Lesson Plan Title - Water Cycle: The Story of a
Puddle
Discipline and Topic -
Science: Students will learn the
components of the water cycle by participating in a teacher-made
tutorial website. Students will create a Glogster that
demonstrates their knowledge of the water cycle and how oceans, other
bodies of water, and clouds play a part in it.
Target Population - Grade
Level: 5 (Upper Elementary) Population
Characteristics: 11 boys and 7 girls; 12 of average
intelligence, including 2 ESOL; 4 below average, including 1 ESE; 2
above average who attend 6th grade reading Lesson Groupings:
Groups of 3 students (making sure ESOL and ESE students are working
with students who are skilled at offering assistance) to participate in
the tutorial website and to create a Glogster project
Curriculum Links -
Before this lesson on the water cycle, the curriculum requires students
to learn about renewable resources. This lesson will instruct
students about the nonrenewable resource, water. Following the
water cycle lesson, students will learn how to conserve water.
Objectives -
Students will be able to define aquifer, atmosphere,
cloud, condensation, evaporation, precipitation, salinity, hydrosphere,
cirrus, stratus, cumulus, cumulonimbus, water vapor, and water
cycle
Students will be able to explain the water cycle
Students will be able to classify clouds according to
their appearance
Students will be able to explain the role of oceans
and clouds in the water cycle
Media
Literacy Objectives -
2. Use digital-imaging technology to modify or create works of
art for use in a digital presentation. (1, 2, 6)
7. Conceptualize, guide, and manage individual or group learning
projects using digital planning tools with teacher support. (4, 6)
10. Apply previous knowledge of digital technology operations to
analyze and solve current hardware and software problems. (4, 6)
NETS for Teachers -
a. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking
and inventiveness
c. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal
and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning,
and creative processes
a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate
digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
b. develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable
all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active
participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own
learning, and assessing their own progress
c. customize and personalize learning activities to address
students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities
using digital tools and resources
a. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of
current knowledge to new technologies and situations
b. address the diverse needs of all learners by using
learner-centered strategies and providing equitable access to
appropriate digital tools and resources
d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging
digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information
resources to support research and learning
Demonstrate knowledge of the water
cycle by answering the focus question
Students must create, at least, ONE of
the following: essay, diagram, poem, song, chart, skit,
illustration, journal entry, etc.
Students must include key vocabulary in
their explanations (atmosphere, condensation, evaporation,
precipitation, cloud, aquifer, water cycle)
Students must transfer the above
creation to any medium, including a podcast, video, VoiceThread,
Xtranormal,
avatar, digital story, cartoon, web magazine, etc. (USE A DIFFERENT
MEDIUM EACH DAY)
Demonstrate
knowledge
of
the
oceans
by answering
the focus question
Students
must
create,
at
least,
ONE
of
the
following: essay, diagram,
poem, song, chart, skit, illustration, journal entry, etc.
Students must include the key vocabulary in
their explanations (atmosphere, condensation, evaporation,
precipitation, salinity, hydrosphere)
Students
must
transfer
the
above
creation
to
any
medium, including a podcast,
video, VoiceThread, Xtranormal, avatar, digital story, cartoon, web
magazine, etc. (USE A DIFFERENT MEDIUM EACH DAY)
Demonstrate
knowledge
of
the
clouds
by
answering
the focus question
Students
must
create,
at
least,
ONE
of
the
following:
essay, diagram, poem,
song, chart, skit, illustration, journal entry, etc.
Students must include the key vocabulary in
their explanations (atmosphere, condensation, evaporation,
precipitation, cirrus, stratus, cumulus, cumulonimbus, water vapor)
Students
must
transfer
the
above
creation
to
any
medium,
including a podcast,
video, VoiceThread, Xtranormal, avatar, digital story, cartoon, web
magazine, etc. (USE A DIFFERENT MEDIUM EACH DAY)
Use,
at
least,
five complete sentences to include positive comments,
suggestions, and corrections, but remember to treat others the way you
would want to be treated
Students
will,
individually,
take the water cycle quiz on the QUIZ page of the
website
Evaluation
of
Students
-
Activity
1
-
Poor
2
-
Fair
3
-
Good
4
-
Excellent
Glogster (x2)
Minimally:
Answers the focus
questions: How do puddles appear and disappear?, How do oceans
play a part in forming puddles?, How do clouds play a part in forming
puddles?; uses proper spelling, punctuation, capitalization,
and grammar when needed
Somewhat:
Answers the focus
questions: How do puddles appear and disappear?, How do oceans
play a part in forming puddles?, How do clouds play a part in forming
puddles?; uses proper spelling, punctuation, capitalization,
and grammar when needed
For the Most
Part:
Answers the focus
questions: How do puddles appear and disappear?, How do oceans
play a part in forming puddles?, How do clouds play a part in forming
puddles?; uses proper spelling, punctuation, capitalization,
and grammar when needed
Completely:
Answers the focus
questions: How do puddles appear and disappear?, How do oceans
play a part in forming puddles?, How do clouds play a part in forming
puddles?; uses proper spelling, punctuation, capitalization,
and grammar when needed
Water Cycle
Reflection
Minimally:
Uses at least 5
sentences to discuss what has been learned; addresses any
misconceptions; uses correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and
grammar
Somewhat:
Uses at least 5
sentences to discuss what has been learned; addresses any
misconceptions; uses correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and
grammar
For the Most Part:
Uses at least
5
sentences to discuss what has been learned; addresses any
misconceptions; uses correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and
grammar
Completely:
Uses at least 5 sentences to discuss what
has been learned; addresses any misconceptions; uses correct spelling,
punctuation, capitalization, and grammar
Oceans
Graphic
Organizer
Minimally:
Fills in graphic
organizer with accurate answers
Somewhat:
Fills in graphic
organizer with accurate answers
For the Most
Part:
Fills in graphic
organizer with accurate answers
Completely:
Fills in graphic
organizer with accurate answers
Clouds Reflection
Minimally:
Uses at least 5
sentences to discuss what has been learned; addresses any
misconceptions; uses correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and
grammar
Somewhat:
Uses at least 5
sentences to discuss what has been learned; addresses any
misconceptions; uses correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and
grammar
For the Most Part:
Uses at least 5 sentences to discuss what
has been learned; addresses any misconceptions; uses correct spelling,
punctuation, capitalization, and grammar
Completely:
Uses at least 5
sentences to discuss what has been learned; addresses any
misconceptions; uses correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and
grammar
Use of Computer
Rarely:
Uses
digital-imaging technology to modify/create works of art;
conceptualize, guide, & manage group projects using digital tools;
solve current hardware & software problems
Occasionally:
Uses
digital-imaging technology to modify/create works of art;
conceptualize, guide, & manage group projects using digital tools;
solve current hardware & software problems
Most of the time:
Uses
digital-imaging technology to modify/create works of art;
conceptualize, guide, & manage group projects using digital tools;
solve current hardware & software problems
Always:
Uses
digital-imaging technology to modify/create works of art;
conceptualize, guide, & manage group projects using digital tools;
solve current hardware & software problems
SCORE:
_____/
24
Evaluation of the Lesson -
Since I have high
expectations and standards, I would expect 80% of my class to receive a
final
score of 20 or above on the four tasks listed in the rubric. This
equates to approximately a grade of 83%. If my students do not
perform at this level,
I feel that I would need to revamp the lesson.
Although I believe that these are quite achievable objectives for all
students, I would not feel that the students met the objectives and/or
mastered
the content if 80% did not receive the above-mentioned score.
It will be
interesting
to observe whether or not the
children enjoyed this lesson using multimedia more than a traditional
paper and
pencil task.In order to compare the
effectiveness
of lecture and paper and pencil activities versus the multimedia
lesson, I
would analyze the results of past formative assessments that were based
on
traditional methods and the results of the current assessment which was
based
on multimedia.These results would
indicate whether or not the multimedia lesson was a more successful
means of
promoting creativity and learning.
It is my responsibility
to observe whether the assignments were too easy (grasped the majority
of
objectives) or too difficult (failed to grasp the majority of
objectives) for
the students. In either case, I would
need to change the method and/or the corresponding activities but not
the
objectives, since I believe they are reachable.
Part of being an educator
is being able to look critically at and evaluate oneself.
Teachers cannot always assume that poor
lesson mastery is the fault of the students.
Poorly set up lessons can deter learning, and the students cannot be
blamed. By being a reflective
practitioner, I will use assessments and activities to evaluate not
only
students’ performance but also my performance as a teacher. In
turn, this type of reflective practice
will provide students with a more productive education.
Besides
looking at the
students’ scores and the difficulty
of the tasks, I can also observe how well the students are accessing
their
prior knowledge from the previous lesson and how well they are
transferring this
information to the next unit.Upon
beginning the next lesson, if the students cannot remember the details
of the
water cycle, I know that I did not promote transfer of learning.Therefore, next year, I would need to add
more and/or different activities, readings, and technological methods
that
encourage and foster comprehension and creativity.
