the story on their own, however the picture walk and making these
connections will connect to their reading comprehension. Once they are read a story, they
should be able to make inferences and draw conclusions about the theme of the story.
This is an important life skill as well as an ELA skill. Students can identify story
elements such as character, setting, and key events. They should be able to then make
inferences and draw conclusions about the story based on text evidence. Once they have
heard the story read aloud, they should be able to orally retell the main events and
describe important details such as the characters, the setting, and why the characters
completed certain actions. These skills will help the students pick up on details
throughout life and become effective communicators.
Materials:
• Big Pumpkin Book
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• 18 Big Pumpkin Coloring and Retelling Pieces Printout
• 18 Big Pumpkin Retelling Cards
• 18 Big Pumpkin Retelling Charts
• 90 Popsicle Sticks
• Glue Bottles
• Scissors
• Crayons
• Pencils
Resources:
• Big Pumpkin Retelling Cards/Chart https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Big-
Pumpkin-Retell-Activity-Free-File-4950777
• Big Pumpkin Book
• Big Pumpkin Lesson Plan
http://msmckissick.blogspot.com/search/label/Big%20Pumpkin%20Lesson%20Plan
Preparation:
To prepare for the lesson, the teacher needs to gather all the materials. The teacher should
print out one extra set of “Big Pumpkin Coloring and Retelling Pieces Printout” and
complete it. They need to have their pieces put onto popsicle sticks in order to model this
process for the students.
The lesson will begin with the students on the carpet, and then will transition to their
desks for guided practice.
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Before this lesson students must have listening comprehension skills.
Students must have an idea of characters, events, and setting.
Students should know what a picture walk is.
Students should be able to retell simple stories and information.
Students need to be able to communicate ideas orally.
Bring out the book Big Pumpkin to the students. Introduce the story.
“Today we are going to read a story about pumpkins. In this story, there is a big pumpkin
the characters want to get. We are going to complete a picture walk of this book. I am
going to show you all the pictures, and I want you to think about what you think is
happening in the story. Then we will share our ideas with the class.”
Go through each page of the book and show the students the pictures. Begin with the
cover of the book and make predictions about what they think the story is about. Then go
to each page. On each page, tell the students to pay attention to the details in the pictures.
Then ask for student predictions on each page and back up their ideas by the details.
Encourage many different ideas as long as they are backed up by details.
Questions:
What is happening in this picture?
Why do you think this is happening?
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Why do you think the character feels this way?
Now we have some ideas about what this story is about! We are going to read the story
and see how well we predicted the story.
Explanation:
Read the Big Pumpkin to the class. As you read the story to the class,
Create retelling pieces. Model for the students how they could use these to retell the
story. As they create each character work to retell and remember the details as a class.
Guided Practice:
Have the students work in groups to act out the story. Assign each student a role to play
in their retelling. Walk around and help the students work on retelling.
Questions:
Who are the characters in the story?
What happened first? Next? Then? Last?
Why did the witch want the pumpkin?
Use the retelling cards and chart to retell the story. Students will need to organize the
cards to match the story.
Questions:
What happened 1st in the story?
What happened 2nd in the story?
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What happened 3rd in the story?
What happened 4th in the story?
Closure:
the lesson today.
Have students summarize the lesson and some new information they learned. They
should quickly retell the story once more as a class, and then discuss why it is important
to retell stories.
“Who were the characters in Big Pumpkin?”
“What was the main issue in Big Pumpkin?”
“What lesson did you learn from the book?”
“Why is retelling a book important?”
Future Learning:
“I hope that you are excited to learn about this story and the importance of retelling. As
we continue to get better at reading, we will keep retelling to help us remember what
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happened. This is something you can do both for yourself to help you remember what we
learn but also to share what you learn with others. As you get older, you will continue to
read more books, and many of these books will be longer. Being able to retell these
stories with help you remember the story. You can now use this information to
understand what you read and share stories with others!”
Modifications:
class is working independently. Read the story aloud to the students once again
with more instruction. Have them begin retelling on each page and build up. For
example, read page 1, retell page 1, read page 2, retell page 1 and 2, etc.…Walk
through with them focusing on what they see and how to pull information from
these details.
o Allow these students to rely a bit more on the pictures instead of just what they
hear. As they begin to construct how they are going to retell the story, allow them
to look at the pictures to help jog their memory and sequence the events.
• ELLS
in this lesson.
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o There is no copy of this book, or a read aloud of this book, in another language.
Therefore, record your own for the students. First, using a text-to-speech tool,
read the story. Then translate it into that language. Then have an adult who can
speak the language, for example Spanish, record themselves reading the story
aloud.
o For ELLs, encourage them to work more with the pictures from the book and with
discussion.
complex vocabulary.
o Peer Tutoring
o Students working ahead can retell the story in greater detail.
▪ For example, instead of just really naming the characters and sequencing
the events, the student can provide more detail on ho the characters
interacted.
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o Have them write a sentence alongside their sorting cards to explain what they
learned from the story.
o Flexible seating
o Behavioral
▪ H.B. and L.W.
o Social Emotional
▪ W.B.
recognized
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Assessment:
The teacher can assess the students through both their guided practice and independent
practice.
Guided Practice:
Walk around and observe how the students discuss retelling the story. Then
observe all students in a group to see their responses as they act out and retell the
events that took place in Big Pumpkin while using their props for help.
Look at the worksheet that the student’s completed. Assess their understanding by
their ability to correctly sequence and retell the events in the same way that
occurred in the story.
Questions:
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Big Pumpkin Coloring and Retelling Pieces
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Lesson Plan #5: Social Studies
Name of Lesson Plan: The First Thanksgiving
Subjects and Grade level: Social Studies, Kindergarten
• Students will examine the customs associated with Thanksgiving and how they have
changed over time through analyzing historical photographs through circling and
describing two or more elements in the image that indicate a Thanksgiving custom.
• Students will display how Thanksgiving is celebrated impacted society by drawing
pictures the customs associated with Thanksgiving with 80% accuracy.
• Students will describe their understanding of the reasons for Thanksgiving orally, through
recording a 1-minute Voki video of themselves discussing the photographs they analyzed
and their own drawings.
§113.11. Social Studies, Kindergarten, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.
(1) History. The student understands that holidays are celebrations of
special events. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the reasons for national patriotic holidays such as
Presidents' Day, Veterans Day, and Independence Day; and
(B) identify customs associated with national patriotic holidays
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such as parades and fireworks on Independence Day.
(12) Culture. The student understands the importance of family customs
and traditions. The student is expected to:
(A) describe and explain the importance of family customs and
traditions; and
(14) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to
organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources,
including electronic technology. The student is expected to:
(B) obtain information about a topic using a variety of valid visual
sources such as pictures, symbols, electronic media, print material,
and artifacts; and
(15) Social studies skills. The student communicates in oral and visual
forms. The student is expected to:
(A) express ideas orally based on knowledge and experiences; and
(B) create and interpret visuals, including pictures and maps.
Rationale:
For Students:
“In life, we often have celebrations. These customs and celebrations are important
because they make us and our families special. Learning about out customs is important
to know our history and what makes each person unique. Today we are going to explore
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the what holidays and customs are, specifically Thanksgiving, so that we can learn more
about them and why they’re important!”
Culture and customs are an important part of who we are and people and a society.
Students must learn about these holidays and why we celebrate them. As Thanksgiving
approaches, the students need to understand this holiday and why we celebrate it,
especially as it is a holiday that has changed throughout the years. Students can use this
holiday to gain historical knowledge about how to analyze photos and make historical
connections.
Technology Component:
Example Voki Created for Lesson: http://tinyurl.com/rrp4ats
The technology that I plan to integrate is Voki. Voki is a “free collection of customizable
speaking avatars for teachers and students that enhances classroom instruction, class
engagement, and lesson comprehension.” This website allows students and teachers to
record a minute-long response and put it over an avatar. This animated character will
save the students response and be a fun way for the students to see their answer. There is
even a Voki classroom that allows the teacher to put up assignments and then take
submissions from students both at home or in school, and have their responses saved.
This way, it can really create a classroom community and create a more engaging version
of an oral presentation. In my lesson plan, students will use Voki to record themselves
talking about their old and personal drawings displaying the customs of Thanksgiving. I
chose to use Voki, because Kindergarteners really love animated characters to keep them
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engaged and they struggle with writing down their thoughts. They may be able to write a
sentence or two, but they could demonstrate their understanding much better through oral
methods. TEKS 113.11.B.15.A states that students should be able to communicate in oral
and visual forms specially expressing ideas orally based on knowledge and experiences.
Therefore, allowing students to record their voice over a Voki character will help to meet
this standard. This will allow students to communicate their ideas while avoiding having
to write everything down. Through Voki, students can discuss their understanding of why
we celebrate Thanksgiving (TEKS 113.11.B.1.A), the customs associated with
Thanksgiving (TEKS 113.11.B.1.B), and the importance of family traditions
(113.11.B.12.A). Voki is a resource that is aimed at students to use and therefore is very
simple. The entire site could be navigated without having to read and only having to click
on the pictures, which is helpful for Kindergarteners who can only read small words and
sight words. Voki is meant to be engaging. In the teacher’s terms, they would get the
same result by having students just recording a voice memo, however the students will
get more out of Voki. Voki allows students to make their oral response fun by choosing a
character, their clothes, and background. Voki can be used on any device and has its own
app. Voki can record straight through the device, through a phone call, and even through
recording it on a voice memo app first and then uploading it. While Voki is incredibly
simple, these students would need a lesson in how to use it first and have time to play
around with it before completing this assignment. If this is my first time implementing
Voki in the classroom, I would plan on building in one or two additional “instructional
days” for this assignment. The first day would be added in order to provide my students
with practice using Voki. This day they could really just record whatever they want on
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Voki and get to play around. The second day would be added in order to provide my
students with time to record their Voki in small groups with the teacher’s assistance.
Photos Used to Teach TEKS:
I decided to select three historical photographs for my students to analyze during the
lesson. I selected these three images, because they display the customs of Thanksgiving
at different times in history. I believed these photographs would be useful because they
are clear to the student about what is going on. There are not any photographs from the
first Thanksgiving, so I instead chose photos that would allow them to relate more to
them. These students would not be able to read any sort of documents, even simplified
documents, from this time. Each photograph or image I chose aligns with the following
TEKS.
Photo 1: (TEKS 113.11.B.1.A)
Photo 2: (TEKS 113.11.B.1.B)
Photo 3: (TEKS 113.11.B.1.B)
The first image is not a photograph and is instead an illustration since there were no
cameras at the first Thanksgiving. This image is of “The First Thanksgiving” and details
pilgrims and natives spending time together and sharing food. I selected this source
because it is a realistic image of the first Thanksgiving the students hear so much about.
It allows them to see back to the source to make connections on how we have gained the
customs we celebrate today
The second photograph shows an older Thanksgiving celebration with a turkey on the
table. I selected this source because it clearly highlights a custom of Thanksgiving, food
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and specifically turkey. The custom of roasting a full turkey for dinner is a custom that is
heavily integrated with Thanksgiving. It allows students to make this connection that it is
a Thanksgiving specific custom as well as the fact that this custom has been around for
some time.
The third photograph shows students in the 1930’s dressed as pilgrims and Indians. I
selected this source because it highlights the custom that schoolchildren dress up and
“recreate” the original Thanksgiving experience. Most of the kindergarten students
should be working in their music class to sing songs and put on a Thanksgiving program
and make costumes in art class. This is to show the students of how their program is a
Thanksgiving custom that had been occurring for a long time.
Possible Misconceptions:
The first misconception the students may make is when these photos were taken. Many
students may not be able to understand that these photos are not from today and instead
of from a long time ago. They could easily think that these photos are all current
Thanksgiving photos. If they do understand, then they may think that the first image is
new since it is in color even though it is the oldest. These students at this age do not have
much of a concept of time besides their own life, so they may really struggle with
understanding how these photos are years and years apart.
Another misconception these students may have is their own culture and the fact that
Thanksgiving is celebrated yearly. Some students may not really celebrate Thanksgiving
and have no background knowledge. Other students who do celebrate Thanksgiving may
not even remember the customs since the last time they celebrated it was so long ago.
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Therefore, when seeing all these images, they students may struggle to make personal
connections and understand that customs are represented.
Students at this age struggle to see others points of views and can often only see things
from their own perspective. Therefore, students may really struggle with thinking why
someone would have wanted to take that photo or how the customs differ from their own.
If the customs look different from their own, then the students may not understand them.
Students at this age lack a lot of historical knowledge. They may not be able to make
connections on how customs have changed over time either out of ease or progressive
attitudes. Students may think that the original Thanksgiving could be celebrated like we
do today with many dishes and a cooked turkey from the oven.
Scaffolding Built In:
The first way I will scaffold instruction to help my student’s breakdown is the photo
analysis method, “Circle, Share, Discuss”. This method is good for the young students
because it will start to teach them to find details to support what they are saying. This
method requires more discussion instead of writing which is helpful for them. In this
method, students can simply pick out one detail to answer the question instead of getting
overwhelmed by the entire photo.
Another way I will scaffold my instruction is through the use of Voki. Once again, these
students struggle with writing, and Voki is a way for them to communicate their thoughts
without having to write. The entire site could be navigated without having to read and
only having to click on the pictures, which is helpful for Kindergarteners who can only
read small words and sight words. The use of Voki will be an engaging way for a student
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to share their own thoughts and listen to others as well without having the barrier of
writing everything down.
I will also scaffold instruction by having questions and discussions built into the photo
analysis. Students at this age would struggle to complete an analysis of a photo all on
their own. Therefore, I have built in specific questions for them to answer to help guide
them and keep them on track with the objectives. Then, the class discussions will help the
teacher to see where the student is understanding and where they need some extra help.
These guiding questions will help work the students through the assignment.
Materials:
• Book: If You Were at the First Thanksgiving
• Smartboard/ Document Camera
• Example Photo Analysis: (Printout only if using a document camera)
o https://www.guideposts.org/sites/guideposts.org/files/styles/bynder_webimage/pu
blic/story/thanksgiving-family-smiling.jpg
• Photos for Analysis (1 Color Printout of each image per student)
o https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3g04961/
o http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/largerimage?irn=10422777&catirn=10705247&re
turn=count%3D25%26q%3Dthanksgiving%26tab%3Dresearch_items
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o http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10705217&return=count%3D25%26
q%3Dthanksgiving%26startindex%3D1%26tab%3Dresearch_items
• Heavy Duty Sheet Protectors
• Expo Markers (1 per student)
• Thanksgiving Customs Old and Personal - Culminating Activity Worksheet (1 per
student)
• Technology Extension:
o Voki Classroom Account
• iPads (1 per student)
Resources:
• Photo Analysis:
o https://www.guideposts.org/sites/guideposts.org/files/styles/bynder_webimage/pu
blic/story/thanksgiving-family-smiling.jpg
o https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3g04961/
o http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/largerimage?irn=10422777&catirn=10705247&re
turn=count%3D25%26q%3Dthanksgiving%26tab%3Dresearch_items
o http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10705217&return=count%3D25%26
q%3Dthanksgiving%26startindex%3D1%26tab%3Dresearch_items
• Voki Website
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Preparation:
To prepare gather all the materials and have them passed out at desk clusters for students.
Students will begin on the carpet for the opening, then move to their desks for the rest of
the lesson.
At the desks, students should have printouts of 3 photos in plastic covers, their own
Texas Studies packet, a pencil, and an expo marker. The rest of the supplies will be
passed out later.
Students will know that holidays exist.
Students may have previously celebrated Thanksgiving with their own family and
remember what their family told them.
Students should understand that holidays are a reason to celebrate, and should be able to
make a connection to learning about Veterans Day and Halloween in the prior months.
Students should understand how to pull details out of photos from their reading
instruction and picture walks.
Teacher
Read the story If You Were at The First Thanksgiving to the class.
Questions:
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- How do you and your family celebrate Thanksgiving?
- How is your Thanksgiving different from those in the book?
Display the words definitions of holiday and customs
Custom - a traditional and widely accepted way of behaving or doing
something that is specific to a particular society, place, or time.
● Simplified - A tradition. How we act and behave
● EX: Eating a big meal on Thanksgiving, Fireworks on the 4th of July,
Reading a book every night before bed
Holiday - a day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is
suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person.
● Simplified - A day where a lot of people across the world celebrate
something
● EX: Thanksgiving, Veterans Day, New Year, Holi
Ask: What is a custom? Why do we celebrate holidays and customs? Are
everyone’s customs the same? Why or why not?
Student
Each student is being addressed during the introduction. Students will be
answering questions about Thanksgiving. Students are provided with an
opportunity to share about how their family celebrates Thanksgiving.
Assessment
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Assess the student’s prior knowledge of holidays, customs, and Thanksgiving.
Since they are in Kindergarten and will have no prior knowledge besides what
they have seen at home, read If You Were at The First Thanksgiving to give them
some information and help them activate what they already know. Ask them to
discuss and define the terms
Explanation:
Everyone has different holidays and customs that they celebrate. Each individual
holiday has their own general customs, and these may change from family to
family.
Thanksgiving is a holiday to celebrate a feast that occurred between the Pilgrims
and the Native Americans. This is a time where we celebrate family and friends
and things that we are thankful for.
On Thanksgiving, the customs typically include cooking a large meal of turkey,
mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie, etc. and sharing it with friends and family
who mean a lot to you.
Teacher
Walk through the Texas Studies Weekly packet with the students. Use the Big
Issue at the front of the class as they have their own.
Ask: “Why did the pilgrims come to America?”
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“Those are some good answers. The pilgrims came to America because they
wanted to be free to worship in their own way.
“The pilgrims came to America on a ship called the Mayflower. The American
Indians helped them learn how to live in their new country.”
“The pilgrims invited the American Indians to a feast. A feast is a big dinner.
They ate turkey, duck, goose, and deer. They ate vegetables and fruit, too.”
“The first winter was very hard. The Pilgrims did not have enough food. Many
Pilgrims got sick. They Pilgrims landed here, in Plymouth.”
“We celebrate Thanksgiving in November. In Canada, they celebrate
Thanksgiving in October.”
“Now we are going to work through the back together! First, put your name at the
top. Then we are going to circle the pictures of foods the Pilgrims and American
Indians ate at the first Thanksgiving.”
“Now that you have circled everything they ate, I want you to write a big X oer
the pictures of food they did not eat.”
“Next we are going to look at this map. I want you to draw an X where the
Pilgrims landed in America.”
“Next we are going to learn about one of the Pilgrims named William Bradford.
When the Pilgrims came to America, they wrote rules for everyone in the colony
to follow. The rules were called the Mayflower Compact. This is sort of like our
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own class constitution where we talked about our class rules and how we should
treat each other. William Bradford knew that it was very important to have rules.
The Pilgrims elected him the governor of their colony more than 30 times!”
Questions:
Would you like to be a governor someday? What do you think a governor
does?
What are some things that the Pilgrims ate? How are these the same or
different from what you eat at Thanksgiving?
What do you think the Pilgrims were thankful for?
Student
Walk through the Texas Studies Weekly packet. They will look at their own while
following along with the Big Issue.
Answer the question: “Why did the pilgrims come to America?”
Fill out the back of the packet.
Put their name at the top.
Then they are going to circle the pictures of foods the Pilgrims and
American Indians ate at the first Thanksgiving.
They will then write a big X over the pictures of food they did not eat.
Then draw an X where the Pilgrims landed in America.
Answer Questions:
does?
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Assessment
Informative assessment in the way they answer questions.
Why did the pilgrims come to America?
does?
Formative assessment in the way they fill out the back of the packet.
Then they are going to circle the pictures of foods the Pilgrims and
American Indians ate at the first Thanksgiving.
PHOTO ANALYSIS
Teacher
Display a picture of a family at Thanksgiving. Model how to analyze this photo as
a class. Each time you ask them to do something, do it alongside them on the
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board. First, ask the students what the notice in the picture. Have them call out
some observations. Then ask them what they can tell from these observations.
Questions:
- What do you see in this picture?
- Who are the people in this picture?
- When do you think this photo was taken?
- Why do you think this photo was taken?
As they answer the questions, go ahead and circle the details in the photo that
proves their answer. Tell them this is how they will analyze their photos. This is a
modeling of the “Circle, Share, Discuss” strategy.
Tell the students that this is a family at a Thanksgiving celebration not very long
ago. The typical customs celebrated is making a meal of turkey, mashed potatoes,
and other items and eating it with your family. Thanksgiving is a holiday we
celebrate after the feast that was shared by the pilgrims and the natives. We
celebrate this holiday to remember our family and what we are thankful for.
Student
Students will analyze a picture of a family at Thanksgiving. The teacher will
model and guide the students through this analysis. The teacher will ask questions
to guide the student inquiry. Through this questioning, students should conclude
that the celebration in the photo is Thanksgiving and the typical customs
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celebrated at Thanksgiving include family and food, such as a turkey.
Assessment
Assess the student’s initial knowledge in regard to photo analysis. This will give
the teacher an understanding of where the students are at and how well they will
handle the text task and if some more modeling and scaffolding needs to be built
in first.
Guided Practice:
Teacher
Tell the students that today they are going to study why we celebrate
Thanksgiving and how it has changed over time through looking at historical
images that display what life was like for people celebrating this holiday.
Walk students through a photo analysis of three historical photographs. Use the
“Circle, Share, Discuss” photo analysis strategy. This strategy should have been
modeled by the teacher and completed by the class with the example photo.
Prompt students to circle what they see in the historical photograph as it applies to
specific questions.
Questions:
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- What are the people in the photo doing?
- Does this look like how you would celebrate today?
- What customs are celebrated with Thanksgiving?
- What is the purpose of Thanksgiving?
Ask a few select questions for each photo. Once you ask a question, have the
students circle one thing in the photo that answers the question. Then each student
should share what they circled with their group. For the first couple of questions,
the students can just share what they circled with the group and wait to share the
explanation with help from the teacher. For later questions, have them also justify
what they circled to their group before the class discussion.
As a whole class, discuss what the students circled and why they circled this.
Make sure to guide the instruction to focus on the customs of Thanksgiving and
why these are important. Try to highlight where these customs came from and
how they carry through time.
Questions:
- What are the customs of Thanksgiving?
- Do these customs change every year?
- How have these customs changed?
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- Why are these customs important?
Student
Students should be divided into groups of 3-4 students.
Students analyze the historical photographs through circling key components of
the image. The key components that students circle should relate to the question
asked by the teacher.
After each student circles their observations, they will “share” what they circled
with their table group. After they share with their table group, they will discuss
their observations with the whole class and the teacher.
Students analyze three photographs.
- Photo 1: A picture of the “First Thanksgiving”. They should understand
that this is what causes us to celebrate today and that this celebration
involved friends, family, and food.
- Photo 2: A photo of an older Thanksgiving table. They should understand
that food and turkey is one of the customs of Thanksgiving.
- Photo 3: A photo of students dressing as pilgrims and Indians. They
should understand that recreating and dressing up is one of the customs of
Thanksgiving.
Students should respond to the teacher’s questions about the customs of
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Thanksgiving. Students should conclude that customs stay relatively the same
over time.
Assessment
Assesses student understanding of procedural historical knowledge.
What the students circle and explain will indicate their understanding relating to
the questions,
Students may need help identifying the time period in which the photo was taken.
Assess student understanding through questioning.
Students should be able to conclude that customs stay relatively the same over
time.
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Worksheet and Drawings
Teacher
Tell the students that the first Thanksgiving and the customs that followed greatly
impacted how we celebrate today. Holidays are an important part of our lives as
we get to celebrate what is important. We celebrate Thanksgiving to remind
ourselves of the importance of others and remembering what we are thankful for.
The pilgrims would have suffered without the kindness from the natives, so we
need to remember to be thankful for people that are there for us daily. For
Thanksgiving, everyone has specific customs that they celebrate. These customs
are important because they bring the family together. These customs mostly stay
the same over time but may slightly change.
Model the assignment for students on the smartboard by drawing a picture of
what Thanksgiving looked like a long time ago, and one detailing what their own
Thanksgiving looks like today. Do this very simply and take suggestions from
students.
Students will now draw two pictures. The first detailing what Thanksgiving
looked like a long time ago, and one detailing what their own Thanksgiving looks
like today. The students can draw the pictures any way they want to. However,
remind the students of some of the important Thanksgiving customs through
discussion and showing the photos you previously analyzed.
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Walk around as students work and give help.
Student
The students will draw two pictures. The first detailing what Thanksgiving looked
like a long time ago, and one detailing what their own Thanksgiving looks like
today. The students can draw the pictures any way they want to. However, the
photos should show some understanding of why we celebrate Thanksgiving
(TEKS 113.11.B.1.A), the customs associated with Thanksgiving (TEKS
113.11.B.1.B), and the importance of family traditions (113.11.B.12.A).
Assessment
The students will draw two pictures. The first detailing what Thanksgiving looked
like a long time ago, and one detailing what their own Thanksgiving looks like
today. The students can draw the pictures any way they want to. However, the
photos should show some understanding of why we celebrate Thanksgiving
(TEKS 113.11.B.1.A), the customs associated with Thanksgiving (TEKS
113.11.B.1.B), and the importance of family traditions (113.11.B.12.A).
Use this assignment to see the student’s social studies skills and how well they
can obtain information and they communicate this information.
(TEKS 113.11.B.1.B, 113.11.B.12.A, and 113.11.B.15.B)
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Voki
While Voki is incredibly simple, these students would need a lesson in how to use it first
and have time to play around with it before completing this assignment. If this is my first
time implementing Voki in the classroom, I would plan on building in one or two
additional “instructional days” for this assignment. The first day would be added in order
to provide my students with practice using Voki. This day they could really just record
whatever they want on Voki and get to play around. The second day would be added in
order to provide my students with time to record their Voki in small groups with the
teacher’s assistance.
Teacher
Example Voki Created for Lesson: http://tinyurl.com/rrp4ats
Show the example lesson for Voki, and walk the students through how to create
one simply. “This website allows us to record a minute-long response and put it
over an avatar. This animated character will save the your voice and be a fun way
to see your answers!”
Student
Students can describe their drawings and the photos they analyzed through using
Voki. They will also discuss why we celebrate Thanksgiving.
In my lesson plan, students will use Voki to record themselves talking about their
old and personal drawings displaying the customs of Thanksgiving. I chose to use
Voki, because Kindergarteners really love animated characters to keep them
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engaged and they struggle with writing down their thoughts. They may be able to
write a sentence or two, but they could demonstrate their understanding much
better through oral methods. TEKS 113.11.B.15.A states that students should be
able to communicate in oral and visual forms specially expressing ideas orally
based on knowledge and experiences. Therefore, allowing students to record their
voice over a Voki character will help to meet this standard. This will allow
students to communicate their ideas while avoiding having to write everything
down. Through Voki, students can discuss their understanding of why we
celebrate Thanksgiving (TEKS 113.11.B.1.A), the customs associated with
Thanksgiving (TEKS 113.11.B.1.B), and the importance of family traditions
(113.11.B.12.A).
Assessment
Students can describe their drawings and the photos they analyzed through using
Voki. They will also discuss why we celebrate Thanksgiving.
The teacher will watch the Voki’s later and assess the student understanding.
They will be able to judge what the students got out of the photos, what students
understand about holidays and customs, what students know about Thanksgiving,
and if they were able to apply this knowledge to their own Thanksgiving
celebrations.
Closure:
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the lesson today.
“What was one way that the American Indians helped the Pilgrims?”
“What Thanksgiving customs did we learn about?”
Future Learning:
“I hope that you are excited to learn more about holidays and customs. This month, we
will continue to learn about Thanksgiving as we get ready to celebrate with everyone.
Then the rest of the year, there will be more holidays that come up and you will have the
knowledge to learn about how they are celebrated. As you get older, you will learn more
about your own customs and what is important to your family. You can now use this
information to understand the importance of customs for yourself and others!”
Modifications:
class is working independently. Work with these students through the photo
analysis once again with more instruction. Walk through with them focusing on
what they see and how to pull information from these details.
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o When recording their Voki, instead of asking them to come up with it on their
own, help them. Have them first tell you about what they learned and drew. Then
help them put that all together and record it.
• ELLS
in this lesson.
o Provide them with more support when recording. Maybe assign them a partner to
record their voice. The ELL can tell their partner what they learned, and the
partner can record their own voice.
circling.
complex vocabulary.
o Peer Tutoring
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o Students working ahead can pull more details out of photos.
▪ For example, instead of just finding one thing in the photo encourage them
to pull out multiple and then connect them.
o Have them write a sentence alongside their drawings to explain what they drew.
o Flexible seating
o Behavioral
▪ H.B. and L.W.
o Social Emotional
▪ W.B.
recognized
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Assessment:
FOCUS
Assess the student’s prior knowledge of holidays, customs, and Thanksgiving. Since they
are in Kindergarten and will have no prior knowledge besides what they have seen at
home, read If You Were at The First Thanksgiving to give them some information and
help them activate what they already know. Ask them to discuss and define the terms
Informative assessment in the way they answer questions.
Why did the pilgrims come to America?
Would you like to be a governor someday? What do you think a governor does?
What are some things that the Pilgrims ate? How are these the same or different
from what you eat at Thanksgiving?
Formative assessment in the way they fill out the back of the packet.
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Then they are going to circle the pictures of foods the Pilgrims and American
Indians ate at the first Thanksgiving.
PHOTO ANALYSIS
Explanation
Assess the student’s initial knowledge in regard to photo analysis. This will give
the teacher an understanding of where the students are at and how well they will
handle the text task and if some more modeling and scaffolding needs to be built
in first.
Guided Practice
Assesses student understanding of procedural historical knowledge. What the
students circle and explain will indicate their understanding relating to the
questions,
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Students may need help identifying the time period in which the photo was taken.
Assess student understanding through questioning. Students should be able to
conclude that customs stay relatively the same over time.
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE
The students will draw two pictures. The first detailing what Thanksgiving looked like a
long time ago, and one detailing what their own Thanksgiving looks like today. The
students can draw the pictures any way they want to. However, the photos should show
some understanding of why we celebrate Thanksgiving (TEKS 113.11.B.1.A), the
customs associated with Thanksgiving (TEKS 113.11.B.1.B), and the importance of
family traditions (113.11.B.12.A).
Use this assignment to see the student’s social studies skills and how well they can obtain
information and they communicate this information.
(TEKS 113.11.B.1.B, 113.11.B.12.A, and 113.11.B.15.B)
VOKI
Students can describe their drawings and the photos they analyzed through using Voki.
They will also discuss why we celebrate Thanksgiving.
The teacher will watch the Voki’s later and assess the student understanding. They will
be able to judge what the students got out of the photos, what students understand about
holidays and customs, what students know about Thanksgiving, and if they were able to
apply this knowledge to their own Thanksgiving celebrations.
CLOSURE
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“What was one way that the American Indians helped the Pilgrims?”
“What Thanksgiving customs did we learn about?”
Use their answers to assess understanding.
Questions:
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Texas Studies Weekly Pages:
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Resource List
Barnes Hooligans. (n.d.). Big Pumpkin Retell Activity: Free File. Retrieved from
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Big-Pumpkin-Retell-Activity-Free-File-
4950777.
Bernard, R. (2013). A Tree for All Seasons. Johnson City, TN: National Geographic School
Publishing.
Blatnica, E. (n.d.). Properties of Objects: An Early Childhood Science Unit. Retrieved from
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Properties-of-Objects-An-Early-
Childhood-Science-Unit-1108215.
Blippi. (2016, June 11). Learn Shapes for Kids with Blippi | The Shapes Song. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teif6M9FjHE.
Clapp, J. (2014, December 15). The Ever Changing Seasons. Retrieved from
https://betterlesson.com/lesson/628569/the-ever-changing-seasons.
Dodds, D. A., & Lacome, J. (2007). The shape of things. Columbus, OH: SRA/McGraw-Hill.
Ferris, J. L. G. (n.d.). The first Thanksgiving 1621. photograph, Washington D.C. Retrieved from
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3g04961/
Guide Posts. (n.d.). Stress. Retrieved from
https://www.guideposts.org/sites/guideposts.org/files/styles/bynder_webimage/public/sto
ry/thanksgiving-family-smiling.jpg.
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Harry Kindergarten Music. (2014, February 26). 4 Seasons in a Year (song for kids about the
four seasons in a year). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0zKV6j1MDg&feature=emb_logo.
Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel. (2018, April 24). Shapes, Sides and Vertices | Version 1 |
Jack Hartmann. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Uv8Cl5hvI.
Kamma, A. (2001). If You Were At The First Thanksgiving. Scholastic.
McKissick, L. (n.d.). Ms. McKissick's blog. Retrieved from
http://msmckissick.blogspot.com/search/label/Big Pumpkin Lesson Plan.
Minneapolis Journal. (n.d.). Thanksgiving dinner table with turkey. photograph, Minneapolis.
Retrieved from
http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10705247&return=count=25&q=thanksgivin
g&tab=research_items
Misskindergarten. (2019, November 19). Free Shape Poems. Retrieved from
https://misskindergarten.com/free-shape-poems/.
Playdough to Plato. (n.d.). STEM Challenge: Craft Stick Puzzles. Retrieved from
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/STEM-Challenge-Craft-Stick-Puzzles-
2828558.
Pre-K Learning Circle. (n.d.). Pumpkin Themed Shape Sorting Mats and Cards. Retrieved from
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pumpkin-Themed-Shape-Sorting-Mats-
and-Cards-4942285.
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Proud to be Primary. (n.d.). Geometry 2D Shapes and 3D Solids & Fractions - First Grade
Mindful Math. Retrieved from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Geometry-
2D-Shapes-and-3D-Solids-Fractions-First-Grade-Mindful-Math-2901984.
School children in Pilgrim costumes, probably for Thanksgiving program. . (n.d.). photograph,
Minneapolis. Retrieved from
http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10705217&return=count=25&q=thanksgivin
g&startindex=1&tab=research_items
Silverman, E., & Schindler, S. D. (2009). Big pumpkin. United States: Paw Prints.
Studies Weekly. (n.d.). The First Thanksgiving. Texas Studies Weekly: Grade K, Second
Quarter (Week 11).
Studies Weekly. (n.d.). Seasons. Texas Studies Weekly: Grade K, Second Quarter (Week 13).
Target. (n.d.). Educational Insights Shapes Beanbags. Retrieved from
https://www.target.com/p/educational-insights-shapes-beanbags/-/A-
51922957?ref=tgt_soc_0000059195_pd&afid=pin_ao&fndsrc=bcm&campaignid=62674
0698882&adgroupid=2680063870310&device=c&pp=0&epik=dj0yJnU9Rl9FbGNZaHp
peC02Uk9YRzlzY2hORmxjbFJyanRtcGEmbj01VVNXZERMSkdHNl9HYTBjOHVFaE
5RJnQ9QUFBQUFGMm5Zb28.
Teaching With Voki. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.voki.com/.
The Kiboomers - Kids Music Channel. (2014, December 29). Shapes Songs for Children | Shape
Song | Shapes Songs for Kindergarten | The Kiboomers. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnoNb2OMQ6s.
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Troiano, J., & Banta, S. (2019). The legend of Spookley the square pumpkin. New York, NY:
Holiday Hill Enterprises, LLC.
Wonderful Day in Pre-K. (n.d.). Pumpkin Shape Sorting Mats. Retrieved from
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pumpkin-Shape-Sorting-Mats-3435736.
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Results and Analysis of Student Learning
Throughout this instructional design plan, there are many different ways that will be used to
assess the student’s learning throughout the lessons. I have worked to develop multiple strategies
for this use to examine the performance of my students. I worked to align these strategies and
assessments with my learning objective to make my lessons more effective. I first realized I
would need to develop these strategies after I taught Lesson #1 in my mentor teacher’s
classroom.
When teaching my lesson in the classroom, I noticed my students started to struggle with the
content. Therefore, I shifted my instruction and started to realize the importance of discussion.
The discussion aspect of this lesson was really hitting the students and helping guide them to my
instructional objective of describing the physical properties of objects orally and grouping and
sorting objects by their physical properties. Once I shifted the lesson to be more discussion
focused, I saw the students making deeper connections and start to get something out of my
instruction. I believe the lesson I gave was effective because of the way I was able to see their
learning guided by it for the next several weeks. As we continued instruction of the properties of
objects, the students would often come back to my lesson and make a comment about them
sorting the pumpkins with me. This was what really showed me that my students had understood
the lesson and met my instructional objects. They not only met these objectives at the end of the
lesson, but they were able to carry the content with them throughout the class. It even went all
the way to the week before Thanksgiving. A student disguised a turkey as part of a class
assignment and he showed me the fake space suit and said, “Look Ms. Hawkins, it’s smooth, just
like you taught me.” This really was able to show me that my students were able to learn from
the lesson I created.
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In my Instructional Design Plan, I wanted to utilize many different instructional strategies to
differentiate my instruction and help meet the needs of my students. In my lessons, I purposely
worked to use some simple instructional strategies such as differentiation of learning styles,
discussion, group work, projects, integration between subjects, and technology. Then I also
incorporated many different instructional strategies to help my lessons be as successful and
effective as possible. There are three specific strategies I decided to use for my lesson. These
strategies are cooperative learning and group discussion, real-life scenarios, and retelling and
story maps.
Cooperative learning and group discussion are important strategies. Especially at a young age,
students need to learn how to work together, and utilizing information from their peers creates a
deeper understanding in their own head. Cooperative learning is really whenever students are
working together to learn a topic. This can be simply group work, all the way up the methods
like jigsaw where students actively research and teach others. However, just because students
work together, they may not be learning cooperatively. Students need to be actively engaged
with other students and be learning from one another. One way this can be accomplished is
through discussions. Discussions are where students are asked a question and they respond while
elaborating on their answer and talking about the topic with other students. While discussion is
more often utilized with older students and more complex topics, it can be used with younger
ones as well. Even students simply sharing their ideas and why they agree or disagree with
someone is important. Therefore, I utilized this strategy mainly in Lesson Plan #1 for use as the
students sorted their objects.
Real-life scenarios is a strategy that can be used to help relate the content they are learning to
their own life. Students tend to have a great understanding and connection to the material if it
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applies to their own life and they have hands-on experience with it. This can be done in the form
of science experiments, discussing places in the community, using advertisements from the local
store, and having them write about their own life. This strategy is crucial because it reminds
students that there is a reason behind learning the content and that there is greater connection to
the content instead of just school. This strategy gives students an opportunity to apply their
knowledge in the real world and make deep, meaningful connections to this idea. Because of
these benefits I discussed, I chose to use this strategy in most of my lessons. In all of my lessons,
I really tried to bring in real-life scenarios to make the content relatable. This is seen the most in
Lesson Plan #3, especially in the culminating event. When students go on the shape hunt, they
will have to directly apply the content to real life scenarios and make deeper connections to the
shapes they learned about.
Retelling and story maps are instructional strategies that help students with their comprehension.
Retelling involves having students orally reconstruct a story they have been read. Retelling
requires students to truly comprehend what they read well enough to correctly order and
summarize the information to someone else. Students will simply describe the story they heard in
order and while identifying important details. Retelling can be as detailed as the teacher wishes.
Retelling is typically done orally but could be done in writing or drawing or well. When retelling
a story with pictures and written words, story maps are a great strategy to utilize. Story maps as a
visual representation of the elements that make up a story. This helps students focus on the most
important aspects of the story and how these elements relate to one another. This can be simple
or complex. For younger students, a story map may simply just show the characters and a
beginning, middle, and end. This is simply a way for students to visually show the story and
retell it. This strategy is the main content being taught in Lesson #4. Students will use the
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retelling strategy to help with their comprehension of the story.
After teaching a lesson in the classroom and seeing my students thinking after this lesson as well
as thinking through instructional strategies to utilize in my IDP to both examine my student’s
performance and align with my learning objectives. I believe through the use of many different
instructional and assessment strategies; my students will excel in their learning. While I cannot
fully reflect and analyze how well the student’s will learn from these lesson plans, I used my best
judgement and experience to design an Instructional Design Plan that will be effective and useful
to my students.
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Julie Hawkins
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Reflection on Teaching and Learning
To begin my reflection on teaching and learning throughout my Instructional Design Plan, I
wanted to include my initial reflection I wrote the same day after I wrote my own lesson and
taught in in my mentor teacher’s classroom. I wrote the first lesson plan, a science lesson on the
properties of objects using pumpkins and had the opportunity to teach it in a classroom. After my
observation, I completed a reflection with the prompt, “As part of the interactive
conference/University Supervisor written observation report, please reflect and reply to - What
value did you add in your classroom today?” Here is an excerpt from my initial reflection,
written on 10/07/2019, after this experience.
“Today I wrote and taught my own lesson. While looking back now, there are changes I
would make to improve this lesson, I think this was helpful to her. The students got to
explore a little different lesson. I also worked to introduce the topic to the students and
build some knowledge that they can continue to use as they learn science for the next
couple of weeks. At one point in the day, I took over teaching without planning. A
student called another student an inappropriate name. I overheard and told my teacher so
she could take care of it that way she wanted to and inform parents. This was right as we
were coming into the classroom and about to start a reading lesson. I ended up teaching
the entire 25-minute reading lesson to keep the day going. I only needed to teach the first
5 minutes or so, but she continued to let me teach. While I taught, she was able to send
emails and take notes about which students were answering my questions and their level
of understanding.
Today I really tried to add value to the kid's learning and my teacher. I wanted to make
sure my teacher felt like I was there to be a support and help her out. That way she could
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take care of some important tasks that are difficult when working with the whole group,
or I could do them for her. I wanted to show her that I feel comfortable and confident
teaching whenever she needs me to so that I can truly support her.”
I believe this entire experience was incredibly eye opening and critical to my own learning. This
was my first experience to entirely take on the role of a teacher from start to finish, at least in a
real educational, classroom environment. I was able to see the entire lesson through from picking
the subject, deciding what TEKS needed to be taught, writing the lesson, and actually
implementing it.
First, I learned just how much goes into the actual creation of a good lesson. I had to spend a lot
of time, thought, and energy into my lesson to try to make it something that would be of quality
for my students. Especially as a novice teacher, it is necessary that lessons are well thought out
and planned. While I saw my mentor teacher often be able to put together a lesson quickly, I
realized I did not fully have the skills to do that, and that I needed to think through every aspect
of my lesson to make sure it was effective.
Next, when I got to teach this lesson in my classroom, I got to really learn a lot about how to
teach lessons in the future. The largest thing I realized is that I underestimated the amount of
time my lesson would take and then overestimated how much my students could accomplish in
about 30 minutes. However, I don’t think I completely missed the mark as much as I wanted to
be flexible in my lesson and make sure my students understood instead of just trying to get
through my lesson even if it meant skipping over some important teachable moments and letting
my students develop misconceptions. When I taught the lesson, I realized the group sort took
much longer than expected, however I got the chance to develop learning better than I planned.
Therefore, I need to be able to plan my lessons better in the future to be more flexible for my
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Julie Hawkins
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students needs instead of having so much information to cover that if I need to be flexible, we
miss half the lesson.
During this lesson, I believe I did good about being flexible and trying to manage the classroom
while being diverse in my teaching styles. I really tried to keep the class on task and also tried to
work on making the learning personal by involving all students and using their names. I think my
weaknesses were more within having a clear idea of what I wanted my class to do with the
material I presented them. I learned that being confident in my teaching and having a clear end
goal will help improve my lessons.
As a whole, I was able to learn a lot from the development from this instructional design plan. I
have developed units in the past, however I have never had the opportunity to take a lesson I’ve
created into the classroom and see how I would teach it, and then see how it would work with my
students. This experience taught me a lot about how to develop lessons and units in the future
and adapt my own teaching style to best help my students. No lesson is perfect, and mine was
not. However, I was proud of myself for writing this lesson and taking into the classroom. I
believe I made an impact on my students and my lesson was an effective part of the classroom
instruction.
Page 154 of 154

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Instructional Design Plan

Theme: Fall, Properties

Texas A&M University

EDCI – 711 – 600

Robin Rackley, Ph.D.

December 06, 2019

TEKS and Objectives

Lesson #1: Science

§112.11. Science, Kindergarten, Adopted 2017.

(b) Knowledge and Skills

properties and patterns. The student is expected to:

(A) observe and record properties of objects, including

bigger or smaller, heavier or lighter, shape, color, and

Lesson #2: Integrated Social Studies and Science

§113.11. Social Studies, Kindergarten, Beginning with School Year 2011-

(b) Knowledge and skills.

(5) Geography. The student understands physical and human

characteristics of place. The student is expected to:

(A) identify the physical characteristics of place such as

landforms, bodies of water, natural resources, and weather;

§112.11. Science, Kindergarten, Adopted 2017.

student is expected to:

(A) observe and describe weather changes from day to day

and over seasons;

(B) identify events that have repeating patterns, including

seasons of the year and day and night; and

Lesson #3: Math

§111.2. Mathematics, Kindergarten, Adopted 2012.

(b) Knowledge and skills.

(6) Geometry and measurement. The student applies mathematical

process standards to analyze attributes of two-dimensional shapes

and three-dimensional solids to develop generalizations about their

properties. The student is expected to:

(A) identify two-dimensional shapes, including circles,

triangles, rectangles, and squares as special rectangles;

(D) identify attributes of two-dimensional shapes using

informal and formal geometric language interchangeably;

(E) classify and sort a variety of regular and irregular two-

and three-dimensional figures regardless of orientation or

materials and drawings

Lesson #4: English

§110.11. English Language Arts and Reading, Kindergarten, Beginning with

School Year 2009-2010.

(b) Knowledge and skills.

(6) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme and Genre.

Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about

theme and genre in different cultural, historical, and contemporary

contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their

understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) identify elements of a story including setting, character,

and key events;

(8) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. Students

understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the

structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to

support their understanding. Students are expected to:

(A) retell a main event from a story read aloud; and

(B) describe characters in a story and the reasons for their

Lesson #5: Social Studies

§113.11. Social Studies, Kindergarten, Beginning with School Year 2011-