TEP 523 NGSS 5E Life Science Lesson Plan

Author: Hannah Carlisle

Subject/grade level: 2nd

Materials:
For teacher instruction
● Two green plants
● Water
● Sunlight
● Ruler
● Dark Area
● Hypothesis and Result Sheets
For individuals
● iPads
● Worksheets -
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VSQ6dq3x3PHNsvk7PA9q2fdMcv_8PcM0W8lmj
SMLwfs/edit?usp=sharing

Performance Expectation(s):

2-LS2-1 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow.

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):

LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

● Plants depend on water and light to grow.

Science and Engineering Practice(s):

Planning and Carrying Out Investigations:

Planning and carrying out investigations to answer questions or test solutions to problems in
K–2 builds on prior experiences and progresses to simple investigations, based on fair tests,
which provide data to support explanations or design solutions.
● Plan and conduct an investigation collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis
for evidence to answer a question.

Crosscutting Concept(s):

Cause and Effect

● Events have causes that generate observable patterns.
 Engagement: Opening Activity – Access Prior Learning / Stimulate Interest / Generate

I will play this song for my students so we can introduce the needs of a plant in an engaging
way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-l-gsWOKzk

Questions:
What do we know about plants and what they need?
What parts of the plant serve a purpose?

Engagement/Access Prior Learning:

Generate Questions: We will discuss how we can test if plants really need sunlight and water
to survive. I will ask students how we might test this. I will have students come up with an
experiment, with my guidance, to test if plants need sunlight and water to survive. We will
write out the steps to our experiment on butcher paper so that we can remember this over the
week as we continue to test our hypothesis.

Stimulate Interest: I will bring out the two plants that I have bought that are exactly the same.
We will go through each of the following steps.

Step 1: Create a hypothesis: I think that Plant B (the one without sun and water) will ____.
Step 2: Measure our plants and observe how they look before the experiment.
Step 3: Place one plant in the sun and water it, place one in the dark and do not water.
Step 4: Check our plants in 4 days and observe the difference between plants.
(Step 5: If needed, wait a few more days to observe.)

Exploration: Lesson Description – Materials Needed / Probing or Clarifying Questions:

Groups of students will come up and measure/observe the starting point of each plant. They will
fill in the before experiment section for each plant as they observe. While students are waiting to
observe, they will fill out their hypothesis portion of the worksheet using the sentence starter and
making a prediction about both plants.

Ask the class open-ended questions based on the activity:

● Why do you think your hypothesis is correct?
● How do you think Plant A will look after four days? Plant B?
Explanation: Concepts Explained and Vocabulary Defined:
After we wait a few days to observe results:

I will put both plants on display in front of my students. We will fill out a venn diagram on the
board as a class. We will fill out the after experiment portion as a class. I will measure each
plant and we can compare them to our starting results. We will observe how they look and
write it in our venn diagram.

I will ask students to raise their hand if they hypothesized that Plant B would die/wilt. I will
ask students to raise their hand if they hypothesized that Plant A would live/grow.

Elaboration: Applications and Extensions:

Assemble the students as a whole group and ask:

● Why did Plant B wilt and Plant A survive?

● What do we know plants need in order to survive based on our experiment?
● What if we brought in different kinds of plants, what might happen? Would our results
change?
Evaluation:
Students will use iPads to draw a poster on their Whiteboard App about what plants need to
survive, as if they are going to show this to someone who does not know. I will assess them
and check to see if they include the two things we learned that plants need and they can be as
creative as they want in sharing that information. They can add pictures from online to their
creations and I will print them out to hang around our class when they are finished.
 TEP 523 NGSS 5E Physical Science Lesson Plan

Author: Hannah Carlisle

Subject/grade level: 2nd

Materials:
For groups (3-4)
● Groups 1 and 2 - Noodles and Tape
● Groups 3 and 4 - Legos and Tape
● Groups 5 and 6 - Newspapers and Tape
● Groups 7 and 8 - Popsicle Sticks and Tape
For teacher instruction
● Popsicle Stick and Tape Tower
● Document Camera
● Pictures of buildings
For individuals
● Laptop

Performance Expectation(s):
2-PS1-2 Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials
have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):

PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter
● Different properties are suited to different purposes.

Science and Engineering Practice(s):

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Analyzing data in K–2 builds on prior experiences and progresses to collecting, recording, and
sharing observations.
● Analyze data from tests of an object or tool to determine if it works as intended.

Crosscutting Concept(s):

Cause and Effect

● Simple tests can be designed to gather evidence to support or refute student ideas
about causes.

Engagement: Opening Activity – Access Prior Learning / Stimulate Interest / Generate

Questions:

Engagement/Access Prior Learning: I will read the story of the Three Little Pigs. We will
 discuss the different types of materials that the pigs use.

Generate Questions: I will ask students if all of the buildings were made out of the same
materials? I will ask them to tell me the kinds of materials they saw. I will then stretch their
thinking and ask if they know why different materials might have been used?

Stimulate Interest:
I will tell the students that we will be creating different towers out of different materials but
that they should all look the same. Each table will get different supplies to work with, however
everyone will have masking tape. A few tables will have newspapers, a few will have legos, a
few will have noodles, and a few will have popsicle sticks. Students will need to work with
their tables to create their structures to look like the model I have shown.

(Something simple like this basic square design, but with their provided materials)

Exploration: Lesson Description – Materials Needed / Probing or Clarifying Questions:

After everyone has made their towers, we will make predictions of which ones will be strong
enough to hold our reading book on it. We will take a class vote on each structure once students
have seen each. One at a time, I will place a book on each tower and we will see how sturdy
each material was.

Ask the class open-ended questions based on the activity:

● What did you notice about each tower? Was each tower strong enough to hold up the
book?
● Why do you think the towers couldn’t all hold the book if they were all built with the
same design?
● What types of materials worked the best? Which worked the least?
Explanation: Concepts Explained and Vocabulary Defined:
I will explain to my students that different materials work better for different jobs. As we saw
with our towers, certain materials worked great for holding up our book, and some materials
did not work at all. I will remind them that certain materials we used are perfect for other
situations, but not suitable for holding up a heavy book.

I will write on the board that materials are defined as the matter from which something is
made.
Elaboration: Applications and Extensions:
Ask students:
● If you were to do this project again, what materials would you want to use so your tower
would be strong enough to hold a book?
● Why do you think we need to know what materials serve different purposes?
● If we were to do a project about moving water from one side of the class to the other,
what type of tool would you want to use to help you accomplish the task? Why?
Evaluation:
Students will log onto their computers to complete a Kahoot about different situations and
select which material would be appropriate for each situation. This will prove to me that they
understand we need to choose different materials based on what we need to accomplish.
https://create.kahoot.it/details/da53c48c-9571-40fc-9e72-b662ffdf7b02
 TEP 523 NGSS 5E Earth Science Lesson Plan

Author: Hannah Carlisle

Subject/grade level: 2nd

Materials:
For each group (3-4)
● sand castle
● popsicle sticks
● cotton balls
● toothpicks
● small rocks
● tray
● 1 iPad
For teacher instruction
● Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-43_HBy9huc
● Same materials as student grouping to model under document camera
● Whiteboard
For individuals
● blank paper

Performance Expectation(s): 2-ESS2-1. Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or

prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land.

Disciplinary Core Idea(s): ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems Wind and water can change
the shape of the land. (2- ESS2-1)
Science and Engineering Practice(s):
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Constructing explanations and designing
solutions in K–2 builds on prior experiences and progresses to the use of evidence and ideas in
constructing evidence-based accounts of natural phenomena and designing solutions.
● Make observations from several sources to construct an evidence-based account for
natural phenomena. (2-ESS1-1)
● Compare multiple solutions to a problem. (2-ESS2-1)
Crosscutting Concept(s):
Patterns Patterns in the natural world can be observed. (2-ESS2-2),(2-ESS2-3)

Engagement: Opening Activity – Access Prior Learning / Stimulate Interest / Generate

Questions:

Engagement/Access Prior Learning: Prior to this lesson, students will have observed erosion
from both wind and water. I will show them this video about water and wind erosion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-43_HBy9huc. This will set them up for the lesson where
they will be brainstorming ideas to stop this erosion.
 Generate Questions: I will inform them that we will be creating a model of how erosion
occurs just like we witnessed in the video. Students will share what they learned about erosion
from the video. I will begin to ask them, what can we do to prevent this from happening to our
land? Are there times when we don’t want the land to change from water or wind?

Stimulate Interest: We will conduct an activity where each table will receive a sand castle,
popsicle sticks, cotton balls, toothpicks, and small rocks in a tray. I will model selecting a few
different materials to try to defend my castle from both water and wind. I will write the steps
on the board for how students should create their structures.

Step 1: Brainstorm how to protect your sand castle from wind and water on paper with your
group.
Step 2: Put materials around your sand castle with your team.

After students brainstorm their structures and protect their sand castles, I will model steps 3
and 4 on the board.

Step 3: Pour water around your castle and see if you protected it successfully.
Step 4: Use your straws to model wind and see how your protections work.

Student groups will use an iPad to record their water and wind erosion to be shared with the
class later.
Exploration: Lesson Description – Materials Needed / Probing or Clarifying Questions:
I will have groups come up one at a time and show us what happened to their sand castles when
the water and wind were added. We will observe and discuss the different solutions groups came
up with.

Ask the class open-ended questions based on the activity and videos:
● What did you notice about the materials you used to protect your castle? Did they work?
Why or why not?
● What happened to your castle when the water was added? the wind?
● What types of materials and strategies seemed to help protect the best?
Explanation: Concepts Explained and Vocabulary Defined:
Ask students what they think happened in the experiment (ex. erosion). Allow different
students to share so that we have a variety of answers to think about. Explain what erosion
means and write the definition on the board. Discuss in detail the two types of erosion that we
just witnessed through our sand castle protection activity. Show a few pictures of real-life
solutions to prevent erosion.
Elaboration: Applications and Extensions:
Assemble the students as a whole group and ask:

● What are the two types of erosion that can occur?

● What are the best solutions to protecting land from wind and water?
● Why do you think brainstorming these solutions is important?
Evaluation: Ask students to draw (on the back of their paper) another way they would protect
their sand castle after discussing it as a class and completing the activity. They should use
ideas from other students, their experience, and real-life images. Have a few students share
their drawings under the document camera.