LESSON PLAN FORMAT

___________________________________ Cooperating Teachers Signature ___________________________________ Date Received

Student Teacher:

Lindsey Catlett

Date__________________________

Subject: Science Objectives:

Topic: The Water Cycle

-Students will demonstrate an understanding of the water cycle. -Students will discuss and identify stages of the water cycle. SOL: K.5 - Students will investigate and understand that water flows and has properties that can be observed and tested. a) Water occurs in different states (solid, liquid, gas) Evaluation: Students will create their own water cycle. Procedures and Materials: Materials Dr. Jeans Kiss Your Brain CD This Is the Rain by Lola Schaefer Individual Water Cycle Example Computer & Smartboard (for website activity) 8 x 11 Water Cycle Posters (1 for each stage) Small water cycle cards (that match the 8 x 11 posters) Cycle stage name cards Pre-cut light blue construction paper circles (water cycle) Pre-cut white strips Pre-cut small squares of dark blue construction paper (for the raindrop) Glue Crayons
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Fasteners Scissors

Procedures 5Es Lesson Plan Format Engage Students will listen to song #18 The Water Cycle Song from Dr. Jeans Kiss Your Brain CD. This song introduces the following terms: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, accumulation, and the water cycle. There are movements that accompany the song lyrics. This step will be a warm up to get the students interested and engaged, and will allow them to be active. The students and I will be on the shape carpet for this activity. I will participate along with them. Today, we are going to learn about the water cycle. First, were going to listen to a new songThe Water Cycle Song. Okay boys and girls since weve never heard this song before lets practice the movements, so you will know how to do it. Evaporation (raise the palms of our hands up in the air slowly like the water vapor going up into the sky). Condensation (our hands up above our head clasping together like air condensing to form clouds). Precipitation (wiggling our fingers and bringing our hands down slowly like rain falling from the clouds). Accumulation (gathering our hands together in front of us, wide like a hug to show water collecting or accumulating). The water cycle (rotating our hands around and around in a circle to signify an infinite cycle that repeats again and again).

Explore Students will explore the water cycle with two activities. (1) Students will explore by participating in an activity with the Smartboard. I will use the activity from http://education.jlab.org/reading/water_cycle/html. It has two sections. The first is a paragraph with certain blanks to fill in. The second is a visual that has numbers on it. Each number stands for something depending on where it is located on the picture. I will read the choices and ask the students what they think fits. Then we will submit and see how many we got correct. (2) Students will also explore by participating in a game/activity I created. This activity involves matching. The students will all come to the carpet and sit in a circle. I will use the cycle stage name tags, the 8 x 11 posters, and the cards. I will pass out all of the shuffled posters and the cards. Each student will have one. I will hold up the name tag and describe the stage of the cycle. I will ask the students who has the poster of that particular stage. I will ask them to come and stand beside me. Then I will ask the other students to look at the picture on their card. I will ask who has the smaller cards that match the poster (and they get to come up as well). With this activity, every student gets to participate and hold a tangible object giving them an actual role in exploring the water cycle.
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Explain Students will be introduced to new words (i.e. evaporation, condensation, precipitation, accumulation). I will get the students, as a group, to pronounce/say these new words. I will use the cycle stages name cards I made to refer to one-by-one. These cards have a cycle stage name printed on them in a large, bold font. We will congregate on the shape carpet for this activity. Weve just heard some big new words. What big words did we learn? The first one was Evaporation. Can someone tell me what letter this word starts with? Look how big this word is! Oh my goodness, its 1, 2, 3 11 letters long! Say it with me. I say, you say Evaporation. The next big word we learned was Condensation. This big word is 12 whole letters (one more than evaporation, right?). I say, you say Condensation. Now, precipitation. Oh my goodness this one is 1, 2, 3 13 letters! These words just keep getting bigger and bigger! I say, you say Precipitation. Continue with Accumulation (same thing). Did we notice anything that all these words have in common? All of these words have t-io-n (-tion) at the end. Now this one isnt a stage, it describes something bigger. It isnt just one word, its three separate words. And what does this one say? We should know/recognize one word here because its a popcorn word! I say, you say The Water Cycle. Now the word cycle sounds similar to the word circle. You know what a cycle is like a circle because the cycle goes around and around, never stopping.

I will read Lola Schaefers book, This Is the Rain to the class (the story; and definition in the back). Students will listen to the story and hear my explanation. Elaborate Students will make their own individual water cycles, illustrating and putting them together. I will go through the instructions for them, first making my own. Then, they will get the materials and return to their seat to make it themselves. I will circulate to assist, clarify, repeat instructions, etc. Now, we are going to make our very own water cycles, so we each can have one and remember all the stages of the water cycle we learned about. Then, we all will be able to tell the story of a raindrop. I am going to make one right now to show you how to do it, and then it will be your turn. Listen carefully. Everyone is going to get a big blue circle thats folded into fourths so we can have all four stages on our cycle. Can you see how it has four separate parts? When you get, whats the first thing we do? (put our names on it) So, on the back lets write our names. Now turn it over and draw a dot directly in the center of the circle. We learned that the cycle has to start with water, right? So, in this part lets draw our blue ocean with waves. Remember to use our first-grade coloring. Whats next? Evaporation. The bright, hot sun that heats the water and turns it into vapor that rises. So, we are going to draw our sun in this section with arrows pointing up to the sun from the ocean.
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Next, clouds for condensation. Then, rain falling from the clouds as precipitation (in the third section). This section is going to be for accumulation. So, we are going to draw land and water (rivers, lakes, streams) that runs back to the ocean to show accumulation because rain can fall on the ground or back into the water. Cut out a raindrop using the small square of dark blue construction paper. Draw a face on the raindrop. Glue the raindrop onto the white strip. Poke the fastener through the end of the white strip and through the center of the water cycle circle. Now, the dial (raindrop) can go around the cycle through all the stages. Materials all passed out for the students to make it.

Evaluate Students will retell the story of a raindrop using their own water cycle. The students may repeat the Water Cycle song and movements again. I will listen to and observe the students answers and participation in our group discussions and activities. I will listen to and observe the discussion that takes place while the students are making their own water cycles. I will gauge their participation in the activities.

Accommodations for Individual Differences: This particular lesson on the water cycle incorporates a variety of components such as visuals, music, activity materials, etc. All of the components are designed to reach out to each and every student, even ones who may learn differently (i.e. visually, musically, hands-on, etc.). Because of that factor, accommodations for individual differences or individual students are already embedded within the lesson. Reflections/Reteaching Strategies: As far as first lessons go, I think mine went pretty well. During, as well as prior to, my lesson I was very nervous and anxious because that is my natural personality. I had originally been thinking about a language arts lesson plan, and then I settled on a science lesson. Since science is not my area of expertise, I had a few reservations on the outcome. I had a lot incorporated into my lesson, so, I was worried about remembering all of the material and presenting it in a coherent manner that the students would be able to understand. I also think my cooperating teacher is phenomenal, so, I had pretty big shoes to fill. In my Engage section, I loved including a song to start the lesson off. My Kindergarten practicum students are familiar with having lots of songs in their curriculum; so, it was nothing out of the ordinary for them. I was a little self-conscious about getting up and singing and dancing with them, but it turned out really well. This was their first encounter with The Water Cycle song, so they were very attentive to me and the song since they had new movements and lyrics to learn. In my initial lesson plan draft I had to revise my Explore section. I ended up including two activitiesa Smartboard activity and an activity I created. If any particular area needed a little tweaking, I would have to say that area would probably be my exploratory section once
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again. It still went well, but I would probably just make changes involving the Smartboard activity I selected. First of all, I am not that familiar with Smartboards. Second, I think it might have been somewhat advanced for the students (at least the fill-in-the-blank paragraph part was). They did really well on the numbered visual part of the website activity. After the students and I did the Smartboard activity, we moved back over to the shape carpet to do the next activity. This one was with the posters and cards. I felt like that activity went really well. Every student participated and was able to understand. I could really see their eagerness in this activity. They all were excited to have a role once they knew they had to figure out what they had and come up and stand beside me. The students were even helping one another saying phrases like, Look, you have that one! So, I feel like if I had to do my lesson over, I would probably do that particular activity more than once. That way, the kids would get to do it again, and have a different card/poster from the last time. I would also revise the Smartboard activity, or take it out entirely. The explanation section of the lesson went really well. We went over all the new words one-by-one together. After that, I introduced and read the story, as well as the more scientific definition in the back of the book. The kids loved the story. They were fascinated on the picture of the T-Rex in the book. I had explained to them that (like the book said rainwater of the past) rainwater that falls on us could have been rainwater that fell on dinosaurs. I even added that the rain that fell that morning might have been from the past (since it was rainy weather on the day of my lesson). They kept pointing out certain pictures in the book. At one point, here, my cooperating teacher stepped in to remove one of the students from the group while I was reading the story so that I could maintain and continue my lesson. In the Elaborate section, we all made our own water cycles. I tried to model methods of my cooperating teacher when instructing the students on how to make them. Originally, I was going to have the students fold the circles into fourths, but my cooperating teacher said that it would probably be best if we gave it to them already folded. I went through the making of the water cycle step-by-step so the students would know what to do. Then it was time for their turn. Many students were more than willing to help pass out the materials; and once you let one do then they all want to do it. So, that was a definitely learning experience; as well as a little moment of chaos with lots of helpers passing out materials. When all the students were working, I circulated to monitor and be available for assistance. They assured me they already knew how to use the fasteners since they had used them on another activity in the past. The fasteners still gave them some trouble and many needed help. It was fun to see each and every unique water cycle since they all cut their own raindrops and made illustrations. When everyone was finished we did do the song and dance all over again. After I finished my lesson, my cooperating teacher gave me very positive feedback and assured me that I did really well. I found that as I went through my lesson, you always forget or leave out certain things you wanted to say just out of nervousness, or depending on what route your lesson takes. Many aspects of it just take time and experience to learn. For example, my teacher told me to just fold the circles into fourths rather than having them do it because she could already anticipate the possible outcome. I also thought my lesson went well considering the fact that I taught it near the end of the day, and that I wasnt feeling well. The students did very well considering they hadnt had any recess because of the weather.
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Despite my nervousness, I feel like my lesson went well and increased my confidence. I gained significant experience and understanding by teaching such a multifaceted lesson. I thought the students were engaged and responded positively. Even though I feel my lesson was successful, in my opinion, there is always room for improvement and more preparation. I already know revision would be best suited in my Explore section, so I feel like that was definitely a beneficial learning experience. After all, you learn and grow from your mistakes.