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LESSON PLAN - CHILDHOOD

Your Name:
Content Area: Science
Grade Level: Second
Course Name: TCH 420
Unit Name: Properties and Patterns of Water
Lesson Number: 1
Length of Lesson: 45 minutes
Lesson Topic or Central Focus: The States of Matter
Standards Addressed

Common Core Learning Standards 2-PS1-1

(include ELA and content area Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and
elements): classify different kinds of materials by their observable
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-standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.2
Write informative/explanatory texts in which they
introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop
points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.OA.A.1
Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve one-
and two-step word problems involving situations of
adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart,
and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by
using drawings and equations with a symbol for the
unknown number to represent the problem.1
ACEI Standards Addressed1: N/A

1
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Planning Rationale and Focus

Rationale/Research Basis By using Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple

What principles from theories and Intelligences, I plan to incorporate the learning
research justify your use of approaches of kinesthetic [touching/feeling materials],
instructional strategies and visual [seeing materials/processes in person], auditory
activities to support diverse [using voice to explain the different features], linguistic
students’ learning needs? (ACEI 3.3; [encouraging students to use their own words to
edTPA Elementary Education explain], interpersonal [group work], intrapersonal
Rubric 3) [individual reflection]. This will enable students to
experience the lesson using the intelligences they excel
in, while trying new ones too.

According to Vygotsky’s “Zone of Proximal

Development,” students can complete tasks individually,
but can learn more when they work with others. The
lesson will begin with a class discussion and further into
students participating in the activity within groups. In
order for the learning to be differentiated, students who
need extra help can work with a partner in their group
who has a better understanding of what to do. I will also
be walking around the room to provide direct
instruction when needed.

From the Chapter, “What Do Students Need? Flexible

Instructional Grouping,” Heacox describes how “flexible
grouping can create instructional groups and prescribe
specific activities that respond to students’ learning
needs” (Heacox 85). For this lesson, flexible groups will
be used based on specific learning needs, strengths, and
preferences in order for all students to feel comfortable
and confident in their abilities.
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Context for Learning Rationale: What is K-PS-1

the justification for your lesson based on Plan and conduct an investigation to test the
students’ prior academic learning and claim that different kinds of matter exist as
personal/cultural/community assets? either solid or liquid, depending on
(edTPA) temperature.

I will use this kindergarten standard to lay the

foundation for this lesson. I will assess
students’ prior academic knowledge by first
giving them the activity of making a
representation of the atoms in each state of
matter with materials like Cheerios. This will
enable me to see if students understand the
different forms of the states of matter. Based
on their responses, I will refresh their
knowledge by explicitly stating the features of
each state of matter.
How do you plan to build authentic I will use the ELA standard listed above to
connections between reading and build connections between reading and writing
writing to create meaningful contexts in this lesson. After the introduction activity, I
for the use of an essential literacy can restate the states of matter and specific
strategy? (e.g., vocabulary knowledge, materials that correspond to each one through
labels and objects that can be found in the
text structure, writing format) (ACEI
classroom for students to observe and touch. I
2.1; edTPA Elementary Education will create a word wall of vocabulary words
Rubric 1) that they should become familiar with and
employ during the lesson [solid, liquid, gas,
particle/molecule]. A list of definitions will also
be provided for each word. There will also be
photographs/illustrations that exemplify each
vocabulary word for students to gain visuals on
the information. Students will be able to build
upon their vocabulary that is relevant to the
subject area. Students should keep track of
notes and class/group discussion ideas in
science journals. Students should be able to put
their thoughts and newfound knowledge into
written language by writing informative texts
explaining their findings [unless noted
otherwise based on performance level].
Essential Question(s) for this lesson: What qualities do each state of matter exhibit
to make them unique and individual?
How do you use/see water in the states of
matter in your everyday life?
How do the properties of water impact life on
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Earth?
Lesson Objectives: Students should be able to differentiate the
characteristics of the three states of matter
based on their physical and molecular features.
They should also be able to provide examples
that correspond to each state of matter and
explain their reasonings.

Assessment

Evidence of Student Prior to the main form of “assessment,” the

Understanding/Assessment in this cereal activity will serve as a form of “pre-
Lesson: (multiple forms—qualitative and assessment” to evaluate how much students
quantitative patterns--of evidence to know using prior knowledge. This will lay a
monitor students’ learning.) ACEI 4.0, foundation for them to expand upon their
edTPA Elementary Education Rubric 11 knowledge as they continue into the next
activity. I will circle around the room and
provide direct instruction for those who need
help and keep track of who knows what to do.
It is important to keep in mind that those
students who struggle with the initial activity
may have a better experience if they are paired
up with students who exhibit adequate
knowledge on the differences between each
state of matter.

In set, flexible groups, students will embark on

a scavenger hunt [indoors or outdoors,
weather permitting] and will write down, in
their worksheet, examples of solids, liquids,
and gases they find. They will also reflect on
this activity through their science journals,
which they should use in every lesson/activity
they do. Their science journals enable them to
write informative/explanatory texts to develop
a topic and reasonings using vocabulary and
facts, which touches upon the ELA standard
listed above. The class will come together as a
group and share out findings at the end of the
scavenger hunt. This can be expanded to
further have students explain the
characteristics of their examples and how they
came up with them [through the five senses:
touch, feel, sight, smell, sound]. They should
write sentences in their journals to explain
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their choices and share them out with the class.

They may also choose to draw pictures or
diagrams to explain their reasonings. This will
exhibit not only the ability to label things as
solids, liquids, or gases but also how they
differentiate each state of matter.
Describe how your assessments are This assessment is open for students of any
specifically designed to allow individuals learning style/preference. It gives them the
or groups with specific needs to freedom to take this activity in any way they
demonstrate their learning. (ACEI 4.0; wish. If any students need additional help, they
edTPA Elementary Education Rubric 5) can join the teacher’s group or be paired with
other students early on for more guidance and
support.

Lesson Preparation

Student Preparation for this lesson: (Link I will utilize vocabulary they should already be
prior academic learning and personal, familiar with to introduce the lesson [via
cultural, or community assets to new Kindergarten standard]. Students should be
learning in order to deepen and extend knowledgeable in the examples that are used
understanding of the essential literacy to show the differences between solids,
strategy. (ACEI 3.1; edTPA Elementary liquids, and gases, including typical objects in
Education Rubric 7) their household/evident in the environment:
chair, apple, water, air, smoke, steam [relating
to cultural/environmental relevance].
Flashcards with pictures and labels will be
used for students to connect words to images,
and will be placed on the board/wall to refresh
their memory. The new vocabulary words
introduced will be solid, liquid, gas, molecule,
and particle if the students are not already
familiar with them. The beginning activity will
engage students in the lesson and hopefully
allow them to connect to their prior
knowledge about the particles in the three
states of matter. The scavenger hunt will
enable students to deepen and extend their
learning by searching for examples themselves
in the given environment. They will be asked
to use the vocabulary introduced to them in
the beginning to show differentiation in the
three states of matter.

Learning Environment: Describe how you The introduction of this lesson will be in a
will provide a challenging learning group environment, with all students sitting
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environment that provides varied together with the opportunity to individually

opportunities and grouping. (edTPA participate and talk with one another to share
Elementary Education Rubric 6) ideas. They will then either work at their desks
or spread around the room to work on the
Cheerios worksheet, giving them opportunities
for collaboration or individual work. The
environment for the scavenger hunt will be
determined prior to the lesson and will offer
equal opportunities for all students, even
though each group will be placed in different
settings. In their groups they will collaborate
to discuss findings, similarities, and
differences. This will challenge students to
individually think critically and then
communicate with others as a group.

Materials Required: (text/online Worksheet, Cheerios/some type of cereal, flash

resources, supplies as construction paper, cards with pictures and labels of vocabulary
flash cards, test tubes, etc.) and examples of each state of matter, science
journals, scavenger hunt worksheet, writing
utensil, indoor/outdoor environment that
includes examples of all three states of matter

Planned Accommodations for Students With the Cheerios worksheet, students will
with Disabilities or Diverse Learning have the opportunities to utilize visual and
Styles or ELL: kinesthetic learning qualities. For those with
learning disabilities in vocabulary
Describe how you have designed your development and language function, they
lesson to meet the needs of students with won’t need to focus solely on the vocabulary
different levels of language learning words, but rather, they have the opportunity
associated with vocabulary development to work with hands-on materials and share
and language function.(ACEI 3.2; edTPA their insights using the cereal. The worksheet
Elementary Education Rubric 4 and 2) provides typical images that they should be
familiar with. For the scavenger hunt, students
with different levels of language learning can
illustrate pictures of the examples for each
state of matter in their worksheet/journal
instead of writing down the names. These
students can be grouped with the teacher in
order to help explicitly state the differences
between the three states of matter for deeper
understanding. They can then further one-on-
one time/direct instruction to help
incorporate new vocabulary in descriptive
sentences.
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Lesson Sequence

Step by Step Explanation of Anticipatory Hook:

Activities/Strategies (ACEI 2.1, 2.2, 2.3,
2.4, 2.5, 2.6, and/or 2.7; edTPA Cheerios/Cereal Worksheet- making a
Elementary Education Rubric 9) representation of the atoms in each state of
matter using cereal. Students will use math to
Anticipatory Hook: count the pieces of cereal they put for each
state of matter. This will add a depth of
Modeling: understanding for students to understand that
Guided Practice: solids contain the most particles that are
packed tightly together, liquids have less that
Independent Application: are a little more spread apart, and gases have
the least which are spread extremely far apart.
Closure: Using the math standard of solving problems
involving addition and subtraction will
connect with the characteristics of the states of
matter and what makes each one of them
unique. They will practice their knowledge of
figuring out how many less particles they can
fit between solids and liquids, and liquids and
gases. They will demonstrate how solids have
the most particles and as you subtract more
particles, the states of matter change into
liquids and gases. [Visual/Spatial;
Comprehension]

Modeling:

Show flash cards of pictures with labels of the

examples and what state of matter they are.
These words and visuals will be left on the
board [word wall] for students to refer back to
if they need to refresh their memory. Images of
examples will also be left on the board for
those who need such visuals [Visual;
Knowledge]

Use the hand model to show students how the

particles of each state of matter differ from one
another—solids: hands in fists and push them
together to vibrate slightly; liquids: hands in
fists and allow them to slightly bounce off one
another; gases: hands in fists and have them
bounce off one another, making big
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movements. [Bodily Kinesthetic; Visual;

Comprehension]

Guided Practice:

Ask students to repeat the hand models with

you so that they can develop understanding of
the particles of each state of matter. They can
also act out the particles using their entire
bodies. [Bodily Kinesthetic; Visual;
Comprehension]
Ask them open ended questions for their own
examples of the states of matter and what
makes each example a solid, liquid, or gas. Ask
them to use their prior knowledge and
personal experiences of examples of different
types of matter [what they see when they walk
to school, household appliances, etc]. Ask other
students to share their thoughts on their peers’
statements, whether they agree or disagree.
[Intrapersonal; Analysis]

Create questions:

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, essential questions

will be introduced and more questions that
students come up themselves will be written
and left on the board. The students will answer
these questions throughout the lesson and the
entire unit. The critical thinking questions are
included in the next section.

Independent Application:

The main experiment/activity is for students

to embark on a scavenger hunt [15 minutes] in
a designated environments outside or inside.
They will be placed into groups [flexible
grouping] and use their science
journals/scavenger hunt worksheet to make
three columns: solids, liquids, gases. They will
search for different examples of each state of
matter by traveling around the given
environment [outside, weather permitting].
They can label the names or draw pictures of
what they find and should keep in mind why
they place each item into the specific category.
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[Logical/Mathematical; Evaluation]
They will collaborate with the peers in their
group and share ideas/individual findings.
They will use this collaboration to help them
creative informative/explanatory texts
utilizing vocabulary words and complete
sentences [Intrapersonal; Analysis]

I will spend time going to each group and

watching their progress to see if anyone needs
assistance/direct instruction.

Closure:

Students will jigsaw in to different groups,

with a member from each of the original
groups in their specific settings in new ones.
Each student will give an example of one of
their findings from where they were placed.
This will give them the opportunity to
collaborate with individuals who were not in
their original groups, and they can develop
connections between what they found in their
different settings. The class will come together
as a whole to reflect on what they learned
today. Students will share out examples of
what they wrote in the columns and
explanations as to why they put each item in
the corresponding state of matter [using
sentence starters to explain their choices and
further a discussion]. We will reiterate the
physical and molecular characteristics of each
state of matter and close with the students
acting out being a solid, liquid, or gas with
their bodies. [Intrapersonal; Evaluation]

Collaboration and Use of Critical Thinking Students will use critical thinking skills to
Skills: connect the states of matter to valid examples.
They will further their understanding by
(ACEI 3.3, 3.5; edTPA Elementary determining which objects and features they
Education Rubric 8) see in the given environment correlating with
a state of matter. Students will need to use
prior knowledge, vocabulary introduced in the
beginning of this lesson, and critical thinking
skills to develop a deeper understanding and
make decisions on their own. Students will
collaborate in sharing their ideas during the
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introduction portion of this lesson. They will

have time at the end of the lesson to write
down their findings in descriptive sentences.
They also have opportunities to collaborate
during the cereal worksheet, scavenger hunt,
and after the activities for group reflection and
discussion. Students will compare and contrast
the examples they found. They will also
explain why they placed certain examples in
the specific columns [ex: physical appearance,
molecular structure, prior knowledge
connections].

Critical Thinking Questions:

What three states of matter did we learn?
Can you find examples of the three states of
matter in any environment?
Does water remain the same substance even
when it’s in a different state of matter?
Can all objects change from one state of matter
to another?
Can all substances change back to their
original state of matter, or are some actions
irreversible?

Post-Lesson Considerations

Assessment Results: Explain changes The scavenger hunt enables students to take
based on data collection and analysis (if their learning upon themselves. It may be
lesson enacted with students). challenging for individuals who struggle with
the initial concept of states of matter.
Learning can be differentiated by giving those
students a smaller setting to look for
examples of the states of matter, as there are
less objects to focus on.

Reflections on process and products of Instead of having all students in the same
lesson design, propose changes based on setting for the scavenger hunt, it may be more
assessment results, and justify changes ideal to group students in accordance to
based on research and/or theory (ACEI ability/aptitude and assign them each a
5.2; edTPA Elementary Education Rubric different environment. It may be needed to
10) manipulate objects in each setting for
students to focus more on the activity itself
and distinguishing each state of matter from
one another.
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Post-Assessment Applications (to the best Students will be able to use self-reflection
of ability, if lesson enacted): based on their ability to complete the cereal
activity and individually find examples to
Describe how students will be supported determine their state of matter in the first half
in their use of self-reflection to evaluate of the scavenger hunt activity. They will be
their strengths and challenges (edTPA able to see if they are struggling and can seek
Elementary Education Rubric 12) help when they collaborate in their groups
Describe ‘next steps’ that provide ways during the scavenger hunt. Students enjoy
working from one another and are more
that the instructor will use targeted
support for individuals and groups to prone to asking their peers for help rather
than the teacher. Using flexible grouping for
improve learning, justify based on
research principles (edTPA Elementary this lesson will helps students take initiative
in working with others and communicating.
Education Rubric 15)

Describe how you will supports’ use of Next steps could be to start the next lesson in
set groups from the very beginning so that
feedback to deepen understanding
(edTPA Elementary Education Rubric 13) individuals who are struggling start the
activity with support. The decision of how to
separate the students into groups may be
dependent on their success rates from the
initial activity.
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Worksheets

Math skills: count [add and subtract] amount of cereal in each state of matter to
understand how the states of matter differentiate through their molecular structures.

[Thompson. “States of Matter.” Mrs. Thompson's Treasures, Bellano Web Studio,

www.mrsthompsonstreasures.com/product/states-of-matter/.]
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ELA skills: use new vocabulary and write descriptions/reasonings on choices – can be
manipulated based on learning preferences of drawing diagrams/full complete sentences.
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Resources

Heacox, Diane. Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom: How to Reach

and Teach All Learners, Grades 3-12. Free Spirit, 2002.

Kelley, Grace. “Two (or More) Heads Are Better than One.” International Teaching
Magazine, Consilium Education, 5 Apr. 2017,
consiliumeducation.com/itm/2017/01/04/two-or-more-heads-are-better-than-one/.

Thompson. “States of Matter.” Mrs. Thompson's Treasures, Bellano Web Studio,

www.mrsthompsonstreasures.com/product/states-of-matter/.