Wayne State University College of Education

Lesson Planning Framework for Effective Instructional Design

Teaching Intern(s): Emily Cava

School in which the lesson is being taught: Detroit Edison
Grade level of students for whom the lesson was developed: 4th Grade
Subject/content area(s) for the lesson: Science/Erosion
Title of the lesson: Types of Erosion
Time needed for lesson: 60min per day (2-day lesson)

1. LEARNERS & LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

a) Engaging and Supporting Diverse Learners: Applying Principles of Universal Design for
Learning

This lesson is geared towards supporting all types of learners in the classroom. It was
designed to stimulate student’s cognitive, visual, audiovisual and kinesthetic senses,
through multiple means of representation. During this lesson, students will become in-
depth explores, identifying and thoroughly understanding different types of erosion.
Using stations as an interactive strategy, students will investigate three types of erosion
(ice, water &wind) through, readings, videos and diagrams. Throughout the lesson, each
station will be designed to represent information in a different way, aiding to all learners.
The multiple means of representation will help and give students a greater chance to
grasp and truly understand how wind, ice and water create erosions on landforms.
Further, students will be broken up into six groups for the six stations present in the
class. Groups will not be decided based off random order, but will be strategically be
created. Each group will have a variety of learners, including students who excel in
written tasks and those who excel in visual task. By designing groups in such a manor, it
will allow students to work together and share ideas on how to complete their stations
task. All groups will have student whose strengths can be utilized at specifics stations.

To accommodate students’ X & Y, two students who are scoring below grade level and
who have a challenging time focusing during lessons, I have designed the lesson that
will be presented through multiple means of representation. After observing both
students during past lesson, I have found that both students struggle with focusing and
staying on task throughout the lesson. This observation made me interpret that both
students may benefit from an interactive and social lesson, giving students a chance to
get up and move around. Students will rotate through each station every 7 minutes,
ensuring that student are staying focused in order to fully complete the task at each
station. The stations also offer students the chance to collaborate with their peers,
allowing students to grasp a deeper conceptual understanding of the concepts at hand.
Further, another way this lesson will accommodate both student X & Y will be that each
student will be specifically placed in a group where they will be supported by their peers.
Each group is designed to show case students strengths and to also work with their
peers to uncover deeper meaning. Ultimately, with specifically designed groups and

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 multiple means of representation, this lesson will be beneficial for all types of learners in
the classroom.

b) Materials & Digital Tools Needed

- Laptop
- Description Cards
- Photo Cards
- Bins/Boxes
- Labels
- Worksheet Booklet (33)

2. OUTCOMES & ASSESSMENT

a) State Standards and Student Outcomes—Learning Goals

 Standards

 4-ESS1-1 Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and

fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a
landscape over time.
 4-ESS2-1 Make observations and/or measurements to provide
evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water,
ice, wind, or vegetation**

 Outcomes

- Using multiple means of representation, students will be able to make

observations and provide evidence of the effects of how erosion by
wind, water and ice effects different landforms.
- Using visual aids, students will be able to identify patterns in rock
formations and identify what type of erosion cause the change.

b) Assessment and Evaluation—Evidence of Student Learning

 Assessment
During the lesson, as a formative evaluation, I will be visiting each of
the six stations and carrying conceptual conversations with the students. I
will ask students leading and clarifying questions, helping me identify if
students are understanding the concepts at the specific stations. This will
also help identify if students are meeting the outcomes of the lesson. While
observing students at each station, if I hear a reoccurring question or error,
I will make sure to pause the lesson and clarify the topic with students
before continuing on. Likewise, formative assessment is an important tool,
as it will help identify if students are understanding the concepts at hand
and if they are ready to move forward to new sub concepts.

 Evaluation
Once students have completed all six stations (approximately 42
minutes), the class will regroup for a brief review. Once the class has gone

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 over different concepts we learned throughout the lesson, and exit ticket will
be given to each student. The exit ticket will contain a picture of a land form
effect by erosion. Using the information that have learnt about throughout
the lesson, students will identify what kind of erosion took place in the
picture and will provide evidence, supporting their answer. By having
students complete this exit slip, it will help me identify if students have met
the objectives of the lesson.

3. INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE

a) Introduction—Engaging Students, Activating Prior Knowledge, Setting

Lesson Goals (5 min)

To begin the lesson, have students sit at their assigned seats with only a pencil
out for writing and coloring crayons if they have any. Also, I will need to address
that all students must leave the materials on their desk, as they will be
addressed later in the lesson. Once students have all materials out on their
desk, I will ask for their attention and introduce the lesson. First, I will ask
students to turn and talk to their elbow partner and come up with a proper
definition for erosion. I will then choose one or two partners to share their
definition out loud (students will have prior knowledge of erosion). Next I will ask
students to review and explain the difference between weather and deposition.

Once we have briefly reviewed erosion, weather and deposition I will address
that today’s lesson will be focused on exploring erosion more in depth. We will
explore the effects wind, ice and water have on landforms. We will also
understand what weathering and decomposition is and the order it takes place.
All stations are designed to conceptual understand different forces that cause
erosion and how weathering and deposition works. Once I have explained all
stations, I will assign each group to a station and begin the timer.

b) Instructional Procedures—Engaging Students in Actively Constructing

Deep Understanding (45min)

To begin instructional procedures, I will review what each station entails

and the instructions on how students will complete the specific task …

Station One: In Depth Explorer (Reading)

Students will read three information cards about the causes of erosion. The
three cards will each cover wind, water and ice. Once students have
completed the readings, using evidence form the text, they will then identify
how wind, water and ice change the Earth’s surface.
Station Two: Match
This station involves students matching photos of eroded landforms to a
corresponding description. Once students have discussed their findings,
they will fill out their attached attaching chart and give a description of each
landform.
Station Three: Analyze
For this station students will carefully analyze a photo of a landform and
discuss their observation with their peers. Once students have observed
the photo, they will then come up with an educated guess on what kind of

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 erosion was present in the photo. Using evidence form the phot, students
will then write their findings on their provided worksheet.
Station Four: Science is an Art (Drawing)
For this station, students will first analyze their diagram and discuss where
weather, erosion and deposition takes place. Once they have discussed
their findings, the will the fill in their blank diagram and color the
corresponding picture.
Station Five: Sort
At this station, students will be given a variety of pictures, displaying
numerous types of landforms. Using their prior knowledge and context
clues, students will sort the photos into three bins. The three bins will
represent erosion by wind, rain and ice.
Station Six: The Future of Science (Technology)
Students will watch a short video on erosion and then complete a short
multiple choice quiz based on the information presented in the video.

Once I have identified the instructions for each station, I will then divide
students up into groups and then ask for students to sit in shield and their
designated station. I will then put up a timer indicating to students that they
have seven minutes to complete their task at each station. Once seven
minutes is up, I will ask students to move to another station. This process
will continue until all students have completed all seven stations. Commented [Office1]: Must stop at 10:35 to review the
stations students have completed.
c) Technology as a Tool for Effective Teaching & Learning
- Laptop
- Smart Board
- YouTube( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-ULcVdeqgE)

d) Closure—Students Summarizing and Synthesizing Their Learning (10 min)

Once students have completed all stations, I will ask students to return to
their desk. We will then review student’s findings for each station, seeing If
students had the same answers or the discovered something different. This
informal observation, will help me identify if students grasped the concepts of
each station. I will then explain to students that, using their info packets from
today we will continue exploring the process of erosion in our next science
class. Finally, I will ask students to turn in their packets and use this as an
assessment for the lesson. Commented [Office2]: For the stations that students have
completed, ask for individuals to share what they observed
and what they learned from each station
*** In the event that students are not able to complete all stations in today’s
lesson, they will finish the remaining station on day two of the lesson ***

(Total time of lesson Day One: 60min)

4. REFERENCES & RESOURCES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-ULcVdeqgE

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https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/erosion/

http://milford.nserl.purdue.edu/weppdocs/overview/wndersn.html

5. PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY: Teacher Reflection

Overall, this lesson was designed to help fourth grade students grasp a deeper
conceptual understanding of how the Earth surfaces change through the processes of
weathering, erosion and deposition. Students main objective were to observe and provide
evidence of weathering, erosion and depiction using illustrations/descriptions of landforms. In
addition to observing, students were asked to identify the order in which weathering, erosion
and deposition occurs, while further investigating what each process entails. While designing
this lesson, I wanted to provide students with multiple means of representation, increasing the
chances of students grasping a deep understanding of erosion. After reviewing and reflecting
on this lesson, it was evident there were both positives and negatives aspects to the lesson. As
in the education field, there is always room for improvement and as a reflective practitioner, I
made sure to learn from my lessons and improve on what I have learned. Likewise, looking at
this lesson there were many positives including, planning and preparation of the lesson, the
level of academic engagement from students, time allocation and the rigor of the lesson. Before
presenting this lesson and beginning to formulate the execution, I spent time researching both
the positives and negatives of working in stations. Ultimately, the positives outweighed the
negatives, educating me that if executed correctly, stations can help students thoroughly
understand different concepts. Likewise, this lesson was first developed to help students gain a
deeper understanding of weathering, erosion and deposition, while holding the attentiveness
of all students, especially students x & y, who are severely below grade level in all subjects.
After observing the lesson and reviewing the students’ worksheet packages, I can identify that
the objective was met, indicating that the lesson was executed and planned correctly. Further,
another positive outcome of the lesson was the rigor of the concepts. This is an area that I have
been trying to improve greatly on and have made it my goal throughout my students teaching
internship. From the first observation to this lesson, I believe it is evident that the rigor of my
lessons have significantly increased. For this lesson, I primarily focused on the objective,
developing and predicting conceptual questions that may occur and finally providing students
with challenging material. Evidence from the lesson that helped me identify if my lesson was
rigorous or not was the level of academic discussion throughout the stations. One station in
particular, the “Analyze It” provided evidence that students were being academically
challenged and that they had to reason with one another in order to come up with an educated
answer. To my surprise, most groups during this lesson were carrying intellectual intense
conversations about what forces caused erosion and why it may have occurred. This helped me
determined the students were beginning to further understand erosion and explore their
reasoning further. Although there were many positive aspects of this lesson and ideas that I will
use in the future, there were also areas in which I can grow tremendously.

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Moreover, after reflecting on this lesson, some aspects that I would change for future lessons
would be the selection of groups, the amount of work in particular stations and the conclusion
of day one lesson. Likewise, the main area in which I would change for the next lesson that
involves stations, would be the selection of groups. Although most groups seemed to work well,
there were a couple of groups that were faced with challenges and personal conflict. Initially, I
had these groups designed to highlight one another strengths, but the pairing of certain
students created some disruptions. For future lessons, I will make sure not only to look at
students’ academic strengths but also their social strengths. In other words, I will design groups
that will academically excel in the stations, but their personalities will also mesh well together.
In order to have a successful group, students must be able to work together. Additionally, the
next area I would like to improve on for future lessons, is the balance of work at each station.
Although most stations were designed to be completed in approximately seven minutes, they
were all rigorous and challenged students to “dig deeper”. There were two stations I would
change if I were to redo this lesson. Both “Read It” and “Draw it” were not properly designed
for a seven minutes time allotment. Read it, was evidently too long, as minimal groups were
able to complete the entire station, in under seven minutes. For this station, I would find
articles that contained important information on erosion by wind, water and ice, but I would
make sure to cut down the length of the information. On the contrary, I found the “Draw it”
stations too short for students, as all groups were able to complete this station in under five
minutes. To change this station, I would have students complete the diagram in addition to
providing discussion questions for the groups, based on the process of erosion. This would
allow students to reason with themselves and their peers. Furthermore, for future lessons, I
want to keep the level of engagement and rigor of the content, but focus more on designing
lessons and groups that complement the students’ academic strengths and social strengths.

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Name:

Erosion by Wind, Water and Ice

1) Please label the following diagram

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 2) Observe the photo below and write a statement explaining
what type of erosion occurred and why? Please provide
evidence!

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