IP&T 301 Modified Lesson Plan: Behaviorism

What Shape Am I?

SOURCE: http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10715

AUTHOR:   Utah Lesson Plans

GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:   1st grade; Math

Materials:

• Shape Poems and Songs (pdf)
• Attribute blocks or paper models of shapes

Behavioral Objective: Students will be able to identify and recognize simple geometric figures by matching a paper shape model to a shape they will locate in the classroom and by completing a listening activity with 85% accuracy.

Cueing/Prompting: I will use cueing and prompting when the students pick and work in partners. Working with a partner will be the cue. As a class, we will discuss the expected behaviors for working with a partner such as staying on task and treating each other kindly. I will use prompting by creating a behavior checklist that outlines the previously discussed expected behaviors. After students are finished working with partners to locate and match the paper shape models to a shape in the classroom, each student will evaluate him/herself by completing the behavior checklist.

Positive Reinforcement & Observational Learning: When the class has successfully completed the partner shape activity, I will draw, in random order, different shapes on the whiteboard. After students provide the correct answer, I will leave the shape on the board, write the name underneath it, and move to a different section of the board to start drawing the next shape. Students will raise their hands when they know the correct name of the shape. During this activity, students will have the opportunity to earn shapes to complete their “shape puzzle” picture. The first student to raise his or her hand and correctly identify the shape will earn that shape for his or her “shape puzzle.” By providing students with the opportunity to earn shapes for their “shape puzzle,” students will be more focused and there will be more active student participation because students want to earn shapes. After finishing the white board shape game, students will then draw and name each shape on their own piece of paper. This is an example of observational learning because students are able to watch the teacher draw and write each shape name before drawing and naming each shape on their own.

Vicarious Reinforcement: If at any point during the lesson I notice students who are messing around and not staying on task, I will use vicarious reinforcement by reinforcing other students who are behaving appropriately and working on task to complete their work. This will hopefully change the behavior of the students who are off-task and help them realize that they should be acting more like their peers that I reinforced.

Positive Practice & Reinforcement Schedule: Throughout the lesson I will promote positive practice by encouraging students to immediately correct any mistakes they might make. By helping students immediately correct their mistakes, they will understand how to do it correctly and hopefully they will not dwell on the mistake they’ve made, but instead concentrate on the correct way to avoid future mistakes. In addition, throughout the lesson, I will use every opportunity to reinforce correct student work. I will praise each student for identifying shapes correctly.

Task Analysis: Students will complete the following listening activity with at least 85% accuracy:

The students will:

1. Outline the circle red
2. Color the triangle blue
3. Fill the square with orange strips
4. Make yellow polka dots in the rectangle
5. Name a minimum of 3 objects that look like these shapes