Planning and Preparation for an Inquiry Lesson

Name:

Grade Level:

Planning for Knowing the Terrain

Lesson Sketch

Techniques/Consideratio
ns

Before the Lesson

The topic being addressed is the life cycle of an emperor penguin
It is important to understands a penguins life and how they live. As well as make
connections to their own life.
It is important for students to relies the life cycle of a penguin and make that
connection to other living things and even themselves.
Student have a prior knowledge about penguins and know some facts about them
but they do not have a deep understanding about the whole life cycle.
Book and chart paper/markers.

Task/Problem
Problem is for students to explore the habits of penguins.
Task is for students to display an understanding of a penguins life cycle.

Curriculum

Adapted from Dr. Sharon Friesens Planning and Preparation for an Inquiry Lesson

What is the topic you are

addressing?
Why is this topic important?
What do you want the students
to understand?
How might technology be useful
in building understanding?
How does this relate to students
prior understanding?
What resources/manipulatives
will you use?

State the problem and the task

clearly. Remember to cite sources
What is the task that will help
student gain the understanding you
have stated above?

What General and Specific Outcomes does

this task address?
How and why does this task address these
outcomes?

Planning and Preparation for an Inquiry Lesson

Planning Instructional Strategies for Entering the Terrain

Lesson Sketch

Techniques/Consideratio
ns

Beginning of the Lesson

1. Introduce the topic by asking students what they know/remember about penguins.
2. Introduce the book fiction is non-fiction/fiction why, title, author, illustrator

3. What do they think the book will be about based on the title and the front cover
(penguin family, penguin life) get students thinking about a penguins life and

habits.

How will you spark student

interest in the work/task?
How will you help students make
connections to their prior knowledge?
How will you pose the problem
or inquiry?
How will you provide students
with multiple means of representations?

Middle of the Lesson (Part A: Student discovery and problem solving)

1. The students are going to learn about the life cycle of a penguin by reading a book
and demonstrating it on chart paper by going through the steps with the students.
2. Reading the book: page 7 dad tucking egg in, parents tuck you in. page 9 what do
you do before you say goodbye to love once (hug), 10 does anyone remember
what a rookery is? Through pout the book try and make connections.
3. Demonstration on penguin cycle: what happened at the beginning of this story?
Ask questions and have the students help create a time line for a penguin - Mom
laid an egg, mom leaves dad cares for egg, egg hatches, dad with baby, mom
comes home.
Middle of the Lesson (Part B: Whole Class Discussion)
1. They are going to make their own life cycle First: Name, second: cut out the
penguins along the dotted line, last: paste the pictures of the penguins in the right
order of their life cycle. (tip: place all the triangles where you think they go then
glue them on last) if finished early start coloring the penguins.
2. I will make myself available to the students throughout the worksheet and be sure
that they are on the right track and answer questions.

What are your purposes and strategies

for observing students to learn what and
how they are doing?

How will you use

representations, variations of the task,
or manipulatives help students who are
struggling with the task?

What extensions would be useful

to challenge and deepen the thinking of
students?

End of the Lesson

I will be viewing students work throughout the assignment and be making sure
they are understanding the concepts and showing them where they went wrong.
Afterwards I will collect them and check over the work to see if the students
understood the concept and were able to express that through the assignment.

Learning from and Improving Practice

Adapted from Dr. Sharon Friesens Planning and Preparation for an Inquiry Lesson

What specific question, example,

or idea will you use? i.e. Which common
misconceptions? Which eloquent
solution?
What might you ask to support
students reasoning about specific
mathematical ideas?
How will you respond to
anticipated student errors or
misconceptions? How will you encourage
students to consider the thinking of
others and respond to each other in the
How will you know that the
students have understood - what you
want them to understand? What will you
collect to help you assess student
learning in relation to your lesson goals?
How might you gather
information about how students are
thinking?
How will you use the information
gathered to learn about your teaching,
plan upcoming lessons, and/or
determine the understanding of
How could you better support
the learning of all students?
Based on what you observed
during this lesson, what changes could
be made to improve the effectiveness of
the classroomlearning environment?