Carly Strauss

ELED 3221-003
April 8th, 2014
edTPA Indirect Instruction Lesson Plan Template
Constellations
_____________________________________________________________________________
Central Focus/Big Idea: Constellations
Subject of this lesson: Science
Grade Level: 3
NC Essential Standard(s): 3.E.1- Recognize the major components and patterns observed in the
earth/moon/sun system
Next Generation Science Standard(s):
5-ESS1- Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and
2
direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the
night sky.

21st Century Skills:

Create- Students will be creating their own unique constellation and a myth to match.
Meaning- Students will learn the meaning of how existing constellations were name.
Academic Language Demand
Language Function: In the table below highlight the one most important language
function for your lesson. Explain why you chose these.
Analyze

Argue

Categorize

Interpret

Predict

Question

Compare/contras
t
Retell

Describe

Explain

Summarize

I chose interpret because students will recognize how existing constellations got their name upon
interpretation and do the same with own constellation project.
Scientific Vocabulary: Constellations, star, myth
Instructional Objective: Using paper, confetti stars, crayons, and glue, students will be able to
identify what a constellation is and create their own constellation myth with a 90% accuracy.
Prior Knowledge (student): Understanding of the terms, universe, galaxy, and stars

Content Knowledge (teacher): Knowing the term constellation and being able to explain how a
few of our constellations got their name.
Accommodations for special needs: Students who are visually or hearing impaired can sit
closer to the SMART board to better see visuals or hear the video. ELL students may write their
myth in their native language if they cannot fluently write in English.
Materials and Technology requirements: Smart board, note book presentation, black paper
(one per student), star-shaped confetti (approx. 8 per student), white crayons (one per student),
white-lined paper (one per student), writing utensils
Total Estimated Time: 1 hour
Source of lesson: Video: Greek Mythology- Constellation Myths
SMART board Notebook presentation: Constellations
Safety considerations: Star-shaped confetti is sharp so it should be held carefully and kept away
from students eyes.

Content and Strategies (Procedure)

In your procedure, be sure to include all of the following 5 Es. Your procedure should be
detailed enough for a colleague to follow. If you will be relying on technology (e.g., a YouTube
video), describe your back up plan thoroughly. Imagine your most novice colleague needing to
teach from your plan. Dont just answer the questions. Additionally, I expect you to include
possible questions you could ask for each section. This needs to include higher-order questions.
Engage: The teacher will remind the class that they are in their solar system unit. To activate
prior knowledge, the teacher will ask review questions such as What is a planet? What is a star?
Is the sun a star? The class will answer and then the teacher will explain that today we will learn
what happens when a group of stars come together to form a unique shape!
The teacher can ask the class by show of hands, who has heard of the big dipper or the little
dipper? They will then say, Those are examples of constellations. A constellation is a group of
stars. Behind each constellation is a myth, which is an old story that may or may not be true,
about that constellation.
Explore: Next, the class will watch a twenty-minute video about constellations from the Greek
Mythology series- Constellations. The video is animated and tells a children-friendly version
about the myths of Orion (The Hunter), and the Big Dipper. It exemplifies how a myth is most
likely fictional because the story can sound both silly and very unlikely. Since this movie is in a
DVD, if the classroom is having technical difficulties or does not have a DVD player, the teacher
can pull the students on the reading rug and story tell about these myths either using a book of
their choice or by heart.
Explanation: Now, the class will view a SMART board Notebook presentation about the science
behind constellations. This is an interactive presentation, it asks questions and a class volunteer
can come and tap on the right answer. These questions include: What is a constellation? Click on
the constellations (showing some constellation and other images such as the sun, a planet, or a
single star). There are also fill in the blanks options including: Earth rotates on its axis and Earth
revolves around the sun. This presentation also includes what constellations look like at different
times of the night and different seasons as well as provide more examples of different
constellations and their names. If the classroom does not have a SMART board, the teacher may
hand-write notes on the board.
Elaborate: Students will now make their own constellation. Each student will receive a blank
sheet of black paper. They will be given a handful of star-shaped confetti. They drop their
confetti onto their paper and connect the pieces of confetti without moving them. It is important
to emphasize that the students cannot move the stars on their paper because they cannot move the
stars in the sky! Students will glue the star confetti as they land on the paper.
They will then connect their stars using a white crayon. It is up to each student to determine what
his or her constellation resembles. If students are having difficulties coming up with a response,
the teacher can ask suggesting questions such as, To me, that looks like a type of fish, do you

know what Im thinking of? or Try rotating your paper a different way, do you see anything
different? If students are still stuck they can ask a classmate what they see.
After students constellation pictures are finished, they are to take a white-lined sheet of paper
and write a short myth about how their constellations got their name. The teacher should advise
the students to think back to video they watched about a special hunter. They can also thoughtprovoking questions such as Does your animal have a magic power? Why is your sword
better than any other sword?
After students are completely finished with their constellation picture and myth, they will hand
their work to the teacher who will glue their myth and picture together to display classroom
around the room or in the hallway.
Evaluate: Summative assessment: Completion of the create your own constellation activity
(Students are expected to write at least half a page of original work). Points will be taken off for
failure to follow directions, writing too little, or copying classmates.
Formative assessment: Participation in class discussions and paying attention while video is
playing.
To be complete after the lesson is taught as appropriate
Assessment Results of all objectives/skills: All students met objective with a 90% accuracy.
Reflection on lesson:
I feel as though my lesson went really well as a whole. The students really enjoyed
learning myths about constellations that some of them have even seen. My CT had told me that
the class was already engaged in their solar system unit, so teaching about constellations was a
great lesson for me to teach because it aligned with what they were already learning.

Though the lesson did run smoothly, there were a few bumps along the way. At first, I
tried playing the DVD through the computer and that was not working after a few minutes of
playing with the computer, trying to figure out how to get it to play. I then decided to just play it
through the DVD player which then worked better. I also had a few stumbles trying to make it
through the SMART board presentation, knowing where to press and what to drag. I took a deep
breath and figured out the technology issues. I was very lucky to be in a classroom where the

students were so well behaved while I was figuring this out. After the lesson was over, my CT
praised me for how calm I remained even during technical difficulties, a trait she rarely sees in
new teacher. I really enjoyed hearing that compliment because I have a lot of experience talking
in front of people and having things go not the way they were planned so it was nice to hear that
they way I handle issues is impressive.

I also learned that sometimes no matter how many times I explain directions, like when
explaining the constellation activity, the students will still have questions. A way I can avoid this
is by always having directions listed on the board. I know that sometimes I will have to stop the
class and thats okay because it happens to everyone. My teacher used a bell to quiet her class
when she needed to and I plan on using a similar idea because I dont like to raise my voice.

Some students came up with very creative constellations and myths. One student even
came up with a bowl of cereal and milk that gave people magic powers when they drank form it.
Another student took his story very deep; it was about a boy dealing with an alcoholic father and
he found a key that led him to his mother.

The students showed their learning by how creative they were when coming up with their
constellation stories. I was really proud of how easily they were able to integrate creative writing
and science. They were very proficient in classroom discussions as well, with the exception of
mixing up rotate and revolve.

I think that students took away from this lesson that constellations are not named solely
on their shape, but that there is a myth behind them. They overall enjoyed themselves because
they thought the artwork and creative writing involved was fun.

I think I did a sufficient job accommodating for students with special needs. I made sure
all students were able to see the board. There is a new student in class from Mexico and she
speaks very little English. I allowed her to write her story in Spanish since she did not have much
of an English vocabulary yet.

I learned about myself as a teacher that even though I love giving students the
opportunity to be creative, I still have to teach the facts. I need to practice what I am going to say
for this almost like a script so that it makes the most sense to the students. I believe that it is very
apparent when teachers are not prepared and I do not want to be one of those teachers. Therefore
I will learn from my errors in this lesson, and grow.

If I were to teach this lesson in the future, I would probably include an exit ticket to see
that the students understand and retain the new science facts learned. I would also practice the
notebook presentation on the actual SMART board before I showed it to the class.

SMART notebook presentation provided by my CT: