Learning Experience #1: Interactive Read Aloud School: South Lebanon Early Learning Center Grade Level: Pre-K

Age: 4 Day: 1 1. Topic: Animals Source of Lesson: Frontloading for ELL Learners: Building Concepts and Vocabulary Before Reading and At the Zoo by Catherine Peters Time Allotted: 30 minutes 2. Materials/Resources Needed: a. At the Zoo by Catherine Peters Peters, C. (1995). At the zoo. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. b. Going to the Zoo by Peter, Paul and Mary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g6cbw6-vnU c. Photos of animals 3. Summarized Description of ELL Student: Angela is a four year old who is from Russia; this is her second year in preschool. In Angelas home mostly Russian is spoken, which makes it difficult for her to make progress at school. She lives with her mother and father and is an only child. Angela doesnt speak much in class because her English is very limited; however she is very social with her peers. Angela can recognize her name but cant recognize most lowercase letters. Angela is very good at counting in English though; she can count all the way to fifteen. Angela struggles with forming sentences but she is working on it. Angela can sometimes be understood but she is still making progress. Trying to use more Russian and working at a slower pace would be very beneficial for Angela. 4. Ohio Standard: Grade Level, Standard, Benchmark, Indicator from Ohio Academic Content Standards: English Language Arts Grade: Preschool Standard: Reading Standards for Literature Craft and Structure: 4. Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text. Science Grade: Preschool Standard: Life Science Observation of living things. Similarities and difference exist among individuals of the same kinds of plants and animals. Goal for Physical Domain: Students will use their bodies to act like the animals in the book, At the Zoo.

Goal for Social/Emotional Domain: Students will take turns sharing if they have seen any of the animals in the book before. Students will also share which is their favorite animal. 5. Brief Description of the Learning Activity: Before reading, At the Zoo, the students will be reminded of our upcoming trip to the zoo; they will be told were going to talk about animals that live in the zoo today. First, there will be a video about taking a trip to the zoo shown from the projector. After watching the video, the teacher will ask what types of animals they saw in the video. From there the teacher will ask what other animals might be in a zoo and transition into the book, At the Zoo. This story will use frontloading techniques such as realia (having the photographs of animals) ,video (provides visual images that the children may not usually be able to see or experience.) and Field Trip (By having the field trip in the beginning, however, the children will have life experience to think back to while learning in the classroom.) 6. Vocabulary Focus: 1. Monkey 2. Bear 3. Giraffe 4. Tiger 5. Elephant 7. Assessment: The students will be assessed through an interactive retelling of the story. This type of assessment was chosen because the students will be able to move around and talk about the story. Preschoolers love the chance to move around especially after having to sit through a story. Since an interactive retelling is the assessment no rubric is needed. After the story is read the children will be asked what animals were in the story, this will be done by raising hands which is a sharing skill preschoolers are still working on. After all the animals have been named they will be asked to act like their favorite animal from the book. The students will then be shown photos of the animals in the book, out of order, and be asked to put them in the correct order from the book. 8. Components of Procedure/Instructional Method: After the students have finished their afternoon snack they will be asked to go to the circle time rug, which is where they have stories read to them. When the students have sat down on the floor the teacher will remind them of the trip to the zoo that they will be taking the next day, Tuesday at the beginning of the unit on animals. Going on a field trip at the beginning of a unit is a frontloading technique because it gives the students concrete real life experience to think of while learning about a subject. Talking about the field trip will undoubtedly excite them so the teacher will then quiet them down and tell them they are going to watch a video about going to the zoo, the video will be played on the SMART board. This is another frontloading technique that the teacher is using, some of the children may not have seen some of the animals that are typically in a zoo so providing an animated video about a zoo trip will give them an idea of what a zoo is like. After watching the video the children will be asked if they have seen any of the animals that were in it, what other animals might be in the zoo and if they have ever been to the zoo before, this will help link the video to real life experiences and give them some

knowledge before reading. As this discussion starts to come to an end the teacher will transition into reading the book, At the Zoo. The teacher will read the story aloud to the students, pointing out the animals in the illustrations and acting them out. Be very animated while reading and acting out the animals, this will keep the students engaged in the story. This will also help the ELL students because they will connect the gestures you use, that they may already know, with the words they may not. After reading the story the teacher will transition into the interactive retelling assessment first by asking questions then by using the photos of the animals from the book. Using photos of real animals is a frontloading technique known as realia, which are real items, such as real animal photos. This assessment was created to include visual learners, linguistic learners and bodilykinesthetic learners. Interactive Reading of Book: At the zoo by Catherine Peters was chosen for this weeks story because it is age appropriate and ties into common curriculum. At young children at the daycare I work at love this book and it is developmentally appropriate for this age group. This book provides many interactive possibilities including a great field trip possibility. The book uses simple vocabulary and has colorful fun illustrations. This book will provide basic knowledge about animals and can be extended into more in depth activities. Introduce the Book, Script: (After watching the video about going to the zoo) Where did the kids go in the video? (Response: Zoo) Perfect! Thats just what were doing tomorrow. What kinds of animals did you see in the video? (Response: monkey, bird, elephant, crocodiles, and turtle) Oh wonderful you remembered them! What other animals do you think might be at the zoo when we go tomorrow? (Response: tiger, bear, snakes, etc.) Oh wouldnt it be so fun to see all those animals! Have any of you ever been zoo before? (Response: yes or no) Oh wonderful well get to all go to the zoo together tomorrow! Since were going to the zoo tomorrow were going to read a fun book called At the Zoo by Catherine Peters. As I read the story pat attention to all the animals we meet. While Reading Book: As the teacher reads the book she will act out the animals using noises and gestures. For the monkey the teacher will jump or bounce around with arms bent toward stomach, an oh-oh-ah-ah sound should be made. For the bear the teacher will lean back slightly with paws held up as if playing with a ball, a grr noise can be made for the bear. For the giraffe the teacher should make small antlers with pointer fingers and extending the neck, no noise will be used for the giraffe. For the tiger the teacher will pretend to be ready to pounce, making a purring or low long growling sound will be used here. For the alligator the teacher will extend arms in front of body transitioning from completely together to a v, in a snapping fashion. No noise other than the clap of hands coming back together will be used. For the elephant the teacher will make a trunk using one arm and a heavy blowing, such as air exiting the trunk, will be used for the noise. Script: (After reading the story) Can someone tell me how many animals were in the story? (Response: 6) Very good! Here are some pictures of all the animals from the book, were going to put them in the order the girl saw them. What was the first animal the girl saw? Remember to raise your hands. (Response: Monkey) That monkey waved right back at the girl! What was the second animal she saw? (Response: Bear) Great, very good job raising your hands class! What was the third animal she saw in the book? (Response: Giraffe) Awesome! That giraffe had a pretty long neck. What was the forth

animal that the girl saw? (Response: Tiger) Very good! That tiger was very funny standing up. What animal had sharp teeth? (Response: Alligator) Oh good you remembered! That alligator was pretty scary wasnt he? What animal loved the girl? (Response: Elephant) That elephant was very friendly. Very good class and great job raising your hands! Can you act like your favorite animal from the book? (Response: Children act out the animals) Oh we have some very talented actors in our class, I saw some really great monkeys and bears and giraffes and tigers and some wonderful elephants! Everyone did an amazing job! Provide Information: What other animals do you think might be at the zoo? What animal had sharp teeth? (Could be done for each animal.) What was your favorite animal in the book? Learning Experience #2: Field Trip School: South Lebanon Early Learning Center Grade Level: Pre-K Age: 4 Day: 1 1. Topic: Animals Source of Lesson: Frontloading for ELL Learners: Building Concepts and Vocabulary Before Reading and At the Zoo by Catherine Peters Time Allotted: three hours 2. Materials/Resources Needed: a. At the Zoo by Catherine Peters Peters, C. (1995). At the zoo. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. b. Permission Slips, filled out and signed for each child. c. Digital Camera. d. Emergency plan and information for each child. 3. Summarized Description of ELL Student: Angela is a four year old who is from Russia; this is her second year in preschool. In Angelas home mostly Russian is spoken, which makes it difficult for her to make progress at school. She lives with her mother and father and is an only child. Angela doesnt speak much in class because her English is very limited; however she is very social with her peers. Angela can recognize her name but cant recognize most lowercase letters. Angela is very good at counting in English though; she can count all the way to fifteen. Angela struggles with forming sentences but she is working on it. Angela can sometimes be understood but she is still making progress. Trying to use more Russian and working at a slower pace would be very beneficial for Angela. 4. Ohio Standard: Grade Level, Standard, Benchmark, Indicator from Ohio Acedemic Content Standards: English Language Arts Grade: Preschool Standard: Language Standards

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 4. Determine the meaning of unknown words with assistance or cues from an adult (e.g., providing a frame of reference, context or comparison). English Language Arts Grade: Preschool Standard: Speaking and Listening Standards Comprehension and Collaboration 3. Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information or clarify something that is not understood. Goal for Physical Domain: Students will use their gross motor skills when exploring the different exhibits at the zoo. Goal for Social/Emotional Domain: Students will be able to interact in a positive way and stay together as a group. 5. Brief Description of Learning Activity: The class will take a trip to the zoo to explore the many different exhibits and animals. The students will be encouraged to ask questions and share their observations with the class. The teacher will scaffold the children by helping them with the new vocabulary they have learned. The teacher will also ask the students individually about their observations of the animals and their exhibits. 6. Vocabulary Focus: Monkey Bear Giraffe Tiger Elephant 7. Assessment: The students will be assessed through the interactive process of touring the zoo, this will be done through conversations the teacher has with the children. Since the assessment is interactive and conversational no rubric is needed. The teacher will ask the students what animals they see and their observations about them. 8. Components of Procedure/Instructional Methods: After the students finish breakfast the class will go to their room where there will be an exciting banner announcing their trip for that day. When entering the classroom the students will be meeting at the rug for instruction about the field trip. After the students have settled in the teacher will read them the story, At the Zoo, again focusing on the vocabulary from the previous day. The teacher will then tell the students proper behavior for the field trip and the rules they will need to follow. Going on a field trip at the beginning of the unit allows the children to have a real life experience to connect to the in class curriculum they are working on. The students will then be loaded onto the bus to go to the zoo. While on the bus they will talk about the animals they hope to see, including the vocabulary focus words. When they arrive at the zoo the students should be partners and instructed to hold hands as the class go to the different exhibits. As the class gets to

each exhibit the teacher will ask what animal it is and what they notice about it. This is using realia by seeing the actual animals in habitats that are similar to their natural ones. Introduce Activity: Script: (After reading the book) Doesnt a trip to the zoo sound like so much fun? There are so many cool animals at the zoo we get to see today but first we have to talk about the rules when were on a field trip. Youre going to have a partner and you have to stay with them the entire time. You have to stay with the group so we can all see the animals together. Its time to get on the bus now, everyone line up please. On the Bus: Script: Do you all remember the fun book we read this morning? (Response: yes) What was the title of the book? (Response: At the Zoo) Good job, do you remember what animals were in the book? (Response: monkey, bear, giraffe, tiger, alligator, and elephant) Wow everyone did a wonderful job remembering the animals. Do you think we might see those animals today? (Response: yes) I hope so that would be so exciting! Share Examples: Students will share their observation about the animals including their feelings toward them. Students will share their observations about the animals exhibits Students will talk about the difference and similarities between animals. While at the Zoo: At each exhibit the teacher should facilitate a discussion with the students. Asking students questions such as what animal they see, what their home looks like, and what the animal itself looks like. Encourage the students to ask questions about the animals they see and share what they notice. Discussing their observations will make the experience much more informative for the students and allow them to share with everyone. Provide Information: What does the animals home look like? What does this animal look like, whats its name? Are there any animals that look alike? Closing: Script: Weve had a very fun two days! By reading At the Zoo, we learned all kinds of new animals and even got to go see them. We found out we had some great actors in our class and you all had very good questions while we were at the zoo. We did so many fun things and learn a lot about these cool animals. Assess: For both days interactive retelling and conversations were used as the assessment tool. The teacher should be sure to hear from all the students on both days during the different activities. The teacher should be sure the students are using the words in the proper way and know the meaning for them. On the third day of this unit a journal entry could be done where the students illustrate and write (with scaffolding from the teacher) about their trip to the zoo. Simply having a chart listing all the students names in a row and having the different vocabulary words in the column, checking them off as the children use them and begin to understand them would be a way to incorporate a rubric for the interactive assessment.