Level: Early Weekly Lesson Plan for Shared Reading Grade 1 Week of: Note: This sample plan contains considerably more detail than you would include in your own day book plan. This level of detail has been provided as a guideline, to show what you should be considering as you plan your lesson. Type of Text Two morning message texts, one appropriate for September and the other for April are used in this lesson. These messages are developed by the teacher and are done daily as part of a shared reading activity. Dear Girls and Boys, September 12, 2005 Good morning! I hope that you had fun on the weekend. Today we will have a busy day. We will be watching a video on the four seasons. Then we will plant tulip bulbs at the front of the school. We are going to gym at 11:00. Have a fun day! Love, Mrs. Green. Overview This text, in letter format, is written by the teacher to the children in the class. In the first paragraph, there is reference to a past event; the rest of the text deals with activities that will be carried out that day. Although the sentence structures are simple and the vocabulary is mainly familiar, the content will lead to a rich discussion. Shared Reading Grade 1 page 1 Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2005
Dear Flower Lovers, April 12, 2006 What beautiful weather we had on the weekend! Did you do anything special because of the warm weather? The tulip bulbs that we planted in the fall have finally come through the ground! Today we will go outside at the front of the school to make notes on all the stages of growth that we observe and on the colours of our tulips. You will be using a clipboard, a pencil and a special recording sheet. Remember to write up your plant journal and to fill in your reading log. It looks like we will be very busy again today! Sincerely, Mrs. Green Thumb Overview This text, in letter format, is written by the teacher to the children in the class. The salutation and the signature are metaphoric in style. In the first paragraph, there is reference to a past event; the rest of the text deals with activities that will be carried out that day. There is a greater variety of sentence beginnings because of a combination of affirmative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences. The message is longer and the vocabulary is more conversational in style in order to reflect the intent of the writer. This message will be used as a starting point for a rich discussion. Shared Reading Grade 1 page 2 Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2005
Purpose Time Frame Materials Curriculum Expectations Assessment Opportunities To introduce students to the friendly letter format. 15 minutes daily, throughout the year chart stand chart paper black marker Students will: read a variety of simple written materials (e.g., signs, pattern books, rhymes, children s reference books) for different purposes (e.g., for practice, information, vocabulary building, enjoyment) follow written directions use phonics as an aid in learning new words Using the Reading Developmental Continuum the teacher observes each student and notes the characteristics, attitudes/values, knowledge about reading, and strategies used in reading at the early stage that correspond to the purpose of the lessons. Students: What is my teacher saying about what happened before? What is my teacher telling me about what we are doing today? What did I learn about reading that will help me be a better reader? Reflections for Students and Teacher Teacher: How easy or hard was this message to read for most of my students? What skills and strategies do they need to have reinforced or scaffolded? What could be taught in small groups? Did most of the students understand the meaning of the message on the first reading? Were students able to transfer some of their knowledge to other classroom activities? Note: The teacher s responses to these questions should be recorded with other assessment data for these students. Shared Reading Grade 1 page 3 Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2005
Time Frame During Procedure Since it is early in the school year, the teacher reads the entire message with participation from the children at their own comfort level. The teacher asks the following question to see what the children understand about the meaning of the message: What is my message about? A short conversation ensues, along with the rereading of that part of the text that deals with the point under discussion. The entire message is then reread by the entire class. The teacher asks the following question to get a picture of how the children are attending to print: What do you notice about the format of my message? Two or three answers from the children will provide a window into their thinking about conventions of print and their knowledge of friendly letters. The teacher directs the conversation to her teaching points: High-frequency words: I, and, you, on, the, we, a, at, of, are, to, love These words can be highlighted in one of a number of ways: with a coloured marker put a box around each word, use the reading masks, use highlighter tape. Word study: Use word families to read new words and to create new words: plant Learn about blends: front Two pieces of newsprint can be prepared ahead of time with the headings: ant words and fr words. Only a few examples of each are written up at this time; the rest are added when other examples are found either by the teacher or by the students in other texts during a variety of reading situations. After The teacher leads the students in a short discussion based on the reflective questions listed above. Shared Reading Grade 1 page 4 Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2005
Time Frame During Procedure Since it is much later in the school year, the students are asked to read the message in your head. The teacher asks the following question to see what the children understand about the meaning of the message: What is my message about? A short conversation ensues, along with the rereading of that part of the text that deals with the point under discussion. The entire message is then read aloud by the entire class. The teacher asks the following question to get a picture of how the children are attending to print: What do you notice about the kinds of sentences in this letter? Two or three answers from the children will provide a window into their thinking about conventions of print. The teacher directs the conversation to her teaching points: Word study Learn about compound words: weekend, anything, because, clipboards, today, outside Learn about root words and word endings: beautiful, finally, growth, sincerely Two pieces of newsprint can be prepared ahead of time with the headings: compound words and root words and word endings. Only a few examples of each type of word are written up at this time; the rest are added when other examples are found either by the teacher or by the students in other texts during a variety of reading situations. After The teacher leads the students in a short discussion based on the reflective questions listed above. Shared Reading Grade 1 page 5 Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2005