Inquiry Lesson Plan Template (with Four Ways of Thinking

connection)
Teacher: Kristen Lee
Content & Title:
Grade Level:
How to harness
4th, 5th and 6th
wind power
Standards:
Concept 2: Scientific Testing (Investigating and Modeling)
o PO 1. Demonstrate safe behavior and appropriate procedures in all science
inquiry.
o PO 2. Plan a simple investigation that identifies the variables to be
controlled.
o PO 3. Conduct controlled investigations in life, physical, and Earth and
space sciences.
o PO 4. Measure using appropriate tools and units of measure.
o PO 5. Record data in an organized and sppropriate format.
4.MD.A.1. Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units
including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of
measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit.
Record measurement equivalents in a two-column table.
Objectives (Explicit & Measurable):
Students will be able to explore how wind power can be harnessed by
creating a wind powered car.
Students will be able to explain the benefits of using wind power.
Students will be able to compare how well their cars work by
measuring the distance it is able to travel around the classroom.
Evidence of Mastery (Measurable Assessment: formative and summative):
(formative) Response Logs. Students will get an opportunity to write in
their Science Journals at the end of the lesson to reflect on the topic.
They can record the process they went through to make their cars, they
can record what worked and what didnt, they can also write down any
questions or notes they would like the teacher to answer or consider
next time she teaches this lesson. The overall goal for the teacher is to
have students make connections to what they have learned and reflect
about their learning process.
(summative) To evaluate my students learning I would have them
complete a pre/post questionnarie. For the pre questionnaire I would
ask them questions about what they know about wind power going into
the activity, have they seen wind power being used before and what
items do they think wind power could be utilized as an alternaitve
energy source. For the post questionnaire I would ask them what they
know about wind energy now that they didnt know before, what can
wind energy be used for and will wind energy be a successful form of
energy for people to use in the future.
Sub-objectives, SWBAT (steps that lead to completion of objective; sequence from
simple to more complex):

SWBAT create a wind powered car using given materials.

SWBAT apply what they have learned about wind power.
SWBAT measure how far their cars travel by measuring the distance
traveled.
SWBAT evaluate the success of their car by racing with another

student.
Lesson Summary and Justification: (summary gives detailed information about what
students are doing. Justification why is this lesson being taught)

Students will have the opportunity to see a way that wind power can be
harnessed. In this case in the form of using wind power to move a car.
Students will be broken up into pairs and they will get materials and
directions on how to build their cars. They will practice first getting the car
to move. For this they need to test their cars out and see how hard they
need to blow in order to get their cars to move. They will measure the
distance traveled and how many blows It took in a data chart. Once they feel
comfortable enough they can challenge another group and race their cars.
This activity provides students with a great visual of how using wind power
works. They will understand that this is not something that is easy and that
blowing just right on their cars will enable it to move faster or slower.
Background Knowledge: (What do students need to know prior to completing this
lesson)

Students need to know how to blow air out of a straw.

Students need to know how to use a ruler to measure
Misconception: (what possible misleading thoughts might students have?)
Students might think that they can just blow with any kind of force and
the car will move.
Students might think that wind power is not stong enough to move the
car.
Process Skills: (what skills are you introducing or reinforcing)
How to build something out of given materials.
Using knowledge about cars to create a wind powered car.
Four Ways of Thinking connection: (Provide a complete explanation of how your
lesson plan connects to futures, system, strategic, or values thinking. Define the way of
thinking you selected and used in this lesson plan. Remember, this should be included
meaningfully in the lesson plan.)

The lesson plan will include Futures and Strategic thinking. Futures thinking
because students will be able to take away from this lesson their knowledge
about how to use wind power as an alternative energy source and think of
other ways that they can utilize wind energy as an alternative method of
energy. Strategic thinking because students will be able to make any
changes or tweaks to their cars in order to get it to run more efficiently.
Safety: (what safety rules and items need to be addressed?)

Dont blow too hard that you get light headed.

Stop and rest in between trials
Inquiry Questions: (testable in the here and now.)
1. (to explore) Is wind power strong enough to move a car?
2. (to elaborate) What are other ways we can utilize wind power in the
future?
Key vocabulary: (list and define)
Materials: (list item and possible
1. Renewable Resource: Something that comes
from nature that can be replenished over and
over.
2. Wind Energy: Power that is produced from
the wind.
3. Futures Thinking: Thinking about the past
and how changes can be made that will effect
the future.
4. Strategic Thinking: Thinking of new ways to

quantity)
1. 2 coffee stirrers
2. 4 ring shaped hard candies
3. 8 plastic beads
4. cardboard rectangle, 3 x 5 inches
5. 2-3 Popsicle sticks OR 1-2 wooden
skewers
6. 12 x 12-inch (30.5 x 30.5-cm) piece of
aluminum foil OR 12 x 12-inch (30.5 x 30.5-

come up with things to help solve a problem.

cm) piece of tissue paper OR 5 index cards

7. paper and pencils, for design drawings
8. Science Journals

Engage - In this section you should activate prior knowledge, hook student
attention, pose a question (IQ#1) based on your lesson objective that students
will seek to answer in Explore.
Teacher Will: (hook)
Students Will:
We have been learning about
Think about question and
the different kinds of energy that
Answer questions
are available for us to use again
and again. Does anyone
remember the word we use to call
these types of energy? ANS:
Renewable Energy
What are the types of renewable
energy?
Write down Title of lesson and
Today we will be looking at how
Hypothesis in Science
Wind Power can be harnessed to
Notebook.
move a car. What are other ways
that we use wind power?
Is wind even strong enough to
move a car? Write down your
hypothesis in your Science
Notebooks
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
Renforcing that this is a Renewable Energy Resource will get students to
start using the intended vocabulay correcly. Having students take notes will
allow them to have something to look back at when it comes time for a quiz
or assessment. For ELLs possibly having some kind of visual to aid in
describing what other items uses wind power. Allow all students ample wait
time in order for them to collect their thoughts and think about the
questions before calling on students to answer.
Explore - In this section students should take the lead and actively use materials
to discover information that will help them answer the question posed in
Engage. Teachers may choose to give steps to follow, especially for younger students,
but the goal is for students to discover some or all of the sub-objectives of the lesson.
Teacher Will: (pose IQ #1)
Students Will: (list all steps)
Is wind power strong enough to
Get a partner
move a car?
Have students get into pairs
Follow directions and use
materials to build car
Give each pair the materials and
Test car and fill out worksheet
directions on how to build their
cars.
If need help, raise hand and
Hand out worksheet for students
teacher will come by to give
to fill out.
assistance.
Walk around the room and aid
students if they are having any
difficulties building their cars
Answer questions that students
may ask

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

Write the question on the board for all students to be able to see. Pair up
students based on one high student and one low. This was they can help
each other in their understanding of the activity. They can talk about what
they are building and keep each other on track of their learning.
Explain In this section students share what they discovered, teacher connects
student discoveries to correct content terms/explanations, students
articulate/demonstrate a clear and correct understanding of the lesson sub-objectives
by answering the question from Engage before moving on.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:
Gather class back together
Quiet down
Have each pair share what they
Sit with partner and share
learned about wind power;
about activity
o How were they able to use
it to get their cars moving?
o What techniques did they
use?
o Which pairs won the race?
Why do you think they
Go to another group and share
won?
what you have learned about
Have students share with
wind power.
another group something that
they learned about wind power.
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
When getting classroom answers go around the room and ask each group to
contribute something to the discussion. Try and get each student to tell
something that they learned from this activity. Allow students to show
another group what they have learned by presenting their cars. Use a timer
to time students when they are in discussion to keep them on task.
Elaborate In this section students take the basic learning gained from Explore and
clarified in Explain and apply it to a new circumstance or explore a particular aspect of
this learning at a deeper level. Students should be using higher order thinking in this
stage. A common practice in this section is to ask a What If? question. IQ #2
Teacher Will: (pose IQ #2)
Students Will:
What are other ways we can
utilize wind power in the future?
Think about questions and
Now that you have gotten a
write down answers in Science
chance to see how wind power
Notebook
works and how to create it.
Think about what else we can use
wind power for?
If you lived somplace remote,
how could you use wind to your
advantage?
What would you build or use to
catch your wind?
Write down ideas in your Science
Notebook. We will share in a little
bit.
Give students 5 10 minutes to
reflect.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

Journals are a great tool to having students track their learning progress.
These can be used as a way to evaluate students learning and overall
understanding of the topic. For ELLs, if they are struggling have them tell
you verbally the answers to the questions and then teacher can take down
notes for them.
Evaluate In this section every student demonstrates mastery of the lesson
objective (though perhaps not mastery of the elaborate content). Because this also
serves as a closing, students should also have a chance to summarize the big
concepts they learned outside of the assessment.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:
Hand out paper for students to
Follow directions on how to
make windmill foldable
make windmill foldable
Show students how to fold and
Write down vocabulary words
cut paper to make windmill
and definitions on flaps.
Have students write down the
Glue foldable into Science
four vocabulary words from this
Notebook
lesson on the flaps of the
windmill
Closure: (revisit objective, IQs and make real world connections)
Now that we have learned about how wind energy can be used and the
challenges that people might face when trying to utilize this energy source.
We can still think of new inventive ways, like how we built the cars, to
capture and use this energy to help lower the use of fossil fuels and other
non-renewable energy resources around the world.
**Best Practices List the Best Teaching Practices you will use to enhance
the learning outcomes. In each section where prompted, list the best
practice, how the practices will be used and the purpose.