College of Education

Early Childhood Center

LESSON PLAN
Name:Aonh Le
Date: March 3, 2015
Topic/Study: Prints and patterns can be made with objects
Lesson Title: Salt Dough Prints
Concept to be Reinforced:
(check one)
Curriculum/Interest Area:
Large Group
Small Group

ECSQ Standards Met:

State the standard and the observable behavior (e.g., 2.1 Children will demonstrate a growing ability to collect,
talk about, and record information about living and non-living things as they make observational drawings of real
worms).
*If applicable, include at least 1 standard for these developmental domains or content areas.

Approaches to Learning (2):

4.1 Students will manage reasonable frustration, e.g. finishing their turn to pour or mix
ingredients, redoing their print if print is not visible or alters after peeling off table
2.4 Students will show growing capacity to maintain concentration in spite of distractions and
interruptions.
Creative Arts*:
Language & Early Literacy Development (2):
1.C.3 Students will understand that people read for many purposes (e.g. to follow or
understand directions when creating something).
5.1 Students will view images and other media materials for a variety of purposes (e.g., to
gain information when creating something, to help us remember what we need to do next).
3.1 Students will use spoken language for a variety of purposes (e.g., to ask for more dough,
to ask for assistance in kneading, flattening, printing, or peeling dough; to express feelings, to
ask questions, to talk about their experiences, to ask for what they need, to respond to
others).
Dual Language Learning*:
1.1 Student will observe peers and adults with increasing attention to understand language
and intent, e.g. taking turns, pouring and mixing ingredients.
Technology Literacy Early Learning & Technology*:
Social, Emotional Development & Health (2):
3.7 Students will participate successfully as a group member, e.g. taking turns, pouring and
mixing ingredients, respecting others spaces, using respectful and appropriate words when
talking
Revised 9/16/13

2.2 Students will grow in their ability to follow simple, clear, and consistent directions and
rules, e.g. taking turns/passing mixing bowl when instructed, kneading dough, printing objects
on dough, peeling dough off table, washing hands, cleaning up, transferring dough to cookie
sheet.
2.4 Students will begin to know when and how to seek help from an adult or peer, e.g.
kneading dough, printing objects on dough, peeling dough off table.
Physical Development (2):
4.2 Students will begin to understand spatial awareness for themselves, others, and their
environment, e.g. staying in their seat and not blocking another group members view.
6.1 Students will develop and refine motor control and coordination, eye-hand coordination,
finger/thumb and whole-hand strength coordination and endurance using a variety of ageappropriate tools (e.g., using fingers and hands to knead dough, to flatten dough with rolling
pin, to print objects onto dough, to peel objects off dough, to peel dough off table).
Early Learning in Mathematics (1):
6.7 Students will begin to understand that tools (e.g. measuring spoons and cups) can be
used to measure properties of objects and amounts (salt, flour, water).
2.6 Students will begin to recognize that information comes in many forms and can be
organized and displayed in different ways, e.g., visual cue with quantities of spoons or cups
of ingredients needed.
Early Learning in Science (1):
1.4 Children will expand their observational skills (e.g., extending the time theyobserve,
observing that the ingredients mixed together to form into dough, rough dough turns into
smooth dough the more its kneaded).
Early Learning in Social Studies (1):
6.3 Children will engage in activities that promote a sense of contribution, e.g. creating dough
together, pouring ingredients, and mixing ingredients.
Main Objectives (minimum of 4)
1.C.3 Students will understand that people read for many purposes (e.g. to follow or
understand directions when creating something).
3.7 Students will participate successfully as a group member, e.g. taking turns, pouring and
mixing ingredients, respecting others spaces, using respectful and appropriate words when
talking
1.4 Children will expand their observational skills (e.g., extending the time theyobserve,
observing that the ingredients mixed together to form into dough, rough dough turns into
smooth dough the more its kneaded).
Revised 9/16/13

6.1 Students will develop and refine motor control and coordination, eye-hand coordination,
finger/thumb and whole-hand strength coordination and endurance using a variety of ageappropriate tools (e.g., using fingers and hands to knead dough, to flatten dough with rolling
pin, to print objects onto dough, to peel objects off dough, to peel dough off table).
2.2 Students will grow in their ability to follow simple, clear, and consistent directions and
rules, e.g. taking turns/passing mixing bowl when instructed, kneading dough, printing objects
on dough, peeling dough off table, washing hands, cleaning up, transferring dough to cookie
sheet.
Materials Needed:
Visual of quantities and measurements of ingredients needed to make salt dough
Visual steps of lesson to make dough and dough prints, transitioning
Divider to hang up visual steps
4 cups salt
4 cups flour
2 cups water
Large mixing bowl
Wooden spoon (for mixing)
Circle cutters (round lids/cups)
2 cookie sheets (to place finished products for drying)
Variety of printing materials (potato masher; bottles; spatulas;
Sticky notes (to write students names to identify whose dough prints are whose)
Key Vocabulary Words:
Pour; mix; stir; flatten; spread; roll; ball; circle; print;
Procedure (motivation, development, & closure)
Motivation:
Making dough
Keeping their creation
Development:
1st Talk about prior experiences of making dough (play dough, cookie dough)
Explain objective: making dough, then using objects to make prints and patterns on
the dough
Give each child a printing object and go over different kinds of objects they can use for
their prints and patterns on their dough
Refer to first step of visual steps of lesson
nd
2 Make dough with children
Have children take turns pouring and mixing ingredients
Refer to visual of ingredients to make salt dough
Explain the formation of dough by mixing flour and other ingredients, then kneading
the dough
Refer to next step of visual steps of lesson
rd
3 Knead dough
Hand out dough for each child to knead (roll & press)
o Tell children they get only one for now, but they can have another after they are
Revised 9/16/13

done.
Model kneading
Tell them to think about what kind of pattern they want to use for your dough
Refer to next step of visual steps of lesson
th
4 Flatten dough with rolling pin
Refer to next step of visual steps of lesson
5th Use circle cutters to create round shape
Refer to next step of visual steps of lesson
th
6 Make prints
Tell them its okay if they mess up their print/pattern; they can knead and flatten the
dough again to start over.
Tell them if they are done making their print, they can ask for more dough to make
more prints and patterns.
Ask students about their prints and patterns: why did you choose this print? What does
it remind you of? What does it look like?
Refer to next step of visual steps of lesson
Closure:
7th Putting finished dough prints on cookie tray
Refer to next step of visual steps of lesson
th
8 Wash hands and transition
Refer to next step of visual steps of lesson
th
9 Recall
Assessment:
Observations of what children say and how they say it, e.g. polite
Observations of manipulating materials
Pictures of dough prints
Possible Extensions of This Lesson:
(How would you build on/develop this concept or skills over a three-day period?)
We can paint our dough prints on one day, using two colors for their prints and patterns
We can make name prints using letters of their names.
Adaptations:
(How will you adapt materials, environment, strategies, or teaching methods to address
individual needs and/or learning styles? Identify specific children that you will be making
adaptations for.)
Y visual steps of lesson; visual cue of measurements needed to make dough; non-verbal
gestures, e.g. mixing; modeling how to flatten dough; picture card to identify seat placement
B Ask him for ideas on how we should transition because he likes coming up with ideas;
acknowledge positive behavior (I like the way; Thank you for); picture card to identify
seat placement
Observations of Children:
Revised 9/16/13

(Consider response to and manipulation of materials, interactions with others, group

dynamics, etc.)
S, Y, and B were playing with the objects when I handed them out.
J was being silly by commenting on the look of the ingredients.
S and J put some of the ingredients in their mouths.
Y got up to get rolling pins, not only for him but for the other students too.
Group waited patiently and did not get upset over taking turns pouring and mixing
ingredients.
J poured a little bit of water, not all, from the measuring cup as I asked.
Reflective Evaluations:
Achievement of Lesson Outcomes:
My group did a good job being patient while waiting for their turn to pour and mix ingredients.
Even though some of them asked for a turn or said it was their turn, they did not become
frustrated, and I assured everyone that they would have a turn pouring and mixing. Because
of their patience and respect toward their peers while taking turns, I would say that my group
participated successfully as group members.
This tactile learning experience allowed students to stay on task despite distractions around
them. J said some comments about the look/taste of the dough; these comments about the
dough were distracting to the group so I redirected the topic; however, the group was
engaged in higher-order thinking with their peers because they were making comparisons
between two things. The visual steps I provided also helped the group stay on task because
they would continue to look at what the next step was.
Some outcomes that were not achieved were the mathematics learning standards because
the standard was not observable, even though students could see that objects and amounts
could be measured with tools. (6.7 Students will begin to understand that tools [e.g.
measuring spoons and cups] can be used to measure properties of objects and amounts
[salt, flour, water]). Also, the visual cue was not referred to as much as I expected. I referred
to it a few times, but not after every step (2.6 Students will begin to recognize that information
comes in many forms and can be organized and displayed in different ways, e.g., visual cue
with quantities of spoons or cups of ingredients needed). The visual cue with quantities of
spoons or cups of ingredients needed to make the dough was referred to once then it went
missing from the table, so I didnt think this was sufficient enough for students to see that
information could be displayed in different ways.

Evaluation of Your Teaching & Additional Reflections:

Analysis & Effective Elements of Own Teaching Practice:
During the lesson, I had good management strategies, but there is always room to progress. I
Revised 9/16/13

believe I am proficient in planning ahead to prevent major misbehavior and conflict by

strategically placing students in certain seats and allowing all students to have fair
opportunities. I gave each student the opportunity to contribute to the making of dough by
pouring and mixing ingredients. By passing the mixing bowl around in a circle, students were
able to see that I didnt pick and choose students to pour/mix ingredients. While thinking
about the development of the lesson, I came up with the idea of using visual steps to help Y
stay engaged with the group since he has limited English-speaking abilities. In my prior
experiences with my small group, I found that they needed tactile learning experiences, so I
wanted to make dough with them, and then use patterned objects to make prints. For each
step, I modeled how to mix, knead, and roll out the dough. Modeling is especially important
for preschool children because they need visual supports in order to accomplish tasks.
In the beginning of the lesson, I handed out each student a kitchen gadget. I initially wanted
each student to describe their object to the group; however, they quickly began playing with
the tools, so I took them away. At this moment, I had to be flexible and responsive, otherwise
they wouldnt listen to me. This was effective since their attention was back on me. If any
inappropriate topics came about, I would redirect the conversation. For instance, some group
members began saying silly things about the dough. Even though they were using cognitive
skills to compare two objects, I had to redirect the topic before they began talking about more
silly things that would have become off-topic.
During the lesson, I said zuo xia (sit down) to Y as he got up to wash his hands. S asked
what zuo xia meant and why I said it. I explained to S that it means to sit down in Chinese.
This moment helped the group learn more about their friend, Y. S proceeded to ask how to
say hello in Spanish and Chinese.
Evidence of student learning & struggles
Y is learning English and the routine of being in school, so I wanted him to observe his peers
and the teacher in order to see what needed to be done by hearing the language then doing
the action. For example, I told students that when they are done with their print, they could
put it on the cookie sheet, which I did with Ss dough. Then I asked Y, after I helped him with
his print, if he wanted to put it on the cookie sheet, which he replied with Okay. He then
proceeded to take his dough print and put it on the cookie sheet as I helped him transport it.
The visual I made tremendously helped Y follow the steps of the lesson. For instance, while
we were mixing ingredients, Y saw that the next step was rolling out the dough, so he got up
to get the rolling pins. Also, toward the end of the lesson, I asked Y what do we need to do
next after we put our dough prints on the cookie sheet. He replied with Uh... and looked at
the poster. I helped him find the next step by pointing to the picture, in which he said Wash
hands.
I found that the visual steps not only helped Y, but it also helped the other students stay on
task by identifying what comes next. I included words, not just pictures, for the students to
see that sometimes we need to look at pictures or read to follow or understand directions
when creating something. I believe these standards were achieved because as I continued to
Revised 9/16/13

ask students to look at the poster, they were able to see what the next step was, or that the
poster was there to help us remember what the next step was.
While students were making their prints with the tools, I asked them (S, T, J) what kind of
pattern their object looked like. T said that the tool she was using looked like a polkadot, as
well as J. S said that his tool looked like stripes. I could have also talked more about these
printing objects by having them describe the tools, or how those tools look like polkadots or
stripes. What I would do next time is have a variety of prints and pattern fabrics/references for
the students to look at. Students could use these references to look at when I ask them about
the pattern or tool they have.
Areas Needed to Grow in Teaching Practice
What I need to continue to work on is my management strategies toward the end of the
lesson. My group is quick to get up, wash their hands, and line up, so I need to be more strict
and have them wait until I call them. I also need to work on taking my time to ask intellectual
questions, based off their comments or questions planned ahead. With preschool children,
its important to engage them with open-ended questions to activate higher-order thinking. I
rushed through the lesson, so the students didnt have a chance to be intellectually engaged.
For example, before we made the dough, I talked about our lesson objective, which was to
make dough prints out of patterned kitchen tools. Even though these patterns were
mentioned during the printing stage, I couldve further strengthened this prior knowledge
discussion by bringing back different types of prints and patterns that we learned stripes,
polkadots, wavy, zig zags, either visually or cognitively.
Another example of a missed opportunity of engaging students in higher order thinking was
when we talked about prior experiences of making dough, such as play dough. Though this
prior experience topic was perfect, I did not go in-depth enough. If I were to implement this
lesson again, I would talk more about the similarities and differences of making salt dough
and play dough: do you remember what we need to make play dough? What did we also
need to do to the play dough after we mixed it? Whats the difference between play dough
and this dough that we are making? How is this dough and play dough the same? I also
could have asked students their experiences of making cookie dough or baking, which could
have led to me mentioning that the dough we are making is not to be eaten. This could have
prevented students from putting the ingredients in their mouths.

Revised 9/16/13