STEP-BY-STEP:
Buddy Word Study Lesson Template
1.
Administer & analyze the
Words Their Way primary
spelling inventory. Figure
out what word features your
buddies "use but confuse."
2.
Team up with a partner in
the class to work with a group
of children who are ready to
explore the same phonics
concepts. Determine which
concept(s) you will work on in
your lessons.
3.
Work with your partner to
explore lesson ideas and
resources. Use the resources
posted online and in Words
Their Way. Decide who will
teach the first lesson and who
will teach the second.
4.
Write your lesson plan using
this Word Study Lesson
Template.
5.
Review the Phonics Lesson
Plan Rubric and use it to
make refinements to your
lesson plan. Then you will
send your plan to Diann at
least three days before you
teach so that you can receive
feedback, using that feedback
to make final revisions.
Prepare your materials AFTER
you get feedback.
6.
On the day you present your
lesson, bring a hard copy of
your lesson plan and your
teaching materials to class.
7.
After you present your lesson,
complete the reflection/
documentation section at
the end of the lesson plan.
You will not be revising the
plan itself at that point, but you
are encouraged to reflect on
what revisions you would make
after having an opportunity to
teach it.
8.
Submit your lesson plan
(with the reflection section
completed) on TaskStream.
(This is submitted in the EEPP
DRF.)
Name:
Subject: Phonics/Spelling
Grade/Level: (list spelling stage)
Phonics Principle/Objective:
The students will be able to ____________________. (State what
you want students to be able to do as a result of your teaching this
lesson.)
State Standards:
List one or two standards that target what you are ACTIVELY
TEACHING in this lesson (see objective above).
You may or may not find a state standard that exactly matches
your objective—just use the closest you can get. Remember to list
the CODE and the PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE. If you prefer, you
can copy/paste the standards from the TaskStream lesson builder.
Learning Context:
Explain who the learners are and why this is appropriate for them,
based on assessment information.
Fill in the chart below to show how the two lessons will
complement each other:
Partner #1
4/16/09
Name
Brief
lesson
description
Partner #2
4/23/09
REMEMBER TO DELETE
MY “HINTS” AND THIS
BOX WHEN YOU ARE
FINISHED WRITING YOUR
LESSON PLAN.
Spelling Inventory Analysis Charts
Copy/Paste the buddies’ spelling inventory feature guides (charts) here. The charts should be
right side up and each should be sized to fill about half of the page so that they are easy to read.
Be careful about the file size of your scanned images.
Materials & Preparation:
Make a bulleted list of any materials needed and preparation that should be done before your
lesson. Remember, someone else should be able to look at this and know how to recreate your
materials. For example, don’t just write “game materials”—be specific.
Your materials list should include SORT CARDS. Include a table (see below) that shows the words
to be sorted. (If you are doing a picture sort, then list words for the pictures.) Make clear whether
you are doing a picture or word sort (or a combination). Add or delete columns and rows as
needed.
Key Card
Key Card
Key Card
Oddballs*
*You don’t necessarily need oddballs in every sort, but it makes sense to include a couple for word sorts if there are
important words that seem like they should fit the pattern but don’t (example: the word “said” in a long A pattern sort).
If ideas or materials for this lesson came from another source, list it here (text title & author, web
address, etc.). Avoid plagiarism by accurately citing any sources and by writing the lesson IN
YOUR OWN WORDS (do not copy/paste from others’ lesson plans!).
Procedure:
Read these reminders and then go to the numbered sections below to actually start
writing your plan. Delete reminders when you are finished with your plan.
Lesson plans are written as directions, like cookbooks or user manuals. Be sure to include
“teacher talk” in bold with quotation marks. Do not script everything, but include the key
questions and key explanations you will make. This will help you to think through how to explain
things in kid-friendly terms. Bolding it will make it easier to refer to while you are teaching.
For clarity, use a capital when you will be saying a letter of the alphabet. Use slash marks // when
you will be saying sounds (phonemes). There is a list of phonemes at
http://www.public.asu.edu/~diann/Course%20Notes%20&%20Related%20Files/Phoneme%20Categorization%20Table.doc
Examples:



“I want you to put all of the pictures that have the /ā/ sound under the ‘cape’ card.”
“Do you see the letter E at the end of each of these words?”
“What are the different ways we can spell long A?”
The first four sections of the lesson are for the students to “discover” the concept, to have an “aha”
moment as you guide them to discover it for themselves through the sorting activity and
discussion. The extension/application section will be an activity or game that allows the students
to apply the concept learned in the sort. Link to “real” reading and writing whenever possible so
that students can transfer their learning to situations where it will actually be useful.
As you write your plan, include the management of materials and other aspects of the learning
environment. Consider any special situations with the learners that will impact management, and
make plans accordingly.
An important rule of thumb about materials: Wait to distribute materials until after you have demonstrated what you
want the children to do with them—right before they will use them. Once the kids have the materials in front of them, it
can be very difficult to round up their attention again to give instructions. (An exception would be when you have math
manipulatives that the kids are not used to. It makes sense to afford time for them to “play” and let the novelty wear off a
bit, which will help them focus on learning with the materials during the lesson.)
1. Introduction
This is your chance to grab the kids’ attention and would be a good place to use some children’s
literature, a poem, song, etc. to ground the lesson in “real” reading (whole to part). You
could also share “whole” text later in the lesson, depending on your purposes. Read for
meaning and pleasure in addition to making an explicit connection between the book and
the concept you are targeting, but don’t spoil the learners’ opportunity to build their own
understanding. For example, you might say “I want you to listen for the /ch/ sound in
the book while I read and be ready to tell me some words that begin with that
sound.” You wouldn’t say “You can see here that the /ch/ sound is spelled CH”
because that would spoil their chance to discover that for themselves during the rest of the
lesson.
2. Demonstrate the Sort:
In this section, describe how you will model the sort. There are many useful picture sort cards
and word lists in Words Their Way appendix and on the CD, or you can create your own
cards. The site http://www.design215.com/toolbox/wordfind.php is helpful for searching for words
with particular letter patterns. In general, choose kid-friendly words in the students’ aural
(listening) vocabulary and stick with single-syllable words for basic phonics concepts. When
making word cards, be sure not to capitalize unless it is a proper noun (MS Word will try to
automatically capitalize as you type).
The kids should be able to easily read words used for sorting (kids are able to read many words
before they can spell them accurately). Go through the cards and make sure the students
know each one—to keep the lesson moving, tell them rather than having them guess.
3. Independent Sorting (or in pairs) and Check:
Remember to have the students make columns, not piles, so that the sort can be checked.
Check the sort with each student or pair as they finish—specify how you will do that.
If you are having the kids sort the cards in more than one way (such as to sort by sound and
then by spelling pattern), adjust the lesson plan format as needed to suit your situation.
4. Reflect & Discover:
Remember that you hope to have the KIDS notice the pattern(s) rather than coming right out
and telling them. List some questions you could ask to help them notice patterns in the sort
and make the discovery(ies) you have in mind. Spell out a kid-friendly way of explaining
the concept in case the kids do not arrive at the expected conclusion for themselves!
5. Extend & Apply:
Provide a chance for the kids to practice/apply the concept they just learned. It could be a
game, writing activity (brief and as authentic as possible so it won’t seem like a chore),
word hunt, etc. There are lots of good ideas in Words Their Way. NO WORKSHEETS—that
is contrary to what we have been learning in this course.
This can be a good place to embed an assessment since this activity should require kids to USE
what they have learned. Consider the cognitive task being asked of the kids and make sure
it matches your phonics principle/objective stated at the beginning of the lesson.
6. Closure:
As you wrap up the lesson, re-emphasize the concept the children have learned and model or
remind them of ways to use it with their “real” reading and/or writing.
Assessment:
In this section, describe how will the students’ learning be evaluated. This should help you to
determine the students’ progress toward learning what you set out to teach, so make sure the
assessment matches the phonics principle of the lesson. Remember, the point of word study is to
help kids read & spell better. Your assessment should include reading and/or spelling words with
the word feature you are teaching (unless you are focusing on a phonological awareness—
“sound”—concept, like rhyming).
The assessment may be integrated during the lesson or take place at the end of the lesson. In
your lesson plan above, specify when you will assess and how in addition to describing it
here.
REFLECTIONS & DOCUMENTATION (25% of score)
Complete the following AFTER you present the lesson
and BEFORE you submit it on TaskStream.
Reflections on the Teaching Experience
What did you learn about the process of planning and about yourself as a teacher? Look at the
results of your assessment--How did your teaching impact the children’s learning? What other
observations of their learning did you make? What do you think went especially well with this
lesson, and what might you do differently in future teaching situations?
Peer Evaluation
Your partner will send you feedback via TaskStream or email. Copy and paste it here.
Lesson Materials
Insert a clear photo of your lesson materials. It is optional, but helpful, to add other electronic
materials such as sort cards you created or used, poems used, assessment sheets, scanned
student work from the lesson, etc.