English lesson plan · Kindergarten (Reception and Year 1 in England) · 30 minutes
Ways to move: walk, tiptoe, stomp, dash
Vocabulary
CCSS L.K.5.DEngland: Reception Communication and LanguageEngland: Y1 Vocabulary
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Ways to move: walk, tiptoe, stomp, dash.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Naming words and action words
Leads to: Choose a precise verb (went → trudged, said → whispered)
Materials: Word cards, A thesaurus or dictionary, A short text with the target words, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 4 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Naming words and action words). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which word names a thing you can touch? dig, throw, eat, cup (dig / throw / eat / cup) → cupPrompt: Can you put 'a' or 'the' in front of it? (a dog, the cup)
- Which word names a thing you can touch? dig, throw, sock, jump (dig / throw / sock / jump) → sockPrompt: Can you put 'a' or 'the' in front of it? (a dog, the cup)
- Which word is something you can do (an action)? egg, ball, book, sing (egg / ball / book / sing) → singPrompt: Can you say 'I can ___'? (I can jump)
Hook · 3 min
- Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
- Share the objective: Ways to move: walk, tiptoe, stomp, dash. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 7 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Read the question and pick the best word. Which word means eating very fast and greedily?
- Step 1: Some words mean nearly the same thing but show a different way of doing it.
- Step 2: So the answer is: gobble
- Answer: gobble
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 6 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Read the question and pick the best word. Which word means drinking a tiny bit at a time? (gulp / chew / gobble / sip) → sipPrompt: All of the words are ways to do something. Picture each one.
- Read the question and pick the best word. Which word means walking with loud, heavy steps? (skip / stomp / tiptoe / creep) → stompPrompt: All of the words are ways to do something. Picture each one.
You do: independent practice · 7 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 3 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Read the question and pick the best word. Which word means a happy little jump with each step? (creep / crawl / skip / stomp) → skipPrompt: All of the words are ways to do something. Picture each one.
- Read the question and pick the best word. Which word means walking with loud, heavy steps? (stomp / skip / creep / tiptoe) → stompPrompt: All of the words are ways to do something. Picture each one.
Watch out for
- Picking a "bigger" synonym that doesn't fit the meaning.
- Ignoring the clues in the rest of the sentence.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Naming words and action words.
- Use concrete materials: word cards.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Choose a precise verb (went → trudged, said → whispered).
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/kindergarten.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder