Educ 457 Lesson Plan #4- Inchworms

TPALesson Plan #4
1. Teacher Candidate Ashley Ambers Date Taught
Cooperating Teacher Rhiannon Straka School/District Medical Lake ECEAP
2. Subject Art/Literacy Field Supervisor Chris Booth
3. Lesson Title/Focus Inchworms 5. Length of Lesson 25-30 minutes
4. Grade Level Preschool (Ages 4-5)
6. Academic & Content
Standards (Common
Core/National)
Washington State Early Learning and Development Guidelines.
Ages 4 to 5 years. Communicating (literacy) - Speaking and listening
(language development): Tell a short make-believe story, with adult help
(76).
Ages 4 to 5 years. Learning about my world - Knowledge (cognition):
Build on and adapt to what the child learned before (78).
Ages 4 to 5 years. Learning about my world – Arts: Understand that
different art forms (such as dance, music or painting) can be used to tell
a story (80).
7. Learning Objective(s) Students will create a fork painting picture of an inchworm during small
group activities.
Students will formulate a story based on their painting using at least five
words and vocabulary from the story during small group activities.
8. Academic Language
demands (vocabulary,
function, syntax, discourse)
Vocabulary: worm, inchworm, nightingale, bird, emerald, twig, gobble,
measure, robin, flamingo, toucan, beak, heron, pheasant, hummingbird,
song, sight, grass.
Function: create, formulate.
Syntax: KWL chart
Discourse: in this lesson the language will be used orally by both the
teachers and the students. The assessment will be based upon oral
demands, and the vocabulary will then later be used when building to
our worm topic in later lessons.
9. Assessment
Assessment for this activity will be authentic and formative based. Children will be assessed on
whether or not they can make utilize and integrate new vocabulary from prior learning, and formulate
their own story about what they have learned about worms based upon prior learning. To assess
student learning a teacher or adult support will sit at the art table with a sheet for anecdotal notes
(attached sheet) to record each child’s response what is happening in the picture they created. These
anecdotal records will then be used to assess whether or not the child met the objectives as a type of
formative assessment. Students will be reminded of the vocabulary throughout the reading portion of
the lesson as well as when going over the KWL chart and previous lessons and learning before being
dismissed from circle. An adult support will also be present during the lesson to engage with the
students in meaningful conversations using the vocabulary that we are building upon. There will be a
space on the assessment sheet titled “Vocabulary Used”, which will show participation by the words
printed that the child used while conversing with the teacher about what they see. The vocabulary
words we are looking for here are those that have built upon previous lessons and that are crucial
components of the overall understanding of worms. There is also a column titled “Student Response”
which will similarly be filled in with the written words that the child orally states regarding what is
happening in their picture, what they made, etc. Once each child has completed their painting, it dried,

and their story has been recorded it may also be placed in portfolio, which will be utilized at the end of
the year to track and display overall student progress. We will also utilize the KWL chart we previously
made to monitor our own learning as a class, which will also help act as a means of formative
assessment. We will continue adding to the L portion of the chart, which will act as another means of
student voice or evidence of learning. We will also be able to look back onto the Worms KWL chart at
the end of our worms unit as evidence of overall learning, and to see how the children themselves
have grown as students.
**Assessment sheet attached**
10. Lesson Connections
Research: “Art is basic. Of course, every subject area is important, but no program for young children
could succeed without emphasizing art. Through making, looking at, and talking about their own
artwork and the art of others, three-, four-, and five-year-old children are doing the following:
 Expressing their feelings and emotions in a safe way. They learn to control their emotions and
recognize that they can express and handle negative as well as joyous feelings through
positive action.
 Practicing and gaining fine muscle control and strengthening eye-hand motor coordination. By
holding paintbrushes and learning how to control paint, crayons, scissors, and other art tools,
children gain the skills necessary for later writing activities as well as a feeling of control over
themselves and their world.
 Developing perceptual abilities. Awareness of colors, shapes, forms, lines, and textures result
as children observe these and try to replicate them through art.
 Being given the opportunity to make choices and solve problems. How do you get the legs to
stick on a clay figure? What color should I use? Making art offers children a multitude of
choices and many decisions to make.
 Seeing that others have differing points of view and ways of expressing these than they do.
Comparing children’s drawings, paintings, or models gives children concrete, dramatic
examples of how different people express the same thing in different ways. While learning that
their way is not the only way, they learn to value diversity (Strasser, 2001).
 Becoming aware of the idea that, through art, culture is transmitted. Becoming acquainted with
the art of the past, children are involved in learning something of their origins and themselves.
 Experiencing success. Because art leaves the end open to the creator, all children experience
a measure of success. This is why art activities are appropriate for children with special needs.
Regardless of the physical or mental need of the child, there is some art media and activity
through which he or she can experience success.
 Making connections between the visual arts and other disciplines. Art integrates the
curriculum. Content from every subject matter can find form through art.
Mathematics. Children become aware of different sizes, shapes, and parallel lines and use every
mathematical concept as they discuss their art and the art of others.
Science. Paint changes texture as it dries, powdered paint and chalk dissolve in water, and chalk
produces bubbles when dipped in water. Also, paints change color when they are mixed together. The
physical sciences are ever present as children produce art.
Economics. This and other concepts from the social studies develop. Children become producers by
making art and consumers by using the materials of art.
Language. Children learn to talk about their art and the art of others and develop the vocabulary of art.
Beginning reading. Children make and read symbols that represent reality.
Social skills. By sharing paints and paper, cooperating to create a group mural or other project, and
assuming responsibility for cleaning up, children gain valuable social skills through making art.”
Excerpt from Early Education: Three, Four, and Five Year Olds Go to School, by C. Seefeldt, B.A.
Wasik, 2006 edition, p. 166-168.

Lesson Connections: In this lesson we are building upon our introductory lesson on worms, while also
continuing to build upon our theme of things that grow. To successfully participate in the lesson
students will have to have expressive oral language and some sort of background knowledge of
worms and the outdoors.
Personal/Community Building: Students are given a lot of freedom to be as creative as they want with
their responses as well as telling adults and adult supports what they already know about worms. The
cognitive demand of the activity will be for each child to recall the previous lesson, apply it to the
current lesson, and make predictions about what is to come. It will also involve a level of patience for
each child as they wait their turn to take turns creating their own inchworms and participate in the
small group lesson. We will also work on our safety skills by keeping both ourselves, our worms, and
our peers safe by following directions and adhering to expectations. These are all essentials skills they
will need to be functioning members of society when they are older.
11. Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks to Support Learning
Learning Tasks and Strategies
Sequenced Instruction
Teacher’s Role
Introduction (10
minutes): Have
children seated on
their carpet squares at
circle. Pre-teach
expectations of circle
time. Pre-teach hand
raising and being
called on if children
would like a turn
speaking, Review our
current lesson theme
and discuss things
we’ve already learned
about.
Go over title again,
and introduce author,
and illustrator. Ask
children for predictions
on what the story will
be about.
Pre-teach critical
vocabulary and
concepts to prepare
students to listen to the
text.
Read (Dialogic)– Inch
by Inch (aloud) while
modeling with fluent
Students’ Role
Students are expected to behave safely and appropriately at circle. Our
circle time expectations are: eyes are watching, ears are listening, voices are
quiet, bodies are calm, which children should be following and showing with
their bodies, since it is expected of the children during the entire lesson.
Students are expected to raise their hands, wait to be called on, and then
speak if they wish to contribute an answer or prediction.
“We’ve already talked about things that grow, flowers, rainbows, seeds, etc.”
Students will give predictions for what may happen in the story.
“I think it will be about about worms that are small”
“I think it will be about worms that measure things”

and expressive
reading, and asking
engaging questions as
you go along. (The
questions should be
written on sticky notes
and placed on pages
prior to beginning the
lesson).
Following up to
reading we will have
our discussion on what
we learned. And add
our new additions to
our KWL chart.
Introduce the activity
by explaining that
there will be a worm
art activity at one of
the tables, were we will
create our own
inchworms hiding in
the grass, which goes
along with our theme
of things that grow and
our new worms unit.
Dismiss children to
free choice centers.
Activity (10-15
minutes): Materials
should be laid out on
the table and ready for
children. Before
beginning, remind child
of behavior
expectations, our task,
and have each child
put on a smock.
Instruct each child to
first cut out their
inchworm and glue it
on their paper before
painting the grass on.
Help those children if
needed in cutting,
gluing, and social and
Students are expected to follow circle time expectations and hand raising
expectations.
Student responses are expected for dialogic reading questions, responses
may vary based on questions and children’s experiences.
“I learned that birds eat worms”
“I learned that worms are smart”
Students will also be making connections between things we wanted to know
and things that we learned. Children may share more of their personal
stories with worms, and then will be dismissed to their next activity.
Once excused from circle they are free to go to the center of their choice,
which was okayed by the teacher. Some children will go directly to the art
activity.
Students are expected to sit down at the table with a tray in front of them.
Students are expected to put a smock on, follow behavior expectations, and
follow directions of the activity.
The student will cut out a strip of green construction paper, as well as a
green circle to create their inch worm. The children will glue both of these to
their white piece of paper. The strip should be glue only a little on each end,
so that it appears as though it is inching through the grass.

behavioral demands of
the task.
Instruct children to
paint grass around
their worm, like in the
story, using their fork
and green paint.
Demonstrate if
needed.
Once the child has the
inchworm and grass
painted ask children
about their picture and
record responses on
the assessment sheet.
Provide prompts for
children who are more
reluctant to give a
response.
“Tell me about what
you made.”
“What is your
inchworm doing?”
“What is your
inchworm hiding
from?”
Once a child has
completed the project
and you have recorded
their story or response
they are free to move
onto a new center of
their choosing.
Closure (5 minutes): In
circle following free
choice time, ask
children about their art
projects today. Make
ties to things learned
and things we wanted
to learn that we wrote
down on the chart.
If there were things
that we wanted to
learn that were not
answered in the story,
conclude by saying,
The students should be listening to direction as they are explained, keeping
their materials on their trays, sharing materials with their peers, and asking
for help as needed.
Once their inchworm has been glued onto their white paper they may begin
the painting portion of the activity. Children are expected to be wearing a
smock, and keeping their materials both to themselves, and out of their
mouths. Children will dip a plastic fork in green paint and use it to paint grass
around the worm that they have glued onto their white paper.
Once children have completed the activity they are expected to tell a story
based off of their painting.
“I made a worm that is wiggling through the grass”
“I made an inchworm like the one in the story we read”
“My worm is hiding from a bird who is flying around and might eat it”
“My worm is going back into the ground soon”
“My worm is going back home because he misses his mommy”
Once the child has completed the activity, the teacher has done the
assessment piece, and they have written their names on their worm, they
are free to choose another activity to participate in.
“I made my own worm today”
“I learned that some worms are green”
“I learned that some worms live in the grass”

“Maybe in our next
lesson about worms
we will learn about…”
Student Voice to Gather
I will assess student voice by asking “Who wants to find out more?” “Who liked looking at the worms?”
and “Who knows something about this that they can share?". The student responses by hand raising
will show me how interested and engaged the children are with the topic still or if we should move on
from worms to another topic. By asking the children if they know something they can share, it also acts
as a form of assessment, and helps me progress monitor myself to ensure that learning is in fact
taking place within the classroom.
12. Differentiated Instruction
Plan
Environmental Support: Carpet squares, selectively placing students at circle, selectively placing adult
supports, not allowing children who do not work well together to do the activity at the same time.
Special Equipment: Chair at circle, buckle chairs at each station for smaller children or children who
may slip out of their chairs, materials of various sizes, big and small, to incorporate children of all
different motor skill levels, safety scissors and scissors that can be manipulated so that you only have
to squeeze down instead of doing the actual cutting motion.
Adult Support: Monitoring the children for appropriate circle time behaviors, as well as coming around
to assist children with any other potential needs, ensuring children are respecting their peers and their
environment at all times.
Peer Support: Seating children based on children they work well with and separating them from those
they do not.
Invisible Support: Carpet squares during circle time, trays with the materials each child needs to
successfully complete the art project, pre-teaching and enforcing expectations of treating peers, and
the classroom, and hand raising for turns with speaking.
Activity Simplification: Setting up different stations, so that once children complete the task of cutting
out the worm they will move to another part of the room to glue the worm on their paper, and then
another station to paint the grass on their picture. Explaining the directions in simple terms for children
who needed more simplification could also be used, for example, step 1: cut out the worm, step 2:
glue worm on paper, and continuing to simplify all of the steps.
Child Preferences: There will also be different colors of materials (paper and paint brushes) provided
as well as different sizes.
13. Resources and Materials
Plan
Resources:
Stewart, D. J. (2011, November 3). Teach Preschool. Retrieved May 10, 2016, from
http://www.teachpreschool.org/2011/11/inchworm-gluing-and-painting-activity-in-pre-
kindergarten/
Materials: white paper, green paint, plastic forks, glue, scissors, green construction paper.
Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni
14. Management and Safety Issues
Plan
The major management and safety issues during this task will be keeping students on task, ensuring
that students are following classroom behavior expectations, ensuring that the children are not
consuming the paint, and ensuring that the children are keeping their forks to themselves. Another
concern is the children making a mess with the paint, on themselves, or around the classroom.
To plan for this we will go over the expectations of the lesson prior to starting. The expectations for the
students are that they stay on task and are keeping their hands and bodies to themselves and are

actively listening to their teachers with their eyes on the teacher and their mouths quiet. We also pre-
teach about how we handle the paint, and the forks, highlighting that if we wouldn’t like it if someone
did it to us, we shouldn’t do it to them. We will also be using plastic forks, and nontoxic paint in case
the children are misusing the materials. If children are seen misusing the materials they will be asked
to find a new activity. They will be monitored closely by the teacher or adult support who is guiding the
lesson. In our attempts to keep children on task, we are engaging students by building upon a lesson
that they already have shown interest in, and teaching them about things that we wrote down in the
‘W’ portion of our KWL chart. To limit other off task behaviors we will limit the children allowed at the
station to four while teachers are attempting assessment. We will also try to selectively place children
at circle so that they are not around children that they might potentially be disruptive with, and
enforcing expectations throughout the circle portion of the activity. The children will be monitored
closely by either the teacher or another adult support while they are seated at circle, and they will also
be expected to raise their hands and wait to be called on in order to make contributions to the
discussion.
15. Parent & Community Connections
Plan
Take pictures during the activity of the children completing their projects. When each child has
successfully completed their worm paintings post photos, child response stories, and completed
projects on the bulletin board along with the objectives and goals of the lesson so parents and
community members can see how learning is taking place within the classroom, and how their efforts
have increased our knowledge of worms.
Include in the newsletter the project we completed and encourage families to have their children try
painting with various materials at home. Have children make connections between what tools look
similarly to different objects (ex: fork painting resembles grass). Ask parents to bring in ideas of
materials the whole class should explore if any. Explore the community for more materials. Have
children come up with creative materials they could use to enhance their artwork using things they find
outside, in the home, in the grocery store, etc.,

Name: Date:
Title of Lesson: Assessor:
Vocabulary Used:
Student Response:
Name: Date:
Title of Lesson: Assessor:
Vocabulary Used:
Student Response:

Educ 457 Lesson Plan #4- Inchworms

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