Inquiry Lesson Plan Template (with Four Ways of Thinking

connection)
Teacher:
Content & Title:
Grade Level:
Megan Flanagan
Science
4th
Standards:
Concept 3: Organisms and Environments Understand the relationships
among various organisms and their environment.
PO 4. Describe ways in which resources can be conserved (e.g., by
reducing, reusing, recycling, finding substitutes).
Objectives (Explicit & Measurable):
Students will examine various products and determine which ones are
made from trees.
Students will describe ways that trees are used to make products and
ways that these products can be conserved.
Evidence of Mastery (Measurable Assessment: formative and summative):
(formative) To assess their understanding of trees as a source of
products, students are to find a given list of itmes derived from trees
at school or at home.
(summative)
Sub-objectives, SWBAT (steps that lead to completion of objective; sequence
from simple to more complex):
Students will be able to examine multiple products
Students will be able to determine which products are made from trees
Students will be able to describe ways that trees are used to make
products
Students will be able to describe ways that products from trees can be
conserved
Lesson Summary and Justification: (summary gives detailed information
about what students are doing. Justification why is this lesson being
taught)
This lesson is designed to help students to determine how trees play a huge
factor into our lives. They will learn about what products are made from
trees, description of ways trees are used to make these products, and how
these products can be conserved. They will participate in an activity called,
Tree Treasures. This activity allow for students to discover the true
meaning of how valuable trees are on Earth and in our every day lives.
Background Knowledge: (What do students need to know prior to completing
this lesson)
Students will need to have read the story, The Lorax, before completeing
these activities.
Misconception: (what possible misleading thoughts might students have?)
All products come from trees
Trees cannot product anything but paper
Trees are not endangered
Process Skills: (what skills are you introducing or reinforcing)
The skills being introducted to the students are learning ways to conserve
products, at which come from trees.

Four Ways of Thinking connection: (Provide a complete explanation of how

your lesson plan connects to futures, system, strategic, or values thinking.
Define the way of thinking you selected and used in this lesson plan.
Remember, this should be included meaningfully in the lesson plan.)
The ways of thinking selected in this lesson were future and strategic
thinking. Future thinking is connected in this lesson through the students
creating ways products identified in the lesson can be conserved from the
trees. Students will be taught about the value of trees, and how important
they are to our eco-system. Without trees, the students future lives will be
deeply affected. Strategic thinking is connected in this lesson through the
students activity the students participate in. The activity allows for
students to strategically think about conserving these products from trees.
Safety: (what safety rules and items need to be addressed?)
Empty and clean can of paint thinner, turpentine, or mineral spirits
Do not let students open any of the product containers
Inquiry Questions: (testable in the here and now.)
1. (to explore)
2. (to elaborate)
Key vocabulary: (list and define)
Materials: (list item and possible
1. Cellulose- the major component of
quantity)
wood (and most other plant fiber)
1. Magazine Pictures
2. Products- an article or substance
2. Access to the Internet
that is manufactured or refined for
(Computer)
sale.
3. Chart Paper
3. Conserve- protect (something,
4. Scissors
especially an environmentally or
5. Glue
culturally important place or thing)
6. Newspaper
from harm or destruction.
7. Toothpicks
8. Candy bar with almonds
9. Scrap of lumber or plywood
10. Tissue paper
11. Sponge (synthetic, not natural)
12. Piece of rayon cloth or clothing
13. Baseball
14. Wooden chopsticks or a wooden
mixing or salad spoon
15. Bottle of vanilla (flavoring) I
Book or magazine
16. Cardboard box
17. Pack of chewing gum
18. Empty can of paint
19. Bottle cork
20. Rubber gloves
21. Apple or other piece of fruit
that comes from trees
22. Plastic comb or brush
23. Piece of cellophane
24. Wooden chair or other piece of
furniture

Engage - In this section you should activate prior knowledge, hook student
attention, pose a question (IQ#1) based on your lesson objective that students
will seek to answer in Explore.
Teacher Will: (hook)
Students Will:
Explain that products are derived from
all parts of a tree. Wood is one of the
most obvious. It provides things such
as lumber for houses, furniture, doors,
picture frames, clocks, paintbrush
handles, counters, cabinets, floors,
spools for thread, etc. Cellulose is the
major component of wood (and most
other plant fiber). Paper is made from
cellulose, and paper products include
books, wrappers, cereal boxes,
magazines, newspapers, food labels,
etc. Besides being used to make paper,
cellulose is an ingredient in many
other products.
Show Would You Believe It Comes
From Trees? chart.
Prior to Lesson:
Cut out magazine pictures of products
made from trees. Youll need at least
one picture per student. You should
collect pictures that fit equally into the
categories wood products, food
products, and paper products.
If you cannot find old magazine
pictures, look for images on the
Internet, make a slide show of them,
and give the students cards with
names and images that correspond to
the slide show.
In different parts of the room, display a
large picture or actual product to
represent each of the three categories:
wood products, food products, and
paper products. For example, a
newspaper could represent paper
products, a musical instrument could
represent wood products, and an apple
could represent food products.
Collect as many of the following items
as you can:
Newspaper

Activitely listen and participate by

asking questions

Toothpicks
Candy bar with almonds
Scrap of lumber or plywood
Tissue paper
Sponge (synthetic, not natural)
Piece of rayon cloth or clothing
Baseball
Wooden chopsticks or a wooden
mixing or salad spoon
Bottle of vanilla (flavoring) I Book
or magazine
Cardboard box
Pack of chewing gum
Empty can of paint
Bottle cork
Rubber gloves
Apple or other piece of fruit that
comes from trees
Plastic comb or brush
Piece of cellophane
Wooden chair or other piece of
furniture

Make enough copies of the student

page for each group of four students
and cut sheet in sections.
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
N/A
Explore - In this section students should take the lead and actively use materials
to discover information that will help them answer the question posed in
Engage. Teachers may choose to give steps to follow, especially for younger students,
but the goal is for students to discover some or all of the sub-objectives of the lesson.
Teacher Will: (pose IQ #1)
Students Will: (list all steps)
Hold up a small branch and a wooden
object. Ask where each of these comes Students will see and feel the
from. (Students will most likely
texture of the wood
recognize the branch as coming from a
tree but might say that the other
Answer questions by quietly raising
object comes from a store, house, clos- their hands
et, etc.) If you have one, show
students the tree cookie, and
Listen carefully to all directions
explain that it also comes from a tree.
Have students see and feel the texture Students will decide what type of
of the wood. Can they identify similar
tree product they have: wood, food,
texture and grain in various wood
or paper.
products? Do they recognize those
products as coming from trees?
Students will stand under the
picture representing the
Ask the students if they know where
appropriate cateogory
paper comes from. Describe in simple
terms the process by which trees
Students will name their tree

become paper.

product

Ask students if they can think of other

things that come from trees. Ask
whether theyve used anything today
that comes from trees.

Students will bring in some samples

to pass around.

Explain that paper, wood, and food are

three of the main kinds of products
people get from trees. Hand out the
pictures you cut out earlier, one per
person.

Students will number each

teammate from one to four

Explain that each picture shows one of

these three important types of tree
products. Tell the students to decide
what type of tree product they have:
wood, food, or paper.
Make sure the students understand
the kinds of products that each
category includes. Then give them
time to go and stand under the picture
representing the appropriate category.
Have each of the students name their
tree product. Ask if anybody can think
of other products that come from
trees. Then refer to Would You
Believe It Comes from Trees? to
discuss some unusual tree products.
Have students bring in some samples
to pass around.
Place the items you collected around
the room and label each one with a
number.
Divide the group into teams of four,
and tell them that team members will
work together to determine which of
the products are made from trees. All
team members must agree with the
teams decision about each product
and must be able to explain why each
product is on their teams list.
Have the students in each team
number themselves from one to four.
Tell all the 1s that its their
responsibility to record the
information that everyone on their

Students will be divided into groups

Teams move around the room and

examine the products. After they
have decided if one item comes
from trees in some way, they are to
record it on a list and move on to
the next one
Each student should read the
article that corresponds to his or
her number and explain the
contents to their team members
The teams should then reevaluate
the list of products they came up
with in Step 4. Are there any
products they want to add to or
delete from their list? Once again,
remind them that everyone on their
team must agree with the changes
and should be able to explain why
each item is on their list.

team agrees on and that theyll have

to report their groups findings to the
rest of the class. Tell all the 2s that
they must make sure that everyone in
the group has an opportunity to speak
as the team tries to reach decisions.
The 3s must make sure the group
stays on track and gets everything
accomplished in the time allowed. And
the 4s are the only people who may
leave the group to ask you questions.
Have the teams move around the room
and examine the products. After they
have decided if one item comes from
trees in some way, they should record
it on a list and move on to the next
one.
Once teams have established their
lists, give each team a set of the
readings on the student page. Each
student should read the article that
corresponds to his or her number and
explain the contents to their team
members.
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
Put up three sheets of chart paper with a label (paper, wood, food) and/or
drawing and/or picture to go along with each category. Students can attach
their picture under the label once it has been determined to be correct.
Display charts.
Explain In this section students share what they discovered, teacher connects
student discoveries to correct content terms/explanations, students
articulate/demonstrate a clear and correct understanding of the lesson sub-objectives
by answering the question from Engage before moving on.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:
Have the teams share their lists with
the rest of the group. Discuss the
diversity of products we get from
trees. Check the students
understanding of the articles by asking
them to explain why they included
certain products. Students should
realize by the end of the discussion
that all the products they looked at
came from trees.

Share their discoveries out loud to

the whole class
Explain why certain products were
included

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

Discuss how this new awareness of tree products might affect students

behavior. Talk about conservation practices where their families use a forest
product but could also (1) recycle the product, (2) reuse the product, or (3)
reduce its use.
Elaborate In this section students take the basic learning gained from Explore and
clarified in Explain and apply it to a new circumstance or explore a particular aspect of
this learning at a deeper level. Students should be using higher order thinking in this
stage. A common practice in this section is to ask a What If? question. IQ #2
Teacher Will: (pose IQ #2)
Students Will:
Bring in a dead or pruned tree limb
Draw pictures, and cut out images
(with lots of branches), a used
from magazines
Christmas tree, or a small potted tree.
Have the students decorate the limb
Decorate the limb of the tree using
(propped up), Christmas tree, or
various items given to us by the
potted tree with pictures of tree
teacher.
products. They can draw their own
pictures, cut pictures out of
magazines, or use the pictures from
the activity. They can also use actual
small tree products, such as pencils,
paper towel rolls, nuts, fruit, cellophane, etc., to decorate the tree.
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
Students who finish early can write a two parapragh essay about why trees
are beneficial to our Earth and how we can conserve trees.
Evaluate In this section every student demonstrates mastery of the lesson
objective (though perhaps not mastery of the elaborate content). Because this also
serves as a closing, students should also have a chance to summarize the big
concepts they learned outside of the assessment.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:
To assess their understanding of
trees as a source of products, have
students find the following at school
or at home:

Two things derived from the

gum of trees (rubber products,
chewing gum)
Two things made directly from
wood (furniture, toothpicks,
spools)
Two things made from tree resin
(violin rosin, soap, varnish)
Two things derived from fruits
and nuts of trees (cider, dyes,
spices)
Two things extracted from the
leaves or bark of trees
(astringent lotion, cork, honey)
Two things derived from

Based upon knowledge learned from

this lesson, students are to bring in a
list of items from school or home to
show they understood products
derived from trees.

cellulose (rayon, paper,

cellophane, carpeting).
Closure: (revisit objective, IQs and make real world connections)
Today we learned about what products are made from trees, description of
ways trees are used to make these products, and how these products can be
conserved. You all participated in an activity called, Tree Treasures. This
activity helped you all discover the true meaning of how valuable trees are
on Earth and in our every day lives.
**Best Practices List the Best Teaching Practices you will use to enhance
the learning outcomes. In each section where prompted, list the best
practice, how the practices will be used and the purpose.