Abby Hull

EDU 3210
Lesson Plan

Grade Level: 1
st
Literature: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

Content
Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.3e Decode two-syllable words following basic
patterns by breaking the words into syllables.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.3b Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
Enduring Understandings: Upon completion of this lesson students will be able to
differentiate between one and two syllable words.
Objectives:
Students will understand what syllables are and how they are used.
Students will be able to understand and decode a word that is composed of one
syllable
Students will be able to understand and decode a word that is composed of two
syllables

Instructional Design
Anticipatory Set: Once all of the children are gathered in the reading area I will begin
speaking to them with only one syllable words, emphasizing their shortness. Hi class.
How are you? Do you like books? What is a good book? Now let us read a book as a
class. I will also clap (to count the syllables) while speaking and invite the children to
clap along with me. Then I will do the same thing except only using two syllable words:
Hello students, how have you been doing lately? Have you begun reading any
textbooks?
Instructional Input:
1. After engaging the students through the anticipatory set, I will then ask them if
they could tell what was different between the sentences. Did they notice that for
some words I clapped twice and for some I only clapped once? What do they
think that means? I will then explain what syllables are and how to effectively
decode them in words.
2. I will teach the children that syllables are a way to break up the sounds of the
words. Some words have many syllables (if theyre long) whereas others have not
very many syllables (if theyre short). Understanding how many syllables a word
has helps us to read words easier.
3. Once the students have mastered the understanding of syllables I will tell them
that we are going to read a book called If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura
Numeroff. The first time of reading the book I will not focus on the syllables but
tell the children to think quietly in their heads about how many syllables the
words have.
4. We will read the story together. After reading the story I will select certain words
from the story and write them on the board. For example, I would write the word
Napkin and then read it emphasizing the syllables Nap. Kin. I would then
draw a slash between the letters to show where the syllables are: Nap/Kin. I
would do this for a couple more words: Pic/Ture Pil/Low Mus/Tache I
would also use one syllable words to show how they are different from two
syllable words. Milk. When I say milk there is only one complete sound that my
mouth makes. My jaw only goes up and down once. If Milk had two syllables it
would sounds like Mi. Lk (have children say this). But we know that that isnt
how you say milk. I will use more examples of this such as Br. Oom., Hou.
Ssssee.
Instructional Modeling:
I will introduce the paper bags to the students that have the numbers 1 and 2 on them.
These bags will contain the pictures of items from the book based on how many syllables
they have. The pictures/words will be taken from the list below:
Mouse, cookie, milk, straw, napkin, mirror, mustache, scissors, broom, house, nap,
blanket, pillow, books, paper, crayons, picture, pen, tape
I will choose a few pictures from the pile and show how I would first decode what the
word is and then work to decide how many syllables it has.
When I pick up a picture, Ill first look at the word try to identify it. This is a picture of a
piece of lined paper. Then Ill say the word aloud while clapping. Pa (clap) Per
(clap). Paper has two syllables.
Next Im going to try another word. This looks like a house, and when I read it, it says
house. Then again, Ill say the word aloud while clapping. House (clap) This one is
different because theres one complete sound in the word. This means theres only one
syllable.
Guided Practice:
I will do the lesson along with the students. This will show them how to properly sort the
pictures and understand how to decode how many syllables are in each word.
Lets try doing this all together!
What is this a picture of?
Scissors!
Lets work together to split up the word scissors
All together: Scis (clap) Sors (clap)
How many syllables did we count?
Two!
We will do this with a few of the words:
What is this a picture of?
Tape!
Lets work together to split up the word tape
All together: Tape (clap)
It looks like this word is a bit different. How many syllables does a word have if it only
has one complete sound and it doesnt break into other sounds?
Two!

I will pick a few more pictures up and do the same thing as noted before. I will continue
this process until the students appear to be able to do the lesson independently.


Checking for Understanding:
I will be watching the students as they clap along with the words. As we progress through
the guided practice I will let the students take more control and do the clapping and
splitting of the words on their own. It will become clear when a student is either clapping
off beat, or looking confused that they may need extra attention.
Independent Practice:
Each student will receive two paper lunch bags: one with the number 1 on it and the other
with the number 2. They also will receive pictures of things from the book (such as
crayons) with the word underneath it. Their job will be to sort the words into the
appropriate bag. If the word were crayons, they would put it in the bag with the 2 in it to
symbolize two syllables. If the word were books they would put it in the bag with the 1
on it. This will be a time for students to work by themselves. They will be asked to turn
in their bags, and I will grade them based on how well they did on sorting into the bags.
Differentiation of Instruction:
Extension: For students who have already mastered this skill and would like more of a
challenge, I would introduce them to three syllable words. Then I would have them
differentiate between one, two, and three syllable words. I also might have them sort the
pictures into the bags without the words on the pictures. Instead they would have to
figure it out just by looking at the picture alone.
Simplification: For students who are struggling to grasp this skill and need some extra
help, I would spend more time on using examples. I would use another book and do the
same thing that I did with If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. This extra practice would
benefit the student greatly.
Closure:
As a class, the students and I will discuss how syllables are used all the time, and how
through using them we can better our reading and writing abilities.

Assessment

Formative Assessment:
Throughout the lesson I will be assessing children based on how involved they are in the
group activities. For instance, an assessment will be to see if they are clapping at the
same beat and with the correct amount of syllables. I will also be asking the students
individual questions during the group time, such as: "Can anyone tell me how many
syllables are in this word? (holds up picture of scissors with the word scissors below it)" I
would do this multiple times to allow many children to have a turn.
Summative Assessment:
Once the children have finished sorting their pictures with words into their two paper
bags, I will collect the bags. I will then be able to assess the children based on if the one
syllable words were in the one syllable bag and the two syllable bags were in the two
syllable bag.

Reflection
After this lesson, students will be able to move on to three+ syllable words. They can
then read books and look for how many syllables are in the words. An activity to help
them grow would be to give them a list of words and allow them to either sound out the
word in their head, or to "clap out" the words to identify how many syllables are in each.
It is important for children to become familiar with syllables in order to become better
readers and write
References

Numeroff, L. (1985). If you give a mouse a cookie. HarperCollins.