Indiana Wesleyan University

Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template

Science
2007 ACEI Standards
READINESS
I.
Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal(s) Students will see and understand a cross-curricular theme of how small
components make up bigger pictures
B. Objective(s):

During todays section of the science lesson, students will compare distances to
determine which is longest.

After completing todays section of the science lesson, students will discuss how we can
use information we learn from trials of experiments to create more successful outcomes
in later trials.
C. Standard- This two day lesson addresses the following standards

SEPS.1 Posing questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)

SEPS.2 Developing and using models and tools

SEPS.3 Constructing and performing investigations

SEPS.4 Analyzing and interpreting data

SEPS.8 Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

1.M.1: Use direct comparison or a nonstandard unit to compare and order objects according to length, area,
capacity, weight, and temperature.
II.

III.

IV.

Management
a. Materials
i. Car building materials
ii. Ramp set up for testing cars
iii. Post its for testing cars
iv. Stop watch for testing cars
v. Lab sheets
vi. Document camera to show lab sheets
b. Time- 55 minutes
i. Anticipatory set and purpose- 5 minutes
ii. Transition to ramp, behavior discussion, investigate- 12 minutes
iii. Answer the original question/lab sheet- 5 minutes
iv. Rebuild: explanation and building time- 15 minutes
v. Retest the cars- 10 minutes
vi. Closure- 8 minutes
c. Space: Students will start at their desks. Students will stand around the ramp during
the investigation. Students will return to their desks as we work on our lab sheets and
answer the original question. Students will be at their desks or at their building areas as
we rebuild their cars. Students will move back over to the ramp when it is time to retest
cars, and observe post it notes. Students will move back to their desk to finish their lab
sheets and have a closing discussion.
d. Behavior- See discussion about not being upset if your car does not go the farthest
Anticipatory Set
a. Someone raise their hand and tell me what we did on Tuesday. Right, we built cars.
b. We also did an activity where we looked at shapes and described them. Does anyone
remember what we call these describing words? Yes, characteristics. Everyone say
characteristics.
c. We also did some writing on Tuesday. We wrote sentences about what we thought
would happen when we tested our cars. What were those sentences called? Yes, we all
made a hypothesis. Everyone say hypothesis.
Purpose: Today we are going to test our cars to see if your hypothesis was correct about
who had the fastest car. When you make predictions during reading, is it okay if your
prediction turns out not being correct? Yes! It is the same thing with making a hypothesis.

a.

Scientists make hypotheses- everyone say that word. That is the word we use when we
are talking about more than one hypothesis- hypotheses. Anyway, scientists make
hypotheses that turn out to be wrong all of the time. Even if they are wrong, scientists
can learn from their experiments and tests to do something better next time. We are
going to do that today too. We are going to use what we learn to make even better
cars.

PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION

V.

(ACEI 1.0)
Adaptation to Diverse StudentsThe different animals (such as the zebras) at each table
change every day. I may have todays zebras be more intuitive and expressive students.
This will allow these students to answer the discussion question first at their tables, and
therefore be somewhat of a group leader. This will allow struggling students to build off of
the ideas of the other students as opposed to having to make an unsupported leap of
understanding.
(ACEI 3.2)

VI.
Lesson Presentation (Input/Output)
Investigate
Allow students to line up along the sides of the ramp so that we can discuss behavior. Not all of
your cars will be the fastest, because only one car can be the fastest. If you get upset because
you lose, or you are mean to someone else who does not do as well as us, you take away your
own fun and learning, and the fun and learning of others. It is not a choice to become angry or
to be mean to others during this experiment. If you choose to do one of those things, you will
not get to participate in a fun activity that the other kids will do later in this lesson, because I
do not want you to take away anyones learning or fun. Thumbs up if you can agree to that.
We will test the cars that each student made. We will test the cars on a ramp I make. A
student will place his car at the top of the ramp, and I will start a stopwatch when he releases
it. The class will count to 3, and I will use the stopwatch to ensure that the 3 seconds is
measured accurately. The students will be in charge of helping decide where exactly the car
was when we counted to 3. After we determine where the car was after 3 seconds, we will
place a post it with the names of the creator of the car and a number 1 to mark the spot. We
will follow this procedure until all of the cars have been tested. We will leave the post it notes
there for later.
Answer the Original Question
We will determine whose car traveled the farthest, and examine the winning car. We will
congratulate the creators of the car. We will discuss as a class the characteristics of the
winning car, and the students will record this information on their lab sheets.
Our original question that we wanted to answer on Tuesday was What parts do you think are
important to make a fast car? I think we are ready to answer this question now. A fast car has
how many wheels? Is long or short? Is tall or small? Is wide or skinny? Is heavy or light? (Have
students say the answers aloud together).
Now that we know the characteristics of a car that went the fastest in this experiment, we are
going to use this information to create even better cars. Everyone will use their building
materials to create cars that match all of the characteristics you just circled on the lab sheet.
So your new car should be(list of the characteristics of the winning car). You can start over to
build this new car, or you can just change a few things about the car you already built. Next,
we are going to test your cars again, and see if this new car went faster than the first one you
built.
o Allow time for students to build and for the class to retest the cars. We will test the
cars using the same procedures as the first test, except the post its will have the
number 2 on them.
o Find the post it with your name and the number 1 on it. Now find the post it we just
put down, with the number 2 on it. Figure out if your car travelled farther just now
after we rebuilt the cars than it did the second time.
(ACEI 2.2)
(ACEI 3.3)
VII. Check for understanding.

Observe students during rebuilding to see if they changed the characteristics of their cars to
match the faster cars characteristics

Listening to students discussion during closure

VIII. Review learning outcomes / Closure

Answer the last question of the lab sheet for day two as a group

Raise your hand if your car went faster after you rebuilt it
In a second, I am going to have someone at each table answer a question. The zebras will
answer the question first, and then each other person will get a chance to answer the question.
Be sure that you are listening, because after everyone talks I will call on someone random to
talk to me about the answer to this question. After the zebras talk for a few seconds, I am
going to do a clapping pattern, which you repeat (practice this). After you repeat the clapping
pattern, I will tell you who talks next. If someone is missing at your table, the person who just
got to talk can talk a little extra. So who is talking first? (Zebras.)
o
The question I want the zebras to answer first is why do you think most of our cars
went faster after we rebuilt them? Zebras, talk to your table. Allow zebras, then each
of the other table members to talk for a few seconds.
o Call on a few people to say what they talked about. Guide students to explain that
they used the information they learned from the first test to do a better job during the
second test.
Everyone did such a good job building cars today. Kiss your brain for all of that hard work you
were able to do. Now lets put away our building materials and go to the next activity.
PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT
Formative: Observation during rebuilding, listening during closure
Summative: Lab sheets, application of ideas to later experiments
(ACEI 4.0)
REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS: Although I taught a variation of this lesson, I did
not teach this actual lesson because of time constraints.
1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
a. Blooms Taxonomy
b. Gardners Multiple Intelligences
7. Is there a way I can alter this lesson to meet an engineering standard better?
Revision Date:
September 12, 2016
2007 ACEI Standard

Indiana Wesleyan University

Elementary Education Lesson Plan Design and Assessment Rubric
Science

Goals
Objectives
Standards

Anticipatory
Set

Purpose

Needs Improvement
1
Lesson objectives are
poorly written and/or
have little or no
connection to learning
goals or standards.
Little connection
exists between
objectives and lesson
activities and
assessments.
The anticipatory set is
missing or has little or
no connection to the
goal or content of the
lesson.

Emerging
Competence 2
Lesson objectives are
correlated with
learning goals and
standards. The
connection between
objectives and lesson
activities and
assessments is weak
or unclear.

Competent 3

The connection
between the
anticipatory set and
lesson objectives and
content is weak or
unclear.

The anticipatory set is

clear and direct and
focuses students
attention on the
lesson.

The statement of
purpose is ambiguous
or worded so
generally that the
connection with the
content of the lesson
is not apparent.

A statement of
purpose is included in
the lesson, but has
little power to
motivate students and
capture their
imaginations.

The statement of
purpose is clearly
connected to the
content of the lesson
and is presented in
terms that are easily
understood by
students.

The lesson plan

contains objectives
that connect goals
and standards with
lesson activities and
assessments.

Outstanding 4
The lesson plan
contains clearly stated
content objectives.
Objectives are
logically connected to
appropriate goals and
standards and are
consistent with lesson
activities and
assessments.
The anticipatory set
connects the current
lesson with previous
and future learning
and focuses students
minds and attention
on the days lesson.
The statement of
purpose has the
power to capture the
imaginations of
students and motivate
them to accomplish
the expected learning.

Readiness
Instructional Technology
The candidate seeks appropriate ways to evaluate and employ technological tools, resources, and
skills as they apply to specific content and pedagogical knowledge, assessment practices, and
student achievement. The selection of appropriate technological tools reflects the candidates
ability to make sound instructional decisions that enable all students to achieve the expected
outcomes. INTASC 6.i, 8.g, 8.o
Plan for Instruction

Adaptation
to Diverse
Students
ACEI
Standard
3.2

Lesson
Presentatio
n
Science
ACEI
Standard
2.2

Needs Improvement
1
Few or no instructional
opportunities are
included. Any
instructional
opportunities are not
developmentally
appropriate or
adapted to diverse
students.

Emerging
Competence 2
Instructional
opportunities are
provided in this
lesson; however, they
are not adapted to
diverse students.

The lesson plan

demonstrates a lack
of understanding of
the fundamental
concepts in the areas
of physical, life, earth,
and space sciences.

The lesson plan

demonstrates an
emerging
understanding of the
fundamental concepts
in the areas of
physical, life, earth,
and space sciences.

Competent 3

Outstanding 4

Instructional
opportunities are
provided in this
lesson. The
opportunities are
developmentally
appropriate and/or are
adapted to diverse
students.

Specific instructional
opportunities are
provided in this lesson
that demonstrate the
candidates
understanding of how
students differ in their
development and
approaches to
learning. The
instructional
opportunities are
adapted to diverse
students.
The lesson plan
demonstrate a broad
understanding of the
fundamental concepts
in all four areas of
physical, life, earth,
and space sciences.

The lesson plan

demonstrates
understanding of the
fundamental concepts
in most of the areas of
physical, life, earth,
and space sciences.

The candidates
science lesson is not
age appropriate. He
or she does not use
the inquiry process
appropriately in
lessons.
The lesson does not
convey the basic
elements of the
nature of science to
students.

Lesson
Presentatio
n
ACEI
Standard
3.3

Check for
Understand
-ing

Review
Learning
Outcomes

The candidates
lesson is somewhat
age appropriate. He
or she does not use
the inquiry process
skillfully in lessons.
The candidates uses
some elements of
inquiry in his or her
lesson design.
The candidates
lesson conveys a
limited understanding
of the basic elements
of the nature of
science to students.

The lesson
presentation does not
encourage elementary
students
development of
critical thinking and
problem solving.

The lesson
presentation includes
little provision for
students
development of
critical thinking and
problem solving.

Little or no provision is
included to check for
student understanding
or to reteach concepts
that elude students
during the initial
presentation.

A guided practice
section is included in
the lesson plan, but
the connection with
the lesson
presentation is weak
and/or unclear.

Lesson closure is not

included, or is not
related to the goals
and/or content of the
lesson.

Lesson closure is
weak and/or poorly
written.

The candidate
demonstrates the
ability to design ageappropriate science
lessons.
The candidate uses
the basic elements of
inquiry in his or her
lesson design.
The lesson conveys
the basic elements of
the nature of science
to students.

The lesson
presentation includes
at least one teaching
strategy that
encourages
elementary students
development of
critical thinking and
problem solving.
The lesson plan
includes a plan and
the means to check
for student
understanding of the
lesson. A provision is
included to reteach all
or part of the lesson
to all or part of the
class.
Lesson closure relates
directly to the lesson
purpose and/or
objective.

Closure

The candidate designs

strong, agedappropriate lessons,
including a variety of
ways to teach science
(structured, guided,
open-ended inquiry,
etc.).
The candidate
successfully designs
multiple ways to use
inquiry (structured,
guided, open-ended,
etc.) in their lessons
to teach the
fundamental concepts
of science.
The lesson contains
information enabling
students to develop
understanding of the
nature of science.
The lesson
presentation includes
a variety of teaching
strategies that
encourage elementary
students
development of
critical thinking and
problem solving.
Plans to check for
student understanding
of the content are an
integral part of the
lesson, and include
frequent questions
and other actively
engaging forms of
formative assessment
during guided
practice.
Lesson closure is
clearly correlated to
the content of the
lesson and actively
engages students in
summarizing the
essential elements of
the lesson.

Plan for Assessment

Formal and
Informal
Assessment
ACEI 4.0

Needs Improvement
1
The lesson plan does
not include
assessment activities,
or there is little or no
correlation between
planned assessment
activities and lesson
goals and objectives.
Any assessments
included are not
developmentally

Emerging
Competence 2
Assessment activities
are included in the
lesson, but they are
not well correlated to
and/or do not cover
the full range of LP
goals and objectives.
The assessment
strategies do not
promote development
of each student.

Competent 3

Outstanding 4

A plan for formal and

informal assessment
throughout the lesson
is included. The
assessment strategies
are uniquely designed
for the students.

Formal and informal

assessments
strategies are a
seamless and
integrated part of the
lesson. The
assessments are
highly correlated to
the learning objectives
and promote
continuous

appropriate for the

students.

Reflection
and PostLesson
Analysis

intellectual, social,
emotional, and
physical development
of each student.

Self-answer questions
are not included in the
lesson plan.

Self-answer questions
are included, but do
not fit the content or
purposes of the
lesson.

The lesson plan

includes all required
self-answer questions.

Additional self-answer
questions are included
that specifically
address unique lesson
content and
methodology.

Lesson Plan Summative Assessment

Element
Goals Objectives Standards
Anticipatory Set
Purpose
Adaptation to Diverse Students
ACEI 3.2
Lesson Presentation
ACEI 2.2
Lesson Presentation
ACEI 3.3
Check for Understanding
Review Learning Outcomes Closure
Formal and Informal Assessment
ACEI 4.0
Reflection and Post-Lesson Analysis

Score

Total Score
Note to faculty
When used for submission in methods course, include data for ACEI
standards on collaborative site.
When used for student-teaching admission, all of the following apply.
Passing total score = 30/40
No individual element score < 2
Signed by faculty

Culminating Assessment
Developmen
t
Learning
Motivation
ACEI 1.0

Needs Improvement
1
The candidates lesson
plan suggests he or
she does not
understand the major
concepts, principles,
theories, and research.

Emerging
Competence 2
The candidates lesson
plan demonstrates a
limited understanding
of the major concepts,
principles, theories,
and research.

The candidates plan

does not provide
opportunities to
support students
development,
acquisition of
knowledge, and
motivation.

He or she designs
lessons with minimally
appropriate learning
opportunities.

Competent 3

Outstanding 4

The candidates lesson

plan demonstrates
understanding of the
major concepts,
principles, theories,
and research and uses
them in planning.

The candidates lesson

plan demonstrates
that he or she fully
understands all of the
major concepts,
principles, theories,
and research and uses
them effectively in
planning.

He or she designs
appropriate lessons
with adequate learning
opportunities that
acknowledge students
development,
acquisition of
knowledge, and
motivation.

He or she includes
learning opportunities
that support students
development,
acquisition of
knowledge, and
motivation.

Culminating Assessment Score:

_________