LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Your Name: Kaylin Marton

Title of Lesson: Solar Energy related directly to Arizona
Grade: 4th
STANDARDS
1. 4-ESS3-1 Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change.
2. 4-PS3-4 Science affects everyday life.
3. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when
drawing inferences from the text.

LESSON SUMMARY/OVERVIEW
This lesson plan will involve dividing the classroom into two groups, one side being for solar
energy and the other being against it, and having them research their groups side in order to
form a debate between the two opposing sides. The class will hold a healthy debate after having
done adequate research in order to understand both sides of using solar energy inside of the state
of Arizona.

OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to articulate the pros and cons of having solar energy in Arizona by
expressing themselves verbally in a debate within the classroom.

ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Students will be assessed by their ability to effectively articulate their sides opinion, have
numerous resources that they will share while debating, and be able to listen attentively while the
other side is talking. This is also a debate, so each side should be prepared for rebuttal.

PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE
Students will have already understood the meaning of renewable resources and understand how it
works and helps our planet.
MATERIALS

Pencil
Paper to jot down ideas and concepts prior to debate
Each student should have their own laptop for research
A clear division of desks in the classroom for debating purposes

VOCABULARY/KEY WORDS

Solar energy
Rebuttal
Renewable resources
Solar panels

TEACHING PROCEDURES
Procedural Steps:
1. Students will watch the video Energy 101: Solar power as a refresher to what they already
learned. The video is located on YouTube and is called Energy 101: Solar Power
2. Once the video is over, have the students tell you what they know and remember about solar
energy.
3. After this brief refresher video, divide the students into 2 separate groups and explain that one
side is presenting the positive sides of using the sun as a resource in Arizona, and the other side is
presenting the negative side of using the sun as a resource in Arizona.
4. Explain to both sides that they need to start with an opening argument that should state most of
their research and why they are for or against. They also need to be prepared for a rebuttal
against the opposing side and their arguments. They should also have a closing statement that
sums up their research at the end.
5. Hand out the laptops to the students and explain that they need valid resources for their
information and should be able to cite this information if needed.
6. Separate the groups and give the students 30 minutes to do group based research and prepare for
the debate.
7. Begin debate. Make sure students are sharing in the responsibility of talking to the class. Make
sure that all information is valid and they used proper sources.
8. Promote a healthy debate and lead the students with certain questions that make them think
outside the box and use information they learned in order to draw inferences on the questions.
9. Have students do their closing arguments and finish out the debate.
10. Once the debate is done, ask students where they started on their opinions on the matter, if anyone
or anything changed their mind, and ask if it was difficult to argue for something you did not
agree with.
11. Tell them they did very well this week and that they will continue to look back at solar energy
throughout the year.

RESOURCES
You Tube Video. (2011). Energy 101: Solar Power. Retrieved from:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDZzAIcCQLQ
WAYS OF THINKING CONNECTION
The students will be using strategic thinking and futures thinking during this lesson plan. They
will be going over the big picture of how solar power is used and how it can be beneficial to
Arizona. They will be evaluating the pros and cons of solar energy and having a healthy debate by
using values thinking. They will also discuss the impacts of having solar energy in the future.