LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Your Name: Kim Welsh

Title of Lesson: Solar Energy
Grade: 4th
STANDARDS
Concept 1: Observations, Questions, and Hypotheses
Observe, ask questions, and make predictions.
PO 1. Differentiate inferences from observations.
PO 2. Formulate a relevant question through observations that can be tested by an investigation.
(See M04-S2C1-01)
PO 3. Formulate predictions in the realm of science based on observed cause and effect relationships.
PO 4. Locate information (e.g., book, article, website) related to an investigation.
(See W04-S3C6-01 and R04-S3C1-05)
PO 1. Communicate verbally or in writing the results of an inquiry.
(See W04-S3C3-01)
LESSON SUMMARY/OVERVIEW
This final lesson will be a follow up lesson plan that will summarize a week of New Energy lessons and
activities. The students will have already had a week of lessons on renewable energy, solar energy, and solar
panels. They will have had created a solar oven and kept scientific data in their science journals that
documented the scientific method during their experiment. After creating solar ovens and completing their
scientific journals, students will write a persuasive letter to the AZ legislatures stating why Arizona should
become a solar energy state.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this five day lesson on Energy, students will be able to define renewable and nonrenewable
energy and list examples of each, students will be able to give two reasons why Arizona is a primary
candidate for solar panels and briefly describe the benefits of solar energy. Students will create a solar oven
and for the final lesson, students will write a persuasive letter.
ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Students will be assessed on their completion of their solar ovens, scientific journals, and persuasive letter.
Teacher will provide a rubric for each task and students will receive a score based on that rubric.
PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE
Students will be exposed to material throughout the week so that completing the assignment would not
require prior knowledge but retention of knowledge.
MATERIALS
Scientific Journal
Paper, pencil
Solar Oven Supplies (provided by the students from home, supplies will vary based on design)
Access to computer

VOCABULARY/KEY WORDS
Renewable
Nonrenewable
Solar energy
Solar panel

TEACHING PROCEDURES
After a weeklong lesson on renewable energy and solar energy, students will write a persuasive letter.
First we would review solar energy and solar ovens by whole group discussion
We would next discuss what our solar ovens can tell us about solar energy
After our group discussion, students would break into small groups and brainstorm all the potential
positive outcomes for having Arizona become reliant on solar energy as its main energy source.
5. When the brainstorming is through, students will return to the own desks to start their persuasive
letters.
6. After the students have completed their rough drafts, they will have a peer edit their letters and then
final drafts will be typed up in class.
7. Students will actually research who their local representatives are and mail their persuasive letters to
the representative in their districts.
RESOURCES
The idea for this lesson came from this PBS website and also from seeing actual fourth grade students do this
activity at a local elementary school.
1.
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PBS LearningMedia. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2014, from

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/phy03.sci.phys.mfe.zsolar/cooking-cookies-with-solar-power/en/
WAYS OF THINKING CONNECTION
Throughout our daily lessons, we will have a reflection time to go over various ways of thinking. Specifically
systems and values thinking, as I feel those will pertain most to our topic. Touching on these ways of thinking will
help students to understand why decisions are made and how they can contribute to making a change.