EL Support Lesson
Who Am I?
Objectives
Academic
Students will be able to read and write the sight word "am."
Language
Students will be able to read and use the sight word "am" with partner and sentence frame support.
Introduction
(5 minutes)
- Gather the class together for a read-aloud.
- Read the text of Who Am I?: An Animal Guessing Game to the class.
Building academic language
Word
(2 minutes)- Ask students to think about the book they just heard. What was the sentence used on each page?
- Write the word "am" on the board and review the sentence "Who am I?" by writing it on the board and reviewing it from a page in the read-aloud.
- Point to the word "am" on the board and say, "This is the sight word am. Can you read it with me?" Model directionality and sounding out here: Point under the A and say "ah, ah," point under M and repeat, "mm, mm." Then say, "Now blend the sounds together: 'am.'"
Sentence
(5 minutes)- Provide an illustrated word bank with describing words like: "fur," "wings," "tail," and "feathers" to support students.
- Create a T-chart of animals parts/animal actions on the board for additional language support.
- Write the sentence starter "I am __ __ __ __" on the board. Show students the pre-cut sentence strips with the same sentence starter. Explain that each pair will get a sentence strip to use when playing with their partner.
- Demonstrate how to play "Who Am I?" with a student as your partner.
- Show students how to play by going over the following steps with the class. First, explain that students will work with a partner. Partner A will close their eyes while Partner B rolls the animal die. Partner B will then hide the die in their hand and Partner A will guess what animal was rolled. When guessing, each partner will practice reading the sentence, "I am __ __ __ __," written on the board to provide clues, such as, "I am an animal with fur."
Discourse
(5 minutes)- Pair students with a partner and pass out dice and a sentence strip to each pair.
- Students should play several rounds of the "Who Am I?" game with their partner.
- As students are playing, encourage them to practice using the phrase "Who am I?" and "I am __ __ __ __."
- After several rounds (about 5–7 minutes), gather the class back together.
- Display the Animal Guess worksheet and go over the instructions. Explain that students will get to choose their favorite animal from the guessing game to use with the worksheet.
- Pass out the Animal Guess worksheet for students to complete independently.
Additional EL adaptations
Beginning
- Work with a smaller group of students to practice reading the sight word "am" using both flash cards (pre-written) with the words, "I," "Am," and "A" and picture cards of animals for students to play the Animal Guess guessing game.
Advanced
- Have students think up their own animals during the guessing game and encourage them to create more complex sentences using "am" and other sight words.
Formative Assessment of Academic Language
(5 minutes)- As students are playing the game with a partner, check that students are able to read and use the following sentence starter while playing: "I am __ __ __ __."
- Collect the Animal Guess worksheets and assess if students were able to accurately write the word "am" in the sentence and use it with an animal. Ask students to read their sentences aloud to you or a partner.
Review and closing
(3 minutes)- Have students turn and talk to read their sentence aloud to a partner.
- Invite a student or two to share their sentence with the group.
- To close, choose an animal and provide several clues so the students may guess who it is.
Related learning resources
Glossary: Who Am I?
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Use this glossary with the EL Support Lesson: Who Am I?
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Can be used as a stand-alone lesson or support lesson for the **Sight Word Fun: AM** lesson plan.
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Teach your child about using the phrase "I am" to describe a state of being or an action with this fun matching and coloring worksheet.
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Play Animal Games: Zoo Friends and Who Am I?
Help your preschooler learn animal names and sounds with two fun games: Welcome to My Zoo, a pretend play game, and Who Am I?, a guessing game.
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