Indiana Wesleyan University

Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template

CAEP 2018 K-6 Elementary Teacher Preparation Standards

LESSON RATIONALE:
The sun is something that every student is familiar with but not every student knows how
powerful the Sun is. In this lesson, students will explore the effects of the sun and how it can be
used as a heat source, like in a oven.

READINESS
I. Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal(s): Students will create a solar oven.
B. Objective(s): Students will work in groups to design and create a solar oven that makes a
smore.
C. Standard(s): K.ESS.1 Make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth’s
surface and use tools and materials to design and build a structure to reduce the warming
effect on Earth's surface.

Management Plan- Management Plan:

o Time:
o Anticipatory Set: 7-10 Minutes
o Lesson: 15-20 Minutes
o Closure: 10-12 Minutes

o Space:
o Anticipatory Set: Seated at their carpet
o Guided Reading/ Centers: Seated at their desks.
o Closure: seated on the carpet
o Materials:
o Pizza boxes (7-one for each group and one for me)
o Pencil
o Ruler
o Box cutter or scissors
o Aluminum foil
o Clear type of tape
o Black construction paper
o Plastic wrap or large, transparent plastic bag
o Newspapers
o Oven mitt
o Dish or pie plate
o Smores fixings
o Video to introduce the topic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzkJkEKV8Yk

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PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION
III. Adaptation to Individual Differences and Diverse Learners:
 For my group of special education students- they are allowed to have the aide help
them with the worksheet and
 I will be using the carpet seating which they are familiar with and we will be
completing the experiment together as a class and talking everything out as a class so
there should be no students who work ahead.

II. Anticipatory Set:

“Alright friends, I need everyone to come to the carpet. I have a very special experiment
we are going to do today. So, everyone put your scientist hats on!” I am going to show you some
pictures to get our minds working and thinking. How many of you know what this is? (show
picture of an oven and allow students to answer) Where have you seen this item? (allow for
student responses) Good job friends, Who knows what this is? (show a picture of the sun and
allow for students response) What does this do to the Earth? Good job! What do these two things
have in common? (allow for responses) These the Sun and an oven both warm things.
III. Purpose:
Today, we are going to be making our own ovens and cooking in them using the sun! We
are going to learn about how the Sun warms the Earth and how the Sun can warm our little
ovens too.
IV. Lesson Presentation (Input/Output):
 “Okay I want all my friends go back to their seats we are going to create our
oven boxes with our tables. The materials that we will be using are at the table.
We will be going through all the steps together as a class. Touch your nose if you
are ready! (pass out materials) Okay follow me and we will go through the steps
together. Raise your hand if you need any help.”

Step 1: Draw a square one inch in from the edges of the top of the box .

Step 2: Use your scissors to cut out three of the four sides of the square.

Step 3:Make a crease along the uncut side of the square to create a flap that stands up.

Step 4:Cut a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the inner side of the cardboard flap.
You can use more than one piece.

Step 5:Put the foil in the bottom of the box, and secure with tape.

Step 6:Line the bottom of the pizza box with black construction paper. What purpose does the
black paper serve? Would white paper work as well? Why or why not?

Step 7:Cut two pieces of plastic wrap that are the same size as the top of the pizza box.

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Step 8:Use tape to secure the plastic wrap to the inside edges of the square window you cut into
the box. You are creating an airtight window. Why do you want to make your oven airtight?

Step 9:Roll up some newspaper pages into tubes to stuff into the sides of the box. Make sure you
are still able to close the lid of the pizza box. Remember—what purpose does the newspaper
serve?

Step 10:Now it is time to cook something! Make sure to set the food on your pie pan so you don’t
mess up the interior of your oven.

Step 11: Place one or two marshmallows on top of a graham cracker.

Step 12: Put two to three squares of chocolate on top of the marshmallow. Any idea why it might
be smart to have the chocolate on top?

“Okay lets talk about what we just did! You covered the flap with foil so that the foil would
reflect sunlight into the oven. The black paper on the bottom of your oven absorbed the sun’s
energy (white paper would have reflected a lot of that energy). You made your oven airtight so
that the warm air inside your oven would not leave the pizza box via convection. You put the
newspaper inside your oven to insulate it and prevent heat loss through radiation. It is best to
use your oven between 11 AM - 2 PM, which is when we will place our ovens outside. because
that is when the sun’s rays are strongest. If you are making a s’more, it is good idea to have the
chocolate on top because its dark color will absorb heat better than the lighter graham crackers.
Food takes longer to cook in a solar oven because solar ovens don’t get as hot as conventional
ovens.”

V. Check for understanding:

 Throughout the lesson I will be watching to see how students are doing with the
worksheets and I will be using students to help conduct the investigation.
 I will give assistance if needed by a student. I will allow students to ask questions and
reteach the concept individually if needed.

VIII. Review learning outcomes / Closure:

“123 Eyes on me! (1,2 eyes on you). So let’s review! What do the sun and an oven have
in common? They both heat things up. Can anyone remember what we put in our oven to
help heat up our food? I called it insulation. (Allow for students to respond) Exactly
Newspaper! What did I say would reflect the sun and make our oven hot from the sun?
(wait for student responses) Yes! The Tin Foil. Alright friends, thank you for being such
good listeners and scientists. We will check on our ovens and eat our smores at the end of
the day!

PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT

Formative:
-I will use the worksheet that the students fill out to check for understanding. I will see if they
understand hypothesizing and I will see if they record the data collected from the class.

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-I will have a list of the student’s names and I will rate this with a thumbs up if they understand
the task, an okay sign if they are almost there and a thumbs down sign that means they don’t
understand at all.

REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS

(CAEP K-6 3.b)
1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
7. Did I make sure to ask questions throughout the lesson?
8. Where did I use multiple intelligences?
9. Did I connect with every student?