English lesson plan · Kindergarten (Reception and Year 1 in England) · 30 minutes
Sorting words into groups
Vocabulary
CCSS L.K.5.ACCSS L.1.5.AEngland: Reception VocabularyEngland: Y1 Vocabulary
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Sorting words into groups.
- 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: no earlier skill in the map; start from what students know.
Leads to: Compound words; Words in real life: where would you find it?; One word, two meanings (bat, duck, ring)
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: three short questions students should already manage. Answers on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which word does not belong with the others? cherry, plum, apple, frog (cherry / plum / apple / frog) → frogPrompt: What do most of the words have in common?
- Which group does "arm" belong to? (shapes / body parts / animals / fruit) → body partsPrompt: What is a arm?
- Which word does not belong with the others? leg, banana, orange, plum (leg / banana / orange / plum) → legPrompt: What do most of the words have in common?
Hook · 3 min
- Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
- Share the objective: Sorting words into groups. 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: Which word does not belong with the others? bike, train, car, horse
- Step 1: train, car, bike are all vehicles. "horse" is not.
- Step 2: So the answer is: horse
- Answer: horse
- 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.
- Which word does not belong with the others? truck, van, star, bus (truck / van / star / bus) → starPrompt: What do most of the words have in common?
- Which group does "plane" belong to? (fruit / animals / shapes / vehicles) → vehiclesPrompt: What is a plane?
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.
- Which group does "cow" belong to? (animals / weather / shapes / clothes) → animalsPrompt: What is a cow?
- Which word does not belong with the others? star, boat, circle, square (star / boat / circle / square) → boatPrompt: What do most of the words have in common?
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
- 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: Compound words; Words in real life: where would you find it?; One word, two meanings (bat, duck, ring).
- 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