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School: Shepardson Elementary Grade Level: 1st grade Content Area: Science/Math
Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson: (Write Content Standards directly from the standard)
Concept 1: Earths materials can be compared and classified based on their properties
Evidence outcomes:
- Students can identify and represent similarities and differences such as texture, size,
color, and shape of various materials on Earth.
- Students can use a variety of tools to observe, analyze, record, and compare Earths
materials.
Evidence outcomes:
- Various tools can be used to measure and weigh rocks and other objects.
- The characteristics and measurements can be recorded on paper using words and numbers.
Inquiry Questions: (Essential questions relating knowledge at end of the unit of instruction, select
applicable questions from standard)
- What tool can you use to figure out which rock is heavier?
- What do you notice about your rock? Is it heavy or light? Is it smooth or rough? What color is it?
- What tool will you use to measure how long your rock is?
Every student will be able to: (Create your own lesson objectives from the standard, follow the ABCD
format, using student voice)
This means: I am learning to observe and analyze Earth materials and how to record my
observations on paper.
This means: I am able to use and identify tools that I can use for measurements and am learning
to record numerical characteristics.
List of Assessments: (Write the number of the learning target associated with each assessment)
Assessment: Students will have a page in their rock book in which they will write about the texture,
color, weight, length, and width of their pet rock.
(Include a play-by-play account of what students and - Introduce the lesson (2 minutes) - Listen to introduction and look
teacher will do from the minute they arrive to the - Hand out a sheet to each student over the sheet (2-3 minutes)
minute they leave your classroom. Indicate the (1 minute) - Explore and ask questions about
length of each segment of the lesson. List actual - Introduce students to measuring measurement tools (2 minutes)
minutes.) tools (2 minutes) - Make observations about pet rock
Indicate whether each is: - aid students in measuring and and record (10 minutes)
-teacher input weighing the rocks (10 minutes) - Measure and weigh pet rock and
-modeling - aid students in recording their record on paper (10 minutes)
-questioning strategies observations and measurement
-guided/unguided: results.
-whole-class practice
-group practice
-individual practice
-check for understanding
-other
Closure Students will share their observations with a partner to close the lesson. They will
Those actions or statements by a teacher that are compare whose rock is longer, heavier, what they have in common, and what is different.
designed to bring a lesson presentation to an The teacher will listen in to each pair and jump in to the conversations when needed. I
appropriate conclusion. Used to help students bring think pair, share is a great closure to this lesson because it will allow the students to share
things together in their own minds, to make sense and have pride in their work as well as hear from their group mate about their work. This
out of what has just been taught. Any Questions? way the teacher can assess for learning and also allow the students to reflect upon what
No. OK, lets move on is not closure. Closure is used: they learned as a closure.
To cue students to the fact that they have
arrived at an important point in the lesson or
the end of a lesson.
To help organize student learning
To help form a coherent picture and to consolidate.
Differentiation We conduct these lessons in small groups, and the students are grouped with other
To modify: If the activity is too advanced for a child, students who are at similar levels as they are. This is helpful because we can differentiate
how will you modify it so that they can be the lesson from group to group. For groups that are not as advanced, we can aid them in
successful? measuring their pet rocks and asking them questions that prompt them to think about
To extend: If the activity is too easy for a child, how the characteristics such as texture. We can scaffold their learning by providing them the
will you extend it to develop their emerging skills? appropriate amount of help while still asking questions that challenge them to complete
What observational assessment data did you collect it independently. For more advanced groups, we can have them complete the
to support differentiated instruction? measurements more independently and ask them questions that encourage them to
think deeper about what they are doing. For example, we can ask more advanced groups
how they know one rock is bigger than another using numerical examples.
Assessment The teacher will look at the work that each student has completed and ask them
How will you know if students met the learning questions to encourage them to explain and express their understanding. For example,
targets? Write a description of what you were the teacher might look at a students work and see that they recorded that their rock
looking for in each assessment. How do you feels smooth. The teacher could ask the student to explain what smooth means and how
anticipate assessment data will inform your they observed that. If one student recorded that their rock weighed one pound and
instruction? another student recorded that their rock was two pounds, the teacher could ask the
students which one was heavier and how they know. The main methods of assessment
will be the teacher looking at students sheets and asking questions.
1. To what extent were lesson objectives achieved? (Utilize assessment data to justify
your level of achievement)
Overall, we believe the lesson objectives were achieved. Students were able to observe and
record characteristics about their pet rocks, learned to make basic measurements, and recorded
what they found. In looking at the page that the students completed, it is apparent that the
majority of students understood basic measurement concepts and were able to record their
observations in effective and understandable ways. The students were all really excited to use
the scales to weigh their pet rocks because it was something they had never done in the
classroom before. We think this interest really helped the students reach the lesson objectives
because they were so interested and engaged.
2. What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would you make if you were to
teach again?
One addition that I would make to the lesson if we were to teach it again would be to do a
bigger introduction with the students on measurement and using rulers. This is something that
most of them really havent had much exposure to yet, and that most of them needed help in
doing. It worked fine for us to teach them some basics of using a ruler during the lesson and
was a great learning opportunity for them, and us, but is something that I would dedicate more
time and preparation to in the future.
3. What do you envision for the next lesson? (Continued practice, reteach content, etc.)
For the next lesson, we will be focusing on the next page of the rock book that we are creating.
This page will focus more on writing and the students will have a chance to write a story about
their pet rock and an adventure that it goes on. We can encourage continued practice of
observation and recording characteristics by encouraging student to use at least one of the
characteristics that they observed about their pet rock in the story that they write.