SETON HILL UNIVERSITY

Lesson Plan Template

TOPIC
Name
Subject
Grade Level
Date/Duration
Big Ideas
Essential
Questions
PA/Common
Core/Standards
Objective
Bloom's
Taxonomy
Webb's Depth of
Knowledge
(DOK)
Formative &
Summative
Assessment
Evidence

DETAILS
Miss Ellsworth
Science- The Water Cycle
1st grade
10/31/ 2016 for 40 minutes
Rain falls from the sky through the process of
evaporation and the water cycle.
How does the water get into the clouds?
How do puddles from the ground disappear?
What is this cycle called?
4.2.1.A: Explain the path water takes as it moves
through the water cycle.
During a classroom lesson, all first grade students will
be able to identify the different parts of the water cycle
and their definition by learning about them and
completing activities about them.

ISTE Standards
for Students
Framework for
21st Century
Learning

Accommodation
s, Modifications

Formative assessment: Students will verbally explain

the parts of the water cycle to me before, during, and
after their learning, and I will assess how well they
know the information by using a rubric.
Summative assessment: I will provide students with a
lab sheet where they have to write the different parts of
the water cycle in the correct blank of the diagram,
then match each word to the correct definition.
1 Empowered Learner: Students leverage technology to
take an active role in choosing, achieving and
demonstrating competency in their learning goals,
informed by the learning sciences.
1d: Students understand the fundamental concepts of
technology operations, demonstrate the ability to
choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and
are able to transfer their knowledge to explore
emerging technologies.
3 Knowledge Constructor: Students critically curate a
variety of resources using digital tools to construct
knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make
meaningful learning experiences for themselves and
others.
3d: Students build knowledge by actively exploring
real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and
theories and pursuing answers and solutions.
Disability: Cerebral Palsy

CK

Accommodations and Modifications:

Break down project into smaller steps.
Have the student take breaks while assembling the
project.
Review this concept daily since the student has trouble
with long-term memory
Use a computer to type responses instead of presenting
them orally.

SUPERVISING
TEACHERS
SIGNATURE

Seton Hill University Lesson Plan Template Step-by-Step

Procedures
RATIONALE for
the Learning
Plan

Introduction

Explicit
Instructions

In the previous lesson, students learned about all of the

CK
different types of weather, including how rain is water that
falls from the clouds. Now, the students are ready to take that
knowledge to the next step by learning how the water ends up
in the clouds. It ties in perfectly to a PA SAS standard, which is
to explain the path of the water cycle.
Activating Prior Knowledge
Earlier this week, we learned that rain is a type of
weather where little drops of water fall from the sky.
We know that rain is important because it helps keep the
land we live on healthy, but how does the rain get into
the clouds and then fall from the clouds?
Hook/Lead-In/Anticipatory Set
On different tables around the classroom, I will put bowls
of water without the lid on them on different tables.
Each day, the students will observe and record how
much water is in the bowls by drawing a picture until
there eventually is not any water left. Students will
guess where all the water has gone, leading to the
lesson on evaporation and the water cycle.
Big Idea Statement
Rain falls from the sky because it is evaporated into the
sky and follows a process called the water cycle.
Essential Questions Statement
How does the rain get into the clouds?
How do puddles on the ground just disappear?
Objective Statement
By the end of the lesson, you [the students] will know
the process of the water cycle and how rain falls from
the sky.
Transition
All students in the class will stand up. I will explain to
them that in order for it to rain, we need water, the sun,
and clouds. As a say each, I have examples for each
(wiggle your fingers for water, make a sun by forming a

Lesson
Procedure

circle with our arms about our heads, clouds, flicking

your flingers for clouds).
Key Vocabulary
Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, the water
cycle.
PreAssessment of Students
I will have all students fill out a KWL chart independently
so I can see how much they know on their own and what
they want to know.
Modeling of the Concept
To help inform students about the water cycle, we will
look at an iBook as a class and discuss the different
pictures and vocabulary in the book to assist them with
the activity.
Individually, students will create their own project of the
water cycle by using paper, markers, crayons, pencils,
and other art materials to draw out the process of the
water cycle.
I will have an example done and show them step-by-step
how to complete the project.
First, I would explain that they can create their picture
and the land however they want, but for the water cycle
to occur properly, it must contain a body of water, grass,
sun, and clouds
Then, the students would draw and create these objects
on a piece of paper.
Next, students would draw arrows to the ground to the
sun, the sun to the clouds, and the clouds to the grass to
complete the full circle
Given typed, precut pieces of paper that have
evaporation, condensation, and precipitation on them,
the students will glue down the words near the arrow
that corresponds to the word.
Guiding the Practice
While students are working independently, I will walk
around the room to answer any questions they may
have, while also asking them questions on their project.
The questions I ask will depend on where they ae
specifically in their project since all students work at
different speeds. I could ask students where they plan
on gluing certain words and what those words mean. I
will look to see if the students are drawing the arrows in
the right direction and if they are placing the vocabulary
words in the correct spot.
Providing the Independent Practice
The craft will be completed independently by each
student. The standard will be met because after the
lesson, the students will be familiar with the process of
the water cycle. The product will be their craft/ project,
which will be a labeled diagram of the continuous

process of the water cycle, which is something that

happens everyday in real life. The project itself does not
have a rubric, but the assessment based off of the
project does.
Transition
Sing a song about the water cycle to the tune of Shell
be Coming Around the Mountain
Water travels in a cycle, yes it does/ Water travels in a
cycle, yes it does/ It goes up as evaporation,/ And forms
clouds as condensation,/ Then comes down as
precipitation,/ yes it does!
Reading
Students will be using the class set of iPads to read the
Materials
iBook
Technology
An alternative to this would be to read and discuss the
Equipment
book All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon and
Supplies
Down Comes the Rain by Franklyn Branely
Supplies that will be needed for the hook are containers,
water, pencils and lab sheets. For the preassesment, I
will need a lab sheet of a KWL chart and pencils. For the
modeling of the concept, I will need pencils, construction
paper, markers, crayons, colored pencils, cotton balls (if
they choose to use this for the cloud), the pieces of
paper with the vocabulary words on them, and glue, and
the example I made with supplies to demonstrate for the
class.
Evaluation of
Formal Evaluation
the
Using the diagram made in class, I will have a
Learning/Master
conversation with students individually, and point to
y of the
different parts of the picture. Then, students will have to
Concept
explain to me what is going on in that specific part of
the picture. I will use a rubric, with 3 different possible
scores for each question. They will be fully grasped the
concept, has some understanding of the concept, and
needs more assistance with the topic. With the evidence
I collect, I will see what concepts students are grasping
onto and what they are not grasping onto and reteach as
needed.
Informal Evaluation
I will be taking running records on how the students are
completing the activity, like in which direction they are
drawing the arrows and where they are placing the
words. With the evidence I collect, I will be able to see
where students need more work and attention.

Closure

Teacher
Self-reflection

Summary & Review of the Learning

I will have all the students restate the objective, which
was, by the end of the lesson, you [the students] will
know the process of the water cycle and how rain falls
from the sky.
To ask students how they met the objective, I will use an
exit ticket where they can write or draw what they
learned and hand it in to me.
As a class, we can discuss what was challenging about
this activity and what was difficult, and each other can
overcome these obstacles.
Homework/Assignments
There will be no homework or assignments after this
lesson.
I will know what the students have learned based off of
their projects, viewing running records, looking at the
rubric, and their exit tickets.
Students that were not paying attention were not
mastering the concept.
To help address this, I worked with them in smaller
groups, so I could let them know when they needed to
stay focused.
If I were to change the lesson and teach it again, I would
work with all students in small groups to help them learn
the concept and not as a whole class.
As evidence of students learning, I have lab sheets,
rubrics, running records, and their exit tickets. I could
collect this evidence in other ways such as a tally sheet
and written assignments.
The students really seemed to enjoy this lesson and it
was beneficial to their learning.