Developmental Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate: Rachel Serfass Date: 11/2/2020

Group Size: Whole Class (20) Allotted Time: 40 minutes Grade Level: 4

Subject or Topic: The Stars

Common Core/PA Standard(s):

Standard - 3.3.4.B2
SCALES

Know the basic characteristics and uses of telescopes.

PATTERNS/PHASES

Identify major lunar phases.

PATTERNS

Explain time (days, seasons) using solar system motions.

Standard - 3.3.4.B1
Identify planets in our solar system and their basic characteristics.

Describe the earth’s place in the solar system that includes the sun (a star), planets, and
many moons.

Recognize that the universe contains many billions of galaxies and that each galaxy contains
many billions of stars.

Learning Targets/Objectives:
- The students will be able to identify parts of a telescope and explain what makes it
work by constructing a homemade telescope together.
 - The students will be able to define what a star is and identify different types of stars
by viewing the powerpoint and exploring the Hubble Space Telescope website.

Assessment Approaches: Evidence:

1. Hubble Space Telescope discussion 1. students share information from the
inquiry sheet with class
2. Exit ticket 2. student hands in completed exit ticket
…. …
Assessment Scale:

Subject Matter/Content:
Prerequisites:
-
Key Vocabulary:
- telescope - a device shaped like a long tube that you look through in order to see
things that are far away
- astronomy - the scientific study of stars, planets, and other objects in outer space
- concave - having a shape like the inside of a bowl : curving inward
- convex - having a shape like the outside of a bowl : curving outward
Content/Facts:
- How does a telescope work?
- the combination of a convex and a concave lens cause things far away to look
bigger than they are
- What is a star?
- a star is a huge ball of gas
- Types of stars
- Red Giant Star
- White Dwarf Star
- Yellow Dwarf Star
- Red Dwarf Star

Introduction/Activating/Launch Strategies:
- Say: “Good morning, scientists! I want to show you something really cool that I
brought into school today!”
- Show them the handheld brass telescope. Ask: “Does anyone know what this is?”
Students will say “Telescope!”
- Say: “Right! It’s a telescope. Does anyone know who uses telescopes?” Answers could
include pirates and scientists. Say: “You’re right! Today, and for the rest of this week
into next week, we’re going to be scientists, and we’re going to be a special kind of
scientist called an astronomer! Does anyone think they know what an astronomer
does?”
 - Allow them to guess what astronomers do, and then tell them that astronomers study
‘astronomy’, which means outer space! Say: “So this week we’re going to be studying
space!”

Development/Teaching Approaches
- Have students watch the stars video, and instruct them to write down anything that
they find interesting from the video. Tell them that you will be asking them to share
some of their thoughts after the video, so they should write something down.
- After the video, allow the students a few minutes to talk with a partner about their
thoughts from the video, and then cold call on students to share out what they talked
about. (As they are talking with partners, listen in while you pull up the “What is a
Star” Powerpoint)
- As they share their thoughts on the video, the question “What is a Star?” will be up on
the screen. Direct them to answer this question, based off of what they learned from
the video.
- Hand out the guided note sheets for them to use as you go through the rest of the
powerpoint.
- On the slide that discusses how stars are categorized by temperature and color, make
the connection between the blue super giant and the red dwarf discussed in the
video. Ask: “which type of star is hotter?” “which type of star is more common?”
- Show them the different types of stars, and then ask them how we are able to see
stars in such detail? Transition into talking about telescopes.
- Ask: “How do telescopes work?”
- Start inquiry with a telescope building kit. Have the class sit in a circle on the carpet,
and have all of the pieces in the middle of the circle.
- Following the instructions for construction, put together the part of the telescope that
uses the convex lens. Define convex to the students, so that they understand what
the difference between the shape of the lenses is. Allow the students to examine
what that lens does. The convex lens makes things look bigger.
- Then put together the part of the telescope that uses the concave lens, defining
concave, and allow the students time to examine how the concave lens changes what
they see. The concave lens makes things look smaller
- Ask: “What do you think will happen when we put the two lenses together?” Allow
the students to guess what will happen when they put the pieces together and look
through both lenses. Ask them why they think what they think. A common guess is
that they will cancel each other out and things will look the right size, but students
may guess correctly, because they understand the purpose of a telescope.
- Put the pieces of the telescope together and let the students look through the
telescope one at a time, but don’t say anything yet. “Keep your observation locked up
in your head until everyone gets a chance to take a look!”
- After everyone has gotten to look through the telescope, ask what the telescope did
to the objects they saw through it. Answer: It made them really big!
- Say: “Right! Telescopes make things far away look bigger, so that we can see what
they look like better. There is a really famous telescope, called the “Hubble
 Telescope” that astronomers have used to find out new information about the stars
and other parts of our solar system and beyond.
- Split the class into small groups and give them inquiry sheets for exploring the Hubble
Space Telescope site.
- Give them time to explore the site and fill out the inquiry sheet. They will use their
inquiry sheet to have a short discussion with the whole class.
- Students will do an exit ticket at the end of class by themselves using their guided
note sheet and what they learned through the telescope inquiry.

Closure/Summarizing Strategies:
- Say: Today, we talked about the stars. And tomorrow, I’m gonna tell you about
another star. It looks really big and really bright from where we are. Does anyone
have any guesses as to what the star is that I’m talking about?”
- Allow them to talk to a partner for a minute and then make some guesses, and if they
don’t guess correctly tell them it’s the sun. Say: “The sun is a star too! And tomorrow
we’re going to learn about this star and how it affects daytime and nighttime!”

Accommodations/Differentiation:
- Student with slight visual impairment
- larger text on guided notes, inquiry sheet, and exit ticket
- enlarged screen for viewing the Hubble Space Telescope Site
Materials/Resources:
- handheld brass telescope
- Telescope building kit
- star video
- What is a Star? Powerpoint
- Guided Notes Sheet
- Hubble Telescope site
- Hubble Inquiry Sheet
- Exit Ticket

References
Cain, Fraser. “What Are The Different Types of Stars? - Universe Today.” Universe Today, 18
May 2016, www.universetoday.com/24299/types-of-stars/.
Enchanted Learning. “Star Classification.” Enchantedlearning.com,
www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/stars/startypes.shtml.
SciShow Kids. “What Are Stars?” YouTube, 21 Oct. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ZrS3Ye8p61Y. Accessed 13 Feb. 2019.
SG, Katie. “How to Make a Telescope.” Gift of Curiosity, 7 Nov. 2014,
www.giftofcuriosity.com/make-your-own-working-telescope-science-for-
kids/#_a5y_p=2793548. Accessed 21 Nov. 2020.
Reflective Response:
Report of Student Learning Target/Objectives Proficiency Levels

Remediation Plan (if applicable)

Personal Reflection Questions

Additional reflection/thoughts