Mini-Lesson Plan: Accuracy and Precision: Choose a side

Teacher: Elise Morgan

Grade: 9-12 Special Education
Subject: Applied Science
Length: 25 minutes

Understanding(s)
Students will understand that…
Striving for precision and accuracy is part of each aspect of their lives at school, at work,
and at home.

Essential Question(s)
How can I be accurate and precise at school, at work, and at home?

Student will know what it looks like (and does not look like) to strive for precision and
accuracy in multiple settings

Students will be able to differentiate between accuracy and not accuracy in multiple
real-world settings that they encounter in their lives.

Assessment / evidence of learning:

! Written Task: Students will complete a reflection on Google Classroom about
what they have learned from the activity.
! Other evidence: Teacher will observe classroom activities and interview
students to gauge their understanding of the material.

Vocabulary: accuracy, precision, precise

1. Warm Up / Prior Knowledge (5 minutes)

a. Teacher will gather student attention with “good afternoon.” Students will
begin their warm-up by writing our classroom definition of striving for
accuracy and precision (on the bulletin board, if they need support).
b. Teacher will review warm-up with the class. Teacher will read the
vocabulary words (previously covered in explicit instruction lesson), and
students will repeat them back as a whole class. Teacher will as students
to participate as a whole group, and come up with examples and non-
examples of each word.
2. Choose a side (10 minutes)
a. Teacher will explain the directions of the activity. She will point to the signs
on the walls that read “good example” and “not a good example.” She will
model an example by reading the prompt “I rush through my work just to
finish it,” discuss her meta-cognitive thought process in choosing a side,
and will walk to the “not a good example” side. Next, she will read another
 prompt “I am careful when I answer questions and I take my time.” She will
ask students which side she should go to, tell them to explain their
thinking, and walk to the “good example” side.
b. Teacher will tell students to stand in the center of the room. She will read
the prompts below and remind students to walk to the “good example” or
“not a good example” side of the room. She will ask for volunteers or cold-
call students to explain their thinking.
Aquaponics
• I carefully pull out the dead leaves
• I pull out all the leaves without looking
• I sweep some of the patio, get tired, and quit
• I carefully sweep the patio and double-check to make sure I
didn’t miss a spot
• I carefully water each plant
• I spray the whole garden, giving too much water to some
plants and not enough to other plants
Fri-cyling
• I throw all the recycling in the same bag
• I carefully sort plastics, glass, and cans separately
• I crush each can carefully and make sure they’re flat
• I stomp 5 cans at the same time and shove them all in a bag
• I throw the bag in the truck without tying it
• I carefully put the bag in the truck and check to make sure it
didn’t rip
Rex
• I check Rex’s water dish to make sure it’s not dirty
• I guess that Rex’s water is probably fine
• I carefully count the amount of worms I feed Rex
• I dump the box of worms in Rex’s tank
Research projects
• I check many different sources to make sure the information
I get is correct
• I write information from the first source I look at so I can just
get this stuff done
• I ask questions when I’m not sure that my work is correct
• I submit my work without being sure that it’s correct
3. Closing (10 minutes)
a. Teacher will gather student attention through a backwards count from 5.
Teacher will prompt students to repeat the words “precision” and
“accuracy.” Teacher will direct students to log into Google Classroom and
complete the reflection on the activity.