Professional Documents
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Basic Information
Instructor Name: Yvonne Carlson
Subject area: Language Arts-The Alphabet Grade: P4, K, 1
Unit title: Ancient Information Theory
Module title: A is for Ox: An Introduction to the Alphabet
Lesson title: I Can Write the Alphabet
Time required: 30 days of 90-120 minute readers/writers workshop
individualize instruction and provide more opportunities for struggling students to practice the skills and have immediate feedback in
an independent setting. Integrating technology will also help me create an interdisciplinary unit that addresses the technology
knowledge (TK) students need to master, along with the content knowledge (CK) of the traditional Kindergarten literacy content. I
also believe young students can use technology to communicate their ideas and explore data available on the Internet (with guidance
and supervision).
Standards
Foundational Skills No Anchor Standards Code Benchmarks
0.3.0.1 1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print:
(a) Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
(b) Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
(c) Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.
(d) Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
0.3.0.4 4. Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.
Technology Standards for Kindergarten
1.4a (1) Use digital tools and resources for problem solving. (4) Identify accuracy, diversity and point of
view information. (a) real versus make believe
3.2a Uses various digital media to share information and tell stories:
a. can collaborate to create a digital story with my class.
1. Students use the space bar and letter/number, enter/return, arrow keys, Esc, delete and shift keys on the keyboard.
2. Students use right/left hand positioning on the keyboard and maintain correct posture at the keyboard (MPS media information
technology standards, 2007).
http://media.mpls.k12.mn.us/mps_media_information_technology_standards
History
Standard 1: Historical Thinking Skills Standard
1: Historians generally construct chronological narratives to characterize eras and explain past events
and change over time. Code Benchmark
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0.4.1.1.1 1. Use a variety of words to reference time in the past, present and future; identify the
beginning, middle and end of historical stories. For example: Words referencing timeyesterday, today,
tomorrow, now, long ago, before, after, morning, afternoon, night, days, weeks, months, years.
Standard 12: Historical inquiry is a process in which multiple sources and different kinds of historical
evidence are analyzed to draw conclusions about how and why things happened in the past. Code
Benchmark
0.4.1.2.1 1. Describe ways people learn about the past. For example: Learning from elders, photos,
artifacts, buildings, diaries, stories, videos.
2. Peoples, Cultures and Change Over Time Standard
Essential questions:
What are the questions that will help students develop and deepen understanding of the important ideas and information?
Why was a written language code invented?
Why do people read/write?
What do people read/write?
How does reading/writing affect your life?
Why do we need to evaluate what we read?
Why do we need two sets of alphabet letters?
What is special about each set that makes them important?
What jobs do Capital letters have in writing words?
Why do we need spaces between written words?
Why is it important to cue the readers when sentences start and end?
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Assessment
Briefly explain how you will determine whether your students have achieved the learning goals and objectives, or develop enduring
understandings for the topic.
Foundational Skills No Anchor Standards Code Benchmarks
0.3.0.1 1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print:
(b) Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
They will demonstrate their understanding of their spoken words being represented by their written words
through participating in situational printing and being able to read back their words from their own print.
(c) Understand that words are separated by spaces in print. Their handwritten drafts of their ABC story will
provide evidence how they are applying spacing between their words.
(d) Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
I will collect data from Read, Write, Type account doing the ABC lower and upper case sorting section of
the program. I will check for understanding through having them write the letters on their portable white
boards through oral directions. I will give them a list of lower case letters to type onto a word document
using a keyboard with all upper-case symbols. In small groups, I will use visual to check for sound and
name recognition of both upper and lower case letters. Students will do a concentration matching game in
pairs using upper and lower case playing cards.
Technology Standards for Kindergarten
1.4a Use digital tools and resources for problem solving. (4) Identify accuracy, diversity and point of view
information. (a) real versus make believe The students will compare the History of the Alphabet Video
(Cruise, 2013) covering the historic story of the alphabet with two of Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories about the
origins of the alphabet. The students will provide evidence for what is real and what is make believe.
3.2a Uses various digital media to share information and tell stories: (a) can collaborate to create a digital
story with my class. Students will create a story of the alphabet for at least one of the alphabet letters. All
the stories will be combined to make a classroom ABC Book to publish online and print to bring home and
read aloud with their family members.
History
Standard 1: Historical Thinking Skills Standard
1: Historians generally construct chronological narratives to characterize eras and explain past events and
change over time. Code Benchmark History of the Alphabet Video will be discussed and as a class we will
create a timeline for the Alphabet story as we review the video. I will use PlayPostit.com to turn the video
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into an interactive experience. The students can review the video at the Digital Learning Center and
complete the responses to the video in the Historians Notebook where they will construct with words and
drawings their personal version of the timeline from the film.
0.4.1.1.1 1. Use a variety of words to reference time in the past, present and future; identify the
beginning, middle and end of historical stories. For example: Words referencing timeyesterday, today,
tomorrow, now, long ago, before, after, morning, afternoon, night, days, weeks, months, years. The
students will discuss and retell the story of the alphabet and writing technology from the period of oral
tradition, hand written tradition, printing press mechanical tradition, to the present digital electronic
tradition. The students will do a webcam video tape sharing the story of the alphabet in 60 to 90 seconds.
Standard 12: Historical inquiry is a process in which multiple sources and different kinds of historical
evidence are analyzed to draw conclusions about how and why things happened in the past. Code
Benchmark
0.4.1.2.1 1. Describe ways people learn about the past. For example: Learning from elders, photos,
artifacts, buildings, diaries, stories, videos. In the Wonders of the World center the students will explore
replicated artifacts from the pre-paper era, the scroll era, the printing press-mechanical era and the early
digital age era. Some artifacts will include pictures of primary documents, clay and stone tablets, and
parchment fragments, people using early printing presses and typewriters, telegraph machine, quills and
ink wells, slates and charcoal.
Procedures
Describe the steps in this lesson. Make it clear when and how you use technology, as well as what technology resources or tools are
being used. The procedure should be described clearly so that colleagues could understand and implement it easily.
Unit introduction
Hook: Whats in the box guessing game. Students will attempt to guess what is in the box asking only questions that can be answered
with a yes or a no. The item in the box will be an actual or replica of an ox skull. Once they see the artifact, they will hypothesize what
our new unit will be covering. What does an ox skull have to do with Kindergarteners? To answer this question, will we watch the
History of the Alphabet Video. Using the Interactive Playpostit to build in interactive breaks in the video, the students will have
opportunities to share when they think they know the connection between the skull and the unit topic. The first letter of our alphabet
Capital A was developed from the pictograph of an ox.
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Investigation: Using the interactive whiteboard, we will examine the letters and try to find out all we can through questions and
observations. First, we will ask What do we think we know about the Alphabet now?, What do we wonder about the Alphabet? Or
What are our questions about the Alphabet?, Where can we find answers to our questions?, What predictions can we make about
the Alphabet?
Screencast to the smartboard - type the students questions: (Where did it come from? How old is it? How many letters are there? Why
are there pairs of letters? Who made the first Alphabet? How do I form the letters? Why are keyboard letters arranged in a mixed-up
way?)
Take a Screenshot of their question to review as answers are learned.
Collaborative Manipulative investigation: In groups of 4, students will sort letter tiles into groups. They will explain why these letters
fit in a group and give the group a name. They will paste their chosen tiles to an 8x10 card. In their individual writers workbook, they
will copy the letters they choose for their group and the title given. The class will regroup to share their creation with the group. One
person from each group will speak giving the name and common feature for their collection. These cards will be displayed on Our
Alphabet Groups board. Each member of the group will sign their name on their groups 8-10 card.
1. Alphabet Role Play: The students will role play old time communication styles such as a scroll writer/scribe, a tutor using a wax
table to write on, an engraver craving words into stone (we will use bars of soap or soft wood and mini chisel and hammer),
slate tablet with charcoal, and clay tablets made for baking. Students will write their name in clay to be baked later as a personal
artifact. With each role play, the students will practice writing their own name and other words that they copy from fragments of
primary documents (photocopied).
2. Literature Center-Exploring Alphabet Books: Students will do independent reading from the special collection of alphabet books
and other sources associated with communicating with words. Students will draw pictures and write words in their writing about
reading notebook during the wrap up time.
3. Creative Art Center, Alphabet Collage Creating: Students will explore magazines for many variations for the letter groups of the
week collaborative posters. For example, students, will locate ten different G s to paste to the poster that will create a giant G
made of Gs cut out and pasted on from magazines. After the student contributes their 10 variations of that letter they will sign
their name near the bottom of the poster.
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4. Alphabet Artifact Explore: In the Wonders of the World center, the student will explore replicated artifacts from the pre-paper
era, the scroll era, the printing press-mechanical era and the early digital age era. Some artifacts will include pictures of primary
documents, clay and stone tablets, parchment fragments, images of people using early printing presses, typewriters, telegraph
machine, quills, ink wells, slates, chalk, varieties of paper and charcoal or the actual artifact if it is available.
5. Digital Media Center - Talking Fingers: Write, Type Software (Read-write-type, 2017).
As we study the formation of Capital letters, we will consider the questions: Why do we need two sets of alphabet letters? What is
special about each set that makes them important? What jobs do Capital letters have in writing words?
https://www.hwtears.com/hwt/why-it-works/teaching-order (Olsen, 2016).
I will use the Getty & Dubay Italic Handwriting
curriculum (Getty, B. & Dubay, I, 2012)
http://www.handwritingsuccess.com/italic-
handwriting-series.php .These workbook sheets will
be used to introduce and practice the letter
formations.
Instead of teaching one letter a week the letter will be taught in groups for the week. The
letter used each week for the art center will be taken in this order.
Introduce and complete worksheet H. Introduce writing the room letter detectives
activity.
Writing the Room: The students will use their Writers notebook to take a walk around the room and find words that start with or have
the letter in it from the group we work on each day.
Vocabulary Brain Storm: During whole group time, we will brain storm words where we will hear the sounds for those groups. For
the introduction, we will do just letter F and E. They will copy this list down in their Writers workbook from their seats as they read
them from the Smartboard.
Reading Literature: Read one of Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories about the origins of the alphabet. Discuss the storys elements as a
group. Have the students share their favorite part with their elbow partner, and then a few can share what their partner shared with them.
Transition the discussion to ask, How does this story compare to the video we watched earlier this week on The History of the
Alphabet? Why did Rudyard Kipling write his Alphabet story? What can we learn from it? What are clues in the story that you could
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use to support your conclusion as to whether his story is something that really happened or something that was made up?
Writing about Reading Time: The students will draw pictures and use words to respond to the Just So Story about the origins of the
Alphabet.
Finish with a rotation in the Learning Centers.
Extensions for advanced students: Using the examples of a variety of font styles they create a new unique Font. Curated Font
Samples can also be used in the various centers for students to student and try out. The samples could be substituted for magazines also
in the collaborative letter collage project. By the end of the unit the room will be decorated with the student produced Alphabet posters.
Classroom management: Ideas for managing the learning centers rotation ROUTINE
1. First center for 20-30 minutes and then are signaled to clean up.
2. Literature: We gather to do a read aloud and story discussion. If time allows, or I want to be sure to edify something great, then I
allow 1-3 minutes of sharing center work before we begin our story.
3. Second literacy center time. They work for 20-30 minutes and then are signaled to clean up.
4. Writers Workshop and Handwriting: We gather {and potentially share} to do phonics or word work.
5. Third learning center time. We complete this for 20-30 minutes, clean up and gather to move on with our day.
Individualization for additional support: http://www.doorwayonline.org.uk/literacy/letterformation/ (Spooner, R. & Burt, A., 2017)
I will Doorway Online Literacy App with students having trouble with the letter formations. This can be done on tablets with touch
screens or on iPods.
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Student can see the letter being formed. Then form the letter using the mouse the click on and drag the ball inside the stencil. Finally,
the student can free draw the letter as the final skill. The extra help see and practicing the skill will help students who need extra
practice to develop the muscle memory.
Start videotaping last 2 weeks of the unit. Students will have their oral telling of their summary of the history of the alphabet
videotaped during small group time.
(During Technology Specialist time coordinate with the specialist for the students to be introduced to Kid Pix for creating works of
art.)
Complete individual assessment of students printing skills, letter/sound association and upper and lower case associate
knowledge.
Writers Workshop: Students Create their ABC Stories using the ideas they have gathered through the weeks from read aloud time
and independent reading time. The story can involve one or more letters or the whole alphabet.
Writers Workshop time will also include time that students will work on their History of the Alphabet Timeline in their Historians
Notebook.
Schedule computer lab time of 60 minutes for the students to create a Digital Image art work to use with their story as a Title Page or
Book Cover. These can be printed and saved to the classroom images file. The image will illustrate something important about the story.
It will have the students name, and the title of the story included somewhere on the image.
Class collaborative oral presentations. I will compile the students history of the alphabet into one complete story and show it to the
students as a final closure activity followed by a debriefing discussion.
Additional Resources
Computer Learning Center: 5 to 6 PC, or laptops, or tablets with keyboard connections. Talking Fingers Read, Write, Type software
Wonders of the World Center: Historic Artifacts such as Parchment, Velum, Quills, Inkwells, Slates, Chalk, Wax Tablets and Stylus,
soap and mini chisels, old typewriters, telegraph machine or picture of one, old computer with keyboards. Collection of photos of
primary documents of old writings and engravings for students to study and copy from.
Creative Arts Learning Center: Old family appropriate magazine and Font Sample Sheets. Poster board, markers, scissors and glue
sticks.
Literature Learning Center: Just So Stories, a collection of 30 or more Alphabet picture books. Nonfiction picture books on the
ancient Phoenicians, the origins of the alphabet, how to books about book making through the ages. Books about early computers and
communication technology. Books telling tales of the writers of the past, intervenors of things to do with writing or printing.
https://sites.google.com/a/cssu.org/typing-for-testing/activities Typing and Mouse Savvy skills Sites K-2 (Software app to use with
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References
Cruise, B. (2013). Hisoty of the alphabet. Retrieved from Khanacademy.org: https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-
science/informationtheory/info-theory/v/history-of-the-alphabet-language-of-coins-3-9
Getty, B. & Dubay, I. (2012). The Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series. Retrieved from http://www.handwritingsuccess.com:
http://www.handwritingsuccess.com/images/sample_pages/Book_A_singles.pdf
History of the alphabet. (n.d.). Retrieved from KhanAcademy.org: https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-
science/informationtheory/info-theory/v/history-of-the-alphabet-language-of-coins-3-9
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Leslie. (2010). How to create smart literacy centers that last all year. Retrieved from Kindergartenworks.com:
http://www.kindergartenworks.com/kindergarten-teaching-ideas/back-to-school/smart-literacy-centers/
MPS media information technology standards. (2007). Retrieved from Minneapolis Public Schools:
ttp://media.mpls.k12.mn.us/mps_media_information_technology_standards
Olsen, J. Z. (2016). Teaching-order. Retrieved from Handwriting without tears: https://www.hwtears.com/hwt/why-it-works/teaching-
order
Read-write-type. (2017). Retrieved from Talkingfingers.com: http://www.talkingfingers.com/read-write-type/
Spooner, R. & Burt, A. (2017). Letterformation. Retrieved from Doorwayonline:
http://www.doorwayonline.org.uk/literacy/letterformation/
Reflection
Living in the Digital Age makes it necessary to use technology with this lesson. The students are being introduced to the Alphabet
and letter formatting, letter recognition and letter-sound association. The Read, Write, Type software will allow the students to
experience seeing the letters associated with the sounds. This software is unique in that it integrates phonetic, writing and typing into
one program. The students will learn the proper fingering on the keyboard, and practice using the letter to write words as well as
receive immediate feedback with each input. They will be able to quickly try and gain mastery of each stroke as they go along while
having their reading and writing reinforced. Digital Natives will do more writing with keyboards than with pen and paper when they
are in the upper grades. Many students struggle doing assignments that require keyboarding skills because they do not have enough
experience or regular practice afforded to them. With this program to reinforce their literacy, and beginning to learn touch typing
skills, the students will be better prepared for effectively using Computers for their writing work.
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I believe children are curious about where things come from and what things were like in the past. By using the video about
The History of the Alphabet, the students will be able to make a connection between what they are learning, and how it connects to
ancient days. Through using the interactive software to add in breaks to the video, the students will be able to reflect and respond to
smaller portions at a time. This will allow them to process the rich content and avoid the fire hydrant affect.
Videotaping the students summary of their My Alphabet Time-line will give the students a challenge to synthesize what
they have learned into a small sound bit of 60 to 90 seconds. This will be a motivation as most students love to see themselves in
videos. The class collective video will be a great way for the students to share what they have been learning on the classroom website.
Being able to post their work for a real-world audience will also encourage them to do their best work.
I like using the UbD instructional design because it helps me screen out things that will not support the big ideas or
understandings I am aiming at. Forming the evidence of learning before planning the activities helps me to know what I need to look
for in an activity because I am thinking about what the students will need to experience, and master to be able to complete the
evidence of understanding they need. I often integrate several disciplines into a unit and I have found that UbD encourages this.
Understanding by Designs emphasis on transfer knowledge and apply what you learn in one field into another segues nicely with
interdisciplinary teaching. Therefore, I wanted to combine history with the introduction of the alphabet and learning to write the
letters.
Cross-disciplinary questions need to be considered to help students develop habits of the mind (Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J., 2005).
These questions transfer between disciplines and can help me design curriculum and instruction that builds on a big picture framework
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versus a collective knowledge bank of particulated knowledge with little understanding of connections. Some of these questions
include:
From whose viewpoint are we seeing or reading or hearing? From what angle or perspective?
How do we know when we know? Whats the evidence, and how reliable is it?
How are things, events or people connected to each other? What is the cause and what is the effect? How do they
fit together?
Whats new and whats old? Have we run across this idea before?
So what? Why does it matter? What does it all mean? (Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J., 2005, p. 281)
I tried to work these habits of mind into the Kindergarten lesson dealing with introducing the Alphabet to the students through both the
origins story and grouping activity used to discover the grouping of letters by the point of view of formation method versus just the
physical attributes of the letter. Later, I can use point of view to consider how letters could be grouped per the sounds they represent.
Another set of questions helpful in teaching interdisciplinary units for primary ages are basic thinking strategies for students to
develop. Wiggins & McTighe shared the questions used by the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program:
What is it like?
How does it work?
Why is it the way it is?
How is it changing?
How is it connected to other things?
What are the points of view?
How do we know? (Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J., 2005, pp. 281-282)
Students can be invited to inquire through using questions like this while they interact in the learning centers. As a class, we can
reflect on what we are learning through focusing on one or two of these questions in our What We Know review time. As we record
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our new knowledge, we can compare it to what we thought we knew and consider how our knowledge has changed. We can make
predictions, explore them and then evaluate if we are right. It is important for children to know that we learn new knowledge whether
our prediction was right or wrong. Each new experience and additional knowledge will often lead to more questions and a deeper
To integrate the TPACK model in the process of completing this lesson plan, I considered the ways I could improve my
pedagogy with using the interactive whiteboard in displaying the students responses through typing and casting them onto the
viewing screen. By taking screenshots of their group brainstorms, I could use these as slides in my review process. The students also
have a clear view of what was printed and can complete their situational printing activity with ease. These screenshots can become
part of an artifact collection that can be shared on the class website to showcase our learning process. This can also encourage parents
to interact with their children and discuss what they are learning. TPACK integration is also seen in the use of the Read-Write-Type
software for the students to gain needed associative practice with the letter/sound and letter/touch key need in both reading and typing
the written code. The combination of content, association strategies, and the use of computer software and digital skills for inputting
model a complete TPACK intersection (Maloy, R., Verock, R., Edwards, S. & Woolf, B., 2016).
The questions I have after completing this lesson plan, is wondering how much technology time is appropriate at this age? I
felt like there were more things I could do with technology but at this age the students are just learning how to do school. When is the
right time to introduce digital collaborative work space with early primary ages? How does a teacher manage the files these young
students create when their skills for saving and titling them, and being able to retrieve them is at the basic level? These are some of the
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things I will be investigating to learn more about how to manage and sequence the technology skills this age group is needing to
develop.
Reference:
Maloy, R., Verock, R., Edwards, S. & Woolf, B. (2016). Transforming learning with new technologies. Boston: Pearson.
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria: ASCD.