LESSON 2

By: Freya Clews

Lesson Plan #2

Summary
1. Subject: Science
2. Topic or Unit of Study: Strong and Stable Structures
3. Grade/Level: Three
4. Objective: 2.2 investigate, through experimentation, how various materials and construction
techniques can be used to add strength to structures
5. Time Allotment: 45 minutes

Implementation
Learning Context
The students will be reminded of the previous days lesson concerning the Three Little
Pigs and be reminded of the house of straw, house of sticks and house of bricks, and
how the house of bricks was the only one that managed to remain standing in the face
of the wolfs huffing and puffing

Procedure
a. Minds On
When the students come to the carpet at the start of the lesson, there will be
three hollow columns set up from cardstock. One will be a triangular prism, one
will be a rectangular (square) prism and one will be a cylinder. The students will
be asked to make a prediction (by show of hands) which column they think is
the strongest. These predictions will then be tested by placing books on top of
each column to see which can hold the most weight

b. Direct Instruction/Guided Practice

The students will be introduced to the days activity and will specifically have
Experiment Sheet A modelled to them on chart paper. The class will then go
through the process of filling out a row of the experiment sheet as an example.
Under the material section, you will write newspaper. The class will then
decide upon the strength of the material, likely rating it as a 1. Then there will
be some discussion about the ways in which the newspaper could be made
stronger (i.e. folding it, putting it into layers, rolling it into tubes,
braiding/weaving it, etc.)
 The materials available to the students will then be identified and the students
will be given their information package. Each student will be expected to fill out
their own experiment sheet (as it will be necessary for the following day) but
will be given the freedom to work along or in collaboration with others.

c. Independent Practice
The students will explore the different materials, assess their strength, and test
out ways to make the materials stronger. These methods might include:
- Having the material span across a distance and testing how much
weight it can hold
- Trying to tear the material
- Trying to break/snap the material
d. Closing
At the end of the lesson, the teacher will bring the students back to the circle to
discuss what they learned.
As a bridge to the next days lesson, the teacher can begin a discussion about
material costs. Advise the students to think about the different materials and
think about how much of each material would need to be used in order for it to
be stronger. Talk about how, in the real world, cost would be a major factor
when deciding upon materials.

e. Check for Understanding

During the experimentation time, the teacher will walk around and ensure that
the students are understanding the point of the lesson and focusing on
exploring both the materials as well as the construction techniques.
The teacher will also ensure that the students are correctly filling out their
experiment sheets and provide help to anyone who seems to be struggling
Later examination of the worksheets will further provide the opportunity for the
teacher to asses for learning, ensuring that the students adequately understood
the lesson and fulfilled the specific science expectation.
The 3-2-1 exit activity will provide the teacher with an additional method of
checking for student understanding.

Materials and Resources

Suggested materials include: straws, popsicle sticks, paper plates, plastic cups, pipe cleaners,
toothpicks, newspaper, aluminum foil, toilet paper rolls, cardboard, rope, ribbon, glue gun, tape, glue,
rubber bands, etc. but it is recommended to make use of whatever materials are available in the
classroom.

Additional resources include:

- The student package, one printed for each student

- Material labels
- Hollow cardstock columns (circle, square and triangle)
 - Chart paper for modelling the worksheet

Assessment
No formal assessment. Instead, assessment will be for learning (e.g. checking for
understanding), as well as checking for participation.
Student
Package
MATERIALS AND
CONSTRUCTION
TECHNIQUES


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 LESSON
DISCUSSION
Differentiated Instruction and Cross-Disciplinary/
Integrated Approaches
This lesson is designed around the frameworks of differentiated instruction and cross-curricular
integration. The differentiation is designed both around different learning styles as well as ample
opportunity for individual student preference.

For visual and auditory learners, instruction will be both spoken (with the use of visuals) as well as
written in the student packages. Visual learners will additionally benefit from the material labels, as well
as the ability to look at the physical materials themselves. With the opportunity for collaboration,
auditory learners will be able to listen to the ideas of others. The hands-on learning and experiential
aspect of the lesson further provide ideal conditions for kinesthetic/tactile learners.

To mediate any potential linguistic difficulty for ELL students, the materials will all be labelled. In
addition, the graphic organizer experiment sheets will help with the organization and comprehension of
the work. Further, opportunity for collaboration will also be helpful to ELLs.

For advanced learners, the choice in working alone or working with a partner, and the choice of which
experiment sheet to use will provide them with independence as well as the ability to include higher-
level thought.

The cross-curricular approach to this lesson uses the integration of literacy, math and social studies.
There is integration within the lesson itself, as well as the opportunity for integration through lessons in
other subjects. Literacy is connected throughout the lesson from its connection to the story of the
Three Little Pigs. Moreover, by filling out an experiment worksheet, the students will be working on
their writing skills, connecting to various specific expectations from the language curriculum. The minds-
on activity brings in discussion about the strength of different shapes which connects to geometry.
Further, discussion of cost links into number sense and numeration. A possible extension could be to
create a math lesson, possibly even immediately following the material and construction techniques
lesson, that places values on each material. The students could then be challenged to create something
strong/stable given a particular budget. Finally, extension can be made from this lesson to social studies,
connecting to section B of the grade three section, specifically the topic of The Impact of Land and
Resource Use.

In addition to differentiated instruction and cross-curricular integration, this lesson is based in

constructivism and is highly reliant upon inquiry-based learning. This is because the teacher plays a
background role in the students learning during this lesson and is not the bearer of the knowledge.
Instead, the students explore and experiment, as well as collaborate with one another, in order to
construct their knowledge.

Lastly, an emphasis can be placed on equity during this lesson through a discussion of material cost and
availability particularly in its connection to the next lesson wherein the students are faced with the
challenge of being unable to afford bricks and are required to come up with a house made of other
materials.