Hao Hao Xue Xi : Learning and Lesson Plans

   Author: Julie Johnson Topic: Math and Science Age: Kindergarten Overview: This lesson will be a precursor to lessons on life-cycles, building off the main topic of living things. It will connect to other lessons about how living things grow and change over time. It can introduce the concept that living things need food to grow. In this lesson the children will learn about ordinal numbers. We will review numbers 1-5 and introduce the vocabulary: first, second, third, fourth, and fifth. The teacher will read the story ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and then as a class describe the story using ordinal numbers and story boards; first the caterpillar ate, etc. Finally the children will divide into language ability groups and work together to arrange the story boards by themselves using ordinal numbers. Introduction of the Lesson: 1.       Introduce ordinal numbers 1-5 and the corresponding vocabulary. Play speed ordering games in small groups to put ...

   Author: Julie Johnson Topic: Science Age: Kindergarten Overview: This lesson will be able to assess the students ability to differentiate living and non-living objects. In this lesson the children will complete a teacher made worksheet to sort various pictures into living and non-living. Each child will be given a worksheet and as a class we will identify and review vocabulary on all of the photos. The children will then practice their scissor skills to cut out all of the photos. They will then sort the photos into living or non-living and glue them onto the paper in the appropriate category. Once everyone is finished, the class will divide into their language ability groups and discuss the results with each other and the teacher. Children will be encourage to express their ideas both in English and Chinese in order to deepen the discussion about why they have chosen to categorize the photos as they have done. Introduction of the Lesson: 1.       Be...

 Author: Julie Johnson Topic: Science Age: Kindergarten/Reception Overview:  This lesson will begin by introducing the topic of living things. Relevant English vocabulary will be highlighted as well as their meanings. Phonics and reading can be included at this point by reviewing initial and final sounds for the new vocabulary words. We will then view several time laps videos of living and non-living things and see how they change. The living things like people, animals, and plants grow and change, while the non-living things like toys and cars do not. Finally we will end the lesson by going on a living or non-living nature walk outside. Students will be encouraged to identify living or non-living objects as we walk around the school. Reluctant learners will be encouraged to choose an object for the class to discuss if it is alive or not. The students will need to follow the nature walk rules and the teacher should review outdoor classroom management ideas to keep the children...

   Author: Julie Johnson Comprehension is arguably the most important part of reading; it is the point after all. If you don’t understand what you’ve read, what was the point of reading it in the first place? As such, learning comprehension skills are critical to beginning readers. There are many strategies that have research-based evidence supporting them, but I have chosen to focus on story mapping for the purpose of this paper. I hypothesize that the use of story mapping in the classroom will significantly benefit ESL and other special needs learners in their ability to comprehend narrative texts.     To support my research into this hypothesis I propose the following questions to drive inquiry;  (1) How does story mapping help improve comprehension? (2) How has story mapping been used effectively with ESL students? (3) What were the results of using story mapping with students who have learning disabilities? (4) What other skills does story mapping help...

   Author: Julie Johnson I had the opportunity to conduct a case study of Norah, an emergent reader who attends my kindergarten. The following text details Norah’s background information, factors influencing her acquisition of reading skills, an assessment of her current reading level, and target areas and strategies for her improvement. I will also reflect on my assessment methods and how to motivate and engage Norah in her pursuit of literacy and education in the future. Norah is a six-year-old kindergarten student at a bilingual kindergarten in Guangzhou, China. In terms of development, Norah is a fairly typical six-year-old. She has no apparent manifestations of physiological or neurological factors that would negatively affect her ability to learn to read. She has normal vision and hearing and shows no signs of speech disorders, ADD, or ADHD. Norah is from an upper class family with two loving parents and grandparents who are committed to her education. Her parents and gr...

   Author: Julie Johnson Phonemic awareness, a type of phonological awareness, is the ability to identify and manipulate phonemes, the smallest units of speech (Yopp, H., & Yopp, R., 2009). It is a critical skill for young children to develop. Phonemic awareness skills facilitate a child’s ability to read and spell. These skills can be demonstrated through the ability to recognize words that beginning with the same sound, isolate a sound within a word, blend sounds to form words, or segment a word into its sound components (Ambruster, B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J., 2010). In this paper I will explore several strategies for developing phonemic awareness, identify the purpose of each strategy, and evaluate and rank each strategy based on a set criteria.             There a many strategies, games, and methods that one could use to help children develop phonemic awareness. One possible method is rhyme generation. The...