Description

Oral Language and Drama Lesson Plan for Kindergarteners

Theme: Animal Friends

Learning Objectives:

• Students will listen attentively to a variety of animal-themed texts and media.
• Students will participate in choral and echo speaking activities with animal sounds and rhyming words.
• Students will orally retell a familiar animal story using simple sentences and descriptive language.
• Students will engage in creative dramatics by acting out animal roles and participating in a classroom play.

Materials:

• Picture books about animals (e.g., “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?”, “Dear Zoo”)
• Animal puppets or masks
• Large flannel board and animal cutouts
• Simple musical instruments (shakers, drums, etc.)
• Script for a short animal play (can be adapted from a familiar story)

Activities:

1. Listening and Responding (10 minutes):

• Read aloud an animal-themed picture book with engaging illustrations and sounds. Encourage students to point out different animals, ask questions, and make predictions about the story.
• Play a guessing game using animal sounds. Make animal noises and have students guess which animal it is. Then, let them make their own sounds and see if you can guess.

2. Choral and Echo Speaking (15 minutes):

• Introduce a short poem or rhyme with repeated patterns and animal sounds (e.g., “Five Little Monkeys”). Practice choral reading, where everyone says the lines together.
• Use echo speaking for short phrases like “The lion roars,” “The dog barks,” etc. Students repeat after you with increasing volume and enthusiasm.
• Introduce animal puppets or masks and use them to retell the poem with students taking turns saying the different animal parts.

3. Storytelling (20 minutes):

• Read aloud a familiar animal story (e.g., “The Tortoise and the Hare”). After reading, discuss the characters, plot, and setting.
• Divide students into pairs or small groups and assign them different parts of the story to retell orally. Encourage them to use descriptive language and sound effects.
• Provide props or flannel board pieces to help students visualize the story as they tell it.

4. Creative Dramatics (20 minutes):

• Introduce a simple animal play with familiar characters and actions. Practice the script with clear pronunciation and gestures.
• Divide students into roles and assign costumes or props if available. Encourage them to improvise movements and sounds for their animal characters.
• Perform the play for the class or another group of students. Afterwards, discuss what went well and how they can improve their storytelling and acting skills.

Assessment:

• Observe students’ participation in class discussions, choral and echo speaking activities, storytelling, and creative dramatics.
• Listen for their use of complete sentences, descriptive language, and animal sounds.
• Provide individual feedback and encouragement to help students progress in their oral language and drama skills.

Differentiation:

• Provide visual aids and simplified texts for students who need additional support.
• Offer prompts and sentence starters to help students generate ideas for storytelling.
• Encourage students to act out their parts in small groups before performing for the whole class.

Extension Activities:

• Create a class book about different animals, where each student contributes a page with a drawing and a sentence.
• Play animal-themed guessing games, such as “I Spy” or “What am I?”
• Visit a zoo or animal farm and discuss the different animals with the students.

This lesson plan can be adapted to fit your specific curriculum and the needs of your students. Remember to have fun and let your students’ imaginations run wild while developing their oral language and drama skills!

Standard: