Lesson Plan Components (in progress)

Topic: Expanding vocabulary through reading 

Grade: 1st

Lesson Plan Framework: 

The student will expand vocabulary.

a)   Discuss meanings of words in context.

b)   Develop vocabulary by listening to and reading a variety of texts.

c)   Ask for the meaning of unknown words and make connections to familiar words.

d)   Use text clues such as words or pictures to discern meanings of unknown words.

e)   Use vocabulary from other content areas.

Written purpose:

Objectives: Students will identify real-life connections between words and their use by listing different scenarios that relate to the meaning of the word. 

Students will determine the meaning of unknown words within a text by using context clues (words, pictures, sentence structure) as indicators.

Reading: A nonfiction picture book

Strategies/Activities:

Preparation:

Assistance: The (GRP) Guided Reading Procedure can be used to help students develop meaning of the text and use context clues to understanding the meaning of an unknown word. 

Reflection: Think-Pair-Share because this strategy gives students the opportunity to individually think about the open-ended question then collaboration with a peer promotes learning through social interaction and finally pairs participate in a class discussion to hear different approaches to the question. Think-Alouds will be utilized to help students approach reading in a more effective way. 

Evaluation: Students will identify real-life connections between words and their use (list some places that are safe). Students will create a graphic organizer that places similar words into categories. 

Preparing for Learning Strategies

I believe the K-W-L activity would be an effective strategy to use within my lesson plan to assess prior knowledge. This strategy promotes student learning by evaluating the student's prior knowledge, assuring the student that their interests do matter, and reiterating what the student learned. This strategy is useful in closing the gap between "where is the student now?" and "where does he/she need to be?"

Analogy for Chapter 3

Preparing students to read is like...growing a flower.

A well-developed basis of prior knowledge leads to an in-depth understanding of reading as well-nourished roots leads to a healthy flower.

Chapter 3: Preparation for Learning

It is unbelievably important to allow for adequate preparation time during a lesson in order to assess and build upon prior knowledge. Students must be able to make connections between known and new information to learn and this cannot be done without the teacher becoming aware of student’s previous knowledge of the subject being discussed. The text compares learning to basketball. More time and effort is exerted towards the preparation of a game, compared to the game itself. After the game has been played, coaches and players often review their performance, critique their mistakes, and apply these corrections to future games. The same goes for learning. Studies show that students with more background knowledge on the topic being read tend to better comprehend the reading. Preparing for learning should be a permanent aspect in every lesson plan.

Preparing for learning includes assessing and building upon the prior knowledge of the students. Understanding what students do and do not know is crucial for student success because students with limited or misguided prior knowledge are at a disadvantage unless they are able to develop a more accurate and rich background of the future topic. Many strategies can be implemented to prepare students for learning but a few include; rewriting text, analogies, story impressions, K-W-L Activity, anticipatory guide, and pre-learning concept check. Many of these strategies can be used in any of the PAR categories but they are directed towards the “Preparing” category for the sake of this chapter. Students who have a limited or misconstrued prior knowledge of a subject can greatly benefit from writing previews and rewritten text. These two strategies allow students to be aware of the key concepts within the text and the strategies allow students to comprehend the original text by offering the information in a different way. Analogies help students make comparisons and relate information to real-life experiences. Graphic organizers and story impressions allow students to visualize and predict the story so they are more motivated and interested in the material. I believe “preparing for learning” strategies should be used within every lesson. Not only because the strategies motivate and inform students but because awareness of prior knowledge is important for both the student and the teacher. The absence of prior knowledge, in regards to a specific topic, can be extremely frustrating for the student and lead to lack of interest.

Chapter 2: Teaching in the Affective Domain

Chapter two was very informative and it refreshed my brain on topics I learned in my previous classes but had forgotten over time. Many people discuss cognitive domain when referring to student learning but affective domain is also an important aspect to consider when planning instruction, activities, or assessments. Affective domain can significantly enhance, inhibit or prevent student learning. The chapter explains different aspects of affective domain and ways to promote and consider these aspects in your teaching. I agree that strategies that promote an intrinsic locus of control can be beneficial for students and improve student learning. A huge part of teaching is motivating students to learn which is what this chapter reflects upon. I believe teachers should instill a love of learning instead of promoting learning to receive a reward. Students must possess self-efficacy and have internal motivators to succeed; otherwise they are merely learning for some external reason. So how do teachers assist students in developing these intrinsic qualities? We can relate the material being discussed in class to the student’s everyday life. By being able to apply what they have learned to reality, they value the information more and have a reason for learning. Helping students establish reasonable goals is always a great way to self-motivate. By working towards something they have a purpose for the task at hand and once again value the information. There are always going to be students who do not see the benefit of learning that is why it is important to consider affective domain when creating your instruction, activities, and assessments because student motivation is directly related to student success.