TLED 408- Integrated Lesson Plan Project

Science: The Water Cycle

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

 Overview of Lesson Plan

For a first-grade class, students will focus on the overall theme of “The Water Cycle” which will
incorporate the content area English. Incorporating literacy within a Science lesson allows the
students to make sense and find a purpose of the content. Students will engage in a variety of
literacy activities to appeal to many different types of learners while continuously improving
their comprehension and creative knowledge. In this unit, the students will focus on the standards
of learning which include:

Science – Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change

1.7 The student will investigate and understand weather and seasonal changes. Key concepts
include:

a) changes in precipitation affect plants and animals.

c) changes in precipitation can be observed and recorded over time.

English- Oral Language

1.1 The student will continue to demonstrate growth in the use of oral language.

d) Participate in creative dramatics.

e) Express ideas orally in complete sentences.

English- Reading

1.8 The student will expand vocabulary.

a) Discuss meanings of words in context.

b) Develop vocabulary by listening to and reading a variety of texts.

d) Use text clues such as words or pictures to discern meanings of unknown words.

e) Use vocabulary from other content areas.

English- Writing

1.12 The student will print legibly.

a) Form letters accurately.

b) Space words within sentences.

c) Use the alphabetic code to write unknown words phonetically.

1.14 The student will use available technology for reading and writing.
 Sequencing and Coherence of Unit Plan

Day Activity Description

1 Pre-reading and Comprehension Creation of a KWL chart with a

reinforcement BrainPop video.

Creation of a “spider” graphic

organizer that has the students
add facts/details about the theme.
2 Vocabulary/ Writing Word detective, paper plate
vocab match-up (definition to
word),

Four-square (word, definition,

synonym/antonym, picture) with
a Think-Pair-Share
3 Communication Creating a narrative story
descripting a water droplets
journey through the water cycle
and presenting it to the class
4 Communication Creating a narrative story
descripting a water droplets
journey through the water cycle
and presenting it to the class

5 Reflection Completion of the KWL chart

that was started on day 1 and
participation in a parking lot
activity

Interdisciplinary Connections

Literacy and the skills associated are strong within this unit. Incorporating English within a
Science lesson is important in allowing the students to enhance specific skills such as writing,
reading, and oral language which can transfer to other content areas. A strong connection
between Science and English are important within this unit to allow students to enhance their
comprehension of a topic and allow them to further their knowledge and exploration of the world
around them.

Technology

Traditional: Students will watch the BrainPop video through the use of a SMARTBoard while
also utilizing computers or iPads to do research on the water cycle throughout the week. Students
may take notes on information they find pertaining to the topic, in order to help them succeed in
later projects/assignments or to simply reinforce their learning.
Non-Traditional: Students will utilize a KWL chart, four square, and “spider” graphic organizer
at various points during the week to increase knowledge and memorization of the material. The
students will use many manipulatives including but not limited to crayons, markers, pencils, and
paper during the creation of their reader’s theater stories.

Differentiation

Differentiation can be completed in various way throughout this unit based upon the individual
needs of each student. For example, students with poor eyesight could sit near the front for the
videos that are shown in this unit. For students with hand mobility problems, they could
verbalize their thoughts for the teacher to write for them during any writing activities or be given
pre-cut materials. For ESL or ELL students, the video or a similar video could be played in the
student’s comfortable language of choice or vocabulary words could be limited as to not
overwork them. For students who need more help and attention during lessons, paper plates can
be cut to form more of a puzzle piece kind of fit rather than a clean cut down the middle. Plates
can also be outlined in a bright bold color to make it easier to identify. This lesson also
incorporates a lot of diversity within group styles, students are able to choose groups of their
choice unless alternative actions need to be taken. Differentiation within this lesson is important
because there are a lot of different parts to the lesson that range in complexity and each student
needs to be able to meet the expectations from the teacher and the lesson in any way possible.

Text

Literature is important within this unit because it provides the students with a foundation in
which to enhance their knowledge of the overall unit. English in so powerful within this unit,
allowing students to maximize their learning through the connection of multiple content areas is
essential in their success.

Book: The Little Raindrop by Joanna Gray (Fiction, Trade Book)

Book: Because of an Acorn by Lola and Adam Schaefer (Fiction)

Book: Water by Susan Canizares and Pamela Chanko (Non- Fiction)

Book: Little Cloud by Eric Carle (Fiction)

Video: “The Magic School Bus, Wet All Above” by George Arthur Bloom, Jocelyn Stevenson,
and Kristin Laskas Martin

Book: The Water Cycle at Work by Rebecca Olien (Non-Fiction)

Poem: “The Water Cycle” by Riley, Hayley, and Lucy

The Little Raindrop is a beneficial text because it’s not too overwhelming of a book for a group
of first graders. As the teacher, I would be able to read this book to the students but also allow
them to explore the text on their own, focusing on fluency and vocabulary skills. The bright,
vivid illustrations grasp the student’s attention from the beginning. The cover illustration is
visually appealing so the children will be more likely to pick up or listen to this story as opposed
to others.
The supplementary text I provided range in text intensity based on the child’s reading level. The
book Water discusses different forms on water in very basic text with real-life photographs for
students to make text-to-world connections. While Little Cloud and Because of an Acorn aren’t
directly books about the water cycle, the formation of cloud and growth of a plant are both
aspects of the cycle and it’s important for kids to make this connection and understand each
component of the process and how this unfolds into our everyday life.

Pre-reading Activity

Overall Description: The students will create an individualized KWL chart. TSW list things that
that they already know, want to know, and at the end of the strategy, what they have learned
about the water cycle. Students can feel free to draw on their paper as well, if this helps them
make sense of the content. TSW then watch a BrainPop video about the water cycle.

Rationale: The purpose of this KWL chart is to activate prior knowledge. Before the students
can begin their performance task, they need to think back on what they know about the water
cycle in order to apply this information into their assignment. The video simply just provides
another way to explain the same information but through another format to accommodate all
learners. Through this pre-reading strategy, the students will be able to reinforce the information
they have learned and apply it to real-world experiences.

Materials:

- Daily journals
- Pencils
- Crayons
- Medium to play video (computer, SMARTboard, iPads, etc.)
- https://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/watercycle/

Instructional Steps:

- TTW explain to the class that they will begin by pulling out their daily journals and
create a KWL chart. TTW explain to the students what each letter means and what is
expected of them. They will have 3 minutes to complete the first two columns.
- TTW demonstrate the correct format on the board and TSW follow.
- TSW begin by starting with the “K column” and list as many things that they already
know in a minute and a half.
- After a minute and a half, the students will stop and move to the “W column” and list
things that they still want to know about the topic in a minute and a half. These questions
can then be addressed near the end of the lesson.
- TSW then close their journals and TTW tell the students that they will finish the last
column later but for now they will watch a video on the water cycle.
- TTW set up the BrainPop video for the students.
- The students will stop at this point and revisit the KWL at the end of the week. The
students will complete the “L” column after finishing the entire unit.

Differentiation: For this strategy it’s important to differentiate to allow students to find a way to
make sense of the information in a way that works for them. For example, students with poor
eyesight could sit near the front for the video. For students with hand mobility problems, they
could verbalize their thoughts for the teacher to write for them. For ESL or ELL students, the
video or a similar video could be played in the student’s comfortable language of choice.
Impact on Instructional Decisions: This pre-reading activity provides a smooth transition into
the text sets as well as the performance task. Since the strategy is low stakes, the students won’t
feel an immense amount of pressure to complete it. The individualized KWL allows the students
to foster their learning by determining what they specifically want to learn at the end of the
lesson. This in turn, could help them make new connections and give them ideas for their
performance assignment.

Vocabulary Activities

Introducing Vocabulary Activity:

 Activity Overview & Rationale: To introduce vocabulary, have students play word
detective. Students will preview and read various texts related to the topic and look for
any of the key vocabulary words. The idea behind this activity is to have students be
actively engaged in the learning process and learn how their vocab words are used within
context. Students must actively seek out words related to the lesson and see how they can
make sense of these words through the text.
 Materials:
- Books about water cycle (see text set)
- Sticky notes
- Pencils
- Book Baskets
- Large white paper (on the board)
 Instructional Steps:
- TSW pick a book from the book baskets located on their tables
- Students will spend a few minutes previewing/skimming/ light reading several of the
books from the table. Once they stumble upon a vocab word, the students will take a
sticky note, write their sentence down, what book it is from, highlight the vocab word
they found and stick it up on the board when they are finished.
- Once completed, the teacher will share the examples.
 Differentiation: Allowing students to participate in a think-pair-share activity. This
allows for collaboration and collection of different ideas and perspectives. This activity
can also build confidence within students.

Teaching Vocabulary Activity:

 Activity Overview & Rationale: To teach vocabulary to students, have them work
together to play paper plate vocab. In this activity, the students will race to beat the timer
by trying to find the match that corresponds to what is on their half of the paper plate. For
example: the student has half of the plate that has the word “precipitation”, they must try
and find the half that says, “the liquid and solid water that falls from clouds and reach the
ground.” Through this activity, the students build their teamwork skills rather than
making it a competition.
 Materials:
- Paper plates cut in half (one side term, one side definition)
- Timer
 Instructional Steps:
- TTW pass out a half of a paper plate to each student, it might be the term or the
definition.
 - TTW have all students stand up and move to the front of the room while placing
halves of paper plates on each table.
- TSW take a guess at how long it will take for all of them to find their match. TTW set
the timer for their goal time.
- Once started, the students will race around the room trying to find their pairs. When
they find their pair, they can offer to help those who haven’t found their match yet.
- Students will move to the front of the room once completed.
 Differentiation: Paper plates can be cut to form more of a puzzle piece kind of fit rather
than a clean cut down the middle. Plates can also be outlined in a bright bold color to
make it easier to identify.

Reinforcing Vocabulary Activity:

 Activity Overview & Rationale: To reinforce vocabulary, students will participate in a
four-square activity. Each student will be given a sheet that looks similar to the one
below and fill out each box. The purpose of a four-square is to have students think about
all parts of a vocabulary word and not just term and definition. The student will retain the
terms better by providing themselves many ways to think of it whether that’s through
illustrations, synonyms, or simply a definition.
 Materials:
- Four-square worksheet
- Pencils
- Crayons/markers/colored pencils

 Instructional Steps:
- TTW hand out four-square worksheets to each student.
- TTW explain what to do in each box. First box is for the vocabulary word, second
box is for the reworded definition, third box is for a synonym or antonym, and last
box is for a corresponding picture.
- TSW have 5 minutes to complete their four-square, choosing a term that they have
found the most difficult.
- Once the timer is up, TTW pair students off for a think-pair-share to share what vocab
word they are having trouble with and how their four-square might help them
remember it better.
 Differentiation: Students who have grasp the concept may choose to write their own
sentence on the back of the paper that utilizes their chosen vocabulary word.

Comprehension Activities

Overall Description: The students will create a spider/web based graphic organizer. Students
will write the word “water cycle” in the middle of their paper and draw a circle around it, acting
as the “body” of the spider. Then students will add multiple facts/details extending from the
middle, acting as the “legs”.

Rationale: The web organizer allows the students to provide details about one overall topic
theme, in this case, the water cycle. Graphic organizers are a way for students to organize ideas
and concepts in various ways to make sense of the information they have learned. Through this
strategy, the students will be able to utilize the web’s unique design to arrange and comprehend
each fact relating to the water cycle.
Materials:

- Pencils
- Crayons/ colored pencils (for drawing, if needed)
- Daily journal/ piece of paper

Instructional Steps:

 TTW explain to the students that they are to create a spider/web graphic
organizer. “Graphic organizers are a great tool to help us organize our thoughts and ideas
belonging to a topic. Let me show you an example.”
 TTW start by writing any given topic on the board such as “plants” and then
circles it.
 TTW will then start writing various facts about plants such as “can be flowers,
vegetables, etc…, need sunlight, water, and space to grow, can be edible” and then
underline each one.
 Once completed, it should look like a spider.
 TTW then tell the students to pull out their daily journals or a piece of paper and
write the words “water cycle” in the middle and circle it.
 TSW then self-complete the additional facts portion of their webs.
 TSW have about 5 minutes to add as many details as they can think of and once
completed, TTW call on a few students to share their webs.

Differentiation: Since there is a strong emphasis on writing in this strategy, students with
limited arm/ hand mobility can choose to verbalize their thoughts for an aid or teacher to write
for them. Students may also choose to draw in order to make connections to content. Students
with specific learning disabilities may need more individualized attention and remediation in
order to stay on track with their peers.

Assessment Plan: In order to assess my student’s comprehension, I will collect/ review all
papers and journals for completion. In addition to simply completing the assignment, the
students will need to have key components listed within their web such as “condensation,
precipitation, evaporation.”

Reflection Activity

The reflection activity will come from the pre-reading activity the students started at the
beginning of the week. For this activity, the students were asked to complete the first two
sections of the KWL chart. But, for the reflection activity the students will pull back out their
daily journals and complete the last section, “L”, what they have learned about the water cycle
now. Answers might be the same as the “K” column and that’s okay but also students should
have learned something new. Students will have 2 minutes to complete this column. While
students are working, TTW pass out one sticky note to each student and after the time is up TSW
write one thing they have learned on the sticky note and come up and place it on the big sticky
pad paper labeled “What We Have Learned: Water Cycle”

Materials:
 - Big sticky pad paper
- Sticky notes
- Daily journals
- Pencils

Writing Activity

The reinforcement of the vocabulary words through the creation of a four-square with the
additional think-pair-share at the end of the assignment serves as the writing activity in this
lesson. Each student will be responsible for their own four-square and determine which
vocabulary word they personally have difficulty with and then complete each section through
writing and illustrations to help the students understand the content.

Communication Activity

The performance-based assessment of reader’s theater will serve as the communication activity
for this lesson. As students are collaborating to come up with their story about their water
droplets journey through the water cycle, students will read and present the story out loud to the
rest of the class. Students will be assessed on the following components:

A. Delivery of narrative with enthusiasm and proper articulation

B. Nice, clear, loud voice
C. Good eye contact
D. Faces the audience with proper body language
E. Articulates all required components of the activity

Performance Based Assessment

In this assignment, students will be collaborating with others in reader’s theater to create a
descriptive adventure about their journey through the water cycle from the perspective of a water
droplet. The purpose of this assignment is to get the students communicating and collaborating
for a common goal. They are allowed maximum creative as far as how they want their story to
play out and what kind of visual representation will be displayed during their presentation.

Instructional Narrative

Students, let’s take a moment to pretend that each of you is a water droplet up in the clouds. You
have been through the water cycle many of times, so you are pretty experienced. Your job as the
older and wiser of the droplets is to help guide the younger, baby water droplets through their
beginning journey through the water cycle. In groups of four, I want you and your classmates
you create a detailed story describing your journey to Earth and through the water cycle.

Each of you must have at least one role within this activity:

- Writer(s)
- Illustrator(s)
- Narrator(s)
- Actor(s)
You must have:

- Some sort of visual representation of your story (poster, comic strip, brochure,
etc.)
- A written story describing the journey
- A skit that helps viewers understand your story
- Each step of the water cycle included and in the correct order

Rubric