Francine C. Coss
LESSON PLANS
The Alphabet: An Introduction Level K
Learning Center:
Provide the children with a set of sandpaper alphabet cards and a pegboard with pegs. Display the “Alphabet Song” on chart paper. Instruct the children to thumb through the alphabet cards and find their favorite leant, tracing each card as they thumb through the pile. Encourage the children to retrace their favorite letter and form it with the pegs on the pegboard You may wish to expand the activity to forming all the letters of the alphabet, individually, on the pegboard.
Books:
Brown, Ruth. If at First You Do Not See. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1982.Hoban, Tana. A! B. See! New York: Greenwillow, 1982.
Related Materials:
“Go Fish” or other matching card games
Number or alphabet recognition and sequencing games
Copying games
Objectives:
To understand that the alphabet is a series of letters.
Concepts:
The alphabet song illustrates the order of the twenty six letters of the alphabet. The letters of the alphabet have a specific order called alphabetical order.
Vocabulary:
alphabet
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order
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capital
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series
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letters
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owercase
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alphabetical order
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Materials:
alphabet chart;
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post-it notes;
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Alphabet Song chart;
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alphabet cards
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Motivation:
Display an alphabet chart and encourage the children to sing the “Alphabet Song” while you point to the letters. Select a child to point to the letters with you while the children re-sing the song. Then use post-it notes to cover up five letters at different places on the alphabet chart. Sing the song again, inviting the children to fill in the hidden letters orally. Explain that the alphabet is a series of letters in a specific order called alphabetical order. Emphasize that the children knew which letters were missing and therefore know the specific order of the alphabet.
Lesson:
Distribute the alphabet cards among the children. Encourage the children to work cooperatively to arrange the letter cards in alphabetical order according to the alphabet chart and song.
Subject Integration:
Mathematics: Serial Order
The Letter of the Week: A/a Level K
Learning Center:
Provide the children with a set of A/a picture cards to be used in a game of concentration. Using an identical set of cards, display the picture cards and the A/a word that identifies each card on a nearby bulletin board. Encourage the children to play the game of concentration with the picture cards. You may wish to expand the game to include non-A/a picture cards, or to add new cards to the game as each “Letter of the Week” is studied.
Books:
McMillan, Bruce. Apples: How They Grow. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1979.Loof, Jan. Who’s Got the Apple? New York: Random House, 1975.
Related Materials:
“Go Fish” or other matching games-Alphabet Picture Lotto
Objectives:
To recognize the relationship between the letter A/a and the sound(s) for A/a.
To identify the sound(s) for A/a
Concepts:
The letter A/a has a specific sound.
The letter A/a’s sound is heard at the beginning of many words.
Vocabulary:
A/a
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long A sound
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short A sound
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abacus afghan
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alligator
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acorn
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alphabet
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ambulance
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anchor
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animal ant
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apple
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angler
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concentration
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apron
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apricot
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Materials:
A/a picture cards
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A/a objects
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A/a word cards
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“LETTERBAG”(any style bag)
2
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chart paper
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markers
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A/a picture card chart
Motivation:
Sing the following lyrics to the tune of “London Bridge:”
THE LETTERBAG IS HERE TODAY,
HERE TODAY, HERE TODAY,
THE LETTERBAG IS HERE TODAY,
TELL ME THE LETTER...
(Encourage guessing from the students)
THE LETTER BAG HAS BROUGHT AN A,
BROUGHT AN A, BROUGHT AN A,
THE LETTERBAG HAS BROUGHT AN A;
THIS WEEK’S LETTER.
Then ask the children what they know about the letter A/a, while writing their responses in a web format on chart paper. Explain that the class will be studying the letter A/a for an entire week. Emphasize that the letter A/a has a special symbol and sound that they will be discussing everyday that week. Ask the children what they think they will find inside of the LETTER BAG Review the LETTER BAG song and reveal each object and picture card, identifying it orally and in writing on chart paper. Explain that the words you have said all begin with the letter A/a and will help them when they play the game of alphabet concentration.
Lesson:
Display the A/a picture card chart Encourage the children to match the A/a picture cards found in the LETTERBAG to the cards displayed on the chart. When all of the cards are matched, reveal an identical set of A/a picture cards and discuss the rules and strategies of the game of concentration. Begin to play the game of concentration as a class, taking turns finding a match. When all of the cards are matched, place the picture cards and the A/a picture card chart at a learning center for reuse.
Subject Integration:
Mathematics:
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Matching
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Same/Different
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The Letter of the Week Revisited: Early American Rhyme Level K
Learning Center:
Provide the children with a mock fishing rod, a blue-papered area for a pond and various colored paper fish. Attach a strong magnet to the end of the fishing line and four or five paper dips to each paper fish. Place the fish on the blue-papered area and encourage the children to act the part of an Angler. Encourage the children to count the fish they catch and draw the identical number of fish on Me counting chart.
Books:
Seuss, Dr. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. New York, Random House, ——.
Related Materials: -
Counting/Graphing games
Objectives:
To understand the characteristics of an Angler.
To recognize the relationship between the letter A/a and the sound(s) for A/a.
Concepts:
An Angler is a name of a person in Early AmericaAn Angler is a fisherman.The word Angler begins with the sound for A/a.
Vocabulary:
Angler
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perch
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roach
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dace
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fishing pole
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fish
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catch
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hook
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rod
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Materials:
a mock fishing pole/rod
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string
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a strong magnet
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blue construction paper
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markers
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paper clips
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various colored construction paper
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scissors
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masking tape
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chart paper
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a real fishing pole (if available)
Motivation:
Hold up the real fishing pole and ask the children to tell you what it is called. Remind the children that they are studying only the letter A/a that week and ask them how a fishing pole relates to the letter A/a. Display the lines from the Early American alphabet rhyme that deal with the letter A/a and read them. Ask the children how the fishing pole relates to the letter A/a after re-reading the first stanza of the Early American alphabet rhyme. Discuss the characteristics of an Angler and list them in a web format on chart paper. Compare the characteristics of an Angler to those of a modern-day fisherman. Invite the children to pretend to catch a perch, roach or dace fish.
Lesson:
Place the blue-paper pond on the floor. Show the children the various types of fish in the pond and display the mock fishing pole. Encourage the children to become an Angler and try to catch the fish, keeping track of how many they catch by drawing a fish on the board for each one caught.
Subject Integration:
Mathematics:
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Counting
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Graphing
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Drama
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Character Acting
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