Katie Waldroup

ELED 3221
11/5/10
edTPA Indirect Instruction Lesson Plan Template
Is Air a Thing?
_____________________________________________________________________________
Central Focus/Big Idea:
Air surrounds us, has mass and takes up space.
Subject of this lesson: Matter
Grade Level: 3rd
NC Essential Standard(s):
3.P.2.1 Recognize that air is a substance that surrounds us, takes up space, and has mass.
Next Generation Science Standard(s):
5-PS1-1. Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
21st Century Skills: Creativity and Innovation: Students need to be able to think about an
experience with air and write about that experience.
Communication: Students will be exploring the labs in groups, so they need to
communicate well so that everyone gets to manipulate the materials.
Academic Language Demand
Language Function:
Analyze
Interpret

Argue
Predict

Categorize
Question

Compare/contrast Describe
Retell
Summarize

Explain

To succeed in this lesson, students need to be able to describe the things they see and
experience in the labs, as well as describe their new understanding of the attributes of air.
Scientific Vocabulary: matter, mass, gas, observe, hypothesis, procedure, results

Instructional Objective:
Students will be able to describe ways air surrounds us, takes up space, and has mass, using
words and pictures accurately to the mastery level.
Prior Knowledge (student):

Students should know that air takes up space. For example, if you squish tissues into the bottom
of a plastic cup and place the cup upside-down into a tub of water, the water level will rise and
the tissues will not get wet because the air pushes the water out of the way.
Content Knowledge (teacher):
Matter is anything that takes up space and has mass. Mass is a measure of resistance to
acceleration; it is not weight, but if one object on earth weighs more than another object on earth,
the first object has more mass. Air is matter because it takes up space and has mass. There are
three states of matter: gas, liquid, and solid. Air is a mixture of gasses including oxygen, nitrogen,
and carbon dioxide, and air pressure can change due to temperature and movement. Gas particles
move very quickly, and gasses expand to fill their container.
Accommodations for special needs (individual and/or small group):
ELL-Demonstrate all directions and explain vocabulary terms multiple times, using words and
demonstrations.
EC-Manage time well and keep students moving to keep interest high and distractions low.
Make sure groups are mixed well, with ELLs, EC students, and high readers in each group.
Materials and Technology requirements: SMART Board or White Board for KWL chart
Five copies of the worksheet for each group
Index card with written directions for each lab
3-5 small bottles of bubbles
3-5 latex gloves
Rubber Bands
3-5 index cards for lab station
2 empty soda cans
Several straws, pre-cut in half
3-5 small cups full of water
Empty basin/wide container
Enough pieces of cardboard to cover the tops of the cups of water
A blank sheet of paper for each student
Stapler
Total Estimated Time:
1 hour
Source of lesson:
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k12/Summer_Training/Elementary97/Lesson4_AirIsSomething.HTML
https://www.middletownschools.org/uploaded/Curriculum/Curriculum_Office/Gr_2_Properties_
of_Matter.pdf (page 29-30)
Safety considerations:
Students should not shoot rubber bands at each other or use the stapler.

Content and Strategies (Procedure)

Engage:
Ask, What do you know about air? Complete K and L on a KWL chart about air. Ask
questions like, What is air? What is matter? What is a gas? A common misconception among
students may be that something has to be visible to be matter.
Review steps of the scientific method that are identified on the worksheet. Ask, What does
observe mean? What is a hypothesis? What is a procedure? What are results?
Explore:
Set up the five stations ahead of time. Explain each station before letting students move into their
groups, and include an index card with the station title and short instructions. Students can move
in the same groups they sit in at their desks. Give each group five worksheets (one for each
station). Include a set of sticky notes at each desk that identify four roles: reader, lab tech,
observer, and recorder. Explain that the reader will read the directions, the lab tech will carry out
the directions, the observer will verbalize what they see, hear, smell, and feel (not taste), and the
recorder will fill out the worksheet. Each time the group moves to a new lab station, everyone
will change roles. Everyone should do each role at least once.
Lab 1: Bubbles
Predict what will happen between the soap and the air when you blow through the bubble
wand. What was the effect of air on your bubbles?
Lab 2: Latex Glove
Blow up a latex glove, secure it closed with a rubber band, and squeeze the fingers. What
happens to the rest of the glove?
Lab 3: Index Card
Fold the two shorter ends of an index card so that it stands up on the table. The folds
should be very small; your pinky finger should just fit between the card and the table. Put
your face at the table and blow under the card. What was the effect of air on the index
card?
Lab 4: Soda Cans
Place two empty soda cans on top of several short straws. The cans should be about a
fingers width apart. Take another straw, place the end between the cans, and blow
through the straw. What happens to the cans?
Lab 5: Upside-Down Cup
Have an empty basin to hold the cup over. Fill the cup to the top with water. Make sure
your hands are dry, and place a piece of dry cardboard on top of the cup. The cardboard
should cover the entire top of the cup. Holding the cardboard to the cup, pick the cup up
and turn it upside down. Remove your hand from the cardboard. What happens? What is
the effect of the air on the cardboard?

Groups should record observations by drawing and writing to complete their worksheets. For the
Explore section, stop the students after each group has completed three labs. Do not answer
students questions about how things work.
Explanation:
What caused the bubbles? The bubbles contained the gasses we call air. Even though the air
(gasses) cannot be seen, we can see the soap surrounding them. The soapy bubble acted as a film
container holding the air. Even though the air (gas) cannot be seen, the creation of the soap
bubble shows that gas is present.
What did you notice in the other experiments? Do gasses have a definite shape? How do you
know when gasses are there? Gases surround you. The air you breathe is made of gases. Most of
the time, you cant see, touch, or taste gases, but you can often feel and hear them moving. Think
about the wind. You can see the way gases interact with objects.
Is air something that exists? Where is it? Does it take up space? Anything that takes up space and
has mass, which is like weight, is called matter. Is air matter? What are other examples of
matter? Explain that air is a mixture of gasses, and gas is a state of matter, so air is matter.
Elaborate:
Allow the groups to rotate two more times so that each group completes all the stations. Answer
their questions and demonstrate any labs that no groups have gotten to work. Ask questions like
Where is the air in this experiment? What is the air doing? Can you see, hear, feel, or smell the
effects of the air? Was your hypothesis correct? What caused the outcome of this experiment?
Evaluate:
Formative: End with a large-group discussion. Complete the L section in the KWL chart with
things the students learned. If they need prompting, ask, Is air something? How do you know?
Tell what you learned about air.
Summative: Each student will make a lab booklet using their five worksheets from the labs and
their last sheet with their story about air (staple their papers together).
Mastery: All questions are answered accurately and thoroughly. Drawings accurately
demonstrate each lab.
Partial Mastery: Some questions are answered accurately and thoroughly. Some drawings
are missing or do not accurately demonstrate the lab.
Non-Mastery: Questions are incomplete or incorrect.
To be complete after the lesson is taught as appropriate
Assessment Results of all objectives/skills:
Only enough students to form three groups were in the classroom at the time, so I should have
received fifteen completed worksheets (five per group). However, I only received eleven with
written responses on them. Of those eleven, only two were completed. Many groups confused
the order of the scientific method (for example, wrote results under observations), but everything
written and drawn reflected the events at the lab station.
Mastery: 2/15 worksheets
Partial Mastery: 9/15 worksheets

Non-Mastery: 4/15 worksheets

Reflection on lesson:
CT signature/confirmation: _________________________________ Date: ________________

Name _______________________________________ Date _____________________

What is Air?
Lab # ____
Observe: What do you see at the lab station?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Hypothesis: Make a prediction. What do you think will happen?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Procedure: What did you do?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Results: What happened? What was the effect of air on the objects?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Draw a diagram:

Student Work Samples:

Discrepant Event
Glass Jar and Sandwich Bag
NC Essential Standard(s):
3.P.2.1 Recognize that air is a substance that surrounds us, takes up space, and has mass.
Next Generation Science Standard(s):
5-PS1-1. Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.

Procedure
1. Invert the bag over the mouth of the jar; blow a little air in the bag so that it stays inflated
over the jar.
2. Tape the bag airtight against the jar.
3. Ask a student to push the bag into the jar (without tearing it). It wont work!
4. Place another plastic bag inside another wide-mouthed jar and let the edge of the bag
hang over the jar rim.
5. Tape it airtight against the jar and let a student try and take the bag out of the jar (without
tearing it). It wont work!
Questions
1. Before putting the plastic bag on the jar, ask, What is inside the jar? Inside the plastic
bag?
2. What is holding the bag out of the jar? (when trying to push it in)
3. What is holding the bag inside the jar? (when trying to take it out)
4. How could we get the bag inside the jar without making a hole in it?
Explanation

It is the air occupying the space in the jar which kept the bag from going inside after it
had been taped air-tight against the jar. In trying to push the bag in, the pressure increased
(because the volume decreased) and this held the bag out.
When trying to take the bag out of the jar, the air pressure inside the jar decreased,
because the volume increased, and this kept the bag inside. The outside air pressure kept the bag
inside the jar. We encounter the first situation often when we try to fold up a plastic air mattress
or inflatable plastic toy.
References
Liem, T. (1987). How does light behave? In Invitations to science inquiry (2nd ed., p. 6). El
Cajon, CA: Science Inquiry Enterprises.

Summary:

This lesson about air is for third grade and is part of a larger unit on matter. For Engage, I
listed things the students said they already knew about air in the K section of a KWL chart, and
then listed questions they had about air in the W section. I explained directions for each of the
lab stations, including a warning not to shoot rubber bands, and followed with an explanation of
the four roles students would fill in each group. I also explained the parts of the scientific method
that were on the worksheet. For Explore, I sent the groups to the stations and gave them about
seven minutes at each station. I walked around and made sure each group was staying on task, as
well as coached students on how to work together as a team. After three sessions, I brought all
the students back to the carpet and asked them how they saw air working in the labs they had
completed. I explained that air has mass and takes up space, and that air is matter. Air is a
mixture of gasses and gas is one of the three states of matter, along with liquid and solid. I also
demonstrated Lab 5, the upside-down cup of water, during Explain because none of the groups
had gotten it to work.
I sent the groups to their next stations for Elaborate, and asked them what they saw about
air while working with the experiments. We ran out of time, so the groups did not get to their last
lab stations, but from their answers during Explain and their answers as I walked around asking
questions, they understood that air is everywhere and it has the power to move and affect things.

Reflection:

The students found out that air has interesting properties, and that experiments may not
turn out the way they expect. They also found out that science experiments dont work out all the
time at all. I had to demonstrate Lab 5 with the upside cup of water because it didnt work for
any of the student groups.
Group work was not as efficient as I expected. Each member was supposed to have a
different role, and the roles were supposed to change at every station so that all the students
would have a chance to do every role. Instead, they all wanted to be the lab tech and no one
wanted to write. Students completed the experiments before the readers finished with the

directions, and no observations or hypotheses were recorded before everyone saw the experiment
happen.
Each group followed the same directions, so there was not much room for individual
creativity. One group blew an excessive amount of air into a latex glove and tied it off, but for
the other stations every group did the same thing.
Other than exploring how much air can fit into a latex glove, most of the investigations
were done trying to get the original experiments to work. Students had difficulty with the two
cans (Lab 4) at first, as well as the index card (Lab 3), but they all figured them out after a few
minutes.
The students connected the bubbles and latex glove to the balloons they use for birthday
parties. They also realized that gas as a form of matter is different from gas their parents put in a
car.
I worked with the teacher to make sure ELLs and EC students were spread out across the
groups, and that students rotated roles so that students with difficulty reading or writing only had
to do each job once. The hands-on experiences helped ELLs connect visually and kinesthetically
with the content, and during the explain session I gave multiple definitions and examples of the
key words from the lesson (gas, air, matter, mass, etc.).
I used the SMART Board to record the KWL chart, but the rest of the lesson happened at
the students tables with the lab materials and their pencils and worksheets. I could have included
a short video that explained the ways air takes up space and has mass.
The students found out that air is everywhere, and has power to move or manipulate
items. The day after my lesson, one of my students asked me if air can be captured. I reminded
her of the bubbles and the latex glove, and asked what happens when we close the lid on a plastic
bottle. She realized that air was inside the bubbles and the glove, and that air is inside an empty
plastic bottle. They also realized that they need to work together during group activities and a
good way to do this is to verbally communicate. I stressed this with every group at the beginning
of the Explore activities, and by the end students were talking to each other much more.
I remember that time is a difficult thing to manage, and students need a lot of scaffolding
for both content and cooperative learning skills. I had to cut the lesson short because of time, so
each group only completed 4 of the five lab stations. Since they were not used to doing science
experiments using the scientific method or working together in groups using different roles,

everyone rushed to get the experiment done and played afterward. More structured time would
have been beneficial; I could have made the students wait to touch the items at the station until
the reader had finished reading the directions aloud, and then guided the class through the steps
of the worksheet together. I received four completely blank worksheets, which means a group
completed a station without writing anything four times.
I would do this again. I would allot more time or use 3-4 stations, and guide the groups
step-by step through the stations. I would also make adjustments so that the students could
investigate on their own throughout the stations. I probably would remove the upside-down cup
of water from Explore and use it in Engage or Explain, because none of the student groups could
make it work. I would also spend longer pre-teaching the scientific method, or simplify the
worksheet, depending on time.
I learned that I am definitely a kinesthetic learner. I wanted to jump in and participate
with the students, and it was difficult not answering their questions during Explore. I also learned
that I become a much more enthusiastic teacher when I am leading the class in activities that I
enjoy (like hands-on group activities) and I need to have more specific, deliberate points laid out
while I am leading group discussions to explain concepts to students.

Reflection on Observation of Cooperating Teachers Science Lesson

October 30, 2014
Ms. Beavers Third Grade

Ms. Beaver began the unit on matter by giving the students a pre-assessment. It gave a
list of items and asked students to identify whether each was a solid, liquid, or gas. It also asked
students to match solid, liquid, and gas to their correct definitions, and then to draw what each
set of particles look like. The last item on the assessment was a picture of a teddy bear and asked
students to describe it using a list of categories, including shape, texture, color, and luster.
After students finished the pre-assessment, Ms. Beaver reviewed the steps to an
experiment and their definitions: questions, observations, hypothesis, experiment, results, and
conclusion. She recorded them on the SMART Board and the students had to write each step in
their notebooks with space after each one. She put a desk in the front of the room with a tissue, a
clear plastic cup, and a tub of water. The students had four minutes to record their observations.
Ms. Beaver asked the students several questions, like What do you know about the
tissue? Why did you say its a solid? What do we know about the cup? About the water? She
put the tissue in the cup and squished it into the bottom, and followed with the question, What
will happen to the tissues when I turn the cup upside down and put it into the water? After the
students gave various answers, she lowered the cup into the water and brought it back out again.
She repeated that step and told the students to watch the water level. She asked why the water
level moved up and down, and then what was inside the cup that was moving the water. When a
student answered, The tissue absorbed the water, she let them feel the tissue. Then she asked,
What is inside the cup? Just tissues?
One of the students answered, Theres gas in the cup! She explained that there is air in
the cup, and she let students put the cup in the water and told them to feel how hard it is to push
down. While they tried the experiment, she asked, Have you ever drank soda out of a bottle?
Why does the bottle squish? Youre taking the air out as well. What about the sound when you
dump your soda out? That sound is made by air bubbles entering the bottle.
She sent the students back to their seats to write the results, and gave them the sentence
stem, The tissue didnt get wet because For their conclusion, she asked, What did we just
learn about air? Air can move water. That means it can do what? Does a gas take up space? If it

doesnt, why is the tissue dry? Why did the water move? Air, or gas, takes up space. Is there air
in everything?
Every time Ms. Beaver asked a question, she gave plenty of time for students to think and
respond with several different answers. She never corrected them. If their answer was wrong, she
asked them more questions to guide their thinking to the correct conclusion. She demonstrated
the discrepant event first, but then gave students a chance to try it for themselves. It was a direct
instruction lesson, but it gave the students a bit of background knowledge about how air takes up
space and helped them understand my lesson afterward.

http://i.imgur.com/AwuUh6M.jpg