LESSON PLAN OUTLINE

JMU Elementary Education Program

The following information should be included in the header of the lesson plan:
Mrs. Rooney
Preschool (4 year olds) at the Young Childrens Program
Plan will be implemented on October 19, 2015 at 1:30 p.m.
I. TITLE OF LESSON Read aloud on All Year Long by Kathleen W. Deady
II. CONTEXT OF LESSON
Read alouds are very important to incorporate into early childhood classrooms because
they are the best opportunity for children to learn comprehension and new vocabulary. The
most crucial part about incorporating read alouds into my own classroom would be because
they excite children about reading. I have seen first hand experiences with read alouds and
they drive children to ask very engaging questions. I have choosen to read All Year Long by
Kathleen W. Deady because it is very relatable to activities that many of the children in my
own classroom may do with their families as the seasons change. I thought a book about the
seasons changing would be fun to learn since we recently worked on activities involving
butterflies for the fall and they are soon to learn about leaves changing. I think the children will
be engaged by the colorful pictures and fun activities that the young girl does throughout the
year.
III. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Understand: Students will understand more about the four seasons.
Know: Students will learn characteristics of each season and what characteristics make each
season different.
Do: Students will know the characteristics of each season and be able to create a picture of
their favorite season.
IV. COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENT DATA
Children will answer the question: What is a new characteristics that you learned about a
season?
Students will use the materials given to them to create a picture of their favorite season.
V. RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING (K & 1) OR FOUNDATION BLOCKS
(Preschool)
Virginia Literacy Foundation Block 1 (Oral Language)
a) Listen with increasing attention to spoken language, conversations, and texts read
aloud.
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d) Use complete sentences to ask and answer questions about experiences or about
what has been read.
h) Follow simple one- and two-step oral directions.

Virginia Literacy Foundation Block 1 (Vocabulary)

b) Listen with increasing understanding to conversations and directions.
VI. MATERIALS NEEDED
All Year Long by Kathleen W. Deady
Paper to draw/create a season on
For activity: buttons, cotton balls, feathers, tissue paper, ribbon, pipe cleaner,
felt, and paint
VII. PROCEDURE
A. PREPARATION OF THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
I will have all necessary materials already available on an activity table for after the read
aloud. This makes for smooth transition from the read aloud to the activity.
I will have a picture of each season laid out on the activity table for reference.
B. INTRODUCTION AND ORGANIZATION
I will begin with introducing the book. I will ask, What do you think this book will be about?
then I will explain a quick overview of the book and how the girl does multiple fun activates
with her family during each of the four seasons. I will ask, Does anyone know what season it
is right now?
I will explain to the small group to pay close attention because after the book is done you will
have a change to create a picture of your favorite season!
As I read the book I will ask questions like, Has anyone ever had hot cocoa when it gets
cold? and Do you like to play in the snow?
Right after the book is over I will direct the student to the activity table where all of the
materials and pictures of the seasons will be laid out.
I will be walking around to help any student that needs anything.
C. IMPLEMENTATION
The students will be creating a picture of their favorite season while sitting down at the activity
table. I will explain that any of the materials can be used to create their products. I will ask
questions like, What makes ____ your favorite season? and Can you explain to me what
you created?
D. CLOSURE

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I will be asking questions about the final product of the pictures that the students
created. I will try and ask valuable questions that will fully allow each student to explain
characteristics of their pictures.
E. CLEAN-UP
I will make sure that all supplies are put back in there appropriate spots and that all
necessary trash is thrown away.
VIII. DIFFERENTIATION
For my read aloud, I choose a book that is colorful and a book that children would find
engaging. The book contains fun activities that children can do with friends, family, parents,
and anyone that would be willing to play. The activities in the book should be relatable to
every child in the class in some way or another. The play that is demonstrated in the book is
safe, inviting, and relatable. I will use the four pictures (one for each season) that are in the
classroom each day and use it as a guide for the children to look at when creating their
pictures. I will also provide many different pieces of material for the children so they can make
each picture their own and different from each students.
IX. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT
IT?
Depending on the moods of the children in the small group, they might be talkative and
unwilling to listen to the story. I hope that not too many questions will be asked throughout the
reading. I will use technique such as the ones Mrs. Rooney uses such as, can you please
save your questions until after the story is over? Also during the activity, I know all students
will not want to create a picture of their favorite season. I will have the activity available to
every child that is interested.
X. REFLECTION
Overview- The book and activity that I choose correlated well with my course content. The
lesson gave the children a chance think about the four seasons and think about what their
favorite season is. I choose a book that used all different types of materials to create the
pictures on each page. The book I choose gave me the great idea to use the materials such
as buttons, cotton balls, felt, paint markers, tissue paper, etc. for the students to create a
picture of their own. The students were able to explain to me what their favorite season was
and talk through what they were creating and exactly what they created when they were
done. The students also learned about characteristics that made each season different and
different activities that can be done outside with their families and friends during each season.
Teaching Methods- I first prepared for this lesson by rereading the book a few times and
reading over my lesson the night before implementation. I showed up for class 15 minutes
early to begin setting up for my lesson. I found showing up for class early and being well
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prepared for my lesson made it much easier to implement. I will continue to review the
questions I want to ask for my lesson the night before, along with the full lesson and many
books/materials I will be using. Next lesson I implement I will make sure I know where all of
the materials are because locating and setting up my lesson took longer than expected.
Student Learning- The students were very engaged during the lesson. A few times they got
distracted by asking each other questions but for the most part the lesson couldnt have gone
better. I was able to assess the students progress by asking meaningful questions before,
during, and after the read aloud. Before the read aloud began I asked the students what
season it was right now? One of the students was able to answer the question and the other
student agreed. During and after the read aloud the students pointed out characteristics of
the seasons and gave me a thumbs up if they had participated in particular activities before
(ex: building a snowman in the winter). After the read aloud was over we discussed each
season and how all four occur each year and begin again in spring and move through
summer, fall, and winter. The students told me what their favorite season was and why. Then
the students created a picture of their favorite season with the materials provided and they
explained what they were creating/what they created when the picture was finished.
Future Lessons- I would definitely do this read aloud and activity again. Next time I would do
the read aloud with a whole group. Since I gave the children a choice to come join in on the
read aloud many of them decided that they would rather play. The children that did join in on
the read aloud and art activity had a blast! Im so glad that I decided to do an art activity with
the materials used in the book because the children got a chance to use their creativity with
materials that they normally dont get a chance to use.

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