Inquiry Lesson Plan Template (with Four Ways of Thinking

connection)
Teacher: Ms. Spear
Content & Title:
Grade Level: 5th
Writing
grade
Standards:

Concept 3: Transfer of Energy

o Understand that energy can be stored and transferred.
PO 1. Identify ways in which electrical energy is generated using
renewable and nonrenewable resources (e.g. wind, dams, fossil
fuels, nuclear reactions).
Concept 1: History of Science as a Human Endeavor
Identify individual, cultural, and technological contributions to scientific
knowledge.
o PO 1. Identify how diverse people and/or cultures, past and present, have
made important contributions to scientific innovations (e.g., Percy Lavon
Julian [scientist], supports Strand 4; Niels Bohr [scientist], supports Strand
5; Edwin Hubble [scientist], supports Strand 6).

Objectives (Explicit & Measurable):

Students will understand how Solar Energy is used and identify how different
countries use solar energy.
Evidence of Mastery (Measurable Assessment: formative and summative):
Formative:
o Throughout the lesson the teacher will be asking quesitions and answering
them and this will show if the students are taking the lesson seriously and
learning about solare energy. During their group work time the teacher will
make sure
Summative:
o There will be two summative assessments, the presentations of the
countries and the paper they will write and research. This will show me if
they understood how solar energy has a part in different cultures and to
recognize different ways of doing certain things like solar energy.
Sub-objectives, SWBAT (steps that lead to completion of objective; sequence
from simple to more complex):
For science, students will already have an understanding on how we use energy
and what types of energy we use everday.
Lesson Summary and Justification: (summary gives detailed information
about what students are doing. Justification why is this lesson being
taught)
This five-day lesson solar unit is meant for 5th graders, based on the standards used,
but can easily be used in any grade 3rd-6th. The lesson plan is teaching students
about how renewable energy like solar energy is essential for the future of our energy.
Since fossil fuels and natural gases are not infinite, that is why they are not called
renewable and it is essential for students to learn the difference and why it is
important. The outcome of this lesson is so that the students will learn more about
solar, and to write a letter about their opinions on the matter of solar energy in their
community.
The new generation will be the ones who are inventing, voting, advocating, and using
these New Energies and will directly involve them. To start the interest and the
education of the worlds resources, learning about New Energy will have citizens who

are aware of the fossil fuel issues. Students will want to see how they can contribute to
the progression of New Energy ideas and how we can integrate it to everyday life.
Students can relate this to math because theyll be able to calculate how much they
use in energy and figure out how much renewable energy needs to be outputted. In
science, it directly involves the ecosystem of our world. They will learn how renewable
energy cuts on the carbon exertion and what they mean to ecosystems and the
environment. Social Studies can be easily integrated with learning about how we got
to the point of using fossil fuels and now New Energy. Students will learn about other
countries who have taken those steps and are working on becoming a sustainable
country. Students are the future and they will be the ones who make the decisions of
the next generation and so on.
Background Knowledge: (What do students need to know prior to completing
this lesson)
What solar energy is.
How solar energy is produced.
How to research.
How to present their research.
Misconception: (what possible misleading thoughts might students have?)
That renewable energy can be anything without thinking the limitations on
certain resources.
That one renewable energy is the only way.
That one country knows the best way to use their renewable energy over others.
Process Skills: (what skills are you introducing or reinforcing)
Observation
Questioning
Communicating
Four Ways of Thinking connection: (Provide a complete explanation of how
your lesson plan connects to futures, system, strategic, or values thinking.
Define the way of thinking you selected and used in this lesson plan.
Remember, this should be included meaningfully in the lesson plan.)
Futures Thinking: Futures thinking since they are discussing how the U.S. and the
countries should use their solar energy for the future of solar energy. This will
hopefully then lead to discussions on how to implement renewable energy like solar
energy to other countries that would benefit with the use of solar energy. The students
will be the ones making the decisions on what energy will be used for the future since
the future is renewable energy.
Safety: (what safety rules and items need to be addressed?)
Work as a group and no over talking over another.
Inquiry Questions: (testable in the here and now.)
1. What is Solar Energy?
2. How does other countries see renewable energy as?
Key vocabulary: (list and define)
Materials: (list item and possible
1. Renewable Energy: energy that is
quantity)
collected from resources which are naturally
1. Computer w/ wifi
replenished on a human timescale, such as
2. Post it notes (same color, enough
sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and
for students)
geothermal heat.
3. Colored Markers (different colors)
2. Solar Energy: radiant energy emitted by
4. Notebooks
the sun.
5. 2 YouTube videos

3. Solar Panels: a panel designed to absorb

the sun's rays as a source of energy for
generating electricity or heating.
Engage - In this section you should activate prior knowledge, hook student
attention, pose a question (IQ#1) based on your lesson objective that students
will seek to answer in Explore.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:
IQ: What is Solar Energy
I will start a discussion with the class about
Discuss with teacher and students about
what they know about energy. I will be
what they know and answer the
looking for students to answer what they
questions.
think and to discuss different types
of energy used around the world. After they
hopefully list out different types of energy, I
will introduce them to our main topic, Solar,
in a Bill Nye video about solar energy rom
Listen and watch the video.
Youtube, http://environmentamerica.org/si
tes/environment/files/reports/EA_
shiningrewards_print.pdf. This will then start Discuss why solar energy is important
the conversation on why solar energy is
based on what they learned from the
important and I will be checking for
video.
understanding. If there is time, I will show
them a book, 'The Kids' Solar Energy Book'
If time have time to read and ask
to learn more about solar energy so that it
questions about the book.
can elaborate more on our topic.
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
For ELLs, asking them how the sun benefits them and link it to what their original
country.
If someone asks why other countries matter I will tell them that is good to be
open about different countries since in science there is no one right way.
Explore - In this section students should take the lead and actively use materials
to discover information that will help them answer the question posed in
Engage. Teachers may choose to give steps to follow, especially for younger students,
but the goal is for students to discover some or all of the sub-objectives of the lesson.
Teacher Will: (pose IQ #1) What is Solar
Students Will: (list all steps)
Energy?
Get into groups and research the
After the discussion, I will tell them that
countries they are doing.
they will researching different countries that
use solar energy. Then I will give them a
rubric on what I want to see like how much
the country uses, how they use it, why they
use it, what other energy they use, and
other facts they find and any other facts
they find into one presentation
(electronically). They will be taking Day 2 as
their research day. I will be walking around
asking them questions and answering any
that they might ask about their
presentations.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

For ELLs, they can be researching about their own country or a country they are
familiar with.
Explain In this section students share what they discovered, teacher connects
student discoveries to correct content terms/explanations, students
articulate/demonstrate a clear and correct understanding of the lesson sub-objectives
by answering the question from Engage before moving on.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:
Facilitate the presentations and grading
Present their presentations
based on:
Rubric:
How well the presentation is
Content 1 2 3 4
Content
Overall Presentation 1 2 3 4
Participation &
Participation 1 2 3 4
Citations
Citations 1 2 3 4
Afterwards the teacher will hold a
discussion on what the students thought of
the countries they presented together.
There will be discussion points of:
How they think the country sees
renewable energy?
Pros and Cons of the countries usage
Which country seems most appealing
What could the countries do better,
students for each group will take
notes at this part so that they can
elaborate on what they thought their
country needed to do better, or even
their group.
After the discussion this part of the lesson
will end till the next day.

Students will discuss what they learned

from the different countries and discuss
the points the teacher has made. They
will take this new information and think
about it till the next day to continue the
lesson.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

Make sure ELLs voices are heard and putting them in a group with someone they
are familiar with if they are still not comfortable with all of their classmates.
Elaborate In this section students take the basic learning gained from Explore and
clarified in Explain and apply it to a new circumstance or explore a particular aspect of
this learning at a deeper level. Students should be using higher order thinking in this
stage. A common practice in this section is to ask a What If? question. IQ #2
Teacher Will: (pose IQ #2) How does
Students Will:
other countries see renewable energy
as?
Students will be discussing with their
I will bring it back to why Arizona is one of
classmates about their countries and
the forefront in solar energy in the U.S. and come up with pros and cons for each
show them the video Solar Power Works in one as a classroom. Then they will talk
Arizona (https://www.youtube.com/watch?
about those pros and cons and
v=0E-nazYOC3A) and we will discuss how it elaborate what they could do better in
has become the empire it is today.
their country. While they are discussing,
each country is writing down notes for
their own country.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

ELL student can talk about the country they grew up in or heard of from their
parent and can connect to why the energy they use is beneficial.
Evaluate In this section every student demonstrates mastery of the lesson
objective (though perhaps not mastery of the elaborate content). Because this also
serves as a closing, students should also have a chance to summarize the big
concepts they learned outside of the assessment.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:
After they have their discussion, I will
Students will be writing their paper
have them do final assessment of what
answering the 3 questions and
country they found to be the most
researching the new facts at home to be
interesting and how it would benefit
turned in the next day.
Arizona to take some pointers from them.
I will be asking them to answer 3
questions while writing this short paper.
Why does this country interest you the
most?
What does the country do differently
than the country you researched on?
What can Arizona do to keep up their use
of solar energy?
I will be giving them this as their
homework for the night and say that they
must have 2 new facts that they
researched on this country on how else
they are sustainable.
Closure: (revisit objective, IQs and make real world connections)
Now that we had a refresher on what solar energy is, I am glad you were able to research and see new
cultures use solar energy in their home country. Every country has their own way of using and producing
solar energy which is just like sustainablity and science, there is no one way of doing it. That is why it is
important to look and see these differentways to reinforce the discussion of why solar energy is an
important renewable energy. I hope that you will take this information and make your own opinions of
what our country should do with solar energy.

**Best Practices List the Best Teaching Practices you will use to enhance
the learning outcomes. In each section where prompted, list the best
practice, how the practices will be used and the purpose.