Lesson Planning Form for Accessible Instruction Calvin College Education Program

Teacher: Melissa Maiste

Date: Wednesday, April 22

Subject/ Topic/ Theme: Rhyming and Limericks

Grade: 6

I. Objectives
How does this lesson connect to the unit plan?
This lesson will help students become more fluent in rhyming, which will help them understand and write poetry better. It also
introduces another type of poetry, which is one of the main focuses of the unit.
Learners will be able to:

Use the strategy of making a list of rhyming words to help them write rhyming poetry in the
future.

Label a poems rhyme scheme correctly.

List the main elements of a limerick.

Write a limerick that is humorous and has the correct aabba rhyme scheme.

cognitiveR U Ap An E C*

physical
development

socioemotional

U Ap C
U Ap An
RU
UC

Common Core standards (or GLCEs if not available in Common Core) addressed:
ELA W.6.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a
day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
ELA L.6.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge
when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
*Limerick is a concept that shows up on the Michigan state testing standards.*
(Note: Write as many as needed. Indicate taxonomy levels and connections to applicable national or state standards. If an objective applies to particular learners
write the name(s) of the learner(s) to whom it applies.)
*remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create

II. Before you start

Identify prerequisite
knowledge and skills.

Students should know what couplets and triplets are with a quick reminder, because we learned about
them yesterday. Students should already know what rhyme is and be able to come up with rhyming
words.
Pre-assessment (for learning):
Formative (for learning):

I will judge from student responses as we talk about rhyme scheme and limerick if they are
understanding these two concepts. While they are working on examples independently, I will walk
around the room and observe if they are getting the problems correct and if not I will help them.
Outline assessment
activities
(applicable to this lesson)

What barriers might this

lesson present?
What will it take
neurodevelopmentally,
experientially,
emotionally, etc., for your
students to do this lesson?

9-15-14

Formative (as learning):

As students go through the rhyming contest, they will begin to realize that this is a strategy they can
use when they write rhyming poetry. (If they do not, I will tie this together for them so they take away
this knowledge).
Throughout the practice we do with rhyme scheme and limerick, we will do practice problems on the
projector, and we will go over problems they did on their own on the projector so they can clearly see
if they are understanding everything or not.
Summative (of learning):
Provide Multiple Means of
Representation
Provide options for perceptionmaking information perceptible

Provide Multiple Means of

Action and Expression
Provide options for physical actionincrease options for interaction

The information and directions will

all be given to them on handouts as
well as read and explained verbally
and written out on the projector by
me.

Students will get to interact in

groups in the rhyming competition
at the beginning of class. Students
will also interact with me as we go
through the notes and when they
read their limericks aloud at the
end.

Provide Multiple Means of

Engagement
Provide options for recruiting
interest- choice, relevance, value,
authenticity, minimize threats
Students will get to choose what to
write their final limerick about.
Limericks are a very fun and
interesting type of poem that I think
they will find fun and relevant.

Provide options for language,

mathematical expressions, and
symbols- clarify & connect
language

I will clarify a lot of

information by explaining it in
greater detail, repeating it
multiple times, and writing out
examples on the board or on the
projector.

Provide options for comprehensionactivate, apply & highlight

Provide options for expression and

communication- increase medium
of expression

Students will first write their

poems, but will then be able to
read them aloud to me or each
other, allowing them to share
their work and express it
verbally.

Provide options for executive

functions- coordinate short & long
term goals, monitor progress, and
modify strategies

Provide options for sustaining

effort and persistence- optimize
challenge, collaboration, masteryoriented feedback

The students will be

collaborating and engaging in
competition during the rhyming
contest, which will get them
interested in rhyme. I will
interact with them and give
them feedback as they work on
rhyme scheme and writing
limericks.
Provide options for self-regulationexpectations, personal skills and
strategies, self-assessment &
reflection

I will remind students that we

are working towards them
publishing a couple of their
poems in a class book on
Friday, so while I am not
checking their poetry formally
right now, they need to monitor
what they are doing themselves.
Materials-what materials
(books, handouts, etc) do
you need for this lesson
and are they ready to
use?

How will your classroom

be set up for this lesson?

Copies of the poem The Visitor by Jack Prelutsky

Rhyme scheme practice worksheet
Limerick worksheet
Projector for doing some of both worksheet examples as a class.

Students are normally seated in groups of four. I will move students to different desks if they
are not in even groups. They will be able to stay at their desks in these groups for the whole
lesson.

III. The Plan

Time

Components

8:15
Motivation
(opening/
introduction/
engagement)

9-15-14

Describe teacher activities

AND
student activities
for each component of the lesson. Include important higher order thinking questions and/or
prompts.

Tell students we are going to begin class with a

rhyming contest. Put them in even table groups
first if students need to be moved around.
Explain the rules: There will be three rounds.

8:25

8:45

Development
(the largest
component or
main body of
the lesson)

9-15-14

Each round I will give you a word, and your

group will have thirty seconds to come up with
as many words as you can that rhyme with that
word.
Tell each group to choose a writer for the first
round to record the words.
When you have verified that all of the groups
are ready, say Alright, you have thirty
seconds. The first word is pay.
When it has been thirty seconds, call time and
make sure all groups stop writing. Tell them to
count up how many words they got and raise
their hand when they have their number.
Have the winning group read their list to make
sure all the words are in fact words, and
declare the winner!
Repeat this process for the next two rounds
using the words cat and snow.
If you want to continue, other good word
choices are bug, tap, star, bear, or any other
common word families.
After the game is over, take a minute to tie this
back to poetry by saying something like, I
wanted to play this game so that you could all
use these rhyming skills in your rhyming
poetry. Do you see how many rhyming words
you were able to list in just thirty seconds?
You can use this strategy when you are stuck
trying to find a rhyme for something in your
poetry. If you cant find a good word to rhyme
with your last line, take just thirty seconds and
make a little list of all the words that could
rhyme with your last line, and then youll have
a lot of options to end your next line with. If
you cant think of any words that rhyme,
maybe you need to choose another word to end
your first line with, because some words have
more rhymes than others. I gave you words
that have a lot of rhymes, like cat. If I had
given you a word like orange, you wouldnt
have been able to come up with as many
words.
Hand out the poem The Visitor and give
students five minutes to read the poem and
respond in their journals.
Ask students to share their responses.
Ask students what they think the visitor is.
After hearing their responses, ask students if
the visitor could be something that isnt a
person or animal. Guide them towards the idea
that the visitor could be an abstract noun such
as the flu or a bad mood.
Tell students we are now going to talk about
something called rhyme scheme, which is a
way to label the different ways a poem can
rhyme. Give them the example that the
quatrains they worked on yesterday could have

Decide who will be the writer for the group

and get ready for the contest.
Write down as many words that rhyme with
pay as they can think of.

Count up their words and raise their hand when

they have the number.

Read their groups list aloud to ensure that all

of the words are in fact words.
Repeat this process for the next two rounds.

Listen and understand better how to apply this

rhyming activity to their poetry writing.

Read the poem and respond in their journals.

Share their opinions of the poem.

Share what they think the visitor is. Most will
probably say some sort of person, animal, or
creature. Continue to participate in the
discussion and come up with other ideas for
what the visitor could be.

Listen.

the first and second/third and fourth lines

rhyme, or the first and third/second and fourth
lines rhyme. Tell them that we label rhyme
scheme with a lower case letter on each line.
Put The Visitor on the projector and go
through the process of labelling it. When we
look at rhyme scheme, we are focusing on the
last word in each line, since this is the part that
rhymes. The first line ends with visit, and we
give this line an A since this is our first line
and we are going in alphabetical order. The
next line ends with house. House does not
rhyme with visit, so we give it a new letter.
What letter do you think we give it? (B). The
third line ends with elephant. Elephant doesnt
rhyme with visit or house, so we give it a new
letter, C. The fourth line ends with mouse.
Does that rhyme with anything we have
already labelled? (House). Good, so we give
this line the letter B so it matches house.
Show students how rhyme scheme can be
written out with all the letters next to each
other, in this example as ABCB.
Hand out the rhyme scheme practice
worksheets.
Go through the first example explaining how
you choose what letter to give each line as with
the first stanza of The Visitor.
Go through the second stanza asking students
to tell you what letters we should label each
line with.
Ask students to try labelling the last three
example poems on their own.
Circulate around and see if students are
working. Pay special attention to checking on
students who may have a harder time
understanding this concept.
Go over the three problems they did on the
projector.
Transition: Now we are going to learn about
another new type of poem, called a limerick.
Hand out the limerick worksheet.
Read the paragraph on the top of the limerick
worksheet aloud, while showing the worksheet
on the projector. Highlight the most important
elements of limerick in the paragraph on your
worksheet.
Ask a student to read the limerick example out
loud.
Ask students to take a moment to label the
rhyme scheme of this example limerick.
Ask what rhyme scheme they found. Have
them write it as AABBA next to the
example, and emphasize that this is always the
rhyme scheme of a limerick.
Underline the triplet and circle the couplet with
the class as the worksheet says to.
Read the instructions to question #3, which has
them create a limerick with set end words.
Remind them to be careful to use the right
rhyme scheme, and that they may want to start
with there once was or there was a.
Circulate around the room and help students.
When most are done, ask if any students would
like to read their limerick to the class.

Label their poem with letters as I label my

poem.

Write ABCB next to the first stanza of The

Visitor that they have labelled.

Label their poems as I go through the examples

and label my worksheet on the projector.

Work individually on labelling the last three

poems on the worksheet.

Participate in going over the problems. Correct

their worksheets if they need to.

Put away rhyme scheme worksheet and

transition to limericks.

Listen and underline information in their

paragraphs on their own worksheets.

One student will read the limerick example out

loud.
Label the rhyme scheme of the limerick on
their worksheets.

Respond that they found AABBA rhyme

scheme (hopefully).

Read their limericks aloud to the class if they

would like to.

Re

9-15-14

9:00

Tell students their homework is to do the

Label this on their homework so they will
second activity on the worksheet, but not
remember what activity to do.
the third. Cirlce the second and cross out
the third on your worksheet so they can all
Closure
see.
(conclusion,
Tell them that for homework you would
culmination,
also like them to write their own limerick
wrap-up)
in their writing notebook. Suggest that
they could write about a made up
character, but they could also write a
limerick about themselves. (There once
was a girl named Ceci) Remind them
that if they write limericks about other
people, they should be kind words.
Limericks are funny but they are not
mean, theyre just silly.
Your reflection about the lesson, including evidence(s) of student learning and engagement, as well as ideas for improvement
for next time. (Write this after teaching the lesson, if you had a chance to teach it. If you did not teach this lesson, focus on the
process of preparing the lesson.)
This was probably my best lesson yet! My intro/motivation worked really well the kids got so into the competition, which was a
great start. I think the rhyming game also got them in the mindset of writing rhyming poetry and helped them write better later in the
lesson. They did really well with rhyme scheme, even the students who often dont understand what were doing right away. I think I
explained it really well and I think that it was good to do the examples with them on the projector to model how to do it. They also
really enjoyed limericks I was actually skeptical about teaching them because I thought they would be too complicated, but the
kids seemed to enjoy the humorous aspect, particularly some of the boys. So many of them wanted to read their limericks when I
asked, and I was happy to see some of the students who havent seemed to be enjoying poetry very much so excited to read their
limericks! They were also fun for me to hear. Additionally, these two topics tied together really well since they were able to find the
rhyme scheme of limericks, which is one of the main defining elements of a limerick. The best part was at the end of the lesson Mrs.
Deja and I had to tell students to stop looking at each others limericks and move on to their next class several times they were so
engaged in the lesson they were still focused on limericks even after I stopped teaching. This was a really fun lesson to teach because
of how much my students participated! If there was anything I could change, I would consider talking about the rhythm of a limerick
more, because that is a big part of it. I wasnt sure how to teach that, but for the purposes of writing their limericks and identifying
limericks on standardized testing I think they understand enough about them from my lesson.

9-15-14