ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Needs Assessment/Rational

This unit is very important because it lays the foundation for reading in the future. The students will be introduced and become familiar with the building blocks of a language arts program: the alphabet.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: I want students to understand the relationship the letters of the alphabet have to their world. I want students to be able to apply the alphabet in their everyday writing. Goal(s): The students will become familiar with each of the five senses The students will use their senses to complete projects The students will explore each of the 5 senses with hands on experiences. The students will use computers and other technology to enhance their understanding of the 5 senses. The students will be able to communicate with others their projects.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: What are the 5 senses? What way do we use our senses each day? Objectives: The students will identify the letters and sounds in their name by placing the letters on the coconut tree The class will make an alphabet picture book and take a picture of an object which represents each letter of the alphabet. The students will identify letters in their name and put them in correct order The students will use bread dough to shape their favorite letter. The students will present to the class their projects and identify the letter(s) they focused on. The students will present to another class their alphabet picture books. The students will sequence their alphabet picture books so it is alphabetical order.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding?  I will evaluate each student on identifying the alphabet by asking them to identify the letters of the alphabet in any order. I will ask them to give me the sounds of the letters. What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding? I will use a series of questions based on the projects we do. This will require a response from the student to demonstrate the understanding of letters. For example, We will be reading the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. We will then make our own cocoa nut tree. Each student will identify and tell me the sound of their favorite letter. Then the students will each use a computer to generate a large replica of their favorite letter and print it out. We will then place it on the cocoa nut tree. This product along with a personal interview about letters with each student will provide evidence of understanding of the alphabet. What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product) will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding? One lesson which will mirror the real world is when we make an alphabet book with things outside in the community. This will bring students out of the school building and allow them to meet members of the community as we search for objects starting with each letter of the alphabet. The class book we will make from this is the product I will use to give me evidence of understanding. What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect? We will be creating their favorite letter out of bread dough. This allows me to see their understanding of making the letters. We will be reading books based on the alphabet and I will be creating Accelerated Reading tests to go with the books. The students will use the computer to take these tests.

Instructional Strategies

The majority of my activities will be project based. This will help my learning objectives become more concrete. We will be using a computer on a number of occasions to create letters, or find pictures which go with a particular letter. We will be shaping letters out of bread dough, this will be a great way for me see if they can identify the first letter in their name. We will be making a book of names. The project will allow students to relate their name with another object which starts with the first letter in their name. The project which will be inquiry-based will be the Alphabet Book. The students will have to investigate the community to find objects which start with each letter of the alphabet and take a digital picture of it.