LONG FORM LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Name: Amber Mathy

Content Area(s): Science

Rationale/Context
(What do I know about the
students in this class that will help
me plan the lesson?)

Lesson Domain(s)
WMELS, Kostelnick

Learning Goal(s)/
Standard(s)
(WMELS)

Date: 1/10/16
Grade(s): 4k

The students have had a unit working with their 5 senses in

December. This prior knowledge will help when they have an
opportunity to explore their ice using their five senses. The
students have also been learning about the letter /i/ and
different things that begin with that letter. They discussed
briefly that icicles start with /i/. Because of the nature of this
lesson, students will be able to engage and explore at their
own levels.
Cognitive
Aesthetic
Language
Social
WMELS Performance Standard: B.EL.2c Uses vocalizations
and spoken language to communicate. Uses language to
effectively describe experiences and observations and
communicate effectively in group activities and discussions.
WMELS Performance Standard: C.EL.2 Understands
concept that alphabet represents the sounds of spoken
language and the letters of written language. Recognizes and
names all letters of the alphabet in familiar and unfamiliar
words. (Ice starts with a /I/)
WMELS Performance Standard: A.EL.1 Uses multi-sensory
abilities to process information. Uses senses to explore and
experiment with new materials.
WMELS Performance Standard: A.EL.3 Applies problem
solving skills. Ask questions, seeks information, and tests out
possibilities. (Will the ice melt in my hands/warm water? Will
the ice still be cold if its in the warm water?)
WMELS Performance Standard: C.EL.2 Use tools to gather
information, compare observed objects, and seek answers to
questions through active investigation. Uses magnifying
glass, binoculars, and maps for investigation.

Instructional Objectives
(observable behaviors
(WMELS)

Assessment
(Criteria/Look Fors)
(WMELS)

Content
( Concepts & Academic
Language Focus)
WMELS, Curricular Resource)

Students will recognize that ice starts with the letter /I/.
Students will understand that ice is water as a solid.
Students will ask and answer questions about the
characteristics of ice.
Students will use their 5 senses to explore ice.
Observation of discussion during the introduction and reading. I
will also be walking around asking questions to the students
during their exploration to assess their thinking.
Academic Language:
Solid
Liquid

Ice
Water
Frozen
Icicle
Crystal
Hail
Snow

Questions
(Kostelnick, Based on lesson,
goals, knowledge of students)

Concepts:
Water as a solid is ice.
Ice can be melted and turn into a liquid.
Ice starts with the letter /i/.
There are many different types of ice.
- Can anyone tell me what our letter of the week is?
- What are some things that we have been learning
about that start with the
letter I- can anyone think of
anything that starts with this letter?
- Does anyone know anything about Ice- What is ice,
What is it made of, What does it look like, What does it
feel like, etc.?
- How does your ice feel?
- What does your ice look like?
- Do all of your ice cubes look the same or are some
different?
- How did you melt your ice cubes?
- Did it take long for your ice to melt?
- Does your ice make a sound?
- Does your ice have a smell?

Instructional Strategies
(Kostelnick May include but are
not limited to: Task Analysis,
Scaffolding, Behavior Reflections,
Paraphrase, Modeling, Effective
Praise, Telling, Explaining,
Questioning, and Turn &Talk/Pair
Share.)

Materials
DAP

Modeling
Questioning
Explaining
Telling

Water as a Solid (book)

Large tubs (6)

Large bowls (6)

Bag of Ice

Warm water

Instruction Procedures
(w/Time - Total & by section
Kostelnick)

Introduction
Demonstration
Participation
Practice

Magnifying glass

Crockpot

- Easel+marker
Introduction:
Can anyone tell me what our letter of the week is? (call
on student-I)
The letter of the week this week is the letter I. What are
some things that we have been learning about that
start with the letter I- can anyone think of anything that
starts with this letter? (call on student)
Today we are going to be learning about another thing that
begins with the letter I. We are going to be learning about Ice.
Does anyone know anything about Ice- What is ice,
What is it made of, What does it look like, What does it
feel like, etc.? (Call on a few students)
Write down on easel some of the things they come up with that
they know about Ice. (cold, white, wet, etc)
Well, today my friends, we are going to become scientists and
we are going to learn all about what ice is and we are even
going to get to play with some ice.
BEGIN READING
Demonstration:
Page 6-7: Point out Icicles. We drew pictures of Icicles
yesterday and wrote the word Icicles which also starts with the
letter I. Icicles are made of ice and are usually long and pointy,
like the ones Mrs. Feuling said were hanging from her garage.
Page 10: Hail is another type of ice. It falls from the sky just like
rain but it is so cold that the water turns to little balls of ice
called hail. Thumbs up if you have ever seen hail before.
Alright my friends, can everyone turn their bodies towards the
yellow table. You will notice that when you get back to your
table spots that there is two tubs at your tables along with
magnifying glasses. One of the tubs has ice and one has water.
Today we are going to use our senses to explore our ice cubes.
Demonstrate that we can feel it (it feels really cold and wet)
Demonstrate that we can see it (use magnifying glass for
closer look)
Demonstrate that we can smell it (there is not much of a smell
to this ice cube)
Demonstrate that we can hear it (do we hear anything- maybe
the ice cracking or melting)
We do not need to taste it because we dont want to spread
germs but we can guess what it would taste like.
As you are exploring today, I want to see if any of you can turn
your ice cubes back into a liquid. You might try melting it with
your hands or you might try melting it by putting it in the warm

water.
When our timer goes off today. I want everyone to stop at their
tables and come back and join me on the blue rug and we will
leave the water and ice at our tables.
Send students back to tables by color.
Participation/Practice:
As a table the students will get to explore the Ice and water
that is on their table. They will also be asked to turn some of
the ice into more water. They can do so by using their hands to
melt the ice or put the ice in the warm water to melt it. At their
table spots there will be magnifying glasses for them to explore
closer and really take a good look at what their ice might look
like. Some of these explorations will be modeled before sent to
their tables to explore. During this time, the teacher will walk
around to engage with students and ask them questions about
what they are exploring:
How does your ice feel?
What does your ice look like?
Do all of your ice cubes look the same or are some
different?
How did you melt your ice cubes?
Did it take long for your ice to melt?
Does your ice make a sound?
Does your ice have a smell?
Closure
(Summarize the lessons learning,
connect to objectives, foreshadow
next day)

Student Accommodations
(Modifications to support students
who are challenged to understand
the content or have an advanced
understanding)

Self-Reflection
(How well did my lesson support
students understanding relative to
the objectives? What worked, did
not work? What adjustments
might be made in the future?)

Today we enjoyed learning that ice is water that is in a solid

state. We also learned that we can turn ice into a liquid (water)
again by melting it. What are some things that we noticed
about our ice while we were exploring?
- Call on a few students and record the new information
on our easel.
We will be learning even more about things that begin with
the letter I this week.
Because this lesson is very hands on and exploratory, the
students will be able to enter the learning experience at their
own levels. During their exploration, I will be walking around
asking select students/groups some questions. During this
time, I will be able to offer more support and explanation to
students who might still be confused about the difference
between ice and water or students who have additional
questions.

Formal Rationale:
Guidelines for rationale statements
1. Why did you choose the objectives you did? In other words, what about your
observation of the students current level made you decide that this was the
direction to go next.
I chose the objectives I did for several reasons. First and foremost, the letter of
the week is the letter /I/, therefore, I wanted to somehow relate my lesson back
to this. Throughout my time at St. Gregs, the students have also been talking a lot
about winter, water, snow, ice and the weather. I thought that this would be a
great way to tie in all of these topics with something that also related to their
letter of the week. I also know that these students have had experience last month
working with and learning about their five senses, which they will be able to
demonstrate their knowledge in this lesson. Finally, I know that this age and this
group particularly really enjoys exploration and being able to learn hands on so I
thought this would be a great way for them to demonstrate their knowledge,
explore their thinking and engage in their learning in a very developmentally
appropriate way.
2. Why did you decide to use these instructional strategies, this material, this
grouping strategy? In other words, why teach this lesson this way?
The reason I chose to teach this lesson in this manner was because of my knowledge
thus far on the students and their developmental level. I know that these students can
sit in a large group setting for a minimal amount of time and it needs to be engaging.
Therefore, I chose to briefly meet with them on the carpet to have a conversation
about the letter /I/ and engage them by asking questions about things they have done
around the topic and things they already know. I tried to make as many meaningful
connections as I could with them so they could connect their learning to past learning
and experiences. Once we were done on the carpet, I knew that I wanted to get them

active and engaged. This group of students, as well as most 4 year olds, love to be
hands on and explore which is why I thought it would be an excellent idea to get them
using their five senses and exploring. I chose to have them exploring for about 10-15
minutes because I knew that they would love to explore longer but, I didnt want to
lose the focus of what we were doing and have it turn into water play. I wanted to keep
the focus on exploring the ice and using our senses to learn new things about ice.
Finally, I chose to have the students join me back on the rug to really wrap things up
and bring the ideas together. I wanted them to see that we started out with some
knowledge about ice and after reading and exploring; we were able to learn a lot more.
3. Why did you decide to assess learning in the way you did? What evidence will this
assessment strategy give you about the level of student learning?
My assessing for this lesson heavily relied on observation. I didnt want this to be a
lesson where I was checking down if students had it or didnt. I wanted this lesson to
be more of a conversation about our learning and wanted to ask questions and learn
right there with them. As I assessed, I walked around to the different table groups
and I asked some guiding questions to get them thinking and exploring even more.
There answers to these questions really helped me asses if they were able to use their
five senses to learn about ice and to asses their thinking and their learning. I think
that walking around and talking with them and asking questions and getting down at
their level, got them even more excited because they were able to share their
discoveries with me and tell me things as they were the expert.