Lesson Planning Form for Accessible Instruction Calvin College Education Program

Teacher
Date

Rachel Vos
November 2016

Subject/ Topic/ Theme

Precipitation and the Water Cycle

Grade 3rd

I. Objectives
How does this lesson connect to the unit plan?
This is the third lesson in my unit on weather and climate. In this lesson, students will learn about precipitation and the effect that has on weather.
cognitiveR U Ap An E C*

Learners will be able to:

R
U
R
An
An

Define precipitation
List the four major types of precipitation
Label the three main steps of the water cycle
Relate different types of precipitation to different temperatures
Demonstrate the 3 steps of the water cycle
Explain how precipitation affects our lives

physical
development

socioemotional

X
X

Common Core standards (or GLCEs if not available in Common Core) addressed:

MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively

RI.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
(Note: Write as many as needed. Indicate taxonomy levels and connections to applicable national or state standards. If an objective applies to particular learners
write the name(s) of the learner(s) to whom it applies.)
*remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create

II. Before you start

Identify prerequisite
knowledge and skills.

Before this lesson, students will have had an introductory lesson on weather and a lesson on
temperature. They will need to know about measuring temperature and what the freezing point is.
Pre-assessment (for learning):

I will ask students what they think precipitation is. This will give me a chance to see what they already
know (or think they know) about precipitation. I will also ask them to give examples of precipitation.
Formative (for learning):

I will ask students about what type of precipitation would be likely to happen in different temperatures.
This will allow me to see if they are making the connection between different temperatures and the
different types of precipitation.
I will also look at the drawings students make and label showing the components of the water cycle.
This will allow me to see if they remember what the steps are and how they happen.
Formative (as learning):

Outline assessment
activities
(applicable to this lesson)

What barriers might this

lesson present?
What will it take
neurodevelopmentally,
experientially,

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I will have the students check their drawings of the water cycle with a partner. They will be able to see
if they have similar drawings. They will be able to help each other if they forget a step or arent able to
draw the picture correctly.
I will also have my students answer the three questions: What did you learn today? What are you still
confused by? What do you want to learn more about? This will allow my students to verbalize what
they dont understand.
Summative (of learning):
I will have the students write down the answers to the three questions they answered in the assessment
as learning on a sticky note. They will then put that sticky note in the L section of their KWL chart. I
will be able to look at the sticky notes and see what the students have learned.
I will also have the students act out the steps of the water cycle. They will use iPads to record
themselves acting out the steps and explain what is happening. I will grade these demonstrations using
a rubric to see if the students were able to remember the steps of the water cycle and what they mean.
Provide Multiple Means of
Representation
Provide options for perceptionmaking information perceptible

Provide Multiple Means of Action

and Expression
Provide options for physical actionincrease options for interaction

I will write the definitions of words

on the board as I say them out loud.

I will have the students use iPads to

record their demonstrations.

Provide Multiple Means of

Engagement
Provide options for recruiting
interest- choice, relevance, value,
authenticity, minimize threats

Provide options for language,

mathematical expressions, and
symbols- clarify & connect
language

Provide options for expression and

communication- increase medium
of expression

I am having students collaborate in

this lesson, both to check their
drawings of the water cycle and in
their demonstrations and recordings
of the water cycle steps.

I will use multiple media in this

lesson. I will use a book and a
demonstration so students can make
connections to the topic.

emotionally, etc., for your

students to do this lesson?

Provide options for comprehensionactivate, apply & highlight

I will highlight the relationship
between temperature and
precipitation in this lesson.

Materials-what materials
(books, handouts, etc) do
you need for this lesson
and are they ready to
use?

How will your classroom

be set up for this lesson?

Provide options for sustaining effort

and persistence- optimize
challenge, collaboration, masteryoriented feedback

Provide options for executive

functions- coordinate short & long
term goals, monitor progress, and
modify strategies

Provide options for self-regulationexpectations, personal skills and

strategies, self-assessment &
reflection

I am going to facilitate the use of

the iPads in this lesson.

Flip books
KWL charts
Document camera
The Water Cycle, by Helen Frost
Two mason jars
Ice cubes
Plate
Hot water
Students will start in their desks
They will be in groups of 5 or 6 for the activity
I will choose the groups they will work in
The students will be allowed to spread out for the video and demonstration they do

III. The Plan

Time

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Components

Motivation
(opening/
introduction/
engagement)

Describe teacher activities

AND
student activities
for each component of the lesson. Include important higher order thinking questions and/or
prompts.
3rd graders, Im going to do an
experiment here, so watch closely. I have
a jar filled with very hot water. I also have
a plate and some ice cubes. Im going to
set the plate on top of the jar and put the
Raise their hand if they have a guess about
ice cubes on the plate. What do you think
is going to happen inside the jar?
what will happen inside the jar.
Put the ice on the plate on the jar.
Walk around the room with the jar.
Tell me something that is happening in the
What do you notice is going on in the
jar. (They should talk about the jar getting
jar?
foggy and water dripping from the sides.)

We are going to talk today about what

happened inside the jar, and why it looked
like it was raining.

Development
(the largest
component or
main body of
the lesson)

Who can raise their hand and tell me

what they think precipitation is?

So, just like we did with weather and

temperature, we are going to define
weather in our flip books. Please open
your book to the next blank page. We are
going to define precipitation as: Water
that falls in the form of rain, hail, snow, or
sleet.
Give students time to write the definition.

Write down the definition of precipitation

in their flip books.

Raise their hand if they can give one of the

four types of precipitation (rain, sleet,
snow, or hail).

Raise their hand if they can tell me that it

usually snows in the winter.
Raise their hand if they remember the
temperature we measured with the ice last
time. (Their answers should be right
around 32.)
Raise their hand if they know water
freezes at 32.
Raise their hand if they can explain that
snow if just frozen water, and if the
temperature is above 32, it cant snow
because the water wont freeze.
Raise their hand if they can tell me that it
would snow anytime its above 32
degrees.
Raise their hand if they know what hail is.

So when would it rain then?

Does anyone know what hail is?

Explain that hail is balls or lumps of ice.

When do you think it would hail? Why?

Does anyone know what sleet is?

Explain that sleet is snow and rain mixed.

When do you think it would sleet?
Why?
So now that we know what precipitation
is, we are going to talk about what causes
it. Quietly find a spot on the rug, and Im
going to read a story.
Does anyone know what the word cycle
means?
We are going to learn about the water
cycle, which is the process that causes the
different kinds of precipitation we just
learned about.
Read the book The Water Cycle.
Can anyone tell me one of the stages in
the water cycle that you noticed?
What happens in that stage?

10

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Raise their hand if they know what

precipitation is. (Im expecting answers
like Rain or Water from the sky)

Think back to the experiment we did last

time where we measured the temperature
of different cups. What is the temperature
usually like in the winter?
Does anyone know the temperature it has
to be for water to freeze?
So why would it only usually snow in the
winter? Why doesnt it snow in the
summer?

10

In that definition, there are four different

types of precipitation listed. Who can give
me one of them?
Have students list all the types of
precipitation.
When does it usually snow?

Raise their hand if they can tell me that it

would hail when it is freezing because ice
is frozen water.
Raise their hand if they know what sleet
is.
Raise their hand if they can tell me that
sleet happens when it is right around 32
because water is liquid and solid.
Go to the rug and be ready to listen.

Raise their hand if they know that a cycle

means something happens over and over.

Listen to the story

Raise their hand if they can tell me one of
the stages of the water cycle.

Closure
(conclusion,
culmination,
wrap-up)

Go over all three stages (evaporation,

condensation, and precipitation)
3rd graders, Id like you to go back to
your seat and draw a diagram of the water
cycle with labels in your flip book. Use
the back page of your precipitation page.
Walk around and answer questions and
help students if they are stuck. Write the
four stages of the water cycle on the board
for students to refer to.
3rd graders, I need your eyes and ears in
3-2-1-0. Now that youve drawn a
diagram of the water cycle, I want you to
turn and talk with a partner at your table
about your diagram. Make sure you both
have all the steps labeled.
Give students 2 minutes to share.
Awesome work friends! The last thing
were going to do today is act out the
water cycle. Im going to draw sticks to
put you in groups of five or six. In your
group, youre going to act out the steps of
the water cycle. Youre going to use an
iPad to record yourselves so I can watch it
later.
Break students into groups.
Pass out iPads.
Walk around and answer questions and
monitor work.
Great work 3rd graders! Please put the
iPads away and take a seat.
Turn and talk to a partner about our three
questions on the board.
Write your answers to the questions on a
sticky note and put that on the L section of
your KWL. Then you may put your KWL
and flip book on the back table.

Draw a diagram of the water cycle in their

flip book.

Talk with a partner about their diagram.

Act out the water cycle steps, talking

about them as they go.

Put away the iPads and sit down.

Answer the questions: What did you learn
today? What are you still confused by?
What do you want to learn more about?
Write down their answers to the three
questions.
Put away their flip books and KWLs.

Your reflection about the lesson, including evidence(s) of student learning and engagement, as well as ideas for improvement
for next time. (Write this after teaching the lesson, if you had a chance to teach it. If you did not teach this lesson, focus on the
process of preparing the lesson.)
This lesson went well overall. My students really enjoyed learning about the different kinds of precipitation, as it was
something they had been curious about (according to the W section of their KWLs). When I taught the lesson, I ended up not
having the students go to the rug for the story, and I think I should have done that. They were getting restless, and I think
moving just a little bit would have been helpful. The students did well with making the diagram of the water cycle, and they
enjoyed doing it with a partner. I ended up not having time for the students to use the iPads and record a video of the water
cycle. I think that would have been helpful, but based on the students diagrams and their sticky notes, I think they
understood the concepts.

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