Lesson Plan: Grade R Life Skills – Teach a new song “seasons of the year”

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  1. Lesson Plan Title:
    “Grade R Life Skills: Mastering the ‘Seasons of the Year’ Song”

  2. Materials Needed:
    Interactive whiteboard or chalkboard, markers or chalk, handouts with song lyrics, audio recording of the song, visuals depicting different seasons.

  3. Learning Objectives:
    i. Learners will accurately sing the “Seasons of the Year” song using correct lyrics.
    ii. Learners will understand and recall the sequence and attributes of the four seasons.
    iii. Learners will engage in appropriate actions choreographed to represent the song’s lyrics and the seasons.

  4. Vocabulary:
    Seasons – distinct periods of the year named winter, spring, summer, and autumn.
    Winter – the coolest season of the year.
    Spring – the season when plants awaken and begin to thrive.
    Summer – the warmest season of the year.
    Autumn – the season when leaves decolorize and fall from trees.

  5. Previous Learning:
    Learners have studied weather patterns and have an understanding of varying times of the year. They have practised using songs as a learning tool.

  6. Anticipated Challenges and Solutions:
    Students may experience difficulty remembering lyrics and the sequential order of the seasons. To address this, emphasize repeat learning, utilize visual prompts, and deploy tactile learning materials.

  7. Beginning Activities (5 min):
    Initiate by sharing the learning objectives and activating preexisting knowledge by asking pupils to recall various climates. Inform them that these diverse weather conditions typically happen during certain times of the year, known as seasons.

  8. Middle Activities (30 min):
    i. Direct Instruction (8 min): Introduce the “Seasons of the Year” song using audio and visual aids. Clarify the meaning of the lyrics in a sequenced manner.
    ii. Guided Practice (14 min): Practice the song collectively. Encourage pupils to perform actions echoing the lyrics (e.g., shivering during winter, blooming in spring). Use visual references to associate the appropriate season to the song’s lyrics post initial repetition.
    iii. Independent Practice (8 min): Divide students into small groups to sing and perform the song.

  9. End Activities (5 min):
    Allow learners to express their personal thoughts on each season and reinforce learning by singing the song together as a class one final time.

  10. Assessment and Checks for Understanding:
    i. Evaluate understanding during the guided practice – observe if students accurately correlate the seasons with their respective characteristics.
    ii. Ascertain skill mastery and learning progress through a rotational activity where each student sings a line from the song and performs the corresponding action.

  11. Differentiation Strategies:
    Deploy pictorial cues to facilitate struggling learners with lyric and action recollection. For advanced learners, present a challenge to construct additional verses related to the seasons.

  12. Teaching Notes:
    Foster an inclusive and supportive teaching environment. Promote student participation and ensure each child has a turn. Aim to incorporate South African indigenous understanding about the seasons where possible to expand cultural knowledge.