Presidents Day Lesson Plan

Name: Jessica McCarroll Date Submitted: February 18, 2017

Grade Level: 3rd Date Taught: February 20, 2017

Essential Question:
Can nouns, verbs, and adjectives be identified in written sentences?
Arizona State/Common Core Standard(s):
English Language Arts- Language Standards: Conventions of Standard
English
o 3.L.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar
and usage when writing or speaking.
a. Explain the function of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in
general and their functions in particular sentences.
b. Form and use regular and irregular plural nouns.
c. Use abstract nouns (e.g., childhood).
d. Form and use regular and irregular verbs.
e. Form and use the simple verb tenses (e.g., I walked; I walk; I will walk).
f. Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.
g. Form and use comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs, and
choose between them depending on what is to be modified.
h. Use coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
i. Produce simple, compound, and complex sentences.
Social Studies- Strand 3: Civics/Government, Concept 1: Foundations of
Government

PO 4 Describe the significance of national holidays:

a. Presidents Day

Content Area Objective(s) Blooms Taxonomy:

Students will be able to classify nouns, verbs, and adjectives by their correct part
of speech.
Students will be able to construct complete sentences using given nouns, verbs,
and adjectives.
Students will be able to label words in a sentences with the associated part of
speech.
Language Objective(s):
 Students will read words on word cards to determine their meaning and part of
speech.
Students will write complete sentences using the words on the word cards.
Students will discuss with a partner where each word card belongs on the sorting
mat (under noun, verb, or adjective) and ask questions as needed.
Students will listen to the teacher while giving directions and to their partners
ideas during discussion.
New Vocabulary (2-5 words):
Colonists Former
Presidency Sort
Abolish
 Anticipatory Set:
Teacher will ask students what they know about Presidents Day, such as why it is
celebrated, who/what it celebrates, and why it is a national holiday.
Teacher will explain that students will be learning some interesting facts about
George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and several other former presidents.
Learning Experiences (Teacher/Student Actions):
Demonstration PowerPoint
Teacher will explain to students that they will be using word cards to write
sentences, then sorting the word cards into three categories: nouns, verbs, and
adjectives. Teacher and students will read the steps for the sorting activity
together.
1. Take word cards out of bag.
2. Write one sentence using the word cards in your writing spiral.
3. Sort words into nouns, verbs, and adjectives on sorting mat.
4. Label the nouns (n.), verbs (vb.), and adjectives (adj.) in your sentence.
Teacher will lead students through an example, where a set of word cards will be
shown. Teacher will ask students to form a complete sentence using the given
word cards and write it in their writing spiral (notebook). Teacher will emphasize
that extra words will need to be added to make the sentence make sense.
A couple of students will share their sentences with the teacher. Teacher will then
ask students to help sort the words into the categories on the sorting mat. Then,
teacher will instruct students to label the word card words in their sentence with
n. for noun, vb. for verb, and adj. for adjective. Teacher will show labeling
example after one minute.
Word Sorting & Sentence Writing
Teacher will emphasize that students will be working in pairs and should stay
together throughout the sorting and writing process. Teacher will instruct students
to choose a partner and move to a station. There will be ten stations spread around
the room with two sets of word cards at each station. Students will spend five
minutes at each station and will complete the word sort process twice, once for
each word card set.
Teacher will visit groups as they work to ensure understanding and cooperation
between partners.
After five minutes, the teacher will instruct students to decide which partner is
ham and which is cheese.
Ham will rotate stations by moving to the left and cheese will rotate to the right.
This will ensure diverse pairing and allow students to work with various
classmates.
Possibilities for Differentiation:
 Students with IEPs and/or emotional challenges will be closely monitored by the
teacher in order to ensure full ability to participate and emotional stability
throughout.
This activity could be done individually with less students or as a free-time
station.
Closure:
Students will return to their seats and the teacher will call on volunteers to share
interesting facts that they learned about past presidents.
Teacher will check for understanding by asking students to identify the part of
speech of various words in their sentence.
If time allows and students are able to complete each of the ten stations, students
should have twenty sentences written in their writing spiral, not including the
example sentence.
Assessment (formative and/or summative):
Formative: Teacher will observe students as they participate in the word sort and
will ask questions to gauge comprehension of parts of speech.
Summative: In future writing activities, teacher will listen as students explain
their reasoning for the parts of speech of given words.
Materials/Resources:
Overhead projector & computer
Presidents Day PowerPoint (attached)
Word card sets (20)
Sorting mats (10)
Writing spirals and pencils (1 per student)
Timer (optional)