Lesson plan development and implementation

Lesson Plan

An Introduction to Books: A Sheltered Learning Plan

The goal of this lesson is to make students more comfortable with books. This lesson is not, however, designed to introduce students to the idea of reading or even encourage them to read. Reading can be a daunting subject to any kindergartener. This is especially true for the English language learner. Instead, this lesson is designed to show books as fun rather than scary. At the end of this lesson, students will:

Learn the basic features of a book, such as the cover, title page, and illustrations

Learn how to have fun with a book by using illustrations to create a story

Feel comfortable with asking an adult to read to them Materials

Two to three picture books will be needed for each group, as well as one teacher, parent, or other adult volunteer per group.

Lesson Procedure

This lesson is a unique way for kindergarten students to begin to experience books. In many classrooms, kindergarten students have a variety of experiences with books. Some families may have read to their children for quite some time, others may have no books in the house. This lesson provides and interesting way to allow students of all backgrounds to approach reading and books. Though simple, it contains many methods of learning that are helpful to students.

Lesson Description

Introduction

This lesson begins as the teacher explains that, today, the students will be looking at books. The teacher then models for the students the ways that they can enjoy books. She picks up a picture book, and opens it for the students to see. At each page, she comments on the picture, and writes a story using those pictures. For example, she might say, "Oh, the baby elephant is crossing the road here. I wonder where he is going. Maybe that castle in the background is his home." After flipping through the book, the teacher invites the students to try.

Main Activities

The teacher breaks the students up into groups of about three or four. Before the lesson started, she has already formed the groups, and tells the students to quickly go sit in the groups that she names. At the learning sites, that have already been set up with three or four picture books depending on the number of students. The teacher instructs students to perform a hands-on activity by picking up a picture book and using the illustrations to tell themselves a story, just as the teacher had done before. They take turns showing and interpreting their books to their fellow classmates. When they have completed this task, the teacher asks the groups to discuss, as a class, what they liked and disliked about the activity. Next, the teacher states that being read to can also be an enjoyable activity. The teacher asks the students to practice relia by inviting the volunteers to read to each group. The group is asked, after the activity, to share how it was enjoyable.