TESOL/Touro SIOP Lesson Plan Pathway 2

Core Components
Topic of Lesson and Rationale:
Learning letters is the foundation in learning how to read and write. Students need to learn letters
and letter sounds in order to read the books around them and also write what they know. In order to
become better readers, they need to learn about consonants and vowels to make different words.

Content Objective
The students will be able to recognize the letter “i”. The students will also be able to review the
other 6 letters they learned. “b, t, f, n, m, u, i”.

Language Objective:
The student will be able to/SWBAT to review all the letters we have learned and their sounds. They
will also learn a new letter of “i” today.

Student Population

My students are half Chinese- American, followed by Middle Eastern students, White students and
Spanish students. The class consists of 22 students, 11 boys and 11 girls. Approximately, half of the
students are ELL’s. There are 3 students who does not speak any English.
Learning Community

The ELL students in this kindergarten class are ranging from entering students- emerging students.
All my ELL’s speak their native language at home. This school offers Gifted and Talented, ICT,
General ED class for every grade.
Materials/Resources

1) Smartboard
2) Fundations Letter Grid
3) Fundations Letter cards (big and small cards)
4) Fundations Bag (with white board, dry eraser and marker)
5) Fundations Alphabet cards
6) Youtube

SIOP Components and Explanation

1. Preparation

Student’s prior knowledge will be activated when by asking them what the last vowel letter we have
learned yesterday is. Then I will ask them as a review why are vowels so special. For the previous
lesson, I introduced their first vowel letter which was an “u”. They will be learning about “i”.
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2. Build Background

Students had learned about 5 consonants and 1 vowel prior to this lesson. To build background, we
will continue reviewing the letters and sounds with Echo. Echo is a toy owl we use in Fundations as
a symbol for students to get ready to “echo” / repeat after me. We will then review the 6 letters we
have learned explicitly “f, b, f, n, m, i.” Then we will go review our Fundations alphabet chart as a
class.

3. Comprehensible Input

The introduction of new letter on big card followed by a chant of letter, picture, sound makes it very
engaging for the students to memorize. The students are also more engaged when they see Echo and
Baby Echo as a symbol for them to repeat. The constant and slow repetition helps students of all
proficiency. They just follow the chant! I clearly explain the academic tasks by showing the
students what they need to do first then they go do it by themselves. I first modeled how to say the
letter “i” then how to write the letter i in the meeting area. Another way I make content clearer is
using technology and showing a video of the letter. I usually put a song up so they can jam with the
song while learning the new letter.

4. Strategies

I provide ample opportunities for students to use by asking them to repeat after me with Echo and
Baby Echo. I also give them opportunities to apply their knowledge by having them practice writing
letters with their own white board. I also allow students to practice their knowledge by listening to
Youtube video. Scaffolding is provided when I walk around to see how the students are doing with
their independent work. I will first see how they can do it by themselves first. If they need help, I
will provide a helping hand when writing their letters while reciting how to write the letter. The way
we write our letters is using the grid lines sky line, plane line, grass line, and worm line. When I
help my struggling students, I will be by their side and direct them how to write the letters using the
lines. For example, “Touch the sky line, come down to the grass line. Go to the plane line then go
across the plane line, T, top, /t/”.

5. Interactions

In this specific lesson there is minimal turn and talks and group work because it is a lesson that
needs to be taught, repeated and practiced. This is mainly a teacher directed lesson where the
students have to listen exactly to how the letters are pronounced. Students are given a chance to
practice their letter and letter sound when being called. After the modeling is done, I will put on a
music video for the letter “i” so the students will practice learning the new letter through music and
TESOL/Touro SIOP Lesson Plan Pathway 2

dancing.

6. Practice/Application

Students are able to practice and apply what they have learned on their white board. The students
will be asked to take out their white board and practice writing the letter and sounds. I will vary
from saying, “I am trying to write the letter that makes this sound /f/ or write the letter, or I am
trying to write a letter that is a plane line letter that makes this sound /i/.”

7. Lesson Delivery
I will start with the lesson by saying good morning to Echo. Then I will remind the students that
when we see Echo that means we have to repeat after her. I will then proceed in practicing the 6
letters we have learned. Then we will proceed in practicing our letters with the alphabet chart with
Baby Echo. Then I will tell them that we will be learning another special letter like yesterday. I’ll
ask them what type of letter is U? I will then tell them, “Yes! It is a vowel, now what are vowels so
special to us?” They will say because every vowel has 2 sounds and every word needs at least one
vowel. Then I will introduce the letter card Ii and the sound it makes: “Ii, itch, /i/. (see attached)

I will have students repeat after me several times. Then I will call on some students to practice
saying it as an assessment for me to see if they are understanding the letter. After repeating several
times and practicing we will move into another source of engagement, I will show a Youtube Video
of the letter “i” song where the students listen to other words that starts with “i” and practicing their
sounds in a song. After this they will be asked to go back to their seats and practice writing their
letters with their own white board. Lastly, they will practice coloring and writing their letters in
their student notebook.

8. Review/Assessment:

Students were then asked to go to their seats and take out their Fundations Bag with white board
and dry eraser marker. I asked the students to write whatever the letter or sound I said at that time.
TESOL/Touro SIOP Lesson Plan Pathway 2

This is a form of informal assessment to see if the students. knows the difference between their
letters and sounds and how to properly write it on their white board. During this time I will say
things like, “I am trying to write the letter that makes this sound /f/ or write the letter, or I am trying
to write a letter that is a plane line letter that makes this sound /i/.”

After the students are done practicing it the students are to go into their Fundations book and color
today’s letter and tracing the letter Ii with 5 crayons.

9. Extension/Homework

Students are given a letter Ii worksheet to complete for HW. (See attached) They are also asked to
practice letter and letter sounds we have learned at home.

Source: Short, D., Hudec, J., & Echevarria, J. (2002). Using the SIOP Model: Professional
Development Manual for Sheltered Instruction. Washington DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
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Section II: Lesson Plan Commentary

Reflection

I think this lesson went very well because most of my students came out of that lesson
knowing how the letter Ii looks like and what sounds it makes. They also understood that Ii is a very
special letter in our alphabet because it is a vowel. They understood that it can make 2 sounds and
every word must have at least one vowel in it.
My favorite part of the lesson is having the students apply what they learned when doing
their independent practice with their white board. I really enjoyed seeing the small progression they
are making. In the beginning these students were not able to hold a pencil now they can write letters,
it is definitely a great feeling. I liked that I use a lot of repetition and was attentive by asking certain
students to repeat after me. I called on the students who are my lows for extra practice. I enjoyed
putting on a quick YouTube video for my students as an extra resource for my students to use when
understanding the letters. I think there are many ways in learning letters and adding music is one of
the best ways to have it stick with the child!
One thing I would improve on next time is having a bigger smaller group. Today I focused
on with one child who is falling behind in letters and sounds because he has been absent for 2 days.
Next time I will get a bigger small group to work with so more students can benefit from it. Another
thing I would change is adding more partner activities for the students to practice with their friends.
Overall, I loved teaching Fundations to kindergartener because I love seeing them when they get it!
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