Learning Experience Plan Outline for PRIMARY GRADES

Your Name Emma King Grade/Developmental Level 1st & 2nd grade

Subject Area Science Specific Topic Ice Erosion

Length of Time 45 min Date taught 3/30 & 3/31

Purpose: The purpose of this learning experience is for the children to learn a basic
understanding of how the glaciers works, and how the land can be shaped slowly by the ice
glaciers that pick up different materials as they flow down hill.

Background Knowledge: Children The children have been learning about erosion over the last
2 weeks. They have learned about water and rovers as well as rocks and how they change shape
over time. The children know that rocks can be picked up by glaciers and moved throughout a
long period of time.

Curriculum Standard(s):
2-ESS1-1 Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur
quickly or slowly
2-ESS-2: Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land in an area

Objectives: Children will read an article and write about their favorite things about glaciers.

Background Knowledge: Teacher:

Glaciers are near the north & south poles where the temperature is below freezing.
They are created by snow falling down and compacting the snow beneath it, causing it to become
hard and icy.
The glaciers flow downhill, picking up materials on their way down causing erosion.

Materials Needed:
 by teacher: article, highlighter, computer for glacier photos.

 by student: Desk, chair, pencil, highlighter, article, lined paper, coloring utensils.

Student Grouping: The children will sit six feet apart at their assigned desk. There will be two
cohorts of children completing this activity.

Preparation for Experience: The children have watched a video about glaciers and have
created their own mini glaciers that have frozen overnight. They have a basic understanding of
glaciers but will learn more as they read and highlight their articles.
I will set up six buckets with sand in the bottom before the experience.

Outline of Experience:
 Introduction/Orientation
 As the children finish their reading lesson, we will transition to science
 I will prompt the children by asking them what they remember about glaciers from our
video last week.
 As they explain their thoughts, I will begin to hand out their home-made glaciers and
sand buckets.
 I will ask the children to tear the paper off their glacier and place it on one side of the
bucket
 Tell the children to drag the glacier across the bottom to mimic the shaping of land by
glaciers.

Body of Lesson
 Now that the children have shaped the land with their glacier, they will set aside to melt
and release rocks and dirt that it picked up as they begin their reading/writing activity.
 Ask B, E, B, L & V to read aloud if they feel comfortable.
 I will tell the children that we will highlight after each paragraph together and we can
choose our own sentences to highlight.
 As the children read, they will stop and highlight as we go along.
 Once the reading is over, I will encourage everyone to write their own ideas about their
favorite parts of the reading. I can help with spelling and transitional phrases when
needed.

Conclusion
 To end the lesson, I will allow the children to come see what materials have melted from
their glacier and where the water went.
 The children can talk about it and why they think it happened.

Assessment Plan:
 I will use the children’s writing to determine where we should go next in the
erosion/landforms unit.
 I will determine what needs the children have in their writing based on their finished
product.

Child Guidance/Classroom Management Plan:

 One child may refuse to write. I will allow him to write what he is comfortable and
allowing the class to write about their favorite parts of the article may help him pick and
choose the important pieces to him. If he does not like writing, he can pick the shortest
sentences, and he is still writing.

Adaptations and Modifications:

 Give P a tool for her to cover the top and bottom lines and only show the line that is
being read
 Give the first grade students a spacer to make sure that there is space between the words
in their writing.
Extension Plan:
Offer a demonstration of what happens to the ice when wind (fan) is moving the glacier by
putting a fan by the glacier and watching it move.

Reflection
This experience was fun and exciting for the children as they were able to see how their
model glaciers melted over a period of time as they read and wrote about their favorite facts
about glaciers. The children read the reading aloud and we highlighted important parts of the
paper as we went. I reminded the children how to use a highlighter. Some children used them
correctly while others poked holes through their papers because they used too much ink. As the
children and I read, one child highlighted his entire paper because “it is all important
information”. I reminded him that if he highlights the entire article, it will be hard to find the
information later when he is writing about it. For the writing part of the lesson, I asked the
children to write their favorite things that they learned about glaciers. For the children who I
knew that I could challenge, I encouraged them to come up with transition words that would help
their writing flow better. One child used “I also liked…”, and “my last favorite fact about
glaciers…”.
Overall, throughout this experience, I learned that I could push the children who are high
in learning to be challenged. As I walked around the room and helped the students, I encouraged
them to sound out words that were not in the article to reference back to. As I continue through
writing with the children, I will challenge them and differentiate instruction for the children who
need it.