LESSON

PLAN

MELS
competencies

DATE: October 8, 2014

TIME: 11:35 AM

CLASS: Cycle 1 / Grade 1.

English Language Arts Pen
Pals Introduction.

DURATION: 60 Minutes

SCHOOL: Genesis
Elementary

Subject-Specific Competencies
(English Language Arts):
Comp. 2: To write self-expressive,
narrative, and information-based
texts.
Comp. 4: To use language to
communicate and learn.

KEY FEATURES:

Cross-Curricular Comp.:
1) Adopts effective work
methods.
2) To communicate
appropriately

Subject-Specific Competencies
(English Language Arts):
Comp. 2: - To use writing as a
system for communicating and
constructing meaning.
Comp. 4: - To use language (talk)
for learning and thinking.
- To interact in collaborative
group activities in a variety of
roles
Cross-Curricular Comps.:
1) Considers all aspects of a
task.
2) To establish the purpose
of the communication; to
carry out the
communication.

Desired Results:
OBJECTIVE(S)
This lesson is to introduce the concept of having a pen pal. The Grade
One students of Genesis Elementary School will be paired up with
Grade One students from Terry Fox Elementary School. The point of
this lesson is to get the students excited for writing to their pen pals
and to get started with writing a small template-based letter to their
pen pals.
Students will understand:
- The process of writing and mailing as a form of
communication.
- The use of a word wall (to be explained during the lesson).

Essential Questions:
- What is a pen pal?
- How does writing to a pen pal work?
- How does writing a letter work?
- What do we want to tell our pen pal?
Students will know:
- The process of writing a letter
- How to communicate with another student in another school.
- How to use a Word Wall in order to remember their ideas
Group Size: 17 children
GROUP SIZE
& MATERIALS Materials: A book about Pen Pals (Either Arthur's Pen Pal or Polly's
Pen Pal), Either a SmartBoard or an overhead projector, Pen Pal letter
template and copies for students.
Ideas for
Differentiation: Throughout the first part, pay attention to students who are not
following along, or who do not seem interested in the activity. Ask
them questions about the book, to keep them engaged and interested.
During the second part: Challenge students to read parts of the letter
template, reading along in order to scaffold the ones who need further
help.
For the birthday section: Have prepared on the board, a list of months
and numbers from 1-31 for students who don't know how to spell
months and do not know how to write all the numbers from 1-31.
Write out the year that the students were born in (2008). Also explain
to the students who do not know when their birthdays are, that you will
be walking around and will let them know when their birthdays are.
For the "favourite" section, create word walls for the students, so that
they will have a reference of all the words that you came up with.
Have a poster with the colours up so that the students have a colour
reference.
For the third part: Preplan the template to include dotted lines in order
to scaffold the learning writers. Write the sentences with the students,
and ask them to spell out 'easy' words such as "I, am, in, etc".
Throughout lesson: Walk around the classroom, helping out students
who need extra scaffolding and help.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES:
Competency 1: To act as a professional inheritor, critic, and interpreter of knowledge or culture
when teaching students.
Competency 2: To communicate clearly in the language of instruction, both orally and in
writing, using correct grammar, in various contexts related to teaching.
Competency 3: To develop teaching/learning situations that are appropriate to the
students concerned and the subject content with a view to developing
the competencies targeted in the programs of study
Competency 4: To pilot teaching/learning situations that are appropriate to the students
concerned and to the subject content with a view to developing the competencies targeted in the
programs of study.
Competency 5: To evaluate student progress in learning the subject content and
mastering the related competencies.
Competency 6: To plan, organize and supervise a class in such a way as to promote students'
learning and social development.
Competency 7: To adapt his or her teaching to the needs and characteristics of students
with learning disabilities, social maladjustments or handicaps.
Competency 8: To integrate information and communications technologies (ICT) in the
preparation and delivery of teaching/learning activities and for instructional management and
professional development purposes.
Competency 11: To engage in professional development individually and with others.
PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCY GOALS:
Competency 1: I will look to see if any new information I find can aid me in finding a good
way to "hook" the students to the lesson.
Competency 2: I will use this lesson to better my communication skills, especially when it
comes to writing on the board. Because I am modeling for the students and since this is a grade
one class, my penmanship must be impeccable. I will also strive to address the students
properly and professionally. I also need to learn to speak slowly and clearly so that all my
students can hear me.

Competency 3: This field experience requires that I create a lesson plan for every lesson that I
teach. So far, I have not been doing very well in drawing up a lesson plan. I want to better
practice my skill at creating and implementing a lesson plan, so that it comes to me naturally
when I enter the profession.
Competency 4: I will take into consideration the very diverse needs of the students. I will also
test to see how flexible I can be with my lesson. I will also see how well my lesson caters to the
needs of all the students in the classroom. I will also test my ability to ask good guiding
questions and provide proper feedback to the students.
Competency 5: Evaluation and assessment are very important within the classroom. I have not
had much experience with evaluating and assessing. I want to use the worksheets I have created
in order to see what my students understand and where the gaps in their learning exist.
Competency 6: I will attempt to hone my classroom management skills. While I have improved
my classroom management skills from the last field experience to this one, I still have a lot to
learn. I must practice taking control of a classroom when things start to get out of my control.
Competency 7: I have had many difficulties thus far with coming up with possible supports for
a differentiated classroom. I will work extra hard to take notes on what a student needs and
provide that for him/her.
Competency 8: I have never really used much technology within the classroom before. I need
to try and find ways to incorporate technology within the classroom now before I obtain my
own classroom.
Competency 11: I will attempt to be a more prolific note-taker when it comes to the lessons I
conduct. I will do this to understand what I need to change within my teaching practice. I will
be aware of my faults and of my capabilities as a teacher and will use this to my advantage
when planning future lessons.

TIME

LESSON
Introduction:

Call the students to the reading corner. Have one of the pen pals books ready at the
10 - 15 reading corner.
Minutes
Start by asking the students if they know what a pen pal is of they've ever heard of a
pen pal. Explain to the students what a pen pal is "another boy or girl that you write a
letter to".

TIME

LESSON
If applicable, explain that you had a pen pal when you were in school and that you
loved it very much.
Read the story to the students. Pay attention to whether or not students are engaged or
not. Ask them what they think of having a pen pal and what the characters in the
story feel about their pen pals.
After reading the story, explain to the students that they will getting pen pals as well.
Explain that they will be writing letters to Grade One students at Terry Fox
Elementary. Explain to the students that we will be writing to their pen pals
throughout the school year and that at the end of the year, they will able to meet their
pen pals!
Development:
IF USING SMART BOARD: Open up the PDF document with the Pen Pal Letter
Template. Explain to the students that since we're only just starting to write, we will
be using a letter like this one to send to their pen pals. Explain that you have been
noticing that they are becoming better and better at writing, and that you are sure that
they will soon be able to write their letters by themselves.
Go over the first line of the letter "My name is _______." See if the children can read
this sentence, scaffold the word "name" in case the students are unfamiliar with the
word. Ask the students if they know what would go on this line. Maybe have one
students come up and write their name on the smart board. Pay attention to the
students who are not paying attention. Ask them to repeat what they have to do on the
line.

Move onto the next line. "I am _____ years old." See if the children can read this
sentence, scaffold the word "years" since it involves sounds some students might not
have learned yet. Ask the students what they think they should put on this line. Have
40 - 45 another student write down the number on the line. Like before, have a student who
Minutes seems to not be paying attention to repeat what they have to do.
Move onto the next line "My birthday is ________ ___ _______." Read the sentence
with the students and ask them what they think should go on this line. Ask them how
many of them know when their birthdays are. Explain what should go on each line.
For the students that do not know when their birthday is, explain that is written in
their agendas and if it is not written there, explain that you will be walking around
with the information sheet their parents and will let them know when their birthday
is. On the white board, have already prepared a list of all the months and how to
spell, for the students who have not memorized their birthday. Also have prepared, a
list of the numbers from 1 to 31, for those students who have not learned how to
write the numbers to 31.

TIME

LESSON
Send the students back their seats. Pass out the letter sheets and have them complete
the first two lines. Keep the Smart Board template on and allow the students to
occasionally get to look at the sheet. Give them no more than 5 minutes to finish
these lines. While the students are working, walk around to see if the students know
what they have to do and are completing the task.
After about 5 minutes, have the students put down their pencils and make sure that
they have their eyes on you. Move onto the next section, where it says "My favourite
colour is _______." You may go to the Smart Board and ask the students if they can
see where you are pointing. Walk around quickly to see if everyone is paying
attention and is following along. Ask the students what they think they need to do on
this line. Explain that they will have to write down what their favourite colour is.
Explain that you have a poster with all the names of the colours in case they do not
know how to spell their favourite colour. Encourage them to try and spell it out
before looking to the poster. Pay attention to students who are not paying attention
and walk around to see if students are following along.
Move onto the next part, "My favourite part of school is ___________." Look around
quickly to see if everyone is paying attention and is following along. Ask the students
what they think they need to do on this line. Explain that they will have to write
down what their favourite part of school is. Create a Word Wall on the white board
with the title "Favourite Things About School". Ask the students what some of their
favourite things about school are and write them on the word wall. Do no more than 6
examples. Explain that you will go around and if a student does not know how to
spell a word, you will help them.
Move onto the next part, "My favourite food is ___________." Look around quickly
to see if everyone is paying attention and is following along. Ask the students what
they think they need to do on this line. Explain that they will have to write down
what their favourite food is. Create another Word Wall on the white board with the
title "Favourite Foods". Ask the students what some of their favourite foods are and
write them on the word wall. Do no more than 6 examples. Explain that you will go
around and if a student does not know how to spell a word, you will help them.
Have the students complete this section of the letter. Give them roughly 5-10 minutes
to complete it. While they are completing the task, walk around to see if they are
following along, if they need help with anything, etc.
After about 10 minutes, have the students put down their pencils and make sure that
they have their eyes on you. Move onto the next section, where it says "Here is a
picture of me". You may go to the Smart Board and ask the students if they can see
where you are pointing. Walk around quickly to see if everyone is paying attention
and is following along. Ask the students what they think they have to do in this

TIME

LESSON
section. Ask them if they should draw picture without much work done or if they
should take their time with the picture and make it nice for their pen pals? Give them
about 5-10 minutes to complete this task. While the students are working, walk
around to see if they need any help.

IF USING AN OVERHEAD PROJECTOR: Go over each section using the overhead

projector showing the letter template. Write out the examples on the acetate sheet.

TIME

ACTIVITY
Integration / Closure:

10 15 NOTE: If the above activity takes too long, do not continue on to this part, but work on the
Minutes letter during another lesson.
IF USING THE SMART BOARD: After the students have finished the second section of the
letter, have them get up and quietly walk back to the Smart Board. Have them look at the first
line of the third section, where it says "Dear _________________________". Explain to the
students that when we write letters, we address the person we are writing to, by writing "Dear
along with the person's name. Give an example "If I were writing a letter to Miss. Patricia, I
would write Dear Miss. Patricia,. Emphasize that you need to include a comma after the
person's name. Tell the students, that since we do not know who our pen pals are yet, they will
write "Terry Fox student". Explain that in a letter, after we write "Dear Terry Fox student," we
skip a line and start our letter on the next line. Ask a student who is not paying attention, to
repeat what you have just said. Explain that this is important for them to know.
Ask the students what they would like their pen pals to know about them. If they cannot come
up with anything, prompt them by saying things like "Would you like to tell them what grade
you're in?" "How would we start this sentence?" Have the students complete the sentence while
writing the words on the template. If there are any words that the students may know, have
them spell it out. Preplan the letter template to include dotted lines in between the bolded lines
in order to scaffold the students writing. Tell the students to pay attention to the lines as they
write.
Come up with 2-3 sentences that the students would want their pen pals to know.
Tell the students that once they are done their letters, they can write their names under the last
line. They can also draw a picture (Emphasize that it needs to be neat for their pen pals).

TIME

ACTIVITY
IF USING AN OVERHEAD PROJECTOR: Go over each section using the overhead projector
showing the letter template. Write out the examples on the acetate sheet.

Evaluation:
Assessment Evidence:
- We will be doing each section one at a time so that every student is able to follow along
and complete the section with guidance from the teacher. The teacher should be looking
to see if the students are completing each section of the template appropriately.
- The questions asked to students will signify whether or not they understand what is
being asked of them. This is why, the teacher should ask students who seem to not be
paying attention if they understood what has to be done.
Assessment Tool:
- The written template will serve as the assessment tool in this activity. The teacher will look
over each letter the student has written to see if:
a) The student has followed the instructions and completed the sections as directed,
b) Their writing is as neat as can be (Capital letters and lower-case letters are written
appropriately).
c) There is space between the words.
d) The drawings are as neat as can be.
**Because the children are still just learning to write, the teacher must keep this in mind and be
lenient with the students. If some students are still writing their words close together, the
teacher can explain to the students how to write properly, but to keep this in mind.**
Assessment Criteria:
- Do the students know what a pen pal is and why we're writing them letters?
- Do the students know what they have to write for each line and section?
- Is their writing as neat as can be?
- Do they understand what they are writing to their pen pals?