Lesson Planning

Waynesburg University

Writing the lesson plan:

Translating thoughts into a plan of action
_____________________________________________
Pennsylvania Academic Standard(s) addressed during this lesson:
(Provide Standard number and statement)

 S4.A.3.3.1: Identify and describe observable patterns (e.g., growth patterns in plants, weather, water cycle).
 S4.A.2.1.3: Observe a natural phenomenon (e.g., weather changes, length of daylight/night, movement of shadows,
animal migrations, growth of plants), record observations, and then make a prediction based on those observations.
 S4.D.2.1.2: Identify weather patterns from data charts or graphs of the data (e.g., temperature, wind direction, wind speed,
cloud types, precipitation).

Lesson Objective(s)
(Stated in observable and measurable terms)
 The students will accurately record the weather conditions for one week using a tally chart.
 The students will properly navigate through Microsoft Excel to create a bar graph from the recorded data.
 The students will correctly interpret the collected data when creating the bar graph.

Assessment Plan
(What will be done to determine if lesson objectives have been met?)
 An assessment of the students’ ability to accurately record the weather conditions will be done using the Weekly Weather
sheet.
 The students will be assessed on their ability to properly navigate through Microsoft Excel to create a bar graph, using a
rubric that will handed out ahead of time to the students.

Materials:
Weekly Weather Chart
Science Folder
pencil
computer lab
Microsoft Excel
printer
paper
newspaper
weather video clip

Inclusion Techniques for Students with Special Needs:

Provide opportunities for teacher check–ins to students that have ADHD. Chunk the amount of work that is to be completed during
the computer lab visit.

Enrichment Techniques:
For students are proficient in using Microsoft Excel, have them create two charts using the same data. Each chart should be
somewhat unique and different.

Lesson Differentiation (What modifications/accommodations will be made to ensure that ALL students have access to and are able
to participate in the lesson):
Lesson Presentation
Introduction/Motivational Activities/Anticipatory Set:

Give each student an edition of the newspaper with a weather report in the paper. Have the students find the section of the paper
that reports on the weather. Ask them what they see in this section. What types of words are being used? Are any charts or
graphic organizers shown on the papers? Explain to students that a great way to organize data is to compile information into a
chart. The students will be studying the weather outside of the classroom for one week and then recording it in their notebooks.
They will then create a chart of the data using the program Excel.

Detailed Teaching Sequence:

(Provide sufficient detail that would enable a substitute to effectively present this lesson. Bulleted statements are preferred)
 Provide each student with a copy of the Weekly Weather Chart. Go over each column of the chart that they will be
recording their answers in. Explain that they will have a chance during the first 15min. of science each day for a week to
go over to the window of the classroom and record what they see. A simple check mark only needs to be made if the
weather condition is present at the time. The weather conditions are: Snow, Rain, Clouds, Sunny, Hot, Cold. More than
one of these weather conditions can occur at the same time. If this is the case, the student should place a check in each
column that applies.
 Call students over to the window to fill in the first day of the chart (Monday). Choose two-three students at a time. Instruct
them to place the chart in the science folder for safe keeping all week. After each day, discuss the results with the class
for 5-10 minutes.
 At the conclusion of the week (Friday), have the students add up the total number of tallies that they made for each
column. They will need this data to create their bar graph.
 Take the class over to the computer lab to create a bar graph using Excel. Instruct students on how to properly make the
bar graph. Show the example chart on the Smartboard.
o The students will have already had some previous instruction on making charts in Excel. This will be a review.
 Have the students enter their data using Excel and create a bar graph. They may choose the bar graph that works best for
their tally chart. Only bar graphs may be used. Explain that all charts must have a title, labels, and be colorful. They may
edit their chart however they would like using chart tools. When students are finished, they may print the chart to be
graded using the Excel Rubric.

Guided Practice/Independent Practice/Assessment Activities

For an extension activity, have students find the 7-day forecast online or in the newspaper. Have them create a chart of their own
using the data that they have found. They may choose the type of chart that they would like to create.

Closure:
To end the lesson, show the students a short clip from the local news. Have the students record what weather conditions the
meteorologist forecasted for the next three days. Using the information that they have recorded, have the class participate in
creating an Excel graph on the Smartboard.