TCNJ Unit Plan #1

What Is A Scientist?
Student Name: Sydney Rossi and Christin Kim

School Name: LawrencevilleElementary

Grade Level: 1st Grade

Host Teachers Name: Kristen Potter

Guiding and/or Essential Questions:

Who can be a scientist?
How do scientists act?
What do scientists do?
How do we conduct scientific experiments?
How do we take detailed observations?
How can we describe liquids?

Pre-lesson Assignments and/or Student Prior Knowledge

Students will have a few weeks of experience learning science.
Students will not be familiar with the scientific process.
Students may hold the misbelief that only older males can be scientists and that they do
their work solely in laboratories.
Students will have experience with liquids from their daily lives, but will not have
learned about liquids formally yet.
Standards:
2-PS1-1.: Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials
by their observable properties.
Learning Objectives and Assessments:
Learning Objectives

Assessment

Students will explain why they are considered a

scientist.

Students will explain why they are considered a

scientist on their craft. Teacher will assess for
reasonable answers.

Students will describe the steps of the scientific

method verbally during discussion.

Students will describe the steps of the scientific

method verbally during discussion. Teacher will
assess students comments for accuracy.
Students will verbally practice making
observations during a whole-group activity.
Teacher will assess that students comments
describe the person.

Students will verbally practice making

observations during a whole-group activity.

Students will verbally describe liquids during a

whole-group discussion.

Students will verbally describe liquids during a

whole-group discussion. Teacher will assess
students comments for accuracy.

Materials/Resources:
19 What Do Scientist Do booklets
o https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What-Do-Scientists-Do-49252
17 Scientist lab coat crafts
o https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Scientists-Craftivity-1978739
Students photos
Anchor chart with scientific method step names prewritten
Brain Pop Jr: Observations Video
o https://jr.brainpop.com/science/scienceskills/makingobservations/
5 liquids in bottles
Plan for set-up/distribution/cleanup of materials:
Teachers will pass out the What Do Scientists Do booklets while explaining
scientists.
Miss Kim and Miss Rossi will collect the booklets at the end of the lesson.
Miss Rossi will pull the online resources up on the laptop prior to the start of the
lesson.
Miss Rossi will place the 5 liquids in bottles on the easel at the start of the lesson.
She will put these away at the end of the lesson.
Miss Kim and Miss Rossi will hand out the Scientist Lab Coat craft. They will be
collected at the end of the lesson.
Step by Step plan:
1. Miss Kim will ask students to close their eyes and imagine a scientist at work. She will
ask them to imagine whether the scientist is a boy or a girl, how old the scientist is, what
the scientist is wearing, what the scientist is doing and where the scientist is working.
Miss Kim will ask students to open their eyes and she will call on a few students to share
what they imagined. If students need prompting, Miss Kim will ask about the scientists
gender, age, type work, work location, etc.
2. Miss Kim will tell students that that is one way scientists can look and act, but anyone
can be a scientist. Scientists can be young, old, tall, short, male or female and scientists
do all different types of work. Teacher will direct students attention to the SMART board
where she will quickly flip through a PowerPoint of all different types of scientists.
3. Miss Kim and Miss Rossi will hand out the What Do Scientists Do? booklets to each
student. Miss Kim will explain to students that one way scientists do science is by using
the scientific method. She will point to the anchor chart and read the names of the steps.
Miss Kim will call on a student to read each page aloud. As students read through the

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

pages, Miss Kim will pause the reading to discuss the meaning of the different steps (ask
questions, form a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, record observations, and come to a
conclusion) and to fill in the definitions on the anchor chart.
Miss Kim will call students to the rug. Miss Kim will tell students that they will now
watch a Brain Pop video to learn more about making observations. She will remind
students that observations are all the things we notice during an experiment and that
observations must be detailed. Miss Kim will begin the Brain Pop video.
At the end of the video, Miss Rossi will ask, What were some important things Annie
said about making observations? Possible answers include use the five senses, write
down or draw your observations, look at objects from different angles, and/or use
observations to ask more questions.
Miss Rossi will tell students that they will practice making observations with a quick
game. One student will be called on to stand in the front of the room. Students will have
1-2 minutes to make as many observations as they can of that student. Teacher will
remind students to make very detailed observations because the student will eventually
change something about him/herself and they will have to figure out what it was based on
their observations. Teacher will prompt students as needed when collecting observations
by asking about the students hair, eye color, height, shirt, pants, shoes, etc. When the
time is up, the teacher will ask the student to step behind the easel and for all the other
students to close their eyes. Miss Rossi will ask the student to change one thing about
his/her appearance. Students may cuff their jeans, roll up their sleeves, change their hair,
untie their shoes, etc. Student will come back to the front of the room and the class will
open their eyes. Class will have to guess what is different on the student based on their
previous observations. This activity will be repeated with a new student if time permits.
Miss Rossi will say, Wow, boys and girls, you are experts at making observations. Since
Miss Kim will be teaching you about the properties of liquids tomorrow, we will be
making observations of the five liquids I have here today to answer our scientific
question of how we can describe liquids. Miss Rossi will call on students to make
observations on the five liquids one at a time. Miss Rossi will prompt students as needed
by asking about the color, the ability to see through the liquid, the consistency, and what
happens when she shakes it.
When students have made observations of all the liquids, Miss Rossi will say, Boys and
girls, we have just answered our scientific question of how we can describe liquids
because we have made observations on the liquids color, ability to see through, the way
it moves and whether it forms bubbles or foam so our conclusion is that we can describe
liquids in those ways. Do you know what that means? We are scientists because we just
used the scientific method!
Closure: Miss Rossi will explain that in a minute they will go back to their seats to do a
scientist lab coat craft. Miss Rossi will hold up the scientist lab coat. Miss Rossi will
explain that they will open the lab coat and on the inside they will complete the sentence
I am a scientist because Miss Rossi will tell students that any of the steps of the
scientific method that they just used can work to complete that sentence. Miss Rossi will
give several examples (I am a scientist because I ask questions about my world, I am a
scientist because I make detailed observations, I am a scientist because I can form a
conclusion, etc.) Miss Rossi will instruct students to finish the sentence first and then
they can decorate the lab coat. Miss Rossi will release students to their desk.

10. Miss Rossi and Miss Kim will pass out the scientist lab coat craft to each student. Miss
Rossi will explain that her and Miss Kim will come around with the pictures they took
previously in science goggles to tape onto their lab coat. Miss Rossi will explain that the
lab coat crafts will be displayed on the bulletin board.
Key Questions:
What do scientists look like?
Where do scientists work?
What do scientists do?
Who can be a scientist?
What makes you a scientist?
What are some important things Annie pointed out about observations?
What observations can we make about him/her?
What change do you notice?
Can you explain how detailed observations helped you pick out the thing the student
changed about him/herself?
How can we describe liquids?
What step in the scientific method did we just use?
Logistics:
Timing:
Imagine A Scientist/ Share: 5 minutes
Scientific Method Booklet & Anchor Chart: 10 minutes
Brain Pop: 3 minutes
Observation Game: 5 minutes
Liquid Observations: 5 minutes
Scientist Craft: 12 minutes
Transitions:
Teachers will use the attention signal as needed throughout the lesson to capture
students attention.
Classroom Management:
Teachers will use the attention signal as needed throughout the lesson to capture
students attention.
Teachers will circulate the room monitoring for behavioral issues throughout the
lesson.
Differentiation
Teachers will work with individually with P.Z. throughout the lesson to try to engage him
in the activities.

Early finishers during the craft will be instructed to turn their scientist lab coat over and
write words that remind them of science/scientists on the back.