LESSON

PLAN OUTLINE
JMU Elementary Education Program
- Quinn Albo
- Writing
- Pre-K

TITLE OF LESSON:
Shaving cream writing activity

CONTEXT OF LESSON:
The four-year-old class is working on their writing through things like their daily
sign-in sheets, and other activities throughout the day. Many of the children are still
mastering their first name, some are now working on their last name as well, and
some are struggling with the first name. They are able to choose their name out of a
list and recognize it by itself. This activity will build on these skills, as well as their
skills of identifying letters, in an independent activity. It fits in with many of the
other activities the students have regularly during choice, as an education but fun
option. The sensory nature of the shaving cream creates an education experience
that the children will enjoy participating in.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Understand – Students Know – Students will Do – Students will use
will understand that they know the alphabet letters, their knowledge of the
can use different tools or the sounds they make, and alphabet and high-
materials to write and how to write these with frequency words to write
draw. the materials used. in the shaving cream and
use their oral language to
talk about these aspects.

ASSESSING LEARNING:
I will asses students’ use of their oral language skills to explain what they are doing
at the table, as well as their identification of letters and letter sounds, their
recognition of high-frequency words such as their names, and what they create in
the shaving cream. For this last aspect, I will be looking for letters, words, drawings,
and any other form of creativity that the students display.

RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING:
Virginia Foundation Blocks of Early Learning –
1) Reading
b. The child will demonstrate basic knowledge of the alphabetic
principle and understand that the letters in written words represent
the sounds in spoken words.
2) Oral Language
a. Listen with increasing attention to spoken language conversations
and texts read aloud.
 d. Use complete sentences to ask and answer questions about
experiences or about what has been read.
e. Use appropriate and expanding language for a variety of purposes,
e.g., ask questions, express needs, get information.
f. Engage in turn taking exchanges and rules of polite conversation with
adults and peers, understanding that conversation is interactive.
h. Follow simple one- and two-step oral directions
3) Vocabulary
a. Use size, shape, color, and spatial words to describe people, places,
things.
b. Listen with increasing understanding to conversations and directions
4) Phonological Awareness
c. Begin to produce consonant letter sounds in isolation.
d. Successfully detect beginning sounds in words.
5) Letter Knowledge and Early Word Recognition
a. Identify and name uppercase and lowercase letters in random order.
b. Identify the letter that represents a spoken sound.
c. Provide the most common sound for the majority of letters.
e. Read simple/familiar high-frequency words, including the child’s
name.
6) Writing
a. Copy or write letters and numbers using various materials.
b. Print first name independently.
c. Begin to use correct manuscript letter and number formation.
h. Understands that writing proceeds left to right and top to bottom.

MATERIALS NEEDED
- Shaving cream
- Table
- Waterproof alphabet letters
- Wet cloth for cleanups
- Smocks
- Scraper for cleanup afterward
- Scrabble board stand for letters

PROCEDURE
1) Preparation of the learning environment: I will prepare the learning
environment by setting up all the materials – spreading the shaving cream on
the table, spreading around the alphabet letters, and putting some in the
scrabble stands. The smocks will be nearby for when the children need them.
2) Introduction of the lesson: The activity will be one of the options for
students during choice time. When we meet for group-time on the carpet, the
students will be informed that they can choose shaving cream writing during
choice time. When it begins, I will sit at the table and work with the children
as they come in small groups, explaining what we can do with the shaving
cream and preparing them with smocks.
 3) Implementation of the lesson: The lesson is fairly open-ended and about
the children exploring their understanding of letters and writing through
their tactile senses. Because of this, there will be no direct instruction to the
children of what they should be writing or drawing. I will have the letters
out, and will place them in random orders, as well as use them to spell out
some of the students’ names as they spend time at the table. As children work
at the table in small groups and leave when they want to make another
choice, I will engage them in conversation about what they are creating with
the shaving cream and promote the idea of writing letters on the table.
4) Closure: When the students are finished, they will take off their smock, wash
their hands in the sink, and make another choice.
5) Clean-up: Clean-up will require a scraper like a spatula to get the shaving
cream off the table. I will also wash the waterproof letters we have used at
the table, and anything left over.

DIFFERENTIATION
This lesson is great for a classroom of children with varied learning styles and
abilities. Because it is so open-ended and children are free to create what they want
in the shaving cream, students with different needs can draw and write things
applicable to their learning abilities. The lesson can be differentiated for students
with lower abilities through allowing the students to draw and write what they
would like in the shaving cream, but still referring to the letters that will be placed
on the table. I will work with these students on identifying these letters, prompting
them to write their names in the shaving cream or copy one of the letters. For those
students with advanced literacy abilities, I can challenge them while they work by
asking them to write their names without looking at the letters, to attempt to make
words they know with some of the letters, to write other high-frequency words, and
even asking them to tell a story with the shaving cream.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL I DO ABOUT
IT?
The students may not be interested in doing the activity, and will want to make
another choice during this time. To avoid or counteract this issue, as I noted before,
it will be explained as an option during group-time, which will most likely help with
children’s interest in the activity. If I notice that none of the students are interested
in it, I can talk to children individually, explaining it to inspire their interest, and
work on getting them to participate. Another issue that may arise is that children
are not using their time at the table well, and are becoming rowdy, throwing the
shaving cream, or some other form of unproductive use of the shaving cream. I can
avoid this issue by keeping their interest in writing or drawing specific things,
getting them to talk to me about what they are creating, and using positive
directions against throwing or using the shaving cream inappropriately some other
way to keep the children’s attention to the tasks at hand.