Lesson Plan Session 1: Classifying

Name and Surname: Tayla Waddington

Section 1
Science overarching idea: Matter and Energy

Year Level: Foundation

Learning Outcomes:
-

Students will use appropriate descriptive words to describe the features of a variety of
natural and manufactured objects.
Students will classify a variety of natural and manufactured objects into appropriate
groups by observing their features.
Students will understand the importance of classifying objects in different cultures,
including but not limited to: Western culture and Indigenous culture.

Australian Curriculum standards:

- Objects are made of materials that have observable properties (ACSSU003)
- Participate in guided investigations and make observations using the senses
(ACSIS011)
Rationale:
This lesson will be implemented in a classroom with diverse students from a range of different
backgrounds and cultures. Therefore, our lesson does not include purely Western culture
content. Students will be working with familiar and unfamiliar objects (such as natural elements:
sticks, stones and feathers; as well as manufactured objects: cotton balls and bouncy balls).
Each student will have a different experience or familiarity with each object and the activity of
classifying the objects into a way that makes sense to him or her will be personal and different
to each student.
Also, we know that many students we will be teaching will be EAL students. This means
communication through speaking instructions in English will most likely be ineffective.
Therefore, for our lesson we have decided to use hands on activities to engage these students
and we have avoided the use of writing as a means of communication or assessment of the
learning outcomes. Hands on activities allow students to experience the science content and
by using these activities, as well as implementing classroom discussions, students are able to
create meaningful connections between them (Tan & Wong, 2012.)
Students with an Indigenous background, tend to be very connected to the natural elements of
our world (Lee, Yen & Aikenhead, 2011). By implementing the Indigenous teaching approach in
our lesson plan, we are assisting students to find a connection between human and nature by
using natural objects and manufactured objects and asking students to find the similarities
and/or differences. Furthermore, using this information to understand the importance these
objects play in our world and to different people in our community.

Session 1, 2 or 3? Session 1

Teaching approach:
Indigenous Knowledge (IK)

Rationale for the consistency of the lesson plan:

How does this lesson plan connect and is consistent with the unit of
work?
This session is the first lesson in our unit of work focusing on matter and
energy. It focuses on the science concept of classifying objects. In this
session we will discuss appropriate terminology we can use to describe the
features of an object in order to help us classify it. We will also discuss why
we classify things in every day life and why it is important. By the end of this
session the students will be able to know how to classify a variety of objects
by looking at their observable features. This fits in nicely to the second
session of the unit of work, where the students will extend on their knowledge
of classifying solid objects in a meaningful way, and look at the observable
properties of a liquid: water. Lastly, in the third session, the students will look
at solids and liquid together when they investigate sinking and floating. They
will use their knowledge from session 1 and 2 to describe the observable
features they see happening (floating/sinking). They will also use their
extended vocabulary and understanding of different features of objects to
wonder and determine whether an object will float or sink.
How does the sequence of activities in this lesson plan reflect a learning
process rather than a series of tasks?
As this lesson in the first lesson of the unit of work, we want to focus on
forming links between the students interests, ideas and prior knowledge in
order to assist their learning.
Influenced by the constructivist theory, we have considered the interests and
ideas of the students (Appleton & Asoko,1996). Students first experience the
familiarity of reading a book, then they look at familiar and also unfamiliar
objects, and then are introduced to the perhaps new idea of classifying these
objects and why we classify things.
Throughout the lesson we incorporate many opportunities for discussion to
concrete their learning process.
In the conclusion of the lesson we re-visit the science concept of classifying
and again engage students in an extending discussion to further their

understanding.
How are the activities appropriate for the age group and diversity of
learners?
This lesson includes many hands on experiences for the Foundation students
to touch and experience. Younger students respond to physical objects in
their environment when they can physically touch them as this is a way for
them to gather information and correlate their learning (Kopp, 2011).
By using a range of natural and manufactured objects for the students to use,
it allows students from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds to work with
objects that are familiar and potentially unfamiliar to them. It also allows
students to hear a diverse range of knowledge, as each student will provide
different ideas and classifications.

References:
Appleton, K., & Asoko, H. (1996). A case study of a teachers progress toward using a constructivist view of learning to inform teaching in elemenatary science. Science
Education, 80(2), 165-180. Doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-237X(199604)80:2<165::AID-SCE3>3.0.CO;2-E
Kopp, C. (2011). Development in the early years: socialization, motor development, and consciousness. Annual Review of Psychology, 62, 165-187. Doi:
10.1146/annurev.psych.121208.131625
Lee, H., Yen, C., & Aikenhead. (2011). Indigenous Elementary Students Science Instruction in Taiwan: Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science. Research in Science
Education, 42(6), 1183-1199.
Tan, A., & Wong, H. (2012). Didnt get expected answer, rectify it.: teaching science content in an elementary science classroom using hands-on activities. International
Journal of Science Education, 34(2), 197-222. Doi: 10.1080/09500693.2011.565378
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (n.d.). The Australian curriculum: Science Foundation Curriculum. Retrieved from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/science/curriculum/f-10?layout=1

Lesson plan Session 1: Classifying

Name and Surname: Tayla Waddington & Penelope Townley
Section 2
Specific and detailed activities
(In terms of what the students will do)
Introduction:
-

Teacher will read Sort it out! by Barbara Mariconda (2008). Teacher will prompt a discussion about why we sort things. Teacher will ask probing questions such as:
Why do we sort things? Why is sorting things helpful? How does Packy sort his objects?

Teacher will bring out 5 natural objects (stick, stone, feather, shell, leaf) and 5 manufactured objects (Lego piece, plastic bag, bouncy ball, pencil, cotton ball). The
teacher will ask the students if anyone can name them and where we might have seen/used them. We will continue the discussion by asking questions such as:
Which objects could we find in our natural environment? Does this classroom have any of these objects?

Teacher will ask students what words we can use to describe the objects by feeling them and looking at their observable features. Students and teacher will both
mention some descriptive words together.

Teacher will explain the activity. Once students are engaged in the activity teachers will rove the classroom and look for students who need assistance or extra
support (this will also be done by other team members) - *please see enabling activity.

Students will work individually to think of a meaningful way to classify the pictures of 10 objects on their table that make sense to them. Students can brainstorm
these ideas on post-it notes to help organise their ideas.

Students will be given an A3 piece of coloured cardboard (of their choice). They will stick the pictures of the objects onto their piece of cardboard into a way that
clearly shows the objects sorted into different groups based on their properties.

Activity:

Extension activity: Students will be given pictures of 10 different objects and be asked to classify them into 3 different ways that makes sense to them. Students will be
encouraged to use to different descriptive words than in the previous activity.
Enabling activity: For students who are struggling to come up with a way to sort the objects into at least two different groups, the teacher will provide an A3 piece of card with the
two headings: hard and soft. The students will paste the 10 pictures of the objects in each column under the appropriate heading.
Reflection/activity procedure to close lesson and evaluate learning:
Students will come back to the floor.
Students will show their poster to the class if they want to and explain their two (or more) classification groups.

Resources:

Teacher will prompt a discussion with the students to help gain an understanding of the students understanding of classifying and if they reached the learning
outcomes. Teacher will ask questions such as: How was the way you sorted your objects different to the way Packy sorted his objects? Why do you think that? Are
there different ways to sort these 10 objects that we didnt think of?
Mariconda, B., & Rogers, S. (2008). Sort it out! Mt. Pleasant, SC: Sylvan Dell Publishing.
Stone
Leaf
Shell
Feather
Stick
Lego piece
Plastic bag
Bouncy ball
Pencil
Cotton ball
Pine cone
Piece of material (cotton/linen & satin/silk)
Corrugated cardboard
Sand paper
Eraser
Paper
Wood
Paddle pop stick
Tambark
Wool

Attachments:
- The book we will be reading in the introduction.

Mariconda, B., & Rogers, S. (2008). Sort it out! Mt. Pleasant, SC: Sylvan Dell Publishing.

- The pictures of 10 natural and 10 manufactured objects the students will be classifying (sorting). Note that these will be cut out prior to the lesson.