Early Childhood Special Education Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate: Katy Lough

Grade Level: K, ASD Nest; 11 children, 4 with an IEP; 4-6 yr olds

Lesson: Retelling a Story

Unit of Study: Reading Workshop The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle)
Goal of Lesson (Common Core State Standards/Division of Early Childhood where appropriate)
K.RL.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
K.RL.2 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
K.RL.3 With prompting and support, identify characters, setting and major events in a story.
Objectives: Students will be able to work in partners to orally retell a familiar story using transitional language (first, then, next, last,
etc.) and visuals. Students will be able to use a graphic organizer to retell a sequence of events from the story using sentences or
drawings to show story sequencing comprehension.
Language and Communication: Students will use cooperative language (turn taking, asking the partner for help) to work with partner
and communicate the next step in the story. Students will use transitional language (first, then, next, last, etc.) as they retell the
story.
Cognitive: Students will recall events of a story and put them in the correct order.
Fine Motor: Students will attach a story event to a "story stick" with Velcro. Students will use pencil with proper pincer writing grip
to write or draw.
Vocabulary: retell, sequence, events, first, then, next, last
L&C Accommodations: Review vocabulary words with ELL learners prior to lesson
Pre-Assessment:
Brown Bear, Brown Bear (by Eric Carle) was read aloud twice and the children participated in a class-wide retelling of the story
using animals on a felt board. The children were able to follow a list book, but need assistance with recalling details in sequential
order from a story. The ability to retell a story will help the students as they write their own stories in Writers Workshop.

Post-Assessment:
Each worksheet will illustrate how well the students understood a sequence of events in a story.
- Did the student orally retell a story using accurate sequential information?
- Did the student work cooperatively with a partner?
- Did the student use transitional language when retelling the story?
- Did the student use the graphic organizer to retell a sequence of events?

Materials:
- 3 copies of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," by Eric Carle (1 for each table)
- 6 paper (laminated) sequence of events from the book (caterpillar, 1 apple, 2 pears, 3 plums, 4 strawberries, 5 oranges, junk foods,
1 leaf, cocoon and butterfly)
- Velcro
- 6 painter sticks to create 6 "story sticks"
- worksheet for each child
- pencils

Use of Technology: A timer will be used to assist with transitions from tables to meeting area. Music will be played from computer to
facilitate movement break.

Differentiation:
Modifications to make easier:
- Leave a copy of the book at the table
- Use fewer events (4)
- Draw pictures to show sequencing comprehension
- Give student the first picture in a sequence
Modifications to make harder:
- Use more events (10)
- Write sentences to show sequencing comprehension
Specific Modifications
James will sit on a bumpy cushion and use a footrest. He will use a slant board at his table for writing/drawing. Boxes will be
identified on the stick for the direction and placement of the events. James will be reminded that he can earn a chip if he stays on
task or is flexible as he works with his partner.
Kenny and Cecilia will write sentences to show sequencing comprehension.

Seating Configuration/Use of Physical Space:

The class utilizes assigned seating in the meeting area to accommodate those who need to sit in chairs (Musique, Cecilia, Leo and
James) and those who need more attention nearest to the teachers (Khiyair and Shon).
All students have been paired with another student who is likely to work well and help him or her.
Ysabella - Leo
James - Khiyair
Cecelia - Shon - Jocelyn
Kierra - Kenny
Musique - Luz

Teaching roles and collaboration:

Teaching Model: direct instruction to large group, modeling, partners
Teacher's Role
- Introduction, activate prior knowledge
- Read book
- Model retelling story using details
- Give directions
- Assist with transition
- Monitor progress
- Hand out sequencing comprehension worksheet
- Facilitate teaching share
Assistant's Role
- Each teacher in the classroom will monitor 2 partner groups at each table, facilitating student cooperation and guide where
needed

Classroom Management: The class uses a positive behavior star chart. When children earn 5 stars they get to choose something
from the treasure box at the end of the day. The chart is often used to help remind students who are not behaving appropriately to
fix their behavior. Additionally if a child is having difficulty and refuses a direction, their name may move up the think about it
chart to act as a warning and reminder of how to behave in the classroom. Several children also have an individual behavior
intervention plan where they can earn stars by working on a specific behavior. James is working on being flexible and using whole
body listening (for increments of 9 minutes). Upon fulfilling those goals, he earns a chip. Three chips earn him a star. The same
process is used for Cecilia and Ysabella for being flexible; for Leo, Shon and Kierra for speaking up in a clear loud voice; and for
Khiyair for getting straight to work at his table.

Engagement of students/anticipatory set/Motivation: Students will actively participate in the read aloud and will help retell the
story as a class. Using the story stick and story pieces to create a sequence will also serve as a motivating tool for the students.

Connection to Previous lesson/Prior Knowledge:

"We have been reading many stories in K-202. This is one of our class's favorite stories. Who can tell me what the title of this story
is? (Show the cover.) And the author? We have read other Eric Carle books like "Brown Bear, Brown Bear." In fact the last time I
read that book to you we actually used animals to retell that story as a class. Who remembers retelling that story together? What
does it mean to "retell" a story? That's right, we are going to use our smart brains to tell the story again, without the book! Today I
am going to read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." I want you to pay close attention to the events that happen in this story. After I read
this story again, you are going to retell this story, or tell that story again, with a partner using pictures. Listen very carefully about
what happens first, next and last."
Estimated time: 5 min

Lesson Presentation:
- Read Story. Based on how the students are attending to the story, engage them with, what do you think happens next? After he
eats the pears, what does he eat next? Do you remember what he eats after the _________. What happens last? The students
should answer in complete sentences, e.g. "After he eats the pears, he..."
- Then model the retelling of the story. "Now let's retell the story. This is my story stick. I want to add our events from The Very
Hungry Caterpillar to this story. I am going to put them on the stick from left to right, just the same way we read letters in a word
and words in a sentence. From left to right. Or door to the window"
- Create the entire story using the story stick, selecting students who typically have trouble with reading comprehension. Require
each volunteer to respond in a sentence using transitional words.
- "First who do we meet?" The caterpillar. Attach the picture of the caterpillar to the story stick.
- Ask the class, "Then what did he eat first?" The apple. Attach the apple to the story stick.
- "After the apple, what does he eat?" 2 pears. Attach the pears to the story stick.
- "After the pears, what does the he eat, next?" 3 plums. Attach the plums to the story stick.
- "Friends when we put all the events of a story together in the correct order, that is called a sequence." Repeat and have the
children repeat. "This is a sequence of events." Have ELLs repeat.
- Explain transition words are helpful when retelling a story. "There are also special words that I use when I retell the story. When I
tell this story, I say, FIRST we meet caterpillar. How do you know that we meet caterpillar at the beginning of the story?" Because
I said, FIRST."
- Reference the transition words poster. "These are words we can use at the beginning. Like, first. These are words we can use in
the MIDDLE of our story. Words like then, after, next, later--just like (student who participated in the class retelling) did when we
retold the story. And when we reach the end of the story we can use words like finally or last. Let's practice one more time. What
happened at the very end of this story? (LAST, the caterpillar turned into a butterfly.)"
- "Each of you will get a partner, a story stick and a baggie of events from "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." It is your job to work with
your partner to put the events in the correct order. What happened FIRST? What happened NEXT? And keep going until you see
what happens last." I will have storybooks available for you, but I want you to first work with your partner to see if you can
remember the events in this story. You'll make a story stick just like we did here in the meeting area."
- Music Movement Break: Play a caterpillar song about turning into a butterfly. Act it out with the children.
- Explain that AFTER the group finishes their story stick they will be given their OWN worksheet to complete on sequence of events.
"Some of you will have to draw, some will paste and, some of your will have to write. A teacher will give you your paper after you
and your partner have finished putting the events in the correct order or sequence."
To transition to tables, call each partner group up to the front, give them their baggie of pictures and their painter stick and allow
them to go to their table.
Estimated Time: 20min

Guided Practice/Active Involvement/Small group work/Independent Practice

Retell the story as they put the events in correct order on the story stick.
Complete a worksheet using transitional words.
Estimated Time: 20 min

Final Summary/Closure: The students will return to the meeting area after they complete their worksheet. They will be instructed to
sit with their partners. Each group will have a chance to retell the story to the class.
Estimated Time: 5 minutes

Extension:
The story stick can be used in future story retelling. Additionally the transitional word wall can be used during writers workshop to
aid writers with their stories.

STORY SEQUENCING: Draw what happened first, next and last in the story.

Name:_____________________________________________

First

Next

Last

STORY SEQUENCING: Draw what happened first, next and last in the story.

Name:_____________________________________________

First

Next

Last

Name:_____________________________________________
STORY SEQUENCING: Draw what happened first, next and last in the story. Then, write a sentence about each
event.

First

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Next

____________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Last

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

STORY
RETELLING
James
Musique
Ysabella
Kenny
Cecilia
Leo
Shon
Jocelyn
Khiyair
Kierra
Luz

Work in
partners?

Retell orally?

Use
transitional
words?

Use graphic
organizer?