Lesson Plan

A. Goals / Objectives
The overarching goal of the lesson is to familiarize students with the six stages of design
thinking. Students will also be introduced to the story of Elijah McCoy, and his invention of the
oil lubricating cup for trains. Students will independently analyze the shared story using those six
stages, producing a completed worksheet by the end of the worktime.

B. Standards and Assessment Anchors

NGSS: Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or
improved object or tool. (K-2-ETS1-1)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3: Describe characters, settings, and major events in a
story, using key details.

C. Materials and preparation

All Aboard!: Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine, by Monica Kulling
Design thinking worksheets (29 copies)

D. Classroom arrangement and management issues

Students will be sitting on the rug for the mini-lesson and read-aloud before returning to
their seats. Before starting with the mini-lesson, I will ask students to “mind their rug
responsibilities,” and emphasize that I am only looking for quiet hands to call on. If students get
too loud and/or start talking to those seated next to them, I will use a countdown from five to ask
for quiet. Before returning to their seats, I will model how to complete the worksheet and outline
the supplies they will need, taking any questions then. Once at their desks, teachers will be
circulating to check in with individual students who may be distracted from their learning.

E. Lesson Plan
1. Reference the other books we have read for Black History month, and the
Reconstruction period they have learned about. Introduce the six steps that many inventors and
engineers like Elijah use to frame thinking. Have them repeat the words, “Design Thinking.” 1)
State, “I like this process because it starts with empathy.” Turn and talk about what empathy
means, share out. Define empathy as sharing and understanding the feelings of others. “I like this
because it starts with people being observant and noticing how a problem affects others.” Write
Empathize on the board. 2) Then Define, “If you notice people are being affected by a problem,
then it’s up to you to say what the problem is.” 3) Ideate is a fancy word to come up with an idea,
a possible solution. 4) Prototype – tricky. Has anyone heard it before? Prototype means to make
a model – turning the idea into real life. Prototype can be a verb and noun, the model itself. Have
students repeat the word. 5 & 6) Last two are simpler. Test out your invention, and share it with
others. Question – are you going to get it right on the first try? Might need to go back and test, or
prototype, or ideate! Do number chant to review instructions.
2. Introduce read-aloud, saying he goes from Canada to Scotland but ends up in
Michigan, another state in the U.S. Ask them to track Elijah’s stages of inventions.
3. Read aloud
4. Have a volunteer or two share a stage of design thinking they saw Elijah go through.
 5. Introduce worksheet, where students will be presented with stages and asked to
summarize the events of the story.

F. Assessment of the goals/objectives

This lesson relies on informal assessment, as it is an introduction to the project. Listening
to partner share responses and seeing what questions come up in the mini-lesson questions will
help gauge their comprehension of the design stages. The worksheet will demonstrate their
understanding of the story and its sequencing.

G. Anticipating students’ responses and your possible responses

In my lesson plan script, I have added some phrases I anticipate using to add on to the
responses I get. Because we are introducing new vocabulary, visual reminders of the steps will
be put up on the board. Before they work independently, I will go over the worksheet to clarify
any unclear pictures (#5).

H. Accommodations
The worksheet will have visual cues accompanying each stage of design thinking to
prompt students’ recall and reduce having to recognize newly introduced vocabulary.

For worksheet, see Lesson Plan 2A.