Lesson Plan Template

Teacher:
Courtney Graves
Content Area/Topic: Science/The Universe
Grade Level:
3
Lesson Title:
Our Solar System
Lesson Overview

Write a brief, yet concise, description of what occurs in this lesson (50 words).
What will students learn during the lesson?

In this lesson, the students will learn..All of the planets and the order they go in. They will work
on a hands on activity with the planets to give them a better understanding and a way to
visualize them and learn about each one and its characteristics
Common Core/State Go to the state standards website: http://www.tn.gov/education/standards/index.shtml
Reference State, Common Core, ACT College Readiness Standards and/or State
Standard
Competencies. Select the grade content/level appropriate standards that are being met
in this lesson. Copy and paste here:

GLE 0307.6.1 Identify and compare the major components of the solar system.
SPI 0307.6.1 Identify the major components of the solar system, i.e., sun, planets and moons.
Go to the NEW NETSS standards http://cnets.iste.org/and select grade level (K-2, 3-5, 6National Education
8, 9-12) appropriate standards/profiles that are being met in this lesson. Copy and paste
Technology
here.
Standards for
Students (NETSS)
met in this lesson
1. Creativity and Innovation

Clear, Specific, and Measurable NOT ACTIVITIES. Student-friendly. The objective for
Instructional
this lesson [learning outcome] should identify the A, B, C & D.
Objectives
After gathering information and ideas, the learners will construct their own solar systems and be
able to explain facts about each planet including the sun and moon.

Prior Knowledge

What prior knowledge will the students have to have to be able to do this lesson? You
might look at the year before Common Core/State Standards to see what they were
suppose to learn before doing the state standard you chose.

Students need the prior knowledge of basic computer skills. The learners
will have prior knowledge about the moon, the sun, and the planets.

Dr. Susan Sutton, 2014

Need or Purpose

Why do students need to learn this lesson?

The students need to learn this lesson because it is important and a

requirement for them to know about the solar system and the
planets are major components in the solar system. It is also very
important for them to know about the solar system in their lives
because it can have an affect on the earth.
Teacher Preparation Explain what the teacher has to do to get ready for the lesson including activities such as
gather materials, bookmark websites, create research guides, schedule labs, gather
parent permission for fieldtrips, etc

The teacher will create a smart board presentation with questions that get the students thinking
about what they may already know and also what they are going to be learning through this
lesson. The teacher will have prepared interactive websites to go to that show the solar system.
The teacher will also have a list of websites and instructions for each website for the students in
pairs to go so that they can learn more about the solar system. The teacher will have scheduled a
time for the computer lab for us to go in and be able to do all of the research. There will be set
materials ready for later on to work on constructing our own solar systems. Given a computer
and a list of websites the students will gather 6 points about each planet, the sun, and the moon
with no more than 2 errors.
Explain what the students do in this lesson that puts them in an active learning situation.
Active
Participation
The students will be introduced to this topic with the smart board and will each have the
opportunity to come up and click and answer different questions to see their prior knowledge on
the planets. Then they will all be given the materials by partners for the chance to create their
own solar system with the planets. The students will be required to get creative and work
together. They will be encouraged to ask questions that are outside of the box.

Formative
Assessment

The criteria should directly align with the instructional objectives and standards. How will
you monitor student progress? Also describe your plan for providing feedback to your
students during the lesson?

I will be walking around as each of the partnerships are working on their unique solar system. As
they are working on them I will remind them to make the characteristics of each planet stand
out.
I will ask questions such as, How can you make it sturdy?
How will you make your solar system stand out?
If something does not work, How can you improve this?
Other questions would include questions about each planet.. such as, what color is mercury?
Why is it that color?
When giving feedback, I will not write on or mess with their solar system projects, instead I will
make sure everything is running smoothly as they are working on them and be up and available
constantly for questions so each student has a full understanding of what they are doing so that
they can display their final project.

Dr. Susan Sutton, 2014

Materials

List all materials and include how each will be used during the lesson. Must align with the
Instructional Objective

A Computer for each pair for research.

(10) various sized foam balls.
Paint
Paintbrushes
Yarn/ribbon/string
Scissors
Construction Paper
Toothpicks
Popsicle sticks
Tissue paper
Paper mache
Given the materials to build the solar system the students will construct a solar system with their
partners out of any of the materials listed above given an opportunity to use their own creativity.

Instructional Procedures
Essential Question An Essential Question encourages students to put forth more effort when faced with
complex, open-ended, challenging, meaningful and authentic questions.

Why do you think we need to learn about the solar system?

Lesson set

Motivator/Hook - How will you open the lesson to motivate the students? How will you
relate this lesson to previous learning & to real life experiences, to explain the
importance of the learning to the students? (student involvement required)

I will first have the students get up and get moving and put some of them together and have
them form planets with their bodies. This includes the moon and the sun. I will then have them
in the order of the planets and labeled as each one. I will have them move the way they are
supposed to and let them have fun with it.
List the instructional procedures step-by-step, in sequential order as they occur in the
Techniques &
lesson. What will you do? What will the students do? How will you keep learners
Activities

engaged? Within the procedures a variety of classroom teaching strategies (methods)

are identified. Student centered activities are included as well as guided practice of the
learning is included.

Dr. Susan Sutton, 2014

-A game with the learners being a life-sized solar system will be played.
-I will then present a prezi presentation on the smart board to check prior knowledge and to ask
new questions.
-We will go to the computer lab and the students will be given a list of websites to check to
further their knowledge on the solar system. They will also be writing down things they find
that they think are interesting about each planet.
-I will open discussion to see if anyone has any questions about the solar system before
jumping in to the activity.
-I will put the students into pairs.
-I will give the students their materials listed and websites to research on.
-Students will begin working on their models of their solar system with their partners. It will be
encouraged to make it following the guidelines but also allowing them to get creative with
some of the different materials.
Extension

How will I provide modified instructions for gifted students? I call this Gear-up.
Extensions are additional activities to expand the learning on the lesson. If students
finish early what will the supplemental activity be? - I will have them do.

Gifted students will be required to research the planets further. They will
go to websites I list for them and research the planets and find at least
one interesting thing about each planet.

Remediation

How will I provide modified instructions for below average? I call this - gear-down.
Remediation activities include methods to re-teach the learning for students who need
more instruction. If a student falls behind I will ..

These students will be placed with gifted peers. The instructions will not
be changed much but they will be given an extra checklist and some tips
and ideas for things they could potentially do to construct their models.

Adaptions
Modifications

How will I provide modified instruction for special education? How will you adapt the
learning for learners with special needs? Choose one disability and tell me how you
would adapt this lesson for that disability.

The student with ADHD will be given the same instructions as the other students but paired
with a peer who does not have ADHD and I will be paying extra attention to the pair to insure
that they are able to keep going and complete the task.
CLOSURE

Reflection / Wrap-Up. How will you close the lesson, summarize the lesson content,
relate the lesson to future lessons & tie it to previous lessons? (student-involvement
required). How will I review subject-matter and purpose with students?

Dr. Susan Sutton, 2014

The lesson will close by each pair presenting their models of the solar system and sharing what
they found to be most interesting about it. They will also share why they created it they way
they did. The students will share by coming up to the front of the class with all of their favorite
important facts listed and showing everyone their solar system. I will explain that this
assignment was to help them understand the solar system and how it works. Their ticket out
the door will be to tell me one thing they learned from seeing their peers present.

Summative
Assessment

Describe the assessment process that you will use to measure whether the students
achieved the instructional objectives. How will you assess the student
performance/mastery of skill? What are the criteria for achievement, and performance
level? How will you assess that students have learned? How will you monitor student
progress? The criteria should directly align to the instructional objectives and standards.
Also describe your plan for providing feedback to your students.

When they present I will be looking to see that they understand what they are talking about and
have answered the essential question. The point of this lesson is to be able to identify and
compare the components in the solar system There will be a test on the solar system later in the
week where they will be comparing the differences of each planet in which the goal will be 90%
accuracy.

NOTES:
This is intended to be a lesson that will require more than one day to complete.

Dr. Susan Sutton, 2014