Saint Marys College of California

P.O. Box 4350, Moraga, CA 94575-4350

tel. 925.631.4700 fax 925.376.8379
www.stmarys-ca.edu/soe

LESSON PLAN #_6___

Learning Segment Focus or Big Idea: What is groundwater - lesson 2 of the sequence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNWAerr_xEE
Grade: 4

Content Area: Science

Time Allotted: 50 minutes

Classroom organization: whole class, pairs, independent

Resources and materials: SMART board, computer, KQED video on youtube, binder paper, pencils.
Content Standard(s): NGSS - ESS3.A: Natural Resources - Energy and fuels that humans use are derived from natural
sources, and their use affects the environment in multiple ways, Some resources are renewable over time, and others are
not.
Specific Academic Learning Objectives:
What do you want students to learn in this lesson? Students will learn: I want students to understand what
groundwater is, the role it plays in the our water cycle, and why it is something worth caring about.
What should students be able to do after the lesson? Students will be able to: After the lesson, students should be
able to explain what groundwater is, the role it plays in our water cycle, and why it is a subject that is worth caring
about.
Prerequisites:
What skills, knowledge and prior experience do students need for this lesson? Before todays lesson, students all
have the same prior experience. In the previous lesson, students made their own groundwater models and
firsthand understand how rain becomes groundwater and what happens if you pump out all the groundwater.
Students also know the definition of groundwater from 2 lessons prior to today.
How will you determine whether students have these? I will determine if students have these by reviewing the
previous lessons and connecting to prior experience at the start of the lesson.
How will you connect to students' interests, backgrounds, strengths and needs, including their
cultural, ethnic, and socio-economic differences? I will connect to students interests and backgrounds by
reviewing the previous lesson. All students have similar prior experience since they all participated in the previous
lesson.
Key ELD Standard(s):
Academic language demands:
What academic language is used in the lesson? (Vocabulary, language structure and conventions,
genres, symbols, etc.) The academic language in this lesson is groundwater.
What are the language demands of the task? Please address receptive (listening, reading) and productive
(speaking, writing) skills. Students need to listen to questions, express their understanding of the
previous lesson, answer questions, listen to their peers responses, listen and watch a short video, retell
the main points of the video, and write down their opinions on the matter.

Accommodations (to ensure all students have access to the curriculum):

How will you make the academic language accessible to all students? I will make the academic language
accessible to students by reviewing the language, repeating myself, and making use of learning charts.
How will address the specific needs of your English learners? Different types of learners will be addressed in the
lesson. In the previous lesson students had a chance to perform a hands on activity to gain an understanding of
groundwater. Today students will watch a video that explains what they did the previous day. We will have a
discussion and make sure of peer to peer language.
How will you address the specific needs of your students with special needs? Different types of learners will be
addressed in the lesson. In the previous lesson students had a chance to perform a hands on activity to gain an
understanding of groundwater. Today students will watch a video that explains what they did the previous day. We
will have a discussion and make sure of peer to peer language.
Assessment:
What evidence of student learning will you collect? I will collect letters that students will write to the community
paper in order to educate the community.
How will you use this evidence? I will use this evidence to see what students thought was most important in this
lesson and how they can retell the most important parts of the 2 previous lessons. I will use this evidence to figure
out if students need to spend more time reviewing groundwater or if they are ready to move on to the next lesson
in the unit.
What criteria will you use to interpret the evidence? I will refer back to the standards and my unit plan.
How will the evidence affect your next steps in teaching? This evidence will show if students need more time
spent on understanding the importance of groundwater or if they are ready to move on the next lesson in my unit
plan.
Instructional Sequence:
Time
8 min

Set or introduction:
How will you begin the lesson? How will you engage and motivate learners, connect to prior experience,
activate prior knowledge and/or share learning outcomes?
1. I will start the lesson by inviting students to come join me on the carpet.
2. I will motivate learners by connecting to the classs prior experience.
3. I will check in and ask for students to explain what they did in the previous lesson with their own
groundwater tubs.
4. Next, I will have students redefine groundwater. Based on student answers I will write on the board a
definition for groundwater.

7 min

Developing Content/Body of Lesson: What instructional strategies and learning tasks will you use in the main
part of the lesson?
1. After we have redefined groundwater, I will play the KQED short video on groundwater.
2. Students will just watch the video.

10 min Checks for Understanding / On-going informal assessment:

How will you know what students are understanding? (questioning and observing throughout the lesson)
1. After the video, I will check in with students and what they are understanding.
2. I will ask students,
a. What did you learn from this video? Turn and talk to a partner and share 2 things you learned from this
video. After students have a chance to share with a partner what they learned I will call the class back
together so we can discuss as a whole class what students learned.
b. As students share what they learned, I will record on a piece of paper the main ideas that students learned in
the video so they can refer back to it during the following activity.

25 min Closure:
How will learners summarize or reflect on what they learned (for example, share work, share a strategy, share a
process, discuss what they learned, raise a new question)?
1. After students and I record what was learning in the video I will explain what the assignment is.
2. I will first explain that during the drought, we have been taking more water than can be replenished from
our groundwater resources. I will also explain that until recently, I did not know about groundwater and I
thought that it was so important for my students to have an understanding of such an important resource.
3. The assignment today, is now that students have such a concrete understanding of groundwater and its
importance, it is their job to educate the community.
4. I want students to write a newspaper article that educates the community on what groundwater is and what
is role is in the water cycle.
5. Students will write a brief educational article for the Orinda Times, our community paper.
6. After students write for 20 minutes, students will have the opportunity to share their articles if they would
like.
Extending the Lesson/Homework (optional):

Reflection, Next Steps: