English lesson plan · 1st grade (Year 2 in England) · 60 minutes
Days of the week and months of the year
Spelling
CCSS L.1.2.ACCSS L.1.2.DEngland: Y1 Spelling (days of the week)England: Y2 Spelling
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Days of the week and months of the year.
- 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: Start a sentence with a capital letter
Leads to: Capitals for names, days, months and places; Parts of a friendly letter
Materials: Word cards, Look-say-cover-write-check sheets, Mini whiteboards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 6 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Start a sentence with a capital letter). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which sentence is written correctly? (a frog can hop. / A frog can hop. / A frog can hop / a Frog can hop.) → A frog can hop.Prompt: Look at the very first letter of each sentence.
- Fix the first word of this sentence. Type it with a capital letter. we had fish for tea. → WePrompt: Only the first letter changes.
- Fix the first word of this sentence. Type it with a capital letter. the cat hid in a box. → ThePrompt: Only the first letter changes.
Hook · 6 min
- Show a word spelled two ways and ask which looks right, then why.
- Share the objective: Days of the week and months of the year. 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: Which day comes before Wednesday? Type it.
- Step 1: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
- Step 2: So the answer is: Tuesday
- Answer: Tuesday
- 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.
- Which day comes before Sunday? Type it. → SaturdayPrompt: Say the days in order: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…
- Which month comes straight after January? (March / July / December / February) → FebruaryPrompt: Start at January and say the months in order.
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.
- Which month comes straight after May? (June / April / November / July) → JunePrompt: Start at January and say the months in order.
- Which day comes after Monday? Type it. → TuesdayPrompt: Say the days in order: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…
Watch out for
- Spelling every word exactly as it sounds.
- Learning a list for a test but not using the words in writing.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Start a sentence with a capital letter.
- 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: Capitals for names, days, months and places; Parts of a friendly letter.
- 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/grade-1.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder