LESSON PLAN OUTLINE

JMU Elementary Education Program

Evelyn Payne
Nicole Smock, 4th grade, Mountain View Elementary School
March 14th and 15th
March 6th
(Include the title of each of the following sections in your written plan.)

A. Changes in Motion/Science Lesson

B. CONTEXT OF LESSON AND UNWRAPPING OF THE STANDARD

This lesson is designed for a fourth grade science classroom and it will cover the VA Science SOLs 4.2,
specifically section b. The third grade science SOLs do not cover motion, force, or mass; so it is likely that this
is the first time the students will be introduced to this topic. Since it is not my cooperating teacher who teaches
science, I am not able to perform a pre-assessment for this lesson. However, if I was to do a pre-assessment, I
would want to make sure that each student is able to define and describe objects in motion. This will give them
the base knowledge they need to then explore what concepts, like force and mass, affect an objects motion. It
would be beneficial for students to watch the motion of objects with hands on lessons and activities. I would
provide the students with a variety of different shaped and sized materials that the students could practice
tossing up in the air, throwing, dropping, and rolling along different surfaces. Students should take note of the
weight of an object and whether that changes its motion and speed.
This fits into the curriculum sequence because students at this time should have already been introduced
to objects and their motion, as well as identifying the different aspects of a scientific investigation. This lesson
will take the base vocabulary they learned about motion and speed, and build upon that prior knowledge to
have the students creating their own investigations about the effects of force and mass on the motion of an
object.
According to www.understood.com , children in the fourth grade begin to understand how to predict the
consequences of actions. This lesson will build on that cognitive development. Students should be able to
conduct their own investigations of force and mass on the motion of different objects and make educated
predictions about other objects and their motion based on their investigation results. The website also states that
children at this age begin to develop a better sense of responsibility. By creating small groups, each member will
have a responsibility in completing the investigation. This hands on lesson will hopefully engage the students
and get them to design their own scientific investigation.
https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/signs-symptoms/developmental-
milestones/developmental-milestones-for-typical-fourth-and-fifth-graders

C. UNWRAPPING THE VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING and the NEXT GENERATION

SCIENCE STANDARDS (NATIONAL STANDARDS)
Standard 4.2 The student will investigate and understand characteristics and interactions of moving
objects. Key concepts include
b) changes in motion are related to force and mass

*Unwrapped standard listed below

*Main ideas and essential questions listed below
Unwrapped Concept
(Nouns)
Position of an object
Speed is a measure of
motion
Objects have kinetic
energy
Unwrapped Skill (Verbs) Taxonomy Level (Blooms,
DOK, and SOLO)
Describe BT: Remember DOK: 1
Explain SOLO: Unistructural
Infer

Direction of an objects Describe BT: Remember DOK: 1

motion: up, down, Identify SOLO: Unistructural
forward, and
backward
Forces that cause an
objects motion

Data showing if speed Interpret and determine BT: Understand DOK: 2

on an object is SOLO: Multistructural
increasing, decreasing,
or remaining the same

Table and line graph Collect and display BT: Apply DOK: 2 SOLO:
time and position data Multistructural
for a moving object

Investigation of the Design and test BT: Analyze DOK: 3

hypothesis: If the SOLO: Extended Abstract
mass of an object
increases, then the
force needed to move
it will increase.

Investigation of the Design to determine BT: Analyze DOK: 3

effect of friction on
moving objects.
Testable hypothesis
with independent and
dependent variables,
and constants
Data and results
Write and identify
Collect, report, analyze, and
report
SOLO: Extended Abstract
BT: Remember DOK: 1
SOLO: Unistructural
BT: Analyze DOK: 3
SOLO: Relational
*Highlighted section is what this lesson will cover

Big Ideas Essential Questions

I understand position, speed, and motion How are position, motion, and speed related?
of objects as well as their definitions.

I understand the effects of friction and Which objects motion will be more greatly
mass on the speed and motion of an affected, a marble or a tennis ball?
object.

I understand how to recognize and graph How fast is a specific object moving and what
the speed and position of an object. does it look like?

D. LEARNING INTENTIONS and SUCCESS CRITERIA

Understand Learning Intention/Big Know Vocabulary Do Success Criteria
Idea
I know that motion is 1. I can define motion, friction,
I will understand that forces that defined as movement, or also force, and mass.
affect the speed and motion of an
object. Specifically mass and
friction.
I understand
E. ASSESSING LEARNING
What will your students do and say, specifically, that indicate every student has achieved your
objectives? Remember every objective must be assessed for every student!
the continuous change in the 2. I can describe the motion and
position of an object. speed of an object.
I know that force is defined 3. I can conduct an investigation
as the push or pull on an of the effects of friction and
object that is a result from mass on motion.
that objects interaction with 4. I can predict the effects of
another object. friction and mass on various
I know that force can move, objects without physically
stop, or change the speed or testing it.
direction of an object.
I know that mass is defined
as the measurement of how
much matter is in an object.
I know that weight and mass
are not the same.
I know that friction is the
resistance of motion when
one object rubs against
another.
I know that the greater the
force, the greater the
change in motion will be.
The more massive an
object, the less effect a
given force will have on
the object.
I know that an
independent variable in an
experiment is the one that
is changed.
I know that a dependent
variable in an experiment
is the one measured by the
change from the
independent variable.
I know that a constant in
an experiment is the
factors that do not change
and are fixed.
I know I can
Learning Intention and Success
Criteria
Learning Intention:
I will understand that forces that
affect the speed and motion of an
object. Specifically mass and friction.
Success Criteria:
I can define motion, friction, force,
and mass.
Success Criteria:
I can describe the motion and speed
of an object.
Success Criteria:
I can conduct an investigation of the
effects of friction and mass on
motion.
Opportunities to Respond
1. Class created definitions of
speed, motion, mass, and
friction.
2. Scientific experiment of
the effects of mass and
friction on the speed of an
object.
3. Class discussion predicting
how an objects mass and
the friction would react to
our experiment.
1. Class created definitions of
motion, friction, force, and
mass.
2. Online quiz through
Kahoot.com
1. Class discussion on the
motion and speed of a
tennis ball on two surfaces.
2. Scientific experiment
timing the motion and
speed of a marble, a tennis
ball, a small toy car, and a
large toy car.
1. Class created definitions of
independent variable,
dependent variable, and
constants.
2. Class created hypothesis
on the effects of friction
Evidence
1. Students will volunteer to
give definitions of speed,
motions, mass, and friction.
2. Students will split up into
groups of three or four and
complete the scientific
experiment.
3. Students will roll a marble,
a tennis ball, a small toy
car, and a large toy car
down both a wooden and a
felt ramp and time its
decent.
4. Students will listen to class
discussion and volunteer
their predictions on how
various objects that we are
not testing would react to
the experiment.
1. Students will volunteer to
give definitions of speed,
motions, mass, and friction.
2. Students will complete the
online quiz and the results
will be saved onto the
computer.
1. Students will observe how
a tennis ball moves on tile
and then on carpet.
2. Students will predict what
forces affect the tennis ball
to move less on the carpet
than the tile.
3. Students will roll a marble,
a tennis ball, a small toy
car, and a large toy car
down both a wooden and a
felt ramp and time its
decent.
4. Students will record their
data.
1. Students will volunteer to
give definitions of speed,
motions, mass, and friction.
2. Students will volunteer to
give a class wide
hypothesis on the overall
 and mass on the motion of
objects.
3. Group work testing the
effects of mass and friction
on an objects motion.
4. Class discussion and data
collection on the
experiment results.
effect of friction and mass
on an objects motion.
3. Together, group members
will roll a marble, a tennis
ball, a small toy car, and a
large toy car down both a
wooden and a felt ramp
and time its decent.
4. Students will record their
groups data onto a class
wide chart.

Success Criteria: 1. Class discussion on how 1. Students will listen to class

I can predict the effects of friction other non-testable objects discussion and volunteer
and mass on various objects without would have responded in their predictions on how
physically testing it. the experiment. various objects that we are
2. Online quiz created not testing would react to
through Kahoot.com the experiment.
2. Students will complete the
online quiz and the results
will be saved onto the
computer.

F. MATERIALS NEEDED
Wooden boards: Evelyn Payne
Command strips: Evelyn Payne
Felt: Evelyn Payne
Toy cars (large and small): Evelyn Payne
Marbles: Evelyn Payne
Tennis Balls: Evelyn Payne
Timer: Mountain View Elementary School
Experiment Worksheet: Evelyn Payne
iPads: Mountain View Elementary School
Pencils: Students
Poster Board: Evelyn Payne

A. MISCONCEPTIONS or ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTIONS

I am expecting that this lesson will be a lot of new information for the students. As far as I know, they
have never done a somewhat formal scientific experiment yet. I anticipate that some of the vocabulary may be
difficult for them at first. I am hoping that learning the terms and then putting into context and actually using
them will help them understand them better. I plan on reviewing the vocabulary on the second day of the
lesson in order to refresh their memory. Also, I would like to have the students record their groups data on a
class chart to make sure each student is involved and actively engaged in the content.
One misconception I expect to encounter is the students thinking that weight and mass are the same
thing. I need to make sure that they understand these two concepts are similar, but they are not the same. In
order to avoid this misconception, I plan on describing how mass and weight differ on Earth versus on the
moon.
Towards the end of the lesson, I want to ask some open ended questions that will get the students to
hypothesize about motion, friction, and mass. I will ask them about how different sized objects would have
reacted in our experiment if we were able to test them. This will help nurture learning and make sure that the
students have a solid grasp on the content covered in this lesson.
 The rest of the misconception portion of this lesson plan was actually written after the lesson plan was
completed. I was asked to complete this lesson in one day, when it was originally supposed to be two days. I
want to discuss two misconceptions I either would have covered and I didnt during the actual lesson, or cover
in a more thorough way.
One misconception that I would have covered in a more thorough way would have been the incorrect
idea that mass and weight are the same thing. Though I think having them compare their weight on earth to
their weight on the moon will help get the point across that those two concepts arent the same thing. However,
we dont have the ability to visit the moon so it is a vague concept for students to try to grasp. I found a video
that I linked below that I think does a good job of visually showing the difference between mass and weight. If
I had the time, I would have shown it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z0X0yE8Ioc
Another misconception I wish I had covered was that heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects. I
remember being mind-blown when I saw this video. I know that my students would have gone insane if they
could have watched it too. If I had the time, I would have shown them the video below to show that the heavier
objects they were rolling down the wooden boards werent moving faster because of their weight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43-CfukEgs

B. PROCEDURE
 Procedures and management
Step-by step procedures including questions and Students
Activity
main points visualize what you are going to say Describe what the students
Element
to the students. It might be helpful to script out will be doing as a result of
& Time (in
what you are going to say, although during the your instructions
minutes)
lesson you do not need to use this language
verbatim.
The second part of this lesson will begin by
reviewing the data from the day before. I will pull
up the class hypothesis and class data from the
experiment.

Teacher: Lets review our hypothesis and data

from yesterday. Yesterday we said our hypothesis
was ________. We also decided as a group that
___ object rolled the fastest, while _____ object
rolled the slowest. Why do you think the data
turned out the way it did? How did the mass of the Students will be reviewing
Engage object effect how fast the object rolled? Yesterday the data from the day before
Introduction we said that _______ would happen when we and once again applying the
5 minutes rolled the objects down the felt ramp, do we still concepts from the success
think this is true? criteria to our experiment.

Questions:
Why do you think the data turned out the way it
did?
How did the mass of the object effect how fast the
object rolled?
Yesterday we said that _______ would happen
when we rolled the objects down the felt ramp, do
we still think this is true?

Now, students will repeat the steps from the day

before and time the speed of the motion of the
Students will hypothesis
same objects, but this time they will be using felt
about what will happen
ramps.
when each object is rolled
down the ramp, as well as
Teacher: When I say go, you are going to get back
how the materials the ramp
into your original groups and find a station to work
Event 1 is made out of will affect the
at. It does not have to be the same station from
25 minutes results. Students are
before. You are going to send one group member to
beginning their experiments
collect the stop watches and another to collect the
by recording the rolling of
worksheets from me. You are repeating the same
each object down the plain
steps as yesterday and recording your results on
wood ramp and recording
your papers. You have 30 minutes to complete this
data on their worksheets.
task. Again, I will be walking around to answer
any questions you may have. You may begin.
Teacher: Okay class, it is now time to wrap up.
Please finish up whatever you are working on. I am
going to be collecting the objects you all were
using during the experiment. Please place them in
the box for me when I come by. Send one group
Students will be cleaning up
Transition member to return the stop watches to Mrs.
the supplies and returning to
2 minutes Smocks desk, and send another group member to
their desks.
make a pile of your worksheets on the rocking
chair at the front of the room. I will bring your
 C. DIFFERENTIATION
Describe how you have planned to meet the needs of all students in your classroom with varied
interest and learning readiness, English language proficiency, health, physical ability, etc. How will
you extend and enrich the learning of students who finish early? How will you support the learning of
children struggling with your objectives?

Content Process Product

To differentiate
interest based on
To differentiate based process, student could
content based on student be placed in same
To differentiate product
interest, I can read a story ability groups. This
based on interest, each
before the students ensures that students
group could pick the
complete the science are interacting with
graph they use to
experiment. The story their peers.
represent their data from
could talk about a child Another way to
the experiment. They get
rolling different objects differentiate process
to choose the form of
down a slide and then based on interest
representation from the
Interest down a sloped surface would be to give
data they collected during
covered in fabric. The students the option of
the hands on experiment,
child could notice the 10 items/materials to
but every group is
change in the movement roll down the boards,
required to display what
of the objects and wonder but they get to pick
they learned in some way.
why it happens. This could only 4 out of the 10.
This way, they get to
help the students make a This gives them the
choose how they make
personal connection to the opportunity to pick
meaning out of the lesson.
lesson by perhaps having and choose their
similar play experiences materials, but the
overall task stays the
same.
To differentiate content In order to In order to differentiate
based on readiness ties differentiate process product based on
into the same ability based on readiness, readiness, groups can
Readiness grouping mentioned students will again be either get to pick how
above. Groups will be sorted into same they represent their data
formed based on prior ability groups. or be given a specific
knowledge on similar Students in lower graph to recreate. For
science concepts and ability groups can be higher ability groups,
lesson so that every provided with pictures students can pick any
student in each group is next to definitions, graph they want in order
working on roughly the like for friction and to organize their data from
same ability level. mass, to get a deeper the science experiment.
Students in higher ability understanding of the For lower ability groups,
groups could be given content. students can be asked to
various scenarios of complete a bar graph.
objects rolling down They could be given the
surfaces that we arent outline of the bar graph
actually able to test and with the x and y axis
make hypothesizes on labeled, but they will have
what they predict will to organize their specific
happen based on what they data on it within their
 learned during the lesson.
If the group finishes early,
they can complete these
prediction scenarios.
Scenarios will be passed
on rolling golf balls, group.
bowling balls, or other
objects that students can
relate to so that they are
still making personal
connections to the lesson.

D. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?
Think about this! It may help you avoid an embarrassing situation. This CANNOT include fire drills,
interruptions due to announcements, weather, or other emergencies.

There are a couple of things that could go wrong with this lesson. My biggest concern is that
the topic will overall be too advanced for the students. My cooperating teacher is not the one that
teaches science, so I have only actually seen the students in science class once. I do not have much
experience with their prior knowledge or past science lessons. They most likely may have never done
their own science experiment before, and the different terms may be hard for them to understand. If
they dont know the base vocabulary for this lesson, they may not gain anything from this lesson. In
order to prevent this from happening, I need to spend a good amount of time building that vocabulary
with the students. If they forget it by the second day, I can review it with them before they continue the
experiment.
Another thing that could go wrong is I dont have enough materials to set up the different
stations, or one of the ramps may break. I need to create a tall surface to rest the ramp on. In order to
keep the results similar for each group, I want the height to be exactly the same for each station. I also
have to create ramps for each group. Since the ramps are made out of cardboard, they may be flimsy.
In case one ramp does break, I will have a few others as back up.
 Lesson Implementation Reflection
As soon as possible after teaching your lesson, think about the experience. Use the questions/prompts below to
guide your thinking. Be thorough in your reflection and use specific examples to support your insights.

I. How did your actual teaching of the lesson differ from your plans? Describe the changes and explain why
you made them.

Quite a few things differed from my lesson plan while I was actually implementing it. Originally, my
lesson was supposed to be spread out between two days. The first day, we were going to cover all of
the vocabulary and start the experiment. The second day we were supposed to finish up the
experiment, discuss results, and wrap up the lesson. Because of snow days and teacher absences, I was
asked to condense my lesson down into one day. This lead me to shorten whole class discussion time
and have groups only test the wooden board or the felt one, but not both. I also did not have enough
time to have groups come up to the board and record their data for everyone to see. These changes
were not something that I choose to do, and ideally I felt that every part of my lesson was essential.
However, for the sake of time and flexibility, I agreed to shorten my lesson. It definitely lead to some
struggles and hiccups during the lesson, but overall I feel the students still achieved the learning
objectives.

II. Student Work Sample Analysis: Based on the assessment you created, what can you conclude about your
impact on student learning? Did they learn? Who learned? What did they learn? What evidence can you
offer that your conclusions are valid?

For my assessment, I chose to do a Kahoot. The cool thing about Kahoot is that it will take all of the
results from each time its played, and export them to an excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet breaks down
the results by each question and also how each player did. Based on the spreadsheet, a little more than half
the majority of the questions were answered correctly. The number of incorrected answers for each player
ranged from zero to six. Questions that students struggled with were mainly the ones that dealt with the
different aspects and variables in experiments. Students learned how friction and mass affect the motion of
objects, as well as the definitions of friction, mass, and motion. Overall, I believe my impact on student
learning was moderate but could definitely be improved if I were to teach this lesson again. I need to find a
way to reach all of my students and make sure they all reach my overall objectives. My proof for this is in
the excel spreadsheet from the Kahoot results.

Look at the assessment data and identify 2 students who appear to fall into these 3 categories: (1) Gets it;
(2) Has some good ideas, but theres still room for learning and (3) Does not get it. Organize your
responses to the following questions in a chart/table form similar to the one below.

Gets it Has some good ideas, but Does not get it

Student A Student B Student C Student D Student E Student F
Gracy Sam Landon Ava Caly Makayla
a. Friction, mass, Friction, mass, Friction, Friction, mass, What motion The
Understands motion, and motion, and motion, and and how those is definition of
how the three how the three how mass and two concepts independent
What a
are related are related friction effect effect the variable
hypothesis is
motion. motion of an
IV, DV, DV, constants, in an
object
constants, and and hypothesis IV and experiment
hypothesis hypothesis IV, constant,
Mass and
hypothesis
friction effect
definitions
the motion of
 objects
b. Confused None Independent What a DV Motion and The Friction,
about variables and a constant dependent definitions of mass,
is. variable friction, mass, motion, and
definition. IV, DV, and how the
What the
constant three are
definition of
related
mass is.
DV,
constants,
and
hypothesis
c. Questions to How would How would How would How would What is What is an
ask to clarify you describe you describe you describe you describe motion and independent
what I know the effects of the effects of the effects of the effects of what was in variable?
friction and friction and friction and friction and motion during
What were
mass on an mass on an mass on an mass on an our
some of our
object? object? object? object? experiment?
independent
Can you Can you What is a Can you What is the variables
explain the explain the hypothesis? explain the role of a from our
IVs and IVs and IVs and hypothesis in experiment?
What were the
constants from constants from constants from an
independent
our our our experiment?
variables from
experiment? experiment? experiment?
our
What is the experiment?
relationship
between an IV
and a DV?
d. Ideas to work More hands on Steps of the More hands on Look at and Exploring Exploring
on next science scientific science study objects mass and mass and
experiments method and experiments in motion. friction friction
science separately in a separately in
Science Steps of the
experiments hands on way a hands on
experiment scientific
way. Once
More hands on vocabulary method and More hands on
she
science science science
The understands
experiments experiments experiments
relationships those two
between More hands on concepts
friction, mass, science separately,
and motion experiments she should
then move
on to looking
at how they
are related
May not be
ready to look
at scientific
experiments

a. Where is each students learning within the framework of the SOLO Taxonomy? What evidence do
you have to support your answer? Please provide student work samples.
 Student A: This student is in the relational level, but I believe she could work her way to the extended
abstract if given more high order thinking questions. She is not only able to define each of the key
vocabulary words, but she is also apply them in an experiment and explain why friction and mass
effect the motion of objects. My lesson did not reach the extended abstract level of the SOLO
taxonomy, but I believe that this student could hypothesize how objects that we didnt test would have
reacted in our experiment or even create her own experiment on the subject.

Student B: I think that this student is also in the relational level. He did confuse the definition of an
independent variable, but they hadnt covered the parts of a scientific experiment since the beginning
of the year. He was able to define friction, motion, and mass; and he was also able to apply those
concepts to a hands on experiment and relate them all together. As with Student A, this student could
reach the extended abstract level if given more high order thinking questions.

Student C: I think this student is between the multistructural and relational level. He did have trouble
describing some key vocabulary, but he was able to apply many of the concepts to a scientific
experiment and relate friction, mass, and motion together.

Student D: I think this student is between the multistructural and relational level. He did have trouble
describing some key vocabulary, but he was able to apply many of the concepts to a scientific
experiment and relate friction, mass, and motion together.

Student E: This student appears to be in the unistructural level. Though she did know that friction and
mass effect the motion of an object, that was most likely due to the fact that I repeated it many times.
She needs to be able to define and describe friction and mass separately.

Student F: This student appears to be in the unistructural level. She needs to work on defining each of
the science terms separately before she explores how friction and mass are related.

Work samples are attached on canvas in the excel spreadsheet I mentioned above.

III. Describe at least one way you could incorporate developmentally appropriate practice in a better or more
thorough way if you were to teach this lesson again.

One way I could incorporate developmentally appropriate practice in a better way would be through
giving more thorough directions. During the entire lesson, I was nervous and stressed for time. As a result
of that, I rushed through the directions of the experiment and did not set clear expectations of my students.
Because of that, students were confused and got off task easily. If I were to go back and teach this lesson
again, I would make my expectations and rules more clear

Another way I could incorporate developmentally appropriate practice in a better way would be
through feedback. Once I allowed the whole class to break up into groups and start the experiment, they
began to get rowdy and out of control. I found it hard to walk over to each group to supervise and offer
constructive feedback. When I was trying to calm down one student, there were three others ones calling
my name and waiting for my assistance. There was a substitute that day since the actual teacher was gone
all day for a conference, and he sat at the back on the room and did not offer any assistance. I believe that
if the regular classroom teacher had been there, the students would have been less rowdy and it would
have been easier for me to offer helpful feedback to each group.

IV. Based on the assessment data you collected, what would you do/teach next if you were the classroom
teacher?

If I were the classroom teacher, I would definitely be doing more hands on science experiments in the
classroom. It could have been due to the lack of an authority figure in the room, but students had a hard
 time staying on task and handling conducting a science experiment on their own. I think a lot of this has to
do with the fact that they are not given the opportunity to do science experiments. Science class often
consists of note taking and worksheets. It also seems like students cover science concepts, and then totally
leave them behind and dont explore the ways in which different concepts are connected. This was shown
in the fact that students talked about different variables and constants in experiments, but had completely
forgotten it by the time I implemented my lesson. I think it is important that students look at the
relationships between different science terms or concepts. Overall, I would come up with more hands on
ways to do science since I think notetaking and worksheets are not effective nor memorable.

V. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about young
children as learners?

From this lesson, I learned that if you give children fun objects; that they will throw them across the
room. After the students started the experiment, the bouncy balls and toy cars were flying across the room.
I also learned that children need to be eased into new forms of learning. I have yet to see these students
work on actual science experiments before. I think it was just overwhelming for the students. Children as
learners need to work up to having responsibility when it comes to curriculum and taking control on their
own learning. What was reinforced about children as learners during this lesson was that students are
extremely excited and willing to share what they know or what they learned. Towards the end of the
lesson, I had groups share their information as a whole and compare and contrast our results. Just about
every group wanted to share what happened while they conducted the experiment. The final thing that was
reinforced during this lesson was that children love technology and it can be a powerful tool to help them
learn. This is the second lesson I have taught where I used an online quiz as a form of assessment. The
students got so excited about the Kahoot. I think it was a nice way to get them motivated to learn and
excited about the lesson.

VI. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about teaching?

As a result of this lesson, I learned that it is important for teachers to set clear expectations and rules
for the classroom. I was asked to condense my lesson from two days to one, and because of that I felt
rushed to cover every aspect of my lesson plan. I glossed over the rules of the experiment and my
expectations for the students, and I think that the students got out of control as a result of it. If I as the
teacher had took the time to set the guideless for what not to do with each of the tools we were using, then
I think my lesson would have gone over more smoothly. I also learned that teachers need to be an authority
figure or else students will not listen to them. It was just me and a substitute in the room when I taught my
lesson. I think this was yet another factor that lead to the students getting a bit out of hand during the
experiment portion of the lesson. I also learned that teachers need to monitor how much freedom they give
to their students when working through lessons. I let the students pick their own groups, but if I were to do
it all over again then I would definitely assign them to groups myself. It is important part of differentiation
for teachers to group students based on ability. When they grouped themselves, students ended up
separating into same ability groups. This meant that some groups were super on task and excited about the
experiment, while others struggled to get through it. It is important for teachers to recognize when they
need to assign groups and when students can handle that freedom on their own.

VII. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about yourself?

This lesson has taught me that I need to work on classroom management, flexibility, and multitasking
as I work towards becoming a teacher. During my lesson, multiple students got upset over different things.
When I was trying to work through a problem with one student or group, there were other ones waiting to
get my help. I had a hard time connecting with each group and keeping each one on task. As mentioned
above, I think that if I had done the grouping myself then some of the classroom management issues would
have been solved on their own. I could tell that the experiment portion of the lesson was not going well,
but I am not flexible on my feet so I didnt know how to adjust my lesson on the fly. Classroom
management, flexibility, and multitasking are all important aspects of teaching and lesson planning. I need
to work on these and grow as a teacher.