This lesson plan is designed to teach months of the year to a first grade special education class over three weeks. The class consists of 17 students, most of whom have ADHD. Students will learn the months and their corresponding holidays/events through matching games, drawing activities, and quizzes. Each week focuses on four months. On Fridays, students review what they learned that week by retelling stories and drawing pictures. On the final Friday, students take an exam matching pictures to months. Their performance will be evaluated with treats corresponding to months answered correctly.
1. Casandra Goodwin
A- Analyze Learners
This lesson plan is for teaching the months of the year to a first grade special education
class. This class consists of ten boys and seven girls. Of these seventeen, 70% are white,
20% are African American, and 10% are Hispanic. Seven students in this class have mild
to severe ADHD.
S- State Objectives
A first grade special education class will categorize the month of the year with the
corresponding picture that symbolizes the event/holiday that takes place in each month
with the use of a list of those holidays and events per months and may ask the teacher one
time what the picture is after having a week of review by playing matching gamesmatching the picture to the month that it goes with, playing quizzing games with each
other where one student wins a piece of candy for every question he got right, drawing
pictures as to how they see the month to be, and class discussions. They will do this by
the end of three weeks with 90% accuracy, learning four months each week.
S- Select Methods, Media, & Materials
1) Handouts listing each of the holidays/events that take place in each month (two
per student).
Below is what the handout will look like.
What Happens in Each Month?
January: New Year's Day!
February: Valentine's Day!
March: St. Patrick's Day!
April: Easter!
May: School's out!
June: Vacations to the Beach!
July: Independence Day
August: School is Back!
September: Fall Weather is here!
October: Halloween!
November: Thanksgiving!
December: Christmas/Hanukah
2) Picture handouts that coordinate with the month (two per student).
2. Below are the pictures that will be used, in order from January to
December.
3. 3) An abundance of crayons.
4) Plain white copy paper (12 sheets per student).
U- Utilize Media & Materials
1) The handouts listing the holidays/events per month along with the pictures will first be
put in their backpacks with a note to their parents explaining the assignment and the at
home study they should be doing to help them learn.
4. 2) With their other set of handouts that the student will retrieve at the end of each class,
the student will look over the holiday sheet while being informed on how each month has
importance and will discuss an important month to them.
3) The teacher will show the pictures and explain how each symbolized that month. For
example, December would be a Christmas tree with presents under it.
4) The students will use the crayons and paper to recreate each symbol in their own way
to help visualize what they are learning. As for the children who do not have the ability to
draw, they will quiz each other with the pictures that the other students drew so they will
also be included.
R- Require Learner Participation
* This is a three week lesson. Each class day is 50 minutes. Each Monday through
Wednesday will be the same; 4 months per week. Fridays will be review days and Exam
day.
Monday-Thursdays
• 5 minutes (First day only): The teacher will begin explaining the importance of
knowing the months and what the assignments will be like.
• 20 minutes: Beginning with the first month, the students will share a story about
something that they remember about the certain holiday that that month
symbolizes.
• 15-20 minutes: Each student will be given the picture that symbolizes the month
of the day and the teacher will explain why that picture symbolizes that month.
• 10 minutes: Review what was discussed that day and remind the students to give
their parents their note and extra hand outs; take up handouts and pictures that
they were using during class. When the student gives the teacher the handout,
they will recite the name of the month and what holiday represents it from that
day.
First Two Fridays
• 20 minutes: The teacher will review with the students about the pictures and
months that they had went over that week and retell their holiday/event story that
they had heard that week.
• 30 minutes: Each student (of whom is able to draw) will receive crayons and four
sheets of paper. They will draw their representation of the pictures that went with
that week's months. For those who cannot draw, they will quiz each other with the
pictures already made and with those that their classmates drew.
"Do You Know It?” Friday (final Friday of the three weeks)
5. •
•
15 minutes: The teacher will give each student a handout of the holiday/event list
and review them.
35 minutes: Every two minutes, the teacher will show the picture to the class and
they must match that picture to which month they think it belongs to. The students
that have the ability to write will have a list of the months in random order and
will put, for example, a number 1 by July if the first picture shown is of fireworks.
For those who cannot write, they will have small note cards lined on their desk.
Rather than putting them in order with numbers, they will make a stack of their
note cards in order.
E- Evaluate
The students will be graded on whether the month matches up with the picture that was
shown. Not only will they receive the grade that they deserve, they will each get a treat
that goes with the month that they got right. For example, if they get October right, they
will get a piece of candy corn or a Halloween sticker. To further advance the student
performance the next time that this lesson is given, revisions might have to be made to
fulfill certain needs of special education students.
6. •
•
15 minutes: The teacher will give each student a handout of the holiday/event list
and review them.
35 minutes: Every two minutes, the teacher will show the picture to the class and
they must match that picture to which month they think it belongs to. The students
that have the ability to write will have a list of the months in random order and
will put, for example, a number 1 by July if the first picture shown is of fireworks.
For those who cannot write, they will have small note cards lined on their desk.
Rather than putting them in order with numbers, they will make a stack of their
note cards in order.
E- Evaluate
The students will be graded on whether the month matches up with the picture that was
shown. Not only will they receive the grade that they deserve, they will each get a treat
that goes with the month that they got right. For example, if they get October right, they
will get a piece of candy corn or a Halloween sticker. To further advance the student
performance the next time that this lesson is given, revisions might have to be made to
fulfill certain needs of special education students.