Is It Christmas Yet?

 Is It Christmas Yet?

Christmas Culture in the United States of America (U.S.A.)

Final Project     ⇌     Kristina Johnson

Image Source: Kristina Johnson

OVERVIEW

Lesson Plan: Christmastime Cake

Level: 4º

Subject: English and culture

Materials Needed: Is it Christmas Yet? book, stick, red paper, green paper, Christmas tree, Christmas decorations, two already wrapped Christmas gifts, wrapping paper, tape, Santa Claus hat, bowl, spoon, mop, bucket, writing paper, writing utensils (pencils, pen, rubbers, and pencil sharpeners), one chocolate cake recipe assignment per student, scissors, and one toy cake

Digital Tools and Sources: SMART Board video and SMART Board

Time: 40 minutes (one class session)

FINAL PROJECT

The topic I chose for the final project is Christmastime Cake. I chose this topic because I love the story and wanted students to focus on sequencing events in chronological order. I noticed that students had a decent comprehension level and wanted to expand upon it. Although the recipe itself does not use sequencing vocabulary, the recipe steps are built off of each other in a logical and obvious way. Incorporating sequencing activities into simple events piques students' interests in cooking or baking. Baking typically happens a lot around Christmastime, which I wanted to touch on. Baking or cooking is common knowledge for this group of students, so I used that information to my advantage. 

WHY THIS STORY?

I selected this story because it touches on the stressful chain of events that led up to a major holiday celebration. One of the events highlighted in the story included baking a cake. This story is entertaining to act out and view for capturing the students' interests. Many of the events in the story followed a specific sequence of events, which indirectly guides students towards the mental preparation needed for the sequencing activities. 

RATIONALE

Sequencing activities help students understand what they read and understand. "Proper sequencing helps students organize information, and it helps them express themselves as well" (Verner, 2014). Students learn how to organize ideas in a logical order that makes sense to everyone else. A recipe is an easy way to understand if the students lack vocabulary (comprehension or production) and/or if students understand how one step directly influences another. 

OBJECTIVES

Students can consecutively order the cake recipe steps. 

MATERIALS NEEDED

  • Is it Christmas Yet? book
  • Stick
  •  Christmas tree 
  • Christmas decorations
  • Two already wrapped Christmas gifts 
  • Wrapping paper
  • Tape
  • Santa Claus hat
  • Bowl
  • Spoon
  • Mop
  • Bucket 
  • SMART Board video
  • Writing paper
  • Writing utensils (pencils, pen, rubbers, and pencil sharpeners)
  • One chocolate cake recipe assignment per student 
  • Scissors
  • One toy chocolate cake

ACTIVITY

This lesson will occur in one class session. Students have an established understanding of the routine of the teachers using an attention getter, hook, before working in the assigned small groups. The main teacher (native Spanish speaking teacher) and the English language teacher assistant(s) monitor the small groups and answer questions. The main teacher is essential in direct vocabulary interpretation. The language assistants are helpful in maintain small group work conversations in Spanish, as students have an intentional purpose in using English. The small group work meets the social needs associated with this age group. This particular activity had one main teacher and two language assistants. 

This lesson begins with the main teacher introducing the book, Is It Christmas Yet? The main teacher and a language assistant identify themselves as the book's characters. The other language assistant states that s/he is the narrator. The narrator identifies and has students repeat words that appear in some way in the story (bucket, tape, wrapping paper, presents, Christmas tree, cake, Santa Claus, mop, Christmas decorations, spoon, bowl, box, and stick). 

The narrator reads the story while the main teacher and language assistant act out each character, using the props accordingly. The narrator breaks a stick when the word, SNAP!, appears in the story, but otherwise continues reading the book.  Once the activity is completed, the main teacher highlights the cake the characters ate at the end of the story. The language assistant states that a recipe is a paper that tells you how to prepare a dish. The other language assistant instructs students that they will now watch a video recipe on making chocolate cake (watch SMART Board video on SMART Board). 

Students are instructed on completing the chocolate cake recipe assignment. The main teacher explains that the assignment has two parts. The first part is a fill in the blank recipe vocabulary word. The second part involves students cutting out the sentences and ordering them in a logical sequence for making a chocolate cake. The teacher models how to complete one of each assignment section, which provides the students with an example and one correct answer. Students are then instructed to complete the activity in their assigned groups, bringing their writing utensils and scissors with them. Students are allowed to take assignments home with them at the end of the class session.

SOURCES

Chapman, J. (2021, October 14). Is It Christmas Yet? http://books.google.ie/books?id=i3RqzgEACAAJ&dq=Is+It+Christmas+Yet%3F&hl=&cd=1&source=gbs_api

chocolate cake esl video recipe - Search Videos. (n.d.). https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=chocolate+cake+esl+video+recipe&mid=20A601CE204C8761756420A601CE204C87617564&FORM=VIRE

Verner, Susan. "One, Two, Three, Go! 6 Activities for Sequencing." Busy Teacher, 10 Mar. 2014, https://busyteacher.org/18409-one-two-three-go-six-activities-for-sequencing.html

(2014, November 12). chocolate cake recipe. ESLPrintables.com. https://www.eslprintables.com/vocabulary_worksheets/food/recipes/chocolate_cake_recipe_796026/


Is it Christmas Yet? © 2023 by Kristina Johnson is licensed under CC BY 4.0 

choco



Comments

  1. dJanuary 27, 2024 at 4:39 AM

    MOOC Final Project © 0 by Kristina Johnson is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

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