Grade Level
Kindergarten (Age: 5–6)
Basic Class Demographics
The class consists of 17 students, including nine boys and eight girls. Among these, there are 10 ESL students. Since the latter include primarily Asian and Hispanic students, the instructor will have to consider the specifics of Asian and Hispanic cultures into account when defining the teaching strategy. Additionally, the specific needs of an ADHD student (boy) will have to be considered when defining the teaching strategy.
Anticipated Outcome (Lesson Objective)
It is expected that by the end of the lesson, the following goals will be accomplished:
- The students will be able to pronounce the diphthongs such as “-aw-” and “-ow-” correctly.
- The students will be able to identify the diphthongs such as “-aw-” and “-ow-.”
- The students will be able to read short words that contain the diphthongs “-aw-” and “-ow-” (e.g., “now,” “cow,” “law,” “saw,” etc.) correctly.
Common Core State Standard
According to the U.S. Common Core Standards for the kindergarten students, children at the age of 5–6 (Kindergarten) are supposed to
NETS-T Standard
The lesson in question aligns with the essential NETS-T standards for Kindergarten students aged 5-6 in terms of their phonemic awareness. Particularly, the lesson strategy helps “develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress” (ISTE Standards Teachers, 2008, p. 1), as required by the current NET-T standards.
Content Summary
Enhancing phonemic awareness among students is one of the crucial tasks of an instructor teaching Kindergarten students (Goldsworthy & Pieretti, 2014). Traditionally defined as a “conceptual understanding of language that also behaves like a skill” (Mayer & Trezek, 2015, p. 56), phonemic awareness provides the foundation for the further acquisition of reading and writing skills.
Therefore, the development of phonemic awareness in young students is essential to both their current progress and the further development of the related skills. Particularly, the significance of the acquisition of reading skills as the tool for developing abilities for a fast and efficient data processing deserves to be mentioned (Pressley & Allington, 2014). Indeed, according to a recent study, the early development of phonemic awareness in students enhances the process of further information acquisition and the ability to process data successfully (Resnik & Weaver, 2013).
Therefore, the lesson will be arranged in the manner that will allow for the most efficient acquisition of the required skills. In other words, the teacher will assume the role of an instructor by creating a pattern of student– teacher interactions., Thus, the correct pronunciation will be acquired by the students efficiently, and the teacher will be able to identify the possible issues that learners may have in the process and address these problems accordingly by correcting the pronunciation mistakes made by the learners.
Materials
A4-size sheets with diphthongs and transcriptions on them; A4-size sheets with pictures of objects, whose names contain the required phonemes, and the captions underneath (e.g., a picture of a bow with the word “BOW” and its transcription written below); A4-size pictures of the objects, the names of which contain the required phonemes, with captions provided yet with no transcription offered; sheets with words containing the diphthongs “-aw-” and “-ow-” written in rows, with no images attached (for class reading).
Ludwig, S. (2009). Jump into phonics, Grade 2: Strategies to help students succeed with phonic. Greensboro, North Carolina: Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
Summative Assessment
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
As far as the essential teaching strategies that must be used during the lesson are concerned, the incorporation of rhyming exercises should be viewed as an option. Seeing that the students will have to learn specific diphthongs by considering specific examples repeatedly, it will be reasonable to use rhymes to help the learners memorize the specified combination of letters and the way that they sound fast and efficiently.
Technological Content Knowledge
To convey the material to the students in a more expeditious manner, the teacher may consider the idea of using the elements of information technology. Particularly, the application such as ABC PocketPhonics can be viewed as an important resource for teaching the students read the specified diphthongs correctly. The application in question can be incorporated into the lesson plan as a tool for doing an exercise to train reading the sounds “-aw-” and “-ow-.“ Additionally, the use of traditional technology, such as the recordings of songs and poems that contain the words with the specified diphthongs, should be viewed as an option.
Technological Pedagogical Knowledge
The application of the above-mentioned tools will help engage students in the process of learning to read. Particularly, the incorporation of the specified tools in the learning process will show students that reading is an integral part of using modern technology. The learners are excited about innovation technologies when it comes to communication and entertainment (e.g., using online applications for playing games, conversing with each other, watching feature films and animated movies, etc.). Therefore, discovering that the process of learning to read can be just as fun as their favorite activities will clearly lead to the increase in the students’ motivation.
Additionally, the tools suggested for using in the specified setting will help clarify some of the issues that students may fail to understand at first. Particularly, the ESL learners may fail to catch the differences in the pronunciation of the target sounds. Therefore, the use of technology will help them understand these differences by pronouncing the specified sounds in different voices, at different volume rates, with different speed, etc. As Puckett (2006) marked, a teacher must:
Determine if the vocabulary and symbols are clear to all learners. Activate students’ prior knowledge by preteaching vocabulary, providing alternate text descriptions for graphic symbols, and translating or explaining idioms, cultural expressions, and slang. For instance, knowing the definitions of rain, cat, and dog, does not necessarily extend to understanding the expression, “It’s raining cats and dogs.” (Puckett, 2006, par. 3.1)
The technological tools that will be used in the course of the lesson, in their turn, will create premises for the promotion of the specified knowledge. Additionally, the technological tools mentioned above will help students with special needs understand the subject matter.
Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)
A closer look at the design of the lesson in question will reveal that it creates premises for incorporating the pedagogical content knowledge, the technological content knowledge, and the technological pedagogical knowledge successfully. Indeed, the tools used in the course of the lesson serve as the foundation for raising the students’ phonemic awareness.
Not only does the lesson provide premises for enhancing the learners’ phonemic awareness successfully, but also provides the learners with special needs with an opportunity to participate and acquire the necessary knowledge and skills successfully.
Reference List
Goldsworthy, C., & Pieretti, R. (2014). Sourcebook of phonological awareness activities. Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning.
ISTE Standards Teachers. (2008). Web.
Mayer, C. C., & Trezek, B. J. (2015). Early literacy development in deaf children. Oxford, Great Britain: Oxford University Press.
Pressley, M., & Allington, R. L. (2014). Reading instruction that works, fourth edition: The case for balanced teaching. New York City, New York: Guilford Publications.
Puckett, K. S. (2006). Differentiating instruction: A practical guide. Waco, Texas: Prufrock Press. Web.
Resnik, L. B., & Weaver, P. A. (2013). Theory and practice of early reading. Vol. 1. New York City, New York: Routledge.