Science Lesson Plan

Chloe Carter
LESSON RATIONALE
This lesson is important to teach because regionally, different kinds of severe weather
affect different kinds of communities. For a community in the Midwest, it is crucial for
students to be aware of not only what kind of severe weather they might encounter in
their lives, but also what they can do to protect themselves from these kinds of harmful
situations. Using models to show ways they can determine what this weather may look
like is a good way for 2nd-grade students to understand and visualize this kind of
severe weather in a non-threatening way. In addition, it is a good way to prepare
students for these situations without scaring them.

READINESS
I. Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal: The students will understand how a tornado forms and how it affects
the community.
B. Objective(s):
1.) Working in groups, students will be able to create a visual
representation of a variety of safe places during a tornado.
2.) Students will be able to identify proper safety precautions during a
tornado.
3.) By completing the activities the students should be able to
communicate the characteristics of a tornado
C. Standard: 2.ESS.2- Investigate the severe weather of the region and its
impact of the community, looking at forecasting to prepare for, respond to, severe
weather.

II. Management Plan

Materials: Tornado safety worksheet, Tornado cut-out activity, plastic cup, dish soap,
glitter, bottles, water, tape, projector or other screen, PowerPoint of video and pictures.
Time Per Element: Anticipatory Set: 7 minutes
Lesson Instruction: 10-15 minutes
Guided practice: 15-20 minutes
Independent Practice: 10-12 minutes
Closure/Assessment: 5-7 minutes
Space: Classroom

Anticipatory Set During this activity, The teacher will -plastic cup
7 Minutes students will be create and present -dish soap
 staying in the seats to the students -glitter
and turn the what a tornado -water bottle
attention towards looks like in a -tape
the front of the bottle. Spark ideas
classroom. to create
conversation with
your students to get
them to brainstorm
their own ideas.

Guided Practice During this activity, Students will work -tornado worksheet
15-20 Minutes students will be in pairs or in small -tornado video
able to choose their groups to complete -presentation about
seating around the a worksheet that tornados
room. analyzes different -overhead projector
tornado scenarios.
They will write a
proper safety
precaution to take
and draw a picture
to represent that
situation.

Independent During this activity, The teacher will -tornado cut-out

Practice students will be provide a tornado “DUCK”
10-12 Minutes staying in their shaped handout
seats. that has room for
students to write
different safety
precautions on it.
They will be able to
take this home has
a reminder of how
to stay safe from a
tornado, and they
can use this to
study for the end of
unit quiz.

Closure/Assessm During this activity, A discussion

ent students will be activity will take
5-7 Minutes staying in their place after the
seats. lesson that involves
the teacher
explaining different
safety tips and the
 students will
respond to them
with a thumbs up or
a thumbs down
depending on if the
tip was effective or
not effective. The
students will also
be quizzed at the
end of the unit on
all the information
they had learned,
including
information about
the tornado lesson.

III. Anticipatory Set:

The teacher will ask students about a time where they have experienced severe
weather. (allow time for students to answer)
“Today we will be starting out our lesson with a fun experiment. Make sure to
look closely as to what is happening
during this experiment and think about what type of weather it reminds you of.”
(allow time to set up experiment).
The teacher will collect materials to make a tornado in a bottle.
“Students, can you tell me what is happening inside the bottle? What type of
weather does this appear to look Like? (Allow students to give their ideas). We
created a tornado inside the bottle.”

IV. Purpose: “Today we will be learning about tornadoes and the impact tornadoes
have on you and your community. This is important because it can help you to identify
proper safety precautions when a tornado is to occur to stay safe.”

PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION

V. Adaptation to Individual Differences and Diverse Learners
● Students who have trouble with gross motor skills will be able to work with a
partner or be assisted by the teacher to comfortably complete the bottle
experiment.
● Students whose first language is not English we will make sure to have plenty of
visuals throughout our lesson such as a video, tornado in the bottle and drawings
guided by the teacher.
 ● For students with sensory disorders, anxiety, ADD and ADHD are allowed to
choose their seating in the classroom during the guided practice to help them
focus at their highest capacity.
● Teacher will accommodate students with different multiple learning intelligences
with having them write and create pictures. This will specifically be towards the
spatial and linguistic intelligences.

VI. Lesson Presentation

● Show the students a video of a tornado.
“We’re going to watch a video of a real tornado now. While we are watching it, I
want you to think about what is the same in this real tornado and the tornado that
we made in a bottle.” (Play video from PowerPoint for students) “Alright, who can
tell me something that they noticed in this video that was in the same our bottle
made tornado?” (Allow time for students to mention a few things) “Yes, that's
right, both were moving in a circular motion! How about the size of the tornados?
Were those the same?” (Some other characteristics they hopefully will pick up on
are a cone shaped, skinnier at the bottom, wider at the top, swirl very fast, etc.)
● Talk about the characteristics of a tornado and what students can watch
for.
“Now that we have reviewed the characteristics of a tornado, let's talk about how you
can watch for them in the sky! Can anyone remember back to the video and think about
what other type of weather they saw with the tornado?” (Allow time for them to answer
with heavy clouds or thunderstorms, etc.) “Yes! In order for tornadoes to happen, there
have to be many clouds in the sky. Some clouds will be white while others will be black,
and they will mix together. Sometimes there is a thunderstorm with tornadoes as well.
The most important part of a tornado is the wind. There has to be very strong wind in
order for a tornado to form. Before the funnel of a tornado can form, the clouds will
begin to create a circle or swirl in the sky. These are a couple pictures of the clouds
before the funnel formed.” (Show pictures on PowerPoint) “As you can see from the
pictures, not all beginning of tornadoes will look the same, however there are many
things that are similar. Who can tell me some of the similarities?” (Allow time for the
students to answer)
● Talk about how the characteristics of a tornado make a tornado harmful.
“Now that we’ve talked about the characteristics, the things that make a tornado
a tornado, and what tornadoes look like before the funnel is formed, we can talk
about how tornadoes can be harmful for our community. What things about a
tornado do you think would make them harmful to your community?” (Allow time
for students to give ideas) “Who remembers what is the most important part of a
tornado?” (Allow time for students to guess) “Yes! That’s right, the wind! The
winds of a tornado can be the strongest on earth, even stronger than other
special weather, such as hurricanes! Because of this super strong wind, the
 tornado can pick up things with its funnel. It will spin these things around and
around and drop them somewhere else, sometimes nearby or super far away.
This strong wind can pick up dirt, cars, trees, and sometimes parts of houses in
super strong tornadoes. Other times, if the tornado is not very strong, it might
just knock down some trees as it travels.”
● Talk about how to stay safe during a tornado.
“Since tornadoes can be dangerous, it is super important to talk about how we
can stay safe if one happens near us. The first step to staying safe is listening. If
an adult tells you there is a tornado nearby, you need to follow their directions to
make sure you’re going to be safe. You also need to listen to sirens that may go
off in a building you’re in if there is a tornado nearby. The other thing you might
need to listen to is a TV or radio for them to tell you there is a tornado coming, so
you can tell your family if they are not watching or listening. Next, you need to
get to a safe place. Does anyone have any ideas of what a safe place from a
tornado might be?” (Allow time for students to give some ideas and correct them
if they are wrong or affirm them if they are right) “These are all good ideas of how
to be safe during a tornado! Now I’m going to teach you an acronym for how to
stay safe. Does anyone know what an acronym is?” (Allow for responses) “An
acronym is a word to help us remember other words. The first thing we can do to
be safe, is to go Downstairs. The next is Underneath something, such as a table.
Next, go towards the Center of the building. Lastly, Keep away from windows.
Now who can tell me these four letters spell?” (Allow a student to tell you DUCK)
“You’re exactly right! In order to be safe all you have to remember the word duck!
Now let's all say them in order 3 times together to make sure we remember
them!” (Guide students saying “downstairs, underneath something, center of
building, keep away from windows” 3 times)
● Activity 1 (guided practice):
I am going to give each student a safety activity worksheet. This worksheet will
include 4 different scenarios (outside, in a car, in a school, and in a house) during
a tornado. Students will be allowed to work in pairs to fill out the worksheet.
Students will draw a picture of each scenario and what they would do in that
place, followed by writing where they are. “You guys have done a great job
participating in the lesson and sharing your ideas with your fellow classmates.
Now we’re going to do a tornado activity that you will be working on for the next
fifteen to twenty minutes with your shoulder partner. For this worksheet, you will
be coming up with different places to be safe with your partner. In the corner of
each box, there is a picture of where you are when you are told there is a
tornado. You and your partner need to think of where you would go to be safe
from a tornado and then draw it. After you draw your picture, you need to write
what you’ve chosen to do, such as hiding under a table. Just remember to use
your inside voices and work as a team. You are allowed to sit wherever you and
 your partner would like to in the classroom to complete this activity but you both
have to agree. When I call your name you and your partner may come up, grab a
worksheet, and begin working. If you have any questions or can’t think of where
to go, raise your hand and I will come and help you brainstorm if you and your
partner are stuck.” I will walk around and help any students who may be
struggling with the activity.
● Activity 2 (independent practice):
After the students complete their activity worksheet and share their ideas. We will
then move into the independent part of the lesson. Each child will receive a
tornado cut-out activity and work independently to fill it out. The activity will
include safe spots, sirens, TV or Radio, and D.U.C.K., which stands for
Downstairs, Under something, Center of house, and Keep away from windows.
They will take this activity home and it will be recommended that they hang it up
on their fridge and bedroom wall. “Great job everyone on working so hard on this
activity... If you have not completed the activity you can either finish up quickly or
work on it later today. Does anyone want to share one of the places they thought
would be a safe place from a tornado?” (Allow students to respond and have just
a few share their partner work) “We will now be moving on to our next activity
which involves everyone creating their own safety tornado. I will have an
example of mine up on the board that you guys may use as a reference. This
safety tornado is something you get to take home today to put on your fridge to
remind you and your family what to do if a tornado comes. You will all be working
independently on this activity but may talk to your table quietly. If it becomes too
loud, I will take this privilege away. You may decorate your tornado any way you
want as long as you have the safety precautions written on them. I am going to
call on you individually to come up and grab the worksheet from me.” Students
will begin to work on activity, and I will go around to see how each child is doing
on this activity. The students will have 10-12 minutes to complete the activity.

VII. Check for understanding.

The teacher will check for understanding by asking the students about proper and
improper safety precautions when faced with a tornado. The teacher will be able to
know if the students have understood the material by asking them to show a thumbs up
or down if they think it would be a wise safety precaution. The teacher will then assess
how many of them are putting a thumbs up or down when appropriate. Having the
students show by their thumbs the correct answer, the teacher can then easily see how
many of her students are understanding the concepts of safety precautions during a
tornado.

VIII. Review Learning Outcomes/ Closure

Allow the students to show their scenario worksheets that they worked hard on to the
rest of the class. Making sure that each student understands the safety precautions to
take when a tornado is to occur and the effects it can have on them. Repeat that they
need to know how to stay safe during a tornado no matter where they are when a
tornado is happening and the impact it can have on a community. To finish the lesson
up if time is available, allow the students to put into practice the techniques they have
learned today in order to stay safe during a tornado.

PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT

Formative Assessment: The teacher will assess the students by asking questions about proper and
improper safety precautions and have them give a thumbs up or thumbs down when answering the
question.
Anticipatory Set ● I will assess the student’s prior knowledge about
tornados by asking them questions. While creating
a tornado in a bottle I will pay attention to what the
students know about how tornadoes form, so that I
know what to focus on in the lesson.

Lesson Presentation
● I will assess what the students remember from the
lesson by providing them a safety worksheet to fill
out with a partner. I will know that they understand
how to take safety precautions from a tornado if
they can fill out the worksheet properly. While
observing this, I will be able to help those students
who are struggling to apply the lesson to the
worksheet.

Check for Understanding ● For this activity, I will be assessing the

& Closure students if they can decipher between
safe and unsafe actions during a
tornado. At this point in the lesson,
students should be able to do this and if
not, I will go over this lesson so that the
students can fully understand tornado
safety. This allows me as the teacher to
see what I need to re-teach.

REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS

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 the students understand the proper safety precautions to take during a
tornado?
8. Did the students understand the main characteristics of a tornado and how
they form?
9. Were the students able to apply their knowledge to practical real-life
scenarios (tornado)?

Independent Practice Activity Example:

Activity Worksheet: