The following consists of TWO SAMPLE LESSON PLANS, taken directly from Step 1 courses, in this case, Step 1 History 1, and Step 1 Study & Life Skills 1. Step 1 is for students ages 5-6, and for preliterate students. You may try these sample plans out with your young student. Treat each lesson plan as if it were a 'script" that you, the teacher, follow. If it says read to the student, do so. If it provides an activity, do that. Do each step, as written, in order. Each lesson plan should take about an hour to do. if your student already read well for their age, you may wish to consider having them do the Step 2 Reading Test, to see if they are ready for that level of work.
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A Lesson Plan from Step 1, History 3, Mesopotamia
(Get together some film of farms, fields, fruit trees. (PROVIDED) Locate a tree nearby, outside the room. Locate a water source near the tree, like a sink or hose. Get a water bucket (small.) If there’s a friendly farm nearby, do the lesson there and replace the photos with the real thing.)
1. INFORM:
Tell the student(s); “At one time, thousands of years ago, most Human Beings wandered all over the place, living in tents, or even in trees or on the ground. About 6,000 years ago, people started making houses and building cities. Today we’ll work to understand why people like to live in one place, instead of moving around all the time.”
2. DO:
Ask each student; “Do you live somewhere?” Get his answer. (Yes.) Ask each student; “Describe where you live.” Let them do so.
(Prompt as needed-
“Are you out of the rain, cold and heat inside your home?”
“Is it nice and dry where you live?”
“Are there people there that you like?”
“Is there food waiting for you at home?”
“Is there a safe place to sleep?”
“Can you do things you like to do at home?”)
3. DO:
Ask each student; “Name one thing you really like about having a home.” Get their answers. (If you have only one student, have him name three things.)
4. DO:
Have each student draw their home. Ask each student to place into the drawing things that make it nice to have a home.
5. INFORM:
Tell the student(s); “Some of the same reasons you like having a home are the same as the reasons people first built homes, or even lived in caves.”
6. DO:
Show the student(s) film of farms and fields. Ask what they are. Help as needed. (A “farm” is a place where things are grown to eat, like corn, wheat (which is turned into bread), and even fruit like apples and oranges. On a farm, cows, chickens and pigs are often also raised to help Human Beings like us survive by giving us food and other things.) Also explain that farmers grow all the food we eat, pretty much.
(Watch about 2 minutes, sound off.)
Harvesting apples
An apple harvest with kindergarteners.
(Start at 1:20)
7. DO:
Explain; “Pretty much living thing on Earth needs water to live. Draw where it is in your house that you get water from.” Let them do so.
8. DO:
Take the student(s) out to your selected tree. Tell them; “Let’s pretend we’re taking care of this tree, so that someday it will make fruit to feed us. Trees need water to live.” Give one of the student the bucket. Show the student(s) how to fill it and water the tree. Let them do so. Then, ask them to “Water the tree again, only this time pretend you’ve wandered very far away, over to there.” Point to a place far away on the playground. “Go there with the bucket, come all the way back, fill the bucket, and then water the tree.” Let every student do this.
9. DO:
Ask the student(s); “If you were wandering all over the place, as far away as you can imagine, could you also be here to water this tree and eat its fruit every day?” Get their answer. Then ask; “If this tree needed to be watered every day, and you needed its fruit to eat, where would you need to live?” Get their answer. (Here.)
10. DO:
Show the student(s) the photos of fields and trees again. (Or better, the real thing.) Then ask them “Can fruit trees move?” Get their answers. Then ask; “Can these fields filled with food like corn and wheat move?” Get their answers. (No and no.) Then ask the student(s) “If you were getting your food from trees and fields, could you move away from them, all over the place?” Get their answer. (No.)
11. INFORM:
The student(s) “One important reason people stopped moving around and stayed in houses they built was to be close to their fields and food.”
12. INFORM:
The student(s) that’s the end of today’s lesson. Acknowledge each student, tell them they did a great job.
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A Lesson From Step 1 Study & Life Skills 1 (A lesson plan entitled "Not Getting Lost")
1. INFORM:
Tell the student(s) that today, we’ll be working on ways he can help to make sure that when he goes out with his parents or with friends, that he never get lost.
2. DEFINE:
Get the student(s) to tell you what “being lost” means. Make certain they fully understand that this doesn’t only mean the student doesn’t know where he is, but that “being lost” can also mean that the people taking care of him (parents, teachers, and other adults) don’t know where the student is.
3. DO:
Multiple students:
Select one student to stand right in the middle of the room. Ask the other students “Is name of student lost?” (He is not, we’re all looking at him. He knows where he is and we know where he is.) Get his answer. When he answers, ask him “How do we know you are not lost?” Get his answer. (Because we know where he is.) Thank that student and have him or her sit again.
Single student:
The tutor asks the student to stand in the center of the room. He then asks the student “Are you lost?” (He is not. He knows where he is and we know.) When he answers, ask them “How do you know you are not lost?” Get his answer. (Because we know where he is.) Thank that student and have him or her sit again.
4. DO:
Multiple students:
Next example: Select another student, and have them stand at the back of the room, with everyone else facing away from this student, toward the front, so they “can’t see him”. Ask the students “Is name of student lost?” Get their answer. (He is not, we know where he is and he knows where he is.) When they answer, ask them “How do we know he is not lost?” (Because we know where he is and she knows where he is.) Get their answer. Thank that student and have him or her sit again.
Single student:
Have the student stand at the back of the room with his back to the tutor. Ask him “Are you lost?” Get his answer. (He’s not. He knows and the tutor knows where he is.) Ask him “How do you know you’re not lost?” (Because both the tutor and the student knows where he is.) Get his answer. Thank the student and have him sit again.
5. DO:
Multiple students:
Next example: Select another student, and have them stand just outside of the room, with the door closed, carefully telling that student NOT TO GO ANYWHERE! Ask the students “Is name of student lost?” Get their answer. (He is not, he knows where he is and we know where he is.) When they answer, ask them “How do we know he was not lost?” (Because we all know where he is.) Thank that student and have him or her sit again.
Single student:
Have the student stand outside the room, just outside the door for a minute. Bring them back into the room. Ask the student “while you were outside this room, were you lost?” Get his answer. (He was not, as the student and tutor both knew where he was.) Ask him “How do we know you weren’t lost?” (Because you both knew where he was.) Get his answer. Ask him to sit again.
6. DO:
Ask the student(s) “If I put a student somewhere, and he stays where I put him, is he lost?” Get their answer. (No. We know where he is and he knows where he is.)
7. DO:
Ask the student(s) “For a student to be lost, who would need to not know where he or she is?” Get their answer. (The student’s adult guardians, and or the student.)
8. DO:
Multiple students:
Ask all the students to stand in the middle of the classroom. Ask them “Are you lost?” Get their answer. (No.)
Single student:
Stand in the middle of the room with the student. Ask the student “Are you lost”? Get his answer. (No.)
9. DO:
Multiple students:
Ask all the students to stand at the center of the classroom in a circle, each facing away (facing out) from each other so they can’t see each other. Ask them “Are you lost?” Get their answer. (No.)
Single student:
Stand in the center of the room, back to back with the student. Ask the student “Are you lost?” Get his answer. (No.)
10. DO:
Multiple students:
Ask the students to get in a line inside the room by the door. Let them do that. Ask them to follow you, and lead them right outside the room, until they’re all standing outside the door together in a line. Close the door. Ask them “Where are you”? Get their answer. (Outside. Outside the room.) Ask them “Are you lost?” Get their answer. (No.) Ask them “How do you know you aren’t you lost?” Get their answer. (Because we know where we are and the teacher knows where we are.)
Single student:
Go outside the room together, tutor and student. Ask the student “Are you lost”. Get his answer. (No.) Ask the student “how do you know you’re not lost?” Get his answer. (Because you know where I am and I know where I am.)
11. DO:
Multiple students:
Have the students follow the teacher out, away from the room some distance. Stop somewhere. Ask the students “Are you lost?” Get their answer. (No.) Ask them “How do you know you aren’t you lost?” Get their answer. (Because they know where they are and the teacher knows where they are.)
Single student:
Have the student follow the teacher out, away from the room some distance. Stop somewhere. Ask the student “Are you lost?” Get his answer. (No.) Ask him “How do you know you aren’t you lost?” Get his answer. (Because he knows where he is and the teacher knows where he is.)
12. DO:
Multiple students:
Tell the students that you (the teacher) are going to step away from them and that they are to stay right where they are. Step away from them, about twenty feet or so. Now, (speaking loudly, of course), ask the students “Are you lost?” Get their answer. (No.) Ask them “Why aren’t you lost?” Get their answer. (Because they know where they are and the teacher knows where they are.)
Single student:
Tell the student that you (the teacher) are going to step away from him and that he is to stay right where he is. Step away from him, about twenty feet or so. Now, (speaking loudly, of course), ask the student “Are you lost?” Get his answer. (No.) Ask him “Why aren’t you lost?” Get his answer. (Because he knows where he is and the teacher knows where he is.)
13. DO:
Multiple students:
Ask the students to now move away from the teacher (who is still twenty feet away) to a certain safe place a bit of a distance farther from the teacher. Let them all do this. Then, speaking loudly, ask them “Are you lost”. Get their answer. (No.) Ask them “How do you know that you aren’t lost?” Get their answer. (Because they know where they are and the teacher knows where they are.)
Single student:
Ask the student to now move away from the teacher (who is still twenty feet away) to a certain safe place a bit of a distance farther from the teacher. Let him do this. Then, speaking loudly, ask him “Are you lost”. Get his answer. (No.) Ask “How do you know that you aren’t lost?” Get their answer. (Because they know where they are and the teacher knows where they are.)
14. DO:
Multiple students:
Staying where they are, tell the class you’re going to turn your back so you can’t see them anymore. Do so. Then, speaking loudly, ask them “Are you lost”. Get their answer. (No.) Ask them “How do you know that you’re not lost?” Get their answer. (Because they know where they are and the teacher knows where they are.)
Single student:
Staying where he is, tell the student you’re going to turn your back so you can’t see him anymore. Do so. Then, speaking loudly, ask them “Are you lost”. Get their answer. (No.) Ask them “Why aren’t you lost?” Get their answer. (Because he knows where he is and the teacher knows where he is.)
15. DO:
Lead the class (or student) back to the classroom and have them sit again. Ask again what “being lost” means. Make certain it’s fully understood that this doesn’t only mean the student doesn’t know where he is, but also that the people taking care of him (parents, teachers, other adults) don’t know where the student is.
16. INFORM:
The class that’s the end of today’s life lesson. Acknowledge the student(s), tell them they did a great job!