EDUC 342/MAT 632 Science Methods

Inquiry-based Lesson Plan Template

A: Informational Components

Lesson Title: Packing for a Trip

Grade Level: 1st

State Standards Connection:

Standard 2

Earth and Space Science. Students will gain an understanding of Earth and Space Science
through the study of earth materials, celestial movement, and weather.

Objective 3
Compare and contrast seasonal weather changes.

a. Identify characteristics of the seasons of the year.

Essential Question: How can we prepare for different types of weather?

Specific Lesson Objective: Students will learn how to read a thermometer and how to prepare for
different temperatures when going outside.

Vocabulary Focus: Thermometer, Fahrenheit

Materials: thermometer, clothes for me to wear during engage phase, and science journals.

Anticipated Time Frame: 50 minutes

B: Instructional Procedures

Engage and Launch: 10 minutes

Teacher role – Pose problem, ask questions, assess prior knowledge, provide information
for Explore phase
Student role – has an interest, calls up prior knowledge, identifies problem to solve

 Gather students on the carpet (they have preassigned “rug spots”). I will have a bag
beside me filled with a coat, gloves, a hat, and a scarf. Okay class, I am going to put
some articles of clothing on, and you all are going to raise your hands and tell me based
on what I am wearing, where you think I am going.
 I will put on all the articles of cold weather clothing I have brought. Okay, I am going on
a trip now. Where do you think I am going?
 After a few students guess where I am going, I will ask the students to explain why they
guessed I am going somewhere cold (or where ever they guessed I am going). Why did
 you guess that? What made you think that? What clues did you have? I’m actually going
to the beach in Florida. Let’s talk about why I am not dressed in the right clothes to go
visit Florida. At this point, maybe sooner if I get too hot, I will take off all the clothes I
have on.

Explore: 20 minutes
Teacher role – makes open suggestions, questions and probes, models when needed,
provides feedback, assess processes and understandings
Student role – explores resources and materials, hypothesizes and predicts, designs and
plans, seeks possibilities by thinking creatively.

 I’m wondering how come you all thought I was traveling to somewhere cold? Why didn’t
you think I was going to the beach? Has anyone here ever been to Florida? Can you
describe what the weather was like there? What did you wear while you were there? Does
anyone ski or snowboard here? What do you typically wear when you go to the
mountain?
 How do we know what the weather is going to be outside? What does it mean when
someone says it is 20 degrees Fahrenheit? Does anyone know what a thermometer is?
Does anyone know how to read a thermometer?
 Let’s use a thermometer to measure the temperature outside. Has anyone ever used a
thermometer before? Can someone explain how to use a thermometer, or do you have a
guess of how to use the thermometer? Does anyone know if we use Fahrenheit or Celsius
here in the US? I will jump in and explain the answers to these questions if none of the
students can explain them. And if a student starts explaining an answer that is incorrect
or slightly off the mark, I will also jump in to make sure the students are learning the
correct terminology.
 Then we will go to the window and look at a thermometer that is outside to read the
temperature. The students will write the temperature down and circle it. Then they will go
to their desks and sit down. What temperature is it outside according to this thermometer?
Write down that number in your science log and circle it. We are going to talk about and
write down some other things in our logs so we want to circle that number, so we can
find it easily when we come back to it.

Explain/Summarize: 10 minutes
Teacher role – asks for evidence and clarification from students, enhances or clarifies
student explanations, uses students’ experiences as a basis for explaining
new concepts, provides new vocabulary.
Student role – clarifies understandings discovered, shares understandings for feedback,
forms generalizations, seeks new explanations.

 We’ll then talk about temperature reference points (water’s freezing point, boiling point,
and a hot reference point like 80 degrees Fahrenheit). What do we call water when it
freezes? Does anyone know what temperature water turns into ice/ snow? 32 degrees
Fahrenheit, let’s write that in our journals. What does it usually look like when there is
snow and ice outside? Let’s write these ideas down next to the temperature. What kind of
clothes do you wear when it’s that cold? Let’s write those clothes down too. I’ll be
 making a list on the board. I might just ask the students to write down 2-3 things for each
list for time’s sake. We will make lists for the 3 temperatures we will discuss.
 Okay now let’s look back at the temperature it was outside. Is that warm or cold? How do
you know? That’s right, it’s close to 32 degrees Fahrenheit so we know it is cold outside.

Elaborate/Extend: 10 minutes
Teacher role – provides feedback, asks questions, enhances or clarifies explanations,
offers alternative explanation.
Student role – asks questions, records observations and explanations.

 What if the thermometer had said it was 70 degrees outside? What kind of weather would
that be? Hot or cold? What kind of clothes would we be wearing?

Evaluate/Assess: 5 minutes
Teacher role – observe and assess students as they apply new concepts and skill, asks
open-ended questions, allows students to assess their own learning and
skills.
Student role – demonstrates an understanding of a skill or concept, evaluates his or her
own progress and knowledge, answers open-ended questions by using
observations, evidence, and previously accepted explanations.

 Now we are going to pretend we are going on a field trip to Vermont. Does anyone know
what Vermont is? That’s right, it’s a state in the United States just like Utah is. So we’re
going to Vermont and it’s really far away so we need to pack some clothes for while
we’re there. And when we look up the weather, it says the temperature will be 20 degrees
Fahrenheit everyday we are there. I want you all to turn the page in your journal to a new
page and write about the kind of things you would want to bring on our field trip to
Vermont when it will 20 degrees Fahrenheit. If you finish early you can draw a picture of
the things you might want to bring.
 Formative assessments will happen throughout the lesson as I listen to the students’
responses to my questions in each phases. A summative assessment will happen when I
collect students’ journals with their sentence about what they would bring on our pretend
field trip.

Adaptations for Gifted/Talented, ELL and Special Education:

ELL and Special Education: I will be walking around them room during the Explore phase, so I
can scaffold and provide help when I see necessary. ELL students can work with the student next
to them to help show them what they are supposed to do during the activity. I will write the
important information on the board during our discussions for students to copy and help structure
their sentences for my assessment. Students can also draw pictures and/or diagrams to help show
their learning.
Gifted and Talented: If students finish the writing early I will ask them to draw a picture of what
they would bring on our pretend field trip.

There are no handouts for this assignment.