Lesson Cycle

Lesson Title/Topic: What goes first?

Target Concept: Alphabetizing 1st Grade-Language Arts
Standards/Rationale: 110.12 (6E) Alphabetize a series of words to the first or
second letter and use a dictionary to find words.
Lesson Objectives: The learner will practice
alphabetizing words by first and second letter on
a worksheet with 80% accuracy.

Assessment:
Completed Beat the Clock
Worksheet.

Materials: Books: Eating the Alphabet, Sleepy ABC, Alphabet Under Construction,
Marimba and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Dictionary, Phone Book, ABC Letter Sheet,
Pointer, 4 sets of Alphabet Flashcards, Word Flashcards, online timer, 2 long word
folders (attached to the white board), projector, dry erase markers, alphabet-o
game (1 per pair of students), ABC Beat the Clock Work sheet, Index cards-Each
students name labeled on one card.
Lesson Cycle: (Direct instruction)
The teacher will:
Focus/Mental Set:
Display other ABC books on the table
including: Eating the Alphabet, Sleepy
ABC, Alphabet Under Construction,
Marimba and Chicka Chicka Boom
Boom.
Along with ABC books, display other
books that are alphabetized including:
The Dictionary & a Phone Book
Have students meet on the carpet for
the story, Marimba
Ask students what kind of order the
story was in (alphabetical, ABC).
Ask students what else is in
alphabetical order (the phone book,
their names on the roll, etc.).
Skim another alphabet stories
displayed, emphasizing the order and
comparing it to the shelves.
Teacher Input:
Have a group discussion on what they

The student will:

Listen to teacher read
Marimba
Briefly discuss order
and what type of order
the story was in.
Identify other forms of
Alphabetized lists,
books, etc.

Define order

think the word order means?

Order is rank or arrangement of people
or things.
Ask students what they think it is used
for?
Incorporate alphabetical order into the
group discussion.
Discuss the importance of knowing how
to alphabetize. Hold up the telephone
book. Tell the class that the names are
written in alphabetical order in this
book. This helps us to quickly locate
information and names quickly and
easy.
Display ABC Order Sheet on Projector.
Cover bottom two rows on sheet.
Call on a student and have them point
to 2-3 designated letters.
Uncover the 2nd row of letters and call
on a different student. (The order of the
second row is backwards.)
Repeat the process and see if it takes
them any longer to identify the letters
since they are now backwards.
Last, uncover the 3rd row and call on a
final student to come identify 2-3
letters. (Letters are in random order
this time)
Advise students they will be playing a
game of ABC, Beat the Clock to practice
Alphabetizing.
Divide class into teams of four (1 group
will need to be a group of five) and pass
out 1 set of Alphabet Cards per team.
Set online timer to 3 minutes.
(https://www.google.com/webhp?
sourceid=chromeinstant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF8#q=free%20online%20timer)
Students will have 3 mins to see if any
group is able to arrange their cards in
ABC order before time goes off.
Have students return to seats and
advise we are now going to practice
placing words in alphabetical order.
Provide examples on the board. (3
words: Car, Bat, Mug, emphasizing on
the first letter of each word and asking
students which word would come first.

Identify letters both

from ordered and
unordered sets.
Participate in ABC
Beat the Clock.
Participate in Word
Beat the Clock
Discuss and learn how
to alphabetize words
by their second letter.

Rearrange on board as Bat, Car, Mug)

Tell class they will play another round of
Beat the Clock with words this time.
Divide the class into two teams. Explain
to the class that three cards with words
will be put in random order on each
side of the two pocket charts located on
opposite ends of the chalkboard and
the first person who puts the names in
order will receive a point for their row.
The timer will be set for 90 seconds.
The winner will be the one who
arranges the card the quickest in ABC
order. That winner will get a point for
their team. If the buzzer goes off before
they figure it out, neither side will get a
point.
Repeat the game until everyone has
had a turn. After each turn, give the
student volunteers a chance to tell their
peers how they put the words in
alphabetical order in their own words.
Demonstrate how to alphabetize words
with the second letter.
Write the words: box, bat and bite on
the board.
Ask for a student volunteer to come to
the board and underline the first letter
in each word.
Instruct the students that when the first
letter in the word is the same we have
to look at the second letter when we
arrange words in ABC order.
Ask for a volunteer to underline the
second letter in each word.
When the student has underlined the
second letter. Ask him and the class to
only look at the second letter to find
which word will come first in
alphabetical or ABC order. Ask the class
to look closely at box, bat and bite. Ask
which comes first in the alphabet o,a or
the letter i? Get responses.
When a student correctly says letter a,
write a number one beside bat and
explain that this would come first in
alphabetical order. Ask which letter
comes next in the alphabet the o or the
i? Get responses. When a student

correctly says i, write the number 2

beside bite and explain that that word
will come next in alphabetical order.
Then write a 3 beside box and explain
that this word comes last because the o
is the last letter of the alphabet.
Guided Practice:
Tell students they will now be given the
opportunity to practice alphabetizing
words by their second letter through a
game of Alphabet-O.
Have student to pick a buddy to sit next
to at their desk.
Give a group discussion to provide
directions of how to place the game as
followed.
Directions: Shuffle Cards and deal out
10 cards per person. Advise all students
when advised to do so, they may begin
organizing their cards in Alphabetical
order. The first one to finish in the pair
will yell Alphabet-O and their partner
will check their order. Game can be
repeated as needed.
Independent Practice:
Have students return to their original
seats.
Pass out the ABC Beat the Clock
Worksheet, one to each student.
Give directions for the worksheet and
work out two examples together.
Allow time for each student to complete
and turn in.
As students finish, allow them to work
with Alphabet-o words individually until
all students have completed the
worksheet.
Closure:
Give each student an index card with
their last name displayed on it.
In order for students to be dismissed,
advise them that they must line up in
alphabetical order through class
teamwork.

Options:
Enrichment:

Work with partners to

race and see who can
alphabetically order
their set first.

Complete ABC Beat

the Clock worksheet
independently.

Arrange themselves
in alphabetical order
through group
collaboration.

Reteach:

Modifications/Correctives:

References: