Below are several lessons that I've completed as a part of my program at SDSU/DSU.
Animal STEAM Activity - 4th Grade Science
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Animal STEAM Activity | |
File Size: | 1452 kb |
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This lesson plan was developed during my K-8 student teaching experience in the Spring of 2023. I was placed in a 4th-grade science classroom. When I taught this lesson, we were learning about animals and the adaptations that help them survive. On Wednesdays, we typically do workshops for students to have the opportunity to try some hands-on, extension activities. For this activity, students created paper animals that would "walk on their own" down a sloped surface. I created a stencil for students to use to cut out, fold, and decorate their animals. Their challenge was to figure out the best design for making the animals move the fastest. They conducted multiple trials and made adjustments to their models to find the optimal solution. After they were completed creating their paper animals, we conducted races for students to see each others' creations. This activity was so much fun and the students seemed to really enjoy figuring out how to make their animals walk!
Playground Exploration - 4th Grade Science
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Playground Exploration | |
File Size: | 1799 kb |
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This is one of the lessons I developed for the Changes to Earth's Surface unit I created in my student teaching experience at Camelot Intermediate School. In this unit, we learned about weathering, erosion, and deposition. Learners had the opportunity to apply their learning and find real-life examples of these concepts on our school's playground! My goal was for students to make connections from their learning to their environments. They were provided a scavenger hunt list and a reflection sheet to help guide them through this process. After they had the chance to explore the playground on their own and with guidance, we had a class discussion about their findings. The students and I enjoyed this lesson and having the opportunity to learn from our surroundings!
Interpreting Earth's Data - 4th Grade Science
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Interpreting Earth's Data | |
File Size: | 1225 kb |
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This is a lesson that I created for the Changes to Earth's Surface unit in my student teaching placement in the Spring of 2023. Students had the opportunity to explore patterns on Earth's surface through virtual maps of volcanic activity and earthquakes. These maps are updated every day, so they had the chance to learn what was happening around Earth in real-time. I provided some time for them to explore the maps independently to get used to the maps, then they answered some questions based on their findings. We had a class discussion and I provided guiding questions to foster deeper thinking. The students seemed to be excited to track volcanos and earthquakes. This is an activity that I would like to try again one day!
Weathering and Erosion - 4th Grade Science
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Weathering and Erosion | |
File Size: | 296 kb |
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Handouts | |
File Size: | 712 kb |
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I developed this lesson during my K-8 Science Methods course. In this lesson, students will be designing a model of a home that would survive the weather in South Dakota. They are testing and revamping their model for the optimal solution. I have created student handouts that students can use to track their learning throughout the lesson. There are charts made for students to use during their investigations. I have also created a Nearpod lesson that fits with this lesson plan. Students could use the Nearpod to work through the STEM challenge on their own or it could be used as a supplement in class. This lesson includes phenomena of weathering and erosion that students will find outside in their own environment. They will then learn more about weathering and erosion through an interactive lesson and reading a book. Using their previous and new knowledge of this topic, they will build their "houses." They will also be creating a poster to show their learning at the end of the lesson. I had the opportunity to implement aspects of this lesson in my student teaching experience during the Changes to Earth's Surface unit that I created and taught. Some examples of these lessons are listed above.
Onomatopoeias - 4th Grade Writing
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Onomatopoeias | |
File Size: | 10402 kb |
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I developed this lesson plan during my K-8 Language Arts Methods course. In this lesson, I used a mentor text, Listen, Listen written by Phillis Gershator and illustrated by Alison Jay, to teach how onomatopoeias could be used in a text. I really wanted this lesson to be interactive and have the students create an anchor chart with me. This anchor chart would then be presented in the front of the room for students to reference during their independent work time. I used the "I do," "we do," "you do" structure of a lesson that provides scaffolding until students are able to execute the skill on their own. I was very intentional about what I would say to students, so they would know what to look for in their own mentor texts and hear how a writer might reflect as they are writing. Although I was not able to teach this lesson to a group of learners, I did create a video showing how this lesson may look as I teach it. The link to my video is below!
The Nervous System - 7th Grade Medical Detective (Science)
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The Nervous System | |
File Size: | 345 kb |
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I developed this lesson plan during my Pre-Admission Practicum (Practicum I). Because this was one of my first experiences teaching in a middle school, creating a lesson plan for 7th graders was exciting. I really wanted to focus on the Constructivism learning theory for this lesson, which is based on the idea that students create their own learning based on their previous experiences. For one of the components of this lesson, the students were able to create their own scenarios for how the body would receive and respond to certain stimuli. Because I had a specific group of students to create this lesson for, I was able to make adjustments that would make the most sense for this class. For example, I knew the demographics of this class and which students were specific plans. I was also able to observe my cooperating teacher teach this topic in her own lesson. It was interesting to see similarities and differences between how we would have taught this information. I took some advice from her lesson and expertise for my future lesson plans.
Exploring Seeds - 2nd Grade Science
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Exploring Seeds | |
File Size: | 128 kb |
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I developed this lesson plan during my K-8 Science Methods course. This is the most recent lesson plan that I have created. This lesson used the components of the 5-E model of lesson planning, engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. I focused on the performance expectation, or standard, first before planning the lesson. My goal was for students to explore seeds in their own ways to discover their own questions. This makes learning more interesting and engaging as students take on the role of a real scientist. In this lesson, I wanted students to make use of phenomenon in their environment, so they could see how this information is relevant to their lives. To do this, students would gather various seeds that they found outside and bring them into the classroom. I would also collect more types of seeds ahead of time for them to explore. I would provide many materials for students to immerse themselves in a hands-on learning experience. They would not be told the answers or how to reach their own conclusions. Instead, they would be provided materials and guiding questions to lead them in a direction that answers their questions.
Screen Time - Kindergarten through 2nd Grade Health
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Screen Time | |
File Size: | 290 kb |
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I developed this lesson plan during my K-12 Methods of Health Instruction course. This is a unit plan that I created with 5 days of lesson plans included. When I was creating these lesson plans, I focused on including a wide range of captivating activities. This was the first time that I created multiple in-depth lesson plans for a single unit. Throughout this process, I reflected on how well the lessons would connect and build off of one another and how engaged the students would be within them. I was intentional when choosing the wording of my rationale to make sure it was clear what my goals for the students were. I really wanted students to learn how the time they spend on screens effects them and be able to apply their knowledge to their lives. I gained a lot of useful lesson planning experience when creating this unit plan. I created a video explaining how I would teach the lesson for day 4 of this unit. The link to my video is below!
Adding and Subtracting Numbers Through 1000 - 3rd Grade Math
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Adding and Subtracting Through 1000 | |
File Size: | 2233 kb |
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I developed this lesson plan during my K-8 Math Methods course. This lesson is based off the Illustrative Math Curriculum. I used the DSU lesson plan template to form this lesson. I did not actually teach this lesson, but I was able to practice going through it with my peers. I focused on scaffolding and including individual sections to the content section of this lesson. Students will be working as a group, then with partners, and finally individually. This layout helps ensure students are prepared and can complete problems on their own. The introduction problem relates to an event that is happening in their own lives. This helps them relate math problems to their own lives and prior knowledge. I also included an introduction activity that has students connect what they already know to what they notice about an empty chart. This lesson has many open-ended components that all students to make sense of word problems and explore problems in their own way.