Lesson plan
Five Busy Little Bees
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to recognize the numbers one through five. Students will be able to form the numbers one through five in writing. Students will be able to count the numbers one through five using bee manipulatives and numerals.
The adjustment to the whole group lesson is a modification to differentiate for children who are English learners.
Introduction
(15 minutes)
- Read the book Happy Bees to the students, and invite them to identify where they have seen bees.
- Tell the students that they will count five busy little bees and learn about the numbers one through five.
Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling
(5 minutes)- Using the SMART Board file or individual numbers and cut-outs of bees, show the students the number one on the first slide. Then, move a bee inside the box next to the number one.
- Tell the students that there is one bee in the box.
- Write the number 1 again next to the bee so that the students can see that number formation.
- Use the additional SMART Board slides, and continue with the remainder of the numbers, including 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Guided Practice
(5 minutes)- Tell the students that bees buzz through the air.
- Invite students to “buzz” through the air with their fingers.
- Next, tell the students that they are going to be "buzzing" numbers with their fingers as they count the numbers of bees.
- Distribute sandwich bags of bee manipulatives.
- Using the last slide of the SMART Board file, have the students use their fingers to “buzz” and trace the number shown in the air. Continue with the remainder of the numbers, inviting students to trace the numbers shown in the air.
Independent working time
(10 minutes)- Distribute number cards so that each student has a set of numbers.
- Ask the students to draw the number of bees that match each number inside the box.
- As an alternative, students could also choose to draw flowers or something else.
Differentiation
Support:
- Have students use bee manipulatives from the guided practice section of the lesson to assist in counting during the independent working time. Provide a visual of the numbers 1 through 5 on the board. Invite the students to count along with you before they draw their bees.
Enrichment:
- Have the students complete the Counting Up to 5 worksheet to count the number of wings, antennae, etc. on the individual bee.
Assessment
(5 minutes)- Using the bee assessment page, have the students count the number of bees and write a number on each bee that corresponds with the correct number of bees.
Review and closing
(5 minutes)- Using the numbers that the students created, show the students a group of bees on the SMART Board, using the last slide of the file.
- Ask students to hold up the number of bees that they see in the box using their number cards.
- Repeat several times to review various numbers.
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