Lesson Design Template

Candidate Name: Kat Lien Host Teacher Name: Melissa O’Rourke

School: Swanson Elementary Grade Level: K # of Students: 25
Date & Time of Lesson: 2/20/2020 Length of Lesson: 30 min
Topic of Lesson: Dinosaur Unit, Paleontologist Content Area: Science
Cookie Dig
Materials: Include all materials including types of technology used: Chips Ahoy crunchy chocolate chip
cookies, toothpicks, paper plates, worksheet (attached), Youtube video “Dig into Paleontology”
https://youtu.be/1FjyKmpmQzc

Alaska Content Standard: (One standard for the lesson)

K-PS2-1

Transfer Goal(s) - Unpacked Standard (Transferability)- Demonstrate professionalism through functioning like a
scientist

STAGE ONE: Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings (Meaning)

Enduring Understanding(s) : (1 or 2 are sufficient) Essential Questions to be Considered: (As related to
Enduring Understandings…) (1 or 2 are sufficient)
Students will be able to practice basic functions of
paleontology and excavation What can we find out about objects through observation
and manipulation?

STAGE ONE: STAGE TWO:

Objectives/Learning Targets (Acquisition)
Knowledge and Skills: What knowledge and skills
related to content and/or content language should
students know and be able to do by the end of the
lesson?
Assessments/Acceptable Evidence Of Learning
Sources of Evidence: Formative, Summative, and/or
Performance?

Students will use new scientific vocabulary words: Formative and Performance
“fossil, paleontology, excavation”

STAGE THREE: Learning for Understanding: Instructional Activities, Products, and Strategies
Pre-Requisites: What is the prior knowledge/learning students have to have before starting this lesson?
Students will be introduced the vocabulary words “fossil, paleontology, and excavation” through discussion and viewing
YouTube video https://youtu.be/1FjyKmpmQzc

Overview/Introduction/Main Hook (Make a connection with students’ backgrounds and/or prior learning using an
authentic situation to start them thinking about the objectives and the essential question the lesson addresses.)

Introduce Dinosaur unit using Youtube video and teacher demonstration of Cookie Fossil Dig! “Students, today we will
pretend to be paleontologists and we will excavate our fossils! How could we pretend to excavate this cookie using a
toothpick?”

Process: Teacher Does/Student Does…
- Show Paleontology video
- Q&A about video
- Review vocab words “fossil,
paleontology, and excavate”
- Each student receives 1 paper plate,
1 toothpick, 1 cookie, 1 worksheet
Product(s): Assessment/Evidence
of Learning.
- Students use new scientific
vocab words
- Students engage in activity
- Students correctly quantify
and record data
Specific Strategies for supporting
diverse learner skills and abilities
throughout the lesson
- Students who need extra
support may work in a group
of peers during “excavation”
time

- Introduce worksheet and fill in

“Views before excavation” and
predictions

- Students begin “excavating”

- Excavate for about 10 min

- Finish filling in “Data Collected” on

worksheet and instruct students
where to turn in their findings
Closure:
When excavating time is up, finish recording data on worksheet. Dismiss students by table number to turn in their papers
and clean their excavation area.

Examples of questions for prior to the lesson:

• What is the objective of the lesson? How will you know if the students have met the
objective?
The objective is to introduce students to dinosaur unit through paleontology activity. Students
meet the objective by being engaged in the activity and using new vocabulary words.
• What provisions are you making for faster and slower learners?
Students who need extra support may work alongside a peer. No accommodations were needed today.
Everyone was able to complete the task independently.
• How do you integrate local knowledge and cultural content?
• How do you use (or not use) technology wisely?
I introduced the concept of paleontology through a Kindergarten-appropriate Youtube video
• How does this lesson fit into the overall curriculum?
The lesson fits with the teacher’s dinosaur unit and K-PS2-1 Alaska Science Content Standard
• Have you changed the lesson plan at all?
Not at this time.

Examples of questions for reflection after the lesson:

• How did the lesson go?
The lesson went well. The procedures were easy to follow and the students stayed actively engaged
throughout.
• Did the students meet the objective? How do you know?
Yes. Students were actively engaged, used new vocab words “fossil, paleontology, and excavation”
correctly, and every student turned in a “Cookie Excavating Activity” worksheet.
• Were there any unexpected events? How effectively did you respond?
Several of the students quickly broke their toothpicks. I responded by handing out new toothpicks as
needed and reminding students that broken toothpicks can still be usable as excavation tools.
• Comment on one student who did particularly well and one who did not meet your expectations.
Why did this happen? What can you do to follow up with the student who did not do well?
 David did particularly well. We discussed using gentle and careful hands to excavate before the
activity, but David accidentally broke his cookie and responded in a healthy manner. He
announced that his cookie broke, but he realized that he could “dig out, or excavate” some of the
chocolate chips easier now.
Charlie met expectations for the activity but had to be reminded a few times to stay in her chair.
To follow up, I can make my expectations clear for the next activity, asking students to remain in
their seat and raise a hand for assistance.
• Are there any changes you would make in this lesson if you could do it again? Why?
The only thing I would change in this lesson would be to slightly simplify the “Cookie Excavating
Activity” worksheet. There are two blanks for data collected. For kindergarteners, it is difficult to
differentiate the chocolate chips that came from the top or the bottom of the cookie. Another idea
would be to excavate the top of the cookie first, remove the “fossil chocolate chips,” then start over on
the bottom of the cookie.

For this Teach Like a Champion lesson, I focused on #24 circulate and #59 precise praise. It was an

ideal activity for circulating around the room for observation and the students were eager to show me their

progress! For precise praise, I wanted to steer clear of saying things like “good job,” and phrase “I see you

are working hard to be a paleontologist” and “what a wonderful excavation technique you have!” When

students announced that they “got one out” I asked them if they remembered the science word for “dig it

out- excavation.” Mrs. O’Rourke offered two points of feedback following the lesson. She uses a couple of

jingles to get her students’ attention: “hands on top, everybody stop!” and “give me 5!” During the lesson I

said a jingle that just came naturally to me from the past: “1,2,3.. eyes on me!” Only one of her students

responded. I realized she doesn’t say that, so I asked how she usually gets attention. I switched to “give me

5” and gained every students attention. After the lesson, she noted that I should use methods that come

naturally to me and teach them to the students instead of only using her way. Another thing I asked the

students to do was to hold their pencil in the air when they finished a task. Mrs. O’Rouke offered that I

should verbally approve of a handful of students who follow these directions: “I see that JJ is finished with

that part because he’s holding his pencil in the air.”