KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate:

Alix Landes and Katie Loughran

Cooperating Teacher:
Group Size:

22

Subject or Topic:

Date:

Coop. Initials
Allotted Time 50 min

Grade Level 1st

Science: Storms

Section

STANDARD:
3.3.3.A5: Explain how air temperature, moisture, wind speed and direction, and
precipitation make up the weather in a particular place and time.
I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes):
The first grade students will be able to identify and explain the different types of
storms by investigating thunderstorms, tornados, and hurricanes.
II. Instructional Materials
A. Crayons
B. Pencils
C. Weather booklet printout
D. Breaking Weather News printout
E. Song lyrics
F. Guided notes sheet
G. 1-liter plastic soda bottles
H. Water
I. Dish Detergent
J. Food Coloring
K. Thin strips of paper
L. Experiment handout
III. Subject Matter/Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea, outline of
additional content)
A. Prerequisite skills
1. The students will need to know about the water cycle, clouds, and the
different types of precipitation
B. Key Vocabulary

1. Thunderstorms: A storm with lighting and thunder. It is produced by

cumulonimbus clouds, usually producing gusty winds, heavy rain, and
sometimes hail.
2. Lighting: Is a brief flash of electricity produced by a thunderstorm. It is
an electrical current.
3. Tornadoes: It is a violent windstorm. It is a rapidly spinning cone of air
that touches the storm cloud above and the ground. It needs to touch the
ground for it to be classified as a tornado. They are funnel shaped.
4. Hurricanes: A very powerful tropical storm that forms over an ocean
creating intense wind, heavy rain, and floods. This type of storm causes
a lot of damage to many things such as buildings and cars.
C. Big idea
1. What are the different types of storms and what are the characteristics of
each storm
D. Additional content
1. Blizzard: It is a snowstorm that lasts for a long time with very strong
winds that happen during winter when temperatures have the ability to
drop below freezing.
2. Floods: They are caused by a lot of rain or melting snow that cause
rivers to overflow. They can vary from a few inches to several feet deep
and they are extremely dangerous.
IV. Implementation
A. Introduction
1. The teacher will begin the class discussion by asking the class:
a. What they think of when they hear the word storms?
b. What storms they know of?
2. The teacher will read a book that has to do with storms. Oh Say Can You
Say What's the Weather Today?: All About Weather
3. After reading the book, the teacher will ask the class what storms they
heard throughout the story. She will write what the class came up with
on chart paper.
B. Development
1. The teacher will begin the lesson with a PowerPoint on the different type
of storms. As the teacher is going through the lesson, the students will
fill in a guided note sheet. (see attached)
2. The teacher will give the students two sheets of paper one with just
terms and the other with pictures and a brief definition to go along with
each term. The students will have time to cut definitions to glue in their
journal under the correct term under the correct flap. Also the students
can draw a picture of the storm to go along with the definition. When the
class is finished, the teacher will go over each term again to reinforce the
information. (see attached) (formative assessment)

3. Then the students will be put in pairs to complete an activity having to

do with storms. They will use their guided notes sheets and the
classroom chart to complete the Breaking News Weather Report activity.
The teacher will put the students into pairs and tell them to pick a storm
to do for this activity. They will write facts about this type of storm and
make people aware that this storm is coming. They will also include a
picture to go along with what they wrote. The teacher will assist them if
needed. After everyone has completed this activity, groups will be able
to share what they wrote and information about their storm and the
teacher will hang them up on a bulletin board. (see attached) (formative
assessment)
4. Then the students will do an experiment having to do with one of
storms. The students will be creating a tornado in a bottle. The students
will work in pairs but they will both complete a worksheet to go along
with the activity so they can glue it in their journal.
a. The students will first predict what shape the tornado will be in
the bottle?
b. Then after they made their prediction, the students will be
ready to begin the experiment.
c. The students will fill the 1-liter bottle with 3 three quarters of
water.
d. Then the students will then add a large drop of dish detergent.
e. Then the students will add three-five drops of food coloring to
make the tornado more visible. The students will be able to
select a color of their choice.
f. Then after they added the dish detergent and some food
coloring, the students will add at least 10 small or long narrow
strips of paper.
g. Then the students will close the cap tightly. The teacher will go
around and make sure the caps are securely on the bottle. After
the teacher checks all of their caps, the teacher will give each
pair the okay to move to the next step.
h. Then the students will turn the bottle upside down and swirl the
bottle to create a tornado effect.
i. Then after they got to see the tornado in the bottle, the students
will work with their partner to answer the questions having to
do with the experiment. These questions also reinforce what
they learned about tornados earlier in the lesson. Along with
answering the questions the students will draw what the water
in bottle looks like before swirling the bottle and after. The
students will also write a brief conclusion and what they
learned. The students will staple that paper into their science
journals. (see attached)
j. Then the teacher will bring the class together to discuss what
they found from the lesson and reinforce tornado facts. The
teacher will go over the answer questions and explain them.

5. To tie everything together, the teacher will play a song that talks the
different storms as well reinforcing what they learned it the previous
lessons. The song directs the students to get up dance and spin like a
tornado. The teacher will play it once and give the students a copy of the
lyrics so they could follow along. Then she will play one or two more
times where are singing and dancing along. (see attached)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5t5j89CrRg
C. Closure
1. To wrap up the lesson on storms, the teacher will bring the class back to
the rug to have a class discussion on what they learned. She will have
them share things they learned. The teacher will bring back the chart
they made in the beginning of the lesson and they can talk about if what
they knew about storms and they can add new information to that chart.
2. The teacher will tell the students that tomorrow we will be learning
about weather instruments. The teacher can explain to the students that
meteorologists use tools to predict weather then say we will learn about
all those tools, especially how they are used.
3. Then the teacher will ask them to brainstorm what tools meteorologist
might use to predict weather and the teacher will make a list on chart
paper that she will refer to tomorrow. Then the teacher will ask the
students to predict what the weather is outside and what they will use to
predict the weather and why.
D. Accommodations/Differentiation
1. To accommodate Jimmy who has ADHD have him sit close to the
SMARTboard so he can focus on the lesson. Also, make sure Jimmys
desk is not near the door, window, or anything that could distract him.
2. All students will be given notes sheets if need.
E. Assessment/Evaluation Plan
1. Formative
a) The teacher will walk around as the students are completing the
journal definition activity
b) The teacher will walk around and monitor the students as they
are working on the Breaking Weather News
2. Summative
a) The teacher will collect and read over the students Breaking
Weather News project before hanging it up as a way to assess if
the students comprehended the material on storms.
b) The teacher will collect the science journals at the end of the unit
to assess their understanding of each inquiry and the science
having to do with that inquiry.

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. Are the students appropriately reflecting in their journal?
3. After the completion of the lesson are the students able to restate and
identify what they just learned?
VI. Resources (in APA format)
http://www.kdwebdesigns.com/StormWeb/index.php (content)
http://www.weatherforkids.org/ (content)
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/index.htm (content) (rain gauge, thermometer activity)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5t5j89CrRg (song)
http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=7dfff072-4497-4fce-9e0b-676b081dd102
(content- presentation)
http://www.econet.org.uk/weather/extreme.html#extreme (content)
http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/phenom/tornadoinabottle.html (inquiry)
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Wild-Weather-Reports-1097446
(Wild-Weather Report Activity)
Rabe, T., & Ruiz, A. (2004). Oh say can you say what's the weather today?: All about
weather. New York: Random House.