Artifact Title: Severe Weather Unit Outline

Date Completed: Spring 2014

Artifact Description:
The following artifact is an outline of a unit I developed for severe weather using the format
requested by my cooperating teacher. This unit will be used at the Platteville Middle School for 7
th

grade science and aligns to the Next Generation Science Standard MS-ESS3-2. The unit is designed
to take 10 class periods that are approximately 50 minutes long. There are a total of 115 students in
the 7
th
grade divided in to five sections, ranging from 20-24 students throughout the day. Activities
and worksheets I created for this unit have also been included in this artifact.

ALIGNMENT
Wisconsin Teacher Standard Alignment
This experience best aligns with standard seven of the Wisconsin Teacher Development and
Licensure Standards which states: The teacher organizes and plans systematic instruction based
upon knowledge of subject matter, pupils, the community, and curriculum goals.
This experience aligns with standard seven because this unit incorporates different methods of
instruction to present information to students and relate it to the students, community and
curriculum goals. When creating this unit, I researched interactive websites that would fit the needs
and capabilities of the students. I incorporated several videos into this unit to expose students to
severe weather occurrences they may not have been exposed to in the community they currently
live in, such as hurricanes and volcanoes. Several activities also include graphing portions to elicit
prior knowledge of science processing skills learned earlier in the academic year. This unit also
includes activities that use predicting skills, such as predicting where the path of a hurricane might
go after graphing known locations on a map. I included a hands-on activity of creating a tornado is a
jar using water in this unit. This allows students to discover how tornadoes, something they may be
familiar with, move in an active approach without being in a dangerous situation. The unit has been
designed to allow for adjustments in scheduling, such as pushing activities back a day or
introducing an activity earlier than planned. Presentations listed in the unit outline have been
created by groups of two to three students during the previous unit. Students present the
information to their peers using SMART Technology and I add any important information they
might have missed during their presentation.

UW-Platteville School of Education Knowledge, Skill, and Disposition Statement Alignment
I believe this experience best aligns with KS1.e. of the UW-Platteville School of Education
Knowledge, Skill, and Disposition Statements which states: The candidate, with appropriate
student input, has the ability to develop relevant, goal-directed, engaging, clear, and varied learning
activities that progress coherently and produce a unified instructional setting that reflects recent
professional research.
I believe this experience best aligns with KS1.e. because the activities included in this unit are
designed to keep students actively involved throughout the entire activity. Students gather base
information while answering questions related to the activity, then apply this knowledge to graphs


or other critical thinking questions. Because weather information is updated frequently, I needed to
research current data and interactive websites.

Secondary Alignment:
KSD1.c: Designs Coherent Instruction


REFLECTION
What I learned about teaching/learning:
I learned that important to plan a timeline for units and the activities/lessons within them, but to
also allow flexibility for change. While I was developing this unit, I found many useful resources and
had to determine which to use and which to save for another time. Using my knowledge and the
knowledge of my cooperating teaching, I learned how to plan how long students would need to
complete certain activities. This was helpful to plan the entire unit and estimate times to keep
students engaged in learning during the entire class period. I also learned that planning and time
management is just as important as developing lessons. Leaving too much down time or expecting
too much out of students can hinder learning just as poorly developed lesson plans can.

What I learned about myself as a prospective educator:
I learned that I have the ability to produce a wide variety of lessons. A great deal of my experience
as a student has been lecture based instruction. I was eager to incorporate other instruction
techniques while developing my unit. I also learned that I need to give myself sufficient time to
develop large units. I have discovered that I strive for the ideal lesson to a fault at times, expending
more time and energy that I should. Through creating this unit, I have discovered aspects of myself
that I need to work on and will do so in the future.