SETON HILL UNIVERSITY

Lesson Plan Template

TOPIC
Name
Subject
Grade Level
Date/Duration
Big Ideas
Essential Questions
PA/Common
Core/Standards

DETAILS
Mary Kate Gallagher
Language Arts
First Grade
45 minutes
Students will learn about the short u and where they will find the
short u.

What does a short u sound like?

What words in Biscuit have short us?

CC.1.1.1.C:
Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds
(phonemes).
Distinguish long from short vowel sounds in spoken singlesyllable words.

Objective

The first grade students will be able to identify the beginning and
ending sounds to words using the short u through hands-on
activities including reading a book and acting out the letters, with
100% accuracy.

Formative: Students will be informally assessed through

observation during the main activity and through answering and
questioning throughout the story.

Bloom's Taxonomy
Webb's Depth of
Knowledge (DOK)
Formative &
Summative
Assessment
Evidence

ISTE Standards for

Students
Framework for 21st
Century Learning
Accommodations,
Modifications

The students will be formally assessed through the closing

activity, which the students will complete spelling what an
object/picture is around the room that have a short u.
Summative: There will be no summative assessment this class
period.

ISTE: 2. Communication and collaboration - b. Communicate

information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a
variety of media and formats

Level 1 ELL student: ELL Student will have a translated version of

Biscuit. Have ELL student use the app Intro to Letters using
headphones. Intro to Letters allows students to trace the letter,
hear the sound, hear the letter in words and understand the
functions of the letter. I will have flash cards prepared for ELL
student that correlate to the words on the app being listed. The
flash card will have visuals as well as a Spanish translation
underneath of the word. For the closing activity, ELL student will
be paired with an advanced student and walk around the room to

CK

find objects/pictures that use a short u. The pictures for the ELL
student that are around the room will have the word in English as
well as Spanish on the back.
Student with diabetes who is also gifted: The gifted student will
have the responsibility of being the short u during our letter card
game. The student with the short u has the job of telling the other
students the sound of their letter. For the closing activity, there
will be more advanced words in one section of the room for her to
find. Instead of the word Fun, she will be looking for the word
umbrella.
Student who reads two grade levels behind: While reading the book
biscuit as a class, I will have this student sit in close proximity and
use my finger to show her we read left to right, top to bottom.
This student will have different letter cards than the rest of the
class for the letter game. On the back of her letter card she will
have examples of her letter. For example, if her letter is f she
will have fun written on the back of her letter card. For the
closing activity, this student will find pictures of letters to create
words rather than simply pictures. For example, her pictures that
she is to find will be of a sun in the shape of an s, then a picture of
a rug in the shape of an r, and so on.

SUPERVISING
TEACHERS
SIGNATURE

Seton Hill University Lesson Plan Template Step-by-Step Procedures

RATIONALE for the
Learning Plan
Introduction

CK
Activating Prior Knowledge
In the beginning of class, the students will go over previous sounds
of letters that we have learned. These letters include f, c, g, h, p, r,
and s. I will ask for volunteers to sound out the letter than have the
entire class say the sound together.
Hook/Lead-In/Anticipatory Set
Before reading the book Biscuit tell students to keep their eyes
open for words that have the letter u in them. Read the book
Biscuit.

Explicit
Instructions

Big Idea Statement

Today we are going to learn about the short u.
Essential Questions Statement
What does the short u sound like?
What are some words that use a short u?
What are some words that do not use a short u?
Objective Statement
The first grade students will be able to identify the beginning and
ending sounds to words using the short u through hands-on

activities including reading a book and acting out the letters, with
100% accuracy.
Transition
Have students walk from their desks to story rug while
pronouncing a short u when walking.
Send students back to desks after they receive their letter card,
Students are separated into groups by whether they pulled a word
out of the hat with a short u or without a short u.
Lesson Procedure

1. First ask students the sounds of letters that were previously

learned. Those letters include f, c, g, h, p, r, and s. Have a
volunteer say the sound, then have the entire class repeat.
2. Next we will be reading the book Biscuit. Before starting the
book tell students to look for words that are spelt with the letter
u. Read the book and point out words that are spelt with the
letter u.
3. After the story explain what a short u sounds like. Pass out letter
signs to each student. After the student receives their letter they
are permitted to go back to their desks.
4. The student who receives the card with the letter u on it, has the
role of going around the room and telling the other students (who
should not have looked at their cards yet) what their letter sounds
like. I will say a word and the students have the responsibility to
listen to the word and decide whether or not they are needed to
spell the word out. Words that will be used to have students spell
out using their cards include; cup, hug, run, sun, pun, fun, pup.
After the students get the hang of the game we can continue to play
and add a time limit of how fast they are to spell the word.
5. After the students finish the game, they are to go back to their
desks. Each student will pick a word out of the hat and decide
whether or not the u in the word is a short u or a long u. The
student is to go to the front of the classroom one at a time and state
whether or not their word uses a short u. If the word uses a short
u then the student is to place the word next to the sun, if it does not
use a long u then the student is to place the word next to the rain.
6. Students will separate into two groups depending on whether or
not they placed their card under the sun or under the rain during
the last activity. Students will complete a closing activity of using
pictures around the room that are spelt using a short u. After the
student finds an object or picture are to spell the word out on the
white board. They are permitted to work with the other students
in their class.
Modeling of the Concept
Before each activity I will give directions and show students how
the activity is to be completed.
Guiding the Practice
Throughout the lesson I will be guiding the discussions and games,
as well as monitoring during the closing activity.

Providing the Independent Practice

Students will independently decide when their letter is being used,
which location to place their word, and have the opportunity to
work alone during the closing activity.
Transition
Have students walk from their desks to story rug while
pronouncing a short u when walking.
Send students back to desks after they receive their letter card,
Students are separated into groups by whether they pulled a word
out of the hat with a short u or without a short u.
Reading Materials
Technology
Equipment
Supplies
Evaluation of the
Learning/Mastery
of the Concept

Letter cards (u, c, f, g, h, n, p, r, s)

Sun cut out, Rain cut out
Word cut outs: glue, run, hug, juice, cup, cube, tube, pup, rug,
umbrella

Formal Evaluation
The students will be formally assessed through the closing activity,
in which the students will go around the room and spell out either
objects or pictures that use a short u.
Informal Evaluation
Students will be informally assessed through observation during
the main activity and through answering and questioning
throughout the story.

Closure

Teacher
Self-reflection

Summary & Review of the Learning

Students will separate into two groups depending on whether or
not they placed their card under the sun or under the rain during
the last activity. Students will complete a closure worksheet
(attached). They are permitted to work with the other students in
their class.
The work sheet has students look at a picture, decide what the
picture is and spell it, and circle if that word uses a short u.