Inquiry Lesson Plan Template

Teachers: Mackenzie Pickering Content & Title: Grade Level: 5

Science- Sustainability
Standard:

Arizona Department of Education Standards

SC05-S1C1-02: Formulate predictions in the realm of science based on observed cause and effect

relationships.

SC05-S1C1-03: Locate information (e.g., book, article, website) related to an investigation.

SC05-S3C1-02: Propose a solution, resource, or product that addresses a specific human, animal, or habitat

need.

5.W.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

a. Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which

ideas are logically grouped to support the writers purpose.

b. Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.

c. Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., consequently, specifically).

d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.

Objective (Explicit & Measurable):

Students will be able to formulate a solution to food waste in America by selecting the least impactful diet

and supporting it with evidence.

Evidence of Mastery (Measurable Assessment: formative and summative):

(formative)- Students will debate the least impactful diet for the environment and support it with

evidence.

(summative)- Students will write a reflective essay summarizing all of the information they learned

over the week and make their final decision about which diet is the least impactful.

Sub-objectives, SWBAT (steps that lead to completion of objective; sequence from simple to more

complex):

Explain the three major diets (meat-eating, Vegetarian, Vegan)

 Compare the average American diet to those of other countries
Organize information into and an opinion essay with supporting details
Research information on selected position
Predict the outcome of the future with any given diet as the only option and explain how it impacts

the environment
Lesson Summary and Justification: (summary gives detailed information about what students are

doing. Justification why is this lesson being taught)

This lesson is intended to focus on how the three major diets differently impact our environment. Students

will use futures thinking to decide what diet is the best for our environment in the long run. This lesson

encourages students to discover the information for themselves and will reinforce skills such as research and

communication which will be important for their success when they move on to sixth grade. Students will be

engaging in group work, debate, reflection, and discussion to learn about how the three major diets impact

the environment to different degrees. The lesson encourages students to take in information to use at the end

to draw their own conclusions.

Background Knowledge: (What do students need to know prior to completing this lesson)

For this lesson to be successful, students will need to know what meat-eating, vegetatrian and vegan diets

are. They will also have to know a little bit about how food is made whether from farms or factories and they

will later learn how it is all put together to be brought to their homes
Misconception: (what possible misleading thoughts might students have?)

What we eat does not impact the environment

All diets produce the same amount of waste

Vegetarian and Vegan diets are better than meat-eating

The misconceptions above will be addressed with the students research and debate. They will reflect on

these misconceptions at the end of the lesson in the evaluate portion.

Process Skills: (what skills are you introducing or reinforcing)

Communication

Inferrring

Prediction

Comparing/contrasting
 Interpretting data

Relating
Safety: (what safety rules and items need to be addressed?)

Essential Question: (at least 1 over arching question to introduce topic.)

1. What does it take for us to get our food?

2. What diet is best for our environment?

Inquiry Questions: (testable in the here and now.)

1. What does it take to produce food for meat-eating, vegetarian, and vegan diets?

2. Which diet negatively impacts the environment the least?

Key vocabulary: (list and define) Materials: (list item and possible quantity)

1. Vegetatrian- Not consuming meat White board

2. Vegan- not consuming or using animal products Dry erase marker

3. Manufacture- make something lage scale using
6 poster sized pieces of butcher paper
machinery
6 packs of markers
4. Food Supply Chain- the process that describes
6-12 laptops (1-2 per group)
how food from a farm ends up on our tables.
1 journal per student (5 pages of paper
Includes production, processing, distribution,
each)
consumption, and disposal.
1 pencil per student
5. Methane- flammable natural gas

1 timer
Engage - In this section you should activate prior knowledge, hook student attention, pose a question

(IQ#1) based on your lesson objective that students will seek to answer in Explore.
Teacher Will: (hook) Students Will:

Call students attention to the front of the class Give examples of what humans need

Open a discussion about human nutrition needs nutritionally

by saying today we are going to start a unit Think about and discuss how they get the

about how we get our food. Before we start, can nutrients they need

someone tell me what our nutrition needs are as Make journal

 humans? What kind of foods do we need to Write first journal entry to explain what

survive? their diet is and what it takes to produce

Write student responses on the white board food for it.

When there is a decent list ask so where do we Ask questions if needed

get these types of foods from? How do they

get to our houses?

Introduce the topics of the three diets (meat-

eating, vegetarian, and vegan) by saying So

some people eat different things to meet their

nutrition needs and it each of these diets

requires a different production methods. With

these different ways to produce the food, it

produces different amounts of waste that can

negatively impact our environment. Some

people say that vegan and vegetarian lifestyles

are better for the environment than meat-eating

and others disagree. This week we are going to

explore all three and you are all going to decide

for yourselves which you think is the best for

our environment. At the end of the week you

will have to choose one diet for the entire world

to live by to create the healthiest planet with the

least amount of waste.

Introduce journal-

o Each student needs 5 pieces of printer

sized paper. Students will stack the

papers on top of each other, fold them

 all in half and then place 2-3 staples on

the fold line to create a book. Have

students write Eat for the Environment

Journal on the front of their book.

Tell students that they will be using this journal

all week to write their information in to prepare

for the debate and the reflection

For now, I want you to think about what kind

of diet you have, meat-eating, vegetarian, and

vegan, and explain how you think that the

production of your food creates waste. Flip to

the first blank page in your journal and write

three paragraphs explaining your thoughts. At

the top of the page, label it day 1

Show an example journal to the students

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

Have the following sentence frames on the board for ELL students to help them organize their thoughts:

I have the _______________diet and it creates waste by _____________, ____________, and _________.

My diet produces waste when it is made because _______________________.

Waste is made from producing ____________________ which is in my diet.

Explore - In this section students should take the lead and actively use materials to discover information

that will help them answer the question posed in Engage. Teachers may choose to give steps to follow,

especially for younger students, but the goal is for students to discover some or all of the sub-objectives of

the lesson.
Teacher Will: /(pose IQ #1) Students Will: (list all steps)

Today we will be researching what it takes to Work with group to research designated

produce food for meat-eating, vegetarian, and topic

vegan diets. Write information in journal

 Split class into 6 groups (average of 4-5 Ask questions if needed

students per group) to research the following:

o Group 1: Pros of a meat-eating diet

o Group2: Cons of a meat-eating diet

o Group 3: Pros of a vegetarian diet

o Group 4: Cons of a vegetarian diet

o Group 5: Pros of a vegan diet

o Group 6: Cons of a vegan diet

Make it clear that students will be researching

the pros and cons of each diet as it pertains to

the environment. Give the following example:

o Vegan pro team might say that it is easy

to have this diet produced locally which

cuts down on the travel and

manufacturing impacts

o The vegan con team may say that there

is a lot of manuer needed to produce

healthy crops and that produces methane

which gets emmitted into the

environment and harms the atmosphere.

Tell students to research together using 1-2

laptops per group and write the information

they find in their journals on the second page

and label it Day 2

Give them a guideline that they can use 4

pages ,or 2 pages front and back, to hold their

 information and still have plenty of room for

the other days.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

Have ELL students work with a buddy and have them focus on researching on the laptop so they can see the

words for their project in relation to pictures and different articles online.
Explain In this section students share what they discovered, teacher connects student discoveries to

correct content terms/explanations, students articulate/demonstrate a clear and correct understanding of the

lesson sub-objectives by answering the question from Engage before moving on.
Teacher Will: Students Will:

Ask students to get back in their groups from Get in groups from previous day

the previous day and create a poster by Work with group to create a poster about

combining all of their information their topic

Explain that they will be the experts on the Participate in gallery walk

position their group has and they will have to

Present poster and name at least one point
teach it to the rest of the class
Provide feedback for peers
Tell students to begin working and walk around
Take notes on presentations in journal
the classroom to monitor and provide support
Ask questions if needed
After about 30 minutes of working, tell

students to wrap it up and prepare for a gallery

walk.

Each group will have their posters out and

students will walk around the class to see each

poster. Give students 2 minutes to complete the

gallery walk.

After they see all of the posters, have each

group present and explain their information

and tell students that every member of the

group has to say one of their strongest points.

 Provide positive feedback for each group and

allow the audience (students listening to the

presentation) to add comments or ask questions

at the end of each presentation

As students are listening, have them take notes

and label the page they are taking notes on

Day 3
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

Have the following sentence frames for ELL students to help them give feedback to groups:

I liked ____________________

What did you mean by____________________?

Elaborate In this section students take the basic learning gained from Explore and clarified in Explain

and apply it to a new circumstance or explore a particular aspect of this learning at a deeper level. Students

should be using higher order thinking in this stage. A common practice in this section is to ask a What If?

question. IQ #2
Teacher Will: (pose IQ #2) Students Will:

Prepare for this lesson by writing meat- Choose one type of diet to debate

eating, vegetarian, and vegan on different Work with group to develop debate points

pieces of paper and hanging each in a different and write them in journal
spot in the classroom to designate one area to Participate in debate
each diet.
Respectfully listen to peers points and
Tell students I want you all to think back on
respond
yesterday and look at all of your notes from all
Reflect on debate by deciding whether or
of the different perspectives. When you are
not to stay with initial opinion
going through them, think about what it would
Ask questions if needed
be like if the whole world had that diet. Try to

pick the one you think has the least negative

impact on our environment and then go stand

 by the sign in the room that has that diet written

on it.

o Point out the posters to the students so

they know where each type of diet is

Give students 5-10 minutes to decide which one

they are going to pick

When time runs out, or all students have picked,

tell the students that they are going to have a

debate to defend why they chose the diet they

did

Open your journals and label the next blank

page day 4. You will work with your group to

write down your argument as to why your diet

is the least impactful and why everyone should

follow it. Give the students 15 minutes to

discuss their notes.

Explain the behavior expectations of the debate.

o Students will be respectful of others

o All students will participate

o Voices will be kept at an inside level

o Argument points will be data based and

not attacking a peers opinion personally

Choose a group at random by rolling a die

o Meat-eating group: 1,4

o Vegetarian group: 2,5

o Vegan group: 3,6

 Facilitate debate but allow students to lead the

discussion. Step in when needed and make sure

the conversation keeps going. After about 20

minutes, end the debate and ask groups for their

final thoughts. Have each student say if they

stick with their group or if they agree more with

another groups points.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

Have ELL students work with a buddy to develop their points and use them as starting questions or

statements so they do not have to go off of previous comments and improvise. Also provide the sentence

frame: I think __________ is the best diet for the environment for the ending statements.
Evaluate In this section every student demonstrates mastery of the lesson objective (though perhaps not

mastery of the elaborate content). Because this also serves as a closing, students should also have a chance

to summarize the big concepts they learned outside of the assessment.

Teacher Will: Students Will:

"Today we are going to wrap our unit on Write 3-5 paragraphs explaining the final

diets impact on the environment. You have position taken and why it was chosen.

researched, debated, and explained different Address prompt clearly

diets and heard the other sides from your Ask questions if needed
peers. Today, I want you to reflect on it in
Turn in journal
your journal. Turn to the next blank page and

label it day 5. After hearing all sides, I want

you to make a final decision about the best

diet for the environment.

Give the students the following prompt:

o If everyone in the world had to have

the same diet, which would you pick

to make sure we have a healthy

 environment with little waste?

Tell students to write 3-5 paragraphs to

address the prompt.

Ask them to turn in their journals when they

are done so you can evaluate their learning.

Closure: (revisit objective, IQs and make real world connections)

What did you learn from hearning all of these different perspectives?

How will you use this information to influence your lifestyle?

How did your views change from the beginning to the end of this week?
**Best Practices List the Best Teaching Practices you will use to enhance the learning outcomes. In

each section where prompted, list the best practice, how the practices will be used and the purpose.