Stefanie Fleenor To be taught: November 16th, 2011 Term III: Science Lesson Plan What will you teach?

I will teach a lesson based on a science experiment that will take place two days prior. In the experiment, students will explore the effects of plants and vegetation on water and erosion. Because the experiments are time consuming, I will be in charge of leading the discussion with 5 students on the effects that they say plants have on water and erosion. How will you teach the lesson? I will teach this lesson by asking students to recap with me what they did in their experiments (the actual experiment will take place on Monday; therefore, I will not see it). I will then ask children to explain to me why they think they saw what they saw. For example, if students saw that the plants had no effect, I will ask them to tell me why they believe this to be the case. Students will then be asked several questions that directly relate to this lesson. For example, students will be asked 1. Why do people plant grass or other vegetation? List as many reasons as you can. 2. Think of some situations in which people remove trees and other plants from the soil. List as many as you can. 3. How does removing plants affect the land/ 4. Do you think people should remove plants? Explain. Discussion will be facilitated based on each of these questions. Why did you make each of these decisions? It has been my experience that science experiments take a lot of time to actually do and to actually debrief. By having this session on the actual outcome of the experiment, children are given proper time to do both the experiment and the discussion that is necessary. Students will be doing this lesson in two parts. The first part is in the form of a stream table experiment. This experiment will be observed and facilitated by myself. However, the atmosphere of my fourth grade classroom is that science is completely student directed. By having the discussion on a different day, students are challenged to remember the experiment in order to properly discuss their findings. Furthermore, this set up in similar to the set up that the children are used to. Most science lessons take place in the format of an experiment followed by a discussion. By not disrupting the normal flow of the class, children will be better prepared to answer and discuss the interesting items they discovered. In addition, this lesson can be tied into more environmental issues. Because

Philadelphia is trying to become the greenest city in the world, changed to country discussing issues such as deforestation and the effects that it has on land can open their minds to what is going on the city around them. It can also serve to instill good ideas about ways to preserve vegetation in a larger city such as Philadelphia. Goals/ Objectives o Students will be able to discuss the cause changed to effectthat plants have on soil and erotion.Changed to erosion o Students will be able to explain what happens to soil in the absence of plants. o Students will be able to predict what will happen if trees are continuously cut down and not replanted. Standards o Though students are not typically held to any particular, district-wide standard in their Science groups, I expect that each one will be able to meet each of the above goals. Material and preparation o Stream Table already experimented on. o Worksheets (provided by lead teacher) o Pencils o Graduated Cylinder of water. Ritual or routine o I will be using the schedule/ routine already in place o We will begin by recapping the experiment that will take place on Monday. o Students will then begin to work their way through challenging discussion questions using the information they gain from the experiment. These answers will be discussed orally, but students are expected to record the discussion on their worksheets. Classroom arrangement and management issues o This lesson will be taught at the round table (a designated pull-out support space) in the main classroom while other students are working on their science experiments. Half of the class will be conducting the stream table experiment. The other half will be working on discussion questions. o Student will bring their worksheets and pencils with them at the start of the lesson. o I have chosen this location and these routines because they have been effective for the students and lead teacher thus far. Plan Hook (5 minutes) I agree. However, time is limited in our classroom; therefore, our hook must be concise. Also, the students have been working on this

lesson for months. They do not expect an in depth hook. I feel it would throw them off. o Students will be asked to recap the previous experiment. o Students will be asked to recap the predictions they had made for the experiment. The body of the lesson o Students will recap tell me whether their predictions were true of false. (5 minutes) o Students will then be facilitated in a discussion based on the above questions I provided. They will be asked to draw on their experimental findings. (15 minutes) o Students will be asked to make connection to their lives. They will be asked to discuss the important of plants in their lives (changed this to include food and plants and flowers)and ways they can preserve the. (10 minutes) o Students will discuss predictions for the next science experiment. (5 minutes) Assessment of the goals/ objectives listed above o Students will be assessed based primarily on their participation in class discussion o Because the content of this lesson has never been explicitly taught before, I will not assess students based on whether or not their determinations are correct, but whether the participate voluntarily and are able to defend their understanding/ interpretation. o Students will be assessed on their ability to use the science experiment to come up with valid predictions and answers to challenging discussion questions. Anticipating students response to you possible responses Management issues o I do not anticipate time management issues. Response to content of the lesson o Some students may struggle with drawing decent conclusions based on what they discovered in the experiment. In this case, their attention will be drawn to details from the experiment via other group members who can summarize the groups findings. Accommodations Accommodations for students who may find the material too challenging o In this lesson, students are simply being asked to defend their beliefs. o I do not intend to tell anyone that they are wrong. Instead I will push them to share why they feel the way they do. Some students may struggle with drawing decent conclusions based on what they discovered in the experiment. In this case, their attention will be drawn to details from the experiment via other group members who can summarize the groups 3

findings. Accommodations for students who may need a greater challenge and/or finish early o As previously stated, I do not anticipate time management issues. o Students who require a greater challenge will be asked to think of more ways that they could use this knowledge to enhance the greenery in their city. They will also be prompted to think of bodies of water hat currently exists and make predictions about how this body would be different with or without vegetation. I understand why you do not want to disrupt the usual program, Stefanie, but this does not really meet my expectations that you do a materials-based lesson. It feels like this could be a social studies lesson or a literacy lesson. I would prefer that you do an extension with your group, and discuss that extension. But if this is what works, do it, but be sure that I get some sense of you as a science teacher.