Developmental Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate: Janine Loessl, Tricia Connell,

and Kaylee Stahl

Date: 3/18/19

Group Size: 20 Students

Allotted Time: 45 minutes

Grade Level: 4th Grade

Subject or Topic: Rivers Flowing

Common Core/PA Standard(s):

3.3.4.A4. Recognize Earth’s different water resources, including both fresh and saltwater.
Describe phase changes in the forms of water on Earth.

Learning Targets/Objectives:
Fourth grade students will identify how and why rivers flow along with key vocabulary by
completing a lab experiment modeling a river flowing.

Assessment Approaches: Evidence:

1. Thumbs up 1. Observational
2. Lab observation inquiry sheet 2. Collection of the sheet
…. …
 Assessment Scale:
For Inquiry Sheet:
The students will be graded on the accuracy of the answers on the observation inquiry
sheet.
● 10- Proficient: all questions on the sheet correctly filled out.
● 9-8- Basic: 1-3 missing answers.
● Below 7- Below basic: more than 3 missing answers.

Subject Matter/Content: Rivers Flowing

Prerequisites:
● Following directions
● Working in small groups
● Fine motor skills
● Understanding of lab safety rules

Key Vocabulary:
● Mouth- the place where the rivers meet another body of water (normally a lake or
the ocean)
● Source- where a river starts (normally found in the hills or a mountain)
● Delta- a landform that is created from sediment being carried down by the river
● Banks- The ground at the side of a river
● Channel- A groove in the land that a river flows along
● Tributaries- a smaller stream that flows into a bigger river
● Gravity- the force that attracts something towards the Earth
● Watershed- an area of land that contains a common set of streams and rivers that
all drain into a single larger body of water, such as a river, lake, or an ocean

Content/Facts:
● Rivers start at a source which is usually a mountain or hill.
● Rivers flow down from its source.
● The ground to each side of the river is called the banks.
● The channel is the grooves in the land that a river flows along.
● Tributaries are small streams and rivers that flow into bigger rivers.
● Rivers flow into oceans or lakes.
● The area where a river meets an ocean or lake is called the mouth.
● Sometimes sediments are carried along by the river and build up to create a delta.
 Introduction/Activating/Launch Strategies:
“Good morning 4th grade! Can anyone raise their hand and tell me what we have talked
about so far?” Call on a few students to respond. “Today we are going to be looking into
rivers more and we are going to figure out what causes them to flow and what happens
when they flow.” Teacher will then explain that she is going to show a video and the
students must label the parts of a river on their sheet as the video is playing through. After
video plays teacher will ask students to put their thumbs up if they understood the video. If
not all students have their thumbs up, then she will go back and elaborate further to make
sure all students have a full understanding of the content.

Development/Teaching Approaches
● The teacher will inform students that they will be doing an investigation. “today, we
are going to demonstrate how rivers flow.”
● The teacher will remind students of lab safety rules and remind them that they
should follow all directions. If they are not listening, they will not be able to finish the
experiment.
● The teacher will ask students to take a look at the materials setting out on the table.
“We are going to use these materials to construct a higher elevation landform. We
will then cover it in aluminum foil. You will place some “sediments” which will be
represented through paper and glitter, throughout your landform. Once you are
ready, you will drop the water at the top and observe how it flows.”
● The teacher will inform students that before they start, they should be thinking about
what questions they have and what they would like to answer in their experiment.
● The students will take a few minutes as the teacher is handing out materials to fill
out the ‘before you start’ section of their inquiry sheet. Students will think about what
they want to answer and make a prediction.
● Students will begin creating and testing their models. They will fill their inquiry sheet
out as they are going along.
● The teacher will walk around and observe the students as they are completing the
inquiry.

Closure/Summarizing Strategies
Teacher will ask a few students to share their findings from the experiment. If none of the
students bring up gravity, then teacher will ask the students why they think the water
flowed downwards. Teacher and students will have a short discussion about the
experiment and about gravity. After the discussion is over, teacher will say, “Tomorrow we
will be learning a little more about oceans and what causes waves to happen.”

Accommodations/Differentiation:
The teacher will provide a word bank on the diagram of a river sheet for students who
may have trouble keeping up with the video and filling in the answers.
Materials/Resources:
● Lab inquiry sheet
● Diagram of a river sheet
● Video
● Recycled materials: paper towel rolls, cereal boxes, tissue boxes, shoe boxes
● Water
● Aluminum foil
● Construction paper
● Glitter
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kgQNRQjIUU

Rivers Flowing Lab Inquiry

Before you start:
Write a question you want to answer
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Write what you predict will happen

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Draw a picture of the model you made:

Describe what happened when you did the experiment

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