Counting Candy Lesson Plan

C.T.s Signature_________________________
Name: Mary Thomas
Date: April 13, 2016

Cooperating Teacher: Ms. Tonya Jones

Time: 20 minutes

Subject/Class: Math/ Pre-K

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES TO MEET GOALS:

Students will be able to count using the numbers one through five. They will
apply this skill to count various objects that are presented to them. Students will also
practice identifying and writing the numerals for one through five.
COMMON CORE STANDARD, GRADE: Pre- Kindergarten
(No Common Core Standards for this grade level; The Ohio Standards for Early
Education are used instead). Pre-Kindergarten (3-5 years). Cognition and General
Knowledge: Mathematics: Number Sense- Number Sense & Counting:
Count to 20 by ones with increasing accuracy.
Identify and name numerals 1-9.
MOTIVATIONAL TECHNIQUE:
Students will be seated on the carpet area and they will join the teacher in singing
of one of their favorite counting songs: Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree.
Students will be encouraged to do the hand-motions that go along with the song, and they
will help the teacher count down from 5 to zero.
MATERIALS NEEDED:

Plastic tree with 5 plastic, detachable monkeys

Five pieces of paper picturing pieces of candy, ranging in number from 1
to 5
Five pieces of paper featuring the numerals 1 through 5
20 copies of the practice sheet which has pictures of items ranging in
number from 1-5, which the students will practice counting; practice sheet
also has the numerals 1-5 written, which the students will trace and then
write independently, and which are aligned with the pictures of the objects
having that same count
Crayons for tracing and writing the numbers

PROCEDURE FOR THE LESSON:

1. After the opening song has been sung, the teacher will tell the students the
objective for the lesson, which is to practice counting objects using the
numbers 1-5, and to learn how to write the numerals 1-5.
2. The teacher will begin with a review of how to count from 1-5.
3. Next, the teacher will make the content relevant to the students by having
them think about different situations in which they would need to use
numbers. After listening to their responses, the teacher will suggest that they
need to know how to count and say numbers in order to answer the question:
How many pieces of candy would you like? or How many scoops of ice
cream would you like in your ice cream cone?
4. The teacher will then tell the students that she needs the students to help her
count the number of pieces of candy pictured on the pieces of paper that she is
holding. In order to help count they are going to need to use their fingers on
one hand. The teacher will lead the students in stretching their hand up to the
sky and down to the floor, in order to give them the opportunity to move and
get ready to help count.
5. The teacher will then hold up the pieces of paper, one at a time, beginning
with the paper showing just one piece of candy, and ending with the paper
showing 5 pieces of candy. As each paper is displayed the students will be
instructed to use their fingers to help the teacher count the pieces of candy
pictured on the paper.
6. Next, the teacher will randomly hold up one of the papers and ask the students
to look at the paper and silently count the pieces of candy using their fingers.
Then they will be instructed to turn to the student next to them and whisper to
that student the number of pieces of candy pictured on the paper. This will be
repeated for all the pieces of paper.
7. Then the teacher will explain that they are now going to learn how to write the
numbers that they have been saying and showing with their fingers. The
teacher will hold up the paper with each numeral and have the students trace
the numeral in the air using their index fingers. This will be done for all the
numbers 1-5.
8. The teacher will then conclude the whole group instruction by reviewing with
the students what they just learned. The teacher will remind them that they
now know how to count objects using the numbers 1 through 5, and they also
know how they can write the numerals for those same numbers. The teacher
will tell them to kiss their brain because they are so smart, and will model how
to do that.
9. The lesson will be followed up with individual practice of the material
covered in the lesson. The class will go to the play centers in the classroom,
and the students will be called over one by one to do the practice sheet with
the teacher. This will give the teacher the opportunity to assess each students
mastery of the lesson and give differentiated instruction if needed.
ACADEMIC LANGUAGE: number, object, count, trace, write, one, two, three, four,
five

ASSESSMENT METHODS:
The students will be assessed informally through the teachers observations of
their participation during the whole group instruction. Students will also be assessed
through their completion of the practice sheet.
EVALUATION OF FIELD EXPERIENCE STUDENTS PERFORMANCE
(REFLECTION):
As I know that this pre-school class is very active and enjoys activities which
allow them to move around, I tried to incorporate many opportunities for movement
throughout the lesson. Additionally, I have noticed in my time with this class that they
love to sing songs and that that is one of the best ways to get the class attentive and
engaged. For this reason, I began my lesson with a song which they already know and
enjoy, and which is related to the subject matter I chose to do my lesson on. This worked
very well and it helped to get the students settled down for the lesson. I have also noticed
that they are more attentive to my cooperating teacher when she has them sit on the
carpet, as opposed to the desks, so I had them stay on the carpet for my lesson.
I planned this lesson according to the Direct Instruction method, which
highlights the importance of starting the lesson by telling the students what they are going
to learn and connecting the content to the students lives. They were not very interested
in the learning objective that I gave them, but I was able to catch their attention with the
candy question. I set up the scenario using their teachers name, so that they would truly
be able to relate to the scenario. They also liked using their fingers to help me count the
pieces of candy. However, they struggled with the next part of the lesson, in which I
asked them to silently count the candy with their fingers and then whisper the answer to
their neighbor. Some of them did not seem to understand my directions, and they became
distracted when they turned to their neighbor. By the time I got to the section on how to
write the numerals they were becoming very fidgety. I had them stand and stretch before
having them trace the numerals in the air with me. I ended with a quick review of what
they had learned and practiced, and then had them kiss their brains, which they liked
and thought was silly! I enjoyed being able to work with them one on one for the
completion of their practice sheet. I find that the one-on-one interactions best allow me
to adapt my instruction to the individual learners. Overall, I am pleased with how the
lesson went.