EdTPA Indirect Instruction Lesson Plan

Solar Smores
_____________________________________________________________________________
Central Focus/Big Idea: Understanding how solar energy can cook food
Subject of this lesson: Solar energy and transferring heat
Grade Level: 3rd grade
NC Essential Standard(s): 3.P.3.2 Recognize that energy can be transferred from a warmer object to a
cooler one by contact or at a distance and the cooler object gets warmer.
Next Generation Science Standard(s):
4-PS3-2.

Make observations to provide evidence that

energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents

21st Century Skills: Creativity and innovation, Communication and collaboration

Academic Language Demand

Language Function: In the table below highlight the one most important language function for
your lesson. Explain why you chose this.

Analyze
Interpret

Argue
Predict

Categorize
Question

Compare/contrast
Retell

Describe
Summarize

Explain

Scientific Vocabulary: What are the key scientific terms that your students will learn through this
lesson?

Based on their knowledge of solar energy and after conducting a solar oven experiment, students will
be able to explain how their smores were cooked from the suns energy and explain how each part of
their oven helped in the process.
Instructional Objective: Students will be able to explain how solar energy can cook food by creating
their own solar ovens.
Prior Knowledge (student): Understand that energy, light and heat comes from the sun
Content Knowledge (teacher): Teacher needs to have a good understanding of what solar energy is and
how it works. Needs to know why black paper, foil and saran wrap all contribute to cooking food using
solar heat. Be able to explain why each element works and how the heat is created.
Accommodations for special needs (individual and/or small group): What will you do for students with
special needs (ELL, ability, etc.)?

Materials and Technology requirements:

Pre Solar Smores questions

Solar Smores video (SICK Science) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZJmz_tF4NU
Already assembled solar oven (model)
5 precut pizza boxes
10 pieces of aluminum foil
5 pieces of black construction paper
5 large pieces of Saran wrap
5 skewers or straws
Scotch tape
Duct tape
Glue
1 whole box of graham crackers
1 pack of Hershey chocolate (6 bars)
1 bag of mini marshmallows
Solar Smores activity sheet/questions

Total Estimated Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Source of lesson: coordinating teacher, websites
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2014/04/host-solar-cookout-earth-day
Safety considerations: boxes will be precut before class
Students need to be careful with tin foil because it can easily cut someone if it is not handled right. There
will be straws involved in holding solar oven open, so students should not be using straws to poke
anyone. Teacher should also be aware of any food allergies in the class before doing this activity.
Content and Strategies (Procedure)
In your procedure, be sure to include all of the following 5 Es. Your procedure should be detailed
enough for a colleague to follow. If you will be relying on technology (e.g., a YouTube video), describe
your back up plan thoroughly. Imagine your most novice colleague needing to teach from your plan.
Dont just answer the questions. Additionally, I expect you to include possible questions you could ask for
each section. This needs to include higher-order questions.

Engage:
Teacher will present her already assembled solar oven to the class. Students will gather around on the
carpet to observe the oven.
Students will be asked a series of questions related to the solar energy unit.
Students will share what they have learned about dark colors absorbing the suns energy.

Who can tell me what you just learned about in science? (Solar, sun, light, heat, etc.)
Who can tell me what they have learned about the sun and dark colors? (dark colors absorb heat)

Today we are going to be learning about energy from the sun.

-

What kind of energy do you think the sun gives us? (light)
Who can tell me why we need light? Turn and talk. (to see and to heat things)
What are some different ways we can cook food? Turn and talk. (stove, oven, microwave)

Ask students to make predictions about

What the foil might be for?
What the black paper might be for?
What the Saran wrap might be for?
Discuss predictions
Guided question: Can we use the suns light instead of the bonfire to cook smores?
I dont want you to answer this question. I just want you to think about it and we are going to find out if
we can use the sun instead of a bonfire to cook our smores. We are going to make a solar oven today and
find out if our experiment works. Lets try it and see!
Explore:
Students will watch the SICK Science video of how to assemble a solar oven. Students will go back to the
tables and begin going through their materials.
(Teacher will have pizza boxes precut and other materials already set up at each table before students
return to their seats)
Each table will be given a pizza box, a straw, a piece of black paper, a piece of Saran wrap, 2 pieces of
aluminum foil, tape and glue.
Students will also be given a directions sheet. Students will work in their table groups to put their solar
oven together. Teachers will be walking around assisting.
Procedure for Solar Smores:
Students will be given precut pizza boxes, because it is harder for them to cut the boxes on their own.
Students will be given a hand out with the following steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Apply glue to the bottom of your pizza box

Cover the bottom of your pizza box with aluminum foil and press down
Apply glue to the part of the pizza box that is already cut and facing down
Cover inside flap of the top of the pizza box with aluminum foil
Place the black sheet of construction paper to the bottom of the pizza box

6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

Use your tape to tape the black paper down

Wrap your Saran wrap around the top of your pizza box
Tape Saran wrap to top of box
Take your straw and tape it to one side of the top flap on the box
This will be used to hold up the flap when it is time to cook
Set smores up on the black construction paper inside the box
Close the pizza box and open the top flap with your straw
Set outside in the sun and let cook

Students will observe smores while they are cooking. They will check out their classmates ovens and
observe. While students are observing, the teacher will ask the following questions:
-

What is happening to the smores? How do you think that is happening?

What would happen if the saran wrap was not there?
What is the foil doing?

Students will come back inside to reflect on what the world would be like if we didnt have the sun.
Students will write their reflections in their daybooks.
Explanation:
After smores are done cooking and students have finished writing their reflections, we will come back to
the carpet as a group. They cannot eat them until after the lesson is complete.
Students will come back to the carpet and talk about what they observed during their activity.
Go over observation questions and talk about prediction questions.
- What was the aluminum foil for?
The aluminum foil is a shiny material. The sun reflects off of the foil and points the sun light towards
the smores.
- Why did we need saran wrap?
The saran wrap keeps the heat from escaping the oven. We use it because it is see through the light
needs to be able to get through.
- Why did we use black construction paper?
The black construction paper absorbs the light and turns it into heat.
- Where did the heat come from to cook the smores? Turn and talk.
The sun shines down onto the solar oven.
- Could you tell if the oven was getting hotter by looking at the smore?
Students share their responses.
Teacher shares her own responses to the following questions:
- What was happening to our smores? How did that happen? (They were cooking. The sun was
shining down onto the foil and the foil was reflecting the light towards our smores.)
- What would have happened if the saran wrap was not there? (The saran wrap keeps the heat in
our oven. If the saran wrap was not there then the heat would escape and the oven would not be
as hot.)
Teacher talks about why the sun was able to cook the smores.

The oven converts or changes the suns light energy into heat energy for cooking.
When objects absorb light, some of the light is changed into heat energy. In this activity, the
marshmallows and chocolate bars take in energy from the Sun.
CONCEPTS: When light hits a substance, it is reflected or absorbed. Light often turns into heat when it
hits a substance and is absorbed. Dark colors have a tendency to absorb light; light colors have a tendency
to reflect light. Dark colors get hotter in sunlight than light colors.
CONCEPTS: A shiny surface reflects light. Reflected light can be concentrated on an object. When
sunlight shines on food, enough energy is changed to heat to cook the food.
Talk about guided question- Can we use sun light instead of a bonfire to cook smores?
Did we use the sun to cook smores? Yes!
Elaborate:
Students will write a How-to writing entry in their daybooks. They will write a how to make solar
smores entry. This integrates non-fiction writing into the lesson. Students will go through each step and
describe how we made our solar smores.
Evaluate:
Teacher will collect reflection piece as an informal assessment. The reflection that the students wrote
about while their smores were cooking with act as the informal assessment. Students may eat their
smores after the lesson is over.
References:
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/education/pdfs/solar_sunenergy.pdf
https://scienceschoolyard.blogspot.com/2014/05/wind-and-solar-energy-activities.html
https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/solar-oven/
http://www.discoverycube.org.php5-20.dfw1-1.websitetestlink.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/06/3rd_Solar-Smores.pdf
To be complete after the lesson is taught as appropriate
Assessment Results of all objectives/skills:
Reflection on lesson:
CT signature/confirmation: _________________________________ Date: ________________