Craters Lesson Plan

LESSON 1

Created by: Patricia A. KeeneGrade: 3rd

NYS Standards Addressed

  • Standard 1: Analysis, Inquiry, and Design—Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.
  • Standard 3: Mathematics—Students will understand mathematics and become mathematically confident by communicating and reasoning mathematically, by applying mathematics in real-world settings, and by solving problems through the integrated study of number systems, geometry, algebra, data analysis, probability, and trigonometry.
  • Standard 4: Science—Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.
  • Standard 6: Interconnectedness: Common Themes—Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning.
  • Standard 7: Interdisciplinary Problem Solving—Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.

Objectives

  • Students will be able to use the process skill of observing/exploring.
  • Students will be able to generate questions based on their observations/explorations.
  • Students will be able to recognize the difference between investigable and noninvestigable questions.
  • Students will be able to discuss observations and questions.
  • Students will be able to use a scientific notebook to record their questions and observations.

(NOTE: Although process skills are not used separately but as intertwined, coherent sets of skills, I have chosen to begin my inquiryfocus on observing and questioning while I model or walk the students through the other skills. Eventually the students will have the responsibility for using all the process skills of science.)

Materials

  • Pictures of surface of Mars, Moon, and Earth (Available at
  • Sand (course and fine)
  • Paprika
  • Objects to drop – a variety is good (marbles, Styrofoam balls, small rubber balls, BB’s, M&M’s, etc.) Some should be round, others may vary. You may want to have different sizes of the same material, different materials and different shapes.
  • Ruler (inches and centimeters)
  • String
  • Tweezers
  • Shallow container
  • Science notebook
  • Balance
  • Blank sentence strips
  • Markers

Anticipatory Set

  • Begin with pictures of craters from a variety of locations. Have a discussion as to:

What do we see from the picture of the moon?

What is a crater?

What are common features about craters?

Are all craters the same?

(List and discuss students’ observations)

  • Present the focus question to students before they begin: How are craters formed?

Work Period

  • Students will be divided into small groups.
  • Each group will have the following materials at their station:
  • Sand (course and fine)
  • Paprika
  • Objects to drop – a variety is good (marbles, Styrofoam balls, small rubber balls, BB’s, M&M’s, etc.) Some should be round, others may vary. You may want to have different sizes of the same material, different materials and different shapes.
  • Ruler (inches and centimeters)
  • String
  • Tweezers
  • Shallow container
  • Science notebook
  • Balance
  • Blank sentence strips
  • Markers
  • Students will explore the materials and record any and all observations in their Science notebook.
  • Each group will share some of their observations.Have a whole group discussion on observations.
  • Based on their observations, each group will ask questions and record them in their notebook.
  • Groups will write their questions on blank sentence strips and place them on the wall under the title “Range of Questions”. (Next to Range of Questions, you should also place two additional strips, one entitled “Investigable Questions” and the other “Noninvestigable Questions”.

Discussion

  • Go over students questions. Discuss the difference between investigable and noninvestigable questions.(Many students will probably have “why” questions. “Why” questions generally cannot be measured. The question has to deal with something that can be measured and address variables).
  • Afterall questions have been discussed and with the aid of the class, move investigable questions under the title“Investigable Questions” and the noninvestigable questions under the title“Noninvestigable Questions”.

Closure

  • Reflection in Science Notebook
  • What did we learn today?

Craters Lesson Plan

LESSON 2

Created by: Patricia A. KeeneGrade: 3rd

NYS Standards Addressed

  • Standard 1: Analysis, Inquiry, and Design—Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.
  • Standard 3: Mathematics—Students will understand mathematics and become mathematically confident by communicating and reasoning mathematically, by applying mathematics in real-world settings, and by solving problems through the integrated study of number systems, geometry, algebra, data analysis, probability, and trigonometry.
  • Standard 4: Science—Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.
  • Standard 6: Interconnectedness: Common Themes—Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning.
  • Standard 7: Interdisciplinary Problem Solving—Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.

Objectives

  • Students will be able to use the process skill of observing/exploring.
  • Students will be able to generate questions based on their observations/explorations.
  • Students will be able to recognize the difference between investigable and noninvestigable questions.
  • Students will be able to discuss observations and questions.
  • Students will be able to use a scientific notebook to record their questions, observations, hypothesis, experiment planning and investigating and interpretations.
  • Students will be guided through the other process skills (i.e.hypothesizing, predicting, planning and investigating, interpreting and communicating.)

Materials

  • Sand (course and fine)
  • Paprika
  • Objects to drop – a variety is good (marbles, Styrofoam balls, small rubber balls, BB’s, M&M’s, etc.) Some should be round, others may vary. You may want to have different sizes of the same material, different materials and different shapes.
  • Ruler (inches and centimeters)
  • String
  • Tweezers
  • Shallow container
  • Science notebook
  • Balance

Anticipatory Set

  • Begin with a review of Lesson 1.
  • What are investigable and noninvestigable questions?
  • Go over the class list of investigable questions.

Work Period

  • As a class, pick one question to investigate. Have students write the question in their Science notebook.
  • Discuss turning the question into a statement (hypothesis) that they are going to prove. Write the statement (hypothesis) in Science notebook.
  • As a class, discuss what materials will be needed to plan this experiment. List materials in Science notebook.
  • As a class, discuss the procedure for completing the experiment. Write the procedure in Science notebook.
  • Each small group will conduct the experiment following the procedure listed in their Science notebook.

Data

  • As students conduct their experiment, they will record their data.
  • Because the main focus in Lesson 1 was to give the students experience in observing and questioning, with Lesson 2 modeling the other process skills, the shell of a table or chart (depending on the question/hypothesis that the students chose) will be done for them, they will have to fill in the actual data. Eventually students will come up with their own ways to record data).

Interpreting

  • Discuss what the students found in relation to their initial question.
  • Discuss patterns or trends in their observations.

Assessment

  • Science notebook
  • Were they able to follow the teacher guided model of process skills?

Were students able to communicate their questions and observations?

Follow Up

  • Each group can pick another investigable question to do an experiment on.