MacKenzie Frakes

Carrie Farley, YCP

Half-day 3s and 4s
Presenting March 13th
LESSON PLAN OUTLINE
JMU Elementary Education Program

I. TITLE OF LESSON – Read Aloud on It’s Okay to Be Different by: Todd Parr

II. CONTEXT OF LESSON

Read alouds play a vital role in children’s overall literacy development. Read alouds serve as a tool to help
children predict using context clues, discuss books, express their thoughts, learn and use new vocabulary,
improve comprehension and is a fun way to help children become more interested in reading. At this young
age, it is also important to begin addressing and acknowledging diversity in order to foster a sense of
acceptance within each child. I thought my read aloud book did a perfect job at relaying the importance of
individuality in a way that is understandable for young children. The supplemental art activity is a fun way to
deepen student comprehension of individuality while also allowing a creative outlet for them to express
themselves and portray how they view themselves.

III. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Understand: The students will understand that we are unique and different from one another but that we are
also all beautiful in our own way.

Know: Students will learn the importance of individuality and point out characteristics and features of
themselves that are different or similar from their peers.

Do: They will complete the art activity in which they create a picture of themselves, and will be able to see
that everyone has unique characteristics.

IV. COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENT DATA

• Checklist for fine motor skills needed for the art project (see page 7)
• Pictures of student artwork to assess comprehension of the instructions/intended use of activity (see
page )
• Discussion with each student on the features they included in their picture/group discussion to see the
similarities and differences we have physically from one another (see page 8)
• I will discuss my data collection, including my analysis and interpretations, in my reflection.

V. RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING (K & 1) OR FOUNDATION BLOCKS

(Preschool)
• Virginia Literacy Foundation Blocks
o Virginia Literacy Foundation Block 1 (Oral Expression)
§ Children gain language and vocabulary skills by having multiple and frequent
opportunities to talk, as well as, listen to adults and peers. These opportunities must be
daily and routine as children begin to read and write.
a) Listen with increasing attention to spoken language, conversations, and
stories read aloud

   
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 MacKenzie Frakes
Carrie Farley, YCP
Half-day 3s and 4s
Presenting March 13th
b) Correctly identify characters, objects, and actions in a picture book, as well
as stories read aloud, and begin to comment about each
c) Make predictions about what might happen in a story
d) Use two words to ask and answer questions that include actions
e) Use appropriate language for a variety of purposes, e.g., ask questions,
express needs, get information
f) Engage in turn taking exchanges and rules of polite conversation with adults
and peers
g) Listen attentively to stories in a whole-class setting
o Virginia Literacy Foundation Block 2 (Vocabulary)
§ The more children know about the world around them, the easier it is for them to
express new information, ideas and vocabulary in communicating this knowledge.
Helping children to relate experiences to new ideas and concepts also assists in the
development of vocabulary and related skills.
a) Use single words to label objects
b) Listen with increasing understanding to conversations and directions
c) Follow simple, one-step oral directions
d) Engage in turn taking exchanges with adults and peers
e) Use new vocabulary with increasing frequency to express and describe
feelings and ideas
f) Expose children to a wide-variety
• Personal and Social Development Foundation Blocks
o Virginia Personal and Social Development Foundation Block 1 (Self-Concept)
§ The essence of early personal and social development is a child’s self-concept. A
sense of self-worth enables a confident child to participate in most classroom
activities, express emotions, explore toys and materials, and interact with others in the
classroom. To develop this confidence, many preschool children need opportunities to
learn how to play with others. At times, young children need support in trying new
classroom activities.
a) Demonstrate knowledge of personal information including first and last
name, gender, age, and birthday.
b) Begin to recognize and express own emotions using words rather than
actions.
c) Recognize self as a unique individual and respect differences of others.
d) Develop personal preferences regarding activities and materials.
e) Demonstrate self-direction in use of materials.
f) Develop increased independence in school activities throughout the day.
• Physical & Motor Development Foundation Blocks
o Virginia Physical and Motor Development Foundation Block 1 (Skilled Movement –
Manipulative Skills)
§ Manipulative skills of toss, catch, throw, aim, strike, jump, juggle, kick, bounce, and
dribble develop visual tracking of moving objects, eye-hand and eye-foot
coordination, visual fields, cross lateralization, sequencing of patterns, and dynamic
balance. These skills aid the brain in organizing thoughts in sequence, and tracking
exercises strengthen the eye muscles and visual fields used in reading.
a) Manipulate a variety of objects during structured and unstructured physical
activity settings.
   
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 MacKenzie Frakes
Carrie Farley, YCP
Half-day 3s and 4s
Presenting March 13th
b) Manipulate small objects using one hand independently, the other hand
independently, and both hands working on the same task.

VI. MATERIALS NEEDED

• It’s Okay to be Different by Todd Parr
• Sticky notes and page flags as a guide for when to ask the students questions during the read
aloud and what to ask
• For activity:
o Paper o Glitter
o Glue o Googly eyes
o Markers and crayons o Stickers
o Pipe cleaners o Felt
o Beads o String
o Pompoms o Feathers
o Mirrors o Paper plates
• Prepared question to ask students, allowing them to reflect on their thought process and
reasoning related to their artwork and comprehension of lesson

VII. PROCEDURE

A. PREPARATION OF THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

I will place all of the necessary materials for the art project neatly in the art center for the students to use
following the read aloud. Paper plates will be placed around the table and all of the materials the students can
use for their self-portrait will be in the center of the table for them to choose from.

B. INTRODUCTION AND ORGANIZATION

Begin by having each student find a place on the edge of the carpet.
Introduce the read aloud book by reading the title and asking, “what part of the cover is this called?” Then I
will read the author’s name and say “what do we call someone who writes a book?”

After page about wheelchair: “raise your hand if you have met or seen someone in a wheelchair
before. Sometimes when you get hurt or real sick, you need help getting around. Some people always use a
wheelchair to get around if their legs don’t work like ours, but that’s okay.”

After page with glasses: “Ms. Morgan and I both wear glasses. Raise your hand if you can tell me
what glasses do (have someone answer). They help our eyes see because sometimes things can be hard to
read.”

After page with alien: “What is this creature called (an alien)? What is he inside of (a spaceship)?
(Pointing to planet) what is this called?” If students do not guess that the figure is a planet, I will assist by
saying “it lives in outer space. Earth is an example of this.”

   
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 MacKenzie Frakes
Carrie Farley, YCP
Half-day 3s and 4s
Presenting March 13th
After page of skunk: “What is the name of this animal? What does it look like he’s doing? When
skunks get upset or angry, they release a smell. Has anyone smelled a skunk before? But, like the book says,
it’s okay if you are angry sometimes, like this skunk.”

After book: “Give me a thumbs up if you liked the book or a thumbs down if you didn’t like the book.”
Go around the circle and have each student share why they did or did not like the story. “Did everyone in the
book look the same? Were they all doing the same thing?”

Following small discussion: “We are all different from another. My favorite color is blue; raise your
hand if your favorite color is also blue. See, we don’t all love the color blue and that’s okay! Being different
than everyone else is awesome because you can learn something new from your friends and teach them new
things, too!”

C. IMPLEMENTATION

I will begin the activity by telling each student to pick up one of the mirror on the table and say, “look
at all of your beautiful features!” After the students look in the mirror for a moment, I will say, “can
you make a picture of yourself?” This will lead the students into exploring the various materials set out
for them on the table. I will carefully observe each student to assess his or her fine motor abilities and
complete the checklist I created for this observation. I will ask a series of open-ended questions (see list
below) both during and after the activity to assess student comprehension of the activity and moral of
the lesson. The purpose of asking questions during the process of the student’s creation is to allow them
the opportunity to communicate their process and express the connection between their thoughts and
their actions. The purpose of asking the questions once each student completes their work is to allow
them the opportunity to reflect on their artwork and recall their process and reasoning. The discussion I
will lead following the completion of the activity will aim at observing each child’s literacy knowledge
in relation to the Virginia Foundation Blocks. The discussion allows students to exercise their verbal
expression when explaining their thought process and actions for how they created their self-portraits.
Additionally, students will gain practice with vocabulary by engaging in discussion with me as well
with the other students at the center and practicing vocabulary words to describe their artwork.

Questions:
• Tell me about… • What did you do first?
• Show me how you… • What do you call the things you’re
• How did you… using?
• Why did you… • What is it made of?

D. CLOSURE

I will encourage the students to reflect on the experience by engaging them in a discussion where I will
guide their thoughts with open-ended questions. I will first ask questions such as “your portrait is so
beautiful, tell me about it” and “what is special about yourself that you included in your artwork?”
   
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 MacKenzie Frakes
Carrie Farley, YCP
Half-day 3s and 4s
Presenting March 13th
After asking a series of questions, I will ask all the kids at the group “what is similar and what is
different between all of your pieces?” This question will lead us into a discussion about the children’s
similarities and differences; however, the main focus will be how everyone’s portrait is beautiful,
creative, and somewhat different from one another because we all are unique and our own individual.
The discussion will be the main avenue for having students reflect on the experience and I will
document their responses on my data assessment sheets. At the YCP, the children have the freedom to
come and go as they please to each center of the day. After finishing their artwork and having a short
discussion about it, the students will wash their hands if needed and then go to the next center they
want to play at.

E. CLEAN-UP

The art center will have to be tidied up and disinfected following my lesson. I will put all of the
materials provided by my CT back in their proper places in the art supply room. Any leftover supplies I
provided will be donated to the YCP for future uses. I will hang each of the children’s artwork on the
clothesline to dry overnight so they can take them home the following day. After collecting the art
materials and putting them in their prospective places, I will disinfect the art table with the cleaning
solution as part of our post-class tasks.

VIII. DIFFERENTIATION

There is one student who has down syndrome and therefore has a few limitations with regard to completely
absorbing the lesson. I will make sure to ask him questions throughout the book like “what is this” when
pointing to a page with dogs on them or comment when something may be relatable to that student. So far I
have not witnessed that student participating in any art activities during center time. However, if he would
like to come to my center, I will ask him questions about his features such as “do you have a nose? I have
one too! We also have a mouth, and two eyes and two ears,” while having him look in the mirror. Statements
such as those can help the student become aware of their features and hopefully provoke him to have a verbal
reaction or reverberation of what I am saying to him. I will assist him with gluing materials to his paper plate
if necessary and will verbally guide him through the project by reminding him of the features we just
discussed that he can create such as the eyes, nose, and mouth.

IX. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?

• During the read aloud, students may get up out of their spot, lose focus, or start talking over me.
When a student gets out of their spot, I will quickly address it by seeing “please find your spot
at the edge of the carpet.” The other practicum students will be at the carpet with us and can
help resituate the student if needed. If I see a child losing focus I will redirect their attention by
asking them a question about the book or pointing out a specific feature on the page. If students
begin talking over me I will simply say “listen to my words,” which is a phrase my CT uses
frequently during read alouds when this occurs.
   
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 MacKenzie Frakes
Carrie Farley, YCP
Half-day 3s and 4s
Presenting March 13th
• Students may not want to create a picture of themselves. If this is the case, I will point out how
the other students in the class made pictures of themselves or say how that student’s
parent/guardian would love a picture that they make of themselves in order to influence a child
to complete the art project as intended.
• Students may not spend as much time or use as much effort as I would like for the project. I will
encourage students to make thoughtful choices when completing the activity, as they want to
make a special picture of themselves because they are special children! If I see a student is
really not putting any thoughtful effort into the project, I will try to facilitate a discussion about
a feature they could focus on in their artwork for the time being and see if that influences their
behavior.
• Students may not want to use the art materials provided or request to do something with paint. I
am providing a variety of materials to use for the project to hopefully appeal to everyone’s
interests and fine motor skills. I will redirect any negativity expressed by a child if they “don’t
see anything they can use” for their project by pointing out a specific object or material and
saying how cool it would be if they utilized it in their project.

X. REFLECTION

   
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 MacKenzie Frakes
Carrie Farley, YCP
Half-day 3s and 4s
Presenting March 13th
Child: ______________________________

Fine Motor Skills

SKILL YES NO

Using scissors properly/cutting along line

Drawing/tracing shape

Holding pencil with 3-finger grip

Coloring inside lines

Writing name

Tracing line

Writing/tracing numbers

Writing/tracing letters

Use preferred hand

Gluing objects to paper

   
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 MacKenzie Frakes
Carrie Farley, YCP
Half-day 3s and 4s
Presenting March 13th
Child: ______________________________

Question Child’s Comment Further commentary/notes

“Tell me about your artwork”

“Why did you include

_____________* in your
artwork?”

*Feature =

Extra space:

PICTURE:

   
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