Literacy and PlayAlphabeasts Lesson Plan

Alessandra SalloumJessica Giambagno

Jane DingNathalie Pereira

Jaereem Lee

EDEE 250-002  The Kindergarten Classroom

Professor Dr. Sheryl Smith-Gilman

McGill University

Alphabeasts by Edwards Wallace

Edwards, W. (2002). Alphabeasts. Toronto, Canada: Kids Can Press.    (Story/informal book that builds alphabetic awareness and language development)

Age Group: 4-5 year olds (Kindergarten)                   6 years old (Can be taken into grade 1 for slower learning children)

Brief description of the book: This is not your classic A-B-C book, it is an alphabeast book. Wallace Edwards, author and illustrator, weirdly meshes animals to letters, but does so in a beautifully victorian era house.

Rationale: The realistic looking illustrations, in odd settings, make for a very amusing and engaging book. This eccentric text sublimely meshes everyday alphabet learning with imagination. We would use this book in a classroom as it is informal but also shows that learning can be fun and a little quirky, if you just use your imagination. As our reading suggests, in order to provide deeper in depth

information to students, we as teachers need to use resources with detailed information about the illustration and having a clear connection to them through the language rather than just naming the objects such as just saying the alphabet aloud. Alphabeasts makes these connections by using the alphabets to illustrate a clear action involving illustration to intrigue young students. (Kostelnik et. al, 2014, pp. 91.)

LESSON    PLAN

DATE: February 07, 2016 (After the students’ winter break, during the month

of February)

TIME: 45-50 minutes lesson CLASS: Kindergarten

Classroom

DURATION: 45 minutes for introductory lesson. Extensions could be done over 2-3

classes.

SCHOOL: Northshore Elementary

Pre-school competencies Competency #1: To perform sensorimotor actions effectively in different contextsThe children will be developing this competency mainly when the teacher will ask them questions during the lecture of the book. They will be asked to draw and write on the board, which will broaden their repertoire of action. This will make them move around and also practice their handwriting and holding of small objects (chalk). Students will also recognize ways to ensure their wellbeing by having a proper posture while sitting on the floor, listening to the book.

Competency #2: To affirm his or her personality

Building self esteem is very important in a child and this lesson works toward affirming that. They will be asked to be receptive and show a desire for knowledge. Self confidence will be developed as the students take pride is going up to the board to answer the questions or read along in the book. In the extension activity, they will show autonomy and also share their interests as they will be asked to create their own book.

Competency #3: to interact harmoniously with others This lesson is not very group oriented; however, the students will be asked to be respectful of each other’s answers. This will teach them respect as well as wait time (each person gets their turn). The group reading and listening will make them develop their cooperation with others.

Competency #4: To communicate using resources of language Throughout the activity they will be responsible for listening to others and formulating their own ideas. Students will have an opportunity to develop appropriate speech and sentences.

1. Broad Areas of Learning:2. Cross- Curricular

Competencies:

1.)Broad Areas of Learning Citizenship and community life

2.) Cross-Curricular Competencies Organizes his or her own work by

matching the lower case alphabet letter to the picture.

Exercises critical judgement by assessing student’s knowledge to correctly place an image to a letter.

OBJECTIVE(S) The goal of this lesson is to help students to develop an understanding of the alphabets during the month of February. Children will learn how to sound out the alphabets using phonics when they listen to the video and reading presented by the teacher.

GROUP SIZE ;LOCATION &   MATERIALS

Group Size: Whole class (23 students)Location: In a classroom

Typical kindergarten classroom layout: Reading

/carpet area located in front of the class, students’ tables and chairs are arranged at which four or five students can sit, and the teachers’ desk near the blackboard

On the reading carpet area: Lesson (Introduction and development), Activity (Closure, assessment, and evaluation)

At students’ table: Activity (Extension and Everyday Bingo game)

Materials for teachers: Smart Board (A-B-C song video (0:00 - 2:05):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BELlZKpi1Zs / Documentary film (Extension): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p15IrEuhYmo Home Sweet Habitat:Crash Course Kids #21.1)

“Alphabeasts” by Wallace Edwards Blackboard Chalk Reading carpet Chart papers (word walls) Markers Everyday Bingo Templates Everyday Bingo Tokens Everyday Bingo Uppercase Alphabet Cards Computer Printer Animal books from the library (Extension)

Materials for Students: Coloured pen or pencils (to colour Everyday Bingo

words’ picture and for extension) Everyday Bingo Templates Everyday Bingo Tokens Bean bags or exercise ball (for selected bodily

kinesthetic learners) Yoga mats (can be replaced with the reading carpet) Art sketchbook (Extension) Drawing pencil (Extension) Computers (Extension / comic strip website for

students: Pixton https://www.pixton.com or Storyboard That http://www.storyboardthat.com)

Animal toy from home (Extension / If students cannot bring one, they can use animal toy from the class or the teacher)

Felt and play doh (Extension)

Differentiation/Accommodations/

Modifications:Learning environment: Children can be seated next to their peers or alone to complete these lessons. If the student needs to stand up every few minutes they will be permitted to do so. For the very bodily kinesthetic learners, they have the option of

sitting on a bean bag or exercise ball.Content: The teacher will give a student the opportunity to read a page or two  of the book. It is the teacher’s role to know if there is any readers in the class. Although, it may be rare at the kindergarten level , there may still be a student or two who is a confident reader. Process: Students can try to form the letters with their bodies with the help of their peers on the reading carpet and/or yoga mats. Students can use the legos or play dough to form letters and/or words. Students have a choice of either drawing and coloring an image that corresponds to the word on the word wall or coloring in an image provided by the teacher.Product/Assessment: Students can write sentences with the three words they have covered when they get a BINGO. This corresponds to the extension part of the lesson when the students will play the game.  

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES and GOALS:

Competency #2 is “To communicate clearly in the language of instruction, both orally and in writing, using correct grammar”(Gauthier, Raymond, & Martinet, 2001, p. 63) This will be done when the teacher will read the book Alphabeasts to the children. By asking them questions that are precise and by using appropriate language that is easy for the children to understand, the teacher will be developing his/her language of instruction. When the instructor explain his/her expectations for each activity the teacher is developing proper communication skills with the students.

Competency #3 “To develop teaching/ learning situations that are appropriate to the students concerned and the subject content with a view to developing the competencies targeted in the program of study”(Gauthier et al., 2001, p. 69) This is done by showing the children a song to make them familiar with the sounds of the letters, then reading to the children a picture book, and asking the students questions to  engage with the content.

A picture book will facilitate the child’s understanding of  what was read or what is happening in the book.

Competency # 4 “To pilot teaching/learning situation that are appropriate to the students concerned and to the subject content with a view to developing the competencies targeted in the program of study”(Gauthier et al., 2001, p. 79) With this lesson we will be targeting one of the subject content and the lesson will be developing certain competencies 1, 2, 3, 4. For example, concerning competency 4, the student will have to use their prior knowledge of language to answer the teacher’s questions.

Competency #5 is “To evaluate student progress in learning the subject content and mastering the related competencies”(Gauthier et al,. 2001, p. 83) In this lesson, the teacher is continuously observing the students to see if they understand. For example, he/she observes who is singing along to the alphabet song and asking questions during the reading of the book.

Competency #6 is “To plan, organize and supervise a class in such a way as promote students’ learning and social development”(Gauthier et al., 2001, p. 89) This competency ties in  with the second goal of the teacher which is ensuring good class management throughout the lesson.

Competency #8 is “To integrate information and communications technologies (ICT) in the preparation and delivery of teaching/learning activities and for instructional management and professional development purposes”(Gauthier et al,. 2001, p.

97). The first part of the lesson uses technology. The instructor shows the children a video with a song about the alphabet. In the extensions of this lesson, ICT is included.

Competency #12 is part of the lesson because teacher need to be professional in what they are doing in doing this lesson the teacher must have behaviour that are considered to professional(Gauthier et al,. 2001, p. 117).

Goals One of the goals is to keep everyone engaged in the lesson. Therefore, this means that the teacher must make sure the students are listening and participating. The teacher must ensure that the activities must be developmentally appropriate. Therefore, he/she must have prior knowledge of where each student stands on the learning spectrum. By asking questions, the teacher can see if the students are engaged, and or struggling. Another goal, is for the teacher to ensure good classroom management throughout the entire lesson. Furthermore, the teacher must always remain professional in his/her conduct throughout the lesson.

TIME LESSON

5 minutes10 minutes

5 minutes

5 minutes

A-B-C Phonics Song (0:00 - 2:05): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BELlZKpi1Zs The teacher will begin the lesson by showing the students a video of the alphabet song that introduces the alphabet and the sounds that letters make. This will engage the children as it can be introduced with the whole class and have every child sing along. Once the students heard the song the teacher will engage in discussion with the class for a few minutes. The teacher will test the students’ alphabet knowledge by asking them the following:

Can I have two or three volunteers to show the class an uppercase “A”? The students will then come in the front of the class and form the letter with their bodies.This can get the students moving rather than just staying seated.

Can Student X  point or stand up to find something in the classroom that begins with the letter C?

Student X, can you please show your class how to write the letter G in both uppercase and lowercase?

I have some play dough here in the front of the class. I would like Student X to come form a lowercase q.

These questions can be adapted to any letter. The teacher will communicate using the student's name, but for the purpose of the lesson plan, we have decided to name all the

20-25 minutes

students as ‘Student X.’Development

 The teacher will then link the song to an abc book and will read the class the Alphabeast book. For example, the teacher will say the following: “Now that we have heard the song, I want to share a fun book with you all. Please make yourself  comfortable and come closer to the front, so everyone can see the beautiful pictures in this book.”

The teacher will read the book aloud, by following the strategies presented below: Before starting the book, the teacher will show the students the cover and ask what

they think the book will be about. Give them hints by telling them that it’s related to the song. For example, “The name of this book is Alphabeasts, can anyone make a good guess of how this book is related to the song we just heard?” Once students have finished guessing about the relation between the book and the song, the teacher will move on to reading the book: “Everyone made a great guess! Now, let’s read this book and find out how it’s related.”

During the first reading, the teacher will read the book out loud alone, while using her finger to trak the words. The teacher will move the book to allow every student to view the words and the illustrations of the book clearly.

During the second reading, teacher will point to the animal in the picture. Teacher will encourage the students to speak out the first letter of the animal words in each page. For example, “A is for a-a-a... (waits for students to echo) Alligator (students echo).” Also, the teacher will track and trace the words while reading the book with the finger and the students will be continually asked to echo after her.

The following is taken directly from the Alphabeasts book. The first letter of the name of each animal is bolded in the book, helping students to retain what the letters look like. “A is for Alligator awake from a dream.B is for Bat slurping ice cream.C is for Cat who reflects on itself.D is for Duck, guarding toys on a shelf.E is for Elephant on the right track.F is for Frog, who never looks backs.G is for Giraffe minding in a tray.H is for Hippo preparing to play.I is for Ibis, arranging some pears.J is for Jaguar, checking the stairs.K is for Kingfisher the best in the box.L is for Lion, styling his locks.M is Mandrill, expecting a call.N is for Narwhal, wrapped in a shawl.O is for Octopus, changing a light.P is for Pig, tucked in for the night.Q is for Quetzal, decorating with flowers.R is for Rhino, daydreaming for hours.S is for Swan, dancing with glee.T is for Tarantula, arriving for tea.U is for Unicorn, the shyest of beasts.V is for Vulture, dying to feast.W is for Warthog, feeling under the weather.X is for Xenosaur, composing a letter.Y is for Yak, seeking a path.

Z is for Zebra, taking a bath.”

Possible questions/discussions during the second reading of the book: Student X did you notice a pattern with the letters of the alphabet A, B, C...? (Use

wait time for students to answer… Await a response of something along the lines of: "Yes, they’re all uppercase". Respond with: "That’s right. Now I’m going to ask you all another question". Can someone come up here, near the whiteboard and show the class what a lowercase g looks like?

Which letter does the word elephant begin with? Student will respond: "e". Does anyone know where elephants live? A student may respond with a forest or rainforest…

What does the cat see in the mirror? Look closely at the page here. It says that the C is for Cat who reflects on itself. What is in the cat’s reflection? Do you recognize that animal? It is in the same category as a cat.

Can everyone point to something in the class that begins with the letter A? For example, I can point to my apple on my desk, because the word apple begins with the letter A. When you think of something put your silent thumb up. Thank you for your nice waiting. Would someone like to add their word  to our word wall?

We see here that the word bat begins with the letter B. What other words begin with the letter B? Student X, can you please come to the front of the class and share your answer. Please write it on the blackboard.We will add these words to the word wall once we finish today’s lesson.

I want to make sure everyone is still listening .Can someone repeat the page I just read? The expected answer: D is for Duck, guarding toys on a shelf.

Student X, can you please share with the class another sentence that has a word that starts with the letter F? It can be a fruit or vegetable or animal.

Can I have a volunteer come up to the whiteboard to write the name of the animal we just read about? Please spell it out when you write it out.

These questions can be adapted to any letter or animal in the Alphabeast book.

                                   

                                               

TIMEACTIVITY

5 minutesThroughout   the lesson

 

Closure/TransitionAfter the question/discussion time, the teacher will say the following to express   his/her appreciation for students’ participation :“Thank you everybody for your great participation. I really enjoyed how everyone contributed to our discussion.” “Did everyone enjoy today’s lesson?  Does someone want to share with the class what their favorite part of today’s class was?”  “Remember what you learned today because next class we will be playing a game with the book we read.”

Assessment:During  the song, at the beginning of the lesson, the teacher will observe whether or not the students are participating in the alphabet song and if they are following and/or singing

along.The teacher will take notes of how students are answering the questions during the second reading of the book. By observing the student's answers and participation in the lesson, the teacher will be able to assess the student’s understanding. The next lesson when the teacher facilitates the students in the creation of the game and play the game, teacher will assess students’ understanding of Alphabeast lesson through how they answer her/his questions.  

Self–evaluation: The teacher should ensure that:

he or she is using a good teacher voice. there are different voices for each character and the tone is steady.     they provide wait time for the students to answer the questions as you go along.   he or she pauses after each page so that the students have time to take in the

illustration and connect it to the literature. all the students are following along to the story, and that no one is left  behind. If

there is, the teacher can regain their attention by asking questions to make sure students can catch up and follow along.

Follow up/extensions:

1. As an extension and a form of assessment, students can mesh literacy and art together and create their own ABC book. At this point, their knowledge of the alphabet is advanced (end of kindergarten grade) and they will be able to create something on their own. They will be required to use their imagination and create a flowing ABC book using anything they like. For example, this could range from A is for airplane: to A is for Africa. They chose, it is their book. They will then illustrate what they are representing. To tie in technology, those who would like to, can use an online program, such as Pixton or Storyboard That, to create a form of comic book/band. Once everyone’s project is done, they can all be uploaded on a common disc and the students can take it home. This will create a sense of accomplishment in the students.

2. The day before the extension lesson, the teacher could ask the children to bring one of their animal toys from home to present to the class. The teacher would ask the student what is the first letter used to write the name of that animal. Afterwards, the teacher can teach the students some differences about the animals that they have brought to class; some features and characteristics can include feathers, fur, and habitat. The teacher can also provide books on the animals for the students to read and/or show them a discovery film where you can see the animals in their nature habitat. Then, have them draw the animal, cut and paste the animal using felt, or making them with playdoh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p15IrEuhYmo   Home Sweet Habitat:Crash Course Kids #21.1

Bibliography

1.Willems, M. (2003). Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. Burbanks, CA: Disney PublishingWorldwide.

Picture bookAge Group: 2-6 year old. Kindergarten

Rationale: This picture book is about a bus driver who needs to go,therefore he takes this opportunity to involve the readers into the story by asking them to not allow the pigeon to drive the bus. The pigeon however tries everything he can to get to drive the bus. Most pages have a single image (usually the pigeon), a bubble text,  and a limited number of very pale colors. The silliness derived from the mix between the dialogue and images is one that would appeal to preschool children. The conflict presented between the bus driver and the pigeon is an example of one of the most basic in childhood education: “Yes I will” versus “No you won’t”.

2.Gibbons, G. (1984). The seasons of Arnold's apple tree. San Diego, CA: Harcourt BraceJovanovich.

[Expository/ informational book]Age group: 4-5 year old. K – Gr. 2

Rationale: This informational book follows a young boy Arnold and his special apple tree to convey accurate facts on the cycle of apple tree goes through during different seasons. While the information about a tree is presented clearly with words and colourful illustrations, the story introduces seasonal activities that Arnold partakes with the tree as the seasonal change undergoes. This story can easily instruct young students that seasonal changes affects not only the weather outside, but also the growth of plants and peoples’ activities. The writing style of this book does not bore the reader by listing the facts, but presents facts interestingly through relationship with Arnold; hence, most students, including young students who dislike non-fiction, expository books, can find this book appealing.

3.  Choi, Y. (2001). The name jar. New York: Knopf. [Multicultural storybook]Age group: 3-7 year old. K- Gr. 2

Rationale: This book not only teaches young children to self- love and accept themselves for who they are as Unhei did with her Korean name and identity, but also to respect others and their culture. Some of the students in the book showed to be great examples by showing respect to Unhei. This story is a great tool to help students from different cultural backgrounds to acknowledge that they don’t need be a part of the melting pot theory and should accept and share their culture as a part of their own identity.

4.Boelts, M., & Jones, N. (2007). Those shoes. Cambridge, Mass: Candlewick Press. [Inclusion storybook]Age group: 5-8 year old KindergartenRationale: This is a picture book about inclusion. The story teaches a good lesson, that there are other ways of making friends other then having ‘cool’ things. The story is easy to understand and the language used is simple. The pictures depict what the text of the book is saying. The illustrations are well done. There is not a lot of text on the page, for example some pages don’t have text or just one sentence. This a good book to read to kindergarten children, because they can relate to the story. Who has not wanted something that parents said no to. Furthermore, this can be a book for children to read facial expression learn about emotions.

5. Moss, L., & Priceman, M. (1995). Zin! zin! zin!: A violin. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

[Informational text]Age group: 4- 8 year old K- Gr. 3

Rationale: This book explores various instruments while educating students about counting and rhyming; hence, both language and numeracy developments are tackled. The book starts with a trombone and various instruments join one by one to form a group of ten. As the instruments are joining the orchestra, the book introduces a different way to describe the number of groups, such as “two” to “duo,” “three” to “trio,” and “four” to “quartet.” This book not only teaches students how to count numbers, but also introduces musical ensemble words to expand students’ vocabulary. Also, this book carries a lyrical rhyming narrative that can help students’ language development. The audio recording of this book can be a great way to introduce the different sounds of various instruments make.

Game: EVERYDAY BINGO

Preparation Everyday Bingo’s template words would be selected mostly from word walls or labels on the

surrounding school supplies. Prior to this lesson, the class will make high frequency words accessible by posting them where every student can see them. For example, a word wall, which is an organized display of keywords that provides visual reference for students, would be used to make the word templates. Pictures will be drawn to help students remember the meaning of the words as well. To create word walls, teachers and students will select keywords and/or subject-related terminologies, and add to the word wall gradually as they are introduced. As students participate in determining which words should be on the ward wall, the words should be essential, most common, and kindergarten-friendly. Everyday Bingo is one of the methods for encouraging students to continually use these everyday words, and developing phonics skills associated with the words and alphabets that can eventually help them to read and write more complex vocabularies.

Description Each student will be handed a template representing everyday things (fruits, weather,

clothing, hygiene,transportation,animals,emotions,sports, technology, clothing, school ). These templates are 3X3 with pictures and names of the objects (in lowercase letters). The teacher will be in the front of the class with a box. In this box will be all the letters of the alphabet (upper case letters). He/she will pick  one letter at a time and say it out loud without showing anyone. The students will then have to look at their templates to see what objects starts with that letter. For example, if the teacher says ‘A’, the students will look on their templates for apple, or airplane, or angry, etc. Each student will have a set of tokens. There are 26 tokens per child. Each of them are a different letter of the alphabet written in lowercase letters. Therefore, the students will have to associate which letter the teacher announced in both upper and lowercase form. If the teacher sees that the child is really struggling to get an idea of what exactly the letter which the teacher announced looks like: the teacher is permitted to show the child the letter they have in uppercase form. They will place their alphabet token on the appropriate box with an image of something starting with the same letter.The game will go on until someone says ‘BINGO’. A child achieve a BINGO by filling 3 box in the following way: (---, / , \ , ⎸).  Once a child gets a BINGO the teacher will ask if they can read the things in each box and spell them out . Then once that is done the next round begins. Before the next round, students will take out the tokens they had on their templates and exchange template with one of their peers. The duration of this game is strictly up to the teacher to decide.

Objectives The objective of this game will be to first and foremost see if the students know their alphabet. Through the game, they will also be learning the names of things they use, consume, or concepts they need to know on a daily basis. The game also focuses on the knowledge between the difference of upper and lower case letters as the students will have to match an uppercase letter to a word that starts with a lowercase letter.  Students will also have an opportunity to practice their reading.

Rationale for the development of the gameBINGO is an accessible game that is easy to introduce to young students. This game should be developed in the beginning of an academic semester to assess students on their level of understanding the alphabets. We chose to work with the categories of animals, fruits, emotions,clothing, transportation, etc because we feel like these are words and concepts that are important in everyday life. Therefore, the students are not only learning about letters, they are equally learning about everyday objects and things.

Experience in creating the gameThe experience creating this game was a very enjoyable one. We started off by brainstorming different ideas. We agreed upon a common idea and the importance of alphabetical awareness at a kindergarten level. We then all agreed on the idea of the BINGO game and added to it little by little. We chose to make the game the way we did because we wanted to extend students knowledge of the alphabet by creating an exercise that would help them to classify and keep track of different words in a fun way. Throught the creation of this game, we learnt that we can mesh play and literacy. That is, students can learn in a fun and interactive way.

Skills and knowledge (in development)This game’s  primary purpose is to develop students’ alphabetic awareness while learning  the names of everyday essential objects and concepts, such as emotions. It also develops students’ spelling .Students work on some of the essential knowledge skills  stated in Quebec Education Program (QEP), such as selecting, organizing, comparing and classifying concepts.

QEP competencies(These competencies are taken directly from the Quebec Education Plan (QEP))

Competency 4: “To communicate using the resources of language”  The students will be required to make sense of what the teacher is saying and match it with what is on their template , if the letter arises. If the students are lucky and get BINGO they will be required to read the three words they have to the teacher.

Competency 5: “Construct his or her understanding of the world”By completing this activity students gain essential knowledge about things they will encounter in their everyday life. Especially making sense of different emotions and deciphering between fruits and vegetables is very good for them to have in their repertoire.  

Competency 6: “To complete an activity or project”This is a skill children need to develop from a very young as the QEP states by making it one of the 6 preschool competencies. Students will be able to complete a learning activity with teacher guidance when necessary.

References

C. (2014). Home Sweet Habitat: Crash Course Kids #21.1. Retrieved February 17, 2016, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p15IrEuhYmo

Edwards, W. (2002). Alphabeasts. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press.

Gauthier, C., Raymond, D., & Martinet, M. A. (2001). Teacher training: Orientations,

professional competencies. Quebec: Ministere de l'education.

Jenkins, A. (2009). Phonics Song 2. Retrieved February 17, 2016, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BELlZKpi1Zs

Kostelnick, M., Rupiper, M., Soderman, A. & Phipps Whiren, A. (2014) Developmentally

Appropriate Curriculum In Action, United States of America: Pearson Education Inc.

Quebec (Province). (2001). Quebec education program: Preschool education, elementary

education : approved version. Quebec: Ministere de l'education.

Appendix:

The read square tokens are the lowercase letters that the students will use to cover the words and images on their templates. The big white square cards are the uppercase letters that the teacher will mix up in a box or bag and pull one out at random. The emotions template in the middle is one of the 10 templates that make up this game.