Lesson

Plans Assessment
Standards Addressed
INTASC Standards
8: Instructional Strategies—The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional
strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their
connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
GaPSC Standards
1.1: Instructional Strategies—The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional
strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their
connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
1.2: Providers ensure that candidates use research and evidence to develop an understanding
of the teaching profession and use both to measure their P-12 students’ progress and their own
professional practice.
1.4: Providers ensure that candidates demonstrate skills and commitment that afford all P-12
students' access to rigorous college- and career-ready standards (e.g., Next Generation Science
Standards, National Career Readiness Certificate, Georgia Standards of Excellence).

Instructions

In this assessment, you will create developmentally appropriate lessons. Use the template below
to ensure the following

• Create three lesson plans from three different domains

o For mathematics: Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Statistics, Probability,
Calculus, or Discrete
o For science: three different units
• One lesson must use technology to learn
• One lesson must be an inquiry-based/active-learning lesson
• One lesson must follow the tenets of cultural relevant or responsive teaching or social
justice.
• All supplemental materials for the lesson are to be provided (PowerPoints, handouts,
examples with answers, etc.).
• For each lesson, review your lesson with a peer or partner teacher. Do not make changes
in the lesson, but note changes in the reflection on portion of the lesson.



Lesson Plan Template

Name: Taylor Schmit

Lesson Title: Energy Drink s: Dangerous Vice or Helpful Supplement?

Lesson Adapted from: “Cans with a Kick: The Science of Energy Drinks” Science in School
(https://www.scienceinschool.org/content/cans-kick-science-energy-drinks)

Context of Learners

This lesson is for a high school chemistry class with a variety of learning preferences. No students have
disability diagnoses. The class has four ELLs.

Georgia Curriculum Standards

State Curriculum Standards (Include the number and text of the standard. If only a portion is being addressed,
then only list the relevant parts).

SC6c. Use mathematics and computational thinking to evaluate commercial products in terms of their concentrations (i.e.,
molarity and percent by mass).
SC3c. Use mathematics and computational thinking to apply concepts of the mole and Avogadro’s number to conceptualize
and calculate… mass, moles, and molecules relationships…

Learning Objective

The learner will be able to

• Verify the concentration of reported solutions. (SC6c)
• Convert between concentrations to dilute solutions. (SC3c; SC6c)

How does this lesson connect to the previous lesson

This lesson connects to the previous lessson…

Previous lessons developed students’ skills to work with the mole convert between concentration and mass of a
solute in solution. This lesson applies those skills and concepts to everyday solutions.

Academic Language (Language Demands, Language Supports)

Language Demands (Vocabulary, Function, Discourse, Syntax):

Vocabulary: Concentration, molarity, colorimetry, solution, reference, measure, convert, dilute, verify,
absorption, and calibration

Language Functions: Verifying data, diluting solutions, converting measurements

Discourse: A solution has a “concentration of a chemical;” Solutions are diluted X-fold (OR from X molarity to
X molarity), instruments are calibrated with a reference, measurements are verified

Syntax: Tables/graphs compare concentration in molarity with absorption, which is relative/unitless, nutrition
labels list quantities in grams or concentrations based on g, mg, mL, fluid oz or other commercially used units.
Concentrations in science are typically listed as molarity or percent by weight.

Language Supports

A handout with translations of the vocabulary would be provided. Also, pair ELLs with strong English speakers;
if anyone speaks their primary language then they would be a preferred pair.

Materials
Popular caffeinated beverages, nutritional labels and ingredient lists for each beverage, colorimeter (or simulated
data from one if device is not available), pipette, distilled water, and glassware for the colorimeter.

Instructions

Engage: How will you pique the students’ interest and get them personally involved in the lesson, while pre-
assessing prior understandings?

I would start the lesson by introducing students to the topic of today’s lesson, by discussing their opinions of
energy drinks, whether they drink them, and the public opinion of energy drinks. I will write the opinions on the
board.

After discussing perceptions of energy drinks, I would emphasize that many think that energy drinks are
dangerous or at least bad for you. I would show blown up pictures of the nutritional facts/ingredient lists on
energy drink containers and ask what ingredients are common throughout the lists. After concluding how
similar the lists are, I would explain that sugar, caffeine, taurine, guarana, B-vitamins, ginseng, and ginko biloba
are the main ingredients that are supposed to give consumers the energy they’re looking for. Finally, we would
discuss the effects of each of those ingredients, which I would lead to explicitly conclude that sugar and caffeine
are the ingredients that have the most effect, positive or negative.

After concluding that caffeine could be the culprit of the negative health concerns with energy drinks. I would
propose that we should investigate the drinks caffeine content. I ask students how we can check what the label
lists and eventually offer a solution, the colorimeter. I would explain how the colorimeter measures the amount
of light that is absorbed, that each chemical absorbs certain wavelengths and by choosing the right wavelength
(271 nm) we can measure the concentration of caffeine. Then I would introduces the method of using the
colorimeter, how I would calibrate the machine using a blank and a standard solution, and then students can
dilute their selected energy drink 20-fold and find the amount of absorption, use a standard graph I create to
determine the measured concentration, and convert to find the actual concentration.

Explore: How will you get the students involved in the topic; providing them with a chance to build their own
understanding?

Students would get initially involved with each new topic that’s introduced by coming up with potential
perceptions, hazards, and then methods. Then students would be fully involved as they dilute their drink sample,
measure the drinks absorption, and find the concentration of the diluted sample, and convert to find the
concentration of the drink.

Explain: How will you provide students with an opportunity to communicate what they have learned so far and
figure out what it means?

As a group, discuss the findings, were the labels correct? Why or why not? (at this point I would bring up that B
vitamins also absorb the wavelengths at/around the wavelength that caffeine absorbs (271 nm). After
concluding that the labels are correct, I would bring up that the FDA reports that the average adult can consume
~ 400 mg a day with out experiencing significant negative side effects (jitters, anxiety, elevated blood pressure,
ect) and ~ 1200 mg before they overdose, BUT that it is highly variable and dependent many different factors. I
would finally ask if they think energy drinks are a health risk to the average young adult. After having a few
students respond, I would conclude the lesson by driving home that ultimately energy drinks are only dangerous
for the average person if you consume too much. This means that concentration, moderation, and personal health
are the main factors.

Extend: How will you allow students to use their new knowledge and continue to explore its implication?

To close the lesson, I would ask students to calculate how many drinks of the student’s selected energy drink the
average person can have before 1) experiencing negative health effects and 2) overdosing on caffeine.

Evaluate: How will you determine how much learning and understanding has taken place?

Formally, students will be expected to write their selections, data, conclusion, and extension in a notebook that
they leave in class. Informally, each discussion will provide opportunities to evaluate student understanding.

Additional Considerations

Differentiation: How will you differentiate your lesson for students with SWD or who are ELs?

I provide my ELLs with handouts with translated language and pair them up. I would also pair up students with
disabilities. Generally, the work period would be social anyways.

During the lesson, specifically during the work period, I would engage those students to make sure they
understand what they are reading/writing, provide examples, and visually point out how a lower concentration
relates to a lighter color because they added more water.

Possible misconceptions and possible solutions to address the misconceptions.

One possible misconception would be that the color of the drink will affect the data, and explaining that we are
only looking at specific wavelengths, chemicals that interact with other wavelengths won’t affect it. Another is
that they may not fully grasp the difference between the diluted concentration vs. the actual concentration. I
would first explain that we have to dilute the sample because the actual concentration is too high for the machine
to read (it would absorb all of the projected light), then I would explain that because we know the ratio we can
draw conclusions about the actual concentration using the data from the diluted concentration.

How is technology used to impact student learning? (only for technology lesson)

How is the lesson culturally relevant/ responsive or address a social justice concern? (only for CRP lesson plan)

Energy drinks are advertised to young adults by look cool, productive, and exciting. They are also commonly
discussed in public with many different perceptions with the majority considering them unhealthy. This lesson
can be informative which allows people to make appropriate decisions.

Management/Safety Issues: Are there any management and/or safety issues that need to be considered when
teaching this lesson?

The colorimeter is a potentially expensive piece of equipment, which means sufficient care needs to be taken
when interacting with it using liquids. Preparing samples away from the machine is a good start. If appropriate
caps/covers can be placed on top of samples they should.
A significant safety issue exists when using solid caffeine to make the standard to calibrate the colorimeter.
Because of this, I will be the only one to handle the standard.
Reflection on Planning

After reviewing your lesson with your peer or partner teacher, what you would change and why? How did the
discussion with your peer or partner teacher help you grow as a professional? Also, connect to peer-reviewed
research or theory (include citations)

After speaking to my peer (Zachary Cook who teaches in Columbia county), the main critique he had was to be
extremely direct about the take-away I want them to have at the end of the lesson. Throughout the lesson,
students will begin to interact with these concepts and try to begin making connections. However, many students
will only have pieces of the picture or they may be timid to make the conclusion themselves. By making the
points explicit, students have the opportunity to self-reflect and confirm their own conclusions, solidify their
developing connections, or realize they are not understanding.