Introduction
The creation of a lesson plan is a crucial step. Teachers have to investigate their skills and introduce a project that they could develop in their classrooms. It is too challenging to address all types of domains when they start designing their lesson plans (Long et al. 2011). Teachers have to accept every lesson as a piece of a unit that should be introduced to students clearly and comprehensively in a certain period (Orlich et al. 2011).
Down below, a lesson plan is introduced. It is an example of how teachers could develop their lesson plans and ensure that they provide their students with opportunities for social interactions, decision-making processes, and integrating their knowledge (Slavin 2006). The lesson plan will be analyzed in terms of its structure and content peculiarities including the chosen subject and its appropriateness, duration, objectives and expectations, the offered environment, and learning activities.
Main Aspects of Planning
The lesson plan is introduced by Tatiana Canales for the students of 3-5 grades during the reading/writing classes. The theme of the lesson is “Character Feelings and Traits”. The author of the plan suggests using guided discovery strategies. With the help of guided-inquiry teaching, educators can provide students with the required portion of information and guide them during the whole working process, and students have enough opportunities to accept the offered information and go beyond looking for new answers and solving the existing problems.
Structure
The lesson plan has an essay form with several subheadings which identify the main components of the work that should be done. From the very beginning, the theme of the lesson, as well as the place, materials, activity time, and concepts that have to be taught are introduced.
Besides, the peculiar feature of this plan is the attention to the lesson domains which the tutor tries to address and the methods which help to introduce and promote these domains. For example, it is mentioned that the cognitive domain is possible due to the connections which are developed between students while discussing their opinions and attitudes to the material offered. Each type of material offered to students is clearly explained in short sentences.
Therefore, the reader gets an informative picture of what should be used and how the materials could help students and their teachers. For example, in this lesson plan, a video introduces the topic of feelings with a song and several images in it. Students can observe the information and listen to the material relying on personal feelings and emotions.
At the same time, there is no certain linkage to other subjects. Besides, there is no information about the class. In the plan, it is mentioned that the class has to be divided into small groups to participate in a game. However, it is hard to guess the number of such groups and the gender of the participants. There are no clarifications if the gender of students has to be identified.
Content
Subject and Effectiveness
The subject of the lesson plan is introduced. There are no additional questions or doubts about the directions and intentions of a teacher. A higher degree to which the design of the offered plan is consistent with research and practice is observed due to the description of the learning domains right after the subject introduction.
The subject seems to be effective enough due to several references mentioned at the end of the paper and the intentions of the teacher to involve students in discussions and the development of their personal opinions and emotions in regards to the material offered.
Objectives and Expectations
In the plan, there is a separate section that is called “Objectives”. It is easy to find out what a teacher expects to obtain at the end of the lesson. First, students read and discuss the interactions and changes of characters chosen for the lesson. Second, it is expected to provide students with an opportunity to describe the interactions of characters.
Finally, it is necessary to take several steps like watching a video, listening to the teacher’s discussions, and participating in lesson activities to write about these experiences and emotions. In general, writing and reading are developed using the discussions that occurred in the classroom.
Duration and Appropriateness
The author of the plan pays enough attention to the duration of the lesson. It is mentioned that the plan could be used during 3-4 days spending 45-75 minutes per day. Still, even such information is not detailed enough to comprehend how to develop lessons and include all activities in it in the most effective way.
Learning Environment and Activities
The learning environment of the lesson has to be successful enough to promote different lesson activities. On the one hand, there are several hooks made by a teacher to introduce a topic and several inputs with the help of which. On the other hand, certain activities promote understanding of a topic through classroom discussions and student participation. There is also a game within the frames of which students use cards and develop special scenarios demonstrating their obtained knowledge and the abilities to find a practical application to their theoretical knowledge and observations.
The main assessment tool is a piece of writing that has to be developed at the end of the lesson on the topics which are personally developed by students regarding their attitudes to and knowledge of the subject. Still, no information on how a teacher put grades and assesses students’ knowledge is given.
Conclusion
In general, the lesson plan chosen for the analysis has several positive aspects like the description of the goals and the explanation of lesson activities, as well as negative challenges like the absence of information about students or the lack of assessment techniques. Therefore, it is suggested to make slight improvements to create a perfect project in a short period.
Lesson Plan
- Canales, T 2013, Character feelings and traits.
- #4708. Character Feelings and Traits
- Reading/Writing, level: 3-5
- Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District (LFCISD, Los Fresnos, USA
- Materials Required: Video about Feelings, Feelings and Emotions PowerPoint, First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg
- Activity Time: Approximately 3-4 days; 45- 75 minutes per day
- Theme: Character Feelings and Traits
Learning Domains
- This lesson addresses the cognitive domain by having students make connections. Students must be able to distinguish feelings/emotions and different situations that evoke them. Then they must apply their learning to what they are reading to determine the connection between the character, feelings/emotions, situations and events, and how they determine a certain outcome.
- This lesson addresses the social domain with the matching card game. Students work together in small groups to pair up scenario/statement cards with process cards pertaining to feelings and emotions through spoken words, relationships, actions and thoughts.
- This lesson addresses the affective domain with the video. The video on feelings is cute and funny. The video introduces the students to the topic of feelings with a song. The song has a catchy tune and the kids like it. The images of kids acting out feelings are cute and funny.
- This lesson addresses the psycho-motor domain by having the students act out different feelings and emotions.
Objectives
- Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
- Reading describe the interaction of characters including their relationships and the changes they undergo.[3.8B]
- Backwards Lesson Planning Goal
- The students will understand and be able to describe interactions of characters, their relationships, changes they undergo and their influence on the plot.
- Language Objective
- TLW watch a video about feelings and PowerPoint.
- TLW listen to the teacher and classmates in classroom discussions and activities.
- TLW participate and take turns in discussions and activities.
- TLW tell about how they felt the first day of school.
- TLW draw and write about their first day of school.
- TLW use a graphic organizer to write about the character in the story.
Materials
Video about Feelings, Feelings and Emotions PowerPoint, First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg, “The Notion Emotion Game” (Gourmet Curriculum), Character Outline for Personality Collage Doll, Character Analysis Graphic Organizer.
Strategy
I will use the Critical Dialogues strategy from Peregoy and Boyle (2013) to plan a “structured conversation” with the students about the story, video, and media sources (pg.95). I will use a variation of the Personality Collage Doll strategy from Booth Olson (2007) to have students make connections to the character in the story (pg. 76).
The personality collage doll can be turned into a shape book by adding more pages and having the students write a story using “The Individual Language Experience Story” strategy from Peregoy and Boyle to tell about their own experiences or events (pg.118-119).
Lesson Steps (Activities)
Hook
I will have students watch a video describing different feelings and emotions for different situations (happy, sad, mad, etc.).
Teacher Input (I do)
I will show students a PowerPoint about feelings and discuss the different feelings and examples. I will have student volunteers come up and act out some of the different feelings and emotions. I will also have the rest of the class join from their desks.
Before reading First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg, I would ask students questions about their experiences of the first day of school. The students will draw a picture of themselves on the first day of school on a character outline. They can include drawings of what they might look like or what makes them feel the way they do. The teacher can provide a sentence stem for the student to write about their drawing. “On the first day of school I feel….because……”
Then I would have students make predictions about what events will happen and who the characters are by previewing the cover, title, and pictures from the beginning of the story. As I read, I will have students tell what the character is doing, saying, feeling and describe her relationship with Mr. Hartwell through careful systematic questioning.
The students will write in their character analysis charts: how the character acts, the character’s feelings from the beginning of the story to the end using words that describe the character or actions, and describe the character’s relationship with other characters in the story.
Check for Understanding
I will check for understanding through the classroom discussions and student participation. I will also check for understanding through the student’s analysis of the story character on their graphic organizer. I will work with individual students as needed for clarification.
Grouping (we do)
Play Matching Card Game
In small groups, I will have the students play “The Notion Emotion Game” (Gourmet Curriculum Press, Inc.) The students will be placed in small groups, 3-4 students. Each group of students will get 16 process (P) cards and 16 scenario/statement (E) cards. The back of the process card will be printed with either: action, thoughts, spoken words, or relationships. There will be four cards of each process. There will be four scenario cards that show each kind of process. Players will take turns matching a scenario with the right process card. Players keep the pair of cards when a match has been made. The player with the most pairs wins.
Challenge: Have groups write their own scenario and process and share or act out for the class to determine the process.
Independent Practice (you do)
Students will fill out character analysis graphic organizer using information discussed in class and details from the story.
Closure
Write about how you feel on the first day of school. Why do people feel nervous when they are in a new situation? Tell how you could help someone who is feeling nervous.
References
Danneberg, Julie (2000). First Day Jitters. Whispering Coyote Press. 85 Main Street, Watertown, MA, 02472.
Knoblauch, Bernadette & Sorenson, Barbara. (1998). IDEA’s Definition of Disabilities. ERIC Digest E560. (ED429396). ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education, Reston, VA. Web.
Olson, Carol Booth (2007). The Reading/Writing Connection: Strategies for Teaching and Learning in the Secondary Classroom (2nd Ed.). Boston, New York, San Francisco, Mexico City, Montreal, Toronto, London, Madrid, Munich, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Cape Town, Sydney: Pearson.
Peregoy, S. F., & Boyle, O. F. (2013). Reading, Writing, and Learning in ESL: A Resource Book for Teaching K-12 English Learners (6th Ed.). Boston, Columbus, Indianapolis, New York, San Francisco, Upper Saddle River, Amsterdam, Cape Town, Dubai, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Montreal, Toronto, Delhi, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo: Pearson.
Long, M, Wood, C, Littleton, K, Passenger, T & Sheehy, K 2011, The psychology of education, 2nd edn, Routledge, New York.
Orlich, DC, Harderm RJ, Callahan, RC, Trevisan, MS & Brown, AH 2012, Teaching strategies: a guide to effective instruction, 9th edn, Cengage Learning, Boston.
Slavin, RE 2006, Educational psychology: theory and practice, 8th edn, Allyn and Bacon, Boston.