Elementary Level Language Lesson

Submitted by:

Lmgrantpc@aol.com
Muscogee County School District
Columbus, Ga.

Age/Group: Kdg-2nd (ages from 5-8yrs.) Oral class. Several with additional disabilites.

Instuctional Category: Language mainly but I incorporate as many concepts
(such as counting, reading words or sentences or simply matching letters in
words.)

Comments: When I do a lesson like this, I constantly have to be very flexible, change my expectations for each child, change teaching methods for each child...all within a 15 - 20 minute lesson. We wear many hats these days..don't we??

Lesson: Using a story: The Giant Jam Sandwich

Objective: (language) To learn new vocabulary(giant,sandwich,jam, wasp or
bees, bread,butter,spread,chase,run,eat,..) We retell events, sequence
events, predict outcomes, answer who, what, where questions. Also, we work on
oral language skills (saying or imitating complete sentences, use of endings,
plurals, articles, verbs, feeling words, nouns, ..)

Materials needed: Book "The Giant Jam Sandwich" with the kit that includes
the objects from the story (bread, jam, butter, insects, net, bug bucket, ).
Digital camera if available.

Procedure: Introduce the story using the objects to become familiar and to
see who knows the vocabulary.
Read the story ( I basically re-tell and not "read" the story because of the
short attention span of several of my students.)
Throughout the week, we review each day for language questions..
we role play or act out the story using the objects and new language.
Auditory training skills are worked on by giving each child an object from
the story. Using auditory skills (no visual cues),they hold up the object
that I am describing or for the lower level children I simply name the object
and they hold it up or bring it to me.
I also, made a story using sentence strips and pictures of the wasps and they
help read the story as a group or indiviually. They point to sentences, words
or pictures as I say or read them. They may have to put their picture or word
(depending on level) in the correct place in the story or match the picture
to the word.
We use cut outs of wasps or bees during the week to reinforce math skills by
using them to count 1-5 for the lower level to reinforcing addition and
subtraction, counting by 5's and 10's, Putting in "bug" jars and telling
which jar has "more or less", or weighing the insects to actually see which
is more or less.
I also have an activity where we actually make peanut butter and jam
sandwiches. I have someone take pictures with my digital camera of each step.
Then we eat the sandwiches. During the week, we use the pictures of the
activity for language, sequencing of the steps, auditory training..and for
writing about (or drawing pictures about) our sandwich activity.
As you can see, I cram as much language, math, science, vocabulary and even
some auditory training exersises in my activities. One activity usually lasts
no more than 20 minutes due to the level of some of the children. Making the
sandwiches is longer but they really attend to that and it's a lot of fun. I
use the digital camera in many activities and often print out some of the
pictures for the children to take home and show their parents what we did at
school today. Its a good way to connect school to home.

(For questions or comments, contact this teacher at Lmgrantpc@aol.com.)