EDUC 2220- Educational Technology Lesson Plan

Our Day at the Beach

AMANDA FOSER
3rd Grade Class - Science

Common Core Standards:

3.L.2.4 Explain how the basic properties (texture and capacity to hold water) and components (sand, clay and
humus) of soil determine the ability of soil to support the growth and survival of many plants.

3.E.2.1 Compare Earths saltwater and freshwater features (including oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ponds,
streams, and glaciers).

3.E.2.2 Compare Earths land features (including volcanoes, mountains, valleys, canyons, caverns, and islands)
by using models, pictures, diagrams, and maps.

Lesson Summary:

Following up on a lesson about weather, students will go through stations learning about the weather, climate,
and animals in a warm weather climate. This activity will be completed before summer break. Students will
use different hands on activities as well as assessments to better their understanding of a beach climate. A total
of five stations will be used as well as pre and post activity learning that will be spread over multiple days.
Students will use technology, classroom supplies, and worksheets to learn more information on beach and
aquatic life.

Estimated Duration:

This activity should take an estimate of 240 minutes, or almost four hours. This time will be broken down
across three days, with the second day being the big part of the project. Instruction will be done on the first day
and will take about ten minutes, but will also be refreshed while going to different stations on day two.

Commentary:

Some challenges to face include getting students to really understand the beach atmosphere. Living in Ohio we
do not get to experience the true beach climate. I want students to approach this with excitement, doing
sensory activities while also learning more about the world around us. Another challenge would be getting
students used to working in stations and groups. Being in third grade this is not a common tactic, so having the
ability to test their companionships and focus on the task at hand will be interesting to observe. By
incorporating a sand activity and doing completely different things at each station students will get hooked to
trying all of the different activities.
Instructional Procedures:

Day 1:
20 Min. Introduce lesson with an overview PowerPoint
10 Min. Read the book Mirandas Beach Day
10 Min. Do a pre-assessment about beaches on the computer

Total: 40 Min.

Day 2:
60 Min. Make light brown kinetic sand as a whole group for the next day. Each student will make kinetic san
but it will end up being put into one big tub.

Total: 60 Min.

Day 3:
10 Min. Go over each station, create groups (4 students per group) and send a group to each station
20 Min. per station

Station 1:
Students will create their own beach scene in a tub with my visiting family member assisting at our kidney
table. I will provide colored paper, stickers, glue, the kinetic sand and seashells.

Station 2:
Students will take pictures of their beach scene and hang the picture on the whiteboard in the front of the
classroom.

Station 3:
Students will play a jeopardy PowerPoint on the smartboard to learn about animals in the sea.

Station 4:
Computer station to watch videos on beaches/play beach games

Station 5:
Worksheets/coloring sheets on beaches (If I were a Mermaid worksheet will be turned in)
Total: 110 Minutes

Day 4:
20 Min. Post assessment on paper about what students learned the day before.
10 Min. Pick their favorite pictures of the beach scene and the top three will take home a container of kinetic
sand.

Total: 30 Min.

Grand Total: 240 Min.

Pre-Assessment:

Students will conduct a pre-assessment on a website. This test will not be graded, but will reflect what they
already know in order to determine what I need to teach. Students will have already learn a weather and
climate lesson and should have basic understanding of the differences in weather around the world. If students
are already familiar with the information in this lesson I will make it more challenging and come up with new
ways of grabbing their interests.

Scoring Guidelines:

Giving the online quiz I will be looking for correctness. It will just be a short multiple choice quiz. I
will right down the correct answer for each child on a spreadsheet and compare which questions
students knew the most. I will avoid major learning on the topic and will focus on the ones they did not
do so well on.

Throughout this lesson I will also be walking around the classroom and observing the students, making
sure they are catching on to what they are doing and answer any questions they may have.

Post-Assessment:
The post-assessment will be a simple paper test. I will then score them as I did the pre-tests, noticing trends on
questions they did well on and those they do not. I will then go over those challenging questions and refresh
them on the correct answer with an explanation.

Scoring Guidelines:
They will get a grade for the post-assessment. It will be a short quiz so it will not be worth very many
points. I want to compare who did well and who needs some refresher on the material.
Differentiated Instructional Support
Students who are gifted or accelerated will get more one on one help from me. I will be circling the classroom
and if I notice they are struggling or grasping the material quickly I could guide them a little more or give them
tougher alternative questions to get them thinking. For those who feel accelerated I would want them to help
the other students and answer any questions they may have. That will get them working together and
understanding material better.

Addition activities for those who are struggling:

Spend more time watching videos about the beach on the computers, asking me for help, going through the
steps and directions at each station, show them an example of a finished project (like the beach scene they will
create) so they have a better idea on what they are creating.

Extension
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/themes/beach/animals.shtml
This is a basic website where there is some information on beaches and predators and preys of the ocean.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/oceans/
This is a reliable source for information, pictures, and videos discussing the common core standards on water,
climate, sand, and the beach climate.
http://discoverykids.com/?s=beaches
This is a great website for kids and easy to use, feature videos and activates about beach and aquatic life.

Homework Options and Home Connections

This lesson does not require homework, but I will send a letter home before we begin the lesson stating what
we will be doing during this activity and suggestions for at home learning. I will include the kinetic sand
recipe and parents can make it with their child. They can then ask their children questions about the ocean and
animals that live in it. I will include a list of possible questions to go over that students could explain. They
would be getting mental and hands-on learning both at home as well. It is not a requirement but highly
suggested.

Interdisciplinary Connections
This lesson is focused on science and weather, but can also we integrated with English, Reading, and Writing.
Students are not only learning about animals, plants, and a beach climate, they can also learn to compare the
beach atmosphere to Ohios or other areas. They can also use English and Writing skills to learn new words
and use them in sentences.
Materials and Resources:

For teachers Computer:

To create the lesson PowerPoint, online pre-assessment, worksheets and coloring
sheets, post- assessment
Mirandas Beach Day book
Smartboard to set up jeopardy
Kinetic Sand recipe:
-Containers
-water
-playground sand
-glue
-liquid starch
-bowl
-access to oven (to make sand dry before making the kinetic sand. Can us staff lounge
or my personal oven at home.)

For students For stations:

-smartboard
-computer or extra laptops
-camera

Key Vocabulary

Beach Warm Palm Tree

Sand Sun Sunburn

Saltwater Boat

Ocean Aquatic

Shark Hurricane

Fish Bathing Suit

Additional Notes
None