Emily's Page
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[==LESSON PLAN FORM==
Teacher's Name: Emily Crouch School: Hillcrest ES
Grade Level of Lesson: 4th Subject: Earth Science Date:
Unit Theme/Topic: Earth Science/Rocks and Minerals
Lesson Title:
Topic: Observation/Depiction
Contents |
Expected Student Learning Outcomes:
What will students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson? (Be Specific) Students will be able to...
Explain the purpose of scientific observation and verbalize why it is important that scientific sketches include color, detail, and descriptive notes. Students will also practice drawing exactly what they see rather than what they think they see. They will also be more familiar with the properties of pink granite, a common igneous rock.
CA Academic Standards Addressed:
Which California Academic Content and Performance Standards will your lesson address?
4. The properties of rocks and minerals reflect the processes that formed them. As a basis for understanding this concept: a. Students know how to differentiate among igneous, sedimentary, and metamor phic rocks by referring to their properties and methods of formation (the rock cycle).
6. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will: a. Differentiate observation from inference (interpretation) and know scientists’ explanations come partly from what they observe and partly from how they interpret their observations. b. Measure and estimate the weight, length, or volume of obj
Materials Used: What instructional materials and equipment/supplies will you use in this lesson?
Sufficient numbered samples of pink granite for each individual student, hand lends for at least each pair of students, science notebook/sketchbook, colored pencil set, pencil, eraser
Lesson Outline:
(Opening, Major Activities, Transitions, Review; Closure)
Opening/Introduce Lesson
Do Now
Anticipatory Set:
- Focus Students
- State Objective
- Establish Purpose
- Hook /involve students!
- Activate prior knowledge
- Assess students Time
Teacher Actions:
Gather students on the rug. Ask for anyone who has done a scientific investigation before to raise their hand. Give them one minute to talk in partners about investigations they have done in the past. Ask if in their past work in science if they have ever had to make observations. What is an observation? What do we use to make observations? How do we record our observations to use as information later on?
Explain that making and recording observations is a very important part of a scientist's job and that today they are going to practice being scientists... more specifically geologists.
Student Actions:
Students should actively participate in discussion, activating their prior knowledge of scientific investigation and making observations.
Main Activity: Instruction
- Explain Concept
- Refer to previous lessons
- Provide Examples
- Model
- Use a variety of instructional strategies
Have students go to their tables and distribute materials. They will need a pencil with an eraser, colored pencils, and their science notebooks. When they are seated, explain that you are going to give each student a sample of pink granite. It will have a small sticker on the bottom with a number on it. Explain to the students that it is their job as geologists to make the most detailed drawing of their rock that they can, because they will need to use their sketches later to identify their samples.
Check for Understanding: Ensure students are ready for activity
- Pose Key Questions
- Ask Students to Explain Concepts
- Use active participation strategies
First give the students one minute to just observe their samples. Talk about what senses are used to make observations. They can pick up their rocks, feel the textures, look more closely at them with their hand lenses, notice what colors are visible in their sample. After one minute is up, let them turn to a partner and share what they noticed about their samples and what sense they used to make that observation. Then call on a few kids to share with the whole group what they or their partner said.
Guided Practice: Students do task with teacher direction or assistance
- Provide monitoring
- Check for understanding
- Modify/adapt for all!
They then place the sample in front of them with the number on the bottom so it can't be seen. They then will have 20 minutes to draw their sketches. Remind students that they should mostly be looking at their sample, rather than the paper, to ensure that they are drawing what they see rather than what they remember from looking at their sample. (Refer back to blind contour drawing lesson that should be taught prior to this lesson. They can even do another blind contour drawing as a warm-up for this activity, if they have done it before.)
During their twenty minutes, students can also make notes about size, texture, shape and write them next to their sketch.
While students are drawing, you should be moving through the room observing how students are working. Remind them of the time, give pointers to students who may appear to be stuck. Point out details they may have missed, offer comparisons. For example, "This part of your rock is kind of shaped like an ice cream cone". Avoid comments like "Wow yours is good!" Offer your own observations such as "I see you are using pink, gray, and black in your sketch". For kids that are having trouble or are hesitant to draw, ask them what they think their sample is shaped like so they can connect to objects that they are more familiar with.
After the twenty minutes are up, it is time to see just how detailed they have been with their sketches. Have the students put their samples in the middle of the table, and place their notebook in front of them, opened to their drawings. Be sure they put their names on the drawings. Go to each table and mix up the samples. Then, give each student a piece of scratch paper and have them write the numbers 1 through however many samples you have distributed. They will then have 10 minutes to go around the room and try to match sketches to granite samples. Students should write the name of the person next to the number of the sample that they think that person drew. Be sure to model the process and think aloud before letting the kids move around the room.
Closure: (Debrief)
- Find out what your students learned
- Share work and give positive feedback
- Summarize work and behavior
- Set next steps
After ten minutes tell the kids that time is up, and have them gather once again on the rug, with their numbered scratch paper in hand. Go around the circle and have each student share which number sample they drew a picture of. Then have them talk to their partner about which sketches were the easiest to identify, and why. Then call on kids to share with the group. Hopefully, the students will respond by saying that they drawings that were the most detailed, used color carefully, and also had descriptive written notes about size and shape were the easiest to identify. Those are the types of drawings we always want to make to record observations during a scientific investigation.
After discussing the importance of recording observations in science, ask students to share out what kinds of things they drew or wrote about their samples, for example: its size, shape, color, texture, whether or not it was shiny or sparkly, etc... Explain that in science, these are called "properties". "Properties" are the characteristics of something you are observing as a scientist, and in the next lesson we will discussing and learning more about the properties of rocks and minerals.
At this point, be sure to give feedback on participation and behavior during the lesson.
Monitoring & Assessment:
How will you monitor student learning during the lesson? How will you assess student work?
Student learning and student work will be monitored by listening to their conversations with partners, and what they share out with the class. The teacher should also be moving around the room during independent work time to make sure that students are understanding the task and the expectations.
The main assessment of the work will be based on whose drawings are the easiest to identify, although since this is an introductory lesson, it's more important that they are trying their best to make detailed drawings and to record their observations. Their learning from this lesson will also be assessed during future science investigations when you will see how they approach making and recording observations.
Modifications to Address Individual Student Learning Needs
How will you modify your instruction as needed to ensure that all students meet learning outcomes?
I will use the Elmo to model how to draw with detail and how to make notes to go along with the sketch. I will also leave written directions for the activity up on the screen so students can be sure of what they are expected to be doing. It is also important to check-in with students individually who seem hesitant and help them get started by pointing out things you notice about their samples and offering suggestions.
Follow-up
Activities/
Homework
How will you follow up this lesson with homework or other extension activities?
Follow-up will take place during every investigation that we do throughout the year that involves making and recording observations. I will be referring back to this lesson, reminding students of how we found out what is necessary for a sketch to provide important information to them as scientists.
A possible follow-up homework assignment could be to have students go home and make a sketch of one of their favorite objects at home as if it is something they are observing for an investigation. For example, a detailed sketch of their hand-held video game player. Then they can bring it back to school and share with their peers.
BBC: BOARD CONFIGURATION (Secondary)
AIM DO NOW
AGENDA HOMEWORK
Teacher Reflection on Lesson:
