Steph Mowery

Indiana Wesleyan University

Mathematics
Elementary Education Lesson Plan

QUESTION: What weather patterns does your state have during the month of March?
PREDICTIONS based on knowledge of regions
INVESTIGATE weather patterns

READINESS
I. Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal(s)
1. Students will demonstrate understanding of seasonal weather patterns across different regions
of the United States.

B. Objective(s)
1. After receiving a specific region, the students will make predictions regarding the weather
during the month of March.
2. The students will identify weather-related information of a given region.
3. The students will demonstrate understanding of weather-related information on the given
region through a visual representation.

C. Standard(s):
3.ESS.1 Obtain and combine information to determine seasonal weather patterns across the different regions of
the United States.

II. Management- Time per lesson element, space, behavior, materials

- Time: Times are listed at each section
- Space: Students will remain at tables during lesson presentation and will be able to stand to write on poster at
tables during independent practice. Students will be moving to the front of the room to present during closure.
- Behavior:
Teacher will implement classroom behavior management system - students who are following directions and go
above and beyond will get to take a “piece” off of their art masterpiece. Students who are not following directions
or are disrespectful will be asked to give up one of their pieces.
Students will receive a marble in the jar if transitions go smoothly (when jar fills, students are able to have a class
celebration).

Teacher will also implement the management technique used frequently in the classroom to get students’
attention. Teacher says, “Hey crew,” and students reply, “Yoo Hoo.”

- Materials:
● Posters
● Writing/coloring utensils
● One computers per table
● Big notecards with regions for Anticipatory Set
● Map for each table
 III. Anticipatory Set: ( 2 minute)
Miss Cassel comes in wearing a hat, sunglasses.
Me: Hey Miss Cassel what are you doing?
Miss Cassel: I am just getting ready for Vacation. I am hoping to go somewhere warm, but I am also looking at
different options.
Me: Oh fun! How are you going to decide?
Miss Cassel: Well I am thinking about looking up the weather for each place, but that is a lot of time that I don’t
have!
Me: Well I have an idea! How about your students help you out? They could figure out the weather for each option
you have!
Miss Cassel: That would be so helpful! After seeing the weather for each place, I should be able to make my
decision.

IV. Purpose: You are all going to be meteorologists for Miss Cassel today! You are going to look at
weather patterns and help her decide where to go on vacation based on the weather.

- Define meteorologist as someone who studies the weather

PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION

V. Adaptation to Diverse Students—
· Students who are not understanding the concepts will be pulled aside during
independent work with the teacher so they can ask questions and work through the
difficulties.
· Teacher will have students repeat back phrases to reinforce concepts and keep students
engaged - will help students with high-attention needs
. Teacher will make sure students who struggle with technology will be paired with group
members who can support them.
. Multiple intelligences and learning styles are incorporated in this lesson to meet the
needs of all learners.
(ACEI 3.2)
VI. Lesson Presentation (Input/Output): (10 minutes)
Background Information : (gaining meaning)

Tell me what you think the weather is like in Florida right now?

I want you to think to yourself for a minute about why different parts of the United States have different
temperatures in the same month of the year.

Why do you think the weather is different? Discuss with your table. Have a couple students share.

Watch video: https://youtu.be/vDgUmTq4a2Q

Explain while using model from library:

Though earth does make an elliptical orbit around the sun, it is not the distance that causes the seasons, it is the tilt
of earth’s axis that results in the seasons: sunlight hits different places at different angles at different times of year
Depending on where the earth is at when going around the sun, that is what affects the weather here.
Depending on what region of the United States you are in, you will have different weather patterns because of how
the Earth is tilted and how the sun is hitting the earth.

(Check for Understanding): “Guess That Region!”

Now that you are experts on knowing why the weather patterns are different depending on what region you are in,
we are going to play a game called “Guess that Region!” during the month of January. So I am going to give each
table 5 signs with each region on one sign. I am going to display a picture from a particular region onto the board
and your group has to decide what region the picture is taken in. Don’t forget, each picture was taken in January.

Go through slideshow. In each reveal of the region, talk about the temperatures shown on the side. Such as, “as
you can see this picture was taken in the region _____ in the state of _____. Here is some information about the
weather in this state during the month of January. Read information on slide.

Guided Practice: (5 minutes)

Miss Cassel is trying to decide which region to go to on vacation for Spring Break. She is unsure what type of
weather she is wanting. She needs you to find some information on 5 different states she is considering - each one
is located in a different region. I am going to give a state to each table group and you will present a weather report
of that state.

I am going to first show you an example. I am going to look up the weather for Indiana just in case her vacation
doesn’t work out. Minimize slideshow. Here I am at weather.com and have up the weather for Kokomo, Indiana.
Walk through process of looking at the information the students will then include on their poster.

o Independent practice: (10 minutes)

Table 1: The West - California

Table 2: The Midwest - Michigan

Table 3: The Southwest - Texas

Table 4: The Southeast - Florida

Table 5: The Northeast - New York

Give each table a paper with their region and state listed and checklist.
Look at the paper I just handed you. On it is the state and the region that the state is in that Miss Cassel is
considering for her vacation.

Our question we are discovering is: What weather patterns does each state/region have during the month of
March?

Do you see where it says “Predictions” on the other paper? Point to it. I want you to put down what you THINK the
weather will be like in your state next week. You can write temperatures you think it will be, you can write the type
of weather you think: so sunny, rainy, etc. Give students a minute to write down predictions.

While students are filling out predictions, give each table a poster and laptop with weather page already pulled up
on each.

Under where you wrote your predictions, it says checklist. A checklist is where you follow step by step directions and
then put a checkmark next to it when you are finished. You will know you are done when each number has a
checkmark next to it.

Then, students will:

● research the state’s weather patterns for the next week on weather.com
● Complete poster by following checklist
Students will receive checklist of requirements for poster:

VII. Check for understanding:

 The teacher will check for understanding during “Guess That Region” game.
The teacher will observe students during activity, walk around and ask students questions, and collect papers
at the end.
· Reteach: If certain students struggle with concepts, the teacher will reteach and support them during
independent work.

VIII. Review learning outcomes / Closure: (10 minutes)

● Closure Activity will be continued on Thursday if time does not allow
● Now that you have created your posters, you are going to give a weather report and present your poster
to the rest of the class

PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT

o The teacher will walk around observing students during their activities, asking questions, and answering
questions.
o The paper written on during independent work will be collected to see if the students were grasping the
concepts that were taught.
o The teacher will assess student understanding during presentations.

REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS

1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
a. Bloom’s Taxonomy
b. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

 Did my lesson efficiently meet the needs of each student?

I included activities that incorporated multiple intelligences so that each student could learn and be engaged. I
transitioned quickly to various planned instruction and activities to engage all learners. Some students do not
always get along well with others, and even when placing them with students who they typically get along with,
they still struggled during group work. I believe this hindered their excitement for discovery and engagement in the
lesson. I was not able to pull the students aside like I would have wanted to because of helping other students. I
could have talked with these students and explained how to work with others and share responsibilities.

 Did I challenge the students that need challenged and did I provide support for those who need support?
A particular student who likes a challenge ended up creating his own challenge (which made me wish I would have
incorporated it to begin with). His group finished early and he decided to do some research on his region to include
in their weather report. On a notecard, he wrote down more information about the weather as well as fun facts. I
grouped students together that I know would support one another. The students who typically need extra support
were supported by their peers. The learners who do not typically need support were practicing being teachers and
supporters to those who do. It worked well for both types of learners!
  Did I give my students too much or too little time for each activity?
I did not have as much time for this lesson as I would have liked. I knew the students would not finish their posters
and Miss Cassel and I already talked about having the students finish on Thursday. It would have been better if the
students could have completed all activities in one day, but sometimes we have to be flexible. I did not want to
take anything out of my lesson because I saw it all as beneficial for student learning.