Lesson Plan- States of Matter- Solids, Liquids, Gases

Name: _Haidee Garcia

Grade:

4rd Grade

Date: December 11, 2014

School: Elementary Public School

Subject Area: ELA/ SCIENCE Reading
Type of Setting: General Education

Instructional Context
What do I know about my students that will inform my lesson?
This lesson will be designed for a 4rd grade general education class consisting of 30 students
from culturally diverse backgrounds. Out of the student body there are two English Language
Learners in the class. The reading level of each student was determined by utilizing The
Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System (BAS) found in Heinemann
Publishing, at the beginning of the year. This benchmark reading assessment will be
continued to be use throughout the school year to determine if students have progressed in
their reading level. Two of the students in the class are identified as English Language
Learners. To assess the reading level of these students I used Enhanced ELL Reading
Solution: ELL Assessments and Language Pack which is specifically designed for ELL
students and connects to content area, vocabulary and specific language functions aligned
with the Common Core State Standards. With the use of the website Reading A to Z
(http://www.readinga-z.com/ell/ell-assessments/) I was able to find the appropriate resources
to determine their reading level and gather information about the students language
development, strength and weakness across all domains, including, speaking, writing,
reading and listening. Using this data I am able to format lesson plans, instructions and
interventions to fit the needs of each ELL student. The range of the reading level in the
classroom is from Level N to Level U.
The second part of this lesson will consists of having students seek information through a
variety of high-level, on-level and low-level difficulty as well as, Spanish Non/fiction
informational text in which they will do a jigsaw activity to gather information. The group of
students will be placed heterogeneously depending on their level of needs and reading level.
Students that are in a lower reading level, N, O or P, as well as the ELL students will be pair
into groups to work with materials on their reading level. On level or at a higher reading level,
Q to U will work in groups with materials on their reading level. The lesson will also
incorporate various supports such as visuals, read aloud, checklist, and graphic organizers to
assist the student with the required tasks and in comprehension. The use of support that will
be used throughout the different activities in this lesson lends itself from a variety of theorist
and pioneers in the profession whose work laid the groundwork for designing lessons that are
engaging and facilitate learning. These individuals are Elliot Aronson who created the jigsaw
technique as a method of organizing classroom activity by encouraging students to be
dependent on each other. In addition, David Ausebel who created graphic organizers as a
way of activating prior knowledge, arranging and storing information. Donald Graves who
believe that student should be engage in activities that facilitate gathering and organizing
information.
In order to provide these students with an instruction that meets their specific needs
especially for the ELL students and the struggling learners I will place emphasis on
establishing and encouraging a collaborative environment. A major influence in designing
this lesson plan is my strong belief in the Social Constructivism Philosophy of Education
pioneered by Jon Piaget and strongly influenced by Lev Vygotsky. A major component of this
philosophy that correlates with my lesson in particular supporting the ELL students is in the
importance it will place on the nature of a learners social interaction with other members of
their society/environment. For students, in particular struggling learners and ELLs these
other member are their classmates, students whom are perhaps more advanced or have had

more exposure to the particular topic. As emphasized by Piagets constructivism viewpoint,

children develop their thinking abilities by interacting and engaging with other children. For
this reason, I will place careful consideration on learning my students background and
culture as it will shape how they learn and make sense of the content.
For this lesson reason I have placed careful consideration on learning my students
background and culture as it will shape how they learn and make sense of the content. This
fourth grade classroom consists of culturally diverse students. The classroom is composed of
eighteen students of Latin American descent. Nine students are from African American
descent there are four white students and one student is from Asian descent. From
observations of previous lessons and activities the students demonstrated a high interest in
working in groups with one another and in learning through a variety of hands on and visual
activities.
How does this lesson connect with and build on the previous lesson(s)?
As part of the NYC k-8 Science Scope and Sequence the student would have been exposed to
the properties of water, in particular predicting, observing and examining different
substances to determine the ability to mix with water such as oil and water or a wooden
block with water. This lesson will also activate the student prior knowledge and skills in
seeking and answering who, what, were, when, why and how questions which falls under
Level 1 (recall) on the Depth of Knowledge chart (DOK) as well as predict, observe, label and
identify that fall under Skills and Concept (Level 2) . In addition, they will use, and
demonstrate familiarity in using graphic organizers to record observations and notes.
Therefore, in regards to the range of reading and level of text complexity detailed in the
CCSS for the 3rd Grade the students should be able to read and comprehend informational
text, including science both independently and proficiently.
How do you expect to build on this lesson in subsequent lessons?
This lesson can be built in subsequent lessons by incorporating different activities and
Webbs depth of knowledge questions. As detailed in the NYC K-8 Science Scope and
Sequence a subsequent lesson will incorporate the instruction of learning how water is
recycled by natural processes through evaporation, precipitation (rain) and condensation. In
using the skills learned from this lesson such as the academic language function seek
information through various informational text to learn about the states of matter (solids,
liquids, gas), the teacher will be able to use Level three and even level four questions, to
enhance their strategic and extended thinking. The following DOK words can be utilized in
the subsequent lessons, draw conclusions, hypothesize and differentiate which fall under
Level Three of the Depth Of Knowledge (DOK) as well as, Level four words, apply concepts
and design which falls on Level Four of DOK.

I) Purpose (Concepts/Essential Question)

The central focus of the literacy content is to acquire information from the text to build the
students academic language which is seeking information. Students will use this language to
develop their inquiry skills to acquire information from observing and exploring an event.
Students will build reading comprehension skills by observing the teacher model the skills
first and then have the students use the strategies. The goal of this lesson is for students to
seek information which will help them in ask and answer text-dependent questions to
demonstrate understanding and comprehension by referring to the key ideas of the text.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
1. Which state of matter (solid, liquid, or gas,) do you believe is most
important for survival? Explain your thinking?
II) Academic Language (Vocabulary, Language Function, Linguistic Forms-Grammar, Key
Terms)
Academic Language (Language Functions):
Seek Information: The process or activity of acquiring information through inquiry,
observation and
exploration from the environment or text.
Syntax: Students will be able to write notes and to create a booklet with details on the
three states of
matter (solid, liquid, gas) from various informational texts.
Vocabulary: (acquire and reviewed from the informational text and lesson)
Matter: Anything that has mass and takes up space.
Mass: a measure of the amount of matter in an object.
States of Matter: forms of matters, three common types, solid, liquid and gas.
Property: Something about an object that can be observed or measured.
Solid: is matter that holds its own shape until a force changes it (ice, blocks, wood, plastic
bags etc)
Liquid: is matter that takes the shape of its container, but has no shape of its own (water,
milk, juice etc)
Gas: is matter that has no shape and spreads out into space (water vapor, air, carbon
dioxide)
Volume: how much space something takes up.
Condensation: to change from a gas to a liquid
Evaporate (vapor): To change from a liquid to a gas.
Fahrenheit: a scale of temperature.
Inquiry: an act of asking for information.
Informational Booklet: A small, thin book typically giving information on a particular
subject.
Rationale (Based on Theory and Research)
[For this lesson the students will become investigators as they observe and explore their
environment and text to identify the states of matter. This lesson will build on the lower level
skills such as answering, who, what, where, when, how and why questions which constitute
an integral part in utilizing the inquiry method. A key component for this lesson will be that

students will seek information from the text to share with the class their findings on the topic
as well as, make connections from the text, their environment and their own lives. Maryann
Eeds and Deborah Wells (1989), emphasize how important it is for students to build
conversations by sharing their personal responses and making the connections between the
text and their own lives.
The academic language function, seek information is essential for students to learn the
literacy strategy of reading and comprehending a text and using information from the text to
answer questions and identify different attributes. It is crucial for students to be given ample
opportunities to develop their inquiry skills to help them practice how to acquire and identify
information. In their book Teaching as a Subversive Activity, Neil Postman and Charles
Weingartner advocated the inquiry method and how this student-centered method of
education focuses on encouraging teachers to avoid giving direct answers and encourages
students to be good learners and reasoners, which center their attention to ask questions
that are meaningful to them.
The lesson plan will incorporate an array of activities and hand-on exercises that aided
with the use of graphic organizers will reinforce the importance of asking and answering
questions to build on their reading comprehension and inquiry skills. As Ausubel (1960)
Illustrated, the manner in which knowledge is represented can influence learning. In addition,
it will further assist in applying this knowledge to develop their writing skills. This idea is best
supported by Donald Graves (1985) whose research revealed that writing is a natural human
need of self-expression and a way to develop and hone critical thinking skills. His major
contributions lay the groundwork in engaging student in activities that facilitate the gathering
and organization of ideas for the writing process. This includes drawing pictures,
brainstorming, reading books, listing vocabulary words and conversing with their
classmates.]
III) Skills
[The student will gain the following skills:
Seek, acquire, observe, identify, construct, categorizing]
IV) Objectives (Performance Indicators What the learner will be able to do as a result of
the lesson. Include IEP or 504 goals if appropriate.)
[The lesson will incorporate a variety of teacher and student guidance and scaffolding
(graphic organizers, rubrics) to accommodate all students including struggling readers and
students with special needs.
OBJECTIVES/ Students will be able to:
ASSESSMENT
Students will be able to recall and identify the
three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas
and its changes by categorizing.

1. Observations, questioning , class

discussions, properties label chart
board, What's the matter? graphic
organizers
2. Questioning, class discussions,
Students will be able to use findings gathered
from observations and scientific text to explain jigsaw graphic organizers,
Informational booklet piece checklist
key concepts and events.
and writing rubric,
V) Common Core Learning and NYS Standards (Include number and text. Describe how
standards and learning objectives address: essential literacy strategy, requisite skills
reading/writing connections)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY
RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a scientific text, including what
happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
W.4.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from
print take notes and categorize information

SL.4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and

teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and
expressing their own clearly.
NYC: K-8 SCIENCE SCOPE & SEQUENCE
PS 3.2 a,b Examine and describe the transformation of matter from one state to another,
e.g., solid water (ice) to liquid (water) to gas (water vapor).

V) Pre-Assessment (How you determine that objects are appropriate for the learners.
At what level the learners may be expected to meet the objectives.
[The shift to use more Informational text in instruction has become more prevalent in
classrooms. This type of non-fiction book offers great benefits to students. This lesson
utilizes a variety of high and low level informational text on the properties of matter
(solid, liquid, gas) to not only educate but also trigger students prior knowledge and
experiences. To initiate the lesson the teacher will utilize the strategy of discussion and
collaborative work to engage students in communicating and sharing their prior
knowledge of the concept. The teacher will ask the students what they think the
world is made of? This is to see what they know about the word matter and what it
means. The teacher will also ask if they know the different states of matter. They
will then be presented with an array of different objects and pictures to represent the
three states of matter: Solids, liquids and gas. The students will be required to observe
the objects closely, identify their characteristics and write them down on a graphic
organizer. Lastly the student will then come to the chart board and categorize the item in
the room on the corresponding property. The students will be encouraged to discuss with
their peers and closely observe their environment/classroom to see if other objects
represent the three different properties. This form of pre-assessment is important at
informing the teacher what the students already know and what they are able to do, as
well as, serve as a tool for helping struggling students answer questions. In measuring
the graphic organizers along with observations on the students collaborative team work
and participation the teacher will assess the students strengths and weakness and will
help determine which students are ready for more advance instructions and which
student may have not yet achieved the right skills for a specific objective.]
Rationale
[The pre-assessment portion of the lesson is designed to gain a better understanding on a
students prior knowledge and as benchmark to assess the progress the students have made
in learning the objectives.
[The first part of this lesson will consist of strategically using discussion and collaborative
work which is an approach strongly emphasize by Lev Vygotsky who believe learning was
socially constructed. The collaborative work in this lesson essentially sets the platform for
students to demonstrate their skills and aptitude in working with one another and in actively
using the knowledge and skills learned from previous lesson. Another major component of
this lesson will be the use of scientific inquiry based learning. The philosophy of inquiry
based learning derives from constructivist learning theories contributed by the works of Jean
Piaget, John Dewey and Lev Vygotsky. This form of learning, centers on the idea of producing
information and making meaning of it based on personal experience. A major theorist of this
learning pedagogy is John Dewey who explains that learners are innately curious and actively
create their own knowledge in a collaborative not competitive way.
By providing students with hands on activities like observations where they will carefully
watch an object and take notes, the students will interact with the world in a scientific way.
As they observe, they will communicate and record their findings to show their prior
knowledge. Harlen and Jelly (1997) explain that this is called process skills of science and it
plays a critical role in assisting students to develop scientific ideas.

The pre-assessment portion of this lesson will incorporate visually and highly communicative
activities that will actively engage students to be aware of the parts that make up a whole
(three properties that make up matter) as well as work with their peers to show their ability
at carrying out successful inquiry without assistance. Eventually the use of these preassessment activities will help in devising instructional decision to determining how to
effectively differentiate the instruction.]
VII) Learning Segment/Presentation
1. Set Induction (How will you get learners interested and attentive. How will you
activate prior knowledge)
[The teacher will initiate the lesson by assessing the student's prior knowledge. To determine
what students know, understand and are able to do, the teacher will engage the students in a
class activity and discussion about what they know on the topic of matter and its properties.
As a form of pre-assessment the teacher will engage the students in the process of
observation and will have the students acts as scientist as they carefully watch the
characteristics of an array of materials and pictures that represent the three states of
matter; solid, liquids and gas. In addition, the students will be assessed on their writing
skills by utilizing a graphic organizer title Whats the Matter? Where they will write and
record their observations and details of the different objects they observed. Lastly the
student will then come to the chart board and categorize the item in the room on the
corresponding property. The students will be encouraged to discuss with their peers and
closely observe their environment/classroom to see if other objects represent the three
different states of matter.
To initiate discussion the teacher will prompt the students with questions such as:
What do you think the world is made of?
What does the word matter mean?
What are the different states of matter?
Can you point to objects in this room that are made of matter?
What types of features (properties) does the object have?( ex. size, shape, colors,
and feels/texture)
The students prior knowledge will be measured by their performance and participation
through the activity, class discussions, What's the matter? Graphic organizers and the
properties label chart board.
[For this lesson student should have some prior knowledge such as:
1. Know questions: who, what, where, when, why and how in asking and answering
questions.
2. Familiarity with using graphic organizers.
Instructional Strategies/Learning Task
[This lesson will incorporate various informational text grouped by difficulty/complexity such
as low, on/mid and high level as well as, Spanish informational text for (ELL students). The
lesson will incorporate the use of collaborative group work and class discussions with the use
of the Whats the matter? Graphic organizers and properties label chart that will give
the students the chance to reflect on the topic both individually and as a group. Followed by
a read aloud book title What Is the World Made of? All about solids, liquids and gases
by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld on the topic. In addition, this lesson plan will incorporate a
jigsaw activity to help students acquire, organize the informational text as well as, foster
their comprehension. The final component of this lesson which will serve as a post
assessment. It will incorporate a writing assignment where students will be able to construct
an informational booklet with findings acquired from observations and informational text.]
Procedure (Detailed description of what you and the student will do during the

lesson. This should include the description and sequence of activities,

organization of lesson, process products, and 3 tiered assignments which provide
opportunity for practice.)
Prior to Lesson (Pre-assessment)
1. [Activate Prior Knowledge: Prior to reading the students will discuss as a class what
they already know from previous lessons or experiences about the states of matter
(solid, liquids, gas).
2. The teacher will present different scientific terms to familiarize them with the
vocabulary found on their informational text book.
3. The teacher will ask the students to act as scientists as they observe and record notes
(on the characteristics of the different objects and pictures representing solid, liquid,
and gas. They will also be encouraged to make observations of their
classroom/environment that also represent one of the properties of matter.
4. The teacher will ask the students to categorize the object they observe and place the
object under the corresponding property (solid, liquid, or gas) on a chart board.
Questions:
What do you think the world is made of?
What does the word matter mean?
What are the different states of matter?
Assessment: Whats the matter? Graphic organizer, Class discussion, questioning,
observations, participation, collaborative team work, properties chart board.
MINI LESSON (Teacher and student do)
1. [Teacher will explain to students that the first part of the lesson will consists of an
informational text read aloud What Is the World Made Of? by Kathleen Weidner
Zoehfeld and illustrated by Paul Meisel in which they are to listen and follow along with
the text paying close attention to the details and vocabulary words.
2. The teacher will inform the students that they will review the different scientific terms
and vocabulary and they will write down the vocabulary and definition on their science
notebook for later use.
3. In assisting the students understand the concept of gas which is not visible the student
will have them wave their arms in circle, and take a deep breath/exhale to visibly and
physically help them see what air and gas entails.
4. The teacher will lead a small class discussion on the information read from the book in
which the students can comment or ask questions if they need further clarification.
Assessment: class discussion, participation, questions, definition of vocabulary.
Lesson (Teacher and student do)
The teacher will inform the students that they will use a
Variety of informational text to seek information on the states
of matter (solid, liquid, gas).

Below LevelSolids
On levelLiquids

The materials such as the informational text and readings will

be differentiated by three levels of difficulty, A square shape
Above
levelwill be used as a label to represent high for the (above level) students
. A circle
shape represents medium for the (on level) students and a star shape represents
low for the (below level) students, such as the struggling readers or the English
Language Learners (ELL's). For the ELL student the informational text will be provided
in their native language (For this lesson the books are in Spanish).

 The students will seek information by using a jigsaw activity in which the students are

informed they will work together in small groups, teaching and learning from each
other about each of the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. The students will
be informed about the specific topic they will seek information for.

The teacher will explain what a jigsaw activity entails and will model the activity to

help students better understand what the guidelines for the activity will be. The
teacher will explain to students that they will be working in different cooperative
groups to learn content: a jigsaw or home group, made up of students who have read
different texts, and expert group that all reads the same text

The teacher will inform the students that they will each begin in a home group. There

will be 3 students in each home group represented by number 1, 2 and 3. Each

student will be given a shape (STAR, SQUARE, CIRCLE) which represents expert groups:
The expert groups are as follows: SOLID, LIQUID, and GAS. The students will be given
the shape that corresponds to their ability level. The below level students will work in
seeking information on solids, the on level students will seek information on liquids and
the above level students will seek information on gas.

Once all the students have been assigned a shape. The students will leave their home
group to meet with other students with the same shape, star, circle, square. The
students will then work with their groups to become experts on the states of matter.

The students will use the informational texts to write notes on the Writing Solids,

Liquids, Gas graphic organizer and gain enough information to share with their home
group. The home group will have an expert from each state of matter; solid, liquid, and
gas.

The teacher will circulate class to see how the students are seeking and gathering the
information and how they discuss. Also the teacher will assist students that are
struggling but also place responsibility for finding a solution on students to enhance
cooperative work.

Each student in the expert group will take their turn to explain to their home group

what they have learned in their expert groups from the information they gather from
the text. And each student will write the information for the other states of matter in
order to complete the graphic organizers with information for all three states of matter.

The teacher will lead the student in a class discussion and will refer to some of

question stated above. The teacher will also ask the essential question: Which state
of matter (solid, liquid, gas,) do you believe is most important for survival?
Explain your thinking
DIAGRAM DEPICTING JIGSAW:

HOME GROUP 1
HOME GROUP 2
Student A
Student D

-------> Expert Group Liquid <-----------

Student B --Student E

------> Expert Group Gas <------------

Student C
Student F

------>-Expert Group Solid<-----------

Assessment Writing about solids, liquids and gas graphic organizers, collaborative work and
participation observations.
Closure (POST ASSESSMENT) (What will you do or say to end the lesson and clarify
the objectives)
The teacher will ask the essential question, which state of matter (solid, liquid,
gas,) do you believe is most important for survival? Explain your thinking
The teacher will present the concept of using all the information gathered to write an
informational brochure. The teacher will explain what an informational brochure is and
what it entails. The student will be provided with an information brochure guideline as
well as an example of a brochure.
The students will include details, definitions, characteristics, examples, pictures from
magazines/books, and/or drawing of each objects to represent each states of matter.
Assessment: Writing piece will be assessed by informational brochure rubric and checklist to
see if they completed all of the steps.
Rationale (Relate methods, strategies to theory and research
[The central focus of this lesson plan is designed to fit the needs of all the students and to
prepare students to seek information in the books they read while also enhancing a
collaborative work environment. Studies have shown that students greatly benefit from
instructions and activities that are design around the concept of utilizing informational text to
build on the skills of inquiry and seek information. As depicted by Anderson and Guthrie
(1999) incorporating informational text where student can learn and listen helps build a
students knowledge of the real world, in particular their knowledge of science, natural and
social world. Acquiring this background knowledge can help readers have stronger
comprehension skills. In addition, the use of non-fiction text have become more prevalent in
the classroom, this serves to prepare students to handle real life reading as they advance
through the grades. It also increases their writing which would inevitably be more
academically challenging. (Oczkus, 2011). Lastly, reading informational text helps boost
vocabulary and other types of literacy knowledge. As stated by Barnatt (2010) using
informational text is not only great at differentiating content but also supporting at-risk
students, English language learners and students with special needs by addressing gaps in
comprehension and vocabulary.
This lesson plan will utilize three levels of difficulty to assist different type of learners. It will
place special emphasis on making available Spanish books that English Language learner can
utilize and make sense of. According to Thomas and Collier (2002) providing Ell students with
academic support in their native language serves important purposes it give the student the
opportunity to feel valued and respected and it helps establish a welcoming environment by
establishing a way for social interaction as it encourage the students to express themselves
in their native language if they have difficulty communicating an idea.
In reflecting on the need to learn about our students cultural background and using this
knowledge to help them understand the content, Diane Staehr (2013) states that drawing
upon the richness of ELLs first language helps make meaning of the text. This belief is also
supported by Stephen Krashens theory of comprehensible input, and Jim Cummins theory of
academic language that has depicted how beneficial it is to incorporate a students native
language into instruction. To build upon Krashen Theory, this lesson will consists in using
visual such as pictures, demonstrations, objects and books as a strategy to help build

language. Along with these activities, Krashen believe the use of graphic organizers, hands
on learning opportunities and cooperative-peer tutoring techniques also help build an ELL
students language. This lesson will employ an array of all these strategies to support ell
students especially peer teaching in which Staehr (2013) suggests pairing the students with a
partner can also help increase their comprehension. For this reason, this lesson uses
collaborative work as emphasized by Vygotsky who believe learning is highly socially
constructed.
This lesson plan will incorporate a jigsaw activity along with class discussions to engage
students to work and learn the material together. The jigsaw technique is an excellent way of
organizing classroom activity by encouraging students to be dependent on each other to
learn. This method was pioneered by Elliot Aronson as a way of decreasing prejudice and
stereotyping in the classroom. The benefit of this is that it allows students to work together,
help each other and it enforces a supportive and respectful environment. In addition the
structure of the jigsaw activity lends itself to flawlessly differentiate instruction. Since
learning experiences will be differentiated by students independent reading ability level and
will allow them to learn from their peers who have also worked on text that is appropriate for
them.
Another component to this lesson will be the read aloud portion of the mini lesson. Rosenblatt
(1978) whose transitional theory explain how students create meaning as they read this
demonstrate the importance of engaging students in read aloud because as she states,
when an individual reads or listens to a text, a reader draws on several interacting sources to
make meaning of it, these include prior knowledge, making connections, asking and
answering questions. Which all are important in assisting students to learn and comprehend
the material, in particular ELLs.
Lastly, this lesson plan will incorporate a cross-curricular approach as it will integrate
science and English language arts. This approach is heavily influenced by constructivism
theory of Jean Piaget. Planning lesson that consists of cross-curricular activities that are
engaging and a motivating way for students to attain learning, language and skills both in
subject areas.
Questioning (Write out key questions and prompts to promote higher order thinking)
Essential Questions: Level 4- Apply Concepts
Which state of matter (solid, liquid, gas,) do you believe is most important for survival?
Explain your thinking?
Prompt Questions: Level 2-Skills/Concept
What do you think the world is made of?
Level one questions: W's questions-Recall
What does the word matter mean?
What are the different states of matter?
What are examples of the 3 states of matter?
How can we describe the properties of water as a solid, liquid and gas?
What is it called when a solid changes to a liquid?
What is it called when a liquid changes to a gas?
Level one question: Identify, List
Which object would be a solid, liquid, or a gas (select a variety of objects)
List objects that change from solid to liquid or from liquid to gas?
Level two question: Organize, classify

How would you classify a snow flake,

How can we use our senses to help us describe, sort and classify matter?
How can objects be classified using their physical properties (color, size, temperature,
magnetism, texture, shape)
Level three questions: Explain
How would you explain how liquids change to solids?
Based on your observations, what conclusions can you draw about changing states of
matter?
Level four questions: Connect, Apply concepts
What is the relationship between temperature and the states of matter?
Does the amount of water change when a solid melts?
Rationale (Relate to theory and research)
[Aside from creating and implementing useful learning strategies in this lesson plan,
emphasis and careful consideration will be placed on composing specific questions that will
increase active student learning and participation. The questions that will be used for this
lesson plan heavily rely on open ended inquiry as emphasized by constructivist theorist, John
Dewey. as it represents the highest level of opportunity for a student to act like scientist.
Students will observe and investigate and seek information by expressing their findings and
results in the end to demonstrate the level of understanding they have attained. In order to
create the questions this lesson will engage thinking and reflection and will move beyond the
use of close ended questions in creating essential questions that allow student to gain depth
of knowledge. To create the questions to be used in this lesson it will be essential to utilize
Webb's Depth of Knowledge questions (DOK). The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires
assessments to measure the depth and breadth of the state academic content standards for
a given grade level (U.S. Department of Education, 2003, p. 12). The overall objective of this
lesson is to seek information through a variety of informational text, for this reason it is
imperative to use questioning that will ensure that the instruction will promote student
achievement by evoking higher thinking. As well as, provide students the opportunity to
engage in conversations, collaborate with one another and will give the students the freedom
to express their thoughts and ideas.
The academic language function of seek information which forms the central focus of this
lesson will heavily rely on the use of questions to gather information, explore, observe and
inquire. One of the most difficult areas in learning that teachers struggle with is in having
students apply concepts. Since many students have not yet master the skills of recognizing
when to apply their knowledge for this lesson it will be essential to work on the skills of
classifying and recalling information for the text.
One of the most relevant philosophers that will influence this lesson is Socrates. For being
responsible in utilizing thought provoking questions that motivated students to seek further
understanding and information in order to arrive at the right answer or even to justify a point.
Educators that apply a Socratic questioning technique in their instruction are said to assist
their students in learning through questioning by feigning ignorance of the topic and allowing
the students to take control of the lesson. The initial part of the lesson used this technique to
not only engage the students but to activate their prior knowledge as a way to pre-assess
what the students know and what they are able to do.
The overall objective of the lesson will be to create an active classroom filled with questions
that evokes higher thinking and provides students the opportunity to engage in
conversations, collaborate with one another and gives freedom to express their thoughts and
ideas by not only seeking information from the text but also to apply the new concepts to

their prior knowledge and skills. This would be an essential strategy to incorporate to assist
students like English Language learners. As Falk-Ross (1997) states that educators can
develop communicative competence through pedagogic discourse, this is done by allowing
the student to voice and interpret their needs with questions, sharing understanding and
learn information. Throughout the lesson it will be critical that all activities end with a
discussion of the activity by referring to essential questions and engaging them with a
variety of Depth of Knowledge questions]
IX) Materials/Resources/Technology (Handouts & Power Point or Smartboard
slides)
List:
BOOKS
Read Aloud: What Is The World Made Of? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld Illustrated by
Paul Meisel
High Level: 1. Matter and Energy: Finding the Power by Emily Sohn and Nina Tsang
2. Experiments With Solids, Liquids and Gases by Christine Taloy-Butler
3. Properties of Matter by Rebecca Hirsch
On Level:

1. Investigating Matter by Sally M. Walker

2. Many Kinds of Matter A Look At Solids, Liquids, and Gases by
Jennifer Boothroyd
3. National Geographic Kids: Water by Melissa Stewart
Low Level :
1. Change It! Solids, Liquids, Gases and You by Adrienne Mason
illustrated by Claudia Davila
(struggling readers) 2. Joe-Joe the Wizard Brews Up Solids, Liquid and Gases by Eric
Braun Illustrated by Robin Boyden
3. Matter Matters! By Tom Adams illustrated by Thomas Flintham

Spanish Books 1. Solido o Liquido? by Amy S. Hansen

2. Formas de la Materia by Amy S. Hansen
Graphic organizers: Whats the matter? Graphic organizers, properties label chart board,
jigsaw graphic organizers, w/ sentence frames, informational booklet piece checklist and
writing rubric
Assortment of magazines
(Supplies- scissors, crayons, markers, pencils)
Differentiation Materials: Ooze and Goofy Putty Experiment for High and Low level
students.
Objects to represent states of matter: Gas: Bubbles, Balloon, fan
Solid: Snow globes, yo-yo, world globe, candy
cane, ruler, eraser, cat, putty,
magnifying glass, sharpener, instrument
Liquids: bottle of water, lotion, ,

Rationale for Use

[This lesson plan incorporates an array of graphic organizers which are visual
representations of a text or a topic. Organizers help students enhance comprehension, as
well as, develop creative and critical thinking skills. The Literature supports the use of

organizers to facilitate learning and instruction for all types of learners. The pioneer of
graphic organizers, Ausubel (1960) regarded the way in which knowledge is shown can
influence the way it is learned. He believed that the mind had the ability to arrange and
store information and graphic organizers activate prior knowledge by allowing them to
connect what they already know to the new information. In addition to graphic
organizers, the use of a variety of books based on reading level as well as in Spanish. The
use of leveled reading in the lesson gives the child the opportunity to develop
fundamental skills and a way for teachers to monitor progress. The use of the Fountas
and Pinnell benchmark assessment is critical at creating lesson plans that are
differentiated and will meet the needs of the student. This marks the beginning process
of acquiring materials and employing engaging activities through reading books that
facilitate gathering and organizing of information, which is supported by Donald Graves.
X) Follow Up Differentiated Activities for Re-engagement Lesson
[To meet the needs of students who are in higher level and also those in a lower level the
students will be assigned a different activity depending on their level and their learning
needs.
For the students in the higher level the activities for them will consists of:
As an extended hands on activity that can be possibly used as an experiment project.
The students will be required to work on creating a model that represents the states of
matter.
Students who need a more challenging assignment will be asked to make Goofy Putty
which is a
a mixture of white school glue, water, and borax (sodium borateavailable in the
laundry powder section
of most grocery stores)
From this putty substance the students will be able to apply their scientific inquiry
skills (observe, seek, gather information, questions) to describe the materials and
identify the state of matter (solid, liquid or gas) it belongs to as well as supporting their
reasoning with examples.
For the students in the lower level the activities for them will consists of:
As a re-engagement hands on activity students will be required to work on creating a
model that represents the states of matter.
Students who need a less challenging assignment will be asked to make a mixture of
cornstarch and
Water. And report their observations, and draw inferences from the experiment.
They will be able categorize if they feel the new material is a solid, a liquid, or a gas
and why they believe this by giving details.
Rationale
[As an instructor It is impossible to design a one size fits all lesson plan, it is imperative to
plan lessons that focus on incorporating developmentally appropriate text that builds from
previous lessons and that cleverly uses the students interest as well as their cultural
background. By doing this not only are the lesson differentiated but students are actively
engaged at their own level which would increase achievement. This is supported by Carol
Ann Tomlinson (2008) whose work encourages educators to examine not just what is taught
but how its taught and how students learn. According to Tomlinson, all students differ in their
interests and their style of learning. These differences require teachers to make
accommodations and differentiate by content, process, and student products. One important
concept to keep in mind is that although Curriculum informs what to teach it is through
differentiation that we acquire the strategies to make teaching more successful. What makes

differentiating so important in a lesson is that even though a class size may be large or a
majority of students require specific needs the teacher will be able to engage all students
from the high achievers while simultaneously supporting the struggling or low performing
students. This makes it possible for all students to be productive during the lesson. The
differentiated activity/experiment for this lesson is a great tool to use because it encourages
scientific inquiry and allow students to fully control the experiment and the outcome by
varying the ingredients]
XI) Post Assessment (How will you determine/record whether and to what extent the
learners have met objectives. How will learners demonstrate knowledge and criteria for
mastery? Include provision for student self-assessment as well as teacher based
assessment
1. The teacher will ask the essential question which state of matter (solid, liquid,
gas,) do you believe is most important for survival? Explain your thinking.
2. The teacher will present the concept of using all the information gathered to write
an informational brochure. The teacher will explain what an informational brochure
is and what it entails. The student will be provided with an information brochure
guideline as well as an example of a brochure.
3. The students will include details, definitions, characteristics, examples, pictures,
drawing of each of the states of matter.
Assessment: Writing piece will be assessed by informational brochure rubric.

[The post assessment of this lesson consists of students writing an informational booklet
in which they will apply the academic language function seek information from the
previous activity to gather information from the various leveled books. The booklet will
contain details, definitions, characteristics, examples and pictures of each state of the
matter from magazines. The students will be provided a booklet checklist in which they
can track their progress in writing. This tool would be useful for all students especially
below level and the ELL students. A rubric will be used to assist them in writing the
informational booklet and to sets clear expectations.]
Rationale
[Writing is a skill that warrants a lifetime of benefits. It is essential for students to value
the importance of developing appropriate habits of writing and improving their grammar,
spelling and sentence structure. Using engaging activities can promote confidence in
students along with developing a students critical thinking and problem solving skills.
This lesson plan engages the students by using information from the book as well as their
prior knowledge to write an opinion piece paragraph. The exercise requires they follow
the correct structure of organizing and presenting their ideas to justify their opinion. This
requires the use of practice along with strategies to assist students in mastering the skill
of writing. As Graves (1985) states writing is a natural human need of self-expression and
a way to develop and hone critical thinking skills. His work focused on using writing
activities such as listing vocabulary words and brainstorming to engage students and
help them develop their skills of communication and self-expression. The opinion piece
helps students develop their communication and self-expression skills by also citing
evidence to support their ideas, which would be a critical skill to learn as they progress
through school]
XII) Special Needs (Site strategies, accommodations and modifications you will
incorporate to differentiate
[Accommodations: activities and worksheets. List what you are using to support
student learning/organization.)

Low Level: 1. Change It! Solids, Liquids, Gases and You by Adrienne Mason
illustrated by Claudia Davila
2. Joe-Joe the Wizard Brews Up Solids, Liquid and Gases by Eric
Braun Illustrated by Robin Boyden
3. Matter Matters! By Tom Adams illustrated by Thomas Flintham
For ELL Students Spanish Books:
1. Solido o Liquido? by Amy S. Hansen
2. Formas de la Materia by Amy S. Hansen
Graphic Organizers: Whats the matter? graphic organizers, vocabulary lists, Writing about
solids, liquids, gases
Graphic organizers with sentence frames.
Written assignment: Informational booklet piece checklist and writing rubric

Rationale (Refer to IEP or 504 and learning styles)

[This lesson plans incorporates the use of scaffolding as well as teacher and peer
guidance. Students that require accommodations will be given graphic organizers that
can be adjusted to require less text or responses. In addition, the amount of writing can
also be reduced to accommodate students that have not yet mastered writing or are
struggling with writing. In addition, visuals which are emphasized by Donna Alvermanns
(1991) study on the role of literacy instruction. She states that a participatory classroom
consists of students using the text for learning and constructing new knowledge. These
texts can vary by subject matter; they can be visuals, magazines, productions to support
and extend the curriculum.
This lesson will incorporate role playing that can be used to assist students who struggle with
understanding the vocabulary. They will be asked to move their arms in a circle to feel air a
form of gas, and also to take a deep breath, The jigsaw activity also involves moving from
one group to another to learn information. The role playing is supported by theorist Howard
Gardner (1983) whose theory of multiple intelligences consists of seven different
intelligences that are defined as "the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that
are valued in one or more cultural setting." Role playing falls under the bodily-kinesthetic
intelligence; here students have the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate one's own
bodily movements. To incorporate this in this lesson will aid in acknowledging how students
may have different abilities and talents. That will encourage them to show their areas of
strength and will allow the teacher the ability to get more students to participate and later
get assessed.

The final assessment of the lesson plan will consists of creating an informational booklet
from the information gather with the jigsaw activity. This will be accommodated to
require students to formulate their answers directly on the graphic organizers. Students
that also struggle with reading and writing will be paired with higher level students to
assist them in completing the assignment and activities. For English language learners
the activities will be accommodated, these students will use graphic organizers and
sentence starters to help them write the information for each of the states of matter.
These students would benefit from working with a peer or a reading buddy] In designing
this lesson plan meeting the educational and social needs of learners with diverse
abilities is of the upmost importance. Students that require special needs face many
challenges that can inhibit them from attaining academic achievement. For this reason, it
is important to carefully implement strategies that meet the individual needs of each
student. For students who are struggling readers, writers and for Limited English
Proficiency students some of the accommodations require getting to know the student

and their learning style. Whether they benefit from more visual or auditory cues, more
hands on activities or even more kinesthetic movements, it can all impact how successful
and effective a lesson plan can be. One important aspect of this lesson plan is that it
takes into consideration the emotional styles of students. By focusing on a student
centered approach, the students are able to be more active in their learning and have the
ability to work and learn from one another. Creating a collaborative environment is
crucial at enhancing and fostering an effective and productive instruction.]

To meet the needs of all students This lesson plan will utilize three levels of difficulty
to assist different type of learners. It will place special emphasis on making available
Spanish books that English Language learner can utilize and make sense of.
According to Thomas and Collier (2002) providing Ell students with academic support
in their native language serves important purposes it give the student the
opportunity to feel valued and respected and it helps establish a welcoming
environment by establishing a way for social interaction as it encourage the students
to express themselves in their native language if they have difficulty communicating
an idea.

Reflection
What worked and for whom? Why?

What didnt work and for whom? Why?

What are instructional next steps based on the data from this plan?

References
Support Material:
NYC Common Core Standards
NYC Science Scope and Sequence
The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System (BAS)- Heinmann Publishing
Webbs Depth of Knowledge DOK-questions
Books:
Adams, Tom, and Thomas Flintman. Matter Matters! Somerville, MA: Candlewick, 2012. Print.

Hansen, Amy, and Yanitzia Canetti. Solido O Liquido? Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Pub., 2012. Print.
Hansen, Amy, Yanitzia Canetti, and Kristi Lew. Formas De La Materia. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke
Pub., 2012. Print.
Sohn, Emily, and Nina Tsang. Matter and Energy: Finding the Power. Chicago, IL: Norwood House,
2011. Print.
Stewart, Melissa. Water. N.p.: National Geographic Children's, 2014. Print.
Walker, Sally M. Investigating Matter. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2012. Print.
Zoehfeld, Kathleen Weidner., and Paul Meisel. What Is the World Made Of?: All about Solids,
Liquids, and Gases. New
York: HarperCollins, 1998. Print.
Websites:
Reading a to Z (http://www.readinga-z.com//ell/ell-assessments/)
Dictionary for vocabulary words- http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/inquiry

Theorists:
Literacy instruction for ELL- Alvermann, D. (1991)
http://www.academia.edu/204878/Effective_
Literacy_Instruction_for_Adolescents
Using informational text- Anderson, E., & Guthrie, J. T. (1999, April). Motivating children to
gain conceptual knowledge
from text: The combination of science observation and interesting texts. Paper presented
to the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal,
Canada.
Jigsaw Technique- Elliot Aronson- http://www.jigsaw.org/
Graphic Organizers- David Ausebel (1968)
http://www.glnd.k12.va.us/resources/graphicalorganizers/
Non Fiction Text- Barnatt. J. (2010) The power of nonfiction: Using informational text to support
literacy in special populations. Learn NC. Retrieved from
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?
q=cache:91D9ETWObc4J:www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/6554+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&
gl=us&client=firefox-a
Theory of Academic language- Jim Cummins- http://esl.fis.edu/teachers/support/cummin.htm
Conversations built on experiences- Maryann Eeds and Deborah Wells (1989)

Multiple Intelligence- Gardner, H. (1983) http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html

Writing- Donald Graves (1983) http://www.ldonline.org/article/6204/
Process Skills of Science- Harlen, W., and Jelly, S. (1989/1997). Developing science in the
primary classroom Essex,
England: Addison Wesley Longman, Ltd.
Social Constructivism- Jon Piaget/ John Dewey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_
%28philosophy_of_education%29
Theory of comprehensible input- Krashen, S.- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Input_hypothesis
Collaborative work- Lev Vygotsky http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky
Use non-fiction- Oczkus, L. (1999)
http://tcsldes.sharpschool.net/UserFiles/Servers/Server_981273/File/
Staff%20Directory/Instructional%20Support/April%20Willard/TOP%205%20Strategies
%20for%20Comp%20Informational%20Text.pdf
Inquiry method- Postman, N and Weingarten, C. - Teaching as a Subversive Activity.
Read Aloud- Rosenblatt , L. ( 1995 ). Literature as exploration . New York , NY : Modern
Language Association of America
Ell Cultural background- Diane Staehr (2013)- Standards That Impact English Language
Learners
ELL Support - Thomas, W. P., & Collier, V. (1997). School effectiveness for language minority
students. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.
Differentiating for ELL- Tomlinson, C. (2008). Differentiated Instruction for English Language
Learners http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/41025/