EDUC 417 Special Education

Lesson Plan Outline

Design For Learning
Instructor: Abby Diamond
Lesson Title: Writing the Letter A
Curriculum Area: Language Arts

Grade Level: Preschool (modified)

Date: September 30, 2015
Estimated Time: 15 minutes

Assistive Technology Used in this lesson:

Student Al does not have good fine motor skills. She struggles with gripping writing tools like
pencils or crayons. Because of this, I choose to use the app iTrace as an assistive technology tool
to help her write with a writing tool. This app is an app that allows students to use their fingers to
trace over a letter using their finger. The app gives them direction on where to start writing the
letter and which lines to write first. It allows students to write the letter without actually using a
writing tool like a pencil. This app was extremely beneficial for Al because allowed her the
opportunity to work on her handwriting without having to use a writing tool like a pencil. It
enhanced the learning of the student because she got to practice writing the letter A without the
struggle of trying to hold a pencil, which is really hard for the student. The use of this form of
assistive technology helped assist the student with her lack of fine motor skills. It provided a way
for her to write the letter A without using a traditional writing tool which is a struggle for the
student.
***** The lesson is highlighted where the Assistive Technology was used.

Standards Connection and IEP Goal:

LL.P.1.1 Understand and follow spoken directions.
LL.P.4.2 Respond to questions.
LL.P.5.1 Experiment with a variety of writing tools and materials.
LL.P.5.1.1 Use writing tools appropriately to draw or write.
LL.P.5.2 Progress from using scribbles, shapes or pictures to represent ideas, to using letters or
letter-like symbols or writing familiar words such as their own name.
LL.P.5.2.2 Combine purposeful marks to form letters
LL.P.5.2.3 Make purposeful marks such as lines and circles
IEP goal for Student Al:
-Draw a straight line down
-Attend to and complete 4 learning tasks per work session that represent time on task of atleast 4
minutes
-Follow two-step directions
Learning Objective:

Student An and Student AS: Students will be able to correctly write the letter A when given a
sheet of paper.
Student Al (Modified): Student will be able to
1. Draw a straight line down
2. Write the letter A using a template.
Kid Friendly Objective: Today we will be learning how to write the letter A!
Evaluation of Learning Objective: Student An and Student AS: Students will be able to
correctly write the letter A without assistance on the first try. All of the lines should be straight
with no curved lines or zig zag lines.
Student Al (Modified): Student will correctly draw a straight line down on the first try. The
teacher will use teacher discretion on how straight the line should be to be considered straight.
The student will also be able to write the letter A on paper using a template. The student will stay
in the lines and draw all three straight lines. The lines do not have to be perfectly straight, but
pretty close to being straight.
Engagement: The teacher will state the behavior expectations of the student. She will play the
Letter A video and ask the students what the video was about. She will then explain what they
will be learning about today. Good morning boys and girls! Today I will be teaching you, and I
need you to sit in your chair, keep your hands in your lap, and put your listening ears on. Can
you do that for me? Very good job student! To start off with, we are going to watch a short video.
I want you pay attention while we watch this video. Pull up the video The Letter A Song on the
iPad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beT_KcblaBI and watch the video. So what did this
video talk about? Yes, it talked about the letter A! Have you ever heard of the letter A before?
Awesome! Today, we are going to get to do some stuff with the letter A. Today, we are actually
going to learn how to write a letter A.
Design for Learning:
I.

Teaching: The teacher will begin by showing a letter card with the letter A on it. She will ask
students what they notice about the letter A, specifically what kind of lines make up the letter A.
She will show a sheet of different types of lines to students. She will explain how the letter A is
written. She will model, step by step, how to write the letter A on the white board/chalkboard.
She will then give the students letter cards, which is a paper with the shape of the letter on it. She
will give the student some popsicle sticks with 2 different size pieces. She will have the students
put the popsicle sticks over the letter card. So like I just said, today we will be working on how to
write the letter A. The letter A is special because Student Al, Student An, and Student AS all start
with the letter A! It is really important for us to learn how to write the letter A because you will
have to write your name for the rest of your life. I know you can work really hard, so I want you

to show me that you can! Before we actually write the letter A, I am going to show you a picture
of something. Now, does anyone know what these are? Yes, good job! These are lines! So there
are all different kinds of lines. Some of straight, some are curved, some are zig zaged. Show the
picture card of the letter A with the lines highlighted. Now, I want you to look at this letter card
of the letter A. What do you notice about the letter A by looking at it? Lets look back at our sheet
of different lines. What type of lines do you see in the letter A? Yes, I see straight lines too. Do
you see any curved lines? Me neither. So the letter A is made up of straight lines. There are no
curves or zig zigs in this letter. Get out the letter card again. How many lines do you see that the
letter A is made of? Lets count them together. Count the lines with the students. Good, I see
three too. One, two, three. Two bigger ones and one short one. Before I have you guys actually
practice writing the lines, I am going to let you use popsicle sticks to make the letter A. Notice
that the popsicle sticks are straight lines. They are not curved! Pass out the popsicle sticks and
letter templates for students to practice on. Have students make the letter A using popsicle sticks.
Now, I am going to show you how to write the letter A. Teacher will model how to do this on the
white board. The first part of writing the letter A is to draw one straight line in a diagonal. Then,
draw another straight line in a diagonal. At this point, you should have two lines that sort of
look like a pointy hat. Last, you draw one straight line to connect both of the other lines.
II.

Opportunity for Practice: The students will practice writing the letter A by using the app iTrace
on the iPad, using the chalkboard to write the letter A, and tracing the letter A on the paper using
a crayon. The students will rotate between doing each of these. They will take turns using the
iPad since there is only one iPad. The teacher will assists Student Al with chalkboard and with
tracing the letter on paper. Awesome job making the A with the popsicle sticks! Now we are going
to practice writing the letter A with a couple of activities. You will each get to practice the letter
A by tracing the letter A on the iPad, using the chalkboard to write the letter A, and also tracing
the letter A on the paper using a crayon. First, I want Student Al on the iPad. I want Student An
using the chalkboard, and Student AS tracing the letter on the paper. Student An and Student As,
you will each get a turn on the iPad, but first I need you to sit still and complete your task first
before you get to use the iPad. Show me good work so that you get to play on the iPad. This
process will continue until all cards have been sorted. The teacher can continue to prompt, but
hopefully the child will be able to do this activity independently. Great job completing all these
activities!

III.

Assessment: The student will be given 6 pictures and will have to sort those pictures with the
letters M, S and T on a separate piece of paper. The student will correctly match all 3 letters to
their corresponding picture. The student will then have to say the sound of the letter out loud to
the teacher. Okay great job with all your work students! You all have done a great job paying
attention. Now we get to do one more activity. The last thing we are going to do is for you guys
to actually write the letter A! I am going to give you a piece of paper and I want you to write the
letter A for me. Remember, what type of lines does the letter A have in it? Yes, it has all straight
lines. So remember this as you draw your letter A. Student An and Student As, I want you to draw

me the best letter A I have ever seen. Student Al, I want you to just draw one straight line for me
and then trace over this template of the letter A using your best straight lines. Let student work
independently and draw the letter A. Assist Student Al as needed. You did a wonderful job
writing the letter A!
IV.

Closure: Teacher will praise the student for working hard on her assignment. They will talk
about why letter A is especially important to know how to write. The teacher will give the
students a coloring sheet to color as a fun activity at the end. Great job today students! I am so
proud at you for following directions and writing the letter A. The letter A is a special letter
because each of our names start with the letter A. So it is important to know how to write the
letter A. Now, I have a coloring sheet for you to color that is the letter A. What is the letter A in
the shape of? Yes, an alligator. An alligator starts with the letter A. Once the students are
finished, praise them for their hard work. Great job today students! I am so proud of your hard
work!
Differentiation Strategies and Plans for Individual Learners:
Accommodations and Modifications:
Student Al: The teacher will seat Student N near the teacher to make sure that she stays on task.
Because Student AL struggles with fine motor skills, writing the letter A with a writing tool is
difficult with Student A. So, the teacher will uses hands on manipulatives, the popsicle sticks, to
give students practice with lines and forming the letter A, instead of just having the students
write the letter A. In opportunity for practice, the teacher will assist the student in writing the
letter A using the chalkboard and tracing it on the paper. The teacher will do hand-over-hand. The
teacher will let the student do the iPad game first during opportunity for practice, then the
teacher will assist student for the rest of opportunity for practice. For the assessment, the teacher
will require the student to draw a straight line on her own. Instead of having to draw the letter A
completely on her own, the teacher will give the student a letter A template and instruct the
student to trace over it and stay in the lines. The teacher will assess the students ability to draw a
straight line and stay in the lines.
Extensions:
If the student already knows how to write the letter A, the teacher will give the students an extra
sheet to practice writing the letter A, first tracing it and then writing it on their own. The teacher
will also have the students write their own name, since this starts with the letter A. The teacher
will have the student practice writing the next letter in the alphabet, the letter B.
Materials and Resources:

Letter A Song Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beT_KcblaBI

iPad

iTrace app on the iPad

Crayons/pencils
Letter A cards (one for each student)
Small chalkboards and chalk
Dry erase board
Marker
Popsicle sticks (put in individual bags for each student)
Letter A template for practice
Letter A template for assessment
Paper for assessment
Sheet with different types of lines on it

Date Analysis:

Reflection: