KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate:
Cooperating Teacher:
Group Size:

20

Subject or Topic:

Erin Dougherty

Date: 3/19/2015

Dr. Varano

Coop. Initials

Allotted Time 40 minutes

Grade Level 4th

Air Pollution

Section

STANDARD:
S4.B.3.2.2: Describe and predict how changes in the environment (e.g., fire, pollution,
flood, building dams) can affect systems.
S4.B.3.3.5: Describe the effects of pollution (e.g., litter) in the community.
I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes):
A. Students will investigate air pollution by completing a searching the internet
to complete a WebQuest.
B. Students will be able to describe some of the variables that may lead to
increased levels of air pollution
II. Instructional Materials
A. Ipads
B. Index Cards
C. Petroleum Jelly
D. Knives (something to spread the petroleum jelly with)
E. Duct tape and masking tape
F. Scissors
G. One Ziploc Bag for each group
H. Air Pollution BrainPop video
I. Air Pollution WebQuest Worksheet
J. Data Graph for Experiment
III. Subject Matter/Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea, outline of
additional content)
A. Prerequisite skills
1. Students should have an understanding of what pollution is and
understand how it effects our environment.
B. Key Vocabulary

1. Air Pollution-The presence in or introduction into the air of a

substance which has harmful or poisonous effects
2. Carbon Monoxide- a colorless, odorless toxic flammable gas
formed by incomplete combustion of carbon
3. Global Warming-a gradual increase in the overall temperature of
the earths atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect
caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons,
and other pollutants
4. Ozone Layer-a layer in the earths stratosphere at an altitude of
about 6.2 miles containing a high concentration of ozone, which
absorbs most of the ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth from the
sun.
5. Smog-for or haze combined with smoke and other atmospheric
pollutants
6. Smoke-a visible suspension of carbon or other particles in air,
typically one emitted from a burning substance.
C. Big Idea
1. What is air pollution and how is it harmful to our environment?
IV. Implementation
A. Introduction
1. To introduce this lesson, the teacher will show the class the Water
Pollution video from BrainPop.
a. After the video, the teacher will discuss with the class what air
pollution is, and how important it is to have clean air to live.
b. The teacher will ask the students where they think air pollution
comes from.
B. Development
1. The teacher will tell the students that they need to investigate air
pollution
2. They will be broken up into small groups/pairs to conduct research
about air pollution using the IPad. They will be: (see attachment)
a. Defining smog, carbon monoxide, air pollution, smoke, global
warming, and Ozone layer.
b. They will also be asked to search websites to find answers to
the questions:
i. Where does indoor air pollution come from?
ii. How can indoor air pollution affect my health?
iii.
Where does outdoor pollution come from?
iv. How can outdoor air pollution affect my health?
v. How can the ozone be helpful and harmful?
vi. How can the ozone affect my health?
vii. What happens if I come into contact with harmful
ozone?

3. Once they have completed those questions, they will stay in their
groups to complete the following experiment. (see attachment) They
will set up the index cards in several locations around the school, so
every two days or once a week they can look at their index cards and
record what they see.
C. Closure
1. The class will come back together once their experiment time has
ended and they will see which index cards have the most air
pollution particles on it. As a reflection, they will answer:
a. Why did some cards collect more pollution that others?
b. Can they do anything to change the amount of air pollution
particles in that area?

D. Accommodations/Differentiation
1. For students with a visual disability, the Ipad can make the test
bigger or have the text read to them by a partner.
E. Assessment/Evaluation Plan
1. Formative
a. The teacher will collect the WebQuest paper and grade it on
completeness and correctness.
b. The teacher will also collect the graph the students recorded
their data on.
2. Summative
a. There will be a unit test at the end of this unit.

V. Reflective Response
A. Report of Student Performance in Terms of Stated Objectives (Reflection on
student performance written after lesson is taught, includes remediation for
students who fail to meet acceptable level of achievement)

Remediation Plan

B. Personal Reflection (Questions written before lesson is taught. Reflective

answers to question recorded after lesson is taught)
1. How could this lesson be improved?

2. Do the students need more time to complete the WebQuest?

3. Did the students understand the material?

VI. Resources (in APA format)

A. Air Pollution experiment
1. http://www.starteaching.com/AirPollutionExperiment.pdf
B. Air Pollution video
1. https://www.brainpop.com/science/ourfragileenvironment/airpollutio
n/
C. WebQuest Website
1. http://kidsenvirohealth.nlm.nih.gov/subtopic/001/airpollution/027/ozone/

Air Pollution WebQuest

Define the following vocabulary terms:
1. Air Pollution:

2. Carbon Monoxide:

3. Global Warming:

4. Ozone Layer:

5. Smog:

6. Smoke:

Use this website to complete the following questions:

http://kidsenvirohealth.nlm.nih.gov/subtopic/001/air-pollution/027/ozone/
1. Where does indoor air pollution come from?

2. How can indoor air pollution affect my health?

3. Where does outdoor pollution come from?

4. How can outdoor air pollution affect my health?

5. How can the ozone be helpful and harmful?

6. How can the ozone affect my health?

7. What happens if I come into contact with harmful ozone?

Week 1

Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Locatio
n #1:

Locatio
n #2:

Locatio
n #3:

Locatio
n #4

Locatio
n #5:

Air Pollution Experiment

Directions: Fill in each week what you observe on the index card