Lesson Example 1

Lesson Title: Counting Words

Focus of Lesson: Concepts of Print

Grade Level: First Grade

Standard: 1.RF.1 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

Rationale Our course textbook author, Tompkins (2017), states that young children have a wide
variety of literacy experiences in both middle-class and working-class families, even though
those experiences might be different. Using signs in the classroom, a list of classroom rules,
labeling classroom items, writing notes to parents, and more can provide opportunities for young
students to experiment with writing and reading. Through
these experiences, children learn that print carries meaning
and that reading and writing are used for an abundance of
purposes.

Learning Target - I can understand the meaning of basic

print.

Materials Needed
● Smart board/white board
● Pre-written sentences on the white board/smart
board
● Paper for exit slip

Brief Description of Lesson: (think about how you will

gradually release responsibility to students)
● MINI-LESSON (I do, We do) - Tell class, “I have
written a message on the board for the class today. Let’s read this together”. Teacher and
students read the message on the board together. Explain to students, “we have been
learning about words, and we know that when we put letters together they make up
words! I am going to circle all the words that I see in this sentence”. While circling the
words, it is important to count out loud for each word circled. “Wow! There are five
words in this sentence.” Write the number 5 by the sentence. Read sentence aloud with
students. Ask a volunteer to circle how many words they see in the second sentence, and
make sure they count aloud with each circle they make. Once the student has finished
circling, urge the class to count together as you point to each circle made in the sentence.
After counting, ask students to say how many words are in that sentence. Students should
respond with “3”. Write the number 3 next to the sentence. Ask students, “Which number
is greater? Three or five?”. Students should respond with “5”. Then say, “Yes! 5 is
greater! So, which sentence has more words, the first or the second?” Students should
respond by saying the first sentence has the most words.
 ● WORK-TIME (You do) - Have students volunteer to circle all the words in each
sentence. Students should be presented with 3 or 4 new sentences that they can work on
their own. Make sure students count as they circle, and record the number of words in the
sentence after they figure it out. Try to refrain from verbal cues with students, as they
should do this practice by themselves.
● CLOSURE - Close this lesson by having students turn in an exit slip that contains them
writing a sentence, circling all the words, and the number of words in that sentence listed
nearby the statement.
● LINK/Book and Page Number of Resources:
○ Balanced Literacy Diet. Retrieved 17 October 2019, from
https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/balancedliteracydiet/Recipe/50641/
○ Tompkins, G., & Campbell, R. (2014). Literacy for the 21st Century. Pearson Australia
Pty Ltd.

Lesson Example 2

Lesson Title: Phonemic Awareness with Letters

Focus of Lesson: Phonological Awareness

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Standard: K.RF.2 Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds

(phonemes)

Rationale: According to our course textbook author Tompkins (2017), students should be
provided with language-rich environments while wordplay is emphasized as well. The book also
mentioned that teachers should read books and include their students in singing songs, chanting
poems, and telling riddles. The book describes that students who began first grade with strong
phonemic awareness exceeded regardless of what type of
reading instruction they received.

Learning Target - I can blend

and spell words.

Materials Needed
● CVC words printed and
cut out for groups who are
practicing skill
● Small dry-erase board
● Dry-erase marker & eraser
Brief Description of Lesson:
(think about how you will
gradually release responsibility to students)
 ● MINI-LESSON (I do, We do) - Remind students how we previously learned about
sound/spellings and how we break apart words to sound them out. “Today I am going to
show you how to blend words sound by sound. Watch me blend this first word.” Grab the
white board and print the letter ‘m’ and say “sound? Mmmm”. While saying “/mmm/”,
point to ‘m’ simultaneously. Print the letter ‘a’after the m and say “sound?” while
pointing to the ‘a’. Still pointing to the ‘a’, say “/aaa/”. Start at the beginning of the word
and say “blend”, and then scoop your finger under the m and a as you blend the sounds
together without breaking: “/mmmaaaa/”. Keep doing this with the entire word, and when
you get to reading the whole word tell the class, “now watch as i read the whole word”.
Start at the beginning of the word and quickly sweep a finger under the whole word and
say mat. Repeat the same routine with the word pat, but have students answer when
asking “sound?”, “blend”, “read the whole word”.
● WORK-TIME (You do) - Tell the class, “now it is your turn to sound out words.
Remember that when I point to a letter, say the sound for the letter. When I scoop my
finger under the letters, blend the sound together. When I sweep my finger under the
word, say the whole word!” Use the white board again and do the same strategies in the
“i do, we do”, but just use a finger while doing this and refrain from using verbal cues.
● CLOSURE - Close this lesson by having students go back to their desks to practice
sounding out words with a partner. Each group should be given a set of CVC words
which are printed and cut out of paper.
● LINK/Book and Page Number of Resources:
○ Tompkins, G., & Campbell, R. (2014). Literacy for the 21st Century. Pearson Australia
Pty Ltd.
○ “Phonemic Awareness with Letters” Lesson Model for Explicit Phonics.

Lesson Example 3

Lesson Title: Get on the Bus and Spell!

Focus of Lesson: Phonics

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Standard: K.RF.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding
words.

Rationale: Phonics teaches students how to decode letters into their sounds, which is a skill that
is crucial for them to read unknown words by themselves. Letter-sound knowledge allows
students to make the connection between the unfamiliar print words to their spoken knowledge.

Learning Target - I can spell words.

Materials Needed
● Laminated “bus mat” page (enough for each group of students to have one)
● Laminated short vowel picture cards (enough for each group of students to have)
 ● Dry erase markers for
students
● Dry erase erasers for
students

Brief Description of Lesson:

(think about how you will
gradually release responsibility
to students)
● MINI-LESSON (I do,
We do) - Start the activity
by saying, “Class! We are
going to be participating in a fun activity that helps us
spell words! First, I will show you how to do this. Next, we can practice together. Once
everyone has the hang of it, we will split up into groups and spend the rest of class doing
this activity! Do we have our listening ears on?” Grab out your bus mat page and place
the picture of the cab on the door of the bus, because it wants to get on the bus. In the
white windows of the bus, spell out C-A-B with a dry erase marker. Erase and repeat with
a couple more pictures for practice.
● WORK-TIME (You do) - Have students volunteer to come up and spell the word for
each picture. Do this until the whole class seems to understand the concept of the activity.
● CLOSURE - Close this lesson by dividing the students into groups and give each group
a bus mat, dry-erase marker, dry-erase eraser, and a collection of cut out laminated
pictures. Make sure you walk around and make sure the students are staying on task and
understanding what they’re supposed to do. (I only included one picture of CVC words in
this lesson plan, but in the link below there are pictures that include words with the short
A, short I, short E, short O, and short U)
● LINK/Book and Page Number of Resources:
○ Saucier, M. Short Vowel CVC Spelling!. Retrieved 18 October 2019, from
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Short-Vowel-CVC-Spelling-Back-to-
School-Freebie-1943786
○ Schalit, N. (2017). Explainer: what is phonics and why is it important?. Retrieved 18
October 2019, from http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-phonics-and-why-
is-it-important-70522

Lesson Example 4

Lesson Title: Use a Teaching Voice

Focus of Lesson: Fluency

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Standard: K.RF.4 Read emergent-reader texts with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support
comprehension.

Rationale: Fluency is the ability to read smoothly, accurately,

and with expression. Readers who are fluent are able to
recognize words quickly without struggling over decoding
issues. It is important to teach fluency to young readers because
it bridges between word recognition and comprehension.
Fluency also helps students by giving them time to focus on
what the text is saying.

Learning Target - I can read and understand text. I can read

books with expression.

Materials Needed
● A variety of nonfiction texts.
● Anchor chart paper
● Markers

Brief Description of Lesson: (think about how you will gradually release responsibility to
students)
● MINI-LESSON (I do, We do) - Tell students, “As we continue learning about books
and how they are written, it is important that when we read STORIES, we read them in
voice or tone the character would use. In stories, people talk and characters do things
while the narrator explains it all. In INFORMATIONAL books, the author is trying to
teach us something. I am going to read a story about a bear character, and then another
story that TEACHES us about bears. While we have our listening ears on, try to listen to
the difference between the two stories.” Model each of these stories by using a grizzly
voice when the bear character is talking in the first story, and in the second story use a
teacher voice while reading the students information about bears. After you finish
reading, point out one thing you did differently with your voice between the two books.
Have students volunteer to answer what else was different between the two books.
● WORK-TIME (You do) - Show the students a variety of books that are stories and
informational. It might be helpful to read a couple lines of each book. Have students
answer for themselves about which book is a story, and which text is an informational.
After identifying what the book classifies as, try to have as many students volunteer and
read in either their character or teacher voice.
● CLOSURE - Close the lesson by creating an anchor chart with the students about how to
read books with expression.
● LINK/Book and Page Number of Resources:
○ Serravallo, J. (2015). The Reading Strategies Book (p. 41).
○ Nieporent, F. (2012). What Is Reading Fluency and Why Is It Important?. Retrieved 18
October 2019, from https://mylearningspringboard.com/what-is-reading-fluency-
and-why-is-it-important/