Teacher Candidate: _____Leanne Lupone__ Date: __2/28/18__

THE UCI Cal Teach LESSON PLANNER

Grade: __7___ Content Area/Class Title: ______Biological Science_____________

School/MT: ___Costa Mesa______ Group Size: __30____ Lesson Length:

___80___ minutes

Language Proficiency Level (# of students at each level):

Emerging: __________ Expanding: _____10_____ Bridging: __________ RFEP:

______9____

Student Context:
The students have just begun middle school, coming out of elementary school.
They were chosen for a regular level science class, meaning they do not have advanced
science and reading skills necessary for the honors class. They also have enough English
skills to not be placed in the special EL class, or enough special needs to be placed in the
special day class. Students are about 70% Hispanic and the rest are White with the
exception of 1 African American student in each class.

Students with Specific Learning Needs
IEP/504 Plans: Number of Students Supports, Accommodations,
Classifications/Needs Modifications, Pertinent IEP Goals
IEP Autism (PL) 1 One of the students has an aid to
keep him on task. Usually does not
need further accommodations –
follows directions and easily
participates in class, produces high
quality work.
IEP Bipolar (AL) 1 Reminders for organization and
tracking materials. Repeated
directions and directions broken
into steps as needed.
IEP Learning disability (CF) 1 He needs extra help with reading
and writing tasks – he is at a very
low level.
He frequently gets distracted when
sitting too close to friends.
IEP (NA) 1 Needs prompts and reminders to
stay on task, positive behavior
reinforcement, check ins with
homework, rubrics for large
assignments, sitting close to front
IEP Autism (RR) 1 Testing accommodations – allowed
to use calculator, take breaks,
specialized seating (in the front),
 and simplified test directions, open
book/open note tests
IEP Emotional Disturbance 1 New student – have not received
(LP) IEP yet

Other Learning Needs Number of Students Supports, Accommodations,

Modifications
Example: Struggling 5 Provide oral explanations for
Readers directions and simplified text for
word problems
Visual Impairment 1 He sometimes moves up front if
we are showing something on the
overhead.

Planning for the Lesson

Practices/Habits of Mind (These are either the Common Core Standards for Mathematical 
Practices or the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices):

Developing and using models.

 Key Content Standards :
(Math, use Common Core; Science, use Next Generation Science Standards; both use Common Core 
ELA)

MS­ESS2­2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed
Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales

Students will only begin to learn concepts needed to complete this standard.

 Key ELD Standards (Only need to include if you have English language learners in your class) :

Offering and justifying opinions, negotiating with and persuading others in communicative exchanges

How does this lesson relate to the Big Ideas of the Unit?
A. Enduring Understandings:

Students will know that there are different types of maps and each is designed to portray something 
different. Usually maps use color and symbols. Students already have familiarity with California’s 
specific characteristics like earthquakes and possibly sinkholes but not much understanding of why or 
how.
 B. Essential Questions: 

What different types of maps are there? How can maps use colors or symbols or lines to represent 
physical attributes like elevation? What causes sinkholes, what do they look like, and how can we 
represent them on paper?

C. Where is this lesson located in the unit? 

This is the very first day of the unit. 

 Learning Outcomes/Objective (Refer to  Depth of Knowledge
    handout for cognitive verbs to 
 include in your objective) : Remember Objectives have Know, Do, and Assess components

A.  Cognitive Task (refer to “high quality tasks” from ED 143AW):  
   Students will design models to represent sinkholes and analyze the validity of other models. 

B.  Understanding or Skill to be Enhanced:
Students will enhance their skills of analyzing the benefits and limitations of models. 
Students will also gain a conceptual understanding of sinkholes. 
Students will be able to draw topographic maps. 

C.  Transfer Goal: (How will the student use this?)
Students will use this to learn how to read a topographic map that will be considered in the task of 
choosing a new place to build a settlement. The layout of the land can indicate mountains by faults that
would suggest the possibility of earthquakes, for example. 

Language Objective: 

Students will be able to interpret an explanation of someone’s model and explain its benefits and 
limitations with academic language. 

Formative and Summative Assessments:
During 
At the beginning, ask from the engage: What is a way to represent elevation?
Students brainstorm ideas and share to class. After a couple, I ask if there are any models that do
not use color. Keep some ideas on the board to later demonstrate how to find pros/cons of a model
Students do a braindump from observing two maps on the overhead. Using four roles in a table,
make comments about two maps. For more structure, ask for 3 comments and 2 questions per
map.
Assessment of understanding topographic maps will be to look at their hands and see if they drew
their maps correctly
See what students took away from sinkhole videos by reading their guided notes.
Summative task is for students to design a model to represent sinkholes and analyze each other’s
in groups and in guided notes.

Closure 
Ticket out the door: If you were to choose a settlement, what are two things you would want to be
near and two things you would want to avoid?

They can look at the maps of Costa Mesa for inspiration.

Questions at different depths of knowledge:
Facts/Memorization Skills/Procedure Conceptual Application or
Relational Knowledge
What is a sinkhole? How do you draw a What are some ways How can we use
What does it look like? topographic map? that models have topographic maps to
What are characteristics limitations? help us decide where a
of a sinkhole? settlement should or
How can we represent should not go?
sinkholes in a model?

Prerequisite Skills and Knowledge:

Describe common mathematical or scientific preconceptions, errors or misunderstandings with your 
lesson and how you will address them.

Students may think that sinkholes are similar to quicksand and pull people underneath instead of just 
forming a giant hole with air and water. Students will watch news videos to correct this 
misunderstanding. 

Students may think that maps only use colors and pictures like triangles to represent mountains. 
Students may think that the contour lines represent indentations in the land instead of areas of 
elevation. Students may also think that the shapes represent plateaus or another landform. I will 
address them by overlaying the topographic maps with satellite views of the area to show that the lines 
are around areas of elevation. Students will further this understanding by creating their own 
topographical maps. 

Where are your students in terms of what they already know about the concept(s) for this lesson?  
What have they already learned at home or in their community as well as in previous classes?
Students have prior knowledge about sinkholes if they have read about them before or seen them. Sixth
grade should have been heavy on earth science, but I do not know if their previous schools followed 
NGSS enough for them to have background. 

What skills do your students bring to this learning?

Students bring high levels of creativity to the classroom, so I know they will come up with excellent 
and innovative models to represent sinkholes. 

Lesson Resources/Materials:

Videos on sinkholes
Handout sinkholes
Instructions for hand activity
Markers
CM maps
PPT maps for engage
Instructions for summative task
INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE: ENGAGING STUDENTS IN THE LEARNING
PROCESS

Introduction (__10__ minutes): (How will you engage students, connect to prior
knowledge and review necessary academic language? Science: What phenomenon
or real world event will you use to introduce the concept/engage students in
this learning?) Highlight student discourse strategies in blue.

Time Teacher Actions and Student Actions and Possible Universal Design for
Questions Responses to Thinking Learning
10 Teacher asks students Students enter class and think
min on the board as they of different things that maps
come in to brainstorm: show or what types of
information you can get from
What can we use a map them.
to show?

After students seem to

be done brainstorming,
Students use prior knowledge
add the next question to
prompt students who to refer back to different types
could not come up with of maps and what they know
responses: from looking at maps.

What are the most

common maps? Maps are color coded.
Students see the three maps They are enlarged to
Now, teacher will: and think of what information show details for
Show pictures of is being shown and how the students. There are
different maps of the US.
use of colors or symbols is different types that
How does each one show
data differently?
portraying this information. show different
information in
completely different
ways.

Body of the Lesson (__60__ minutes): Describe step-by-step what the teacher and
the students will be doing during the lesson. Include questions you will use to help
make thinking visible, and code questions as to higher level (HL) and lower level
(LL). Indicate who the authority of the information is: the teacher or the students
(where are ideas coming from)? Include Talk Moves (from ED 143AW). Highlight
student discourse strategies in blue.

Time Teacher Actions and Student Actions and Possible Universal Design for
Questions Responses to Thinking Learning
5 min What is the best way to Students think of different Clarifying what elevation
represent elevation on a maps they have seen with is and what a model
map? mountains and what they look represents/its purpose.
like:
triangles
shading
pictures of the mountain (like
satellite images)
 To assist with language, Think of elevators or elevating
teacher will break down (going up) or levitating
the word elevation and
discuss what it means in
general and in the
context of maps.

8 min Students think of ways they

Students are shown a
map of OC with mountain
ranges in the east and
asked how they might
make a model to
represent those
mountains.
might make their own maps to Students may decide
show mountains and sketch on how to represent
a piece of paper. To share with elevation and what to
the class, they can put their draw.
sketch under the overhead.

Give students autonomy

After the class shares, I Students get creative finding a to choose their own
will pick on ideas (if any) way to modify their ideas in a models for sinkholes and
that do not involve color. way that doesn’t use color to share with their group.
If we do not have color represent the mountains.
printing, what is a way to
15 represent geographical
features like mountains? In two minutes, students write
min
down as much as they can about
Teacher introduces a new the following map.
looking map and assigns
roles to each student at
each table.

For more guidance, I can

give them a word bank
(below) and require 3
comments and 2
questions for each
picture.
Specifying vocabulary to
They do the same for another give more guidance to
picture that just has contour lines the task.
and a few markings.

lines
spread apart
close together
numbers
labels
color
shading
high elevation
water

Also ELs can get

sentence frames to guide
the discussion like “I
notice that…” “ I wonder
why…” and “I think the
map has ___ because…”
5 min
Students will respond to other
groups by saying if they agree or
disagree with their ideas or
answering questions another
group may have asked.
 Teacher will ask each
reporter to report to the
class. Students will take a break from
learning to engage in a combined
Teacher records exercise and fun activity.
responses on the
2 min overhead and use these
to prompt a class
discussion. Students use prior knowledge to
write or remember three words.

7 min BREAKTIME Students may use any

Given a statement, part of speech that they
students will do a Students will do an activity to feel is applicable
jumping jack if they understand topographic maps by
believe false or touch creating one of their own hands.
their toes if they believe
true.

10 Students will watch videos about

min What are three words sinkholes and take notes in a
that come to mind when graphic organizer.
you hear sinkhole?

Teacher will hand out

instructions for the hand They will draw a way to represent
activity to create a sinkholes and explain in writing in
topographic map and their organizer. Students give models
16 quiz a couple students on in both drawings and
min steps in the directions. Person shares their model written explanation.
drawing and the other three
Teacher asks students to comment on how they think it
consider their maps works or how it shows sinkholes
when thinking of well or how it is limited. The
sinkholes and how we original student has the last word
might want to represent explaining their own model in
them, like we had to for words.
mountains.

How can we make a

model for sinkholes? Students will share in their groups
each model they came up with
Teacher shows how Final and its benefits.
Word works by modeling
with one group. To help
students understand
what to say, they will use
a model described on the
board from the engage
part of the lesson to work
with model group on
analyzing its benefits and
limitations.
Closure (___7___minutes): Summarize how you will bring the lesson to a close allowing
students to reflect or summarize what they learned in regards to the lesson objective.
Highlight any student discourse strategies in blue.
Time Teacher Actions and Student Actions and Possible Universal Design for
Questions Responses to Thinking Learning
7 min Students will be Students read their summative
introduced to the context task for the unit and see the
of their task for the rest maps of CM they will be using
of the unit, which is to for the next several weeks.
decide on a settlement
to avoid hazards and
benefit the population

Students write their TOD and

If you were to choose a turn in.
settlement, what are two
things you would want to
be near and two things
you would want to avoid?

Academic Language

1. Describe the cognitive task related to the content learning objective:

Students will design models to represent sinkholes and analyze the validity of other models. 

Language Demands: Describe how students will be communicating in relation to the

content in the cognitive task? Identify the communicative mode.

o Collaborative (engagement in oral or written dialogue with others)

Students will be collaborative by using the four roles to comment on two
maps at the beginning of class. Students will be collaborative by
commenting on each other’s models in Final Word.
o Interpretive (comprehension and analysis of written and spoken texts)
Students will be interpretive by analyzing each other’s models with visual observation
only, and then by listening to the creator’s explanation. They will comment on its
benefits and limitations in their guided notes.
o Productive (creation of oral presentations and written texts)
Students will produce a topographic map on their hands and a model for representing
sinkholes.
2. Language Function: Choose one language function essential for student learning.
Highlight the language function of the lesson. Provide a short description.
Science Analyze Explain Interpret Justify with
Evidence
Description
Math Compare/Contrast Conjecture Describe Explain Prove
Description
Students will analyze different models that represent sinkholes by determining its
benefits and limitations.

3. What language demand (written or oral) will you help the students develop during
the lesson?
Students will develop oral language in this lesson by using roles to communicate
with each other and final word to describe a model and analyze it.
 Vocabulary and/or symbols

 Elevation
 Topographic
 Contour lines
 Model
 Map
 Sinkhole
 Chasm

 Mathematical precision (e.g., using clear definitions, labeling axes, specifying

units of measure, stating the meaning of symbols), appropriate to your
students’ mathematical and language development.
 Plus at least one of the following:
o Syntax
o Discourse – Students will engage in discourse by using Final Word to
either describe the model, explain its benefits, explain limitations, or ask
a question about what they don’t understand.

4. List the instructional strategies you will use to support the development of
academic language skills (related to the identified language demand above).

There will be a word wall kept on the board and then finalized into a word wall on
the wall throughout the unit to keep track of new concepts and vocabulary.
Students will get sentence frames to keep track of what is appropriate to say in
their role at their group and for Final Word so everyone has something to say.

5. Describe additional strategies you will use to meet the needs of students with
varying levels of language proficiency.

o Emerging:

o Expanding: Students will have specific things to look for when discussing the
maps on the overhead in groups to guide discussion and encourage academic
questioning of the maps. This will include vocabulary to incorporate into group
discussion and sentence frames like “I notice that…” “ I wonder why…” and “I
think the map has ___ because…”
 o Bridging:

In your lesson plan, integrate, label and highlight where you will be providing
the instruction and guided practice related to the selected language demand.