Developmental Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate: Courtney O’Rourke, Rebecca Cariola, Shantell Boyer, Hannah Snyder
Date: 3/4/2020

Group Size: 20 Allotted Time 45 mins Grade Level 2nd Grade

Common Core/PA Standard(s):
Standard
Subject or- 3.3.4.A5
Topic: Weather Events
Describe basic weather elements.

Learning Targets/Objectives:
Students will be able to identify types of weather events by exploring through hands-on activities.
Assessment Approaches: Evidence:
1. Have students hold up thumbs up/down 1. This will show what students
2. Inquiry Sheet are on track and who needs help
…. 2. We can see students
understanding at each station
…
Assessment Scale:
Inquiry Sheet
Proficient (3)- Student completes all three centers on the inquiry sheet
Basic (2)- Student completes two of the centers on the inquiry sheet
Below Basic (1)- Student completes one or none of the centers on the inquiry sheet

Subject Matter/Content:
Prerequisites:
 Basic knowledge of types of weather
Key Vocabulary:
 Precipitation- moisture condensed from the atmosphere that falls visibly in separate drops.
 Thunder- a loud rumbling or crashing noise heard after a lightning flash due to the
expansion of rapidly heated air.
 Lightning- the occurrence of a natural electrical discharge of very short duration and high
voltage between a cloud and the ground or within a cloud, accompanied by a bright flash
and typically also thunder.
Content/Facts:
 What is a weather event?
o Any dangerous act of nature fueled by changes in the atmosphere, that puts
people, animals or buildings at risk.
 What is precipitation?
o Precipitation is the liquid that comes down when clouds fill up with water and are
too heavy to hold
 What is a thunderstorm?
o A severe storm that has thunder, heavy rain, wind and sometimes lightning
  What is Lightning?
o When there is a negatively charged particle at the bottom of the cloud, the positive
and negative collides and creates a giant spark, known as lightning.
Introduction/Activating/Launch Strategies:
 “Today we are going to read a story called “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatball” What do
you think this story is going to be about? Has anyone heard of this story before?”
 Have some students raise their hands and share what they think
 Read book to the class
 “So, after reading that book, would you say they had some pretty crazy weather?”
 “I read you this story because today we will be learning about different weather events!”
 “Does anyone have an example of weather events or want to take a guess?”
 Have students share answers and record them on the board
 Write down thunderstorms, lightning and precipitation on board as well

Development/Teaching Approaches
 “Before we begin our center, we are going to learn a little bit about weather events we
have here in Pennsylvania.”
 “While we go through the PowerPoint, we will be writing notes on an accordion book”
o Example at bottom of document
 “The first flap will say, Weather Events.” Have students write that
 “The next flap will say, Precipitation.” Have students write that
 “The next flap will say, Thunder.” Have students write that
 “The final flap will say, Lightning.” Have students write that
 “The first type of weather that we see a lot in PA is precipitation. Precipitation is the
liquid that comes down when clouds fill up with water and are too heavy to hold.”
 Show pictures of precipitation and have students take notes of the definitions
 “Next we are going to talk about lighting. Who here has seen lightning before?”
 “Does anyone know what causes lightning? “
 “When there is a negatively charged particle at the bottom of the cloud, the positive and
negative collides and creates a giant spark, known as lightning.”
 Show pictures of lightning for the class and have them continue to take notes during the
PowerPoint
 “The last type of weather was going to talk about is thunderstorms which we have a lot of
in the summertime. Turn to your partners and share what you think causes thunder.”
 “Thunder is caused by lightning. When a lightning bolt travels from the cloud to the
ground it opens up a little hole in the air, called a channel. Once the light is gone the air
collapses back in and creates a loud sound that we hear as thunder.”
 “During a thunderstorm it has lightning and thunder. These storms are produced by
cumulonimbus clouds which we learned about earlier this week!”
 PowerPoint
o https://livekutztown-
my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/corou628_live_kutztown_edu/EU7WkV3iKnB
Mr3uIPFozaUwBebeA_PVVSvcxBr28RLxnpQ?e=XrW5O7
 “At your tables you will see that there are activities, today we are all going to take turns
 rotating to each table to learn about different types of weather events!”
 “While going through each center, you will fill out an inquiry sheet that will be handed in
at the end of the day.”
 “There are three stations. At each station, you will watch a short video and respond to all
the questions on your inquiry sheet. At the precipitation station, you will be making
precipitation, before you start making precipitation, please fill out your prediction of what
you think will happen. When you finish, write down what actually happened.”
 “The next station is thunder. Here you will be making a thunderstorm front. Again, be
sure to fill out your prediction and what happened.”
 “The final station is lightning. This station we will be completing as a group and I will
explain what we will be doing when it is time.”
 “I will be walking around to help, if you have any questions, please ask.”
 Precipitation Station
o Students will be making precipitation at this station
o Before doing the activity, they will fill out their inquiry sheet and make a
prediction about what will happen when you pour food coloring in the shaving
cream
o After making predictions, students will watch the video “What is Rain?” to get a
closer look on how it is formed
o They will fill a jar with water and put shaving cream at top for clouds.
o Then they will add blue food coloring on top of the shaving cream to show when
clouds get heavy with water, it starts to precipitate.
o After students are done with this station they will write about the outcome of the
station and draw the ‘rain’ on their sheet.
o Rain Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C46U2peEui8
 Thunderstorm Station
o Students will first watch this video
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu6K5h-J6xQ
o Student will be creating a thunderstorm front.
o They will fill the plastic container two-thirds full of lukewarm water. Let the water
sit for a minute to come to air temperature. Place a blue ice cube at one of the
containers. Drop 3 drops of red food coloring into the water at the opposite end of
the container.
o Here’s the explanation: the blue cold water (representing a cold air mass) sinks
while the red warm water (representing the warm, unstable air mass) rises. This is
called convection and the warm air is forced to rise by the approaching cold front,
and the thunderstorm forms.
o After completing the experiment, students will be given time to complete their
inquiry sheet.
 Lightning Station
o “We will be creating lightning and exploring what it is.”
 o “First we will first watch this video on how lightning works.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz_uYBx1G5s
o “Now it is time to make some lightning”
o “Each group will get a balloon and a light bulb. Do not do anything until I tell you
to.”
o “First I will turn all of the lights off in the room.”
o “I will pick one person to rub the balloon on their hair for several seconds.”
o “I will pick another person to hold the balloon near the end of the light bulb.”
o Turn lights on.
o “What did you see when you put the balloon on the light bulb?”
o “Yes, the light bulb lit up!”
o “Why does this happen?”
o “When you rub the balloon on your hair, the balloon builds up an electrical charge
also known as static electricity. Touching the charged balloon to the end of the
light bulb causes the electrical charge to jump from the balloon to the bulb. This is
what illuminates the light bulb.
o “How does this happen with lightning?”
o “Well, lightning is an electrical discharge. As the storm develops, the clouds
become charged with electricity. Scientists are not sure exactly what causes the
clouds to become charged, but they do know that when the voltage becomes high
enough for the electricity to leap across the air from one place to another, lightning
flashes. Lightning can spark within a cloud, from one cloud to another, from a
cloud to the ground, or from the ground to a cloud.
 “Now that we all got a chance to explore the types of weather, can someone remind me
what types of weather we talked about?
 “Yes, we learned about all those. Turn and talk to a partner and tell them which center
was your favorite and why.”
 Allow students to share with the class after telling a friend.

Closure/Summarizing Strategies:
 “To end the day, we are going to watch a weather simulator. While you watch, think
about what types of weather you see. Think about some ways you can stay safe in a
thunderstorm.”
 “Let’s also try to figure out how far away the storm is by using what we learned in the
PowerPoint”
 Show video (only play for 1 minute)
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT2hTTfE1XM
 “Can I have some volunteers to share one weather event you saw.”
 “Good job, there was precipitation, thunder and lightning.”
 “Now I will pass out a thunderstorm safety sheet, take this home and share it with your
families!”
  Tomorrow we will be learning about all the components that make weather.
Accommodations/Differentiation:
 Students with a physical disability will be partnered with a student.
 Students with visual impairments will be given braille or enlarged print depending on
extent of their visual impairment.
Materials/Resources:
 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatball by Judi Barrett book
o Roettger, D., & Barrett, J. (1987). Cloudy with a chance of meatballs. Logan, IA:
Perfection Form.
 PowerPoint
o https://livekutztown-
my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/corou628_live_kutztown_edu/EU7WkV3iKnB
Mr3uIPFozaUwBebeA_PVVSvcxBr28RLxnpQ?e=XrW5O7
 Computer for each station
 Inquiry sheets for each student
 Accordion book templates
 Food coloring
 Shaving cream
 Jar
 Clear plastic container (size of a shoebox)
 Red food coloring
 Ice cubes
 Blue food coloring
 Cold water
 Fluorescent light bulb
 Rubber balloon
 Rain Video
o Rudi Rainbow App for kids. (2018, Mar 1). What is rain? Explained for kids by
Carl Cloud [Video file]. Retrieved from URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=C46U2peEui8
 Thunder Video
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu6K5h-J6xQ
 Lightning Video
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz_uYBx1G5s
 Lightning idea
o http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-thunderstorms.htm
 Thunderstorm simulator
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT2hTTfE1XM
 Thunderstorm safety sheet
o https://livekutztown-
my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/corou628_live_kutztown_edu/EV0bRqGLpihA
r4Nw8S_6eBEBOg-xT0a8B-nWw5PncT5uJA?e=60BjhJ
Reflective Response:
Report of Student Learning Target/Objectives Proficiency Levels

Remediation Plan (if applicable)

Personal Reflection Questions

Do you think the stations explained the different weather events enough for the students to
remember and understand?
What else could you have done to make sure there were smooth transitions when students
moved to a different station?

Additional reflection/thoughts
 Name: ______________ 
Weather Events Inquiry Sheet 
Station 1: Precipitation 
 
1. Watch video about how precipitation forms. Add anything new to your
accordion book. 
 
2. Predictions: What do you think will happen when you pour food coloring
into the shaving cream? 
 
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
3. Directions: 
1. Fill a jar with water and put shaving cream at top for clouds.  
2. Add blue food coloring on top of the shaving cream  
 
4. After: What were the results? Draw a picture of what you see below. 
 
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Station 2: Thunder 
 
1. Watch video on what thunder is. Add anything new to your accordion book. 
 
2. Prediction: What do you think will happen? 
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ 
 
3. Directions: 
1. Fill the plastic container two-thirds full of lukewarm water.  
2. Let the water sit for a minute to come to air temperature.  
3. Place a blue ice cube at one of the containers.  
4. Drop 3 drops of red food coloring into the water at the opposite end of the
container. 
5. Watch what happens and record in the space below. 
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
4. After: Was your prediction, right? If not, why? 
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
Station 3: Lightning 
 
1. Watch video about how lightning works. Add anything new to your
accordion book. 
 
2. Predictions: What do you think when the balloon touches the light bulb? 
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
3. Directions: 
1. Turn all of the lights off in the room.  
2. Rub the balloon on your hair for several seconds.  
3. Then hold the statically charged balloon near the end of the light bulb.  
4. Record what happened below. 
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ 
 
4. After: Was your prediction right? If not, why? 
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 THUNDERSTORM SAFETY 
All thunderstorms produce lightning and are dangerous. If you hear the
sound of thunder, then you are in danger from lightning. Lightning kills
between 75 to 100 people each year and being outdoors in the most
dangerous place to be. Always listen to the radio and television for the
latest information and instructions for your area. 
A THUNDERSTORM WATCH means a thunderstorm is possible for your
area.  
A THUNDERSTORM WARNING means a thunderstorm is taking place in
your area. 
IF YOU’RE OUTDOORS: 
 Keep an eye at the sky. Look for darkening skies, flashes of
lightning, or increasing winds. Lightning often proceeds rain, so don’t
wait for the rain to begin. If you hear the sound of thunder, go to a
safe place immediately. 
 The best place to go is a sturdy building or a car, but make sure the
windows in the car are shut. Avoid sheds, picnic areas, baseball dugouts
and bleachers.  
 If there is no shelter around you, stay away from trees. Crouch
down in the open area, keeping twice as far away from a tree as far as
it is tall. Put your feet together and place your hands over your ears to
minimize hearing damage from thunder. 
 If you’re with a group of people stay about 15 feet from each
other. 
 Stay out of water. It’s a great conductor of electricity. Swimming,
wading, snorkeling and scuba diving are not safe. Also, don’t stand in
puddles. 
 Avoid metal. Stay away from clotheslines, fences, and drop your
backpacks because they often have metal on them. 
 If you’re playing an outdoor activity, wait at least 30 minutes after
the last observed lightning strike or thunder.  
IF YOU’RE INDOORS: 
 Avoid water. It’s a great conductor of electricity, so do not take a
shower, wash your hands, wash dishes or do laundry. 
 Do not use a corded telephone. Lightning may strike exterior phone
lines. 
 Do not use electric equipment like computers and appliances during a
storm. 
 Stay away from windows and doors and stay off porches. 

IF SOMEONE IS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING: 

 Call for help. Call 9-1-1 or send for help immediately. 
 The injured person does not carry an electrical charge, so it is okay
to touch them.