Week 2 Lesson Plan: The Scientific Method Poster

1. TITLE OF LESSON

·   Construction of Scientific Design Posters

    Block Day: 2 hours

               

2. CURRICULUM AREA & GRADE LEVEL

·         Biology, 9^th & 10^th grade

·                                                                      Unit 1:TheScientific  Method

3. STUDENT INFORMATION

·         32-34 students per class

A. English Language Learners

1.) Readiness Level

·         3-5 students per class are EL learners (7 total), level 3

                2.) Learning Profile

·         Auditory and Kinesthetic Learners

                3.) Interests

·         Football, soccer, sports, family, Mexican food, friends

               

       B. Students with Special Education Needs

·         2 students:  

2.) Learning Profile

·         Both are auditory and kinesthetic learners. They learn best through listening to the teacher, working in groups, and hands-on activities.

3.) Interests

·         E. plays the clarinet in the school band and enjoys playing basketball.

·         C. is very quiet; he enjoys playing sports, socializing, and video games.

4. RATIONALE

A. Enduring Understanding

·         Understanding how to apply the scientific method to real-life problems in essential in developing critical thinking skills. Students will learn about the scientific method and experimental design and demonstrate understanding by creating posters in groups. They will also learn to identify independent and dependent variables for various experiments. This will help students develop effective group collaboration practices, form peer-teaching skills, and stimulate group discussion.

B. Essential Questions

·         What are the steps of the scientific method and what do they mean?

·         What are the independent variable, dependent variable, control group, and experimental group in different experiments?

·         Based on an observation or problem, how can I develop a testable hypothesis?

·         Based on this hypothesis, how can I design my own experiment, using appropriate variables and controls?

·         How can I apply the scientific method to real-life problems and make educated inferences?

C. Instructional Strategies & Student Activities

·         Rationale:

o   All too often, people believe what they see and hear because it’s printed in the media or on television. Students can be taught to ask themselves, “Is that true?”, “Why is that true?”, and “Are there other possibilities for that explanation?” so that as they grow into adults, they will learn how to critically reason through real-life problems, using logic and the scientific method. Students will be able to formulate their own hypotheses based on their observations. Then, students will be able to design a simple, controlled experiment based on their hypotheses.

·         Instructional Strategies:

o   Content:

§  Provide content on the scientific method and experimental design, using several, short, interactive powerpoint presentations. These powerpoints will be chunked into short segments, over the course of 2 weeks. That way, the presentations can be better integrated into labs and other activities to engage the students and check for understanding along the way.

§  Students will take Cornell notes to learn active listening strategies and effective note-taking skills.

§  Every 3 slides, a slide with 2-3 questions is embedded. Teachers will prompt students to respond to these questions, using “think-pair-share”.

o   Process:

§  Teacher will provide students with instructions on how to create their posters by passing out a handout, containing directions and a rubric. Students will also receive a graphic organizer to help compose their ideas. Each group will receive an “experimental scenario”, which I have prepared on 5x7 cards. They will incorporate the experiment into their poster, using graphics and phrases to identify the 5 parts of the scientific method.

o   Product:

§  In groups of 3-4, students will create a scientific method poster incorporating an experimental scenario into their poster.

·         Student Activities:

o   Provide support for varied readiness levels (visual and auditory presentation, note-taking, think-pair-share), combined with group project (kinesthetic, oral, group collaboration skills). Students will create a poster on the scientific method in groups. They will receive teacher guidance, a graphic organizer, and a rubric as they create their posters. Afterwards, students will peer-review each other’s posters on a gallery walk and vote as a class for the best poster.

               

5. CONTENT STANDARD(S)

·         Grade 9 & 10 Biology 11d & l.

·         11: Investigation and Experimentation—Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other four strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations.

·         11d: Formulate explanations by logic and evidence.

·         11l: Analyze situations and solve problems that require combining and applying concepts from more than one area of science.

               

6. ELD STANDARD(S)

·         Part I: Interacting in Meaningful Ways

·         Part II: Learning About How English Works

               

7. LEARNING GOAL(S) - OBJECTIVES

·         After being presented with content on experimental design, students will be able to identify the key components of an experiment and design a simple experiment with one variable and one control. Students will construct a poster in small groups on the scientific method. (Cognitive, Psychomoter, Language Development; Bio Stds 11d,l;ELD Stds, Parts I & II).

8. ASSESSMENT(S)

·         Entry Level:

Each student recently took a quiz on the scientific method. I have analyzed student results to determine student readiness. I am using this information to assess which areas need to be focused on for review and which students seem lost and need extra help. Specifically, students need clarification of the different components of an experiment: independent/manipulated variable, dependent/responding variable, control group, and experimental group. I will present content on experimental design in a presentation to review.

·         Formative:

I will check for understanding by having a slide at the end with specific questions about experimental design. They will do a quick write in their notes, followed by sharing answers with the class. I will circulate as they write in their notes to check their work, answer questions and provide guidance.  I will call on 4 random students to share their answers with the class.

·         Summative:

Students will complete a poster on the scientific method in groups of 4. They will peer grade each other’s poster, using a rubric on a “gallery walk”, at the end of class. In addition, each student will turn in their graphic organizer as part of the poster grade. Students will take a Unit 1 test at the end of the week.

               

9. EXPLANATION OF DIFFERENTIATION FOR ELL & STS W/ SP ED NEEDS

A. English Language Learners

1.) Content:

Students will use spiral notebooks where they have been recording their Cornell notes as a resource. They will continue taking Cornell notes on the experimental design presentation. To make the content more interesting, I have created “experimental scenarios” based on students’ interests (see 10b, below).

                                               

2.) Process:

Students will also use a graphic organizer to compose the rough draft of their posters. Projects are done in groups so EL learners will be supported by peers. In addition, teacher will circulate to guide individuals who need assistance. Students are encouraged to be creative and have access to art supplies (finger paint, crayons, markers, and pastels).

                                               

3.) Product:

Students will use a handout, supplemented with a rubric to instruct them on the expectations for their poster. I will go over the handout in class and then circulate for further group assistance. Students will be instructed to use their texts and notes as a resource. Working in groups will promote peer-teaching of ELLs and assist in developing their oral communication skills.

              

B. Students with Special Education Needs

·         Content, Process, Product:

N/A (see 3B, above)

                                               

10. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

A. Anticipatory Set (45 min):

My co-teacher will present a powerpoint about experimental design, including historical examples, such as Dr. Redi’s life experiment with maggots and meat, and Watson, Crick, & Franklins’ discovery of the structure of DNA. Teacher will guide students through a short (5 min) exercise at the end to check for understanding (See 11A, below).

B. Instruction/Through (10 min):

I will give each student a handout with instructions on how to create a scientific methods poster. They will also receive a graphic organizer to storyboard the rough draft of their poster and a rubric to communicate my expectations. After distributing the handouts, I will go over the handout orally to the entire class. Each group will receive an “experimental scenario”, which I have prepared on 5x7 cards. They will incorporate the experiment into their poster, using graphics and phrases to identify the 5 parts of the scientific method. I have created experimental “scenarios” based on student interests (reflected from their Literacy surveys) that students will embed into their posters in the form of examples and graphics. Specifically, experimental scenarios include made-up stories about parkour, football, cars, and Sasquatch.

                                               

C. Guided Practice/Through (1 hour):

Students will start by filling out their graphic organizers (10-15 minutes). I will circulate to make sure students are staying on task, answer questions, and show them how to use their notes and texts as a resource. To guide effective group teamwork, I will also instruct each group to assign a different task to each student. Once students have finished their graphic organizers, they will use it as a storyboard to help design their posters. Poster design should take the bulk of the hour (45 minutes). I will distribute art supplies and monitor use, ensuring that each group has equal access to the different types of media (crayons, markers, pastels and finger paint). I will continue circulating to make sure students understand how to use the rubric and that each student is contributing to the poster.

                                                                                               

D. Closure (10 min):

Students will peer review each other’s posters, assigning a grade to each one using their rubrics. They will vote as a class for the best one, which will receive extra credit as a reward. In addition, I will collect each student’s graphic organizer to check for understanding and assess how equally each student participated in creating their group’s poster.

                                               

F. Beyond:

                Teacher will administer Unit 1 test to check for understanding.

                                               

11. STUDENT ACTIVITIES

A. Anticipatory Set:

See 10A for detail (above). Students will do a quick write in response to the final few slides of the experimental design presentation. Then, they will share their answers with the class.

                                               

B. Instruction/Through:

                See 10B for detail (above).

                                               

C. Guided Practice/Through

See 10C for detail (above). In groups, students will complete their graphic organizers and then create a poster on the scientific method.

                                                                               

D. Closure:

                Using the poster rubric handout, students will peer review each other’s posters on a “gallery walk.

                                               

F. Beyond:

                Students will take a Unit 1 test on the scientific method.

12. RESOURCES:

·         BiologicalExperiments.ppt - Google Docs

·         Experimental Scenarios

·         sci-mthd-graphic-organizer.pdf - Google Docs

·         Rubric

·         Scientific Method Poster.docx - Google Docs

13. Self-Assessment:

This was one of my favorite activities so far. The students really enjoyed it, and they didn’t even realize that they were studying for their unit test at the same time. They loved the fun experimental scenarios and incorporated them into the posters, using creative graphics and cartoons. I circulated as they worked on their posters, showing them how to use their notes and be resourceful and also checking their work to make sure they were identifying the 5 steps of the scientific method correctly as well as the different variables and controls in their experimental scenario. The biggest challenge I had was making sure everyone was working and staying on task. I handled this by telling them I expected everyone to work on it at the beginning so they understood what was expected of them. I then circulated, divvying up their tasks accordingly, showing them how to work in groups and ensuring that everyone was working. Not only did I get to teach them about the scientific method using a fun activity, but I also got to teach them how to be resourceful (ask a partner, use your notes, use your book, etc.) and how to work efficiently in groups.

Single Subject Lesson Design Rubric                              

Design Component & Criteria	Approaching	Meets (includes the criteria for Approaching)	Exceeds (includes the criteria for Approaching & Meets)
Title, Curriculum Area & Grade Level 5%	Provides a title that is related to the lesson activity	& addresses the unit it belongs to and in what curriculum area and grade	& describes where it fits within a unit plan.
Student Information 10%	Identify the names of the students that need differentiation (both ELL & Students w/ Sp Ed needs)	& describe each of the students readiness level, learning profile and interests	& includes prior successful differentiation strategies for each student.
Rationale 10%	Describes the rationale for teaching this lesson (big ideas, enduring understandings, essential questions) …	& addresses how the instructional strategies and the student activities are suited to meet the standard and objective of the lesson…	& explains how the assessment is a valid and reliable way to assess student learning.
Standards and Objectives 20%	Both CA Content and ELD Standards are identified and each is addressed in an objective that contains a condition, verb, and criteria	& each objective is labeled by the type (cognitive, affective, psychomotor or language) and the number of the standard it addresses	& identifies which of the six facets of understanding it is designed to address.
Assessment 10%	Provides an assessment for each objective and articulates if it is diagnostic, entry-level, formative or summative assessment	& clearly communicates to students about the expectations (rubric)	& provides a sample of student work.
Differentiation 10%	Describes the students differentiation strategy for the individual students…	& labels the strategy (lesson content, process or product) and the way it addresses the students identity and developmental needs (readiness, interest or learning profile)…	& provides how the strategy will be assessed for effectiveness and altered if needed.
Instructional Strategies 15%	Provides an into, through and a beyond activity for lesson…	& describes in detail the steps the teacher will take to implement the lesson and any need materials (i.e. graphic organizer, ppt, model, rubric)…	& provides script for teacher and times for each activity.
Student Activities 15%	Describes what the students will do during the into, through and beyond activity of the lesson…	& each activity is student centered with multiple opportunities for the instructor to check for understanding…	& provides times for each activity.
Resources 5%	All instructional materials needed to implement the lesson are listed/described.	All instructional materials that are needed to implement the lesson are provided, such as power point, graphic organizer, sample student work, assignment rubric, quiz...	& all materials listed for the unit are listed and/or provided.
Self-Evaluation (10% will be deducted if not included)	Provides a copy of the rubric with the lesson plan…	& highlights or circles the evaluated criteria for each lesson component…	& provides evidence for each criteria marked.