Dakota State University

College of Education
LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Name: Morgan Larson

Grade Level: Kindergarten
School: Madison Elementary
Date: 4/19/17
Time: 2:15-2:55

Reflection from prior lesson:

I have not completed a prior social studies lesson, but I have completed math, science, and
reading lessons thus far. In all of the lessons, the most difficult task was managing students in
whole group when they need further direction. The best thing to do is to give all direction right
away and then let students who continue to understand work, and students who forget to go
back and remediate the instruction. Then having something that the students who get done
first can do to keep them busy while they wait.

Lesson Goal(s) / Standards:

K.G.6.1 Describe ways people rely on the environment to meet human needs and wants.
K.RL.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
K.SL.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten
topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Lesson Objectives:
1. After reading The Lorax, students will be able to verbally tell what happened before the
trees were cut down and then what the book illustrations looked like after the trees
were gone.
2. After looking at pictures of objects that may or may not be made from trees, students
will be able to decide if the material comes from a tree or not.
3. After imagining what the world would look like without trees, students will be able to
tell and draw what would happen if there were no more trees.

Student Language Objectives:

I can describe how trees meet human needs.
I can talk with my peers and my teacher about the book.
I can add my own ideas into a group discussion of a book or topic.
I can draw and write what the world would look like without trees.
Materials Needed:
o The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
o Whiteboard
o Images of wood products
o Poster of the world without trees
o Paper with two lines for writing
o Apple

Contextual Factors/ Learner Characteristics:

There are 20 students in the class – 13 girls and 7 boys. The students are arranged at 5 tables of
4 students which allows for a lot of room for whole group instruction by the board. The
students are used to having lessons that begin with kinesthetic movement before they work.
This includes the teacher having them dance to songs or to have them do actions with their
new vocabulary words. The movement helps the students learn and focus. The students have
social studies right after the specials time and right before school gets out. One student is on an
IEP, and many of the students have difficulties with staying on task.

A. The Lesson (40 minutes)

1. Introduction (3 minutes)
● getting attention – Take a bite out of an apple. “Could you guys imagine what it
would be like if we didn’t have trees? We wouldn’t have any apples, and apples are
my favorite fruit!”
● relating to past experience and/or knowledge – “There is a celebration coming up
soon that helps protect the trees, so I can keep enjoying apples. Do you know what
celebration is coming up this weekend? I’ll give you a hint, this holiday has to do
with our environment and protecting it and keeping it safe. Our Earth provides us
with many, many things that help us survive. Can any of you think of something that
helps us survive that comes from the Earth? (student responses) Remember when
you talked about natural resources? All of the things you just listed are natural
resources.”
● creating a need to know – “There are things on Earth, like our natural resources, that
help us survive. Earth Day is a day to celebrate the things that Earth provides us and
to learn ways to protect and care for those natural resources from the Earth.”
● sharing objective, in general terms – “Since Earth Day is coming up, today we are
going to learn about a need that humans have that the Earth provides for us.”
2. Content Delivery (35 minutes)
a) Read Aloud – The Lorax – (12 minutes) – Read students The Lorax stopping and asking
questions along the way to help with understanding. Define vocabulary words or make
sense of make believe words during the reading.
b) Venn Diagram on the Board – (6 minutes) – “So we use a tool called a Venn diagram to
organize material we read about. A Venn diagram is used to compare two things, so we
are going to compare what the forest looked like before and after the Once-ler came
along. I want you guys to think about what the forest looked like before the Once-ler
went into it. What did the forest look like?” (show picture if needed) Add any responses
to the Venn diagram. “Now think about what the forest looked like after the Once-ler
left and had made all of his thneeds. What did it look like then?” (show pictures if
needed) Add new ideas to the Venn diagram.
c) Sort Out images into made from trees or not made from trees – (8 minutes) – “Just like
the Once’ler needed the trees to make his thneeds, we need trees to make things for us
as well. Who can think of something that comes from a tree that we need? (student
responses) A lot of things come from trees, like wood to burn to heat a house, furniture
for us to sleep on or sit on, and even our paper comes from trees. I am going to hand
each of you out a picture of an object, and as a class, we are going to decide if the object
would come from wood or does not. Some of these are kind of tricky.) First, we will
decide if we think it comes from a tree or not, after that, we will decide which category
it will go in. Let’s talk about each of these categories. The first category is wood
products, these are the products we can usually see from wood, like a board! The other
category would be food products, like an apple because apples grow on trees. The last is
paper products, like a newspaper, which is made from a fancy word called cellulose. I
say you say, cellulose. (hand out product images)
d) Group Discuss – What would happen if all the trees were gone on Earth? – (2 minutes) –
“I want you to close your eyes. I want you to think about what the Earth would like if we
didn’t have any trees left. All the trees out back behind the school were gone. All the
trees by your house or your grandparents house are all gone. There are no trees
anywhere to be find. Imagine what the world would look like then. Now keep those
ideas bottled up in your head because I am going to have you draw a picture of what
that would look like to you.”
e) Draw & Write – (7 minutes) – “At your desk, there is a blank piece of paper and then
two lines to write. I want you to draw a picture of what you think the world would look
like without any trees. Think of all the products that come from trees, fruits, paper,
wood, and think of all the things we couldn’t make. Once you have drawn your picture, I
want you to write one sentence about your picture. Once you are done, I will show you
my drawing of what the world would look like without any trees.”

3. Closure (2 minutes)
“Today, we used the example of the Lorax and his story to help us talk about how the Earth
provides us with things we need. We specifically focused on the trees that make so many things
we need. Does anyone remember some examples of what came from a tree that we needed?
Right, those are all things we need that come free trees. Remember we talked about this
because Earth Day is coming up, and that is the day that we celebrate the Earth and what it
gives to us.”

B. Assessments Used
o Informally, student’s participation during the story and during the Venn diagram will
guide whether they understand the importance of the story.
o Students will be able to draw and write one sentence about what the world would look
like without any trees.
o During the sort it activity, students will be able to sort out and decide if an object comes
from a tree or does not. Then they will be able to sort them by the category they came
from.

C. Differentiated Instruction
Gifted – If these students finishing their drawing and writing early, they may get there things
together and start getting ready to go home for the day. Then they can work on math
flashcards until they end of the day as they are working on subtraction. These students may
also draw or write on the back of their paper.
Remediated – I will give these students some sentence starters to help write their sentences off
their drawing. I will also talk to them about some ideas and make sure they have an idea about
what to draw. I would make sure they have the understanding of the concept first before they
start drawing.
English language learners – There are no ELL students within this classroom. If there were, I
may consider reading a different story as The Lorax is very abstract vocabulary wise. Otherwise
I would make sure to take the time help the students understand Dr. Seuss books first. I would
talk about the rhyming patterns, the vocabulary or made up words, and the whimsy of his
stories. I would also discuss these ideas during the reading as well. The Venn diagram is great
for these students to see the material ideas. I would give these students some sentence starter
ideas when they need to write their sentence, and I would talk to them about their ideas to
draw too.

D. Resources
Activity with Trees – https://www.plt.org/educator-tips/the-lorax-lesson-plans