One of the most crucial jobs of a preschool instructor is to create a lesson plan. Planning your classes can not only make you feel more prepared, but it will also help you improve classroom management and address the needs of individual children. Additionally, preparing a lesson plan will alleviate some of the stress associated with teaching.
The first step in this approach is to consider the entire year. You should first prepare a yearly or monthly outline of the subjects you intend to teach and the skills you intend to emphasize. This allows you to incorporate holidays, seasons, and other events into your lesson plans. Furthermore, planning out the year ahead of time will allow you to acquire materials, set up learning centers, and organize field trips.
The following step in this process is to create weekly or daily lesson plans. Concepts, skill objectives, activities, and so on should all be included in these classes. This weekly calendar will allow you to plan out your days hour by hour in greater depth in order to achieve successful time management in class.
The weekly lesson plan style should include many blocks of time, usually beginning with circle time. Typically, circle time includes attendance, the promise, the date, weather discussion, a review of the week, and an introduction to the lesson. The introduction to the lesson should be included in the lesson plan. When deciding how to introduce the day’s lesson, several factors must be addressed. For example, what is your goal; what do you want the pupils to learn? How are you going to get their attention? What are some of the most important questions you may ask? For instance, suppose your topic for the week is bears. You might wish to talk about different sections of the bear’s body during circle time. This can be accomplished by displaying a picture or a stuffed animal.
You will need to organize various other aspects of the day in addition to circle time. Your lesson plan structure should include a block of time for reading preparation, as well as a book that corresponds to the theme that you intend to read to the children. What are your plans for incorporating your theme into a math and science lesson? A craft, music, activities that allow children to use their large and small motor abilities and a snack should all be included in your daily lesson plan.
You may effectively keep children motivated and interested by allotting time for each task you intend to tackle. You will also be able to successfully split up the day so that the children can release energy with a huge motor skill exercise while also calming down with a craft or snack.
For detailed information on creating lesson plans for your preschool class in addition to lesson plan examples, please feel free to contact me via my contact page above.
Sample Inclusive Lesson Plans
Grade Level: Grade One
Subject / Content Area: Math
Unit of Study: Time
Lesson Title: Tell & Write Time to the Hour
| Central Focus for the learning segment: Students will use grade-level grammar and fluency to tell time to the hour with accuracy. |
| Content Standard(s): NYS CCLS or Content Standards (List the number and text of the standard. If only a portion of a standard is being addressed, then only list the relevant part[s].) CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.B.3 Tell and write time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocks |
| Learning Objectives associated with the content standards: Given slit clocks, visual support, and a worksheet with questions, students will be able to tell and write time to the hour with 85% accuracy. |
| Instructional Resources and Materials to engage students in learning: Whiteboard Dry-erase markers Digital and analog clocks Paper plate Scissors Pencils |
| Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks that support diverse student needs. (Include what you and students will be doing.): The teacher will engage students using a real analog clock to activate prior knowledge and help them understand the meaning of an analog clock. The teacher will use small groups to help increase student participation in the lesson. The teacher will engage students using hands-on activities to enhance their understanding of the learning goal. |
| Differentiation and planned universal supports: ELLs will be provided with instructions in their native language.ELLs will work with a paraprofessional in a small group setting as students are working in pairs. |
| Language Function students will develop. Additional language demands and language supports: The language function that students will develop in this lesson is: “tell and write time to the hour” The language forms that will support students’ ability to participate in this lesson include vocabulary and discourse. The content-specific vocabulary that students will need to know includes words such as “hour” “minute” “analog clock” “hour hand” and “minute hand” Students will use language to participate in this lesson as they use content-specific words when showing and telling time. |
| Type of Student Assessments and what is being assessed: Informal Assessment: The teacher will activate prior knowledge and engage students in the lesson by asking them to state what time they woke up this morning and the time they arrived at school. As students are responding the teacher will provide positive feedback as he/she jots down the responses on the whiteboard. The teacher will then place an analog clock in front of the class and invite volunteer students to come and show the class what time they woke this morning. During this time, the teacher will provide positive feedback. The teacher will then tell students that in this lesson, they are going to learn how to show and tell time. The teacher will point at the clock on the wall and tell students that it is known as an analog clock. The teacher will further explain that the analog clock has two hands whereby the shorter hand represents the hours and the longer hand represent minutes. The teacher will move the hour hand to number 7 and tell students that without even focusing on the long hand they can already tell that the time is around seven o’clock because the hour hand is pointing at 7. The teacher will repeat this activity with other numbers on the analog clock. The teacher will then tell students that one hour has sixty minutes and write it on the whiteboard for reference. The teacher will bring out a pre-made slit clock that shows the numbers in minutes instead of hours and tell students, “Even though our first analog did not show us the minutes, when you see the dashes in between the numbers 1, 2, 3, … 12, you need to think of them as skip counts of five.”The teacher will activate prior knowledge by having students read aloud the skip counts of five from 00 to 55 as indicated on the slit clock as he/she provides enough support and positive feedback. Using another premade slit clock that shows the numbers in hours, the teacher will show and tell students, “The short hour hand is pointing at 7 while the minute hand is pointing at 12. If we think of these spaces as skip counts of 5, we find that number 12 is the same as 00 minutes. So, the time is 7:00 o’clock.” The teacher will repeat this process using two more examples. Formal Assessment: The teacher will tell students that they are going to work in groups and create their own analog slit clocks which will help them in telling the time. The teacher will then have them sit in pairs and hand out two paper plates, dry-erase markers, and a pair of scissors to each student pair. The teacher will instruct students to use the dry-erase marker and indicate the hours 1 to 12 around one of the paper plates. Using a pair of scissors, the teacher will model how to cut a slit at the number 12 to the Centre of the plate and have students do the same. Using the second paper plate, the teacher will cut out a small circle, draw the hour hand, and cut a slit as well. The teacher will then slide the small circle through the slit on the paper clock and move around the class to check whether all student pair have properly created their slit clocks as he provides support and positive feedback. The teacher will then write different times i.e 2:00, 5:00, 9:00, etc, on the whiteboard. Students groups will be invited to come in front of the class and use their slit clocks to show the time written on the whiteboard and say it aloud. During this time, the teacher will provide enough support and positive feedback. The teacher will then break the student pairs and hand out the “telling time to the hour” worksheet and pencils to each student. Students will be instructed to independently have a look at the time indicated on the images and write down the correct time on their worksheets. The teacher will walk around the classroom during this time to check if all students are on-task. After all, students are done, the teacher will collect all worksheets for review and assessment. At the end of the lesson, the teacher will review the lesson by asking students simple think-aloud questions to assess their understanding of the learning goal. i.e “How do we call the shorthand on an analog clock?” etc Modifications to the Assessments: Struggling students will be provided with a worksheet that has incomplete words and instructed to complete the words using appropriate letters and read aloud the time shown on the images. Gifted students will be instructed to tell the time in five minutes intervals instead of the hour and half hour. |
| Evaluation Criteria: Fail = 1-4 correct Fair = 4-6 correct Good = 6-8 correct Excellent = 9-10 correct |
| Relevant theories and/or research best practices: Theory of Cognitive Development by Jean Piaget- The teacher provides students with positive feedback throughout the lesson and a wide range of experiences to help build a foundation for concept learning as well as language. Scaffolding by Lev Vygotsky- The teacher will engage students using small groups that include students with different skills sets and learning levels. |
| Lesson Timeline: 45 Minutes |
One-Week Unit Plan
Overview of the Unit
Sixth-grade students will be engaged in this unit by a book titled “Jades Journey” by Julieann, T. Randall. The book is divided into eight chapters, each of which focuses on different themes that promote social, emotional, and interaction skills. The lessons in this unit have been carefully structured based on the themes and topics identified in the book in order to help students improve their decision-making abilities, foster positive relationships, demonstrate empathy, appreciate other people’s perspectives, and manage their emotions. Students will be supported using various learning technologies such as Smartboard, Chromebook, & laptops/tablets, as well as materials, and hands-on activities that will keep them engaged in the lessons and assist them in remembering and practicing learned concepts.
>>>>>>>>>DOWNLOAD THE UNIT PLAN HERE<<<<<<<<<<
Social and emotional learning is essential for students especially those in elementary schools as this is the time when students interact more with their peers. Thus, the overall objective of this one-week unit was to help children understand how to interact positively with their peers and form positive relationships. In this unit, students join a young girl named Jade on her journey to find new friends in her new school. The book has eight chapters with each chapter focusing on a specific social-emotional and interaction theme as Jade tries to get through her first day of school. All the lessons have been carefully structured based on the themes and topics identified in the book in order to help students improve their decision-making abilities, foster positive relationships, demonstrate empathy, appreciate other people’s perspectives, and manage their emotions.
It is true that most schools today have an increased number of multicultural and multilingual students from diverse social and economic backgrounds. As a result, it is essential for students to learn and display good social skills when interacting with peers from other ethnic communities. Likewise, teachers should serve students with different motivation strategies and enough support for engaging in learning, behaving positively, and performing academically (Jones, et.al, 2015). The lessons in this unit involve the use of various technologies to motivate and engage students in participating in the lessons and understanding the set learning objectives. Some of these technologies and learning supports include a Smartboard, Chromebooks, Laptops, tablets, speakers, and a teacher’s computer with internet access. Most of the learning content for this will be organized using the Kahoot App which is a mobile and computer learning application that makes it easier for students to access different lesson materials using their mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and/or Chromebooks.
>>>>>>>>>DOWNLOAD THE UNIT PLAN HERE<<<<<<<<<<
Technology integrations assume a larger role in student learning as it serves to prepare students to be globally engaged, civically responsible, and active learner (Wieking, 2016). Using different kinds of technology in this unit made the lessons more interactive and engaging as students enjoyed completing worksheets and other activities using their Chromebooks, laptops, and/or tablets. These devices also made it easier to translate the read-aloud text into different native languages to help ELLs understand the contents. At some point during the sessions, students also got to come up to the interactive board and present their answers and thoughts to the whole class. Most of the time, students were excited about learning using their devices which increased their participation in the assigned tasks and understanding of the learning goals.
According to Durlak et.al (2011), social-emotional learning not only improves achievement, but also enhances prosocial behaviors such as kindness, sharing, and empathy. Additionally, SEL improves students’ attitudes toward school and reduces depression among students. In this unit, students will be engaged using whole group and small group discussions that will give students an opportunity to interact with peers and practice the learned skill in each session. The lessons also include a coordinated classroom that has a general ed. teacher and an assistant/paraprofessional both of whom ensure that all students are fully engaged in the lesson. Furthermore, the lessons involve hands-on practices and activities, as well as real-life community practices that help students develop self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making skills.
Using large- and small-group discussions gives students an opportunity to use language to think and share ideas as well as opinions about a given topic, which is very essential for fostering critical thinking skills. Large-group or whole-class discussions have been designed in these lessons in such a way that all students present in the classroom will hear and contribute to a shared, common set of concepts. According to Kizilaslan et.al, effective discussions result from effective questions and thorough student preparation (2012). Hence, students will participate in these discussions using think-aloud questions to help guide their thought and responses.
>>>>>>>>>DOWNLOAD THE UNIT PLAN HERE<<<<<<<<<<
References
Durlak, J.A., Weissberg, R.P., Dymnicki, A.B., Taylor, R.D., & Schellinger, K.B. (2011). “The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions.” Child Development, 82, pp.405-432.
Jones, D.E., Greenberg, M., & Crowley, M. (2015). “Early social-emotional functioning and public health: The relationship between kindergarten social competence and future wellness.” American Journal of Public Health, 105(11), pp.2283-2290.
Kizilaslan, A., Sozbilir, M., &Yasar, M. (2012). Inquiry based teaching in Turkey. International Journal of Environmental Science & Education. 7(4). 599-617
Wieking, B.A. (2016). Technology integration and student learning motivation (Master’s thesis, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA).Retrieved from http://nwcommons.nwciowa.edu/education_masters/5/
The Inclusive Mind 