science lesson plan

NSTA/ASTE Standards:

Standard 1: Content Knowledge. Effective teachers of science understand and articulate the knowledge and practices of contemporary science and engineering. They connect important disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices for their fields of licensure.

Standard 2: Content Pedagogy. Effective teachers of science plan learning units of study and equitable, culturally responsive opportunities for all students based upon their understandings of how students learn and develop science knowledge, skills, and habits of mind. Effective teachers also include appropriate connections to science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts in their instructional planning.

Standard 3: Learning Environments. Effective teachers of science are able to plan for engaging all students in science learning by identifying appropriate learning goals that are consistent with knowledge of how students learn science and are aligned with standards. Plans reflect the selection of phenomena appropriate to the social context of the classroom and community, and safety considerations, to engage students in the nature of science and science and engineering practices. Effective teachers create an anti-bias, multicultural, and social justice learning environment to achieve these goals.

Standard 4: Safety. Effective teachers of science demonstrate biological, chemical, and physical safety protocols in their classrooms and workspace. They also implement ethical treatment of living organisms and maintain equipment and chemicals as relevant to their fields of licensure.

Standard 5: Impact on Student Learning. Effective teachers of science provide evidence that students have learned and can apply disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices as a result of instruction. Effective teachers analyze learning gains for individual students, the class as a whole, and subgroups of students disaggregated by demographic categories, and use these to inform planning and teaching.

Competencies: Strand 4 Planning, Instruction and Assessment

Rationale:

Elementary teachers often have a curriculum to teach science. However, it is important to practice how to design or adapt lessons, especially to apply inquiry-based instruction. For this assignment you design/adapt a science lesson using Bybee’s (2014) 5E learning cycle (engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate) for inquiry-based instruction for the students at your field placement. We will microteach a segment of this lesson (e.g., engage phase, explore phase). This lesson should reflect your learning during this course and identify clearly the NGSS three dimensions of science learning (SEP, CCC, DCI).

Instructions:

You will find the lesson plan template in the course

Identify a science lesson based on the NGSS (applying a SEP, CCC & DCI) where you can apply the 5E model of instruction (you can use the activities the mentor teacher uses, use a lesson you found or make your own lesson based on the NGSS). The lesson (or sequence of lessons) should be around 20-60 min of instruction. In the lesson plan, the implementation of the lesson” should not be longer than 4 pages for each class period. The lesson plan(s) should include enough level of detail to pass the sub teacher rule (i.e., the description of each moment/element of the lesson should include enough level of detail so an outsider [e.g., a sub teacher] could implement the same lesson you planned). The general recommendation is to include scripted instructions for main activities and list all the questions the teacher will use to elicit students’ thinking.

Lesson plan

The 5E lessons must clearly include:

1. Context of learning: Based on your field placement classroom (e.g., classroom settings, number of students, students demographics).
2. LOs chart: NGSS, lesson objectives (based on the HILL framework from Muhammad, 2023), and assessment (identify the assessment tool and the SEP you assess).
3. Identification of the 3D learning: Science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts and disciplinary core ideas.
4. Student-friendly learning target or focus question.
5. List of material needed with links to the documents (e.g., slide show, picture, figures, worksheets).
6. Implementation of the lesson: In less than four pages, apply, identify and describe each of the 5E phases (engage, explore, explain, extend, and evaluate).
7. Describe of a 2060-minute lesson including time stamps.
8. You can use one or more classes. Identify clearly when the class period ends and when the next one starts).
9. You can merge the 5E model with the elements of lesson design (e.g., anticipatory set, communication of learning target and relevance of the lesson, instruction [using the 5E model of instruction], check for understanding, and closure).
10. Planning commentary: In about two paragraphs, explain how you used the 5E learning cycle, science and engineering practices, or/and the nature of science in this lesson. Use Bybee (2014) and Kober (2023) to support your instructional decisions.

Teaching

1. We will use our last meeting to practice teaching a science lesson in class. Prepare a 15-minute segment to teach in class.

Resources:

These are some webpages where you can find (free) lesson plans (applying the 5E learning cycle) for elementary students:

1. National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) –
3. California Academy of Science:
5. American Chemical Society (ACS) – Inquiry in Action –
7. Computer science lesson plans – NYC:
9. NASA – STEM resources for teachers:

use this site for the standards : https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/resources-subject-area/science/science-k-12-learning-standards