Science Practicum Lesson Plan Template

Lead teacher: Nicole Swenson Date lesson will be taught: October 21, 2013
Supporting teachers: Kelly Gilkey, Casey Alderman
Cooperating teacher and grade level: Kelli Miles; 4
th
Grade
Curriculum title: Gems Ocean Sciences Lesson title: Planet Ocean

CURRICULUM CONTEXT/LONG-TERM GOALS
How does this lesson contribute to the NGSS to be reached at the end of the quarter?

Next Generation Science Standards & Connection of Lesson:
1) What are the NGSS of the curriculum? Write two short narratives (a paragraph of 6-10 sentences) about what the
storyline is for this curriculum. This section will remain the same for each of the lessons.
Science Content:
The ocean is one big interconnected body of water that covers the majority of Earth's surface. Within the ocean, there
are layers which are defined by their differences in temperature and salinity. These differences in temperature and salinity, as
well as wind create ocean currents that keep the ocean in constant motion. As the ocean gets deeper, the amount of pressure
increases and the temperature decreases. There are many different features of the ocean floor, such as trenches, deep-sea
vents, and underwater mountains. To explore the ocean, scientists have to use different types of technology.

Science Practices:
Scientist utilize a number of practices throughout the scientific process, two of these are modeling and creating explanations
using evidence. Models are a way that scientists represent scientific phenomena. They are a smaller scale representation of
the real life event, organism, or object. Models can be used in a number of ways including designing solutions and constructi ng
explanations. When using models in science they should be a clear representation of the phenomena, they should be labeled
appropriately, to scale, and accurate. Scientists also construct explanations, or descriptions of a scientific phenomenon using
evidence collected over time. Evidence can be collected from a number of sources; observations, experiments, and
measurements can all be used to support an explanation. When presenting a scientific explanation, evidence is cited and used
to back the explanation. These explanations are used to solve problems and design solutions.

2) How does this particular lesson fit with one of the NGSS of the curriculum? How does this particular lesson help students
make those connections?
Content:
Within lesson 1.1 students use a globe as a model of the Earth to construct an understanding that there is only one ocean on
Earth. This lesson targets many of the students misconceptions regarding how many oceans there are on the Earth; students
experiences with maps and globes have mislead them to think that there are multiple oceans on the Earth. Additionally the
model shows students how much of our plant is covered by the ocean. Within our assessments a lot of the students showed
that they had little understanding of the proportion of land to ocean on Earth. Most students either thought the Earth was a
majority land, or it was about 50/50 land to water.
Practices:
Lastly this lesson introduces the students to the idea that models are used to understand and explain the world around us.
They will discuss accuracies and inaccuracies in the model as well discuss how the model helped construct their
understandings. The students will gain experience with the globe as a model to help construct the understanding of how much
of the Earth is covered with ocean and that there is only one ocean on Earth.

3) Are there any specific lessons that need to have preceded this lesson? Are there specific areas of knowledge, skills, or
background experience that are necessary for the students to be able to successfully engage in this lesson (content or
practices)?
Science Content:
This lesson starts from square one with oceans. Though, it is helpful for students to have some prior knowledge of the ocean it
is not necessary. For students that have little to no experience with the ocean we will be creating an understanding of the
ocean through the experiences we have in class. We cannot assume (even though we live so close to the water in Bellingham)
that every students has had many experiences with the ocean, and because of that we will be providing as many models,
experience, and videos as possible to ensure that every student has a concrete understanding of what we are discussing in
class. However, it is important that in previous grades students learned to think critically about systems; whether they be
regarding organisms, cycles, or some other type of system. We will be building on this idea of a system by connecting it to the
idea that the ocean is a large system with smaller subsystems.
Formatted: Underline

Science Practices:
By this time in school the students should have used models in previous classes. Though we will be going through the utility of
models and how they are used, it is important that students have had experience with using models. This experience with
models merely contributes to the management of model use. Again, although it is preferable they have had experience with
models in years past, we will ensure to discuss how models are to be used to ensure all students are on the same page.

Learning Targets for This Lesson:
1) Content learning targets:
a. Write a learning target for content stated as an age-appropriate science concept/idea.
There is only one ocean on Earth.
Most of the Earth is covered by the ocean about 71%


b. EALR 1:Systems
Big Idea: Systems (SYS)
Core Content: Complex Systems
In prior grades students learned to think systematically about how the parts of objects, plants, and animals are
connected and work together. In grades 4-5 students learn that systems contain smaller (sub-) systems, and that
systems are also parts of larger systems. The same ideas about systems and their parts learned in earlier grades
apply to systems and subsystems. In addition, students learn about inputs and outputs and how to predict what
may happen to a system if the systems inputs are changed. The concept of a hierarchy of systems provides a
conceptual bridge for students to see the connections between mechanical systems (e.g., cities) and natural
systems (e.g., ecosystems).
4-5 SYSA
Systems contain subsystems.

ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions
The locations of mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, ocean floor structures, earthquakes, and volcanoes
occur in patterns. Most earthquakes and volcanoes occur in bands that are often along the boundaries between
continents and oceans. Major mountain chains form inside continents or near their edges. Maps can help locate
the different land and water features areas of Earth. (4-ESS2-2)

c. Content learning target assessment statement:
Students will correctly answer the questions on the assessment sheet using evidence from the activities completed
during the lesson. They will fill in the box to indicate how much of the earth is covered by ocean and how much is
covered by land.

2)
a. Science practices learning targets (or nature-of-science learning targets):
Scientists use models to help understand and explain things.

b. Developing and Using Models
Modeling in 35 builds on K2 experiences and progresses to building and revising simple models and using models to
represent events and design solutions.
Develop a model to describe phenomena. (4-PS4-2) (Reaching but not meeting in this lesson)

c. EALR 2: Inquiry
Big Idea: Inquiry (INQ)
Core Content: Planning Investigations
In prior grades students learned to conduct different kinds of investigations. In grades 4-5 students learn to plan an
investigation, which involves first selecting the appropriate kind of investigation to match the question being asked.
One type of investigation is a controlled experiment (a fair test). Others include systematic observation, field
studies, and models and simulations. Students can also collect, display, and interpret data; summarize results; draw
conclusions from evidence; and communicate their findings. Students are aware that scientific explanations
emphasize evidence, involve logical arguments, and are consistent with scientific principles and theories. Students
are also expected to communicate their findings and to critique the investigations of others with respect and
intellectual honesty. These capabilities are essential in preparing students for the more extensive and rigorous
investigations that they will be planning and conducting in middle school.
4-5 INQF Models
A scientific model is a simplified representation of an object, even, system, or natural process created to
understand some aspect of the natural world. When learning from a model, it is important to realize that
the model is not exactly the same as the thing being modeled.

d. Science process learning target assessment statement:
Students will identify the model they used to support their answer to the investigation question. They will also return
to the pre-assessment probe and correctly identify which of the examples were models and which were not.

3) Academic vocabulary:
Initial ideas At the beginning of class I will tell students that scientist always think about what they already
know before they start an investigation. I will add the title of initial ideas to this explanation. The students
will engage in eliciting their own initial ideas and will have that vocabulary word revisited throughout the
lesson. This will be added to the classroom vocabulary chart.
Model Students will be using globes as models throughout the lesson. After the students have had some
experience working with the globes I will provide the students with one definition of a model - a model is
something that helps scientist understand something by making it simpler or easier to see. I will then ask the
students if they think we used a model in our lesson today; the students will have a few seconds of think
time they will then discuss their ideas in a pair, then share out as a class. We will discuss this idea of a model
and try to identify other models in the classroom. We will the come up with a class definition for models, and
record the definition on our class vocabulary chart.

Materials:
1) List all materials necessary to complete this lesson, including quantities. If the quantities do not match the number of
students or the number of groups, describe how they are going to be apportioned.
It is STRONGLY recommended that you practice this lesson before teaching it to your class.

- 4-5 globes
- Markers 2
- Large sheets of paper
o Circle map 1
o Learning target 1
o Vocabulary chart 1
o Key concepts 1
- Assessment probes
o Content - #of oceans 30
o Content how much of the Earth is covered by ocean30
o Practice models (1 for every student +1 for teacher) 30
- Document Camera 1
- Computer (with google maps or a large map of the U.S.)
- Whiteboard pens 1
- Student hand outs
o Summative assessment 30
o Global exploration sheet 30

Number of students: 28 Number of groups: 4


ASSESSMENT PLAN

Pre-Assessment: (content and practices):
1) How will you find out what/how ALL students think about the targeted content and process ideas addressed in this
lesson?
Science Content: At the beginning of the class I will present students with the story line behind this lesson see instructional
sequence I will then present the concept cartoon to the class. The students will do a think pair share I will record student
thinking on a sheet to reference later on in the lesson. This pre-assessment targets students ideas regarding how many oceans
there are on Earth.
We will also discuss how much water there is on Earth in proportion to how much land through another assessment probe.
The students will again think, pair and share and their initial ideas will be recorded.

Science Practices:
Students will be given an assessment probe about models at the beginning of class; students will have a quick think, pair, share
and we will record student thinking.

2) What are the known misconception(s)?
Science Content: Based on the pre-assessment we gave earlier in the week we know that many students have the
misconception that there are multiple oceans on Earth. We also know that the students have misconceptions about how much
of the Earth is taken up by land and how much is taken up by ocean. Many students thought that there was either more land
that ocean or that there was about 50/50 land to ocean covering the Earth; very few correctly selected that the Earths surface
was majority ocean.

Science Practices: Many students showed misconceptions regarding models in their pre-assessment. In general students have
an overgeneralized idea of what a model is. Some identified a soap dispenser as a model because it works while others
identified a volcano as a model. It seems as though the students have had experience with models before, but are lacking the
necessary criteria to determine what is and what isnt a model.

Assessment for Learning: (content and practices):
1) How will you monitor the emerging understandings of the students?
During the lesson I will monitor student understanding by noting how they are talking about the activities. Their
discussions will provide me with rich understanding of what they are taking away from the activities. Additionally,
throughout the lesson I will be circulating and observing how the students are interacting with the models in the activity.
This will provide me with a lot of information regarding their understanding of directions as well as the concepts in the
lesson. I will have Ms. Alderman and Ms. Gilkey (Ms. Miles if she is available as well) circulating and taking note of
student understanding as well.

2) What questions do you plan to ask about content? About practices/nature of science?
Science Content:
What did you find by looking at the ocean names?
Are there really separate oceans?
What is your evidence how could you support your ideas with what youve noticed?
How would you tell there were different oceans on the globe? Would there need to be something separating them?
Could you trace a longer line on the ocean or on the land?
Have you noticed anything about how much water there is to land? Which seems to take up more space on the
globe?
If there are more fingers landing on ocean than land what does that tell us about how much land there is to ocean?

Science Practices:
What are some things that are accurate or correct about our model?
What are some things that are inaccurate about our model?
What do you think makes a good model? Labels? Size?
Does the model depend on the actual thing it is representing?
What are some other models you see in the room?

3) What should student answers look like if their learning is on target?
Science Content:
There are different parts of the ocean named different things.
No there arent separate oceans, it is one big ocean.
I can tell because there isnt anything in between the oceans, it looks like they are all connected. I noticed that it is
just one big things of blue with nothing in between or separating the parts of the ocean.
If there was some land in between the ocean names I would think they were separate oceans. Yes something,
probably land.
I could trace it longer along the ocean. I would get to the edge of a continent and have to stop.
There is more water than there is land.
The oceans take up more of the Earths surface than land.

Science Practices:
It shows the continents of the world, it is spherical, it has oceans and land, the sizes of the continents seem
proportional to each other.
It is plastic, I cant hold the real Earth in my hand, and its full of air.
The model makes it easier to see the ocean and the land; we wouldnt be able to see how much of the world was
covered by the ocean and land without it being smaller. The colors on the globe make it easier to see what is land
and what is ocean. The labels on the globe give us more information about the Earth, because of the labels we can
see what the different parts of the ocean are called, and what the countries are called.
Other models are the water cycle poster, the labeled paintings of volcanoes, maps etc. (other answers would depend
on what else they find in the room those are some of the models I noticed when I was in the room)

Summative Assessment: (content and practices):
1) How will students demonstrate that they have met the content and process learning targets?
Science Content:
Students will be given an assessment at the end of the lesson asking them to answer a question regarding the story presented
at the beginning of the class. The students will support their answer using evidence from the class activities. They will then fill
in a box to properly represent the proportion of ocean to land on Earth (similar to the pre-assessment).

Science Practices:
Students will identify the model they used to answer the question posed at the beginning of the lesson. They will also identify
which objects on the pre-assessment are models and which are not they will revisit their previous thinking and discuss how
and why it has changed throughout the lesson.

2) Are the students asked to compare their ideas to their initial ideas? How?
Science Content:
As a class we will revisit our initial ideas regarding the proportion of ocean to land and also the idea of how many oceans there
are on Earth. We will discuss how our ideas have changed throughout the lesson and discuss what activities contributed to our
new understandings. This will be done in a think, pair, share format.

Science Practices:
We will revisit the assessment probe about models, we will decide if we need to change our thinking from the beginning of
class or if we will keep our answers the same. Students will discuss what qualifies a model as a model and use that criteria as a
basis to decide if they will keep their previous selections or change them.

3) Is your assessment quantifiable? (Can you mathematically estimate the student learning?) Why? Why not?
Science Content/ Science Practices:
Yes, we can assign a scale to the student answers; we will create criteria in order to determine how fully the students
understand the scientific concepts. The answers will be graded on a scale of 1-4 based on correctness (1 incomplete
understanding/explanation to 4 complete understanding/explanation). The assessment will assess students understanding
of scientific practices as well as content.

4) What should student answers look like if their learning at the end of the lesson is on target for both content and
practices?
ATTACH THE ANSWER KEY CONTENT AND PRACTICES ASSESSMENT(S): PROBE, WORKSHEET, FLOW CHART, SURVEY, ETC.
(They can be attached as separate files.) PLEASE SEE ATTACHED!




INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE
The total estimated time should not exceed the class time.
Communicating Learning Targets:
How many oceans are there on Earth?
Is there more ocean or land on Earth?
What is a model?
Time (min)


2 mins
What are the teachers going to do?
One of my friends is going all the way up to
Alaska in a few weeks to work. He is going to
Shishmaref, Alaska. When we found out where
he was going, we immediately pulled up a map
to look at where this small town was. Pull up
google map or point out on map show how far
What are the students going to do?


Students will remain in their seats; they will look at the map of
Shismaref and get ready to start the investigation.
away it is from Bellingham. As we were looking
at the map he said that he would be so far away
that hed be able to touch a different ocean.
And that got us thinking is there more than
one ocean or is it all one big ocean? Today you
are all going to help me figure out the answer
to this question so we can tell Nich whether he
really will be able to touch a different ocean.
During this investigation we will also be
answering another question that came up while
we were looking at the map is there more
land on Earth or more water on Earth?
Eliciting Initial Ideas:
Time (min)


10 mins




4 mins




















4 mins















What are the teachers going to do?
One thing scientists do before they start
experiments is they record what they already
think about a subject this is called initial ideas.
Before we start with our activities we are going
to write out our initial ideas.

Content Pre-Assessment :
Here is my friend Nich put assessment probe
under document camera what I want you to do
is to think individually about whether you agree
or disagree with what Nich is saying about the
ocean. After 1 minute of think time I am going
to give you 1 minute to discuss this idea with a
partner or in a group of three. When I give you
the signal we are going to come back together
as a class and discus what you think about these
ideas. Provide think time, and pair share time,
bring the class back together and record student
thinking on the back of the assessment probe
create one column for agree and one for
disagree. Have students discuss their thinking.
Discussion should last no longer than 2 minutes.
While students are engaged in discussion add
initial ideas to class vocabulary chart circulate
throughout classroom and answer questions,
listen into conversations etc.

Now I told you we would also be answering the
question of whether this is more land on Earth
or more Ocean. These pictures may look similar
to the pictures you saw during your pre-
assessment. We are going to discuss our ideas
about which one of these is a correct
representation of the Earth together. Again,
you will think for a minute about what picture
you think is right, you will share your ideas with
a partner, and then we will discuss as a class.
Record student answers on the back of the
assessment probe again. This discussion should
take no longer than 2 minutes. Circulate
throughout classroom and answer questions,
listen into conversations etc.

Practices Pre-Assessment
What are the students going to do?








The students will be engaging in a think, pair share, then in a
whole class discussion of their ideas
















The students will be engaging in a think, pair share, then in a
whole class discussion of their ideas















The students will be engaging in a think, pair share, then in a

4 mins


















Now were going to look at some other initial
ideas remember on the last pre-assessment
we took there were some questions about
models. I remember a lot of people having
questions about that one. Here are some
pictures of items; some are models some are
not. What I want you to do is, decide which
ones you think are models and which are not,
you will have 30 seconds to think, 30 seconds to
pair share, then we will survey the class and see
which ones people think are models and which
one people think are not models. Give students
time to think, pair, share and share ideas to the
whole class. Take a tally of no and yes for
each example. Then have the students share
how they decided what was a model and what
wasnt. Record on sheet. Circulate throughout
classroom and answer questions, listen into
conversations etc.

whole class discussion of their ideas

Engaging with Phenomena:
Time (min)

10 -12
mins

































What are the teachers going to do?
Now that we have our initial ideas written down
were going to start plugging away on
answering these questions!
We are going to divide you up into groups of
about 6 and give each group a globe. As a group
you are going to be looking at the globe, there
is a worksheet that will guide your
investigation. Each of you needs to put your
name on the top of your paper and be sure to
fill out the whole worksheet. Ms. Gilkey, Ms.
Alderman and I are here to walk around and
help as you need. Be sure to pass the globe
around so everyone gets a chance to see the
globe!
Pass out global exploration sheets to groups.
Walk around and monitor student thinking
provide questions to further students thinking.

Content Assessment for Learning
What did you find by looking at the
ocean names?
Are there really separate oceans?
What is your evidence how could you
support your ideas with what youve
noticed?
How would you tell there were
different oceans on the globe? Would
there need to be something separating
them?
Could you trace a longer line on the
ocean or on the land?
Using Evidence to Draw Conclusions and Make
Claims:
Once the students have finished their
investigation bring the whole class back
together. Have a brief discussion about their
What are the students going to do?




Students are getting into assigned groups they are passing the
globe around, observing the globes and answering the questions
on the sheet. Engaged in thoughtful discussion about the globes.









































11mins













































investigation record class answers on a sheet
to ensure every student has the same answer.
From that investigation do you think we can
answer any of our questions from the beginning
of the class? Which one? How can we be sure
that there is only one ocean? What things did
you observe?
Looks like we have come to a conclusion about
the first key question we have there is only one
ocean on Earth. Write There is only one ocean
on Earth on the key concepts poster. This
poster will remain in the classroom throughout
the unit.

I wonder if we have some ideas about the other
question we have up here about how much of
the Earth is covered by ocean. Has anyone
noticed anything about the globes that might
give us some clues or evidence for either there
being more ocean water on Earth or more land?
Some students may bring to the table that there
is more blue on the globe than there is any
other color. Can someone hold up a globe and
show us a side that has the most ocean
showing? Student will show the class the area of
the globe with mainly ocean showing.
Was anyone surprised by how much
ocean is showing on the globe?
Why do you think maps show mainly
land and not so much water?
o Getting at the point that maps
are supposed to show land
masses.
So it seems like we have some evidence to
support and idea about this key questions. But
as scientists we need to collect as much
evidence as possible to answer a question fully.
We are going to play a globe toss game, we are
going to record how many times our index
fingers land on ocean and how many times they
land on land when we toss the globe to each
other. In order to do this when I say go I need
everyone to calmly stand up behind their desks
with their chairs pushed in. We will toss the
globe to each other in a safe manner ensure
that they are tosses and not throws; everyone
will get a chance to catch the globe. When you
catch the globe you will tell me whether your
finger landed on the ocean or on a land mass
and I will record the results up here on the
whiteboard. Manage class as the globe toss
activity is executed. Record results on the
whiteboard.
Using Evidence to Draw Conclusions and Make
Claims:
So what does it look like the results were? More
ocean or more land? Yea more ocean water,
scientist have actually calculated that the

Class discussion, sharing their findings about the globe.
















Sharing their observations about the globes



















Calmly engaged in the globe toss activity, students will toss the
globe to classmates and share the results of where their right
index finger landed.















Sharing their concluding ideas about how much of the globe is
covered by ocean water








7 mins






10 mins


























5 mins
Earths surface is about 71% ocean an how
much of the Earth would be land then? Yea
29%. Write the key concept of Most of the
Earth is covered by ocean (about 71%) on the
key concept chart.
I am thinking that we are pretty convinced
about both these question regarding the Earths
surface. So now we are going to write our final
ideas based on these experiments today. I am
going to be showing these to Nich so make sure
you tell him how you know what you know
about the ocean so he is fully convinced. Pass
out summative assessments
Content Summative Assessment
Clarify any questions, support students that
need extra literacy help.

Now that we have answered the questions we
had about oceans I want to talk about this
model question. If I told you that a model helps
scientists understand something by making it
simpler or easier to see could you think of
something we used today that could fall under
that description? Think silently to yourself give
students 10 sec think time then have them
share affirm that a globe is a model of the
Earth. Provide time for students to think pair
share their ideas regarding the following
questions, get through as many questions as
time permits.
Practices Assessment for Learning
What are some things that are
accurate or correct about our model?
What are some things that are
inaccurate about our model?
What do you think makes a good
model? Labels? Size?
Does the model depend on the actual
thing it is representing?
What are some other models you see
in the room?
Record student answer in a circle map to
organize thinking.
Can we come up with a definition as a class of a
model? Record model definition on Key
vocabulary chart paper
Practices Summative Assessment:
Lets revisit the example models we had from
the beginning of the class. Were going to hand
out that list of items and I want you to go back
through them and decide which ones are
models and which are not. Then on the bottom
of your sheet I would like you to write how your
thinking has change throughout todays lesson.

When youre done with your worksheet please
raise your hand and one of us will come around
and collect it along with the other work we did
today. We will be checking your work out then













Writing their ideas about whether there are multiple oceans or
just one ocean covering the Earths surface.




















Discussing questions posed to class













Completing summative assessment.
Comment [NS1]: Due to time we were un
able to get to this section of the lesson.
Students misconceptions regarding number of
oceans persisted and required me to take more
time with that section. This section will be
addressed in the next lesson plan of our group.
returning it to you to keep in your science
notebook.
Making Sense of the Lesson:
Time (min)

5 mins

What are the teachers going to do?
Lets as a class take a look at the questions that
started our investigation off. Can you turn and
talk to your partner about what your new
understanding of these questions are and what
activities helped guide your understanding?
Have students discuss the key concept questions
from the beginning of the class and share out to
the whole class.
o How has your understanding
changed over the course of
this lesson?
o What was most the most
surprising thing you learned
today?
Lets sum up what we learned today
How many oceans cover the Earth?
Is the Earth mainly covered by ocean water or
land?
What is a model?
Great!
What are the students going to do?


Engaging in think, pair, share to reflect on the days learning.

Apply or Extend New Understanding in a New Context:
Students apply or extend their learning to a slightly different context. This can lead into next lesson.

Time (min)


5
What are the teachers going to do?

Time for your exit task! On this half sheet of
paper that we are handing out please write
your idea about this question:
If there is only one ocean then does the ocean
floor look the same everywhere? When you are
done you can put them up here on the front
desk! Thank you for working so hard today! We
had a lot of fun!
What are the students going to do?


Completing their exit task
Comment [NS2]: Also ran out of time for
this part of the lesson might be used by
Casey as an eliciting initial ideas for her
lesson.

Self-Reflection on Teaching

What worked well during your lesson?
The variety of ways that students interacted in the lesson worked really well, I think. The students were in small
groups, they discussed in pairs, they had time to reflect as individuals, and participated in whole group discussion. I
felt that because the students interacted with the lesson in so many different contexts they were able to gain a
deeper understanding of the material. Within each type of grouping the students heard other perspectives,
challenged themselves and each other, and worked together to come to a conclusive idea.
The activities also worked well. I was nervous about hoe engaged the students would be with the global
exploration, but it turned out that that activity challenged many of their misconceptions and because of that
engaged the students in a very worthy activity. I heard tons of interesting conversations and questioning back and
forth that activity really got the students thinking about the key concept questions. The globe toss activity also
went well. I was concerned about management issues but having Kelly and Casey as teaching partners we were
able to divide the class into three groups and have that activity run smoothly. Even better, the students noticed the
pattern we were hoping for them to notice!
Additionally, classroom management went pretty smoothly. Having the presence of Kelly and Casey really helped
keep the students in check throughout the lesson. I knew some of their names and that helped a lot with the
management. I was able to refer back to our classroom norms and have the students check back into the lesson
plan.
Overall, I felt that the lesson went well; I didnt get to everything I wanted to, but of the activities I was able to get
to the students seemed to get a lot out of them.

What was challenging during your lesson? What would you do differently next time?
The biggest challenge I felt during this lesson was time While creating my lesson plan I thought I had only planned
for 70 minutes on the dot. However, it turned out that my planned lesson was 83 minutes! The time given to us in
the classroom is right before another class I have so unfortunately I couldnt have stayed that extra 13 minutes. I
spent all morning reworking things, trying to streamline my lesson, and make the 70 minutes work for the amount
of content I had. Much to my dismay I was unable to get to everything in my lesson. I had e-mailed Kelli before the
lesson telling her about this dilemma and she said after the lesson that it didnt seemed rushed and that the time
we spent of activities was quality. She said that she felt it was worth the extra time to get student to understand
the content deeply rather than rush through it and hope that some student grasp a few concepts. I completely
agree with her. Although, I wish I could have completed my lesson in its entirety, I am glad I chose not to rush.
Another challenge that presented its self during the lesson was how persistent childrens misconceptions are about
there being multiple oceans. After exploring the globes, having authentic discussions about the meaning behind
our observations and having students individually tell me there was only one ocean; when I checked for
understanding by asking how many now agree with the statement of there only being one ocean? Zero hands
were raised. What I didnt realize (or I kind of did, but didnt think that it would contribute so much to the students
understanding) was the idea of a smaller system being part of a larger system. When no hands raised I had to think
quickly about how I was going to target students misconceptions. I had the students turn and talk to their partners
about why they were thinking there was more than one ocean, I listened in and figured out that the names were
tripping the students up. I came up with another example of a part whole relationship with a plant (probably
better examples but that is what I came up with during my few moments of panic) I stood and told the students to
pretend I was a flower. I had my roots (feet), a leaf (my hand), and a flower (my head). I talked about how even
though we call a leaf a leaf it is still part of a flower and talked about that system a little bit; I then asked the
students how that could be related to the ocean and the light bulbs finally went off! The students had to look
beyond the names of the oceans in order to get to the real understanding of oceans. This was difficult because
throughout their lives they have been taught that there are different oceans with different name.

What is your evidence for student learning?
Throughout the lesson the students were engaging in activities and discussion. I not only took note of student
thinking during these times, but also took their global explorations worksheets and content summative worksheets
and create a rubric. The total points possible for both of these was 7; students received full points if they answered
all the questions accurately and wrote about some activity done in class that helped them come to their new

understanding. The excel spreadsheet of student results are attached to the e-mail.