CONTENT: Fifth Grade
- Demonstrates a clear understanding of the content being taught.
- Elicits students' prior knowledge and makes connections to new concepts.
- Uses multiple representations to illustrate crucial concepts.
- Discusses multiple viewpoints, theories, and methods of inquiry important to the understanding of the discipline.
- Selects curricular materials that are accurate, in-depth, comprehensive, and appealing to the students.
- Seeks out and uses supplementary materials that go beyond the text.
- Develops and teaches interdisciplinary lessons as part of a larger unit.
- Seeks out and uses other resources/research to develop content expertise.
Description & Rationale
Prior to receiving my internship assignments, I had requested a fifth or sixth grade science class placement. While I am interested in teaching a variety of subjects, I have a particular fondness for science. After all, I graduated cum laude from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Sciences in Microbiology. It was my intent to teach a science unit in either my first or second placement.
Within a week of starting in Robin Paul’s class, I picked-up science as my first teaching subject and proceeded to teach a chapter on introductory physics with special emphasis on Newton’s Laws of motion and simple machines. Based upon my experience teaching this chapter and my subsequent conversations with Mrs. Paul, we determined that I would build my science unit around the next chapter in the science textbook. This chapter, entitled Changing Forms of Energy, focused on the nature and different forms of energy such as light energy, sound energy, and thermal energy.
In addition to teaching the content of this chapter, I wanted to accomplish four more specific goals.
1.) A pattern had emerged indicating that science was the lowest grade for just about every student in the fifth grade. The teachers attributed this pattern to the difficulty of the textbook. The textbook is rather challenging even for the most advanced of fifth-grade readers. Accordingly, it was one of my goals to assist the students in their reading comprehension of the science textbook’s content.
2.) With the increased emphasis on generating test data and making time for progress monitoring, most teachers seem to be pressed for time when teaching in the classroom. This is most evident in the absence of science labs and science-based activities that allow the students to DO science. In designing and implementing my unit, it was imperative for me to incorporate as many hands-on activities that I could that would reinforce or demonstrate the science theories addressed in the textbook.
3.) To add interest, extend content, and promote higher-order thinking, teaching across the curriculum seems warranted. As I contemplated the details for this unit, I sought ways to include history, math, reading, music, and the visual arts.
4.) Oftentimes, science lessons are passive experiences for students. These types of lessons might include reading the textbook, lecturing, providing worksheets for the students to complete, and/or showing educational videos relevant to the content addressed. These teaching options are fine, as long as they are balanced by opportunities for the students to actively engage in the learning process. Therefore, my final goal was to design and implement a unit plan that required, encouraged, and rewarded students for actively engaging in their own learning.
Within a week of starting in Robin Paul’s class, I picked-up science as my first teaching subject and proceeded to teach a chapter on introductory physics with special emphasis on Newton’s Laws of motion and simple machines. Based upon my experience teaching this chapter and my subsequent conversations with Mrs. Paul, we determined that I would build my science unit around the next chapter in the science textbook. This chapter, entitled Changing Forms of Energy, focused on the nature and different forms of energy such as light energy, sound energy, and thermal energy.
In addition to teaching the content of this chapter, I wanted to accomplish four more specific goals.
1.) A pattern had emerged indicating that science was the lowest grade for just about every student in the fifth grade. The teachers attributed this pattern to the difficulty of the textbook. The textbook is rather challenging even for the most advanced of fifth-grade readers. Accordingly, it was one of my goals to assist the students in their reading comprehension of the science textbook’s content.
2.) With the increased emphasis on generating test data and making time for progress monitoring, most teachers seem to be pressed for time when teaching in the classroom. This is most evident in the absence of science labs and science-based activities that allow the students to DO science. In designing and implementing my unit, it was imperative for me to incorporate as many hands-on activities that I could that would reinforce or demonstrate the science theories addressed in the textbook.
3.) To add interest, extend content, and promote higher-order thinking, teaching across the curriculum seems warranted. As I contemplated the details for this unit, I sought ways to include history, math, reading, music, and the visual arts.
4.) Oftentimes, science lessons are passive experiences for students. These types of lessons might include reading the textbook, lecturing, providing worksheets for the students to complete, and/or showing educational videos relevant to the content addressed. These teaching options are fine, as long as they are balanced by opportunities for the students to actively engage in the learning process. Therefore, my final goal was to design and implement a unit plan that required, encouraged, and rewarded students for actively engaging in their own learning.
Fifth Grade Science Unit - Plan Overview
Primary Content Source: Scott Foresman Science/Alabama 5th Grade Volume 2
Chapter 14 “Changing Forms of Energy” pages 441A-472
Alabama Course of Studies Objectives: Science (Physical Science)
4.) Describe forms of energy, including chemical, heat, light, and mechanical.
• Identifying types of potential and kinetic energy
• Identifying the transfer of energy by conduction, convection, and radiation
5.) Contrast ways in which light rays are bent by concave and convex lenses.
• Describing how a prism forms a visible spectrum
• Explaining why different objects have different colors
• Describing how mirrors reflect light
Overview of Unit Plan:
* Each student will have a science notebook.
* Students may decorate the front covers of their science notebooks however they wish, or not at all, as long as it is school appropriate.
* At each lesson, distribute notes for that day’s lesson. The notes will be based upon the content in the student textbook and the teacher’s manual. Additional materials will also be used as resources. Some notes will have fill-in-the-blank sections that the students must complete as a part of their lesson engagement. Some notes will be complete, but distribute yellow highlighters for students to use.
* Display notes on the ELMO/ActiveBoard for all students to see.
* Emphasize important points with bolded, underlined, or colored fonts.
* Graphics should be included as much as possible for Visual Learners; this includes pictures, diagrams, charts, graphic organizers, etc. Select graphic organizers that will assist in reading comprehension.
* Just about every lesson should begin with a question relevant to that day’s lesson or the previous day’s lesson as a quick review/formative assessment.
* Notes should contain scaffolded questions that encourage critical thinking skills pursuant to Bloom’s Taxonomy.
* Once primary concepts are addressed, provide exercises where students must apply or generalize concepts learned to new situations.
* Encourage students to ask questions and engage the class in whole group discussions. Also provide opportunities for students to pair/share and participate in small group activities.
* Incorporate laboratory lessons and other types of hands-on activities that demonstrate or reinforce science concepts and terminology.
* Integrate cross-curricular activities whenever possible, such as math, history, visual arts, music, and literacy.
* Integrate technology when possible, most notably through BrainPop videos and exercises.
* Implement ticket system as Positive Behavioral Support system for encouraging desirable conduct and productive engagement in the learning process.
* Coordinate with reading teacher about leveled readers that correspond with this science chapter.
* Students should read the textbook pages pertinent to the upcoming lesson BEFORE the lesson is taught.
* Homework will be assigned on some nights that will include, but are not limited to, workbook pages.
Chapter 14 “Changing Forms of Energy” pages 441A-472
Alabama Course of Studies Objectives: Science (Physical Science)
4.) Describe forms of energy, including chemical, heat, light, and mechanical.
• Identifying types of potential and kinetic energy
• Identifying the transfer of energy by conduction, convection, and radiation
5.) Contrast ways in which light rays are bent by concave and convex lenses.
• Describing how a prism forms a visible spectrum
• Explaining why different objects have different colors
• Describing how mirrors reflect light
Overview of Unit Plan:
* Each student will have a science notebook.
* Students may decorate the front covers of their science notebooks however they wish, or not at all, as long as it is school appropriate.
* At each lesson, distribute notes for that day’s lesson. The notes will be based upon the content in the student textbook and the teacher’s manual. Additional materials will also be used as resources. Some notes will have fill-in-the-blank sections that the students must complete as a part of their lesson engagement. Some notes will be complete, but distribute yellow highlighters for students to use.
* Display notes on the ELMO/ActiveBoard for all students to see.
* Emphasize important points with bolded, underlined, or colored fonts.
* Graphics should be included as much as possible for Visual Learners; this includes pictures, diagrams, charts, graphic organizers, etc. Select graphic organizers that will assist in reading comprehension.
* Just about every lesson should begin with a question relevant to that day’s lesson or the previous day’s lesson as a quick review/formative assessment.
* Notes should contain scaffolded questions that encourage critical thinking skills pursuant to Bloom’s Taxonomy.
* Once primary concepts are addressed, provide exercises where students must apply or generalize concepts learned to new situations.
* Encourage students to ask questions and engage the class in whole group discussions. Also provide opportunities for students to pair/share and participate in small group activities.
* Incorporate laboratory lessons and other types of hands-on activities that demonstrate or reinforce science concepts and terminology.
* Integrate cross-curricular activities whenever possible, such as math, history, visual arts, music, and literacy.
* Integrate technology when possible, most notably through BrainPop videos and exercises.
* Implement ticket system as Positive Behavioral Support system for encouraging desirable conduct and productive engagement in the learning process.
* Coordinate with reading teacher about leveled readers that correspond with this science chapter.
* Students should read the textbook pages pertinent to the upcoming lesson BEFORE the lesson is taught.
* Homework will be assigned on some nights that will include, but are not limited to, workbook pages.
Day OneIntroduction to Unit
* Administer pre-test. (This was actually done the day before.) * Distribute notebooks. * Explain process & expectations for taking notes & maintaining notebooks. * Explain ticket system & expectations for conduct and work ethic. * Explain that students may create personalized design for notebook cover. * Discuss rocket picture in notebook and pose the following question: WHAT FORMS OF ENERGY ARE HAPPENING IN THIS PICTURE? WHAT IS ENERGY? * Review "I CAN" statements at beginning of notebook. * Introduce graphic organizer that will be used throughout the unit. * Distribute and cover notes on "What is Energy?" * Distribute, discuss, and complete flow chart on Fireworks energy. * Conduct quick picture walk on pages 442-443 of textbook. * Review basic vocabulary for unit. Transformation of Energy in Fireworks flow chart (Items above and below in blue font are links to relevant pdf documents. To return to this webpage, hit the back arrow.) |
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Day TwoLaboratory Lesson #1
* Distribute notes on "Kinetic Energy" and post on ELMO/ActiveBoard * Pose scaffolded questions from the notes to engage class discussion. (Teacher notes with filled in blanks.) * Prepare for Lab activity: post group members on ELMO with assignments. Explain responsibilities of each team member. * Review procedures for lab and relevant documents. * Distribute materials and check equipment and safety precautions. * Request hypothesis from each group and basis for hypothesis. * Allow groups to work on lab activity. * Walk about the room to monitor progress, collaboration, and assist as needed. * Students should record results and data on appropriate documents. * As a class, discuss results of experiment and analyze data. * Pose questions such as "What happened?" and "Why?" "Did the results support or refute your group's hypothesis?" "What, if any, is the connection between kinetic energy & thermal energy?" * At end of class, have students clean up work areas and return all materials. |
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Day ThreeLaboratory Lesson #2
* Pose review questions from previous lessons. * Distribute notes on "Kinetic vs. Potential Energy." * Display teacher notes on ELMO as material is discussed. * Emphasize examples and graphics on final page of notes. * Review procedures for The Ball Drop Experiment. * Display materials and demonstrate steps. * Take all students outside for experiment. * Have students suggest hypotheses for the experiment and allow students to vote on the best hypothesis. * Let all students take turns at dropping the ball and/or measuring the bounce height. * Make sure students record data consistently on provided Data Sheets. * When all data is collected, return to the classroom. * Have students calculate data according to the format of the Data Sheets. Students should graph results. * Engage students in class discussion about analyzing the data. "What do these numbers signify? Examine your graph. What is the relationship between the ball's drop height and its resulting bounce height? What does this say about potential and kinetic energy? Why are the numbers not equal? As energy transformed from potential energy to kinetic energy, some energy was lost. Where did it go?" See also questions in notes. * Teacher Graph and Completed Data Sheets * Homework: WB p. 140 "What is Energy?" |
Day FourBrainPop & Other Internet Sites
* Review previous day's concepts about potential and kinetic energy. * Finish section on chemical and nuclear energy from notes. * Review homework assignment for today. * Remind students to get started on their Leveled Readers for the chapter. * Have students watch BrainPop animated movies on potential and kinetic energy and take quizzes. * Show computer simulation sites. * BrainPop http://www.brainpop.com * Show Rollercoaster physics from How Stuff Works http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/roller-coaster3.htm * Another rollercoaster simulation: http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/mck05_int_rollercoaster/ * Review Amusement Park Physics http://www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics/coaster.html * Students will use this site in computer lab tomorrow to build a rollercoaster based upon the physics of potential and kinetic energy. |
Day FiveWhat is Sound Energy?
* Distribute notecards and have students describe sounds they have heard over the last 24 hours using onomatopoeias. Then, have students define what sound is. Instruct students to share their responses in pair/share before the class discussion begins. * Play the Scott Foresman Audiotext CD for this lesson that covers pages 454-457 in the student textbook. Students should follow along while listening. This process will assist struggling readers and auditory learners. * After the CD concludes, pose reading/listening comprehension questions and scaffolded questions from TE pp. 454-457. * Distribute notes for lesson and display on ELMO as material is discussed. Teacher notes are here. * For fill-in-the-blank responses, call on students to come to the ActiveBoard and write in the appropriate response. * Have students come to the front of the class and assist in the slinky/sound waves demonstration pursuant to the class notes. * Use a guitar to illustrate the fact that sound is vibrations. Play strings at different pitches and volumes. Make connection between intensity of kinetic energy used to pluck string and decibel level of sound. Move about the room with the guitar and allow students to pluck strings and feel vibrations. When vibration stops, so does the sound. Allow the students to have some hands-on, discovery time. * End lesson with James playing the violin for the class. * Homework: WB p. 141 "What is Sound Energy?" |
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Day SixWhat is Light Energy?
* Distribute notes on Light Energy and display on ELMO. * Emphasize the Compare/Contrast chart between sound waves & light waves. This is also a good review on the previous lesson about sound. * Distribute materials about the electromagnetic spectrum from NASA. http://missionscience.nasa.gov/ http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/ems/index.html * Emphasize the relationship between wavelength, frequency, and amount of energy. (EX: long wavelength, low frequency, less energy or the 3 Ls). Use slinky to illustrate. * Show BrainPop video on Electromagnetic Spectrum and distribute activity materials. Students may work in groups to complete. * Homework: Complete "Wavestown" diagram. |
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Day SevenLaboratory Lesson #3 How Does Light Move & Behave?
* Hold up a glass with water and a spoon. Ask the students what they see. Why is the spoon bent? * Briefly discuss refraction and the concept of light "bending" when it strikes materials or passes through materials. * Compare how light acts when it hits a mirror, window glass, or a wall. * Explain that light does not really bend. Light always travels in a straight line. But, light changes direction or angle when it strikes an object or other material. * Distribute notes on How Does Light Move & Behave. * Emphasize how light behaves when it hits a prism and that we see different wavelengths of visible light as color. * Emphasize the Compare/Contrast between convex and concave lenses. Highlight diagrams in notes. * Introduce Herschel experiment with Cool Cosmos website and Power Point. http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/index.html * Display materials, distribute Data Sheets, and go outside to begin demonstration experiment. * When results are in, go inside, calculate results, and discuss what they mean. Why did the temperatures vary so much? Why do the different colors indicate different temperatures? How did this experiment help Herschel discover infrared light? Refer back to concepts covered in previous lesson on the electromagnetic spectrum. How does visible light compare to infrared light with respect to wavelength, frequency, and energy level? * Homework: WB p. 142 "What is Light Energy?" |
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Day EightWhat is Thermal Energy?
* Distribute notes on Thermal Energy and display on ELMO. * Cover critical thinking questions at end of notes. * Refer back to first experiment conducted with shaking the sand. * Discuss experiment illustrated on pages 462-463 of the textbook. * Show Brainpop videos on Heat and Forms of Energy. Have students take related quizzes. * Allow time for students to take AR tests on leveled readers if needed. * Distribute Study Guide for test and announce test date. * Homework: WB p. 144 Math in Science "Using Speed to Estimate Distance and Time" |
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Day NineHeat Transfer: Conduction, Convection, & Radiation
* Set-up Lava Lamp in advance so that it will be active by the time class begins. Ask students if they can explain how the lava lamp works based upon their observations. If they have read the textbook in advance, they will be able to answer this question. * Explain that the three main types of heat transfer all work in conjunction to make the lava lamp work. * Distribute notes on Heat Transfer and display on ELMO. * Emphasize chart that compares the three types of heat transfer. Let students know that they will be required to identify, define, and give examples of heat transfer via conduction, convection, and radiation. * Use examples from the book and the popcorn examples. * Homework: WB p. 143 "What is Thermal Energy?" |
Day TenReview Unit with Study Guide to Prepare for Exam
* Display Study Guide on the ELMO/ActiveBoard. Conduct review as whole class discussion. Have students refer to Science notebooks and textbook for answers. * Remind students that they will receive bonus points on the exam if they submit a completed Study Guide attached to their exams. * Homework: WB p. 213-214 "Science in Pictures" on Electromagnetic Spectrum and Heat Transfer. |
Day ElevenHeat Transfer Foldable and Review Game (Family Feud Style)
* Distribute pre-measured and marked construction paper of various colors. The paper should be 9x12 inches. * Demonstrate how to fold and staple the paper so that it is segmented into three sections and each section has a pocket. * Label the top with "Heat Transfer" * Label each pocket with one of the three methods of heat transfer: Conduction, Convection, and Radiation. * Distribute blank business cards to each student, 6 cards per student. * Avery makes perforated sheets of blank business cards that can be purchased at Office Depot. * Each student should do the following: Two cards should go into each pocket. Student should write a definition on one card and an example on the second card for each type of heat transfer. Then, the student may draw a picture that illustrates an example. Write name and number on back. * Provide other types of craft materials such as scissors, glue stick, colored pencils, decorative paper, etc. * Once foldables are complete, play review game. * Divide the class into two teams and play Family Feud type of game. Post questions on ELMO/ActiveBoard and have students write responses on ActiveBoard. Award points to the teams. Link back to Fifth Grade Unit - Assessment page that discusses this lesson and the Heat Transfer Foldable Project in more detail. |
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Day Twelve |
Reflection
This unit required a lot of time, effort, and money in planning and implementation. I do not regret using science notebooks, but I was at home or Kinkos making copies all of the time. This unit also had three experiments and a crafts project that required me to be extremely organized with materials and in expressing procedures and processes. I did lots of modeling in this lesson, which of course is good, I think. The ticket system, about which I was unsure, was more successful than I anticipated. The students liked it, and most of them worked enthusiastically to earn them. I incorporated some interesting technology with some of the internet sites I found and I gave the students plenty of assignments that assisted me in formative assessments. I am also pleased with how I integrated "non-science" things into the unit. I really like the fact that one of the students graciously agreed to play the violin for us during the lesson on sound. He was quite good. Recreating the Herschel experiment from 1800 allowed me to sneak in a little bit of history. In good Dr. O'Brien fashion, I brought in lots of realia: a guitar, a glass of water with an inserted spoon, a lava lamp, prisms, and a homemade catapult to name a few. I used different types of graphic organizers to help the students understand and organize information. And, as the assessment data reveals, I taught all of them something; and some of them quite a bit of complex science. For the most part, I think I met the goals I have listed above. Was there room for improvement? Yes. Some lessons were more interesting than others and I felt rushed toward the end. As the assessment data will show, there is some content that I would go back and reteach. There were some concepts toward the end of the unit that I rushed through for a variety of reasons, and I think some of the children did not get a good handle on that content accordingly. I managed to get in the Family Feud-like review game and that was good, and we did lots of other fun things. I am happy with how this unit progressed.