Lesson plan- Session: 1

Name and Surname: Tamara Draper

Section 1
Science overarching idea: Stability and Change Climate Change

Year Level: 3/4

Learning outcomes:
1. Students will understand the make-up of the environment around them
2. Students will make links between the environment today, and the
environment 100 years ago
3. Students will gain an understanding of human action affecting the
environment
4. Students will be introduced to the topic of greenhouse gasses

Session 1

Teaching approach: Socioscientific approach

Rationale for the consistency of the lesson plan

How does this lesson plan connect and is consistent with the unit of
work?

In the unit of work, we proposed three different lessons that all linked
to each other. Our tuning in session, then our finding and sorting
out stage, followed by our taking action lesson. Within the first
session, we will be discovering the prior knowledge that the students
Rationale:
have about the topic, and getting them excited about what we will be
teaching them. The second session will involve students predicting
This lesson is the first of three lessons to be taught about the socio-scientific issue
what will happen inside of a model greenhouse that will be prepared
global warming. More specifically, we will aim to teach students about the make-up of earlier. This will allow students to extend their knowledge, and make
the environment around them, human action that affects the environment,
estimated guesses based on knowledge they have gained in the first
greenhouse gasses, the greenhouse effect, and what actions they can take to reduce
session. The last session will involve the use of the model greenhouse,
global warming.
to determine what happened to it over the stage of a week. Through
this greenhouse activity, students will discuss what type of action they
Within the first lesson, we will be discovering the students prior knowledge, and
can take to prevent excessive greenhouse gasses. These lessons will
creating an interest in this topic through discussion, and hands on activities. Students give students the knowledge and understanding they need of the
will draw a picture of what they believe makes up their local environment, whether
environment and the greenhouse effect to make a change in their
that be around their home or their school, and explaining what they have included,
own life to make a positive impact in the world.
and why. This tuning in task is useful as it is relevant to students, as it refers to their
surrounding environment, and places that are familiar to them in the community.

Through relevance, students may be more excited to complete the task, as they are
confident in their ideas, and understanding of what they are being asked to do.

How does the sequence of activities in this lesson plan reflect a

learning process rather than a series of tasks?

There are many benefits involved with teaching students about socio-scientific issues
such as global warming. Socio-scientific issues are issues that are controversial, and
are generally open-ended, allowing for many possible solutions and deep discussions
to take place. These are topics that can be taught to both children and adults, as they
can be very informative, and with this greater understanding, they allow people to
make appropriate and informed decisions about specific topics and situations. By
teaching students about the environment in which they live, and the impacts they are
making on the environment, they are able to make better decisions in regard to the
actions they take which could be potentially harmful to earth, and instead reduce
global warming.

The three lessons we have planned are structured in a way that links
all of the ideas together, and allows for learning to take place on a
deeper level. The first lesson will give students a broad idea of the
concept we wish to teach them, and allow them to start thinking
about the concept themselves to aid their own understanding. We
aim to begin with a broad concept, and make the learning more and
more specific as the lessons proceed. Students will be able to use their
base knowledge with the information they gain from each session to
create their own understanding of the topic.

Within this lesson students will have many opportunities to share their thoughts and
ideas with the class about this topic. This lesson allows for a deeper discussion about
what they already know, and we will prompt the students with questions,
encouraging participation and promoting confidence. As this is the first lesson to take
place out of three, we will be using a teacher-centered approach to learning, as the
students are new to this topic. This means that we will be passing along information
to the students, and modelling ideas for them (such as, what environmental factors to
include in their drawings), in order to gain knowledge of what students already know
in terms of assessment and future teaching. This teaching approach can be useful for
introductory lessons where students are learning new concepts and ideas, as to not
overwhelm them.

By catering to different learning styles, we are able to ensure that

learning will take place during our three sessions. Our first lesson is
mostly aimed at auditory learners as there will be a lot of discussion
based on prior knowledge, and new concepts. We will aim to allow
learning to take place for kinesthetic and visual learners within all
three of our lessons, as we will use modelling of ideas and concepts,
and hands on activities in all three. As discussed by Demirkaya (2008),
catering to different learning styles will foster all students learning
through familiarity of learning, and confidence through
understanding.
How are the activities appropriate for the age group and diversity of
learners?
The socio-scientific issue we have chosen to teach is appropriate for
this age group as it is a current issue that relates to every single

human. It is important for these students to be aware of the actions

they are taking, and the consequences of these actions. By relating
this issue to the environment in which the students live, they are able
to gain a greater understanding of the issue, along with its
significance. Once students are aware of their actions through the
information given in these sessions, they are able to make a positive
change that can reduce greenhouse gasses, and create a better world.