Integrated Methods Block: Science

Summary of Lesson:

Students will discuss what volcanoes are

Students will watch a brain pop on volcanoes
Teacher will present a Power Point
Students will create their own volcano out of play dough and label the parts
Students will read and create a vocabulary flip book

Observation:

Observation Reflection:
Before coming to Coltrane Webb I had never heard of a PBL which is (Problem
Based Learning). Once I heard what it was and the teacher told me a little about it I was
interested in observing it in a lesson in the classroom. At Coltrane Webb, they do these
a lot in science and I think it is a great idea because it is interesting and gets the
students attention but it is also allows the teacher to connect science to real life and not
just read out of a textbook.
On the day I observed my first science lesson there they did a Problem Based
Learning on a house on a hill and the contractor was hired to fixed a problem with the
landscaping because when it rains it makes mud and pine needles destroy the
landscaping. The students had to look at this problem as if they were the contractor and
had to decide how they would fix the problem. I was so intrigued by this awesome
science lesson because of how engaged the students were. They thought it was so cool
that the problem was up to them and they got to decide what to do. The first part to a
PBL is making a chart and on one side it says, what we know, as a class they write
down everything they know about the problem that they were given, and in my
observation above I recorded the list. Then on the other side they listed what they need
to know such as, how much time they would be allotted, how much money they have,
what materials they need and who their partner would be. After they got done with this
they were going to work with their partners to create a Google presentation on their
solutions and would share each with the class. They ran out of time that day because
they had to go take a tour of the Scholastic Book Fair, but I thought it was a great
example of having to go with the flow because she planned on doing the second part
of the lesson. That was something she had commented to me as we were walking to
the Book Fair.
After reflecting on this lesson I left wanting to know more about Problem Based
Learning scenarios and wondered if a lot of schools do these types of activities. As a
student looking into the classroom I think it would be a good idea to incorporate these
into all classrooms and I think that they would see a lot of engagement from the
students. I could tell that the teacher enjoyed teaching this type of activity as well and
that is very important too! I had a great time observing this lesson and I definitely think I
will use this time of learning in my classroom one day!
Taylor Baker
ELED 3221
3/29/2016
Volcanoes
______________________________________________________________________
Central Focus/Big Idea: The central focus of my lesson is recognizing all the different
parts of the volcano.

Subject of this lesson: Science Volcanoes

Grade Level: 4th
NC Essential Standard(s): 4.E.2 Understand the use of fossils and the changes in the
surface of the earth as evidence of the history of Earth and its changing life forms.
NC Essential Standard(s): Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and
fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over
time 4-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are
derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.
ESS3.B: Natural Hazards A variety of hazards result from natural processes (e.g.,
earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions). Humans cannot eliminate the hazards but
can take steps to reduce their impacts.
21st Century Skills: Creativity and Innovation- Students are creating their own
volcanoes so that will take creativity on their parts
Communication- Students will be discussing the similarities and differences in their
volcanoes and will be communicating during their flip books to discuss the vocabulary
words so students should be able to communicate effectively
Collaboration- Students will be working together for most of the lesson and should
have good collaboration skills.
Information Literacy- Students should be able to find specific vocabulary words in their
science textbooks.
Academic Language Demand
Language Function: I chose summarize because the students had to collaborate
with others and summarize the similarities and differences between the
volcanoes and they had to write down all the vocabulary words on their flipbooks.
Analyze

Argue

Categorize

Interpret

Predict

Question

Compare/contras
t
Retell

Describe

Explain

Summarize

Scientific Vocabulary: Volcanoes, change, landforms, Mt. St Helens, magma,

magma chamber, vent, crater, lava

Instructional Objective: Give examples of how the surface of the earth changes due to
slow processes such as erosion and weathering, and rapid processes such as
landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. The students are expected to learn the
different parts of the volcano. Students are expected to earn 8 out of 10 points on the
multiple choice.

Prior Knowledge (student): Students should know that there are different types of
landforms and that volcanoes are one of them.
Content Knowledge (teacher): Teacher should know what each part of the volcano is
and how it functions, teacher should be able to locate all the parts of the volcano and
have a clear explanation so that the students can remember each part.
Accommodations for special needs (individual and/or small group): For the students
with special needs in the classroom their can be a small group pulled to help with writing
down the vocabulary words and answering the questions on the assessment, if need be
it can be read aloud to them. Teacher will walk around providing help to those who need
it.
Materials and Technology requirements:
Volcanoes PowerPoint
Google Earth
Markers, 6 sets, one for each table
25 sheets of white printer paper
Play dough, 25 small cups
Science textbook
Scissors (6 sets)
Total Estimated Time: 1 hour
Source of lesson: Brain pop
(https://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/volcanoes)
Power point
Safety considerations: The students will be monitored at all times. Safety scissors will
be provided for all students.
Engage: Students will come to the carpet and the teacher will tell them they are going
to be to talking about volcanoes. The teacher will ask, What is a volcano? Then the
teacher will play a brain pop video.
(https://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/volcanoes) After the video plays the
teacher will ask understanding questions. Who can name some of the parts of the
volcano that we learned from the video? In Washington State, what was the name of
the volcano? What do the tectonic plates do?
Explore: The students are going to be building their own volcano out of play dough and
create the 3D model of the parts of the volcano. The students will all make their own
volcano but will collaborate with their group members at their table to label all the parts.
Once the class has finished making and labeling their volcanoes on their desks the
whole class is going to walk around and observe the other volcanoes. They will then go
back to their desks and write down the similarities and differences, then they will share

with their group about what they have observed. The parts they should include are,
lava, magma chamber, magma, volcano, crater and vent. What part of the volcano was
the most difficult to create? Where is the crater? Where is the magma?
Explanation: The teacher will ask the students to return to the carpet to continue talking
about volcanoes. The teacher will then pull up Google maps and will tell the students
that they are about to see a real volcano. The teacher will search Mt. St Helens and will
position the person to where they are looking right at the volcano. The teacher will ask
where certain parts of the volcano would be on the real volcano that they are looking at.
Is this volcano what you expected it to look like? Where would the crater be? Where
would the magna chamber be located?
Elaborate: The students will create a vocabulary booklet. They will each be given a
sheet of paper and will fold it hamburger style they will then make 6 rows and cut across
so they have 6 flaps. In partners, the students will read in their science textbook pages
C18-C23 and will discuss what they have read. They will be asked to put the 6
vocabulary words on the top flap of the page and then on the inside write the vocabulary
word and draw an image that will help them to remember which part of the volcano that
is. The teacher will then ask the students to return to the carpet and show Google Earth
and let the students see what an actual volcano looks like and where some are located.
'What is the location of this volcano?" "What do volcanoes actually look like?" "Were all
the volcanoes the same?"
Evaluate: The students will be given an independent worksheet that will assess them
on the reading they did in the science textbook. It is 3 short answer questions, and 10
vocabulary questions, multiple choice. The students are expected to earn 4 out of 6
points for the short answer (2 points each) and are expected to earn 8 out of 10 on the
multiple choice (1 point each). The summative assessment is the worksheet that the
students will complete individually and the formative assessment is the questions the
teacher asked throughout the lesson.

Teacher Feedback Form:

Sample of student work:

Overall Reflection:
During my time in the classroom, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the exciting activities
that related directly to science. It gave me a whole new outlook on science in the
classroom. At Coltrane Webb since it is a STEM school, they get to go to whats called
the Maker Space and the STEM lab. One of my first day there I went to the Maker
Space and had a great time. The students got to be engineers for the day and they had
a blast. They were split up into teams and were only given a couple of items such as
straws, paperclips, tape, index cards and yarn. They also were only given a small
amount for each so they had to use each supply wisely. They also had team building
skills that made them want to work together. The students were asked who could build

the strongest bridge out of these select items? They got to work and it was interesting to
walk around and observe all the different plans and thoughts. After all their time was up
it was time to test the bridges and see who won. They had to put the bridge in between
two rolling carts and then the teacher added on weight little by little and once it
collapsed it was recorded how much each bridge could hold and whoevers team could
hold the most weight is the ones who win. I really enjoyed the time spent in the Maker
Space. I also went to the STEM lab and observed all the fun activities that they do
there. As I started to think about what I was going to teach for science, Mrs. A said that
they were about to talk about volcanoes and asked if I would like to teach that. So as I
started planning my lesson there were some questions that she wanted me to cover
because they had a big science test coming up and wanted them to be fully prepared.
My students saw how cool volcanoes really are and I could observe that they were
really into the lesson and had a great time learning about it. Their favorite part was
looking at Google Earth and getting to see how an actual volcano looks and it
connected it to real life. They did not just have to read about it in a textbook and see the
parts of the volcano there but they got to look at a real one and point the parts out here.
The students worked together very well it was exciting to walk around and observe and
answer questions on the topic that you taught and answer the questions on the activities
that I gave, it was different than just sitting and watching. With being in the classroom
for over 2 weeks I really had the chance to see the learning abilities and disabilities
within the students. After I taught I realized whom I would have to help a little more, just
by visiting them and giving them further instruction. I handled it by checking on certain
students a little more to make sure they were keeping up with the rest of the class and

helping them with questions along the way. I thought that I used technology very
effectively because I made sure I had all my videos, PowerPoint and Google Earth
pulled up prior to the lesson so I did not waste class time and leave time to distract the
students. I believe the students received important information about volcanoes. I did
notice that my activities were somewhat repetitive but in the end I realized that this was
helpful to the students because the more you hear It the more it will sink in and they had
a big test coming up and the information I provided them with would really help them.
So looking back I thought that the lesson I gave was helpful and full of information. If I
had to plan this differently I would have thought out the activities a little more and
maybe pushed it to the next level by letting them mold their volcanoes at home and
bringing them in as a bigger project for them to understand volcanoes even more
because it certainly is a very important topic. Also, when I got up to teach I sent them off
to do the assignment before I was technically finished and I had to pull them back to the
carpet to go over it. I was thinking ahead of myself and that is one thing I would have
changed. As a teacher during this lesson I learned that you cannot be perfect, planning
does not always go the way you think it will and sometimes you have to just go with the
flow and if you forget something it is not a big deal because you can just pull the class
back together. Teaching is all about going with the flow and always having to rearrange
your schedule because unexpected things happen during the day. Overall, my
experience was amazing and I learned so much about the students, teachers and
science that I will never forget and will definitely take with me to the classroom when I
begin working.