LESSON PLAN

Teachers Name: Hannah McAllister

Focus of the Lesson: Word Study
Grade Level(s): 1st Grade
Standard(s): SOL Writing Standard 1.12:
The student will print legibly.
A) Form letters accurately
C) Use the alphabetic code to write unknown words phonetically.
SOL Writing Standard 1.13:
F) Use correct spelling for commonly used sight words and phonetically regular words in final
copies

Materials:
Teacher materials:
Beginning sounds activity:
- laminated or index cards with middle/ending sounds (EX: -ig, -it, -ag, -at, -og, -ot)
- laminated pictures to match with the middle/ending sound cards (EX: pig & -ig, pit & -it, bat
&-at, bag & -at, log & -og, lot & -ot)
Beginning blends activity:
-laminated or index cards with beginning blends (EX: sl-, st-, pl-, pr-, bl-, br-)
-laminated pictures to match with the beginning blends (EX: sl- & sleep, st- & stick, pl- & play,
pr- & pray, bl- & blow, br- and brown)
Middle sounds activity:
-laminated sheets of words with middle sounds missing (EX: h__pe, n__ght, k__te, l__te, r__ght,
t__ght, etc.)
-dry erase marker for student to fill in missing sound

Student materials: students are given all necessary materials by teacher

Procedures:
 Minutes What is the teacher What is the student
doing? doing?
2 minutes for instruction Beginning Sounds activity; Listens, repeats directions
teacher explains activity back to teacher to affirm
and hands out materials understanding
after explanation
8 minutes for activity Asks student guided Student uses the given cards
questions, gives help if to match up the pairs. She
necessary first looks at the ending
sounds given, and has to
find the picture that matches
with that ending sound (For
example, if the card says
-ig, she should look for
the picture of a pig).
Student does this until all
cards have a match (about
8-10 cards)
2 minutes for instruction Beginning Blends Activity; Listens, then repeats
teacher explains activity directions back to teacher to
and hands out materials to affirm understanding
student
8 minutes for activity Asks student guided Student uses the given cards
questions, gives help if to match up the pairs. She
necessary first looks at the beginning
blend sounds given, and has
to find the picture that
matches with that sound
(For example, if the card
says

2 minutes for instruction Middle Sounds Activity;
teacher explains activities
and hands out materials to
student
8 minutes for activity Asks student guided
questions, gives help if
necessary
30 minutes total
st-, she should look for
the picture of a stick).
Student does this until all
cards have a match (about
8-10 cards)
Listening, repeats directions
back to teacher to affirm
understanding
Student uses the laminated
sheets with the dry-erase
marker to fill in the missing
middle sounds (For
example, each word will
have a missing vowel
sound, which she will have
to fill out: h __ pe, k __ te,
n__ ght, etc.)
 RATIONALE

vii. I determined the focus of this lesson by analyzing what my case study student

struggled the most with. While all the activities were a level of difficulty for her, the hardest

activity seemed to be the primary spelling test. From analyzing both the good and bad of her

work, I saw that she struggles with middle sounds, and how they relate to ending and beginning

sounds. From there, I decided that word study would be the focus of my lesson plan for her.

More specifically, word sorting. The first two activities are guess my category sorts, while the

third is more of brainstorming. I specifically chose the guess my category type of sorting for

the first two because of the description given in Words Their Way, because pictures are a good

bridge to understanding for English learners, it is important to start with picture sorts (Words

Their Way, 2012). Because of her performance on previous assessments and classroom activities,

I know that she understands much better with the visual support of a picture. For the third

activity, I thought a different activity would be best, to help keep things interesting for my

student.

viii. My goal for this lesson, and long-term wise for my student, Alicia, is to see patterns

in word study, and understanding the sounds that letters make, both separately and together. I

have seen what she struggles with, and I know how it will affect her learning in the long run if

she does not have a firm grasp on it now. From first grade on, the concepts and words only build

on each other. Understanding these patterns and having a general understanding of words

themselves are the foundational knowledge for upper level reading and writing.

ix. After looking at the Virginia SOL Standards, these are the ones that I feel most

exemplify my goal. Starting with SOL Writing Standard 1.12: The student will print legibly. A)

Form letters accurately C) Use the alphabetic code to write unknown words phonetically
(Virginia Department of Education). While this was not discussed in my overall goal, being able

to accurately write the letters to form the words is completely necessary for a fluent writer. C) is

also important, because whether the word is spelled right, effort is key. Even from a fluent

English speakers perspective, phonetically spelled words make more sense than correct English

spellings, so if the student is spelling words the way they sound, she is on the right track. Next,

SOL Writing Standard 1.13: F) Use correct spelling for commonly used sight words and

phonetically regular words in final copies (Virginia Department of Education). Because many

of the words in the primary spelling inventory are sight words, the student must be able to

recognize these patterns and apply them to unfamiliar words that they meet.

All of these standards are first grade SOL writing standards, found on the Virginia Department of

Education website.

x. I am looking forward to seeing Alicias improvement from the last few activities we

did, and how this will help her in the long run. Based on the times that we have done one-on-one

activities together, I know that it makes her feel special and different from her classmates.

Because she is one of the quieter students, this is very meaningful to her, and she feels more

comfortable speaking up in smaller settings than in front of the whole class. From an academic

perspective, she is a quick learner, and I think these activities, if done regularly and with a

variety of words, will help her greatly.

xi. Any nervousness created by this lesson plan is only because of my own abilities. I

have a tendency to give directions in a long and rambling manner, rather than straight and to the

point. I believe that the activities themselves are sound, but my delivery of the directions could

make it more confusing and frustrating for Alicia than it needs to be. This will get better with

time, when I have had more experience teaching. Even with the experience I have had so far, I
have become much more conscious of the words that I say and my speed of speech, particularly

when speaking to English Language Learners.

xii. As for next steps, I think Alicia will need more activities like this to ensure that

she has a firm grasp on this foundational knowledge of word study and spelling. I do not know

the level of English that her parents speak, but word study at home would be helpful for her to

move on. Even if her parents speak little to no English, letting Alicia take an activity home and

asking them to help her would benefit both her and her parents. ESL support in the school is also

necessary for Alicia to reach her full potential. Because of the lack of ESL teachers in my host

school and the amount of newcomer ELLs, Alicia and the other EL students in my classroom

receive no extra help, other than a reading specialist. These next steps are dependent on not just

Alicias classroom teacher, but many other parties as well. The saying it takes a village to raise

a child is true, especially in a school context. The student needs love and attention from many

different areas of his or her life, in order to reach their fullest potential as a student.
 References:

Virginia Department of Education. Standards of Learning Documents for English. (2010).

Retrieved from:
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/2010/stds_english1.p
df

Helman, L.; Bear, D.R; Templeton, S.; Invernizzi, M; Johnston, F. Words Their Way with
English Learners. (2012). Pearson Education.