The Farm Concert

This lesson teaches basic print awareness along with animal names and sounds through guided reading and the use of a graphic organizer.

A lesson plan for grades K–1 English Language Arts

By Kelly Brandon

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Related topics

• Learn more about animals, characters, farm animals, language arts, pre-reading strategies, and read-alouds.

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Learning outcomes

Students will be able to match 1-1 with finger-pointing and visually across text. Students will also locate and use basic story vocabulary to complete a simple concept map.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

1-2 days

Materials/resources

• The Farm Concert by Joy Cowley (multiple copies if available)
• Chart tablet
• Markers/Pencils
• Concept Map (each student)

Technology resources

• Internet Connection for a farm game
• Optional Software- Jump Start Kindergarten or First Grade

Pre-activities

Teacher should read several farm related stories or poems during the days prior to this lesson so that students become familiar with animal names and sounds.

Activities

Day 1

1. Discuss some of the previously read stories that include the farm theme.
2. Do a picture walk through the book with students. Have students locate the cover of the book and title. Spend a few minutes discussing the author and illustrator and their jobs in making the book. As you proceed allow students to talk about the animals and what is happening in each picture. Have students make predictions about what might happen in the story (record predictions on chart paper.) Also, draw attention to the size of the print (large when animals are loud - small when the animal noise is quiet) have students practice reading appropriately to match the story and text size. Be sure to discuss the word concert as it applies to the story (many animals making sounds together.)
3. Read the story aloud to the students. Review their predictions and discuss if they were correct.
4. Reread the story together have students participate (be sure to read loudly when the print is big and quietly when the print is small).
5. Have students locate some high frequency words (said, the, I). Have students predict the first letter of some words and then locate (cow, dog, moo etc.)

Day Two

1. Reread the story together several times. Discuss the farmer’s problem (he can’t sleep) and how he fixes it (he yells, “Quiet!!”). Review the animal names and the sound each animal makes.
2. Discuss the concept map (center circle surrounded by 4 circles). Give each student a copy of the concept map.
3. Have students name the most important character - the farmer. Have students write farmer in the center circle.
4. Have students name other characters in the story and write their names in the outer circles. With appropriate teacher modeling students will be able to locate and record the character names independently.

Assessment

The objective for this lesson has been met if the teacher observes student successfully following text, locating words in text and using the story vocabulary to complete the concept map.

Supplemental information

Comments

This lesson works best in small groups but can easily be adapted for whole group instruction. The lesson can be extended to include a puppet show or field trip to a working farm.