Running head: UNIT LESSON PLANS

Unit Lesson Plans

Haley Madson

Educational Psychology

Dr. Tracie Pollard

1 April 2017
UNIT LESSON PLANS 1

Concept

Patterns

Content Area

Space

Standard

1-ESS1-1 Earths Place in the Universe: Use observations of the sun, moon, and

stars to describe patterns that can be predicted.

Essential Understandings

Patterns help us make predictions.

Patterns play a part in stability.

Essential Questions

How might patterns help us make predictions?

Why might patterns play a part in stability?

What is a pattern?
UNIT LESSON PLANS 2

Date: Day One: Introduction and Finding their Prior Knowledge

Objective: At the end of this lesson students will recall information about space and patterns.

Integration: Writing

Prerequisite: Recall information, write

Materials:

- Three different sized balls

- They will need iPads or other devices
- Theres No Place Like Space Revised Edition by Tish Rabe
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Heeq6RPA45s

Vocabulary:

- Space
- Sun
- Moon
- Earth

Motivation: (Time: 15 minutes)

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Heeq6RPA45s

Introduction/Warm up: (Time: 10 minutes)

- Introduce the new topic that we will be learning as Earths Place in the Universe. Work

with students to create a KWL chart to determine what students know, what they want to

know, and as we go we will fill in what we have learned.

Lesson: (Time: 20 minutes)

- Introduce objects in the sky. (time: less than five minutes) Ask the students what they

know is in the sky or space. As they give ideas write them on the board and ask them

what those objects are or what else they know about those objects, such as asteroid is a

large rock.
UNIT LESSON PLANS 3

- Introduce different sizes. (time: 5 minutes): Have students sit around the rug, place three

balls of different size in the the center. Pose the question that if the three balls represented

the sun, moon, and Earth (according to many resources, children often have a

misconception about which is the largest), which one represents each? Have them talk to

a friend next to them to discuss. After letting them discuss for a minute, bring them back

in to have group discussion. Who thought the largest ball was what and why, and same

for the other two balls.

- Introduce patterns. (time: 5 minutes): Ask the students what they know about patterns.

Furthermore, ask the students how they think patterns relate to what we are going to learn

about with space.

Activity: (Time: 15 minutes)

- Read them the book Theres No Place Like Space Revised Edition by Tish Rabe. This

book will serve as an introduction to everything they will be learning the rest of the unit,

and hopefully teach them a few things to carry through as they go through it. As you read,

make sure to stop to make a point bigger, for example that there are eight planets.

Close: (Time: 5 minutes)

- Explain that they will be learning a lot more about the things they just read in the book,

and that it will all be related to space and patterns.

- Visit the essential question and explain students will be able to understand this by the end

of the unit.

Homework:

- Write down what they really want to know about space or things they are still wondering

about.

Adaptations for a student with ADHD:

UNIT LESSON PLANS 4

- During lecture, this student will be given a special chair such as a wobble chair or a yoga

ball chair. The student will also be provided with a squish ball: this ball could look like

the sun or moon.

These adaptations will be carried through the entire unit!

Date: Day Two: The Sun

Objective: During this lesson students will develop their knowledge of the sun and model the

Earths rotation, revolution, and cause of seasons.

Integration: Math? Comparison of numbers

UNIT LESSON PLANS 5

Prerequisites: Write, Temperature

Materials:

- Crash Course video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SN1BOpLZAs

Vocabulary:

- Orbit

Motivation: (Time: 10)

- Have the students pair up and demonstrate how they think the earth and sun move

together (this will later be the activity but will be done correctly).

Introduction: (Time: 10 minutes)

- Using the KWL (what I know, what I want to know, what I learned) concept, have the

students write down what they already know about the sun on a white board. On another

white board, have the students write down what they want to know about the sun. Review

these with the students.

Lesson: (Time: 20 minutes)

- Introduce major facts. (time: 15 minutes): the sun is a star and is the closest star to Earth,

a star is a very bright object that gives off energy from its core or center: relate to the core

or center of us, another name for sun is sol which is where the term solar system came

from, the sun is the center of our solar system, it provides energy and light for the planets,

5 billion years old, core is 27,000,000 degrees F (very hot): could compare this to

temperature in the room, over a hundred earths could line up across it; more than a

million inside it. Have the students take notes of the major facts.
- Introduce orbiting. (time: 5 minutes): Have students think on their own: ask them what

they think orbit means: dont shout it out, but think of their answer in their head, and

once they have an answer to put their hands on their heads. Once everybody is ready have
UNIT LESSON PLANS 6

them share their answer with their friend. Explain to them that orbit is when one object

moves and circles around another object. From there ask them to have a discussion with

their partner about if the sun, moon, and earth orbit, and if so what do they orbit.
- Show crash course of sun and shadow experiment. (time: 5 minutes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SN1BOpLZAs

Activity: (Time: 15 minutes) take it in steps

- Have the students pair up: one student will spin (staying in place) on their axis (an

imaginary line that is going through the center of them, they will be Earth, the other

student will stand still, they are the sun. Explain to the students that this is rotation:

explain when they are facing away it is night, facing towards it is day, and that one spin

equals one day

- Have the student that is the sun remain standing where they are. The earth student will

now walk around the sun student. This is called a revolution. One revolution (one time

around) is a year or 365 days, meaning that during the time the earth has to go around the

sun, it also spins 365 times.

- Lastly have the student that is the earth bend in the hips a little. Facing one wall, so not

turning at all, have them walk around the sun again. Explain to them that when their face

is really close to their partner this would be summer and when it is far away, this would

be winter.

Close: (Time: 5 minutes)

- Explain to the students that all three: day, years, and seasons are all patterns because they

happen over and over

- The sun and shadows throughout the day: as earth spins: gives us time: pattern
UNIT LESSON PLANS 7

Date: Day Three: Suns Rotation

Objective: At the end of this lesson students will be able to explain why there is night and day.

Integration: Reading

Prerequisites: Reading

Vocabulary:

- Model

Materials:

- Flashlight
- Globe
- What Makes Day and Night by Franklyn M. Branley

Motivation: (Time: 5 minutes)

UNIT LESSON PLANS 8

- Have the students get back with their partner to demonstrate the different movements of

the Earth with the Sun (the activity from day two).

Introduction: (Time: 5 minutes)

- Pre Assessment (also recall of information from day two): Does the sun move? Show me

what you think by shaking your head.

- Today students will be going over Earths rotation and learning about why the sun rises

and sets.

Lesson: (Time: 20 minutes)

- Explain that a globe is a model of the earth: ask students why scientists might use

models: to show and represent large things in a small way.

- Using a flashlight, shine light on the United States (point this area out on the globe). Ask

students if it is day or night if there is a light shining on it. So when the sun is on the

United States, is there light on the back of it -- no, because the flashlight (sun) is shining

over here and the light doesnt go through. If it is day where there is light, it is night

where it is dark.
- I want students to talk with a partner and discuss how would we change it from being day

on us to being night using the correct terms for our models: the flashlight is the sun so if

they think the sun moves to say the sun moves around to the other side of the earth. When

students have finished discussing with a partner, bring the whole group together to talk.
- Have the students recall the activity we did the previous day and at the beginning of

class: one student remains standing in one spot and they are the sun, while the other

student spins in one spot and they are the Earth. Explain that the earth and sun are just the

same: the sun doesnt move but the earth does a lot.
- As the earth spins the light moves around but it is always dark on the far side.

Activity: (Time: 20 minutes)

UNIT LESSON PLANS 9

- Read What Makes Day and Night by Franklyn M. Branley while completing the

actions with the character in the book using a lamp or the flashlight again. Also make

sure to read explaining different words and what the author means.

Close: (Time: 10 minutes)

- Go over how what is happening is a pattern

- Use the KWL chart to mark what we learned today about what makes day and night

Date: Day Four: Moon Phases

Objective: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to model the phases of the moon.

Integration: Art

Prerequisites:

- Drawing

Vocabulary:

- Phases
- Crescent
- Gibbous

Materials:

- Video of rocket taking off

- Styrofoam ball
- Lamp

Motivation: (Time: 5 minutes)

- Show video of rocket taking off: ask students where they think that rocket is going, if

theyve ever wanted to go to the moon

UNIT LESSON PLANS 10

Introduction: (Time: 5 minutes)

- Fill in the KWL chart for the moon

- Pre assessment: on a note card, students will be asked to draw different basic phases of

the moon to the best of their ability: these phases will be given to them: full moon, new

moon, half moon.

- If students have different shapes, as some will, ask students why they think the moon

changes shapes: do they think it is like a piece of putty that forms into different shapes?

Lesson: (Time: 15 minutes)

- On the board, display different phases of the moon, this will include gibbous and

crescent. Ask the students if any of them know what the names of these different shapes

of the moon are called using a hands-on-head: I know, hands-on-belly: not sure method.

Go over what each phase is called and introduce the word phase.
- Looking at an image that has all phases of the moon, waning through waxing (students

wont need to know these terms yet) have students make note of anything they see: its a

pattern, gets bigger then smaller, etc.

- Students will also need to learn that the light from the moon comes from the sun: the light

is reflected off of the moon like a mirror

- Explain that just as the earth revolves around the sun, the moon revolves around the earth

Activity: (Time: 25 minutes)

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz01pTvuMa0 (dont show the video, but use the

activity: it shows how to perform the activity) explain to students each component of the

activity and when to stop to see each phase and just like the video explain what it means

and that the phases repeat on each side

- Next students will model each phase will playdough: give the students two minutes to

play with it as they would like.

Close: (Time: 5 minutes)

UNIT LESSON PLANS 11

- Spend time filling in the KWL chart for what the students learned about the moon.

Date: Day Five: The Moon

Objective: At the end of this lesson students will determine the approximate time it takes for the

moon to go through all of the phases.

Integration: Math

Prerequisites: Scientific Method, making graphs

Vocabulary:

Materials:

- Oreos
- Website: http://www.moongiant.com/

Motivation: (Time: 10 minutes)

- Make the phases of the moon using oreos: one cookie leave all the frosting, second leave

most of the frosting (gibbous), third scrape off half the frosting (half moon), fourth scrape

off all but a little sliver (crescent), fifth scrape off all the frosting (new). They can eat the

cookies when they have all the moons and have shown me: must also name all phases.

Introduction: (Time: 5 minutes)

- Students will be finding the amount of time it takes for a full moon to go through all of

the phases to another full moon.

Lesson: (Time: 20 minutes)

- For this lesson the students will be using the scientific method that we have gone over

before in our class. Have a small discussion to recall what makes up the scientific method

(for a first grader)

- Students will then make their best guess for how long they think it takes the moon to go

through all of the phases. Next we will use a website in order to conduct the experiment.
UNIT LESSON PLANS 12

http://www.moongiant.com/ On this website, students will be able to use the day changer

to see how many days until the next full moon: I may run this on the board and have the

students count with me how many days: making note of when it hits a new moon and half

moon and in between. Next they will make their conclusion: it takes ____ days until a

new full moon.

Activity: (Time: 20 minutes)

- Create a graph to show the information that they found: they could do a picture graph to

show that at a certain date it was a half moon for example. They could do a T-Chart I

just want them to incorporate the date and the phase of the moon through a drawing. I

want the students to also use color.

- Just as we had done the activity where one friend was the sun and one friend was the

earth that orbited the sun, we are going to do but add another person and have them be

the moon that orbits the Earth while they orbit the sun

Close: (Time: 5 minutes)

- Fill in the KWL chart for what the students learned

- Discuss what patterns we see in with the moon

Date: Day Six: Stars

Objective: At the end of this lesson students will be able to identify how stars have patterns. At

the end of this lesson students will construct a constellation.

UNIT LESSON PLANS 13

Integration: Art

Prerequisites:

- What stars are.

Vocabulary:

- Constellation
- Star

Materials:

- Flashlight

Motivation: (Time: 5 minutes)

- Tell the students a story from when I was little, every night I would say a rhyme Star

bright, star light, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, get the wish I wish

tonight Ask them if they do anything similar or know of any other rhymes about the

stars.
- Play the song: When you wish upon a star from pinocchio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pguMUFyJ3_U

Introduction: (Time: 10 minutes)

- Fill in the KWL chart for what the students know about stars
- Have students lie on the ground (shut off the lights) and have them pretend they are

looking at the stars -- with a friend have them discuss what they are seeing

Lesson: (Time: 30 minutes)

- When do we see stars? What patterns might we see from the stars?: We see stars at night,

not during the day -- pattern because we see them every night and not during the day.

From there, have the students make a prediction about, if it is a pattern, if they think we

will be able to see stars 10 years from now? 50? 100?

UNIT LESSON PLANS 14

- Talk about why you cant see them during the day, explain that stars are balls of light, like

the sun just not as close so they dont seem so bright: use a flashlight -- turn the lights off,

here you can see the light from the flashlight (the stars) on the ceiling, turn the light on

(the sun) and you can no longer see the light from the flashlight.
- Ask the students if they have ever noticed that one night it seems like the stars are in a

different spot? Explain that this is because we are moving, and stars do not move, they

may rotate, but they dont move.

- Watch this video on constellations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=1sZ15SUeS9w&t=155s

Activity: (Time: 10 minutes)

- Students will create their own pictures of constellations: they can make their name, an

animal

Close: (Time: )

- Fill in the KWL chart

Date: Day Seven

Objective: At the end of this lesson students will distinguish important information and

formulate a plan for their partner project.

Integration: Writing
UNIT LESSON PLANS 15

Prerequisites:

- Writing, making plans

Vocabulary:

Materials:

- Writing Organizer

Motivation: (Time: 5 minutes)

- Ask the students if they have ever wanted to be in a movie or make a movie.

Introduction: (Time: 5 minutes)

- Explain to students they will begin a project to show a section of what we have learned

over this unit. It will need to be a video of what they learned that incorporates pictures

they draw or models they make.

Lesson: (Time: 20)

- Students will need to think to themselves about what topic they want to make a project

about: the sun, the moon, or the stars. Once students have made a decision, they will be

put into three groups based off of their topic, and further split up with a partner.
- They will need to decide what the most important points about their topic is and need to

make sure they incorporate patterns. They may use a writing organizer for this.

Activity: (Time: 30)

- Planning for their project.

Close: (Time: 5)

- Explain to students that they will be creating the materials for their project tomorrow in

class.

Date: Day Eight

UNIT LESSON PLANS 16

Objective: At the end of this lesson students will construct the materials needed for their video.

Integration: Art

Prerequisites:

- Making models

Vocabulary:

Materials:

- Tablets
- Paper
- Scissors
- Clay
- Markers
- Tape

Motivation: (Time: 5 minutes)

- Share with the class the topic you and your partner are working on and what major

patterns you are focusing on.

Introduction: (Time: 20 minutes)

- Students will spend time playing on the video maker to understand how to make the

video.

Lesson: (Time: 35 minutes)

- Students will spend time constructing the materials they will need for this video

Activity: (Time: )

- This time will be incorporated into the time for the students to construct their materials.

Close: (Time: )

- This time will be incorporated into the time for the students to construct their materials.

Homework:
UNIT LESSON PLANS 17

- If materials are not finished, students will need to finish making them outside of class.

Opportunities will be given where they are able to come in and finish.

Date: Day Nine

Objective: At the end of this lesson students will have created a video about their topic.

Integration: Technology:

Prerequisites: How to use the tablet or device they are using to make a video (covered last

class).

Vocabulary:

Materials:

- Tablets

Motivation: (Time: 5 minutes)

- Students will get to show their classmates the models they have made if they want to.

Introduction: (Time: )

- This time will be incorporated into the time for students to make their videos.

Lesson: (Time: 55 minutes)

- Students will spend this class time working on their videos.

Activity: (Time: )

- This time will be incorporated into the time for students to make their videos.

Close: (Time: )

- This time will be incorporated into the time for students to make their videos.

Homework:
UNIT LESSON PLANS 18

- If their videos are not finished, they will need to finish them outside of class.

Opportunities will be given in order to do this.

Date: Day Ten

Objective: At the end of this lesson students will present and explain a topic and pattern we

covered this unit through a video.

Integration:

- Writing

Materials:

- The students videos

- SMART board to present the videos on

Lesson: (Time: 60 minutes)

- Students will spend this class presenting to the class their video.
- While other students are presenting, the other students will will write what the students

presenting did well and giving them an all around score out of ten.

Rubric

$. Distinguished 3. Proficient 2. Apprentice 1.Novice

Maps and Excellent quality. Key features One or two key Key features
Models- Key features were present and features were were missing or
were present and labeled correctly. missing. Some mislabeled. Did
Overview: labeled correctly. Related to the labeling was not not relate to
Design helps topic. correct. topic.
Neat, creative, explain content.
and has all
UNIT LESSON PLANS 19

required
elements

Media- Combined Used five or Used more than Project used one
content, graphics, more graphics two graphics and or two graphics
Overview: and sounds to and sounds to sounds. Some and sounds.
show ideas and show ideas. graphics or
Quantity and make the project sounds made
quality interesting. project hard to
understand.

Oral Showed a Showed a Showed basic Showed little or

Presentation- thorough working knowledge of the no knowledge of
knowledge of the knowledge of the topic. Had one or the topic. Had no
Knowledge: topic. Had many topic. Had three two facts and facts or details.
facts and details. or more facts and details.
Knowledge of details.
topic

Planning- Plan was very Plan was Plan was not Did not create a
organized and organized and organized and plan for the final
Overview: clearly outlined outlined the final was hard to project.
the goals for the project. follow.
Plan for project.
completing the
final project

Patterns: Students Students Students Did not included

included multiple included multiple included a any patterns in
Patterns are patterns that are patterns that are pattern related to project.
included within related to their related to their their topic.
the content topic and topic.
students
thoroughly
explained the
patterns.
UNIT LESSON PLANS 20

Checklist

My maps, dioramas, or other designs are complete and neat.

My project has graphics and sound that help show ideas.
My presentation will show that I know my subject.
I have a plan I can use to create my project.
I have included multiple patterns related to my topic.