UNLV/ Department of Teaching & Learning

Elementary Lesson Plan Template

UNLV Student: Emily Gonzalez PSMT Name: Mrs. Strachan

Lesson Plan Title: Science Groups Lesson Plan Topic: Life Science
Date: October 25, 2018 Estimated Time: 90 Minutes
Grade Level: 5th School Site: Edwards Elementary

1. State Standard(s):
SL.5.1​ Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners
on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.5.2 ​Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media
and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
N.5.A.5​ Students know how to conduct a safe and simple investigation.
N.5.A.6​ Students know models are tools for learning about the things they are meant to
resemble.
N.5.B.3 ​Students know the benefits of working with a team and sharing findings.
2. Teaching Model(s): Direct / Indirect / Cooperative Instruction

3. Objective(s):
SWBAT participate in various academic experiments that promote student
discourse and the use of visual representations in order to gain an understanding
of our human body.
4. Materials and Technology Resources:
All materials will be listed below.

5. Instructional Procedures
○ Motivation/Engagement:
○ Developmental Activities or Learning experiences:
ROTATIONS: ​LEMOV Draw the Map
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

8:45-9:05 Heart Stomach Small Blood

Intestine

9:05-9:30 Blood Small Heart Stomach

Intestine

9:30-9:50 Stomach Heart Blood Small

Intestine

9:50-10:15 Small Blood Stomach Heart

Intestine

Making Blood (Teacher Monitored)

http://www.rundesroom.com/2012/10/our-classroom-was-covered-in-blood
-today.html
● Each group of students will receive the following materials:
○ Water bottle
○ 1 cup of water
○ yellow food coloring
○ A pinch of salt
○ Red Cheerios
○ Marshmallows
○ Purple Pom Poms
○ 1 instruction sheet
● After the students read the section about the different components
of blood, they will work as a group to create a bottle of blood using
the instructions given. ​DOK 2 and 3
● The students will then complete the exit ticket individually that will be
provided at this station. ​DOK 1 and 2 ​LEMOV Exit Ticket

Heart Investigation
https://www.greatschools.org/library/cms/68/25768.pdf
● Each student in the group will begin by reading ​Blood Highways
together. Once they are finished, they will complete the diagram at
the bottom of the worksheet. ​DOK 2
● After reading, each student will have a 4 square graphic organizer at
their station and work individually to complete their organizers.
● Students will then take turns sharing each section of their organizer.
Our Digestive System - Stomach Investigation
http://homeschoolgameschool.com/digestion-science-experiment/
● Each group of students will need the following materials:
○ a balloon
○ vegetable oil
○ white vinegar
○ a handful of oats
○ 1 instruction sheet
● The teacher will begin by asking students to brainstorm what
digestion is and how it relates to us as humans.
○ Digestion: T ​ he process of breaking down food into nutrients
that can be used by cells .
● The teacher will then explain that the parts of our body that digest
food includes teeth, mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine,
large intestine, and the colon. This is called the ​Digestive System.
Experiment Instructions:
● Pour a few drops of the oil into the balloon and rub the balloon
between your hands so the oil lines the inside of the balloon. Tip
the balloon upside down so any extra oil will drip out.
● Break some pieces of bread off and drop into the balloon, OR, drop
about 15 oats into the balloon.
● Pour about 1 tsp of the white vinegar into the balloon, you may
need a bit more if you add more food.
● Squish the balloon around for a minute or so. Then carefully start at
the fattest part of the balloon and squeeze up.

Teacher Notes:
● In this experiment pretend the balloon is your human stomach.
Your stomach contains acid that helps break down the food you eat
so your body can get the nutrients it needs from the food. Because
we don’t want to work with actual stomach acid (gross!) we are
 going to use white vinegar, which is still an acid but not nearly as
strong (or gross!) as stomach acid. Because stomach acid is so
strong your stomach has a lining to protect it, we replicated this by
pouring the oil into the balloon. Your stomach lining isn’t really
made from vegetable oil, it’s made from mucous (double gross!)
but the oil lines the inside of the balloon the same way the mucous
lines your stomach.
● Because the balloon isn’t part of a real human we’ll drop the food
into the stomach and pretend it got there by being swallowed.
When the food gets to the stomach the acid starts doing it’s thing!
Your stomach is a big muscle so when the food reaches it, it will
contract and release so it can swish the acid around, and you’re
doing the same thing by squishing the balloon around your fingers.
● What happens when you squish the contents out of the balloon?
The food is dissolved! This is exactly what your stomach does
before passing the food along to your small intestine. The small
intestine is the organ that digests and absorbs the nutrients in the
food, but it can’t do that with a big chunk of food. Your stomach’s
job is to break the food up into tiny pieces so when it moves to the
small intestine those nutrients are ready to be absorbed and used
● The teacher will have the students answer the following question in
their science journals:
○ What would happen if I used a potato or whole wheat bread?
A piece of fruit?A chunk of cheese? ​DOK 2

Our Digestive System - Small Intestine Investigation

https://simplesouthern.wordpress.com/2016/01/23/digestive-system-scienc
e-experiment-how-does-bile-break-down-fat/
● Each group of students will need the following materials:
○ Milk 2%
○ Paper plates
○ Dish Soap
○ Cotton Ball
○ Food Coloring
● The teacher will begin by asking students to brainstorm what
digestion is and how it relates to us as humans. The teacher will
give each student 1 minute to think about their answer. ​LEMOV
Wait Time
○ Digestion: T ​ he process of breaking down food into nutrients that
can be used by cells .
 ● The teacher will then explain that the parts of our body that digest
food includes teeth, mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine,
large intestine, and the colon. This is called the ​Digestive System.
● The teacher will explain to the students that we are going to do an
experiment that will mimic what the small intestine does for our
digestive system.
Experiment Instructions:
● Pour milk into a dish.
● Put a drop of food coloring in different spots in the milk, far away
from each other.
● Squirt a little dish soap onto the cotton ball and then place it soapy
side down in the dish.
○ Stop and have students make a prediction about what will
happen when we place the cotton ball into the dish.
● You will immediately notice the food coloring drops start to swirl
around.
● Teacher will explain ​why this happens: Soap contains a
chemical similar to what is found in bile which is a liquid in our
liver that breaks down foods.. It surrounds the fat in the milk
and tries to break it into smaller pieces. As the soap swirls
around the fat in the milk, trying to break it down, the food
coloring gets moved around as well. You can watch it continue
to swirl as the soap tries to do its job. This is what happens in
your small intestine as well. The bile surrounds fat particles to
break them down.
10:15-10:20 Clean up
○ Closure: ​STUDENT DEBRIEF
i. Students will participate in a 3-2-1 activity. In their science journals, they
will write 3 discoveries they made in their small groups, 2 things they
found interesting, and 1 question they still have.
ii. Once students have had 3-5 minutes to write their thoughts, the teacher
will have them share with their shoulders.
iii. The teacher will close the lesson by asking for shoulder partners to share
their 3-2-1 thoughts.

6. Accommodations, Modifications and Differentiations for Diverse Learners:

○ Pictures and visual representations
○ Activating prior knowledge and personal experiences
7. Assessment and Evaluation of Learning:
○ Formative: The teacher will be able to formatively assess student understanding
throughout the lesson through student discourse as well as their exit tickets and
findings in their science journals.
○ Summative: N/A

8. Homework Assignment: N/A