Ashley Chamberlain

EDR 317
Doctor Selvaggi
September 24, 2014
Lesson Plan 5- Alphabet as a Whole
Grade: Kindergarten
1.1 Integration of Learning Outcomes:
SWBAT:
Chant the letter names of the alphabet and sounds they make as they move their bodies to
the Lettercise song.
Listen and answer open ended/guided reading questions before, during and after the book
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
Put the letters of the alphabet in the correct order by holding an individual letter and
lining up where they belong.
1.2 Standards: Include relevant PA State and district standards.
- CC.1.1.K.B
Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print
- Recognize and name all uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet
- CC.1.5.K.B
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally
or through other media.
- CC.1.1.K.D
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
-

Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound

1.3 Anticipatory Set:

To activate students background knowledge and experiences I will play the Lettercise song
and have the students chant the letter names of the alphabet and sounds they make as they move
their bodies.
1.4 Procedures:
1. After morning meeting, I will tell the students I think that we need a little break. Lets
stand up and do the Lettercise song. Remember, we are only boxing the air, not our
friends. Step back if you need to give yourself room. I will then play the song and as a
class we will chant the letter names of the alphabet and sounds they make while moving
our bodies and pretending to punch their air.
2. Next, I will have the students sit back down on the carpet for a read aloud. To quiet them
down I will say Give me 5 and count down until they are quiet.
3. I will say to the class Today we are going to read the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
The authors are John Archambault and Bill Martin. The illustrator is Lois Ehlert. Lets

4.

5.

6.

7.
8.
9.

sing our author and illustrator song: The author writes the book, the author writes the
book, hi-ho librario the author writes the book. The illustrator draws, the illustrator
draws, hi-ho librario the illustrator draws. When I read, remember our friend Bob and
how he acts and listens while the teacher is reading a book. If I ask how we should be
sitting, I want you to act like our friend Bob.
Next I will read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and ask open ended/guided reading
questions throughout the book. ADD QUESTIONS HERE
1. What kind of tree are the lowercase letters climbing up?
2. What is going to happen now that so many of the lowercase letters have gone up
the coconut tree?
3.
After the book, I will explain to the class Boys and girls, we are going to play a game. It
is and Alphabet letter sorting game. To play this game we will work together, as a whole
class, very quietly and without talking, we will put our letters in the correct order of the
Alphabet. I am going to give out a letter to each student to hold onto. When I say it is
time to stand up, I want you to walk slowly to the back of the room.
Since there are only 20 students in the class, I will have the letters A, B, C, X, Y, Z
already taped up on the back wall. I will say If the letters A, B, C are here and X,Y, Z
end here, using your letters, I want everyone to line up and stand next to the person that
has the letter that is next in the alphabet. I would like for everyone to stay quiet and not
talk to your friends during this activity. If you arent sure where your letter goes, you can
look up at the wall and use the Alphabet posters.
After all of the students have completed the task, I will say to the class, Now that our
letters are in the correct order lets sing the Alphabet Song.
Then we will count each letter together as a class. Now, lets count each letter 1,2,3.
After counting, one-by-one students will bring up their letters, say the sound their letters
make and tape them to the coconut tree. After they are done, they will go back to their
seats. Starting with letter A, I am going to have each of you bring up your letters to tape
on the coconut tree. Before you tape your letter on the tree, I would like for you to say the
sound your letter makes.

Differentiation:
For ESL/Students with learning disabilities, I would only ask for them to tell me what the name
of their letter is as they bring up their letters.
For academically talented students, along with saying the sound their letters make as they bring
up their letters, I would have them tell me an animal that begins with their letter.
Closure:
Using the smart board, students will be shown a video/song about Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
Students are encouraged to sing along since the video/song is the same story as the book. There
will not be a follow-up lesson or homework assignment since this is a review activity.
1.7 Formative and Summative Assessment:
I will determine whether or not the students have met the objectives of my lesson by listening to
their questions and answers about key details in the read aloud. I will observe to see if they all
could name all of the letters of the alphabet and if they could say the sound that their letter

makes. I will observe them to see if they are able to put the letters in order using the alphabet
poster or not. I will know if the lesson needs to be adjusted to meet the students needs if the
letters are out of order or if they ask me or their peers for help.
1.8 Materials:
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Alphabet Tree
Manilla Alphabet Letters
Coconut Tree made of out colored chart paper
Smart Board
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom song
Lettercise song
Technology
I will use the smart board to show the students the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom song.
2.0 Reflection on Planning:
My rationale for the lesson content and design is to keep the students on the same learning
schedule as Mrs. Colvins lessons. I created a lesson around what the students were already
doing in class. Thinking of the students assessment needs, my lesson reviews the topic of the
alphabet as a whole. All the letters work together to create the alphabet. Mrs. Colvin helped me
come up with the lesson activity and helped me find the materials that I needed. She allowed me
to use the planning room to acquire colored chart paper that I could make my coconut tree out of.
When planning this lesson, I collaborated in person and through text messages with Mrs. Colvin
in order to handle any questions I had about how I should go about creating this lesson and
presenting it. One of my questions was If there are twenty students in the class and twenty six
letters in the alphabet, what should I do about the six extra letters? At first I thought maybe I
could give some students two letters to hold but then I realized that 1) I am singling out certain
students and 2) I want the students to sort themselves based on where the letters go in order and
if students have two letters it might be too easy for them to sort. I came up with a solution and
ran it by Mrs. Colvin. My solution was to tape the first three letters and the last three letters of
the alphabet up on the wall under the letter poster where they belong. She thought it was a good
idea. I also had planned to present my lesson on September 24 but Mrs. Colvin had sent me a
text message letting me know that the time I had originally planned for conflicted with their Art
class time. We discussed a better time for the lesson and we decided on October 1.
2.1 Reflection on Instruction:
While conferencing with my professor, I was able to reflect on how the lesson went right
away after I presented it. We discussed what went well with my lesson and set goals that I want
to achieve by my next lesson. I set a goal to manage student behavior while still incorporating
movement into my lessons. The reason for this goal is because this lesson involved a lot of
movement and there can be challenges and values of incorporating this into a lesson. Something
she pointed out to me that I want to remember for the next lesson is that I presented the lesson in
a clear way with good directions and modeling.

There are some areas of my lesson that could be improved. I cannot be super anxious
before I present my lessons. Since I was anxious, I forgot to say one little step in the directions
and it made a big mess! I need to think slowly and clearly before I speak, especially when I am
trying to reach young children. I definitely need to open up a little more and speak a little louder.
During the Letter-cise song I spoke a little too soft. I feel like the students would have shouted
louder if I was louder. I definitely need to focus on having better classroom management and
finding my own way to get a hold of the students attention.
Throughout my lesson I made sure to stay enthusiastic and animated in order to keep
students interest. I was very thrilled to see how excited and involved the students were while I
was reading, presenting the lesson and while they were engaging in the activities. Chapter 3 of
Strategies for Literacy Education has a section on choral reading. I used choral reading in my
lesson while I read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I invited the students to read along with me out
loud since they were all familiar with the story.
Before the students came to school, I set up the classroom with all the materials that were
going to be used in the lesson. I made sure to talk to my professor and Mrs. Colvin about the
questions that I had. I was afraid that I wouldnt have enough time to do all of it by the time the
students entered the classroom. As soon as the students came into the room, I was prepared to
present my lesson.
After speaking with my cooperating teaching, I felt relieved to know that she thought I
presented my lesson well. Mrs. Colvin related one of her student teaching experiences to my first
lesson that I presented to her class. She told me every beginner teacher makes mistakes and that
it is ok because we learn from them. If I already knew everything I wouldnt be student teaching.
2.2 Citations
I got the lesson idea from Mrs. Colvin.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom - Animated Song (1999). (2014, January 7). Retrieved September
22, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtB5iGHgNVY
Martin, B., & Archambault, J. (1989). Chicka chicka boom boom. New York: Simon & Schuster
Books for Young Readers.