Lesson Plan #: AELP-ABT0201
Submitted by: Gisela Hausmann
Email: educeasy@yahoo.ie
School/University/Affiliation: author, former teacher
Date: August 23, 2002
Grade Level: Preschool Education, Kindergarten, 1
Subject(s):
- Language Arts/Alphabet
- Language Arts/Literature/Children’s Literature
Duration: 20 minutes per letter
Description: Children learn their ABCs using visual, auditory, and/or kinesthetic processes in order to speed up the process.
Goal: To teach the letters of the alphabet via learning styles in order to approach all children, whether they learn best using visual, auditory, and/or kinesthetic processes.
Objective: Students will reinforce the memorization of alphabet letters via auditory, visual, and kinesthetic methods.
Materials:
- alphabet book obvious LETTERS: The Associative Alphabet Every Child Will Remember by Gisela Hausmann
- one copy of the relevant alphabet letter page per child (don’t forget spare copies)
- crayons
Procedure:
[ Author’s Note: obvious LETTERS is an alphabet book ( http://www.1second.com/edu_easy.html ) that was designed according to the latest teaching technique — learning styles. Students see an associative illustration that looks like the letter in question, focus on hearing the associative word’s first highlighted letter, and do activities by either coloring copies of the book or acting out the illustration. obvious LETTERS is tailored for visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic learners.]
For the letter being studied, begin by showing the letter’s page in the book (for example Q as in QUIET). Discuss what the page shows: an index finger held over the lower lip of a slightly opened mouth. Ask the children if they can guess what the person is trying to say… (QUIET).
Hand out paper copies of the book page. [ Author’s Note: Teachers (as well as parents) have permission to copy the book’s pages in b/w for their own use – which means, every teacher for the students in his or her class (every parent for his/her own children).] Ask the children to put their index fingers under the word (written under the illustration). Together, read the word while slowly moving the fingers from letter to letter. Discuss whether students think the person in the picture is a man or a woman. Conclude that the person is probably a woman wearing lipstick. Ask the children if they have ever seen someone apply lipstick. Instruct the children to use crayons to color the lips. When the children are finished, ask them to stand up and do the as the picture shows. Have them all (relatively) quietly sound out QUIET while putting the emphasis on the Q sound.
[ Author’s Note: Please note that while many of the associative pictures in obvious LETTERS can be acted out, not all of them can be used like that. Other associative pictures have hidden associative words such as R as in RAINCOAT. The children might recognize that the raincoat in the picture is red, or the picture could also be interpreted as Red Riding Hood.]
In closing, ask the children to cut out the associative picture (remove the word underneath) and have them take it home to see if their parents can recognize what letter the picture depicts. This is to keep the parents informed of what their children are learning about as well to create a sense of pride that they created a letter.
Assessment: Review the letter the next day. Teachers may follow-up with reading exercises that they usually plan with their students.
Useful Internet Resource:
* Obvious Letters
At my site I offer parents and teachers a free Start-to-Read program. After sending a blank email to obvious_letters@getresponse.com they receive the entire program in their inbox.
http://www.1second.com/edu_easy.html