EL Support Lesson
Which One is Bigger?
Objectives
Academic
Students will compare objects based on their size.
Language
Students will be able to explain how to compare objects based on their size using tactile supports.
Introduction
(2 minutes)
- Gather students together for the lesson.
- Hold up two cookies (either real or pictures) one that is small and one that is obviously larger. Ask, "Which cookie would you rather eat?"
- Point to each cookie and ask students to give a thumbs up to show which they would rather eat. Then ask students to share why they chose their cookie using the sentence starter, "I chose this cookie because ____."
- Say, "When something looks good you usually want the bigger one because you want more, not the smaller one which is less."
Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling
(5 minutes)- Say, "Today we are going to learn about comparing things. Comparing means to notice how things are different or the same. We are going to pay attention to size to try to figure out which thing is smaller and which is bigger."
- Display one pair of items you collected and show them to the class (e.g., tennis ball and beach ball) and explain that one ball is small and one ball is big. They are opposites. Make sure to emphasize the vocabulary bigger and smaller as you point to the corresponding ball.
- Display the Vocabulary Cards on the board for reference.
- Write the sentence frame, "The ____ is bigger. I know because ____." on the board.
- Hold up another pair of objects. Ask, "Which one is bigger?" Then, have the class turn to talk and share with a partner.
Guided Practice
(5 minutes)- Pass out the unifix cubes.
- Explain that students will now get to build two towers. A big tower and a small tower.
- As students finish, have them turn to a partner, trade towers, and hold up the bigger tower.
Group work time
(15 minutes)- Explain that now students will get even more practice comparing objects!
- Display the Bigger or Smaller? Sea Creature worksheet and go over the instructions.
- Have students complete the worksheet. Then, have them turn and talk to a partner to compare their work. Did they both choose the same objects? Why or why not?
Additional EL adaptations
Beginning
- Provide additional items for students to compare.
- Work within a smaller group and have students practice using the vocabulary in context. For example, "This is bigger than ____. I know it is bigger because ____."
Advanced
- Encourage students to draw additional pictures to demonstrate their understanding of big vs. small. Have students turn and talk to share their pictures with a peer.
Assessment
(5 minutes)- Take notes to assess whether students were able to accurately compare their unifix towers.
- Collect work samples and assess if students were able to identify the bigger items on the page.
- Complete a quick visual assessment of students ability to compare big vs. small as they hold up their white boards in the closing activity.
Review and closing
(3 minutes)- Gather the class and have the students draw one big circle and one small circle on their white boards. Then, ask them to point to each in turn.
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