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Mrs. Wiseman's Fifth Grade at Cub Run Elementary @ 10:00 am & 1:00pm
Science Taught in Mrs. Morris's Classroom
Lesson submitted to CT on October 23rd 2017
A. TITLE/TYPE OF LESSON
Going with the *Ocean* Flow: An Experiment-Based Lesson on Currents and Tides
B. CONTEXT OF LESSON
What pre-assessment did you do that tells you the students readiness, interests, and/or
learning preferences?
In order to find out the students' readiness for this lesson, I observed science class taught in Mrs.
Morris' classroom. I observed that the students learned concepts in science through use of hands-
on activities, verbal discussion, and guided notes. I also noticed that this information aligned
with the typical learning preferences of the students because the students appeared to be more
engaged in the learning when lessons were taught using kinesthetic activities.
Why is this is an appropriate activity for these students at this time?
This is an appropriate activity for these students at this time because they are currently in a unit
based around Virginia Science Standard of Learning 5.6. In this SOL, the students are learning
characteristics of and information about the oceans of the world. Therefore, it is appropriate for
them to learn about currents and tides, which are essential to the functioning of the ocean.
How does this lesson fit in the curriculum sequence?
This lesson fits in the curriculum sequence by being part of SOL 5.6 Oceans, the SOL the
students are learning in science right now. By the time this lesson is taught, the students will be
in their second week of the study on Oceans. They will have briefly looked at ocean currents and
tides, but not in much detail or with any exploration. Therefore, this lesson will be like an
introductory lesson on these to these two concepts.
How does this lesson fit with what you know about child development?
This lesson fits with what I know about child development as that all the students in fifth grade
are securely in Piaget's Concrete Operational Stage of Cognitive Development. That means that
these students are will have a better understanding of logical, concrete objects but will still
struggle to conceptualize abstract objects or concepts. That is why this lesson takes the concepts
of tides and currents, something students may have never experienced first-hand before, and
demonstrates it in the small scale in the classroom. That way students may visually see and
kinesthetically interact with the concept of ocean currents.
E. ASSESSING LEARNING
What will your students do and say, specifically, that indicate every student has achieved
your objectives? Remember every objective must be assessed for every student!
F. MATERIALS NEEDED
The possible misconceptions about this project will occur when the teaching of tides is
completed. Students might believe that high tides and low tides will somehow appear as
bugles of water out in space rather than believe that these phenomenons are noticeable on
the surface of Earth. In order to make sure this misconception doesn't happen, I will make
sure to have pictures of what high tide and low tide looks like on the shore at the exact
same spot on a beach. This way the students will know that tides actually mean
something on Earth.
Another possible misconception that students might create from this lesson is that water
at the surface of the ocean that is part of the surface currents will always be part of the
surface currents. I will attempt to combat this misconception by reminding students that
water in the oceans is always connected, not only around the planet but also all through
the depths of the oceans. I will also show students a video that I found online that
describes the migration of water molecules from the surface to the depths due to change
in temperature or salinity. I will remind students about the idea of density and that if
something is saltier and colder, it will naturally move to the bottom, just as the dish soap
moved through the first two layers in the jar because it was denser than those, but did not
go to the bottom because it was not the densest material.
Sarah Burleson Lesson Taught on October 31st 2017
Mrs. Wiseman's Fifth Grade at Cub Run Elementary @ 10:00 am & 1:00pm
Science Taught in Mrs. Morris's Classroom
Lesson submitted to CT on October 23rd 2017
H. PROCEDURE
I. DIFFERENTIATION
Describe how you have planned to meet the needs of all students in your classroom with
varied interest and learning readiness, English language proficiency, health, physical
ability, etc. How will you extend and enrich the learning of students who finish early?
How will you support the learning of children struggling with your objectives?
Interest
Readiness
Students with a
Content Process Product
Learning Disability
Interest
Readiness
Students with a
Content Process Product
Severe Disability
Interest
Sarah Burleson Lesson Taught on October 31st 2017
Mrs. Wiseman's Fifth Grade at Cub Run Elementary @ 10:00 am & 1:00pm
Science Taught in Mrs. Morris's Classroom
Lesson submitted to CT on October 23rd 2017
Readiness
J. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO
ABOUT IT?
Think about this! It may help you avoid an embarrassing situation. This CANNOT
include fire drills, interruptions due to announcements, weather, or other emergencies.
For this lesson, which is based on guided notes, discussion, and experimentation, there are a few
things that can go wrong. One of the first and most simple things that could go wrong is
technology error. In order to be prepared for this error, I will have a copy of the slide show I am
presenting and the copy of the guided notes students are taking that will be filled in with the
answers already. It is in this way that I can just read the notes and presentation aloud to the
students so that we may still experiment with density and currents and learn about currents and
tides on Earth.
Another thing that could go wrong with this lesson is that experiments do not work for some
unknown reason. In order to combat this error, I will make sure to first try these experiments at
home before I take them to use in the classroom; that way, I am aware of how my experiments
are supposed to work and how exactly them demonstrate the concepts about currents that I am
trying to teach. However, while these experiments might work when I first try them, there is still
the possibility that they will not work in the classroom the second time I try them. If this
happens, I will be prepared by having a video of the experiment pulled up on the computer to
show the students how the experiment is supposed to work. I will then go into a description of
what the experiments are supposed to demonstrate so that students still gain the intended
knowledge.
A final thing that could go wrong with this lesson is that the students are so interested in the
action of the experiments that they miss the concepts that I am intending to teach them during
this lesson. I will discover this missed information during the post-test that students will take
after the lesson is over. What I will do to fix this error is notice the area of most confusion, and
reviews it again using videos, visuals, and other products for varied learning styles so that all
students gain this knowledge.