STEM 434/534 Lesson Planning Template
(Complete answers in Purple font)
Name: Alison Cole Grade: Kindergarten Topic: Seasons
Brief Lesson Description:
Total Lesson Time: 1-1.5 hours
Students will learn about the four seasons and the pattern of weather that aligns with the seasons.
Specific Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to recognize the different between seasons (temperature, activities, clothing, etc.) They will demonstrate this
knowledge by creating a collage of one season of their choice
How did this lesson develop as a result of your examination of research and data about employing culturally sustaining pedagogical
strategies? (Think equal opportunity, student interests, race, gender, disabilities etc.)
Students will be exposed to different holidays that are celebrated throughout the seasons. They can also apply what they do in their
own lives during certain seasons as well.
Narrative / Background Information
Prior Student Knowledge:
Concept of hot/cold
Science VA SOL Health VA SOL NGSS (You may have to look to a different
K.9 The student will investigate and Physical Health grade level for the connection)
understand that there are patterns K.1.e Identify positive physical 1-ESS1-2. Make observations at
in nature. Key patterns include a) activity options and the benefits of different times of year to relate the
daily weather; b) seasonal changes; being physically active amount of daylight to the time of
and c) day and night. year.
Science & Engineering Practices: (You must tie engineering practices into your plan)
- identify patterns in nature (day and night, seasons, life cycles) (K.9 a, b, c)
Possible Preconceptions/Misconceptions:
- Certain weather only happens during certain seasons
- During the sort, some students may disagree about what pictures go with what season (allow for
discussion and for reasoning; Why did you put that there?)
LESSON PLAN – 5-E Model
ENGAGE: Opening Activity – Access Prior Learning / Stimulate Interest / Generate Questions: (Discrepant events are awesome to use
here)
20 Minutes
Probing Questions (5 minutes):
Before
How do we know what season it is?
What clothes do we wear during the summer? Winter? Spring? Fall?
How do we know when fall is coming?
Dress Up Game
1. Separate students into 4 groups (one group for each season)
2. Each group will have one paper bag and evaluate the content in it
3. Students will talk about what they find in their bag until they reach the conclusion that their bag corresponds with the season.
4. Each group will have a chance to speak about the items in their bag and how they knew what season it was
After? (5 minutes)
Are days in the summer longer or shorter than winter?
What do some animals do to prepare for winter?
Why is the weather different during the seasons?
What type of outdoor activities do we do in the fall? Summer? Winter?
EXPLORE: Lesson Description – Materials Needed / Probing or Clarifying Questions:
30 minutes
Begin the lesson by watching a video on different seasons and weather. (Through 2:00)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQPjb2gQZIM
- Classroom discussion on what we saw children doing in the video during each season (5 minutes)
- Discuss what outdoor activities people can do during certain seasons and the importance of exercise (5 minutes)
Go through seasons Google Slide (20-25 minutes)
- Allow students to answer questions on the slides and fill in
- Discuss that the position of the earth determines different seasons
- Allow each student to come up and move a picture to which season it relates to
EXPLAIN: Concepts Explained and Vocabulary Defined: 10 minutes
Go over the seasons:
- Spring: fair temperatures, plants bloom, animals wake from hibernation
- Summer: Hot weather, long days
- Fall: plants begin to lose leaves, fair weather
- Winter: Cold temperatures, gets dark earlier, plants die, animals hibernate, short days
Review the rotation of the earth around the sun and how it affects seasons
Discuss that certain animals hibernate during the winter to save energy (bears) and wake in the spring
Days during the winter are shorter, and days in the summer longer
Vocabulary: Seasons, winter, spring, summer, fall, hibernation, cycle
ELABORATE: Applications and Extensions:
Students will share their collages with each other once they are finished. They will explain why they chose the season and pick out 2-3
images and how they reflect the season that they chose. Students who may struggle with characteristics of their season will be able to
work with another student who chose their season and get ideas.
EVALUATE:
This will be done the next day
- Review the Google Slide activity to refresh student memory
- Students will be given 30-45 minutes to create their collage
Materials: paper, glue, magazines, markers, crayons, scissors
Formative Monitoring (Questioning / Discussion):
Teacher will go table to table and discuss with students about their collage to assess understanding.
Why did you use this picture for your season?
What does this represent?
What makes you think of fall/spring/winter/summer?
Summative Assessment (Quiz / Project / Report) (Include a rubric):
Students will create a collage of their favorite season with accurate pictures depicting their season. They will be given nature magazines
to use to cutout images that correspond to the season that they chose.
Proficient Emerging Beginning
3 points 2 points 1 point
Effort The student put forth The student demonstrated The student showed some
exceptional effort in completing good effort in completing the effort in completing the collage,
the collage, and it is finished to collage and it is mostly finished but it is incomplete or missing
completion several elements.
Seasonal Representation The collage effectively The collage mostly represents The collage includes a few
represents the chosen season the chosen season with some seasonal images, but some are
with clear and appropriate appropriate images not relevant
images
Craftmanship Collage is neatly assembled Collage is generally neat, and Collage shows some effort in
with attention to detail. All most images are cut and glued assembly, but there are several
images are carefully cut and with care messy parts
glued
Plan for differentiation: (Be sure to specifically address the following learners)
Students with high-incidence disabilities (e.g., autism, ADHD, mild learning disorders)
Students who may have disabilities will always be allowed accommodations per their IEP and any others that the teacher may
need to help the students succeed. This can be from read aloud, extra time, and help cutting/gluing, etc.
ELL
To help ELLs, I would make changes to the slide lesson so that it is the native language as well. I would also pair them with a
buddy if possible that speaks the same language so they can help. Lastly, I would give extra time/support to help student
understand the concept.
Gifted learners
Students will explain to me why they chose the pictures for their season.
Elaborate Further / Reflect: Enrichment:
How will you evaluate your practice?
Using the assessment to see if students are comprehending the different seasons. Also, through class participation by seeing how
engaged students are.
Where might/did learners struggle in the lesson?
Learners might struggle in the lesson understanding the different positioning of the earth during the different seasons. They may
also struggle with the concept that some activities and weather is capable of being present during multiple seasons
How can the lesson be strengthened for improved student learning?
I could use a more creative discrepant event or introduction that draws in attention. I could also create a type of assessment
where I can see directly if students understand the concepts (I.e., flashcards with seasonal pictures and have students sort).
Did the lesson reflect culturally sustaining pedagogies? If not, how can this be enhanced?
My lesson reflects culturally sustaining pedagogies. Through the sorting activity in the Google Slides, students are exposed to a
multitude of different religious and cultural holidays.
Materials Required for This Lesson/Activity
Quantity Description Potential Supplier (item #) Estimated Price
