STEPP Lesson Plan Form

Teacher: Ms. Todd/ Ms. Hawkins

School: Lincoln Middle School

Date: 4/01/15
Grade Level: 7th

Title: Geologic Time Line

Content Area: Science

Lesson #: 1 of 1

Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson:

1. Life Science Standard 2: Students will understand multiple lines of
evidence show the evolution of organisms over geologic time.
2. Life Science Standard 3: Geologic time, history, and changing life forms
are indicated by fossils and successive sedimentation, folding, faulting, and
uplifting of layers of sedimentary rock.
Inquiry Questions
1. What is an early form of life? Which era did it come from?
2. What is a form of life from a more recent era? Which era did it come from?
Concepts and skills students master:
1. Understand the differences between early life forms and more recent life
form. (Simple to more complex)
2. The earth is over four billion years old, but the first forms of life began around
650 million years ago. They should understand most of the earths life there
was not a lot of life.
Evidence Outcomes:
1. Students will be able to read a geologic time scale and tell what era and
period forms of life came from.
Every student will be able to:
1. I can: I can look at a geologic time scale of the eras and understand smaller
life forms came before larger life forms.
2. This means: I am able to analyze a chart of the eras and grasp the differences
between earlier and later species to indicate the sequence of geological time.
Assessment of Evidence Outcomes:
Students have taken a pre-test on the geological timeline. They will complete these
worksheets and go over them as a class. After the unit is complete, students will
take a post-test to determine the students met the lesson objectives.
1. Fill in the blank notes. (LT 1 and 2)
2. Diagram geological time on the work sheet provided. (LT 1 and 2)

Colorado State University College of Applied Human Sciences

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STEPP Lesson Plan Form

Planned Lesson Activities
Activity Name

What Came When

Approx. Time

70 minutes

Anticipatory
Set

Fossil magnets will be placed on their desks as they come into the classroom. There will be a
geologic time scale chart mapped on the board. Ms. Hawkins and myself will open class and go
over the journal question, and then we will give students instruction to discuss at their table
where the fossils at their table belong on the timeline and why. After they place all the magnets
on the board, we will hand out skeleton notes with an identical chart.

Teaching/
Presentation:
(Direct
Instruction)

Includes: Input, Modeling and Checking for Understanding

1. Input: The teacher provides information needed for the students to gain the knowledge
through filling out skeleton notes as a class.
2. Modeling: Once the material has been presented, the teacher goes over the notes with
the students and the chart on the board is rearranged.
3. Checking for Understanding: Students use the knowledge and tools from the notes to fill
out their own color coted geologic time line. Ms. Hawkins fills out the same timeline on
the board as students present her with the information.

(Select the most

appropriate
teaching model;
see attached
teaching model
description form
for multiple
options.)

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STEPP Lesson Plan Form

Teaching
Strategy:
(Guided Practice)

All students are allowed to work at a pace in front of the class as desired or work with the class.
While I presented the skeleton notes information, Ms. Hawkins rearranged the chart and made
sure students were on track with their notes. As Ms. Hawkins went over the geologic timeline
work sheet, I circulated the classroom to assist any students that needed help and praised them
for good work. The students worked very hard for us and I appreciated every single one of them.

Teaching
Strategy:
(Independent
Practice)

At Lincoln only few teachers give homework, because it does not get done often. This lesson was
reinforced and built on through rock layers science and fossil placement in those rock layers.
Students will use the notes tool from the geologic timeline lesson to complete a work sheet on
fossils in rock layers.

Closure

Materials

Differentiation

All students were asked to share one thing the learned from todays lesson as a ticket out of
the door. Most students were very surprised that dinosaurs were not the first forms of life and
that concept really stuck with them. Students were able to ask any lingering questions they
still had and then the beginning of a video about rock layers that was closely related to
todays lesson was started.

White board, dry erase markers, fossil cut outs, magnets, work sheets, doc cam, and colored
pencils are required to complete the whole lesson.

This lesson was not modified or extended for any of the students in this class. Advanced
students were able to work on the geologic timeline ahead of the class if they desired. This
lesson could be modified, by leaving fewer blanks on the skeleton notes. Drawing the timeline
on the geologic timeline work sheet could be a modification, and then students could fill in the
proper forms or life and eras.

Colorado State University College of Applied Human Sciences

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STEPP Lesson Plan Form

Assessment

Students will complete a post unit test and this will help identify if the students have really met
the objectives of this lesson.

Colorado State University College of Applied Human Sciences

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STEPP Lesson Plan Form

Post Lesson Reflection
1. To what extent were lesson objectives achieved? (Utilize assessment
data to justify your level of achievement)
In my personal opinion the lesson plan achieved our goals. I have not seen the data
for the post-test, but I believe Ms. Wren used our board activity with her other
classes and used the same work sheets. At the end of the lesson a lot of students
were very aware of the fact that dinosaurs were not the first things to roam the
earth. They are a much more recent form of life, even though they are already
extinct. I feel like this evidence and watching them build off of this lesson proved
that most of the class achieved the lesson objectives.
2. What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would you
make if you were to teach again?
If I were going to teach the lesson again, I would take more time to explain the
activity at the beginning and get students out of their desks more. I would
incorporate the chart and magnets through out the rest of the lesson. I would also
take more time in between to allow students more time to write. During the work
sheet time, I helped fill out the skeleton notes on the doc cam and Ms. Hawkins
went through the Geologic timeline work sheet on the doc cam. I think I would take
the extra time and have students come fill out the sheet on the doc cam would be
worth the extra engagement. They did a great job and the entire class completed
the notes and timeline. I think a very short reading at the beginning could improve
the timeline and help students discuss where to place the magnets on the board. I
enjoyed our lesson and thought it was good, but after student feedback and going
through it with the class those are the changes I would make.
3. What do you envision for the next lesson? (Continued practice, reteach
content, etc.)
For the next lesson they are learning about rock layers and the correlation to the
timeline. Class will open with a journal question about the geologic timeline lesson.
Depending on students answers, there may be a short review and then students
will move onto rock layers. Rock layer are highly correlated with geologic timelines,
so it will build off of the previous lesson. First students will watch an interesting
video and then they will move onto a reading assignment with a work sheet. During
this time, Ms. Wren, Ms. Hawkins, and I will all circulate the classroom and help
students as needed. This group of learners is very appreciative of the individual help
the can receive when all three of us circulate the classroom. This helps us keep
students accountable and prevents them from getting frustrated or stuck in their
classwork.

Colorado State University College of Applied Human Sciences

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