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Introduction
Through pre-assessment of student A and student B, it was decided
to focus on their ability to break words into syllables. Both children
needed some extra help with learning this skill and so it was a
beneficial area to focus on. Student A is a four-year-old girl in a
mainstream reception class and Student B is a five-year-old boy in
the same class. The skill of identifying syllables in words is an
important part of becoming phonologically aware (Konza, 2011).
Planning Instruction Using the Principles of Backwards
Design
Backward design puts using the learning objective as a very
important step to planning instruction (Price & Nelson, 2014). The
learning outcomes need to be broken down into smaller, more
specific objectives. Then how the outcomes are going to be
assessed needs to be decided. Then lastly, is when the lessons are
planned (Price & Nelson, 2014). The specific learning outcome for
this unit plan is:

When a word containing between 1 and 3 syllables is read to

the students, they will be able to use a technique of choice to
demonstrate the number of syllables, 9 times out of 10.

The lessons are based on giving the children the best opportunity to
reach this learning outcome. See appendix A for unit plan.
Methods for Creating a Positive and Well-Managed Learning
Environment
The lessons also include lots of revising and practicing the activity in
mostly short lessons. This is so that the children involved are still
engaged and do not lose motivation. This age group and class have
shown their ability to sit and listen for only a short amount of time.

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It is noticeable when a lesson goes too long as many children start

moving around and looking around the room. With such a large
amount becoming disengaged, this is a big sign that the teaching
technique needs to change. The two children these activities are
designed for have even more trouble sitting for a length of time so
this is very important for their engagement. Student B in particular
has been working hard on this skill and giving him the best
opportunity to succeed should help him further develop these skills
as it will be a positive experience. There is also not much benefits to
teaching when the child is not listening.
Price and Nelson (2014) also acknowledge the importance of an
introduction into a unit of work. As this unit of work is a fraction of a
much larger goal of phonemic awareness, rhyming and syllables, an
initial introduction has already been done before this unit was
introduced. For example, the children would have experienced
syllables and rhyming before, even if they cannot yet show these
skills. This is why there is not a large introduction, although the first
lesson is used as re-introduction to refresh the childrens memories
on what syllables are and to clue them in that there will be some
practice around this skill.
Another technique used frequently in the lessons is one that is also
recommended by Price and Nelson (2014). That is demonstrating or
modeling what the children need to do. There is lots of this, in
particular with the skill of clapping out syllables. There would also
be benefits of modeling some activities such as the lego lesson or
the board game so they understand what is expected of them.
Describe and Provide a Rationale for the types of Active
Participation Strategies Utilized in the Lessons

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Active participation is described by Price and Nelson (2014) as a

way of engaging the children during teacher presentation time. This
way of engagement is considered active as it involves all the
children responding either verbally, or by doing something at the
same time (Price & Nelson, 2014). Some ways this is included during
this time is through asking the children to whisper to a friend what
they might think or by asking the whole class to repeat words and
clap along to the syllables all together. These are group responses to
the teacher instruction.
Most of the lessons used are very hands on and turned into a game
to engage the children. This is not considered teacher presentation
time so this is why it is not active engagement as Price and Nelson
(2014) would call it. It is still another beneficial way of learning and
involves the children actively participating in the lesson, as they are
not just sitting and listening to instructions or information. Cutter
Mackenzie and Edwards (2013) consider this purposefully framed
play where the teacher models and explains what the children are to
do. There is minimal time spent with the children not participating
so these lessons are well designed for child engagement and where
possible active engagement is present.
Student A worked very well in the small groups with her
engagement. She was excited to be involved in a focus group, quite
the opposite to Student B, who wanted to choose his activity. Both
children worked well during class time when they were actively
participating. Student B in particular struggled to listen when the
rules of Syllable Mr. Wolf was being explained, however for his
current abilities with listening to lengthier instructions, he took in
quite a lot of information.
Final Post-Assessment Task

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See appendix C for final post-assessment task. It is similar to the

pre-assessment task in that it asks the same level of questions in
regards to syllables. Alterations have been made to shorten it and
make it specific to the chosen learning objective. Pictured cards
have also been added to make it more engaging for the children and
feel less like a test. The children will place the cards in numbered
baskets so marking can be done after and they should not feel so
under pressure.
Student A was found to struggle with test environments. She
performed worse on tasks when sitting one on one with a teacher
with a marking sheet than she did from general observations of her
interactions in the classroom. This was another important
observation to keep in mind while planning the post-assessment.
When an observation is obtrusive it may alter results (Salvia,
Ysseldyke, & Bolt, 2013).
The post-assessment has been cut down and changed a great deal
from the pre-assessment. Where the learning objective is involved,
it aims to measure the same thing (syllable knowledge) but other
parts of their phonological awareness are not being measured here.
The pre-assessment went for too long and the children became
drained and restless from the lengthy and too difficult preassessment task. This is why the focus has been made much more
specific.
Evaluation of the Instructional Program
This unit went very well and was one of the most successful units I
have personally experienced in terms of the learning outcome being
clearly or very nearly met. Student A met the expected outcome
and Student B was one answer away from reaching this goal. From

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showing little to no knowledge of being able to count syllables to

doing it independently, was a major improvement.
This may have been helped by the fact that the curriculum learning
outcome was broken down into one small outcome. Syllables
knowledge was just one part that I chose to focus on. In addition to
this learning unit, the children were also focusing separately on their
phonemic awareness and rhyming.
Student B particularly struggled with focusing on lessons during
investigation time. There is a lesson time in the classroom called
investigation time is based on the Walker Approach (Walker, 2014).
During this time the children have time to choose an area where
they can explore and learn. It is a play-based approach (Walker,
2014). During this investigation time, a number of children were
working with cars and student B loved this. This meant he was quite
frustrated with being in a focus group with the teacher for the
beginning of investigation time while the other children began their
work with cars. It was considered using cars as a motivator for his
learning but these were found to be too distracting and if they were
worked into the lesson he would just play with them instead of
focusing on the syllable task. They worked better as reinforcement
for when he finished his work.
Working with small groups was also very beneficial in a number of
ways and worked for me to be able to gain a very insightful view of
their abilities through formal (see appendix D) and informal
observations and to easily assist them in their learning. It also
meant I was available to prompt when Student B in particular was
resisting doing the activity. There were also other areas of learning
happening that were much better covered with the teacher support
in such a small group, such as resilience when playing the board
game.

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The board game was very successful for the two girls who were
involved (one girl was a randomly chosen classmate), however it
was a struggle to engage Student B who wanted to be outside
where there were a group of children playing with cars. He also
became very upset very quickly because he was losing. This was a
good opportunity for focusing some of the lesson on resilience,
which is a big focus in that classroom. He was not losing by much
and ended up finishing second out of three children. If there were
any more children then he probably would have become too
disengaged in between turns, so it was a good choice to use such
small groups.
Working these lessons in with the class timetable made things
difficult at times as Student B in particular did not like missing out
on what the other children were doing. This meant starting off the
lesson with him having an already negative opinion of it. I also did
not want to put negative attention on the children by singling them
out each time. I thought this might mean the other children would
think they were getting special attention for something. There is
already one child in the class who the other children speak to
differently. They show great compassion but as they are still learning
themselves, they do not completely understand his learning abilities
and underestimate the boys capabilities. The tone is as though they
are speaking to an even younger child. I do not want more children
being treated as though they are not as capable as the rest of the
class. To avoid this, I made sure there was at least one other child in
the group and tried to make it sound like something fun and not a
special learning activity. It was great to find that children came over
and wanted to join in with the activities without being asked.
Student B in particular has a hard time focusing on long, difficult
tasks so the aim was to keep the lessons short. It was also designed
to cover a small part of phonological awareness so while these

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lessons were very necessary and beneficial, there were a number of

other concepts to be explored. This unit is only a small part of the
curriculum outcome.

The unit began with group activities, starting with a whole class
activity. These worked well to reinforce the learning all students had
achieved around syllables and to refresh the skills. This also meant
that the children who were struggling with syllables had an
opportunity to be exposed without too much pressure and could feel
success with their learning as a class. The lessons then became
smaller so they had the opportunity to demonstrate what they did
know and the plan was that their confidence would be more built up
so they would thrive from this opportunity. It also meant their skills
were more assessable and the teacher could tell how their learning
was going. The board game in the middle wass a particularly good
way to assess how the childrens learning wass travelling as they
each had a turn of counting syllables on their own if they were ready
or with teacher and peers assistance if they still needed it.
All lessons were teacher-directed, however many were designed
around the childrens interests to help engage them. The lego and
the Syllable Mr. Wolf game were made to specifically help with
Student Bs engagement as he can easily become demotivated. He
was at a good level of engagement for most of the lesson time so
this I consider a success.
Conclusion
The unit was successful, with one student reaching the goal and the
other showing very high potential in doing so in the near future.

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References:

Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority.

(2015). Foundation to Year
10 Curriculum: English. Retrieved
from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/e
nglish/curriculum/f-10?layout=1
Cutter-Mackenzie, A., & Edwards, S. (2013). Toward a model for early
childhood
environmental education: Foregrounding, developing and connecting
knowledge
through play-based learning. The Journal of Environmental Education,
44(3), 195-213.
Konza, D. (2011). Research into practice: Phonological awareness.
Retrieved from
http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/literacy/files/links/UtRP_1_2_v2.pdf
Price, K. M., & Nelson, K. L. (2014). Planning effective instruction: Diversity
responsive
methods and management (5th ed.). Wadsworth: Cengage Learning.
Salvia, J., Ysseldyke, J. E., & Bolt, S. (2013). Assessment: In special and
inclusive education
(12th ed.). Wadsworth: Cengage Learning.
Walker, K. (2014). The walker learning approach: developmentally
appropriate practice.
Retrieved from http://walkerlearning.com.au/info/

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Appendices
Appendix A
Unit Plan
Curriculum Area:

Curriculum Learning

English:

Outcome:

Language: Sound and Letter

Recognise rhymes,

Knowledge

syllables and sounds

(phonemes) in spoken
words (ACELA1439)
(Australian Curriculum and
Assessment Reporting
Authority [ACARA], 2015).

Performance Objective

When a word containing between 1 and 3 syllables is read to

the students, they will be able to use a technique of choice to
demonstrate the number of syllables, 9 times out of 10.

Knowledge:

Children will know how to clap out syllables between

Children will know how to segment syllables.

Understanding:

Students will understand that words are made up of different

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sounds.
They will understand that different words have different

number of syllables.
They will understand that syllables are the beats of words

Skills:

Students will be able to point to words in a sentence.

Count syllables in a range of words, containing up to three
syllables

Lesson 1:
Time: 5-10 minutes
Class discussion around syllables

Extra Notes
This can be fitted in during

Remind children what syllables

transition time to another

are (beats of words). Give

lesson or before lunch or

example.
Ask children for ideas eg. Most

recess.

number of syllables or least

children back in to what

number of syllables words.

Clap out together

syllables are and practice

This is used to clue the

counting them.

Lesson 2:
Time 20 minutes
Smartboard Game During Guided

Guided reading: The class is

Reading

split into groups of six

Take turns with group members

children who all work on a

to click on the word to hear it,

different activity. They

and select the number of

rotate activities throughout

syllables.

the week.

Lesson 3:
Time: 10 minutes Maximum
Paper Bag Object Sorting

Group of four of less take turns

During Investigation Time:

Focus group.

picking items out of box, saying

the word, clapping out the

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syllables and placing in the

correct bag that matches the
number of syllables.
Lesson 4:
Time: 10 minutes Maximum
Board Game

Children pick up card with a

During Investigation Time:

picture and count how many

Focus Group of 3 children.

syllables to say the word.

Move that number of spaces on

Use this time to assess how

the board.

counting syllables.

individuals are going with

Lesson 5:
Time: 20 minutes
Syllable Mr. Wolf

Set up like Whats the time Mr.

Wolf
Group of children ask Whats

the word Mr. Wolf

Child says word.
Group take that many steps

toward the wolf

Eventually the wolf says

The whole class during

fitness time.

dinnertime and chases the

others. Swap over.
Lesson 6:
Time: 10minutes
Lego

Take turns to pick objects

Investigation Time: Focus

group of 2-4 children.

around the room and say the

word before counting out

syllables together.
Child collects that number of

lego pieces.
At the end they can build

something with their pieces.

Assessment:
Ongoing assessment through observing children counting syllables
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during the activities. Take note of whether they need assistance.

Use post-assessment (see appendix C) to formally assess whether
the learning objective has been met at the end.

Appendix B
Lesson Plans
Lesson 1: Class Discussion Around Syllables
Time: 5-10 minutes

Lesson Learning Objective

Children will know that syllables are the beats of words.

They will be able to identify how many syllables words have

by clapping along with the group

Resources:

No resources require for this activity

Procedure:

Ask for ideas from children

Find the opportunity to fit

on what they think

this in during a transition

syllables are. If there is a

time from lesson or

correct answer, repeat that

activity. It just needs to be

it is the beats of a word. If

a quick-paced activity to

no one can guess, share

clue the children back in to

what syllables are and to

the answer.
Give an example with the

explanation.
Ask the class to think of

counting them

words with the largest

amount of syllables.
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Extra Notes

start them thinking about

Class all sit in a circle for

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Pick children and as a class

this activity so it feels like

clap out the number of

a class discussion where

syllables and count how

everyone can contribute.

many.
Then ask children to come

Giving children a challenge

up with words with the

to find different number of

smallest amount of

syllables (more and less)

syllables.

helps to motivate them.

Sharing their ideas means

they are actively
participating which also
helps with motivation.

Mostly teacher directed,

however the children
should be coming up with
the words. If they struggle,
the teacher may need to
guide their ideas such as
think of a word and give
clues to what it might be.

Assessment:
Informal: Take note of who suggest ideas. Hopefully most or all
students contribute something. The idea is that those who are less
confident and do not wish to share ideas will still be thinking and
joining in with counting other childrens suggestions.
Lesson 2: Syllable Smartboard Game

Take turns with group members to click on the word to hear it,
and select the number of syllables.

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Time: 20 minutes

Lesson Learning Objective

Children will know that syllables are the beats of words.

They will be able to count syllables while saying the word, by

touch the screen for each syllable.

Resources:
Smartboard
Literacy Program with Syllable game (counting syllables)
Chairs
Procedure:
Extra Notes

Before sending off each

This game is played as one

group, give a quick

of the literacy group

example of a word in the

activities during guided

game and show how to

reading time. The class is

count the syllables by

split into groups of about

pressing the dots on the

six children and rotates

screen for each syllable.

Choose a team leader to

through four different

make sure everyone takes

each day to the next.

literacy activities, changing

turns and to organise the

group. They get to go first.

Each child in the group (six

directed as such. It takes

children) takes turns to

little guidance from the

press on the picture (this

teacher; however, it is set

makes it say what the

up with clear instructions

picture is of) and then they

that the children need to

count out the number of

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follow.

syllables.
The other children watch
and count in their heads.

This activity is teacher-

The children work very

They are allowed to assist

enthusiastically with the

if the child whose turn it is

smart board, and this is

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always a successful option

for engaging them.

Assessment:
Informal: Take note of who needs to have multiple tries or assistance
to count the syllables.
Lesson 3: Paper Bag Object Sorting
Time: 10 minutes maximum

Lesson Learning Objective

Children will know that syllables are the beats of words.

They will be able to count syllables while saying the word, by

clapping or tapping their knees

They will be able to identify which bag to place the object in

depending on the number of syllables

Resources:

3 paper bags each labeled with a different number from 1-3.

Box of objects with names ranging from 1-3 number of
syllables.
o Eg. Umbrella, necklace, drink bottle, triangle, book,
chalk, pencil

Procedure:

Sit on the floor with the

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Play this game with a small

focus group of 3-4 children

the bags and box in the

at the beginning of

middle.
First child removes one

investigation time.

closes the box back up.

Together, everyone says
the word and claps out the

small group in a circle with

item from the box and

Extra Notes

syllables.
See if they can count the

This activity is mostly

teacher-directed as the
teacher is telling them
they need to count
syllables and that they

number. If they have

need to then place the

trouble- have them clap

object in the bag. It also

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out the word again while

needs organisation from

the teacher puts up one

the teacher so that the

finger per clap.

Then ask the children to

children take turns and to

choose which bag it needs

syllables successfully.

ensure they are counting

to go in. Allow them a

chance to read the number

on the bag first.

The next child then

choice as they choose

which item they wish to

chooses an item and they

put in the bag

do the same thing.

After a couple of goes, ask
them to pat their knees

The children get some

Lots of the children enjoy

instead of clapping so they

sorting activities where

can experience some other

they are able to organise

ways of counting syllables,

items into places so this

and do not only associate

should engage them well.

clapping with syllables.

Continue until the box is
empty.

The children in only a small

group do it all so everyone
is constantly actively
participating.

Assessment:
Formal: See appendix D for tally of syllables in words correctly
identified during this activity without prompting.
Lesson 4: Board Game
Time: 10 minutes maximum

Lesson Learning Objective

Children will know that syllables are the beats of words.

They will be able to count syllables while saying the word by

clapping
They will be able to move a counter the number of spacing
depending on the number of syllables in a word

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Resources:

Board game with about 20 spaces. (I used a treasure hunt one

where they end on an island with a cross for the treasure.)

Any board is fine.

Counters (one per child)
Picture cards

Procedure:

Ask the children if they

Extra Notes

would prefer to move

focus group of 3-4 children

along the board together

at the beginning of

as a group or play it as a

investigation time.

competition.
Assuming they decide to
make it a competition:

teacher is telling them how

first. Could do so by

to play the game. It also

whoever has the most

needs organisation from

syllables in their name.

They pick up one of the

the teacher so that the

children take turns and to

picture cards and has a go

ensure they are counting

at saying the word on their

syllables successfully.

own and then clapping out

the syllables.
Encourage everyone else

This activity is mostly

teacher-directed as the

Choose someone to go

Play this game with a small

The game is based on the

to have a turn to see if it is

childrens interests through

the theme of the board

right.
Have the child move their

counter that many spaces.

The next child does the
same, choosing another

game.

It is the children playing

the game so it is highly

picture card.
First child to reach the end

active participation.

(treasure) wins. It should

be close as the syllables

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They will also be extra

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vary between one and four

motivated through the

so allow everyone the

challenge of either

chance to finish.

competing or from trying

to reach the treasure at
the end.

Assessment:
Formal: See appendix D for tally of syllables in words correctly
identified during this activity without prompting.
Lesson 5: Syllable Mr. Wolf
Time: 20 minutes

Lesson Learning Objective

Children will know that syllables are the beats of words.

They will be able to count syllables while saying the word, by

stepping once for each syllable.

They will be able to predict whether certain words will have

many or not many syllables.

Resources:
o Large outdoor area on grass
o Boundaries (made from cones if necessary) with two
clear ends (one end a beginning point for the group and
one end where the wolf stands).
Procedure:

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Before going outside

Extra Notes

Play this game with the

explain that the group are

whole class outside on the

playing a game like

oval, but make the

whats the time Mr. Wolf

boundaries fairly small as

except they will be using

the children are only

syllables.
Ask children to remind the

moving forward slowly.

Explain rules and reflect on

class what syllables are.

If the lessons leading up to

lesson inside on the mat so

this have been successful

distracted.

the children are not

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a number (ultimately
everyone) should be able

This activity is mostly

to say they are beats of

teacher-directed as the

words and give an

teacher is telling them

example.
Once someone has re-

what game and how to

play it.

explained, ask a couple of

children for some

examples.
Then explain the finer

The children get some

choice as they choose
which word to use.

rules: One child will stand

at the opposite end of the
boundaries (emphasise

The class love outdoor

boundaries). The class

activities like this so it is

together will ask Whats

using their interests.

the word Mr./Mrs. Wolf?

The wolf will choose any
word they can think of
(Have the picture cards
from the board game
handy in case they need

help choosing).
Everyone else steps
forward as they count the

syllables.
When people start to get
close the wolf needs to
eventually reply with
dinner time! at which
point everyone runs away
back to where they started

and the wolf chases them.

Regroup at the end inside
to ask what children found
challenging or what they

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liked about the activity.

Assessment:
Informal: Take note of who is participating. This is more of a chance
to practice their syllable counting skills in a fun way. Many children
will get excited to move forward and so it may not be a clear
indication of their abilities.
Lesson 6: Lego
Time: 10 minutes

Lesson Learning Objective

Children will know that syllables are the beats of words.

They will be able to count syllables out while saying the word

using lego pieces.

They will be able to predict what words have more syllables.
Resources:

Lego
Building mat
Pictures and box of items for in case of prompts needed

Procedure:

Explain that they need to

Extra Notes

Play this game with a small

take turns to look around

focus group of 3-4 children

the room and choose a

at the beginning of

word. They then need to

investigation time.

count out how many

syllables using the lego.

The child is able to keep

teacher-directed as the

their pieces of lego and

can (measurement focus in

maths)
Keep going with the
activity for as long as feels

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teacher is telling them

begin building a tower.

Encourage them to try to
build the tallest tower they

This activity is mostly

they need to build a lego

tower.
The lego is very popular
with the children in the
morning so this should be
an engaging game for

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appropriate with
engagement and size of

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them to play.
The challenge of trying to

the towers (roughly 10

build the tallest tower adds

minutes)
If children have trouble

another element of

choosing a word from

motivation.
They are actively

looking around the room,

participating as they

allow them to use picture

choose their own words

cards or items from the

and make their own towers

box.
Assessment:

however they wish.

Informal: Observe what words they choose and whether they mostly
choose longer words or if they are completely random. Also take
note of how accurately they count out the syllables.
Appendix C
Post-Assessments

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Appendix D
Tally Assessment of Correctly Counted Syllables

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