Georgia Southwestern State University Lesson Plan Guidelines

Created by GSW School of Education

EDEC 4550 Fall 2016
(Revised by Dr. Chuchu Wu)
Name: ​Katey Brock

Lesson Date: ​August 9th, 2018

Lesson Start Time: ​9:00 a.m ​ Lesson End Time: ​9:50 a.m.

Classroom/Lesson Context

__X__ Whole Group _____ Small Group _____ One-on-One

____0_ Students with IEPs/504s __0___ ELL Students

____ Other (Please specify: ___________________________________________________)

​Please specify the number of students:

__12___ Girls __15___Boys

Learning Central Focus

Lesson Plan Title:​ ___Our Solar System

Grade Level: ​__4th______

Central Focus:

What is the central focus for the content in the learning segment?

● Students will be able to compare and contrast the physical attirbutes of

stars and planets.

Content Standard:

What standard(s) are most relevant to the learning goals?

● S4E1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to compare and

contrast the physical attributes of stars and planets.

Student Learning Goal(s)/ Objective(s):

Skills/procedures:
 What will the students be doing in this lesson? For example, The students will
analyze…..

● The students will compare and contrast the physcial attributes of stars and
planets.

Prior Academic Knowledge and Conceptions:

What knowledge, skills, and concepts must students already know to be

successful with this lesson?

● Students must be familiar with the 8 planets of the solar system ( Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune). Students must
understand the difference between a star and planet.

What prior knowledge and/or gaps in knowledge do these students have that are
necessary to support the learning of the skills and concepts for this lesson?

● Students may not be familiar with the 8 planets of the solar system. Students
might get planets and stars confused when identifying them.

Common Errors, Developmental Approximations, Misconceptions, Partial

Understandings, or Misunderstandings:

What are common errors or misunderstandings of students related to the central

focus of this lesson?

● Students may be confused about the order of the planets. Students may not
understand the difference between a star and a planet. Students may not
understand what a physical attribute is.

How will you address them for this group of students?

● In order to ease the students’ confusion, I will have concrete objects, such as an
anchor chart, placed throughout the classroom showing the order of the planets
or the physical attributes of the planets.

Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks

Launch: ____5______ Minutes

How will you gain attention?

● In order to gain the students attention, I will say, “fourth grade hands, fourth
grade feet, fourth grade eyes.” The students will place their clasped hands in
 their lap, their feet flat on the floor, and their eyes on me. Students should be
silent during this time.

How will you start the lesson to engage and motivate students in learning?\\

● To engage the students and motivate students in learning, I will show a picture of
our solar system on the SmartBoard. I will instruct students to take out a piece of
paper and write down what they think this lesson is going to be over. After
students write down their response, they are to raise their hand. I will call on
random students to tell me what they think the lesson will be over.

What are your rules for the lesson?

Instruction: ____25______ Minutes

What will you do to engage students in developing understanding of the lesson

objective(s)?

● I will go up to the board and tell the class the name of each planet and point to its
picture on the SmartBoard. After pointing to the planets, I will point to a star and
ask how the students think it is different than a planet. I will explain that the
planets have some similar and different physical characteristics. I will then show
what planets are the inner (rocky) planets, and the outer (gaseous) planets. After,
that I will inform the students that we are going to compare and contrast the
planets’ physical attributes.

How will you link the new content (skills and concepts) to students’ prior
academic learning and their personal/cultural and community assets?

● I will ask students if they have ever been to the local planetarium in Albany. Even
if students have been, I will do a virtual tour looking through a virtual telescope
online in class. Virtual telescope link:
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/webclient/

What will you say and do? What questions will you ask?

● As we look at different items in the telescope, I will point out what we have
learned so far about the planets. Such as which planets are the inner planets,
which are the outer planets, or a star’s physical attributes. I will then show a
powerpoint discussing the solar system, and after the power point I will show the
class a video I made discussing our solar system. The powerpoint and video can
be found on our class website: ​https://kateymaebrock.weebly.com/

How will you engage students to help them understand the concepts?
 ● I will engage students to help them understand the concepts by allowing them to
practice. After I show the students the video, I will have a blank page on the
SmartBoard pulled up. The students are to come up to the board, one by one,
and write a planet, the order of the planet, and two physical attributes of the
planet.

What will students do?

● The students will answer my questions, and ask questions throughout the lesson.

How will you determine if students are meeting the intended learning objectives?

● I will determine if students are meeting the intended learning objective by

monitoring their answers to my oral questions.

Structured Practice and Application: ___15_______ Minutes

How will you give students the opportunity to practice so you can provide
feedback?

● The students will get into groups of four. I will hand each group a planet, and a
white poster. The students are to glue their planet on the poster, write their
planet’s name, and describe their planet’s physical attributes. After the students
make their poster, they are to come to the front of the room to present their
poster. I will provide feedback to the students after they present. For example, I
will say, “ Good job at labeling the planet and using the correct physical
attributes.

How will students apply what they have learned?

● The students will go back to their individual seat, and I will hand them a paper
with two different planets and a star on it. The students are to write a paragraph
comparing and contrasting the two planets and the star. When the students are
finished, they will turn their paper into me.

How will you determine if students are meeting the intended learning objectives?

● I will determine if students are meeting the intended learning objective by

consider their oral responses, and I will informally assess their paper by looking
to see if each student used the correct physical attributes of their planets, and the
star.

Closure: __5________ Minutes

How will you end the lesson?

● I will quickly go around the room and ask each student to tell me an inner planet
and an outer planet. The student is to then tell what the difference is between an
inner and outer planet.