2013-2014

UMU Lesson Plan Guide

Name: Melanie Rice

Date: September 30, 2014
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Class Period: Reading Workshop
Subject: English Language Arts
Lesson # & Title: Lesson 3, Letter Jj
Big Idea/Lesson Focus: Teaching the sound and visual representation of the letter Jj
Essential Question: Do the students know the letters and sounds in the alphabet?
Context for Learning:
This lesson was taught to 23 students (12 girls, 11 boys). The school is in a small, rural town that is primarily
middle class. There is very little racial and religious diversity, with the large majority of the population being
Caucasian and Christian. The classroom has a large amount of beneficial resources, including a SMARTBoard,
computers, crayons, and other manipulatives. The students are placed in group seating. The groups are not arranged
by academic level.

Function of the Lesson (check all that apply):

Introduce New Skill or Content
Practice

Review
Remediation/Reteaching

Content Standards:
RF. K. 3a. : Demonstrate basic knowledge of letter-sound correspondence by producing the primary or most frequent
sound for each consonant.
RF. K. 1d: Recognize and name all upper-and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
Learning Objectives:
When provided with a worksheet, the students will be able to use their knowledge of the sound and grapheme J/j to
correctly sort the images into categories of objects that start with j and objects that do not, with 80% accuracy.
Academic Language (or A.L. Demands, A.L. Objectives):
Uppercase
Lowercase
J/j
Instructional Materials and Support:
Large White Chart Paper
Colored Marker
No More Letter of the Week Poem Book
No More Letter of the Week Letter J/j picture
No More Letter of the Week Sentence for J/j
Letter J book
Letter Jj cutting and pasting activity
Scissors for each student
Bottle of glue for each student
Stapler
Picture of the Letter Expert
Stapler

Prior Knowledge:
Prior to the teaching of this lesson, the students are familiar with the ideas that the letters of the alphabet are both
represented by a visual letter, as well as a sound. They know 9 of the other letters of the alphabet, meaning that they
know the upper- and lowercases of all of them, as well as the sounds they make. They are also aware that vowels
make 2 sounds, and that there are two types of letters, vowels and consonants.
Assessments:

Pre-Assessment for the unit: Prior to the teaching of the unit, the classroom teacher has assessed the
students in their knowledge of the upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet by giving them a series of
letters and asking them to write them on the grid provided. The teacher also uses a writing workshop
assessment, in which the teacher writes a sentence for the student, and then goes through each letter with the
student to see which ones he or she can correctly identify. These are then used to evaluate the students
knowledge base and previous exposure to the letters of the alphabet.
Assessment(s) during the lesson: During the lesson, I watch for participation in the questions and
activities. After writing the letters J and j on the chart paper, I ask the students to raise their hand if they
know the letter. After giving the students time to raise their hand, I count to 3 and ask them to say what letter
they think it is aloud. During this assessment, I evaluate the students to see who raises their hand to show
that they think they know the letter, and then I listen to see if the students all participate in answering and
correctly say, J. I also assess the students when I ask them who has the letter J/j in their name. I evaluate to
ensure that all of the students with the letter raise their hands, and that all of the students without the letter
in their name do not raise their hands. Throughout the teaching of the lesson, I also ask the students to
determine different words that begin with the letter J/j, particularly through the reading of the book and
then the reading of the sentence connected to the book. I also ask the students what words they know that
begin with J/j and evaluate them to make sure that the students are all participating, as well as answering
correctly.
Assessment(s) at the end of the lesson:
At the end of the lesson, the students will be asked to complete a cutting and pasting activity. For the activity,
they will cut out pictures and place them either in a column for words that begin with J/j, or words that do
not begin with J/j. The pictures will also have the written word below them. This will show that the students
are able to identify the picture as an object starting with the j sound, as well as show that they are able to
correctly identify the letters J/j, because the pictures also include the written word, showing that they are
able to apply the knowledge of the visual letter as well.
Post-Assessment for the unit: At the conclusion of the unit, the students will complete an activity in which
they match the letters discussed S/s, J/j, and T/t to a picture of an object that begins with that letter. This
will allow the teacher to evaluate whether or not the students are able to identify both the upper- and
lowercase letters discussed, as well as determine the proper sound they make.

Strategies & Learning Tasks

(Anticipate Time for Each) Include time in each section.
Introduction
I will begin the lesson by excitedly telling the students that we will be learning a new letter. We will
then review the letters that we have already learned as a class. (5 minutes)
Presentation/Explicit Instruction
After discussing the letters the students have already learned, I will tell the students that we will be
learning a new letter. Then, I will tell the students that if they know the letter, they should raise their hand,
but not to say it aloud until I ask them to. Then, I will sing, When you want to write a letter, start at the top.,
as I write both J and j on the chart paper with a colored marker. After evaluating the students to see who
has raised their hand, I will ask them to say what they letter is aloud by singing, If you know this letter, raise
your hand. If you know this letter, raise your hand. On the count of 3, lets say it. All together! Here we go! 1, 2,
3. I will then see what students participate by saying, J, which will allow me to evaluate what students are
able to correctly identify the letter. Then, I will introduce the sound of the letter to the students by reading the
poem from the book No More Letter of the Week. I will read the poem to the students, stating Hold that
jackhammer, Break up the road. Keep a tight grip on a heavy, heavy load, And then make the j sound 3 times
while making the motion of moving a jackhammer. I will make the connection of this to the students by saying
that the sound that j makes is the same as the sound of a jackhammer.
Structured Practice/Exploration
After introducing the poem and letter sound to the students, I will practice the poem and letter sound
with the students. I will say each line of the poem, and have the students repeat it back to me. We will do this
several times in normal and animated voices, such as a giant voice, or an opera voice. Throughout the
repetition of the poem, I will evaluate the students level of participation in the repetition of the poem,
particularly in the repetition of the sound of the letter j.
Guided Practice/Specific Feedback
After practicing the poem, I will then read the letter book to the children, asking them to put their
hands on their head when they hear words that began with the letter j. This will allow for assessment and
evaluation of how well the students are able to hear and apply the sound of the letter j. Then, after reading
the book, I will show the students a written sentence from one of the sentences in the book, which will
include a word that begins with the letter J/j. Then, I read the sentence to the students, pointing at each
word as I read it. Then, I will tell the students that I will have my finger smoothly pass each letter, and ask
them to say, Stop, when they see the letter J/j. This will allow for assessment and evaluation of how well the
students can identify the grapheme. After practicing with the sentence, I will then introduce the student,
Mason, who will be the letter Jj expert. Then, Mason and I will find the letter Jj on the letter board at the
front of the room. I will then staple the sentence, corresponding picture for the letter Jj from the No More
Letter of the Week book, and Masons picture on the board. Then, I will give Mason a Ziplock baggie and ask
him to find an item at home that begins with the letter Jj and to place it in the baggie and bring it back to
school tomorrow. This baggie is sent home with a letter to the parents describing the assignment. Then, we
will review the poem, saying it together and practicing the sound for further reinforcement of the objective.

Independent Practice/Application
After practicing the poem again, I will describe the activity to the students. They will be given a paper
with two columns, which are labeled accordingly. One column will be for pictures of items that begin with the
letter Jj, and one will be for pictures of items that do not begin with the letter Jj. The students will be given
another sheet of paper, which will have a picture, along with the actual word of the picture, in each square of
paper. The students will be asked to cut along each dotted line to cut out the pictures, and then paste the
pictures in the proper column. The students will be able to apply their understanding of the sound of the
letter Jj by saying the name of the item in the picture and then applying whether or not it makes the proper
sound for Jj. They will be able to show their understanding of the grapheme Jj by looking at the labels for
each picture to determine whether or not it is a J or j. I will then evaluate these to see if the students were
able to accurately complete the activity.

Closure:
In closing the lesson, I will have the students place their papers on the drying rack as they are
completed. When everyone has finished, the students will come to the carpet, where I will ask the students
what letter we learned about that day, looking for them to all respond with J. Then, we will say the poem
together and repeat the sound 3 times, with the kinesthetic motion for the sound, in order to reinforce the
sound of the letter.
Differentiation, Individualized Instruction, and Assessment:
The struggling students will receive additional assistance and scaffolding throughout the completion
of the activity by helping them to make the connections between the sound and the letter for the object in the
picture. I also write the grapheme largely and in a bright color, making it visible for all students. In asking the
students to all raise their hands before identifying the letter, I provide the lower leveled learners with the
opportunity to think about the answer before the higher leveled learners automatically respond. For the
higher leveled learners, I ask more application leveled questions, as well as provide them with the
opportunities to actively participate in the lesson by answering the questions, including when they place their
hands on their head when they hear the words that begin with the letter, which allows them to stay involved
in the lesson and prevents them from losing focus due to lack of interest or boredom.

Research and Theory:

The instruction of this lesson provides opportunities for kinesthetic, interpersonal, audio, visual, and
linguistic learning in accordance to Howard Gardners multiple intelligences. It also provides the students
with opportunities for hands on activities and active participation in their own learning, which has been
shown to be very beneficial by multiple theorists. In accordance to Vygotsky, I also evaluate the students Zone
of Proximal Development with regard to the instruction, and scaffold each student accordingly.