Name: Carrie Smith   Date: February 16, 2005   

Age/ Grade Level: 5 and 6 years old/ Kindergarten

# of students: 24    # of IEP students: 2    # of GSSP students:0    # of LEP students:0

Subject: Reading            Major Content: Letter and Sound Recognition With Letter Z

Lesson Length: Thirty minutes            Unit Title: Winter  

Lesson Number: Lesson One for Letter Z       Lesson Title: Meet Mr. Z

Preparation:

Content:
      This relates to the unit of study in that students are making connections between letters and their corresponding sounds in words in the lesson. This lesson relates to the unit that the students have been studying in that the Z letter sound is introduced by using the wintertime story The Jacket I Wear In The Snow by Shirley Neitzel. Through using the story the students will become familiar with what the letter Z looks like as well as how it sounds. The students have been working on a winter unit over the past couple of weeks. Two other letters have been introduced in the previous two weeks as well. Those letters were also introduced in the same manner by using a story that was appropriate to the winter unit theme that had words in them that began with the letters beginning sound. With using the same format as lessons for other letters throughout the year the students have been able to develop a routine. With this routine the students know what behavior is to be expected during the introduction of a new letter.

Objectives:

1. The students will be able to pick out the letter Z sound in the Zippy Zebra story and in workstation activity.
2. The students will be able to write the letter Z both in upper and lower case during the workstation activity.

Connections:

Core Content: RD-E-x.0.1

Use word recognition strategies (e.g., phonetic principles, context clues, structural analysis) to determine pronunciations and meanings of words in passages.

Academic Expectations:

Academic Expectation 6.2

Students use what they already know to acquire new knowledge, develop new skills, or interpret new experiences.

Academic Expectation 6.3

Students expand their understanding of existing knowledge by making connections with new knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Assessment Plan:

Resources, media, and technology:

The Jacket I Wear In The Snow book, manila paper, Furry, Zippy Zebra story, zippers, zigzag rickrack, Mr. Z, cassette player, Z Letter Person cassette tape, Z tracers, markers, pencils, and Z sound recognition worksheet

Procedures:

Boys and Girls when Miss. Carrie came into the room today Furry stopped me as soon as I got in the door. He was so excited about a story The Jacket I Wear In The Snow that Miss Z had given him. The letter person told him that there is a Z in the story. So put on your thinking caps and see if you can figure out what the special Z sound is in this story. Then the teacher will read The Jacket I Wear In The Snow to the students. But did any of you figure out what the special Z word in that story that Furry gave me? The students will be given a chance to respond to the question that was posed to them. Then the teacher will knock on Furry’s house to see if he is there. Then the teacher will reach down in and get him out. They then will talk about how he liked that story because it had a Z sound in it. Let the children name the thing in the story that began with the zebra zoom sound. Write the Z word that the students come up with on the dry erase board. Furry will then tell the teacher to reach down into his home and pull out what he is putting in his coat and pull out the zipper. Ask the students what are some places that they could find zippers. Give the students time to answer. Furry will then tell the students that he loves zippers because they keep his coat closed and make him stay warm. Then the teacher will ask Furry where he got his zipper from and he will say Miss. Z of course. Then the leader will go to check and see if Miss. Z has arrived yet. After he is brought to the front of the classroom Furry will say to the students well now it is time for me to zoom off. Then he goes back in his home. Talk about the things on Miss. Z that begins with the letter Z. The teacher will then demonstrate on Miss. Z how to make the upper and lower case z. Then using Miss. Z we will trace in the air how to make a capital z and a lower case z. Well boys and girls Miss. Z brought a song with her today and I think we should listen to it and see if we can find words that begin with Z. Every Z word that you hear in her song I want you to write a big Z in the air. Then play the Z Letter Person song in the cassette player. After the song is done the teacher will introduce the Zippy the Zebra story that Mr. Z has given her. She will then have the students listen for five Z words when the story is read. After the story is read the teacher will have the students give her five or more of the Z words that they heard and write them on the dry erase board. The teacher will then have them stand up and pretend they are zipping them selves all the way up high and then all the way down low. After they have zipped down low the teacher will have them turn around and sit back down facing the workstations. Then the teacher will introduce the activities that will be in workstations that deal with the letter Z.

            During workstation time I want you to make a Z with the tracers. All over the Z that you make the students will make zigzags all over it. After you have made the Z’s and made the zigzags flip your paper over and write your first and last name. Then the teacher will do the Z sound paper with the students in small groups on the front page. The back of the paper can be done independently in the workstations and checked by a teacher. The third workstation is using zippers to measure, which is long, short, or the same. The students work in groups of three or four to place them in order from shortest to longest. With the teacher checking when the work is completed. Then the teacher will call groups to go to workstations and centers.

Summative Student Assessment:

            For the first objective the students will have to be able to identify the Z sound in the story and be able as a class to name at least five. They also at their workstation will have to be able to identify the words that begin with the Z sound on the sound recognition paper. The second objective is that they students will be able to trace the upper and lowercase Z’s and them write them correctly during the workstation time this will be done using the worksheet with letter sound recognition and when the students are using the tracers to make the Z’s both upper and lowercase on the manila paper.

Follow-up/ Foreshadowing:

In the workstations that the students do in subsequent days the students will be doing activities where they must sound out the word to see if it has the Z sound in it. They also will have activities where they practice writing the letter Z in upper and lower case forms. In review lesson over the letter Z the students will watch the letter people video, which reinforces the sound of letter Z and also how the letter the letter is formed.

Instructional Impact/Analysis of Teaching and Learning:

The students were able to successfully name more than five words in the Zippy Zebra  story that began with the letter Z. They also were able to pick out the words that began with Z on the phonics page at the workstation. The workstation with the Z is done in small groups to reinforce students who may not be sure about the sound the letter makes so they can see how to test the sound. After how to test the sound is modeled for them many can become successful at it. Letter recognition with letter Z was the other workstation that was used to reinforce Z and the Z sound. The students were able to successfully trace the letter Z and then make zigzags on the Z. The zigzags are used because they begin with the Z sound.

Instructional Refinement:

The students who were involved in this lesson were actively engaged. They were able to complete all of the tasks in the lesson with little or no help. It was clear that they were able to pick out the Z and the Z sound through the workstations. The students were excited to learn about the new letter person who was coming. This helped the lesson flow smoothly and kept the students interested. I think another hands on or movement activity in this lesson would have helped to keep the students focused on the lesson. Also better transition activities from one section to another of the lesson would help make the lesson go smoother.