Kelsey Koons

Marion, Kindergarten, Clymore Elementary

March 26, 2015. 9:00 am
March 19, 2015

Spring 2015
ECED372

LESSON PLAN OUTLINE

JMU Elementary Education Program
TITLE OF LESSON Sensory Alphabet Hunt

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CONTEXT OF LESSON

This activity is appropriate for these students because this is a hands on activity in which
they really enjoy doing. Because they are in Kindergarten, they have a good sense of the
alphabet but some still might have trouble finding objects that start with certain letters. This
lesson will give the students a chance to take a break from what the unit they are in now to
recap what they have been learning for years. Being they are learning about spring, eggs,
life cycle, birds, etc., I have incorporated some objects dealing with those things that they
should easily recognize. These students will be grouped according to reading size so you
will know who may need more help and who could use the harder bucket.
OBJECTIVES AND ASSESSMENT
Developmental Objectives
1. The students will recognize a letter of
the alphabet and search for it in their bin.

2. The students will be able to find an

object within the bucket and match it with
the corresponding letter in which it starts
with.

Assessment
I will observe each child and see what letters they are having trouble
recognizing and finding. If a child is having trouble, I will say If you
cannot find the letter, move on to another and get back to it later! This
will encourage them that it is not a race and they can take some extra time
on any letter they need to. I will record who has problems and who found
all their letters on the attached data collection instrument.
I will observe each child to see what objects they are pulling out of the
bucket and ask, What is this object? What does it start with? Does
that match any of the letters you pulled out? For those having trouble I
will take a little longer to explain and asked them more open-ended
questions until they figure it out. I will record who had problems and
who correctly matched each object without problems on the attached data
collection instrument.

COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENT DATA

See attached document.
RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING (K & 1) OR FOUNDATION BLOCKS
(Preschool)
K.7 The student will develop an understanding of basic phonetic principles
A. Identify and name the uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet
MATERIALS NEEDED
Four Bins (I will provide)
Rice (I will provide)
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Worksheet with letters (I will provide)

Alphabet letters (I will provide)
Objects for the bucket (I will provide)
PROCEDURE

Preparation of learning environment- When it is time for the lesson I will make
sure none of the students are at the tables where the lesson will take place. Because there are 18 kids in the
classroom, they will be grouped in two groups of three and three groups of four. The following groups are:
Smiley Faces, Stars, Hearts, Suns, and Flowers. The Smiley Faces and Stars are the more advanced group.
Smiley Faces: Aleathea, Hunter, Dalton.
Stars: Madi, Livia, Camden.
Hearts: Jimmy, Madison, Brodie, Lillian.
Suns: Austin, Janie, Alexis, Nicholas.
Flowers: Cole, Emma, Zack, Becca.
I will give each student a name tag with their group name on it so they will know
who is in what group before we start the activity. On my table, I will have three or
four bins depending on the group. There will be a worksheet with each bucket. On the
worksheet, the students will be able to put each letter on one square followed by the
matching object on the other. I will then fill up each bin with rice and place the letters
inside with the matching objects and other random objects just to make it a litter
harder. I will make sure there are trashcans nearby just in case a student spills their
bucket. I will put an orange table cloth on my table so the children know where to
rotate. Once I am done setting up, it will be time for the students to start the activity.
Engagement and introduction of the lesson- To get the childrens attention, I will
start calling the groups up by name. The first group that will start at my orange table is the Smiley Face
group. As they sit at my table, I will first tell the name of the lesson since that is engaging as it is. I will say,
Who knows the alphabet? which all the students will raise their hand. Then I will say, Well today we are
doing a scavenger hunt for letters of the alphabet and objects that start with that letter. If you look on the
worksheet next to your bucket you will see eight empty boxes, four on one row and four on another. It is
your job to use only one hand to find each letter that is in your bucket. But to make it a little harder I not
only put rice in the bucket but a bunch of random objects that dont start with your letters; so you will have
to move the rice around to find each letter, then go back and find the matching object.
Implementation of the lesson- As the students start the activity, I will use my data
collection instrument to record who is having trouble and on what letters, who knew all their letters, who was
finding the right objects and who was having trouble, and who is not promoting good behavior. I will ask
So, what do you think is the hardest part about this activity? and What is your favorite part? This will
help me see what I should change about this activity. I will ask, How much easier do you think it would be
if you got to use both hands?, Do you think it would change the level of fun? Having more objects in
there will not only make it harder to find the correct ones in the bucket but will make them think about what
object starts with what letter.
Closure- To close the activity, I will have them clean up their bin that they were
currently working on. Id ask them to please put all the objects back and swirl it around to make it just as
hard for the next group. I will then have them give me feedback by having them raise their hand and express
their feelings. It will be nice to know what I could do differently with the next group and for future groups.
Before they leave, I will remind them where they are going after and how long they have to get there and get
ready for the next activity.
Clean-up- Though this might be the hardest part, I will make sure each child is
engaging in cleaning up and not just fooling around so I have time to get ready for the next group. I will
make sure every object and letter is hidden and the worksheets are next to each bin. If there are four students
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in the upcoming group than I will put four bins on my table, if there are three students than I will put three.
The rotation is: Smiley Faces, Stars, Hearts, Suns, Flowers.
DIFFERENTIATION
To meet the needs of all the students, I have prepared the groups in advanced. Smiley Faces and Stars
are the more advanced groups while the Hearts, Suns, and Flowers are the more average groups. For
the two advanced groups, I have made an extra bucket with SH, CH, and TH, all with matching
objects and other random objects. This will fit their needs because it wont be so easy for them and get
bored yet it will be a little more challenging. I will be the one sticking my hand in the bucket finding
the letters while the students will be calling out the letters. Then I will put it on a worksheet and
follow the exact same rules as the activity except I am doing a harder activity. I decided to be the one
who directed this bucket so I will have a chance to talk to all the students and engage them as a group.
I will then attend to my data collection instrument and record who knew and who didnt know.
WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?

Easy: One problem with this activity is that students could think it is too
easy and lose interest. Though this will upset me because I have put time
into making this lesson, I will take this as an opportunity to ask open-ended
questions to make them think a little harder like What other objects start
with ___? This will have them start listing off different things and
challenge them.
Messy: Keeping a trashcan around is a must but I cant guarantee that my
area will stay clean. In that case I will stress in the beginning of the
activity how important it is to not throw the rice and to keep it in the
bucket for all the other students. Though mistakes do happen, I will not
get mad rather just ask them to help clean it up. This will test their good
behavior and I will record it on the data collection instrument.
Not paying attention: There are some children in groups that have a small
attention spand so I will keep an eye out on them the whole time. If I keep
asking them questions, it will keep their focus on me and the lesson.
Too hard: This lesson could be easy to some but hard to others. Some
students may not know the name of the objects in their bucket and will just
blow over it without asking. Here I am going to have to pay close attention
to who is just making names up so they match the letters and who actually
understand the concept.

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Lesson Plan Reflection

As soon as possible after teaching your lesson, reflect on the experience. Use the questions/prompts below to
guide your thinking. Be thorough in your reflection and use specific examples to support your insights.

A. How did your actual lesson differ from your plans? Describe the changes you made & explain why
you made them. Be thorough & specific in your description. (3 pts)

B. Evaluate the impact of the lesson based on your plan for assessing learning and the individual data
you collected on each objective. Cite multiple examples of student behavior & language that document
your conclusions. (8 pts)

C. Describe at least one way you could incorporate developmentally appropriate practice in a better or
more thorough way if you were to present this lesson again. (2 pts)

D. If you were the teacher in this classroom, what follow-up experiences would you plan? (Develop
your answer based on the data that was collected and your observations during the lesson.) (2 pts)

E1. Share something you learned about young children as a result of planning and conducting the
activity. Relate this new knowledge to principles of child development or appropriate curriculum from
your ELED 308 and ECED 372 courses. (2 pts)

E2. Share something you learned about teaching as a result of planning and conducting this activity.
Describe how you will apply this new knowledge to upcoming opportunities for developing learning
experiences for children. (6 pts)

E3. Share something you learned about yourself as a result of planning & conducting this activity? (2
pts)

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