Grade: 8th Subject: Science (Environmental Science) Skills: Comprehension of Nonfiction,

Effective Discussions

WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Lesson Day Toward the beginning of unit on Environmental Science

Eighth grade science students will explore skills related to

How will this lesson support nonfiction comprehension and effective group discussions by
the learning goal? examining a current event related to their unit on Environmental
(1c: Setting Instructional Science, and participating in activities before, during, and after
Outcomes) the reading.

PA Standards and Other ELA:

Appropriate Professional
Standards Standard - CC.1.2.8.B
(1c: Setting Instructional Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis
Outcomes) of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences,
conclusions, and/or generalizations drawn from the text.
http://www.pdesas.org/Standar
d/view or Standard - CC.1.5.8.A
https://www.pdesas.org/Page?p Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions, on
ageId=11 grade-level topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas
and expressing their own clearly.
List the Pennsylvania
Standard(s) relevant for this Science:
lesson
Standard - 3.3.8.A2
Describe renewable and nonrenewable energy resources.

n/a
ISTE (Technology)
Standards

Objective(s)
(1c: Setting Instructional
Outcomes)
Academic Language
(1a: Demonstrating
Knowledge of Content and
Pedagogy)
What language will students be
expected to utilize by the end of
the lesson? Consider Language
function and language
demands (see Lesson Plan
User Guide).
What key terms are essential?
What key terms are essential to
develop and extend students’
academic language?
What opportunities will you
provide for students to practice
the new language and develop
fluency, both written and oral?
1. Students will incorporate prior knowledge of the Amazon
Rainforest to make observations, predictions, and
reactions to a series of photos.
2. Students will closely read an informational text about the
fires in the Amazon Rainforest, and record their reactions
in writing using a Double Entry Journal.
3. Students will share their opinions and questions on the
topic, as well as discuss and respond to their classmates
through a Socratic Seminar.
● Amazon Rainforest
○ “covering much of northwestern Brazil and
extending into Colombia, Peru and other South
American countries, is the world’s largest tropical
rainforest, famed for its biodiversity”
(Wikipedia.com)
● Climate Change
○ “the heating up of the Earth's climate” (from
article)
● Brazil
○ Show students Google Earth or map of South
America during Anticipatory Set--point out the
vastness of the Amazon
● Carbon Monoxide
○ CO
○ Harmful gas being released into the air, which
worsens global warming.
● Carbon Dioxide
○ CO2
○ Another harmful gas being released into the air,
which worsens global warming.
● Deforestation
○ “the removal of a forest or stand of trees from
land which is then converted to a non-forest use”
(Wikipedia.com)
● Each of these terms is mentioned within the article.
Students should utilize context clues to infer a meaning.
If they are still unsure, they may consult the teacher or a
dictionary.
 ● Students should be comfortable with these terms before
participating in the Socratic Seminar.

● Newsela article: “Forest fires burning in the Amazon

raise concerns about climate change”
○ https://newsela.com/read/brazil-amazon-
Materials/Resources fires/id/56224/
(1d: Demonstrating ● Post-it notes (About 4 per student)
Knowledge of Resources) ● Printed out photographs for Picture Carousel
● Notebook paper for Double Entry Journal (provided by
student)
● Writing utensil for Double Entry Journal (provided by
student)
● Padlet.com
● Students’ one-to-one laptops

Anticipatory Set
(1a: Demonstrating
Knowledge of Content and
Pedagogy)
● Anticipated time: about 10 minutes
● The teacher will begin science class by saying, “Today,
as part of our discussion on renewable and nonrenewable
resources and climate change, we will be examining a
current event.”
● The teacher will place the following four photos in
different areas of the room.

BEFORE ACTIVITY
How will you set the purpose
and help students learn why
today’s lesson is important to
them as learners?
How will you pique the interest
or curiosity regarding the
lesson topic?
How will you build on
students’ prior knowledge?
How will you introduce and
explain the strategy/concept or
skill?
●
● The teacher will ask students to spend about 5 minutes

walking around the room and looking at each photo.

● Each student will be given a small stack of post-it notes,
and will be expected to write their comments,
predications, and/or reactions on a post-it note for each
photo.
○ The post-it notes will be posted around the photo.
● After five minutes, the teacher will ask students to return
to their seats.
● The teacher will visit each photo and read a few of the
post-it notes on each, specifically looking for any themes

Instructional Activities
(1a: Demonstrating
Knowledge of Content and
Pedagogy;
1e: Designing Coherent
Instruction)
DURING & AFTER ACTIVITY
How will students explore the
new concepts?
How will you provide support
to students as they apply the
new concept? How will you
allow them to practice (with
teacher support)?
and connections between responses, and unique
responses.
○ After reading student responses for each, the
teacher will explain the actual context of the
photo.
○ Each photo shows the Amazon Rainforest in
some state.
■ Two show the Rainforest untouched by
modern civilization (one of some local
inhabitants, one of the landscape)
■ Two show parts of the Rainforest
destroyed by modern civilization
(deforestation and fire)
● The teacher will say, “we are now going to read an article
about the fire currently devastating the Amazon
Rainforest in Brazil. Humans, specifically Americans,
receive a lot of our resources from the Amazon, and it is
proven that this fire was caused by human activity. As
citizens, and science students, it is our responsibility to
learn about current events and science, and think of how
it may affect our lives. “
● Anticipated time: 35 minutes
● The teacher will pass out printed copies of the Newsela
article.
○ The articles will be leveled based on the students’
reading level and needs.
● The teacher will also ask students to take out a blank
page of notebook paper.
● The teacher will ask students to create a “Double Entry
Journal” by drawing a t-chart. The left column will be
labeled, “What I read,” and the right column will be
labeled, “What I am thinking/How I feel.”
○ The teacher will ask if anyone has questions
about how to create or use this journal
● The teacher will begin by reading the first paragraph of
the text.
● After reading, they will model how to utilize a double
entry journal.
How will students review and
solidify these concepts to be
able to use this new
knowledge? How will you
monitor and provide feedback?
Provide detailed steps.
○ For example: In the left column, the teacher will
write “the area serves as the lungs of the planet by
taking in carbon dioxide, storing it in soils, and
producing oxygen.” In the right column, the
teacher will write, “I wonder what percentage of
the world’s oxygen comes from the Amazon.”
● The teacher will then tell the students to read the rest of
the article, and continue the double entry journal on
independently.
○ The students will be encouraged to journal every
few paragraphs (or aim for around 10 entries).
○ While the students work, the teacher will circulate
the room, answering any questions and checking
student progress.
○ The students will have about 10 minutes to read
the article and complete the activity.
● After 10 minutes, the teacher will regroup the class and
ask students to think of one question they had about the
reading, and write it down on the same page as their
Double Entry Journals.
○ The teacher will explain the answer to the
question should not be found in the text, and
should be something people can have an opinion
about (open-ended).
○ For example: Do we as Americans have a
responsibility to help stop the fires in the
Amazon? Or Why do you think the fire is not
more concerning to the world?
● Once it seems like every student has a question written
down, the teacher will instruct students to move their
chairs to create a circle, where every student can see each
other, and is seen.
● The teacher will ask students if anyone wants to share
their question to kick start a Socratic Seminar.
○ Students will lead a discussion about the text
based on their open-ended questions and own
knowledge and opinions.
○ The only time the teacher will interject will be if
the students veer off-topic, or they want to change

Closure
(1e: Designing Coherent
Instruction)
1-2 minutes
How will students share or
show what they have learned in
this lesson?
How will you restate the
teaching point and clarify key
concepts?
How will you provide
opportunities to extend ideas
and check for understanding?
the direction of the conversation (i.e. pick a new
question to discuss).
○ Students are instructed to not raise their hands,
and instead begin speaking whenever there is a
silence, and they have something to add to the
conversation.
○ Students are encouraged to build off of each
others’ comments and questions, or contradict
opinions when necessary!
○ The teacher will tell the students they will be
keeping track of participation, and each student
needs to contribute to the seminar at least once.
○ The teacher will allow students about 25 minutes
to have this discussion.
○ If conversation dies down, the teacher will
interject with their own questions.
■ For example: Do we as Americans have a
responsibility to help stop the fires in the
Amazon? Why do you think the fire is not
more concerning to the world? How can
you, as an American citizen, make a
difference/prevent future occurrences?
● Anticipated time: 5 minutes
● For the last five minutes of class, the teacher will ask
students to use their one-to-one laptops to go to a Padlet
link.
● The teacher will say, “Today, we discussed a current
event that may not be affecting us directly, but definitely
affects humans living in Brazil, and could greatly affect
us in the long-run as climate change worsens. I would
like you to reflect on your reactions and emotions while
learning about this topic, and free write about them on
Padlet.”
○ The Padlet will have one prompt: “One emotion I
am feeling/or felt while reading and discussion
this topic and why”
○ The teacher will ask students to reflect on the
before-reading activity, reading, and seminar to
answer this question.
How will this lesson lead to the
next lesson?
Differentiation
(1e: Designing Coherent
Instruction)
What differentiated support
will you provide for students
whose academic development
is below or above the current
grade level?
What specific differentiation of
content, process, products,
and/or learning environment
do you plan to employ to meet
the needs of all of your
students?
How does your lesson support
student differences with regard
to linguistic, academic, and
cultural diversity?
How will your lesson actively
build upon the resources that
linguistically and culturally
● Before class is over, the teacher will say, “Tomorrow, we
will think about this real-life example as context as we
continue to discuss renewable and non-renewable
resources.”
● The teacher will ask students to turn in their Double
Entry Journal on their way out, to be checked for
understanding and completion.
● Below grade level:
○ The article is found on Newsela.com, meaning it
can be adjusted to better meet the students Lexile
Level. The teacher will print copies of the article
specifically adjusted for students’ Lexile levels.
Since the students will read independently, no
one will know the articles differ, and the students
will be exposed to the same content at the same
pace.
○ These students will also be allowed to write fewer
responses in the Double-Entry Journal, so they
can finish reading the entire article in the time
allotted.
● Above grade level:
○ A majority of students will receive the article
adjusted to meet the needs of an eight grade lexile
level (1040); however, some students may be
given 1210 (grades 9-12) and a select handful
may receive the article in the maximum lexile
level (the original article posted on the
Washington Post). Like the below levels, these
students will not know their article looks different
than their peers since reading is completed
independently, but the goal is for the article to
meet their needs, if not challenge them.
diverse students bring to the
experience?
How will your lesson will be
supportive for all students,
including English Language
Learners, and build upon the
linguistic, cultural, and
experiential resources that they
bring to their learning?
How will your lesson is
designed to promote creative
and critical thinking and
inventiveness?
Accommodations
(1e: Designing Coherent
Instruction)
Modifications
(1e: Designing Coherent
Instruction)
○ The teacher may ask a student deemed as “above
grade level” to begin the Socratic Seminar
discussion by sharing their question.
● English Language Learners:
○ The Newsela article can also be translated to
Spanish. While the students will be encouraged to
read a majority of the article in English,
potentially at a lower Lexile level, if they speak
Spanish as their first language, they will be
allowed to consult the translated version after
reading the English version to ensure high-level
comprehension. That way, students will be able to
fully comprehend the topics being discussed in
the Socratic Seminar.
○ During the Socratic Seminar, any ELL will not be
penalized for not participating, or participating
with limited statements. If the teacher feels a
particular student may have trouble with the oral
element of the activity, he or she may be
encouraged to write down their thoughts, in
English or their first language, during the
discussion for the teacher to check at the end of
class as a substitution for participation in the
discussion.
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Assessment (Formal or
Informal).
(1f: Assessing Student
Learning)
How will you and the students
assess where the learning
objectives, listed above, were
met?
Each formal or informal
assessment should describe
how it is aligned to the above
objective(s).
Reflection on Instruction
● During the picture carousel, the teacher will read
students’ post-it note reactions, and use the information
as an indicator of students’ prior knowledge on the
Amazon Rainforest, and the students’ success in making
connections and predictions (Objective 1)
● While reading, the students complete a Double Entry
Journal, which will be turned and checked for completion
and students’ success in interacting with the text, and
making meaningful connections (Objective 2)
● During the Socratic Seminar, students will be assessed on
participation. Each student must speak at least once.
Students will not be graded on the quality of their
contribution to the discussion, but on whether or not they
spoke (Objective 3)
● Every student will respond to a prompt on Padlet.com as
closure, which the teacher will check for completion, and
to see students’ personal reactions to the text. This may
inform the teacher about how to approach the topic the
next day. (Objectives 1, 2, & 3)
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