English lesson plan · Kindergarten (Reception and Year 1 in England) · 60 minutes
Feeling words: how does each character feel?
Vocabulary
CCSS L.K.6CCSS RL.K.3England: Reception Communication and LanguageEngland: Y1 Reading
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Feeling words: how does each character feel?.
- 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: Opposites
Leads to: Find the words that show senses and feelings
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 · 6 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Opposites). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- What is the opposite of "sad"? (light / happy / down / thin) → happyPrompt: Opposites mean completely different things.
- What is the opposite of "dirty"? (big / clean / happy / night) → cleanPrompt: Opposites mean completely different things.
- What is the opposite of "new"? (dry / old / hard / dark) → oldPrompt: Opposites mean completely different things.
Hook · 6 min
- Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
- Share the objective: Feeling words: how does each character feel?. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 12 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Kai read a whole book by himself. He showed everyone. How does Kai feel?
- Step 1: What a character does and says shows how they feel.
- Step 2: So the answer is: proud
- Answer: proud
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 12 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Leo's ice cream fell on the ground. He started to cry. How does Leo feel? (excited / sad / happy / proud) → sadPrompt: Imagine it happened to you. How would you feel?
- How might you feel? Your balloon floats away into the sky. (calm / proud / sad / excited) → sadPrompt: Imagine it happened to you. How would you feel?
You do: independent practice · 17 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 7 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- How might you feel? Your balloon floats away into the sky. (calm / sad / excited / proud) → sadPrompt: Imagine it happened to you. How would you feel?
- Ella opened the box. Inside was a kite she never expected! How does Ella feel? (bored / surprised / angry / sleepy) → surprisedPrompt: Imagine it happened to you. How would you feel?
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: Opposites.
- 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: Find the words that show senses and feelings.
- 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