Small group phonics standards-based mini-lesson

The philosophy of phonics can best be understood by developing a lesson plan that is rooted in the phonics approach. Even if your practicum/field experience school does not subscribe to the phonics approach, it is beneficial to research the approach in order to add more literacy tools to your toolbox.

Using the “Phonics Mini-Lesson Template,” create a small group phonics standards-based mini-lesson for your field experience grade level (Birth-K).

Your mini-lesson should include a state standard related to phonics appropriate for your field experience grade level, an aligned objective, a pre-assessment, a relevant learning activity, and a post-assessment.

Pretend you are reviewing your lesson plan with a mentor teacher and arrange to implement it with a small group in the classroom. Discuss with your mentor teacher the design of your lesson, and include feedback for improvements..

Write a 250-500 word evaluative reflection on your experience. Discuss the feedback received from your mentor teacher and how you revised your lesson plan based on the feedback. Discuss whether individual student needs were met, and reflect upon the effectiveness of the lesson

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument