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Sample Lesson Plans
Using Literature to Teach Elementary School Math and Science
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Education
ED312, Spring 1996; Professor Maria Varelas
Lesson by Cristobal Mendoza
- first grade students
- Since I was a child, and until today I have been fascinated by circuses. Since I can recall I always made my parents take me to every circus that came to Chicago. Another reason why I picked a circus book was because of the bright colors that are displaed throughout the book We know that children love to watch circuses because of the colors that they see around the entertainment.
- The first grade students will learn and be able to identify geometric shapes and learn to count clowns, elephants and etc.
- The way I will begin my lesson will be to ask students what they Know/Want/Learn (KWL) from reading The Circus is in Town. I would write their repsonses on a large white sheet of paper. I will then have the entire class read the book together. I will give each student the opportunity to read at least a page from the book. As we are reading the book, I will pause and ask the students what the story is about, what do they think will hapepn as the story continues. As I am asking these question I will be assessing their knowledge on what they have been reading. After we finish reading the book I will ask the students whether or not their predictions were correct after reading the story. After we have discussed the book I will then be gin my math lesson and other school curriculum.
I will first explain the math lesson then language arts, physcial education, art, and music that I found interesting for children to learn after readingThe Circus Is In Town. Here are a list of books that I found interesting where I could integrate as I continue this lesson or for students to continue reading or activities for them to learn more about circuses:
Suggested Books and Activities
- The Circus Is In Town
Written by Claude Belanger; Illustrated by Philip Webb
Develop a circus mural showing the different acts. This could be a collage mural. Have children develop their own circus. They could imitate the different performers and work up their acts. Costumes could be made. The circus song could be used as a basis for a great circus play.
- Do-Whacky Do
Written by Joy Crowley; Illustrated by Philip Webb
Have a circus parade. The children could dress up. Include clowns, a ringmaster, acrobats, etc. Add circus props to the dress-up area such as wigs, big red noses. oversized shoes, funny hats, sequined vests, capes and headbands. Let the chidlren use the props any way they want in imaginary play.
- The Circus
Written by Andrea Butler; Illustrated by John Fairbridge
With a friend, children make their own circus drawings and tell the class about them. Using the illustrations in the book, ask the children to retell the story in their own words.
Math The children will be able to identify geometric shapes.
Suggested Activities
- Clown Faces
Cut various sizes of circles, squares, rectangles, triangles and other geometric shapes out of different colors of construction paper. Let the chidlren glue the shapes on pieces of construction paper to create clown faces. Chidlren identify the shapes used with a partner. Cut circles, squares, rectangles, triangles and other geometric shapes out of brightly colored paper. Put the shapes in a box in front of a flannel board. Let one child create a clown face on the flannel board. Have another child graph on a chart how many geometric shapes were used on the clown faces. The children will be able to count, one to ten.
- Circus Counting Books
Have each group of five children make a circus counting book from one to ten. Have the children cut pictures of circus objects, people and animals out of magazines. Have the children glue the appropriate number of circus objects on each page. Staple the book together and have the children read their book to the class by naming and counting the items on the page that they wrote.
- Counting Elephants
Cut the elephant shapes out of paper and place them on one side of a flannel board. Place a string circle on the other side of the flannel board to represent a circus ring. Have the children work in small groups of five children. One child at time moves the elephants inside and outside the ring. Then they ask the other children, "How many elephants are in the ring? How many elephants left in the ring? How many elephants are still in the ring?"
- Determine the number of ball(s) of each juggler is juggling
Have students take home a color ditto sheet and determine the number of ball(s) of each juggler is juggling. Questions that students will have to answer from the ditto sheet are: "How many ball(s) is the juggler juggling?"
Language Arts The children will learn the alphabet.
Suggested Activities
Other Activities
- Circus Alphabet Cards Concentration-The teacher will give each group of five children two sets of circus alphabet cards. Have the children place them face down on a table. Let one child draw two cards. If the cards match, have the child keep both cards and draw again. If the cards do not match, have the child replace the cards and let another child draw two cards. Continue the game until all of the cards have been matched. The teacher may teach the game by only giving the children letters A-J until they learn how to play concentration.
- Circus Alphabet Book
The children will work in small groups to make their own circus alphabet book.
Example:
- Aa-acrobat
- Bb-band
- Cc-clown
- Dd-dog
- Ee-elephant
The children will use cooperative skills to share a story.
- Listen to a story in the listening center.
- Tell a partner a favorite part of the story.
- Draw a picture together of their favorite part of a story on one piece of paper.
- Act out the story together.
- Read the story together, using one book, and taking turns, then tell each other the story.
- Tell a flannel board story together.
Art The children will create drawings, designs and paintings, using self-image, images of other people and things, and using many different materials.
Suggested Activities
Other Activities
- Jumbo Clowns Have each child lie down on a piece of butcher paper and trace around him or her with a marker. Then draw a simple clown suit on each child's outline. Have the child write their name on the front of his or her clown hat. Let the children use markers, pompon balls, glitter and yarn to decorate their clowns suits. When the children are finished, cut the shapes out and let them use the clowns to decorate the room.
- Parade Floats Have small groups of children work on decorating a wagon. Give the children crepe paper streamers and masking tape to decorate. If desired, let them add flowers, flags, signs and cardboard cutouts. Have the children take turns pulling the wagons around the room in a parade while playing circus music.
- Lion Puppets Set out papers plates, glue, two inch pieces of yellow yarn and markers. Have the children make lion manes by gluing the yarn pieces around the rims of the paper plates. Help the chidlren draw lion faces on the centers of the paper plates with felt-tip markers. Attach popsicle sticks to the backs of the plates for handles.The chidlren will use cooperative skills to create a project.
- Draw, color, paint a picture together.
- Use play dough and make something with a partner.
- Finger paint a picture with a partner.
- Make a poster about a book together.
Physical Education The children will be able to perform basic locomoter movements, demonstrate basic skills of balance, and cooperate with others by following rules of play.
Suggested Activities.
- Clown Parade Play circus music and let the children pretend to be clowns as they march around the room. Encourage them to move in funny ways like clowns would.
- Circus Acts Let the children take truns being the ringmaster and the performers in small groups. Have the ringmaster introduce such acts as prancing horses, circus elephants, tightrope walkers, acrobats and clowns. Have the groups share their acts with the class.
- Hoop Fun Let the children pretend they are circus anmials who have been trained to jump through hoops. Have the children line up in a single line and take turns stepping of jumping through a hula hoop. Adjust the height of the hoop according to age and skill of each child.
- Tightrope Walkers Tell the children that in the circus there are tightrope walkers who walk across a wire high up in the air. To help them keep their balance, the tightrope walkers often carry an umbrella. Let the children pretend to be tightrope walkers and take turns walking one balance beam holding an umbrella.
Music The children will be able to demonstrate the methods used to produce sounds on classroom instruments, including such methods as shaking, scraping, ringing, tapping, hitting or blowing. They will make their own instrument.
Suggested Activities
- Rhythm Invite the chidlren to be in a circus band. Provide them with rhythm sticks, drums, tambourines, jingle clogs, and tone blocks. Have them sing the song,"The Circus Comes to Town", while playing their instruments. Have them repeat the song while playing their instruments and marching.
- Tambourine Give each child two large paper plates, markers, a stapler, streamers and fifty beans. Have each child decorate both paper plates with a circus theme. Put the beans between the plates and a stapler both plates tightly shut. The children may use their home made tambourines while singing a song, marching, reading a book, poem or finger play.
How will I assess these chidlren to know whether or not my lesson plan was meaningful, interesting and if they learned the material? By using the circus and having the children work together in cooperative setting I will use a checklist. In this checklist I, as the teacher, will be keeping track of which chidlren have mastered new skills by checking the appropriate items.The checklist will include active listening, finding partners, sitting with a partner or small group, taking turns, participation, helping a student by encouragement and compliment, eyue contact, sharing with a friend, the alphabet, counting one through ten, identifying geometric shapes, clothes patterns, physical, musical and artistic participation. After teaching this lesson, I as a t eacher will hope that all my students will have accomplished all eighteen skills. If my students had certain problems with certain skills I would then make sure that the next lesson plan I have will focus on the skill(s) they need to accomplish.
I also know that not all cooperative learning activities will be sucessful in every class I will teach. Therefore, I as a teacher will need to be flexible and willing to change and adapt activities to fit particular students.
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