Lesson Plan #: AELP-WCP0207

Under the Sea

An Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan

Submitted by: Angela Yates
Email: ajy999s@smsu.edu
School/University/Affiliation: Springfield Public Schools, Springfield, MO

Date: January 25, 2002

Grade Level: Kindergarten, 1

Subject(s):

Duration: Two 30-minute sessions

Description: This lesson introduces children to the writing process through collaborative writing. After listening to a recording of ocean sounds, students will be guided in the development of an "Under the Sea" story.

Goals: Students will make written, oral, and visual presentations.

Objectives:

  1. After listening to a recording of ocean sounds, students will be able to brainstorm a list of things they felt, saw, or heard.
  2. Students will be able to assist the teacher by verbally completing a sentence for the "Under the Sea" story.
  3. Students will be able to draw a picture that illustrates a sentence in the "Under the Sea" story.
Materials: Procedure:
(This lesson works well when the class is divided into two smaller groups.)

Session 1:
Begin by explaining to the students that they will be taking an imaginary trip under the sea. Instruct students to use their imaginations to think about all the amazing things they will feel, see, and hear on their trip. Let students know that after the "trip," they will be writing a story about what they saw, felt, and heard.

Before playing the recording of the underwater/ocean sounds, ask students to be very quiet. Tell students to close their eyes and listen carefully. Play the recording for approximately 4 minutes. As the recording is playing, guide students with sentences such as, "Think about how the water feels..." and "Imagine all of the colors and creatures you see and hear." After the recording, ask students to open their eyes and discuss what they imagined.

Explain to the students that they will be writing a story about the things they imagined on their trip under the sea. Have a large graphic organizer prepared on an easel pad with the following headings: "I heard", "I saw", "I felt." During this portion of the lesson, ask each student to share their ideas of what they saw, felt, and heard. Record students' responses under the appropriate headings.

Session 2:
Post the graphic organizer for all the class to see. Beside the organizer, have several sheets of paper taped on the walls. These sheets will each have sentence skeletons for a story. Examples might include: Then guide each student to the proper heading on the graphic organizer to complete the story. Each sentence of the story will be written on a separate page. Each student will be able to complete a sentence with the assistance of the teacher. At the conclusion of the story, put the pages together and read the story to the class. Guide the students in discussing the purpose of illustrations -- how they need to go along with the words on the page. Each student will then be given a page to illustrate with the instructions that they need to draw a picture that their sentence describes. Students can ask the teacher to re-read their sentence several times if necessary. Each illustrated page can be shared and discussed by the teacher and student in front of the class so the students can verbally express the writing and their drawings. At completion, assemble and laminate the book. The book can be used for future shared reading or self selected reading experiences.

Assessment: During the graphic organizing and the writing of sentences, have a checklist of class names to verify that each student has contributed to the story. The final illustrations will be assessed to identify if the students have matched their illustrations to the text.

Special Comments: The lesson has so many opportunities for adaptation. If you have more advanced writers, allow them to write their own sentences. The CD's were available at my local public library.