Inquiry (5E) Lesson Plan

Teacher: Miss Alex Kuhn

Subject: Science

Grade: K

Lesson Title: Helping Our Environment and EARTH

Lesson Duration: 1 week
State Standard(s): grouped by subject and must be observable and measureable
Science
K-LS1-1: Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need
to survive.
K-ESS3-3: Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air,
and/or other living things in the local environment.
K-ESS3-3: Events have causes that generate observable patterns.
LS1.C: All animals need food in order to live and grow.
Reading (R.K.1):With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text
Writing (W.K.2): Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose
informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some
information about the topic
Math (K.CC): Counting and cardinality
Learning Objective(s): kid friendy I can statement
I can work with a group to decide what animals, plants, and humans need to survive
I can find alternative solutions to positively affect the environment
I can identify events in my life that have negative effects
I can analyze data by collecting information on my desktop environment
I can write by myself what animals, plants, and humans need to survive
I can listen to a read aloud and participate in an active discussion
I can draw a picture that demonstrates my desktop environment
I can count how many items were recycled in our classroom
Academic Vocabulary: with definitions
Environment: the surrounding natural world
Harmful: likely to be damaging
Observation: something you notice by watching and listening
Organism: an individual living thing
Recycle: to use something again (re-use)
Materials/Technology:
Board sort (magnetic word strips)
Read Aloud- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Quick 2-5 min. clip showing positive affects of recycling (overhead/DVD player)
Recycling bin
Desktop environment (soil, small plants, rocks, water, apply small amount of fertilizer to plant)
Markers
Science Journal
BIG IDEA: How can the way people live harm the environment?

Engage (Day 1)
Activities:
Guiding Questions:
On the board the teacher will mark off three
How would animals, plants, and humans
separate categories: Animal, Plant, Humans.
survive if they did not have the correct
Students will then be asked to come to the
things they need?
board to determine what items each category
Focus mainly on learning what it means to
needs for survival. (Food, place to live, good
recycle
soil, light, etc. will already be on magnets for
How can we as a class recycle?
students to place in each category) whole class
What parts of the environment do we help
Read-Aloud: The 3 Rs: Reuse, Reduce,
when we recycle?
Recycle By: Nuria Roca (students should focus

Do we help organisms when we recycle?

on the different ways people can recycle)
Movie clip: alternative solutions to prevent
pollution
Class discussion: What is recycling?
Make a class recycle bin
Assessment:
Science journal (independent): Prompt If we do not take care of living organisms then Allow
students to fill in a response

Explore (Day 2)
Activities:
Guiding Questions:
Make desktop environment whole group first
What do we do in our daily life that has
(then marked into smaller groups based on 5-6
negative effects on the environment?
people in each desk) **desktop environment
What are some things we can do to prevent
will allow for students to actively engage in
this?
observation as a whole group and individually
What is an observation?
for a month**
How can we make observations of our
Collect data each day in science journal to
desktop environment?
describe environment (use teacher prompt)
Will fertilizer be beneficial to our desktop?
Collect data each day of how many
bottles/items the class has recycled (whole
group) collect information on a class chart,
create word problems for students to identify in
groups of 2. Ex.) How many bottles were
recycled? (Student has to be able to
successively count how many bottles)allow
for a counting strip if number grows past 10
(high teacher scaffolding)
Assessment:
Science journal (independent): I have observed that my desktop environment
List 5 observations
Draw one picture to explain desktop environment (individual)
Model by drawing a picture on the board for the whole class to use as a prompt
Assessment will also be taken on students ability to answer the math word problems with their math

partner

Explain (Day 3)
Activities:
Re-watch the short video clip on alternative
solutions
Identify negative effects we have on
environment
Explain as a whole group how we can help our
classroom
Ex.) use less water when washing hands,
properly water classroom plants, only use air on
hot days, etc.
Connect this concept back to what animals,
plants and humans need to survive-make
connections
Make the list ONE more time on the board to
make sure students understand (three
categories, match with what they each need to
survive)

Guiding Questions:
Do we use too much air conditioning?
Can we save water when we use the
restroom?
Introduce vocab terms
*Make a classroom list applying all we
have learned to answer the question: How
can the way people live harm the
environment?
** Allows for students to share what they
have learned throughout the lesson
What is an observation?
**Allow students to use observations they
have recorded for their desktop
environment**
Encourage students to use vocab terms
while creating the list

Assessment:
Teacher will informally assess: Do students understand what plants, animals, and humans need to
survive? Yes or No.
Science journal (independent): use pictures/words/colors to make 3 categories of plants, animals, and
humans (use teachers prompt on board to list all separate sentences.water, good soil, light, etc. )

Elaborate (Day 4)
Activities:
To be completed on the following day**
Whole group-use teacher example desktop
environment to collect observations. Make sure
to use vocab terms to allow for students to
recall information
Allow students to collect more observations of
their individual desktop environment with
groups of 5-6 (their desk groups)
Look at posters teacher has made about
preserving the Earth with colorful pictures
allows for students to view the environment on
a larger scale (not just small like their desktop
environment)

Guiding Questions:
How has our desktop changed?
Why do you think the desktop changed?
Does the desktop need window light?
Do the plants need window light?
**Connect back to what plants, animals,
humans need to survive**
How can we preserve the Earth at home?-make connection between school and home
life

Assessment:
Science journal (individual): Title: 4 Ways I Can Help Our Earth
Separate journal page into 4 sections
Students draw 4 separate pictures of how they can help the Earth either at school or at home
(connecting what we have learned at school to their home life)
Teacher will informally assess students by asking what they are drawing

Evaluate (Day 5)
Assessment:
Science Journal:
People harm the environment by ___________(pollution / recycling).
We, as a classroom, can help the environment by __________ bottles. (recyling /polluting)
Draw a picture to explain the 2 answers.