CEP 452: Lesson Plan

Section 1: The Plan

LESSON OVERVIEW
Title: Weather patterns in Michigan
Author: Megan Jurgensen
Subject: Science
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Duration: 60 minutes
Unit Description: This lesson is part of a week long lesson about weather conditions in
Michigan. The students have already learned about different types of weather and have
observed weather conditions and are now backing up to look at weather conditions as a
pattern over a year.
Lesson Goals: Students will be able to
1. Talk/predict the weather on their birthdays during different years of their life
2. Dress the child for the weather of that season
3. Explain the weather for the 4 seasons
4. Explain that weather conditions are in a pattern that repeat every year
Common Core Standards:
K-ESS2-1:
Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.
Big Ideas: Weather conditions are a pattern that are repeated as an annual cycle.
Barriers:
Background knowledge
Vocabulary
Visual or audio impairments
Group work cooperation
METHOD
Anticipatory Set:
3.1 Activate or supply background knowledge
1. Ask students what weather conditions they have been observing
a. Write down ideas on a poster
1.2 Offer alternatives for auditory information
2. Ask students what weather patterns they see in Michigan
a. Write down ideas on a poster

Introduce and Model New Knowledge:

1. SWBAT
a. Write goals of todays lesson on the board
8.1 Heighten salience of goals and objectives
2. Introduce new vocabulary
a. 4 seasons winter, spring, summer and fall
2.1 Clarify vocabulary and symbols
3. Play youtube video about the 4 seasons
a. Stop video after each season and ask children to describe what weather
conditions they saw represented
2.5 Illustrate through multiple media
Provide Guided Practice
Birthday Activity
1. Have a poster on the board of all the months listed and a key in the corner with the
symbols of weather conditions and what they mean and explain (snowflake=winter,
rain drop=spring, sun=summer, cloud=fall)
1.2 Offer alternatives for auditory information
2.1 Clarify vocabulary and symbols
2. Ask students to think of when their birthday is and what the weather was like on
their last birthday
6.2 Support planning and strategy development
3. Go down the list of months and ask children to raise their hand if their birthday is in
that month (have list of birthdays in hand in case children dont know)
4. Ask students in that month to say what the weather was like on their birthday
7.2 Optimize relevance, value and authenticity
5. Have students in the class agree (thumbs up) or disagree (thumbs down)
6. Draw weather symbol next to that month
7. Repeat for each month
Splitting into seasons
1. Explain the 4 different seasons and how months go along with the seasons based on
the weather in those months
2. Have the students decide what months go in what season
3. Break the list of months into seasons by drawing lines to connect the months that go
along with each season (January-March=winter, April-May=spring, JuneAugust=summer, September-November=fall, December=winter)
4. Ask the students for ideas on what happens after December
5. Ask students to think about what the weather will be like on their birthday this year,
next year and when they are 10 years old
6. Explain how seasons repeat each year and the weather conditions stay the same for
each season creating a pattern of snow rain sun clouds snow repeat
Provide Independent Practice:
1. Explain group activity
8.3 Foster collaboration and communication
a. Children will be broken up into groups

b. Each group will be assigned one season

c. There will be paper groups and digital groups
4.1 Vary the methods for response and navigation
d. Groups can decide if they want to use a poster or a computer
7.1 Optimize individual choice and autonomy
e. For the poster groups - there will be a poster with a child on it and the
weather condition in the corner
f. For the computer groups there is a teaching resource used by my mentor
teacher that has a child with different clothes to dress him/her based on the
weather in the background
5.1 Use multiple media for communication
g. There will be different clothes for that child and the students must choose
the clothes that match the weather for their season
2. After all seasons are done, discuss with class
a. Go to each season and hold up the poster made or display the digital format
from the computer on the screen
b. Describe what season and weather that poster has and what clothes the
students decided to put on that child
c. Ask each group to explain why they chose those specific clothes for that
season
d. Have the class agree (thumbs up) or disagree (thumbs down) with the
clothes chosen for each season
WRAP UP
1. Revisit beginning questions
a. Ask the class as a whole to explain the different weather patterns they see in
Michigan
b. Ask the class as a whole to name the 4 seasons
ASSESSMENT
Formative, Ongoing Assessment:
1. Asking questions throughout the lesson and video
2. Observing the children dressing their child
3. Discussions with groups about what clothes they are choosing
Summative Assessment:
1. 4 Seasons worksheet students will be given a worksheet with the 4 seasons listed
in a circular pattern with blank boxes next to each season. They will also be given a
sheet of pictures of weather conditions and activities for different seasons. They will
be asked to cut out the pictures and glue them in the corresponding seasons.
3.4 Maximize transfer and generalization

MATERIALS
Books:
Hoffman, Bridget & Mauer, Julie (2009). Science Games (Grades Pre K-K). Mary D. Smith.
Youtube:
4 Season in a year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0zKV6j1MDg
Worksheet:
4 Seasons
Created by: Megan Jurgensen