Dana Davis

Student Teaching
Spring 2016
Statement of Standard Seven Planning for Instruction
The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by
drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as
well as knowledge of learners and the community context. (InTASC, 2011, p. 16)
Name of Artifact: Lesson Plan with Modifications/Accommodations
Date of Artifact: Spring 2016
Course: Student Teaching EDU 465
Rationale Statement:
For Standard Seven Planning for Instruction, I created a Middle School Science Lesson
Plan including accommodations and/or modifications for students with special learning needs.
My Lesson Plan was based on a 6th grade science class currently learning how to plan and
implement, and report a scientific investigation. I indicated the concepts that the students should
have learned prior to this lesson, as well as an activity that would be completed following the
completion of the entire unit on scientific investigations. My lesson consisted of a hands-on
activity that required the students to create two graphs displaying the results of a previously
conducted experiment. I included an accommodation for students with special learning needs,
which directly relates to the Danielson Framework for Teaching in Domain 1b: Demonstrating
knowledge of students and Domain 1c: Designing coherent instruction. In my Lesson Plan, I
included an accommodation which helped students with special learning needs with the initial
creation of the assigned graphs. Although they received this additional prompt, the expectation
of the completed assignment is the same as those for the general education students.
While creating this lesson plan, I learned that lesson planning to include
accommodations/modifications for students with special learning needs is very involved and also
extremely important to ensure you are meeting the needs of all different learners at the same
time. It was challenging to pinpoint exactly what accommodations or modifications might need
to be made for a blanket of students with very different special learning needs. In order to make

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this task a bit easier, I consulted with the support teacher that co-teaches my inclusion class. I
learned how important and helpful peer consultation and collaboration is.
I certainly hope to use this Lesson Plan in my future classrooms. I embrace the idea of
using many hands-on activities in my classroom as I feel they are a very effective method in
teaching, especially in a science classroom. I would appropriately modify the accommodations/
modifications to fit the specific learning needs of any/all challenged learners in my classroom
each time I utilize this lesson.

References
InTASC, CCSSOs Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support
Consortium. (April 2011) Model Core Teaching Standards: A Resource for
State Dialogue. Retrieved from
file:///C:/Users/Dana
%20Dwo/Downloads/intasc_model_core_teaching_standards_2011.pdf

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Grade Level: 6
Subject: Science

Topic: Planning a Scientific Investigation

Objective: The students will be able to (SWBAT) draw and label a graph correctly. The
students will construct a graph based on their results of the previously conducted Gummy Bear
Lab.
NGSS:
Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
Planning and carrying out investigations in 6-8 builds on K-5 experiences and progresses to
include investigations that use multiple variables and provide evidence to support explanations or
solutions.
Conduct an investigation to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence that meet the
goals of an investigation. (MS-LS1-1)
.
Materials: lab notebooks, Gummy Bear Lab worksheet, pencils, colored pencils or markers,
rulers, graph paper, PowerPoint slides, projector and screen, textbooks, grading rubric
Prerequisite Skills and Knowledge: The students have recently completed a unit on the
Scientific Method. The students have already taken notes in a bulleted format and completed the
vocabulary worksheet for this unit.
Anticipatory Set: Begin the class by asking, Who wants to draw today instead of take notes?
When hands are raised, say, Your wish has been granted, BUT you have to draw what I tell you
to draw.
Input and Modeling: The teacher will review the previously conducted Gummy Bear lab
experiment. The teacher will provide instructions for creating and plotting a graph of the data
collected from the lab experiment and display an example graph on the Smart Board.
Student Practice and Checking for Understanding:
1 The students will work in their lab groups, however each student must create two
individual graphs. Students can help each other to create the graphs, using the data
collected from the previously conducted experiment. The teacher will walk about the
classroom monitoring progress and assisting any students needing help.
2 The students will create two line graphs. One line graph will display the mass of the
gummy bear in relation to the amount of time it soaked in the distilled water. The second
graph will display the length of the gummy bear in relation to the amount of time it was
soaked in the water. The teacher will continue to monitor progress.
3 The students will decide whether to put the mass/length on the X axis or the Y axis and
then put the time soaked on the opposite axis. The teacher will continue to monitor
progress.

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The students will place plot marks on the graph representing the mass/length every two
minutes, beginning at two minutes and ending at 20 minutes. The teacher will continue
to monitor progress with less input.
The students will connect the plot marks to create lines representing the change in
mass/length of the gummy bear throughout 20 minutes of soaking time. The students
may use colored pencils or markers to make their graph look as interesting and detailed
as they would like. The teacher will continue to monitor progress with less input.
Then, the students may check each others graphs for creativity, neatness and accuracy.
When they feel their graph is complete, they make take it to the teacher for grading.

Closure: Lesson Wrap-up and Culminating Activity

1 Okay, ladies and gentlemen, in todays ticket out, please take out a piece of paper and
explain if your original hypothesis is consistent with your graphed results. See you
tomorrow!
2 At the end of the unit, the students will create their own lab experiment, labeling each
step of the scientific method and include a graph of their results. The project will be
graded with a rubric that evaluates content, preparation, accuracy, presentation, and
organization.
Accommodations:
1. Students with special learning needs will be given a graph that already has the X and Y
axes labeled, so they will simply have to plot their results and draw the lines.
2. Instructions will be read aloud and teacher will gauge understanding by asking the
student to repeat instructions.
3. Important information will be highlighted.
4. Students will have increased teacher support.
5. Students will have extended time to complete.