Morgan State University Department of Teacher Education

Overview of the Lesson

(You can select the appropriate length)
□ Day 1 □ Day 2 □ Day 3 Time Estimate:_Day 1__
✔ Informal Assessments (description/purpose/rationale): For this lesson I will
have my students engage in the app/game Spelling Bug. They will be asked to identify
the different pictures that the app presents and the words that match their description
but by sounding each letter out first to then put the words altogether. By sounding out
the words, they will be able to identify each of the letters they know and/or recognize
and we will continue to go through all of them. After going through these letters my
students will be asked to organize them in the proper placements to spell each word
and will learn how to pronounce them as well. After correctly identifying each picture
and spelling each word we will presume to the next levels of the game. I will start the
class working altogether during this assessment. The purpose of this assessment is for
my students to learn how to identify, spell and pronounce words that will further
contribute and help enhance their reading and spelling.

✔ Formal Assessments (description/purpose/rationale): After using the app

with my students I will track their progress through their elevation to the next spelling
levels. I will keep track of how long it takes for them to identify, pronounce and spell
each word and if their timing gets shorter or longer with knowing how to identify letters
and build various words with them. After having worked together as a class, they will
then be broken up into groups and then eventually work individually so that their
individual progress can be properly measured.
✔ Differentiated Groups: (Identify/describe groups, number in each group,

instructional objectives): Groups will be differentiated based on 2 factors. They will

either be placed in the letter pronunciation and picture recognition group or the spelling
group. I will place students within these groups based off those who have an easier time
to pronounce letters and recognize the different pictures that match them but may not
know how or may take longer to spell different words in comparison to those who can
do all of these and spell different words at an easier and/or faster rate. The first group
will be provided a letter and picture chart where they will call out the different letters
that I randomly ask them to point out as well as a chart of pictures where they will
vocally say what they see the picture is and the letter that the picture starts with. We
will work on drawing letters and preparing to sound out and excel to efficiently spelling
words varying from easy, medium to hard. The second group will be given a list of
pictures and letters and must match the letter and spell out underneath the picture
what the word is.

✔ Modifications/accommodations for special education and gifted and

talented students (Identify each student using Student A, Student B, etc.

specify accommodation.): For my more advanced students in the second group,
Group B, they will be provided with a tablet and tablet pencil to form and spell out their
words. My students from the first group, Group A, will be provided their own dry erase
laminated letter and picture charts and dry erase markers that they can use to practice
their letter and word recognition with, practice drawing the letters and eventually
forming words.

✔ Instructional Delivery Components:

● Introduction/Motivation: To introduce and motivate my students I will

begin the class with our letter of the week. For the letter of the week, I will bring
in a class morning snack that corresponds to that letter. For example if the letter
of the week is B I would bring in bananas, blueberries, blueberry muffins, or
 some other good healthy snack. Every morning as we eat our morning snack
matched to the letter of the week, the letter will be displayed on the Smart
Board, we will say and pronounce the letter as a class and I will have a few of my
student give me one word that starts with that letter and write it down to add to
our class word bank. Having a morning snack to boosts their moods and start the
morning will help increase their confidents in them knowing words that match
different letters and how to pronounce them both.

● Instructional Teaching Techniques: having varying forms of practice and

assessments for my students, providing motivational and supportive tactics ,
occasionally switching up my instructional methods to evaluate what works best
for both my students and myself
● Key materials: SmartBoard, school tablets, alphabet and word diagram poster,
word bank, pencil and paper, spelling homework sheets, spelling test sheets
●

● Instructional Process/Procedure (Clearly explain each step of

process): At the beginning of the class, we will start with our morning snack
and letter of the week as a pre-warm up. I will then continue the warm-up with
choosing two or three words from the words the students called out matched to
the letter of the week and make two separate sentences using one of the words
in each and aski them to read the sentence. To conclude, I finally will have them
each make up their own short simple sentence using any one of the words
chosen. We will then proceed with the remainder of the class and meeting our
class objectice that involves working with the informal and then formal
assessments/activities of the day.

● Summative Assessment/Evaluation: For the summative assessment at the

overall end of the word and letter recognition and spelling unit. My students will
be given a sheet with three different parts to it. In Part 1, the students will have
 different pictures of objects ranging from simple to slightly complex and will
have to identify the beginning letter that each object starts with. In the second
part of the summative, they will be given some questions that has a picture and
must spell out the word that matches it and in Part 3 they will have some
questions that has a picture and a choice of words that they must correctly circle
and choose from that matches the picture. This will be a part of their evaluation
as well to measure where the students strengths and weaknesses lie in these
different areas of letter and word recognition and spelling, Once the
assessments/evaluations are completed and graded they will be placed in their
individual portfolios.
●

● Closure/Homework: For the closing activity of the class and day I will have
my students do something creative and fun. They will draw their own version of
a “Spelling Bug” in relation to the lesson and decorate it with the use of
construction paper, glitter, colorful markers/colored pencils, safety scissors, and
glue. They will be given the choice to draw or spell out any letters or words
around or in the bellies of the spelling bug to demonstrate their learning from
the day. For homework, students will receive a worksheet somewhat like the
summative but not as complex or graded as intensely. On the worksheet they
will be able to practice seeing objects and choosing from a selection of words
which word matches the object and for fun will be able to color it as well. On the
opposite side of the worksheet, they will be given just one letter of the alphabet
and asked to spell any word that starts with that letter.
● Attach sample of assignments.

Mentor Signature: ______Tyra Roberts_________________________________ Date:

____12/12/2021______________
 Morgan State University Department of Teacher Education

Retrospective Reflection

Teacher Intern: Jordan Hightower Mentor: Tyra Roberts

Subject: Language Arts Lesson Title: Spelling Bug Day: Letter and Word Recognition

Date: 12/12/2021 Grade: 1st Number of Students: 15

After the lesson respond to the following prompts:

1. How did specific research/theory guide your selection of specific strategies and
materials to help students develop the conceptual understanding and skills needed to
meet the learning objective?
Specific research/theory guided my selection of specific strategy through experience of
learning and understanding that children enjoy playing games and when pertaining to learning,
mixing these two can be both fun and beneficial. There has been various research and studies
proven that students particularly those younger and starting in their beginning stages of
learning, typically do so through playing and fun engaging tactics which further encourages the
experience and that students overall learn through direct experience.
 2. What is working? What is not? For whom? Why? (Consider teaching and student
learning with respect to both content and academic language?)
According to the Professional Development Content-Focused Technology article, when
teachers do not have proper content-based and technology software training then this allows
for their instruction and implementation of technology and other techniques or strategies to
not be as effective in comparison to when they do receive necessary and enough training. For a
teacher’s curriculum to be effective for students their own learning must also be just as
effective with the inclusion of different learning opportunities and activities that can further be
used within the classroom. The curriculum works when there are efficient strategies put into
place and provided with the proper resources both inside and outside of the classroom. My
strategies work when I am consistent with how I choose to deliver my instruction and
implement my motivative and supportive tactics such as with my morning snack and for this
unit, having a letter of the week. However, if students do not practice their letters and spelling
outside of class and for example complete or attempt to complete the homework and with the
help and support of family members or if there is a lack of resources at home, then this can
create some issues for my students who struggle with this. Not having practice outside of the
classroom can cause for some students to be a little behind or off track and it may require me
to do some alterations with my methods and the classwork and homework if necessary.

3. How does this lesson inform what you plan to do in the next lesson?
This lesson informs what I plan to do in the next lesson by being a beginner for me and
showing the strengths and weaknesses of it to help me in future lessons. After going
through the results of my students’ assessments and their evaluations, in future lessons
I’ll be able to further heighten my current and future students’ spelling and writing
development along with overall phonemic awareness. I will know how to incorporate
better and/or different strategies within my lesson plan while still making them
engaging and interactive.
4. If you could teach this lesson to the same group of students again, what would you

change? Why?
If I could teach this lesson to the same group of students again, what I would change is
how I create my modification groups. I would still differentiate the groups based off the
areas that students similarly have strengths and weaknesses in, but I would still want to
create their activities to ensure they all meet their needs but still reach the same
common goal and understanding of word and letter recognition and knowing how to
organize and spell words effectively.