LESSON PLAN

March 4th, 2021 STEM Building Challenge: Three Little Pigs 1

Date Lesson Title Grade Level
45 minutes Science 6
Time in Lesson Subject Lesson #
Shawna Muise
Developed by

IDENTIFY DESIRED RESULTS

Learner Outcomes from the Program of Studies
What are the SPECIFIC outcomes to be addressed in this lesson?

S12: I can manipulate materials and make observations that are relevant to questions asked.
S12: I can identify materials used.
AT1: I can demonstrate curiosity.

Objective in student-friendly language Assessment Strategies

What will students understand/experience/appreciate as a result of this What will I accept as evidence of learning/development? Have I employed
lesson? formative assessment? Do I make use of prior assessments in this lesson?

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to identify component Formative Assessment: informal observation to gauge student
parts of personally constructed objects, and describe the purpose of understanding.
each part.

Resources Personalization/Differentiation
What materials/resources/technology will be required? How will you attend to the needs of ALL learners in this lesson?

 Three Little Pigs book  For students who struggle to focus for extended periods of
 Toothpicks time, there will be a body break in between the story and the
 Marshmallows building challenge.
 File folder  For students who struggle to manipulate objects, they will be
invited to work at the back table for one-on-one assistance.
 For students who finish the challenge early, they will be
encouraged to build other features for their house: a fence,
Adapted from Wiggins, Grant & J. McTighe (1998)
 chimney, furniture, etc.

LESSON PLAN SEQUENCE

Introduction
How will you ACTIVATE prior knowledge and ENGAGE them in the lesson and how does this lesson connect to prior lessons?

 I will begin by asking students “Who has heard the story The Three Little Pigs?”.
 I will then enthusiastically explain that we are going to read the story and complete a building challenge afterwards.

Learning/Activity Sequence
How will students ENGAGE, EXPLORE, EXPLAIN, ELABORATE, and/or EVALUATE their understandings of the outcomes.

What is the TEACHER doing? What is your plan for the body of What are the STUDENTS doing? How are they engaged while
Approx. time
the lesson? What steps are taken during the lesson? you are teaching the lesson?
I am reading the book Three Little Pigs. Students are listening to the story. 5 minutes

I am facilitating a class discussion based on the following Students are actively participating in the class discussion. 5 minutes
questions:
 What happened to the little pigs’ houses?
 What were the houses made out of?
 What house was the strongest? Why?

I am inviting the star student to come to the front of the class Students are having a wiggle break. 3 minutes
and choose a wiggle break.

I am explaining the instructions for the STEM building Students are listening to the instructions and asking any 3 minutes
challenge: questions they may have.
 Each student will build a house for their little pig.
 The house needs to be strong enough to withstand the
blow from the big bad wolf.
 Consider what we discussed previously about having
a strong foundation: what can you do to make your
house as strong as possible?

Adapted from Wiggins, Grant & J. McTighe (1998)

I am circulating around the class to gauge students’ Students are building a house for their little pig. 10 minutes
understanding and to answer any questions they may have.

Conclusion
How will you ensure students walk away with a sense of understanding the PURPOSE of the lesson and its IMPORTANCE to their learning?

Once students have finished building their house, and it has been tested whether or not it can withstand the blow from the big bad wolf, we will have a
closing class discussion:
 What did you do to make your house as strong as possible?
 What shape is your house?
 What was hard?
 What was easy?
I am thanking students for their hard work and participation while collecting their materials.

PRE-SERVICE TEACHER SELF-REFLECTION

In your self- reflection of your lesson, please consider the following questions:

1. What went well in your lesson? What were the strengths of the lesson?
2. What are the areas that need to be refined? What might you do differently next time?
3. What are your next steps to further develop/ refine this lesson? How will you continue to grow in your practice? What actions
will you take?

These are additional questions that can help guide your response to the three self– reflection questions.

 How do you feel your students experienced this lesson?

 How were they able to make explicit and self-evaluate their growing understanding, skills and/or knowledge?
 How did you employ formative assessment for/of/as learning?
 Were you successful in reaching all students? How do you know? How did you accommodate for diverse learners and those
requiring accommodations?
 Were there opportunities to address Indigenous, multicultural and interdisciplinary activities and knowledge?

Adapted from Wiggins, Grant & J. McTighe (1998)

 This lesson went very well. By starting off by reading a familiar story, The Three Little Pigs, it immediately captured my students
attention.
 Also, because this was the first building challenge of the unit, I believe using the toothpicks and marshmallows was the perfect
introduction. By learning about the importance of having a strong foundation, it will ensure students will be more successful in their
future builds.
 Next time, I would make sure to reserve more time at the end of the lesson so that students have an opportunity to share what they
built with the class.

Adapted from Wiggins, Grant & J. McTighe (1998)