Lessons & Units :: Classify and Categorize 1st Grade Unit

Lesson 2: Sorting into Three Groups

Lesson Plan

When a Line Bends . . . A Shape Begins

When a Line Bends . . . A Shape Begins
Learning Goal
Categorize items into three categories.
Duration
Approximately 50 minutes
Necessary Materials
Provided: Direct Teaching Example Chart, Guided Practice Example Chart, Independent Practice Worksheet
Not Provided: When a Line Bends . . . A Shape Begins by Rhonda Gowler Greene, scissors, chart paper, markers

  • Activation & Motivation

    Connect to Lesson 1 by repeating the activity of categorizing students by height (tall or short), this time adding medium as a category.

  • Teacher Modeling

    will explain that we can sort objects into more than two groups. I will read aloud When a Line Bends . . . A Shape Begins by Rhonda Gowler Greene and model how to categorize the different shapes from the book into three categories. (Example Chart is provided.)

  • Think Check

    Ask: "How did I put the shapes into three groups?" Students should respond that you looked at how many sides each shape had and put them into a group with other shapes that had the same number of sides.

  • Guided Practice

    will chart three categories from the book and give examples in each category. (Example Chart is provided.)

  • Independent Practice

    will sort pictures into three categories based on their shape. (Independent Practice Worksheets are provided.)

    TIP: Add to your students’ vocabulary by including words under the pictures on the Independent Practice worksheet.

Build Student Vocabulary narrow

Tier 2 Word: narrow
Contextualize the word as it is used in the story Lines can be narrow.
Explain the meaning student-friendly definition) Narrow means thin. Something that is narrow is not thick or wide. When the author says that lines can be narrow, we mean that lines can be thin.
Students repeat the word Say the word narrow with me: narrow.
Teacher gives examples of the word in other contexts The row between our desks is narrow. Our school hallways are narrow. When we are going to lunch, it is hard to squeeze through the narrow hallways. There is not much room to walk between the walls and the children. A book that has few pages can be called narrow. Someone who is thin has a narrow waist.
Students provide examples What can you think of that is narrow? Start by saying, “A __________________ is narrow.”
Students repeat the word again. What word are we talking about? narrow
Additional Vocabulary Words bundled, swerves

Build Student Background Knowledge

Stop reading at the page where the author describes a star (p. 20). Explain that the picture is of a desert. A desert is a place that is very hot (during the day), dry, and has very little water. Point to the cacti in the picture on page 20 and explain that the cactus is an example of a plant that can be found in a desert.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

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