EDU 542 Lesson Plan Format

EDU 542 Lesson Plan

Behavioral Theory
Vocabulary Acquisition Pgs. 211-241
SPED Moderate/Severe Science 3rd-5th

Lesson plan@ 50 and Reflection/Teaching @ 50

1. MATERIALS/PREPLANNING
 Materials – story about plant parts, video about plant parts, a grown plant with visible parts (roots,
stem, leaves, flower), seed, PowerPoint with words and pictures, anchor chart paper, markers,
matching worksheet names to pictures.
 Vocabulary – seed, seed coat, roots, stem, leaves, flower
 Literature – If I Were a Plant- Unique Curriculum Leveled Reader

2. OBJECTIVE
 Students will be able to identify the parts of a plant (seed, roots, stem, leaves, flower). Students will be
able to know the names of the parts of the plants and locate them on a picture of a plant.
 DOK Level 1 Recall and DOK Level 2 Skill/Concept
 CCSS.RL. 3.4- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing
literal from nonliteral language.
 CCSS.RL 4.4- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those
that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g., Herculean).
 CCSS.RL 5.5- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

3. ASSESSMENT Perfect Assessment Tool Rationale:

 Students will be given an informal assessment
through the completion of a worksheet at the
end of the lesson.
 This assessment will support the brain in the
learning process because it will help the
students to make connections and express their
learning. This will help me to understand what
the students learned and it allows me to
control the prompts and differentiation that the
students receive. From the completion on the
worksheet, I will be able to document the data
to track the students learning and continue
teaching until they reach understanding. I will
also be able to informally assess as we are
working through and learning the material as I
am asking the questions and taking teacher
observations so I can continue to work with
them along the way so they can understand to
the best of their abilities.
 This assessment links with the Vocabulary
Acquisition Model because it tests the
students’ knowledge of the focused
vocabulary in the lesson. It provides an
opportunity to see if the students have learned
the vocabulary and if they have made
connections to the words. It will reveal the
outcomes of the lesson and whether it was
studied in a meaningful context or if they did
not learn (p.228). I will use the same icons and
visuals as used throughout the lesson as well
and physical models of the words so I can
provide the students will accurate information
of the words that relate to the unit of learning
about plants, their parts, how they grow, and
what they are used for (p.229).
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4. CENTRAL FOCUS/ PURPOSE
 For this assignment, I want the students to understand the words that are associated with a plant. They
will learn the words seed, seed coat, plant, roots, stem, leaves, and flower. This concept of learning
these words is important for my students with disabilities because it applies to their everyday lives and
it can help prepare them for their futures in knowing how to know about the world around them. I want
them to use their prior knowledge to associate what they know about plants and compare it to the plant
we will have in the class. I will also take them outside to look at plants to be able to make real life
connections and look at how plants grow in nature.
 I want them to know these words to help them in their communication and to know about nature as
they see it. When my students become adults, it is crucial that they have different skill sets to be able to
cultivate hobbies and interact with the environment around them. Knowing about plants can help them
to prepare for jobs and help them to care for their homes that they live in. This is both a life skills
lesson as well as an academic, standards based lesson.

5. MOTIVATION FOR LEARNING

 Intrinsic Motivation
 In this lesson, using the Vocabulary Acquisition Model under the Behavioral Theory, I will support
their motivation to learn the words by connecting their learning to their lives. I will make it personal to
them so that they can relate it to their prior knowledge. Knowing that the behavioral theory is about
how students are learning within their environment. I will connect their learning through what they
know and what they see around them. By encouraging them to share what they know, I will get them
excited to learn more and exercise their brains and promote a growth mindset to grow their vocabulary
and learn more about plants. I will help them learn more about words so that they can feel confident to
talk about plants as they discuss with those around them I will also be sure to help them see how they
can use these words functionally so they see the purpose of their learning. As we have opportunities
around plants. I will help them see how this is important for their futures and their current lives. I will
explain that they can practice this information by talking about different plants by the playground and
look at the parts of the flowers they pick. I will allow them to work in partners for parts of the lesson to
learn from one another and know that they do not have to be the best for fastest learner but they can
work with others to grow and learn at their own pace.
6. PRE-LESSON - Just before teaching the new lesson do the following:
 At the beginning of the lesson, we will look at and read each word to talk about what we know about
each word. I will present each word on a PowerPoint and we will talk with each other about each word.
This will help the students establish their prior knowledge so that they can take what they know and
scaffold their learning and make connections that will be meaningful to them. It is important that I take
notes of their answers so that I can incorporate what they know into the lesson. After going over
anything they know about each word, I will also write a few words per vocabulary word that we can
remember on an anchor chart.
 For today’s lesson, we are going to learn about the parts of a plant. We are going to learn the words
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 seed, seed coat, roots, stem, leaves, and flower. I want you all to understand what these words mean
and learn where they are at on a plant. I want you to be able to use these words as you are picking
flowers and looking at plants when we go on our nature walks and at recess. I will ask you questions
about these words to see what you learned from the lesson.

6. LESSON BODY: Provide text page #__220__ for your lesson.

Step 1- Pretest Knowledge of Academic Vocabulary
 Here I will assess what the students know about the targeted vocabulary and see where they are in
knowing the definition of the word before teaching the meanings.
 I will ask them to point to a picture out of a few choices to see if they are able to identify the words.
I will then go on to differentiate having them spell the words before learning. For some students, I
will have them touch the picture of the word with the spelling under it, The next step up I will have
students tell me the first letter of each vocabulary word, and for students that have some
understanding of letters in words, I will ask them to try their best to spell the vocabulary words.
 The students will do their best to identify the picture of each words and at their level, spell the
words. They will use their prior knowledge to complete this step.
Step 2- Elaborate on and Discuss Invented Spellings and Hypothesized Meanings
 After each word, after the students explain their hypothesized meaning and their spelling, we will
discuss them to greater lengths to see why they think each word means what they came up with. I
will ask them to each explain if they have ever seen these parts of a plant and where.
 They will learn from one another as they discuss their hypothesized meanings and spellings to one
another. This will help them to incorporate their growth mindset as they are able to build on their
knowledge and gain more understanding of the vocabulary words.
Step 3- Explore Patterns of Meanings
 For this next step, we will move into examining the patterns of the meanings of the words and the
spelling.
 I will focus on the antonyms and synonyms for each word to help the students understand
similarities and differences that these words have. Go through each word and ask the students and
give them words that mean the same and words that are the opposite of each word. Help them to
see the connections between similar words and different words.
 This will build their vocabulary and help them to understand other words and how they connect to
one another. This will help them be able to use the words we learn in everyday conversation.
Step 4- Read and Study
 For this step, it is important that students use the vocabulary and practice them in context. To do
this, I will take the students on a nature walk outside so they can be around flowers and plants.
 I will allow them to pick plants and ask them to tell me about the plant they pick. Since they all
love to pick flowers at recess, they will enjoy being able to pick their own flower and talk about it.
 I will give them 15 minutes to walk around in three groups to pick flowers then, we will meet back
in the classroom with their chosen flowers.
 Then they will each take turns talking about what they found. The teacher will correct them if
needed but if the student is confused on the part of the flower and they forget the vocabulary word,
they can ask a friend to help them.
 This will encourage a growth mindset to learn from their peers and be open to learning by asking
questions.
Step 5- Evaluate and Posttest
 To wrap up the lesson, I will focus on using the perfect assessment explained above.
 I will have the students separated into groups and the adult in each group will administer the
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 worksheet. There will be questions about each vocabulary word to understand if the student now has an
understanding of the different parts of a plant.
 With most of my students being non-verbal, I will ask them a questions and have them identify the
picture of the word when given an array or 3, an array of 2, or an errorless choice dependent upon the
differentiation necessary for their individual learning goals. It will reveal the outcomes of the lesson
and whether it was studied in a meaningful context or if they did not learn (p.228).
 I will use the same icons and visuals as used throughout the lesson as well and physical models of the
words so I can provide the students will accurate information of the words that relate to the unit of
learning about plants, their parts, how they grow, and what they are used for (p.229).

7. ASSIGNMENT
 To support this lesson, I will do a hands on and engaging assignment with the students that will help
them to understand their vocabulary words by better learning about the world around them. With my
students with severe disabilities, they need to be learning through their senses and must be able to
relate their learning to their experiences and prior knowledge. To do this, I will take them for a nature
walk and associate the words as we are outside. As explained above, I will give them time to go in
groups to each pick a flower or plant from the field where they have recess. Once they are done, they
will return back to the class with their choice. Then we will take turns to identify the vocabulary words
in their plant. For example, I will say, can anyone find roots on their plant? Then I will show them a
picture of roots and the words roots on the PowerPoint. Then we will assist them in finding it on their
plant. Then we will move forward with the rest of the words. Once they have located the words on
each of their plants, they will be done with associating their learning to the physical plants.
 This is a perfect assignment for my students because it is differentiated for my students, engages their
senses, is founded on their prior learning, uses repetition to teach the skills, uses comparison to learn
words, and it allows them to challenge their understanding of these words so that they can apply the
word in realistic contexts. This lesson will scaffold their learning and help them to take when they
know and build upon it so they may gain deeper learning.
 Students will not have a physical copy of the assignment since they will be going outside to find their
plant and then we will analyze them to name the parts.

8. Student Work Examples/Technology Support

 Students will complete the assessment above at the end of the lesson. That will be the only work
sample once the lesson is completed. I did not have the opportunity to teach this lesson.
 For some students they will need hand over hand prompting to be able to move around the classroom
and choose their plant outside. Once they get back to the class, they will need hand over hand
prompting to look and touch the parts of the plant.
 Other students may need verbal or gestural prompting to be able to choose an item and label the parts.
 The differentiation will depend on the students abilities. All students will need different levels of the
prompting hierarchy.
 Plant Song

Reflective Thinking/Curriculum Evaluation @25 Points

Relevance:

This lesson demonstrates my competence with the Graduate SLO 1: Demonstrating advanced understanding of
the trends, issues, and research associated with special education teaching students with moderate to severe
disabilities. From this lesson, it shows that I have learned how to teach this population of students in a way
that is engaging and challenging for them while also meeting their needs. I am aware of the grade level

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standards associated with the lesson so they can have access to the general education curriculum. I am able to
create lessons that are differentiated for my students and help them to learn concepts that are appropriate for
their life skills and standards. I will ensure that I am continuing to use the evidence based practices through my
instruction so that I am meeting my students where they are at and helping them move toward independence in
their skill set and knowledge.

Analysis/Evaluation:

This lesson helps students to reach deeper understanding of words by focusing on the parts of a plant in a way
that engages their senses and provides a hands on learning experience to connect their knowledge. We are not
only just looking at the words and memorizing their meanings, but we are using the vocabulary acquisition
model to look into the meanings, synonyms, and antonyms so that they can make deeper connections to their
prior knowledge and other words. By looking into these different avenues of understanding the words, The
students are able to, “craft their own deep understanding of the word when considering its complexity and
relationship to other words and concepts” (Kilbane & Milman, 2014). I attempted to look into the etymology
of the words but I did not find that to be helpful in the instruction to my students. Instead we focused on
realistic concepts such as antonyms and synonyms so that they can make more meaningful connections to
other words they may already know. Considering all my students have disabilities, I will tailer the lesson and
instruction to what they need while incorporating both small group and whole group instruction. This model
will help to have a better understanding of the words they are learning and make connections to their prior
knowledge and use repetition throughout the activities and nature walks to make the information stick into
long term memory. The text mentions that using this model for teaching words will help give the students
skills that will allow them to have more success in exploring words as they continue learning throughout their
lives (p.216).

Links to Theory:

This lesson connects to the text, Understanding How We Learn, as I keep in mind the attention of my students,
how they perceive information, and how they remember information. To keep their attention, I understand that
there will be many distractions and mind wandering occurring, which Is why I split up the lesson to be in
different places and with small groups and whole groups. Breaking up the instruction and changing the
location will help them to stay engaged so that I have a better chance of keeping their attention and making it
meaningful to them. I will keep in mind how they perceive information, knowing that their prior knowledge
will have an effect on how they take in the information and process it. That is why I created a time in the
beginning of the lesson where I let them talk about the words to see what they were coming to the lesson with
and how we can take what they know and help them move toward deeper learning. Considering how intricate
memory is, I will continue to ask my students about heir learning after the lesson so I can continue shaping the
information they moved into long term memory. This lesson is supported by behaviorism because I will be
constantly be helping them through the lesson and giving them direct feedback to encourage their learning. I
will be sure to incorporate reinforcement and repetition throughout the lesson. Incorporating these aspects will
be beneficial to my students so they will immediately knowing their progress and I will be able to know the
results of my teaching based on their responses and actions.

Growth Mindset

This lesson helps students develop a growth mindset through its structure and reinforcement. Through
discussion of the vocabulary words and active participation in talking about their prior knowledge and what
they are learning throughout the lesson, I am able to encourage students to develop their intelligence by
learning the foundations for their futures. By practicing learning about words, they are learning how to better
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use words as they grow in their learning. By making connections to other words, they can use that skill in their
futures. I will also pair them with others who can challenge them so that they can learn from one another as
they communicate about the plants and its parts. Through reinforcements, I will give praise based on their
effort and their persistence in their learning when working through challenges instead of just simply praising
correct answers. By giving reinforcement for their effort, I hope to show them that what I want to see if hard
work and not necessarily correct answers. I want to encouraging them to be engaged and try their best.

Professional Actions/Areas for growth:

Since I have not taught this lesson yet, I do not know how it went but I can foresee some challenges I may face
with the lesson and how I can continue to improve it. I believe the students will be engaged because I did a
similar lesson with plants where we grew them from seeds and over two weeks of analyzing them, I watched
them make connections to their learning and learn the words. I believe this would be a great introduction
lesson to teach before teaching the science lesson about growing the plant. Another aspect that I have to factor
into the lesson is time. My students need instruction for small increments of time so I would have to gauge
how they are doing to alter the lesson or possibly split it up between a few days. I have learned that learning is
a process that involves repetition and interest from the students. Lessons have to be engaging to keep the
students’ attention and to make deeper learning happen. I would like to learn more about the etymology of
words so that I can incorporate it in the future. I can see using that aspect when teaching shapes to my students
to help them make connections between the word and the shapes. I can continue to grow in researching
different methods of instruction so that I can use a parts of different models to make a comprehensive lesson
that has multiple theories and research incorporated within.
Teaching 25 Points

Prepare a short video of you teaching your lesson to share during your lesson presentation.
Be sure to have a lesson plan ready at the time you do the video. Teach the key parts of the
lesson body and not just tell about the lesson. The point is to see this theory and research in
action.