Language Arts Lesson Plan- Tools of the Mind: Play Planning

Student Name: Danielle Hutchinson School Name: Children’s Corner by the River
Grade Level: Preschool

Guiding and/or Essential Questions:

How can self-regulation help us practice deliberate play actions?

How do we use resources such as the “Sound Map” to figure out the letters in a word?

Student Prior Knowledge

The preschool students have had experience with “Play Planning” on a daily basis. They
understand that each day’s “plan” is intended to be a reflection of what they plan to do in that day’s
center. All students have passed the “picture” phase of scaffolded writing, meaning that they are able to
draw a picture to represent their plan (For example, drawing a picture of themselves with a baby doll if
they plan to “be the mommy”). All students are also past the “message” and “lines” phase of
scaffolded writing, meaning that they are able to dictate a complete sentence about their plan and then
write one line for each word in that sentence. A majority of students are able to write the “initial
sounds” of each of their words (For example, writing “I M G T B T M” if they are writing “I am going
to be the mommy”). Many students are also able to decipher the “middle” and “ending” sounds. Along
with this, they have practiced self-regulation skills when sitting at a table and working in a group.

Standards:

0.2.4
Attend to tasks for a period of time.

RF.PK.2,a,b,c
Demonstrate understanding of spoken words and begin to understand syllables and sounds (phonemes).
a) Recognize and produce simple rhyming words. b) Segment syllables in spoken words by clapping
out the number of syllables. c) Identify many initial sounds of familiar words.

RF.PK.3,a, c
Demonstrate an understanding of beginning phonics and word skills. a) Associates many letters
(consonants and vowels as ready) with their names and their most frequent sounds. b) (Begins in
kindergarten) c) Recognize their name in print as well as other familiar print in the environment.

Learning Objectives and Assessments:

Learning Objectives Assessment
 The students will be able to exhibit self-
regulation skills in a group setting.
The students will be able to express a message
at their own zone of proximal development.
The students will work on their individual
assignments while seated in a group of peers.
The teacher will assess that the students are
engaging inhibitory control and purposefully
focusing at the task at hand.
The students will create messages by using
pictures, representative lines, and/or letters. The
teacher will assess that every student is
participating and responding according to the
individual’s ability level.

Materials/Resources:
● “Play Plan” paper.
● Center choice wheel and corresponding center clips.
● Center role and action mediator cards.
● The “Center Planning Record Sheet”.
● Markers and pencils.

Plan for set-up/distribution/cleanup of materials:

● The materials will be stored in a bin, one for each “Play Planning” group. One sheet of “Play
Plan” paper will be placed at each seat. Each child’s name tag will be placed alongside the
paper.

Lesson Procedure:
1. Lesson beginning:
○ The lesson will begin with the students sitting at their “Play Planning” group table.
2. The teacher will ask each student to choose a clip from the center choice wheel. The teacher
will write each students’ choice on the “Center Planning Record Sheet”.
3. Each student will be asked to dictate what they plan to do in that center, and the teacher will
record the level of their response. (For example, if a child says “I am going to be the mommy”,
the teacher will write “R” to dictate that the child said a “role”.)
4. The children will choose a marker and begin writing their “Play Plan”. This includes their
name, a picture of what they plan to do, and a message beginning with “ I am going to...”
5. The teacher will offer each child scaffolding based on their level of readiness. The scaffolding
will focus in on one aspect of the “Play Plan” each day. Scaffolding may include, but is not
limited to, deciphering a letter using the “Sound Map”, adding details to the picture, or assisting
with letter formation.
6. Lesson ending:
○ Each child will play in their centers after finished with their “Play Plan”. They will be
encouraged to follow through with the message that they created.

Key Questions:
● What do you plan to do in your center?
● How can you made your picture more detailed?
● How can “stretching out” a word help us decipher its’ letter sounds?
● How can we use the “Sound Map” as a guide when deciphering a words’ letter sounds?
● How can we check our work?
 ● How does self-regulation help us learn more in school?

Logistics:
Timing:
The lesson will last approximately fifteen minutes. The students’ center selection should take
approximately five minutes. The remaining time will be spent by the students working independently
and with teacher scaffolding.

Transitions:
To catch the student’s attention at the beginning of this lesson, the teacher will perform the “Itsy
Bitsy Spider” fingerplay. Students will be able to transition from the “Play Planning” table to their
centers independantly once they finished their own “Play Plan”.

Classroom Management:
The teacher will be sure to make expectations explicit and clear from the beginning of the
lesson. The teacher will remind students to continue showing respect to their peers, to the materials,
and to the teacher for the entirety of the lesson. To call the students attention, the teacher will yell,
“Macaroni and Cheese”, and the students will respond by saying, “Everybody Freeze”. If a student
misbehaves, they will be “clipped down” on the behavior chart. As well, positive behavior will be
rewarded by having students “clip up” or by offering a “marble” to the class marble jar.

Differentiation
The “Play Plan” groups are each made of students of varying abilities. When the seats are
arranged, advanced students will be seated next to students in need of additional assistance. As each
student selects a center, the teacher will scaffold that individual based on their zone of proximal
development. For instance, a student who is on the “Lines” phase of scaffolded writing might work
with the teacher to count how many lines are needed to represent his or her sentence. A student who is
on the “Initial Sounds” phase might work with the teacher to decipher the initial sound of one of his or
her sentence’s words using the “Sound Map”. Every student is assisted according to their level of
readiness. The class’ English Language Learners will be provided with extra time with the center role
and action cards and will receive additional teacher scaffolding as needed.