Lesson Plan: Science

Kindergarten
Schools: Samuel Powel Elementary School & Penn Alexander School
Teachers: Betty Liu & Sherlly Pierre
Number of Students: 5/group
Date: December 7, 2015
Time: Morning & Afternoon
Goals:
Students will begin to build a working knowledge of and to categorize shells, as
well as, identify the use and reuse of shells
Essential Questions:
Why should we use a variety of information and sources to support our learning
when investigating new topics?
Standards (and Assessment Anchor):
NGSS
Core Disciplinary Idea: ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions. Designs can
be conveyed through sketches, drawings, or physical models. These representations are
useful in communicating ideas for a problems solutions to other people.
K-ESS3-1: Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants
or animals (including humans) and the places they live. [Clarification Statement: Examples of
relationships could include that deer eat buds and leaves, therefore, they usually live in forested
areas, and grasses need sunlight so they often grow in meadows. Plants, animals, and their
surroundings make up a system.]
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns in the natural and human designed world can be
observed and used as evidence. (K-LS1-1) (NGSS)
Practices:
Still need one here. Sorry I messed up the bullet points - and I cant seem to fix them.
Materials & Preparation:
Seashells
Stock Images: Shells
Texts:
(Read Aloud) What Lives in a Seashell by Kathleen Weidner
Zoehfeld
Construction Paper- To place shells and materials
Observation:
Observation Recording Sheet
Textured objects (to explore the 5 senses)
Reference points - Geoblock (touch: hard), Cotton
ball (touch: soft), Colored objects (sight), etc.
Paper plates
Yarn

Hole punch (optional)

Markers/Crayons/Colored Pencils

Classroom Arrangement & Management Issues:

Library
Fewer distractions from other students with the added bonus of
acculturating students to library norms
A quiet environment for students to focus and think deep about the
numbers
Plan:

The hook

Students observe mystery object (stock photos) and attempt to

classify it

First attempt: Student classify according to student

designed categoriesIt would help me a lot to know what these
categories are.

Students attempt to identify object and what it is

used forThis is so much harder to do with a picture - I really think you
should use the real shells here. If you want to ask what are they used for,
you can ask that after a little exploration, and then say this book is going
to tell us.

The body
(I) Read Aloud: What Lives in a Seashell
What type of story is this? Are there ways that the
author is teaching us? How do you know?
How do I get information from the story?
Incorporate turn and talk for
Question 1
Opportunity to discuss nonfiction text
features (e.g., labelling)
(We) Teacher model using observation sheet and incorporates
students noticings in creating interactive anchor chart
Teacher models using mentor texts for more visual
details
(You) Observation: Students explore actual shells and map out
their observations and classifications on observation recording sheet
Closure
Shells DIY
Students create their own shells using paper plates
and markers to illustrate various shell patterns
Students use mentor text(s) for further details to
inform their patterns

Assessment of the Goals/Objectives:

A clear understanding/recall of shell features
Context for the use of various uses of shells
Literacy: Incorporation of techniques used in reading and writing workshop (i.e.,
snapwords, chunking, etc.)
Anticipating Students Responses and Your Possible Responses:
Management issues:
Remind students of our space, the library, and the
norms/expectations that come with that space
Silent signals and redirections
Oh, Ive already seen these before. I know what these are already!
Teacher response: Thats great! Youll be a big help to us as we
explore these today AND learn about the many ways that they can be used.
Accommodations:
For students struggling to capture their thinking teacher can

check-in refer back to the interactive anchor chart produced whole group
(individual student) or revoice (whole group)
Early finishers: Create a short story about their shell on the
back of their plates with teacher created lines
This option is available to all students in the
group, but will be strongly encouraged for early finishers to take on