Lesson Sketch for EDT 313 Investigation Hook lesson

Individuals completing this plan: Emma Baker and Sarah Rolfsen

Lesson title: What is water, snow, and ice? Investigation Topic: Water

2 Early Learning & Development Content Standards indicators:

Cognition and General Knowledge: Science inquiry and application: Inquiry: Explore objects,
materials, and events in the environment
Cognition and General Knowledge: Science inquiry and application: Inquiry: Pose questions about
the physical and natural environment

Instructional objectives: list 2- 3 observable/measurable objectives for this lesson. Use precise language w/ action verbs.
The student will:
1. The students will be able to compare two options and decide upon an answer upon being
asked a verbal question.

2. The students will be able to defend their answers using observations and evidence.

Experience(s): Describe authentic (real life, hands-on not representational) materials and enticing/ creative experiences in
which children are actively engaged. Experiences should encourage experimentation, problem solving and language
development. How will the experience(s) inform you on the children’s prior knowledge and interest in the topic? How can you
use this data to inform the development of your Integrated Investigation Plan?

Materials: Snow, room temperature water, ice cubes

● Lay the materials out in front of the class and ask them to identify and describe each object
● Have a conversation about their past experiences with each material
● Play a game that involves posing a question that allows them to formulate their opinions by moving
to the side of the carpet that corresponds with their opinion
o Which do you think is colder: Snow or water?
▪ Ask the students why they think snow/water is colder
▪ Have the students feel the snow then the water and ask if their answer has changed
o Do you think the ice will float or sink when placed in water?
▪ After they choose their side, ask the students why they chose their answer
▪ Demonstrate with a glass of water and an ice cube
o Which weighs more: Ice cube or cup of water?
o Do you think salt will melt ice? Yes or No
● Bring the students back together on the carpet to ask students to tell us one thing about snow, ice,
water

The experience will inform us on the children’s prior knowledge and interest in the topic based off of
opening questions and answers during the game. Based on the answers they give and questions the
children ask we can use these to develop our integrated investigation plan.

Assessment of student learning:

 1. Data to be collected- Identification of materials, prior experiences, characteristics of the materials

2. Method used to record/aggregate data- Emma or Sarah will fill out a table/checksheet of responses
and children

3. Interpretation of assessment data- We will use the data to plan further learning experiences based
off of student interests and needs.

Reflection on lesson: In one page double spaced explain why the instructional objectives, experiences and
materials were chosen. Describe how well the children learned/achieved the instructional objectives. Finally include
a description of how the experience provided data to inform the development of the investigation.

Previous days, the students expressed interest in snow and ice. They asked about the snow outside,

and when reading a book about snow, shared their own experiences with it. This lead us to choose our topic

of ice, water, and snow. We chose our first objective because at the preschool age, we feel it is important

for the students to learn how to process a question and decide upon their own answer. With this, they had

two answers to decide between, so it was not overwhelming, but still allowed them to go through this

process. We chose our second objective because with this game, we hoped the students would actually

reason through their answer, and not just choose a random option. Thus, we made sure to ask why the

students chose their answer. After some of the questions, we also demonstrated using the materials. This

way, if they got the answer wrong, they could see and experience why the other answer was correct, and if

they got the answer correct, they could see why. This objective brought in the scientific inquiry aspect.

By holding a discussion in the beginning about snow, water, and ice, we gained insight into the

students’ background knowledge. We knew that at this age, children were very open and eager to share

their thoughts, so we transitioned into the activity by holding an open discussion about when they have

seen snow, water, and ice before. We began by pulling out a tupperware of ice, a tupperware of snow, and

a tupperware of water. We chose these materials because they directly related to our topic and helped the

children bring forth their background knowledge. For example, if we just said snow, some of the children

may have struggled picturing it and remembering their experiences, so by bringing it in, we hoped the

children would make stronger connections. We also chose the game to further understand their knowledge

so we knew what lessons to do in the future. The children are very active, so by getting them moving, they
focused better. The children really enjoyed the game, and it was interesting to see their answers. We were

nervous they would not understand the concept and just follow the majority of the class; however, most of

the children actually made their own decisions, so there was usually an even spread for the answers.

Through this observation and by asking for their reasoning, we saw that the majority of children met our

first objective. We never stated who was right and who was wrong because we wanted the children to

remain curious. By using the materials for demonstrations for if snow or water was colder and if ice would

float or sink in the water, they could visually see the answer and make those connections for themselves.

Through observations of the children’s reactions and statements after these demonstrations, we saw that the

majority of children met our second objective as well.

Throughout the game, Emma kept track on a checksheet of the children’s answers, as well as

general observations of children’s actions/statements. We noticed that some of the children struggled with

the concept of floating and sinking, so we decided to focus on this for one of our future lessons. During the

opening discussion, only one child stated that when ice melts, it turns to water. Also, many of the children

struggled with deciding between if snow/ice was colder than water. For this reason, we also decided upon

focusing on the melting of ice into water for one of our lessons. Thus, this experience was very effective at

helping us to further develop our investigation to meet the interests and needs of the children.
 Lesson Sketch Scoring Guide for EDT 313
Attach to plan submitted at mid-term
Individual completing this lesson plan: Sarah Rolfsen and Emma Baker

Lesson title: What is Snow, Water, and Ice? Date that lesson was taught: 2/26/2019

Points
Criteria Comments Points
Possible Earned

1. EL&DCS indicators from at least 2 0-2

content areas were integrated into the
lesson.
2. Instructional objectives for the lesson 0-3
used precise, observable, and
measurable action verbs that provided a
clear sense of what the children would
be able to do.
3. The lesson experiences taught the 0-9
instructional objectives and were
creative, developmentally appropriate
and included enticing, engaging and
authentic materials. The lesson
accurately introduced a science concept
and included opportunities for problem-
solving, peer interaction, and/or inquiry.
4. Assessment strategies were used to 0-5
evaluate what the children learned as a
result of the learning experience and
were related to the instructional
objective. Data, method/s used to
record/aggregate data were described
and an interpretation of the data was
included.
5. A 1 page, single-spaced, professionally 0-4
written, error free reflection describing
why the instructional objectives,
experiences and materials were chosen
as well as a description of how well the
children learned/achieved the
instructional objectives. Finally, the
reflection should include a description
of how the experience provided data to
inform the development of the
investigation.

Total Points Earned