Nicole Moorman

ELD 376
Science Lesson Plan #2
October 22, 2015
Big Idea: There is a cause and effect between the flow of water
over and through land and the effects of various land features
on the flow of water. Water is one of Earths systems that can
change the land due to a unique interaction.

Students will explore what happens to land when water from a

stream source erodes and deposits soil.
Students will continue to investigate their exploration of the
basic effects of rainwater on land. The students will focus on
stream formation by transforming their land models (made in a
previous lesson) into stream tables by adding a stream source.
A stream table is a waterproof box that contains sand, gravel,
and other soil components and also contains a water source.

Lesson objectives:
Students conduct their stream table investigation and record
observations.
Students summarize what happened when water from a single
source flows over and through land in their science notebooks.
Students discuss similarities and differences among the streams.
Teaching techniques:
To start the lesson, the teacher will bring the students attention
back to a lesson previously taught where the students built a
land model and conducted an activity where they observed how
rainwater affected their model. The teacher will then inform
students that to build off of the rain on their land models, that
they will be investigating how streams form from water flowing
downslope over land. The teacher will instruct students to call
their land models stream tables from this point on.
The teacher will introduce the materials that the students will be
using to create their streams. The teacher will briefly go over the
different steps that each group must complete in order for their
stream to form correctly. The groups will be required to assign
each group member a specific job so that all group members are
contributing.
To ensure student success throughout the classroom, the teacher
will have one group demonstrate all of the steps in front of the
entire class so that each group is provided with a visual on what
exactly they need to do.

One of the main conflicts that students might come across is

distinguishing between soil and water. The teacher should
engage students in a discussion on how to tell the difference
between them, and also how to distinguish the difference
between them while drawing their results.
As a group, the teacher will have each student write out a
prediction as to what they think is going to change in the land
caused by the stream source. They will also be asked to write the
similarities and differences that they think they will find between
the stream source that they are creating in this activity, and the
rainwater that they created in the previous lesson.
After the students have completed their predictions, the teacher
will ask for students to share their ideas with the class. The
students will then be asked to break apart and gather their
materials to begin working on the experiment.
The students will be required to record their data as well as draw
a diagram as to what exactly their stream table looks like. They
will need to draw and label each specific part, as well as color
different parts of their drawings. Especially emphasize that they
need to distinguish between soil and water by coloring each one
differently and labeling this in their drawing.
When the teacher believes that each group has completed the
experiment, the students will be given the chance to walk around
the room and observe other groups stream tables.
The teacher will then lead a group discussion on what exactly
happened to the soil from the water from the stream source.
The teacher will then write three open-ended questions on the
board and require students to write responses to each question
in their science notebooks.
After giving enough time, the teacher will collect all of the
students science notebooks, and ask each group to clean up
their work areas.
I really want this lesson to involve constant collaboration
amongst each group. One of the techniques that I want to be
used during this lesson is peer-to-peer teaching. I want students
in each group to help each other understand what is going on in
their model. The teacher will still be there for guidance, but
students can learn a lot from working through the material on
their own while making their own discoveries without the teacher
having to give them step by step instructions and lecture.
The main teaching technique used in this lesson is doing a hands
on activity. Students are diving into the material by using a
model that they have been previously working with. This activity

is an add-on to a previous lesson, which was the students

physically building their own land model in groups. They then
work together to transform their model into a stream table by
adding a stream source.
Assessment strategies:
Students will be assessed depending on how their stream tables
turn out. This will be a pretty clear assessment tool as the
teacher will be able to visually see if students were successful or
not with making a stream in their models.
Students will also be assessed by their responses in their science
notebooks. The teacher will be able to see if they drew a proper
diagram with labels and color coordination. The teacher will also
be able to see how well they answered the questions to
conclude the lesson. The science notebooks will be collected at
the conclusion of the lesson, and the teacher will be able to
assess students on the material that they have written down in
their notebooks.
Teacher observation will be the main assessment strategy. The
teacher should be walking around the room with constant
interaction amongst students. The teacher should be offering
help to students as they work as some students may struggle,
but the teacher should also be providing challenges for students.
For example, the teacher could ask groups questions while they
preform the experiment. She can gage based off of the students
verbal responses if they are grasping the main concept of the
lesson or not.
Science Notebooks
They very first thing that students will do before any other
activity takes place in science is make a prediction as to what
they think will change in the land caused by the stream source.
The teacher will then have students share their predictions.
Students will also be asked to record all of their observations
made during their experiment. Students will be required to make
a drawing of their stream tables. They will be asked to label and
color each specific part of their drawings.
Specifically, students will be asked to provide a brief summary of
what happened when water from a single source flows over and
through land. They will also be asked to record similarities and
differences amongst the previously lesson with rainwater, and
the experiment they just conducted dealing with a stream
source.

To conclude the lesson, the teacher will have students answer

three questions in their science notebooks. The questions will be
written on the board for them to copy and answer independently.
The science notebooks will be collected concluding the lesson
and used as an accurate form of assessment. The notebooks will
give the teacher a direct understanding if the objectives were
met by the students, and the teacher will be able to gain an
understanding about which students understand the lesson, and
which students are struggling.