Sierra Nevada College Elementary Lesson Plan Sample

Teacher Candidate: Sasha Gamble Lead Teacher:

Grade/Subject: 2nd Grad - ELA District:
Lesson Content: Ocean Pollution R.A.F.T. School:
SNC Supervisor: Time Allotted: 45 Minutes

Materials, including technology:

News ELA article: “Creatures at the Bottom of the Ocean Are Eating Our Plastics Pollution” one
copy per student; ELA notebooks, Pencils, Whiteboard and markers.

Standard(s), including literacy for all content areas and/or SMP

W.2.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and
definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

How will learning be assessed at the end of the unit/learning cycle (summative):
Assessing the learning: how will mastery be evaluated at the end of the learning?
Learning will be assessed by the quality and accuracy of the completed R.A.F.T.

Objective(s): high cognitive demand for diverse learners Cognitive Level (DOK or Bloom’s)
1.I will be able to write an informative text about the problem of DOK Level 3
plastic pollution in the ocean using evidence from the reading to
support my point.

2. I will be able to summarize information from the article. DOK Level2

Connections to past learning or experience, building background

Have students recall the story of the “Shark Lady,” her job as an ocean scientist and how she
did research in the ocean. Explain that this article is also about scientists doing research in the
ocean.

Essential Vocabulary Definitions

Pollution Pollution happens when waste, chemicals, and other harmful
substances dirty the environment.

Study A careful investigation of something.

Results Answers found by calculation or investigation.

Strategy for teaching new vocabulary

At the beginning of the lesson vocabulary words are introduced on the word wall, matched with their
definitions and further explained. At the end of the lesson, students reinforce their understanding by
 Sierra Nevada College Elementary Lesson Plan Sample

copying the definitions in their vocabulary notebooks and completing the four square vocabulary activity
(Definition, In my own words, Synonyms/Antonyms & Picture or sentence).

Sequence and Scope of Instruction (include instructional Instructional Strategy estimated

strategies, questions, opportunities for meaning making time
through discourse and other engagement strategies,
formative assessments, opportunities for metacognition,
grouping, differentiation and transitions)
1. Distribute copies of the article “Creatures at the Whole Group Instruction 10
Bottom of the Ocean Are Eating Our Plastics Minutes
Pollution” to the class. The teacher will read the
article out loud as the class reads along, and stop to
answer questions along the way.

2. After reading the article, have a class discussion Whole Group Discussion 10
about the article. Prompt students to share their Minutes
thoughts, concerns, questions and things they
found interesting. Talk about solutions to ocean
Pollution. Write down comments on the
whiteboard.

3. Briefly talk about the different purposes of writing. Whole Group Instruction 5 minutes
Introduce and explain the RAFT activity and assign
the Role, Audience, Format and Topic.
Role: Ocean Scientist
Audience: The Government (Representatives)
Format: Petition
Topic: Why government representatives should be
concerned about plastic pollution in the ocean and
what they should do to solve the problem. The
petition must include 2 supporting examples from
the reading and 1 proposed solution.

4. Students work independently on their RAFTS. Independent Work 20

Minutes

Closure : specific activity to review content

Exit Ticket: 1 Thing I learned today.

Teacher Candidate Reflection on the lesson (after delivery)

 Sierra Nevada College Elementary Lesson Plan Sample

[Type text]

SNC: April 3, 2014