5/23/2013
Early Childhood Education
Name: Victoria Haynes
Date: 4/11/18 Grade Level: Preschool
Standard(s)/Guideline(s): Explore objects, materials, environment. Engage in simple investigations. Share findings, ideas, and explanations.
Pre-assessment of current knowledge: Pre-learning knowledge chart on which students have seen and used ramps and child provided ramp definitions.
Instructional Objectives (1-2)
One/Two Assessed Instructional
Objective(s): The student will be
able to...
Participate in building ramps with a
variety of materials.
Participate in discussion about how
ramps slope effects of objects
going down the ramp.
One Assessed Developmental
Skill:
Motor skills needed to build a
ramp, and cognitive skills being
used in English Language Arts
during our discussion.
Safety Considerations:
Careful observation during
investigation, monitoring safe and
comfortable distance for students
observing and participating in
science investigation.
Learning Experience Template
Lesson Title: Slope of Ramps
Circle one:
Assessment of Student Learning
Identify Evidence: (What will you collect or record as data
to demonstrate students have met your objective(s) and
skill?)
Create a list of student findings and materials used.
Pictures.
Program Monitoring: (How will you aggregate or compile
your evidence into a class or group view?)
Tally chart of “I used…” material list
Teacher notes on student findings and observations.
Pictures of investigation in progress.
I’m going to use the material list to identify what items most
students used to build their ramp, and use data to help
students think of new and different materials to use. I will
use my notes on student observations to identify which
students met the instructional objectives of the lesson, and
which students may need more support and further explicit
instruction with ramps. I will use the pictures to display
student understand and interest in the investigation.
ECE PKSN
Learning Experience
Academic Language:
Define Slope, and encourage student created definition.
Procedural steps:
Introduce the lesson by creating my own ramp.
Show students which materials can be used to create a ramp
during this investigation.
Assist 1 to 2 children at a time in build their ramp and
encourage others to make observations while they wait for
their turn.
Record student observations.
Assist students in making adjustments to the ramps they
created to show how slope effects how items move down the
ramp.
After students have completed investigation, complete “I
used…” material chart.
Discuss differences in student created ramps and their finding
through the investigation.
Record student findings and discussion points.
Close lesson with ideas and questions about creating ramps
with different materials.
Authentic Materials: (Describe authentic real life, hands-on
materials.)
Classroom materials for building ramps (blocks)
Items to go down the ramps (balls/cars/planes)
Student tally chart
 5/23/2013
Early Childhood Education
Learning Experience Template

Adult Roles:

Facilitate investigation, record observations, assist in building

ramps, assist in tally chart, helping students observe.
Collecting evidence using photos.

Resources & References:

Walker, Sally M., et al. Inclined Planes and Wedges. Lerner, 2008.
Adler, David A., and Anna Raff. Simple Machines: Wheels, Levers, and Pulleys. Scholastic Inc., 2015.

DeVries, Rheta, and Christina Sales. Ramps & Pathways: a Constructivist Approach to Physics with Young Children. National Association for the
Education of Young Children, 2011.

Reflection: (What have you learned about your students? How will this inform future instruction?)

During this lesson, I taught my students about the effect slope of a ramp on the speed of an object traveling down the ramp. I began this lesson by reintroducing
the ramps concept using the books from the hook lesson. After a small discussion about ramps and where we can find them I transitioned into the lesson by
defining slope. After I felt students were comfortable with the idea of slope I allowed my students to build their own ramp, and test their building skills by rolling a
ball down the ramp. Most children worked in partners and build relatively large ramps. Then we built a group ramp using only a few materials that was short and
had students tell me if the ball travelled fast or slow. Then we built a taller ramp, and I asked students if the ball went faster or slower than it did on the short ramp.
This is not exactly what I had planned for my lesson, but this is what seemed to interest the children so we continued our lesson following their lead. At the end of
the lesson we used a chart to determine which student thought the taller ramp went faster and which students thought the short ramp went faster, then discussed
why they felt that way.
I learned that a lesson may begin just as you had planned, but it can quickly change directions before you know it. In the future, I will work to ensure my students
understand the lesson being taught even if it was not what I had intended to teach. While my students did enjoy the lesson, I feel they did not truly understand the
comparison between the ramps, and if I taught this lesson again I could make sure I explained the difference between faster and slower and how to determine
which was faster.
I was able to determine my students did learn from my lesson by a conversation I had with a student during outside time after my lesson was taught. He ran up to
me after playing tag with his friends and pulled me towards the wall and said “Look! This is a ramp from the part to the ground!” talking about a ledge on the wall
and pointed from the ledge to the ground. I informed him that while one side was higher than the ground making it an incline it was missing a piece to be a ramp.
The student looked from me to the wall and then told me that I was correct and we needed something to “put them together” I asked him if there was something we
could use to make it a ramp and he said, “a big huge rock!” Again, I told him that may connect them, but then a ball couldn’t roll down smoothly, so together we
found a lid to a tote and placed it on the wall to create a ramp. He decided we needed to test our ramp, and found a ball to roll down the ramp. After he rolled the
 5/23/2013
Early Childhood Education
Learning Experience Template

ball down the ramp he became very excited and told me the ball went so fast! Using this information, I can tell my students were able to gain knowledge through
our time together doing science investigations.