Bridgewater College Teacher Education Program

Secondary Lesson Plan Format

Course: 6th Grade
Language Arts

Unit: 6 Writing Traits

Lesson Title:
Transition Words

Virginia SOL/National
Standard:
6.5 K

Measurable Lesson Objective(s):

1. Students will be able to accurately recognize transitional words. This will be
observed through watching Red Light, Green Light, the Word Sort, and through the
contest.
2. Students will be able to accurately categorize transitional words. This will be
observed through watching Red Light, Green Light, the Word Sort, and through the
contest.
3. Students will be able to use transitional words in their writing. This shall be
demonstrated through their creation of their recipe card
Materials/Technologies/Resources Needed:
Prezi
Cardstock paper, acrylic paint, dish soap, and a candle to create scratch offs.
Word Display Hanger
Transition Words Reference Sheet
Recipe Exit Slip
Independent reading books
Candy
Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
Visual Thesaurus Lesson Plans Student Workbook. Retrieved from:
https://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/lessons/making-an.../lesson3.pdf

Opening:
1. I will briefly explain the activity and then I will have the students stand up.
2. First I will give directions without transitional words:Tap your foot. Pat your
head. Tap your foot. Tap your stomach. Snap your fingers. Sit down.
3. Then I will include transition words: Tap your foot, but before you tap your foot,
pat your head. Now tap your foot. Next, tap your stomach. While doing so, also snap
your fingers. Finally, sit down.
4. What you did the second time is very different from what you did the first time,
wasnt it? Why? I asked you to do the same things; what was different about it? Yes,
those words are called transition words. They help us organize and connect ideas in our
writing. Imagine that you had to bake a pie for the family reunion, and you desperately

want that pie to be perfect. You would hope that the recipe included transition words
wouldnt you? Or, I know that some of you have been reading Harry Potter. One of the
classes that Harry has to take is Potions. He already struggles with that class, do you
think that he would have any chance of successfully making a potion if there werent
any transition words in the instructions?
5. Today well be learning about the purpose of transitional words, the different
types there are, and how to recognize and use them.
Accessing Prior Knowledge: Mrs. Dean has been talking about organization in our writing.
Once an author has correctly organized their ideas, they should use transition words to clarify
what is happening, and help the reader form connections between the different ideas
Teacher will:

Students will:

Give instructions

Follow directions.

Introduce Transition Words

Answer questions and participate in

discussion

Anticipated
Time:

4 minutes

Learning Activity 1- Read excerpt and circle all transition words

Learning Activity 1: Red Light, Green Light and Chronological Verbs

Teacher will:
1.
I will discuss the
purpose and provide examples of
transition words while using my
Prezi.
4.
I will then start to explain
the different types of transition
phrases and what the purpose is of
each type.
5.
The first category shall be
chronological transition words. I
will explain the 3 different types
(Green-First, Initially; Yellow- then,
next; and Red: Finally, In
conclusion.)
6. I will explain the activity
and we will play it.

Students will:
1. Listen to my explanation.
2. When I tell them to they
will stand up to play the
activity.
3. When I call out a green
transition word they will do
jumping jacks, when I call out a
yellow transition word they
will do a partial jumping jack
with their arms only. If I call
out a red transition word they
will freeze.

Anticipated
Time:
10 minutes

7. I will call out different

chronological transition words

Learning Activity 2: Word Sort

Teacher will:

Students will:

1. Explain the other 4

categories, cause and effect,
example, addition, opposition, of
transition words and how they
are used using the Prezi.
2. Explain the activity
3. Walk around the class to
answer questions, and to make
sure that the students have
decided on their answers before
they check them.
4. The teacher will go over
the words with the class as a
group

1. After listening to the

explanation of the categories
and the instructions for the
activity they will start.
2. Each group will have 4
words. They will decide which
category each word belongs in.
After they have done so they
may scratch off the paint that is
covering the answer to see if
they are right.
3. After every group has
completed the activity, one
student from each group will
come up and place the words in
the correct spot on the
organizer.

Anticipated
Time:

15 minutes

Learning Activity 3: Transition Contest.

Teacher will:

Students will:

1. Explain contest and divide

the students into team based on
their tables.

Concluding Class Activity: Exit Slip: Recipe

1. Participate in the game

2. The goal of the game will
be to see which group can find
the most transition words and
accurately label the category.
They will find the words by
looking in their independent
reading books.
3. The winning group will
receive candy.

Anticipated
Time:
15 minutes

Teacher will:
1. Explain activity and share
the example she made.

Students will:
1. Create their own 4 step
recipe using at least one
transition word for each step.
2. Students should be as
creative as they like. It can be
a recipe for their favorite
cookie, but it could also be a
recipe for trouble, for
adventure, an original potion
for Harry Potter, or anything
else they can think of.

Anticipated
Time: 5

Homework Assignment: If they do not finish the recipe they can finish it for homework.
Activity If Extra Time Remains or Technology Fails:

Teacher will:
If the technology fails and I am unable
to use my Prezi, I will write the notes
on the blackboard.

Students will:

Work on any unfinished assignments

they have or read their independent
reading book

I will make the contest longer or

shorter depending on how much time
is left in the class.

Anticipated
Time:

The
remainder of
class

Accommodations for Students with Special Needs such as ELL, SPED, Gifted:
The special ed. teacher will co-teach the second lesson with me to help accommodate SPED
students.
I will let the second lesson students use the transition words worksheet for the word sort
activity; however, the other classes will not be allowed to use it.

Formative Assessment--During Class

Summative AssessmentStudent Learning

Student Learning Will Be Assessed By:

The teacher
observing Red Light, Green Light

Word Sort
Activity

Will Be Assessed By:

Recipe

Post-Lesson Reflection/Evaluation:

Prezi: https://prezi.com/8pdcajhomvdp/transitional-words-and-phrases/

Worksheet
Exit Slip-

Transition Words and Phrases Reference Sheet

Purpose of transition words:
1.________________________________________________________
2.________________________________________________________
3.
________________________________________________________
4.________________________________________________________

Chronological:
Green: first, initially, in the beginning, originally
Yellow: next, then, soon, meanwhile, before long

Red: finally, in conclusion, lastly

Cause and Effect:
Thus, so, as a result of, because, consequently, therefore
Example:
For example, one such, another, for instance,
Addition:
Similarly, additionally, another, also, moreover
Opposition:
But, though, however, although, on the other hand,
conversely, yet

Credit to: Visual Thesaurus Lesson Plans Lesson 3