LESSON PLAN OUTLINE

JMU Elementary Education Program

The following information should be included in the header of the lesson plan:
Stephanie Snapp
Ms. Connie Harlow, A.R. Ware Elementary School
October 15, 2014, 11: 30 11:50
October 8, 2014
(Plan must be initialed and dated by the teacher when it is reviewedat least one day in advance.)

A. Comparative Suffixes Mini-Lesson

B. CONTEXT OF LESSON AND UNWRAPPING OF THE STANDARD
To pre-assess, I will ask the students at the beginning of the lesson what they have been working on in
word study for the past two days. I hope to receive that they have been working with the suffixes er,
-est, -ier, and iest. This activity is appropriate at this time because the students will have been
working on these suffixes on Monday and Tuesday and therefore on Wednesday, will be prepared to
participate in the activity I have planned. This lesson fits into the curriculum sequence because my
cooperating teacher has a pacing guide which tells her which word study words the students will be
working on each week. Concerning child development, I know that students learn from simple to
complex, and concrete to abstract (John Almarode, personal communication, Fall 2014). The students
will be introduced to the suffixes on Monday that they will focus on for the week. They will continue
to work with those suffixes on Tuesday, meaning that by Wednesday, they will be prepared to move on
to the relatively more complex content I will be teaching in my lesson. Because the students will have
been exposed to the suffixes earlier in the week, the students will be able to build upon what they have
learned earlier in the week.
C. UNWRAPPING THE VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING and the NEXT GENERATION
SCIENCE STANDARDS (NATIONAL STANDARDS)

5.1
The student will listen, draw conclusions, and share responses in subject-related group
learning activities.
a) Participate in and contribute to discussions across content areas.
b) Organize information to present in reports of group activities.
c) Summarize information gathered in group activities.
d) Communicate new ideas to others.
e) Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams.
f) Demonstrate the ability to work independently
** Since there is no SOL for Word Study, I decided to choose an SOL that would show the students ability
to work independently and collaboratively.

D. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Understand what are the broad
generalizations the students should
begin to develop? (These are
typically difficult to assess in one
lesson.)

The students will understand that

words can be sorted into different
categories based on specific
characteristics.
The students will understand that
some suffixes are used to
compare.

Know what are the facts, rules,

specific data the students will gain
through this lesson? (These knows
must be assessed in your lesson.)

Do what are the specific thinking

behaviors students will be able to do
through this lesson? (These will also
be assessed in your lesson.)

The students will know how to

sort words into categories based
on their comparative suffixes.

The students will be able to sort

words into four categories, -er,
-ier, -est, and iest.

The students will know that the

suffixes er and ier are used to
compare two things.

The students will be able tell

which categories of suffixes
compare two things and which
categories compare more than two
things.

The students will know that the

suffixes est and iest are used to
compare more than two things.

The students will demonstrate

their ability to work
independently.
The student will demonstrate their
ability to work collaboratively
when talking to a peer.

E. ASSESSING LEARNING
In order to assess the students, I will stop by every students desk to ensure that every student has sorted their
words correctly. I will ask the students how they sorted the words. The answer I would be looking for would
be that student looked at the suffix in order to sort the words. I will also ask how these particular suffixes are
being characterized. The answer I would be looking for here would be comparative suffixes. I would ask what
the different suffixes compare. The answer I would be looking for would be that er and ier compare two
things and est and iest compare more than two things.

Objective
The students will understand that
words can be sorted into different
categories based on specific
characteristics.
The students will understand that
some suffixes are used to
compare.
The students will know how to
sort words into categories based
on their comparative suffixes.
The students will know that the
suffixes er and ier are used to
compare two things.

Assessment
I will observe students sorting
their words once I put them under
the document camera.
I will stop by students desks
while they are comparing sorts at
the end of the lesson to see how
each student has done. I will ask
questions to clarify if need be.
I will observe students sorting
their words once I put them under
the document camera.
I will walk around while students
are discussing at the end of the
lesson to ensure that students
know the different between the
suffixes.

Data Collected

The students will know that the

suffixes est and iest are used to
compare more than two things.
The students will be able to sort
words into four categories, -er,
-ier, -est, and iest.
The students will be able tell
which categories of suffixes
compare two things and which
categories compare more than two
things.
The students will be able to
demonstrate their ability to work
independently.
The student will demonstrate their
ability to work collaboratively
when talking to a peer.

I will walk around while students

are discussing at the end of the
lesson to ensure that students
know the different between the
suffixes.
I will stop by students desks
while they are comparing sorts at
the end of the lesson to see how
each student has done. I will ask
questions to clarify if need be.
I will stop by students desks
while they are comparing sorts at
the end of the lesson to see how
each student has done. I will ask
questions to clarify if need be.
I will observe students while they
are sorting their words to ensure
that they are able to work
independently.
I will observe students while they
are talking with their peer to
ensure that they are able to talk
with a peer without being
disruptive.

F. MATERIALS NEEDED
Word Study notebook students have these
Worksheet for sort me
Scissors and glue stick students have these
Word Study words Ms. Harlow
G. MISCONCEPTIONS or ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTIONS
Students could get the comparative suffixes mixed up. They could have heard wrong when they were
first introduced to the topic and could have the categories mixed up.
Students may have difficulty sorting the words since the suffixes are so similar.
If students are having a hard time sorting the words, I could have the students say the word and
emphasize the ending. I could ask the student what sound he or she hears at the end of the word to
scaffold him or her in order to sort the words correctly. I could suggest that the student emphasize the
ending of the remaining words in the sort to help sort correctly.
H. PROCEDURE
Preparation of the Learning Environment
- To prepare the learning environment, I will have students to take everything off of
their desks except their word study notebook. I will ask students to give me a thumbs
up when they have completed this task. I will wait as the students prepare for the
lesson and give me a thumbs up.
Engage -Introduction of the Lesson; How will you prepare students to engage in the lesson?
- To introduce the lesson, I will say, Turn to your neighbor and talk to them about what
we have been working on in word study this week. You have two minutes to discuss,
go! I will give students a few minutes to discuss with their neighbor. I will then say,
Alright friends, sounds like some good discussion is happening. What partners can

share with the class what we have been working on? I will call on a few partners.
When the students finish sharing, I will say, Fantastic, thanks for sharing.
Implementation of the Lesson (specific procedures and directions for teacher and students)
- Today, we will continue working on word study. We will be looking at comparative
suffixes. What does comparative mean? I will have a few students answer and then
add on if necessary. I will then ask, what is a suffix? I will have a few students
answer and then add if necessary. We are going to do a sort in our word study
notebooks. Turn to your next clean page. I will hand out these papers. While I am
doing that, you will need to get scissors and a glue stick. We will wait to get started
once everyone has their materials. I will begin to hand the papers out to the students
and they will get up to get whatever they need. I will say, Alright, when you are
ready to go, give me a thumbs up. I will wait until I see all thumbs. When everyone
is ready, I will say, Alright, so lets take a look at this handout. Look at the four
different suffixes. Two of these suffixes compare two things, and two suffixes
compare more than two things. We are going to decide which two compare how many.
I will give you an example and then we will decide how many things are being
compared. So lets look at our first one. Er. My sister is shorter than me. How many
peoples heights are being compared? I will allow students to think and then I will
have a few students share. I will correct if need be, as the answer will be two. Go
ahead and write on the rectangle with the er compares two things I will give the
students a few seconds to write that down. I will then say, Okay, next one. Est. My
sister is the shortest person in my family. How many people are being compared?
More than two, right? Because it is not just between my sister and I, it is between my
whole family. Go ahead and write compares more than two things under the est. I
will give the students a few minutes to write. Next suffix, -ier. My friend Maegan is
funnier than my friend Emily. How many people are being compared? Two, right! Go
ahead and write compares two things under ier. I will wait a few minutes for the
students to write. Last suffix, -iest. My friend Maegan is the funniest friend I have.
How many people are being compared here? More than two, right! Write compares
more than two things under iest. I will give time for students to write. Okay, now
is time for you to use your scissors and glue. Do you see where there are four bold
lines here (I will point to them)? You will need to cut only along the four bold lines.
This will create a flap. Are there any questions? Go ahead and make those four cuts.
When the students are done with that, I will say, Okay, now that we have our four
flaps, youre going to need to glue down the parts of the paper that look like a plus
sign into your notebook. The part that looks like a plus sign is the two rectangles
that have no words on them and the long rectangle in the middle with the words
comparative suffixes on it. We want to keep the flaps we cut unglued because thats
where we are going to write our word study words. Once the students glue down
their papers, I will say, Alright, now we are going to sort our words. I will show a
word on the screen. Once you see the word, take a few seconds and figure out where
you would place it and write it in under that flap in your notebook. I will go through
all of the words: crummier, crummiest, closer, closest, healthier, healthiest, hipper,
hippest, murkier, murkiest, quieter, quietest, shinier, shiniest, sweeter, and sweetest.
Closure
- I will say, Okay, weve gone through all of our words for this sort. Turn to your
partner and go over the words under each flap and make sure you two can come to a
consensus to make sure you are both got all the words sorted correctly.
Clean-Up (if required)
- I will have the students put their scissors and glue away.
I.

DIFFERENTIATION
In order to meet the needs of every student in the classroom, I will ensure to go over the correct sort at
the end of the lesson to make sure that students who may have struggled have the chance to change
their sorts in order to get the correct answer. For those who may finish early, I could have the student

pair up with another student and discuss with that partner how they went about sorting their words. I
could ask a question such as, what strategies did you use to figure out which category the words fit
into? For students who are struggling with the objectives, I could have them partner with another
student who seems to have mastered the objective. I could also help to scaffold the student by
prompting the student to emphasize the suffix to see what sound they hear. I can them help them to
figure out where the different sounds go. For those who may struggle with the meaning of suffixes, I
would help them by creating examples and having those students write an example or two in their
notebook to help them recall how many things each suffix compares.

Content

Process

Product

Interest

Readiness

If students are having

difficulty sorting the
words, I can help the
student come up with
a strategy to help
figure out which
suffix category the
word fits under.

J. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?
Students could not give me a thumbs up because that is not what they normally do, but I can be
watching as well to know when students are done and just perhaps forgot to give me a thumbs up.
Students could be chatty during transitions, especially waiting for all students to be ready. I could say,
While we are waiting for our last few friends to get ready, who can tell me what a suffix is? This
could help to bring the class back together.
Students could not listen when I ask them to come back together after sharing with their neighbor what
they have been working on in word study. If this happens I can implement clap once if you can hear
my voice. Clap twice if you can hear my voice. Clap three times if you can hear my voice. This
would help to get their attention.