Lesson Plan for Preschool-Grade 2

Name Daysi Reinoso

Content What content area(s) does this lesson cover?

area(s)/developmental The content area this lesson covers is Science. Science is how babies learn about the world
domain(s) addressed around them because they are born with the desire to explore and investigate what’s unknown
to them. Thus, they come to our classroom with a few already-established science concepts, and
we as educators must design activities that tap into their curiosity and nurture their scientific
minds.
How does this lesson support all five domains of child development?
Language Domain: This lesson supports the students’ language domain by exposing them to new
vocabulary. Students will participate in discussions, allowing them to understand and utilize
these new concepts to describe and record their observations.
Physical Domain: Students will use their senses to investigate leaves. They will use their sense of
sight to observe how the leaves change color. They will use their sense of touch to feel the
texture of the leaves, and they will refine their fine motor skills when manipulating the tools
used for this investigation
Socio-emotional Domain: This lesson supports students’ socio-emotional development since
students will establish conversations with their peers to discuss their observations and share
tools and materials to conduct the experiment.
Cognitive Domain: Students will conduct a scientific experiment that will allow them to develop
a hypothesis, compare and contrast various leaves, explore the different tools and materials, and
lastly, determine a conclusion.
Brief description and Why is there a need for this lesson (include citation)?
rationale for the lesson Exposing our students to various experiments at a young age allows them to explore relevant
scientific concepts. Science experiments encourage curiosity and an innate desire to understand
how things work. Implementing science activities in the classroom enables students to build
essential skills such as prediction, data collection, observation, problem-solving, etc. However,
experiments like this not only allow for science concept comprehension but also literacy and
numeracy skills. As educators, we must design experiments that focus on the whole child
allowing students to establish and strengthen multiple skills for later education (Pelo, 2008)

This lesson is:
Timeframe
Objective(s) of the activity
Connections to guidelines/
standards/milestones
Language Objectives
Resources/materials needed:
(Include any worksheets or
sources of evidence for
Lesson Plan for Preschool-Grade 2
* A new concept/activity * A continuation of a previous lesson/activity
* A review of a previous * A conclusion of a concept
lesson/activity
Keep in mind appropriate length of an activity for preschool-aged children is 15-20 minutes, no
more than 45 mins for children K-2 grade)
This lesson will be conducted over two 20-minute sessions.
What will children know, or demonstrate as a result of this learning experience? SMART
OBJECTIVES
Lesson objectives must align with the assessment of student learning.
Students will be able to describe how leaves change color.
Students will be able to use the vocabulary learned.
Students will be able to execute a scientific experiment.
Which NYS Early Learning Guidelines or Next Generation ELA Standards are addressed? Are there
other standards used?
PK.AC.3 Demonstrates understanding of what is observed
PK.AC.4. Demonstrates a growing receptive vocabulary
What language/vocabulary, communication, or literacy skill(s) do I want my students to develop in
this lesson? Which academic language demands am I targeting? Choose one, including language
functions, vocabulary, syntax, or discourse that is central to this learning segment. How is this
activity using the specific language demand? Language objectives must align with the assessment
of children’s language learning.
This lesson targets vocabulary. Vocabulary comprehension is essential for the purpose of this
lesson because students will be exposed to new scientific concepts: Pigment and Chlorophyll.
Students need to have the ability to comprehend these new terms to conduct the experiment and
communicate their findings.
- Green leaves from different trees (oak and maple tree)
- Glass jars
- Paper coffee filter

children’s learning you will use
during the activity)
Technology inclusion (if
applicable)
Procedures (step by step)
Lesson Plan for Preschool-Grade 2
- Rubbing alcohol
- Spoon
- Printed pictures of students participating in our last activity (sorting)
Objective(s) SAME FROM ABOVE
Students will be able to describe how leaves change color.
Students will be able to use the vocabulary learned.
Students will be able to execute a scientific experiment.
Anticipatory Set (Connection/Motivation) What will you do to get children’s attention, or to
introduce children to this learning activity? Describe the process of getting them interested and
engaged.
I will invite students to join me in the meeting area. I will tap into the students' memory by
showing them pictures of them collecting leaves and sorting them in the classroom by color (our
last activity). I will show them pictures of their finished work and ask them what colors we
sorted our leaves by. Once everyone has had a chance to share, I will read the question written
on chart paper. I will say: “Now that we have had different first-hand experiences with leaves,
let’s answer this question: Why do leaves change color?” I will record the students' answers on
the same paper.
Instruction/Mini Lesson (Outline the procedures or sequence activities that will make up this
learning experience; for instance, you might follow a routine wherein you model (I try); and ask for
active involvement (we try) during a whole group session.
1. I will introduce the new vocabulary to students: Pigment and Chlorophyll. These words
will be written on chart paper with the first letter bolded, underlined, and in red color. I
will read the words and ask the students, “What do these words mean to you? ” and
record their answers. Then, I will briefly explain these words:
a. Chlorophyll: gives leaves their green color
b. Pigment: natural colors found in plants
2. I will explain to students that chlorophyll makes the leaves green and is so strong that it
covers up all the other pigments in leaves. I will say, “We will conduct an experiment that
will allow us to see what pigment the leaves would be without the chlorophyll.”
 Lesson Plan for Preschool-Grade 2
3. Then, I will bring attention to the prewritten step-by-step experiment that we will
conduct. The directions will be numbered and have pictures next to them. With the help
of students, I will briefly explain each step and remind students of the importance of
following directions.
a. Students will break the leaves into small pieces and put them in the glass jar.
b. The teacher will pour rubbing alcohol over the leaves until they are covered
c. Students will use a plastic spoon to mash and stir the leaves until they see the
alcohol turning slightly green.
d. Students will place the strip of coffee filter inside the jar. I will explain that the
alcohol will travel up, and the strip will take on the leaf's pigment with no
chlorophyll.
e. Let it sit for 45 minutes.
4. Students will conduct the experiment at their tables.
Independent Practice (small group activity, working with partners, or independently- You TRY)
I will separate students into small groups of 4, and each group will supervised by a teacher who
will help guide them through the experiment. Each group will investigate a leave from a different
tree: Oak and Maple. With the teacher's help, students will select someone who will help “read”
the instructions so everyone can follow. Once students finish the experiment, I will ask them to
predict what pigments the filters will show from the oak and maple trees. I will record their
answers. During our afternoon meeting, I will ask the students to join me in the meeting area
and display the jars for them to observe. I will ask them: “What do you see?” “What happened to
the filters?” After they all have had a chance to share, we will read our predictions and determine
if these were correct. Then, I will send them to their tables and ask them to record (draw) their
answers on white paper.
Closure (sharing/reflection, next steps)
I will ask them to join me in the meeting area. I will ask questions to reflect on what we learned
today: “What did we do today?” “What did we learn from this experiment?” “What happened to
the leaves when they were soaked in alcohol?” “How can you describe chlorophyll?” Then,
students will share their drawings and explain their reasoning.

Method of assessing children’s
understanding of
lesson/activity/objective(s)
(Be sure to include any tools,
rubrics/checklists and/or
worksheets you will use for
assessment(s)
Lesson Plan for Preschool-Grade 2
Pre-assessment Assessment of Student
Outline the steps you will take Learning Outline the steps you
to evaluate student’s prior will take to evaluate students’
knowledge(i.e., What are the learning. What evidence will I
skills and/or content have to assess whether students
knowledge the students need to have successfully achieved the
effectively engage in the content objectives (i.e., rubrics,
activity?). checklists)?
I will assess students’ prior I designed a rubric to help me
knowledge utilizing a evaluate students’ learning of
checklist. Please see below. scientific vocabulary acquisition.
I will use this rubric as students
share their findings and
participate in group discussions.
Assessment of Children’s
Language Learning
Outline the steps you will
take to evaluate students’
language learning. What
evidence will I have to assess
whether students have
successfully achieved the
content objectives?
I will assess students’
language learning during
the last group discussion
activity. I will observe and
take notes to determine if
the students could
comprehend the two
vocabulary words
introduced during the
activity. This will allow me
to see if the students can
meet the lesson’s objective
since they need to
understand them before
they use them to describe
the change in color of
leaves.

Plans for differentiated
instruction/instructional
modifications
Describe how you will support
struggling learners.
I will offer one-to-one
instruction to ensure all
students grasp the new concept.
Also, this lesson provides a
multisensory experience that
allows students to choose how
to approach the activity and
meet the lesson's objective.
Describe how you will support
learners who have mastered the
concepts and need additional
challenges.
To support learners who have
mastered the concept, I will
introduce more scientific
vocabulary and have students
make inferences about what
they mean.
Lesson Plan for Preschool-Grade 2
Supporting children with Supporting English Language Learners, a culturally
identified delays or responsive pedagogy, and anti-bias/anti-racist curriculum
disabilities (i.e., IEPs and 504 What modifications should I make to the activity to ensure all
plans) students are included and engaged in all steps required to meet
To support students with the lesson’s objectives?
identified delays or Before the lesson, I will ask parents to help translate the
disabilities, I will provide vocabulary words in their language and create picture cards to
visual aids. Also, I will follow display during the lesson. Also, I can look for cognates to use
their IEPs or 504 Plans. when conducting the experiment to ensure students
comprehend the lesson and its purpose.
What considerations should I
keep in mind regarding cultural
relevance, age appropriateness,
and ability levels for all
learners?
To support my students’
cultural diversity, I will tap
into their prior knowledge
about how seasons vary in
different countries. (lesson #1)
I will ask them questions such
as: If there are no seasons in
Ecuador, what do you think
happens to the leaves? I will
record their answers to come
back to it if necessary.
 Lesson Plan for Preschool-Grade 2
Follow up/Extension activities How can I provide an opportunity to remediate, reinforce, or expand on students’ learning today in
class?
I will conduct the same experiments with leaves from different trees. Students will observe how
Family Engagement Activities the coffee filters take different colors depending on the tree the leaves come from.
How can I support families in extending the learning in their home environment?
Parents will be invited to collect leaves with their children and conduct experiments. I will
provide a couple of simple at-home experiments that parents could do with accessible materials.
I will provide handouts with step-by-step instructions, pictures, and even some questions
parents can ask to further their children’s understanding.

INCLUDE ASSESSMENT TEMPLATES

● FOR PRE-ASSESSMENT
● QUANTITATIVE
● QUALITATIVE
 Lesson Plan for Preschool-Grade 2

● FOR PRE-ASSESSMENT

Checklist
Student’s name: __________________________ Date: ______________________________

Yes No Comments

Participates in questions focused on the inquiry

Infers and predicts

Demonstrates understanding of the inquiry

Remembers past experiences

Demonstrates interest and curiosity

Participates in group discussion

Takes turns during activities

Follows directions
 Lesson Plan for Preschool-Grade 2

● QUANTITATIVE

Student’s name: __________________________ Date: ______________________________

Science
Grade: Preschool

Directions: Select the score from the category that best reflects student’s performance.

Category: Conducting an investigation

Objectives:
Students will be able to describe how leaves change color.
Students will be able to use the vocabulary learned.

Emerging 1 Developing 2 Satisfactory 3 Proficient 4

I can briefly describe how I can describe how leaves I can describe how leaves I can describe how leaves
leaves change color with no change color with some change color with details, change color in detail,
details. details. utilizing one vocabulary utilizing both vocabulary
word learned. words learned

Student’s Score _______________

 Lesson Plan for Preschool-Grade 2
Objective:
Students will be able to execute a scientific experiment.

Emerging 1 Developing 2 Satisfactory 3 Proficient 4

I am still learning to follow I can follow some steps to I can follow step by step to I can remain on track
steps to execute the execute the experiment execute the experiment throughout the experiment
experiment and follow all steps to
execute it

Student’s Score _______________

Teacher’s comments:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________