HDFS 321 Lesson Planning Form

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY IN PLAY

Student Name:___Rosemary Curtis_______________

Date:____3/22/13_______________________

Evaluator:______________________________________ Head Teacher and Lab:_Colon, Mon PM________

Scheduled Implementation Date/Time:__TBA, Free Choice___________Teachers Initials:______________
Area of Room and Time of Day for Implementation:____Free choice, blocks___________________________
Title or Brief Description of Activity: __Animal Habitats_________________________________________
Write an observation (of child or classroom) which supports the need for your lesson (i.e., how does
this activity reflect the interests and developmental skill of the children in your classroom). This
should be 3-5 sentences and relate to childrens experiences in Pretend Play/Blocks.
Several weeks ago the pretend play theme was a puppet show with a focus on the three little
pigs, so there were stuffed animals and hand puppets that were pigs. The children greatly
enjoyed bringing the pigs to the blocks area. In the blocks area, the children would build big
houses for the pigs out of the blocks. This activity will support this interest by allowing them
to learn more about where animals live and giving their block constructions meaning.

Activity goal (from the 321 book):

Recognize that they can get meaning from print.
My objective is for the children to develop (a detailed, measurable version of your activity goal above)
The children will develop the ability to use information from a book (or multiple books) by designing a
habitat for an animal based on information in a book.

NAEYC Standard(s) addressed:

2.D.04 Children have varied opportunities to develop vocabulary through books.
Content:
Children will learn that books can contain information by identifying the book as non-fiction or an
information book.
Children will learn how to apply information from a book by identifying at least one aspect of an animals
habitat.
1.

What information will children need to know to successfully explore and engage in the themed pretend play or
block experience? How will children gain this information?
The children will need to know what it means for an animal to have a habitat, they will gain this information from either
me or a book (most likely me), or possibly another child. They will need to know about the various animal habitats, this
information they will gain from the books.

2.

3.

List and define roles children can explore

Zoo keeper: person who takes care of the animals at the zoo
Some could be the animals
List and define 4 new vocabulary words that will be repetitively used to enhance their understanding of the role
they will play or materials in the pretend play or block area.
Habitat:placethatananimallives(i.e.monkeysliveintrees)
Diet:thetypesoffoodthatananimaleats
Terrain:whatthegroundananimallivesonlookslike(mountains,desert,etc.)
Climate:whattheweatherislikewhereananimallives(cold,hot,rainy,etc.)

Describe the set-up of your dramatic play area including the materials that children can use, what
visuals will be displayed, and how children can play there. Think about the natural ways children can
use reading, writing, and environmental print as they role play.
Describe the materials you will add to enhance childrens dramatic play or block experience.
There will be non-fiction books spread around the floor about animals and their habitats for children to look
through. There will be paper and markers so that the children can make signs for their animal habitats. There
will also be toy animals for the children to use. Once the block area is open, I will make my own habitat as
an example for the children.

What roles can children take on as they engage in your dramatic play experience?
As this is in pretend play and not block area, the primary role that the children will be taking on is zoo
keeper or animals.

Summary of Procedure:
How do you plan to support children in meeting your objectives and learning your content?
I will encourage them to look through the books, pick an animal that they like, and then use the book to
create a home (a habitat) for their animal using the blocks, paper, and markers.
How will you introduce this activity?
I will start to build my own animals habitat and invite the children to join me, telling them that I am
building a home (called a habitat) for my animal. Ill tell them that Im using the book to tell me what the
animal needs in its home.
Describe the role of the teacher to support childrens play.
I will start as a member of the play frame to give the children an idea of how the activity is intended to be
played out. I will use open-ended questions and challenges to get the children engaged in the activity. As the
children become more involved in the activity, I will ease out of the play frame and simply ask questions to

expand their learning.

How will you support language in your dramatic play experience?
I will encourage them to use the books to find out what the animals need, and I will provide support should
they need it by helping them to glean information from the book. Should they need support I will help them:
search through the books to find pages on the animal they chose; figure out what the book is telling them
about their animal; figure out how to apply the information from the book to build a home for the animal.

Teaching Strategies: (List 4 and describe how you use them)

Modeling: I will model using the language and using the books to find information. Example: Im using
this information book to find out about the diet of my animal.
Invitations: I will use invitations to get the children involved in the activity. Example: Im building a home
for my animal, come help me!
Effective Praise: I will use effective praise to encourage the children participating in the activity. Example:
You found out that zebras eat grass!
Open-ended questions: I will use open ended questions to encourage the children to think further about the
information they find in the books. Example: Why do you think zebras eat grass?

I need to adapt this activity by (be sure to include strategies for increasing the challenge AND
strategies for increasing the support):
Extension for children with higher skills:
Encourage the child to think about which animals can live together (based on what they eat, where they live,
etc.) and build habitats for animals that can live together. The children can also use paper to make labels for
their habitat. I will support children to use the books as a resource for writing words.
Simplification for children with lower skills:
Provide the child with the book that has the information on the animal they chose (so they dont have to
decide which book they need). I will use behavior reflections to help the children understand the connection
between what they are saying and what they are doing. I will use more challenges or I wonder statements
(such as I wonder where a zebra lives) to encourage the children in the activity.

List 2 curriculum modifications and describe how they would be helpful for supporting children to
engage in this area:
Activity simplification: if a child is struggling, I will simplify the activity or break down the steps to help
the child understand the activity. For example, the can use the books to build their habitat and not create

labels.
Adult support: I can model or join the childs play if they seem to be faltering in the activity
Peer support: if a child appears to want to be involved in the activity but is unsure how to start, I will
suggest that they help a child that is successfully building a habitat
Potential problems that may arise during this activity, and how I will prevent or solve them:
One potential problem is that children might have difficulty finding information in the books about their
animal. I can solve this by modeling how to search through the books to find information and how to use the
pictures to find information if I cant read the words.
Another potential problem is that children might be unsure about how to build a habitat. I can solve this
problem by modeling building a habitat or pair them with a child who is building a habitat.
Two activities that would extend this plan into other content areas of the classroom (what other
activities would be available during free play or group time that would reflect the objectives of this
activity):
As Im unsure what will be available during free play, this is just an estimation based on what is currently
available in the classroom. At the moment, the focus in the classroom is on fairy tales and nursery rhymes.
The children could apply the skills they learn about finding information in the books by taking books from
the reading area and acting out the stories in the pretend play area.

They could also use these skills if they ever are curious about something (i.e. why do flowers bloom?) to
find out the answer for themselves. This would be an activity that could either be planned or spontaneous. I
could work with a child to find out what they want to know more about, or what theyre curious about. I will
then encourage them to figure out ways that they could find these answers for themselves. Long term, I
could have the children each says something that theyre curious about and put these questions on the wall
in one spot. Then throughout the rest of the year, go back to these questions to help the children discover
new things and how to do research on their own.

How does this activity fit into an anti-bias curriculum:

This activity fits into an anti-bias curriculum because the books will provide information via words and
pictures so that if a child struggles with English or just with reading, they can still use the pictures to
participate in the activity. The activity can be adjusted to a variety of skill levels by adjusting how many
details the children add and how much support the children need to find the information. The books will a
variety of animals and humans will reflect a variety of ages, cultures, genders, etc.

Describe assessment/evaluation method:

**Include a copy of the evaluation method form with this exam. If anecdotal records or observation
narrative are used write one.
Attached at the bottom of the document.
Examples of anecdotal records:
Im making a habitat for my zebra!
Im using this book to find out about my animal
Write a brief paragraph telling parents why you provided children with this activity. This should
include a statement about what skills the child can develop during this activity.

I have designed an activity for the children to develop their language and literacy skills. In this activity the
children will use non-fiction books to create an animal habitat out of blocks. The children will also have the
opportunity to create labels or signs for their animals habitats, which supports their writing and print
knowledge. By providing children with this activity, I have created a meaningful opportunity to explore
language and literacy and learn about animal habitats (science). This activity will support childrens
understanding that they can look to books to find information.

Assessment:
Name

Habitat Built
Based on Book

Identifies Book

Anecdotal Records