Katherine Hust

Title: Playdough Letters 2

Day: September 28 October 2, 2015
Subject: Literacy Centers
Class: Mrs. R-H, Kindergarten, Riverside
Explanation/ Teacher Talk
Standard
Objective Content Objective: The student will be
able to identify the letters in alphabetical
order with 90% accuracy.
Language objective: The student will
be able to recite the alphabet from A to Z
with 100% accuracy.
Materials
Uppercase Letter Mats
Lowercase Letter Mats
Alphabet Poster
Playdough
Trays
Instructio Task 1:
n
I Do/We Do:
The teacher introduces the task of putting
the letter mats in alphabetical order on
the carpet and models the task by
completing the first three letters and
gradually releasing the responsibility to
the students, having them help with the
task until they are completely guiding the
work.
Teacher Talk: (T = Teacher, S = Student)
T: Today we have a very important task.
We have been using these letter mats to
make our playdough letters, but now
these mats are all out of order. Our task
is to put them back into alphabetical
order. Who can tell me what alphabetical
order is?
S: Its like up on the wall.
T: Yes, just like the cards up on the wall, it
begins with the letter A, and then B, then
C, and such all the way through the
alphabet. Its a very specific order and we
call it alphabetical order. So what we are
going to do is we will use the alphabet on
the wall above us or this other alphabet
poster hanging here to guide us as we
work. The carpet will be our work station
and each of you will get a chance to add

Differentiated Instruction

For students who need

help with what letters
come next in the
alphabet, a visual aid in
the form of an alphabet
poster can be produced
and hung where the
students can easily view
it. The teacher can also
direct struggling students
to sing the alphabet song,
stopping at the letter that
comes next. Alternatively,
for an especially
struggling group, the
teacher could hand the
letter mats to the
students in alphabetical
order and have them
repeat the letter aloud
with their classmates as
they place it down on the
carpet.
For a group that is
excelling at the task of
placing the letters and
are speeding through the
task, lowercase letter
mats could be produced

Katherine Hust
to participate. So what were going to do
is first, look at the poster to see what
letter comes first. Hmm, is it this letter?
S: No! First comes letter A.
T: Okay, so we need to start up here with
letter A. Now Im going to find that letter
in the pile of mats. Notice how Im not
making a mess with the mats, but Im
looking carefully through them. Here we
go, is this the letter A?
S: No, thats an S!
T: Okay, how about this one?
S: Yes!
T: Now that I found the right letter, Im
going to place it on the carpet, starting
up in the farm corner just like this. Then
Im going to look at the poster for the
next letter.
Etc.
You Do:
The teacher turns the task over to the
students, directing each child to take a
turn picking out a letter mat and placing
it on the floor until all the letters have
been placed. Then the teacher and
students recite aloud the alphabet,
following the cards they have placed
down.
T: (Name), you may go first. What letter
comes next? Now find the letter mat for
that letter and place it on the carpet to
continue our alphabet.

T: Now that we have placed all of the

letters, lets read through them. Say the
letter names with me. A, B, C
Task 2:
Students will be allowed to use both
uppercase and lowercase letter mats to
continue building playdough letters as
they have in the previous week, gaining
more independence as they go. Students
could be encouraged to build the letters
in their name or alternate between

and the students

instructed to place them
on top of their
corresponding capital
letter.

Katherine Hust
uppercase and lowercase letters.
Evaluatio
n

Students will be observed for their ability

to locate the next letter in alphabetical
order on the poster and then translate
that to the work on the carpet. The
teacher should watch for each students
level of independence and ability to
continue the task where it was left off by
the previous student without being
redirected.
Students will also be observed for their
participation in reciting the alphabet at
the end of task 1, whether they are
saying all of the letters, skipping a few, or
not participating.