Alyssa Beecher
Elementary tutor
Former teacher of grades 1-4
Sample Lessons
Refraction of Light |
Standards:
4-PS3-3 Energy
Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.
Objectives: The student will be able to observe, experiment, and come to a conclusion about refraction of light through transparent objects. The student will be able to hypothesize what refraction will do to their drawing. The student will be able to connect this experiment with their portrayed relationship with Jesus.
Materials: glasses, water, paper, pencils, Bible
Anticipatory Set:
Read 1 John 1:5-7 "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." Tell students to think about how this relates to the lesson as we continue.
Lesson Body:
~Recap on shadows and sundials.
~Have them draw an arrow on direction on a sheet of paper. Then ask them to observe what happens to the arrow as they look through the glass at their picture. (it should be going the opposite direction)
~Experiment by having them move the glass closer and farther away. What happens?
~Have them draw a picture of a girl with her eyes looking towards the right. Look at the picture through the glass. How does the picture change? Are there only certain parts that change? What stays the same? What happens if you move the glass closer? Or farther? For a challenge:Can you make the face look at itself?
~ Draw a picture of anything they want, but before looking through the glass, they must first draw what they think it will look like through the glass. Test their hypothesis.
~Write their observations and thoughts about what is happening on the board. Explain that this is called refraction, which is the bending of light. When light passes through transparent objects it refracts or bends. Depending on where the glass is or how big it is changes how the picture bends. It might be smaller, bigger, or the same size.
~ Have everyone stand up and say "refraction is the bending of light!" Make up motions for this phrase using for whole brain learning (refraction- pretend to hold a mirror, bending- bend your body sideways, light- spirit fingers in the air).
~Refer back to the Bible verse from the beginning and explain that when we claim to know Christ and yet live in darkness-not actually being like Christ. Then we are like how the water twists and bends the image we see. It is not true, it is misshapen. We talked earlier this week about how we are representations of Christ. When we still sin and do not do as Christ commands, then we have bent the world’s view of God. We have not represented Christ well. Encourage students to display accurate pictures of Christ to the world!
Science
Sound Vibration |
Standards:
Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents
Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.
Objectives:
The students will be able to hear, see, and feel sound by experimenting with vibrations. The students will be able to create a drawing of how sound is produced. The student will be able to predict how sound is made.
Materials:
Center items: guitar strings, tuning fork, tissue box with rubber bands, balloon vibrations.
Instruction sheet
Students IPC notebooks and a pencil
timer
Anticipatory Set:
Give the class 2 minutes to list everything they have heard today (bus, alarm, birds, etc.) Share some of these as a whole class and talk about how sound is all around us, God gave us ears to hear the wonderful world he created, and we all have different experiences with sound. *change to go over KWL chart made yesterday*
Lesson Body:
~ Set up centers with written instructions for students to go through and play with vibrations in sound. (guitar strings, vocal chord, balloon vibrations, tuning fork, tissue box with rubber bands).
~First demonstrate the turning fork center.
~Allow 5-6 minutes at each center, 1 minute to finish drawing and 20 seconds to change stations. At each center have students draw a picture of how that object makes sound.
~At the end of station time have them answer on their own how they think sound is made.
Guitar strings:
Take turns plucking the guitar strings. What does the sound look like? Draw this on your sheet of paper. Try stopping the sound. What does it feel like?
Vocal cords:
Place two fingers on your voice box and say the tongue twister:
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
What does the sound feel like? Draw this on your paper
Balloon vibrations:
Get in pairs. Have one person hum into the balloon with their mouth pressed against while the other puts their ear on it and listens. What does it sound like? What does the sound feel like? Draw this on your paper. Switch positions and repeat.
Tuning fork:
Hit the tuning fork lightly against the table. What do you feel? Can you change the pitch? Draw the sound.
Tissue box with rubber bands:
Pluck the rubber bands and observe how they move. Draw this on your paper.
Closure:
Watch the (2 min) vibration science video to clarify their predictions and thoughts. Have them check their prediction and if wrong, write the correct answer underneath their thoughts in a different color.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOnwW6TTTT4&feature=fvwrel
Assessment:
Drawings from stations.
Equivalent Fractions |
Standards: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.NF.A.3.B
Recognize and generate simple equivalent fractions, e.g., 1/2 = 2/4, 4/6 = 2/3. Explain why the fractions are equivalent, e.g., by using a visual fraction model.
Objectives: The student will be able to find the simplest form of a fraction. the student will be able to create 3 equivalent fractions using a set of numbers.
Materials: cut up numbers, and 8 packs of number cards.
Anticipatory Set:
Give them cut up numbers of: 12, 4, 10, 8, 5, and 6. Work with their partner to come up with at least 3 pairs of equivalent fractions using only these numbers (ex: 6/12=5/10, 4/8=5/10, 4/8=6/12). After 5 minutes collect their answers and write them on the board.
Lesson Body:
~ Write 6/12 = 3/6 on the board and ask if it is correct and how they know.
Ask what another equivalent fraction of 6/12 is?
What about 12/24? Yes i times by 2.
(6/12=2/4=½)
~Each step they get a little smaller. When you cannot divide the fractions any more that is the simplest form.
~Sometimes we have to guess, model dividing 6/12 by 3 and get 2/4 but I see I can divide those in half also and I get ½. Can I divide 1 and 2 by 2 again? No. So that is my simplest form.
~We are going to use math as our shrink ray to shrink these fractions down as small as they can go.
~ Write 8/12. Divide by 2. Equals 4/6. Can we divide again? Divide by 2. Can we divide again by the same number? No. So that is our simplest form. Show that we could also just divide 8/12 by 4. As long as both parts are divided by the same number.
~ Write fractions on the board, as they write them in their journals and have them circle which is in simplest form.
⅓=7/21 4/8=½ ⅗=6/10 4/6=⅔ ⅕=3/15 ¼=5/20
~ Practice their multiplication facts by playing a version of war. The first person to say the product, gets the cards played.
Assessment:
Answers for anticipatory set, circles answers in journal, and class participation.
Math
Long Division Centers |
Standards: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.B.6
Understand division as an unknown-factor problem.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.2
Interpret whole-number quotients of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 56 ÷ 8 as the number of objects in each share when 56 objects are partitioned equally into 8 shares, or as a number of shares when 56 objects are partitioned into equal shares of 8 objects each.
Objectives: The student will be able to solve word problems, and sort questions using long division.
Materials: paper for centers, and printed instructions.
Lesson Body:
Warm up practice on whiteboards.
37 ~3, 745~5, 330~4, 413~3
*Print large and cut out center work* Give 8 minutes at each center.
Model how to do a quotient sort.
Centers:
True or false?
Amelia says that 12 can go into 100 equally, with no remainder. Is she right? Why or why not? Prove your answer.
Johnny’s mom told him to divide 34 cupcakes between himself and 9 friends. He complains that it will not be equal. Is he correct? Prove your answer.
A mother bird collected 234 seeds to divide between her 6 babies. She thinks each baby will get 39 seeds. Is she correct? Prove your answer.
Barbara says that 14 can go into 96 equally. Is she correct? Prove your answer.
The school received 167 whiteboard markers and wants to divide them equally between the 12 classrooms. Can they do it? Why or why not? Prove your answer.
Word Problems:
There are 128 animals in the zoo and 8 zookeepers. If each zookeeper takes care of an equal number of animals, how many animals will each zookeeper take care of?
A man has 317 oranges. He puts 3 oranges in each bag. How many bags of oranges can he make? How many will be left over?
Ashley made 207 muffins. She put 4 in each box. How many boxes of muffins were there? How many were left over?
Justin has 89 Yards of wire. He cuts them into shorter pieces so that each piece is 3 yards long. How many pieces can he make? How long is the piece left over?
146 soldiers need to sleep equally in 16 tents. How many soldiers will be in each tent? Will there be any soldiers left over?
Match problem with answer
540~6 90
342~9 38
342~3 114
38~2 19
114~6 19
32~2 16
856~8 107
145~5 29
Quotient sort:
18, 24, 36
144~8
180~5
252~7
288~8
120~5
108~6
72~3
216~9
72~4
Match vocab with definition:
The dividend
the number that is being divided.
The divisor
the number that the dividend will be divided by.
The quotient
the answer on top.
The remainder
what is left over.
Write your own problem:
Blank sheets of paper
Assessment:
The work and conversation at each station.
Complex Sentences |
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
Objectives: The student will be able o distinguish between simple, compound, and complex sentences. The student will be able to edit their writing to create a piece with varied sentence lengths and types.
Materials: whiteboard and marker.
~ Write the prompt about if i had a robot…
~ Collect their ideas and model making a paragraph on the board, using only simple sentences.
~ Read it out loud and ask what they think about the writing. Talk to them about how boring that kind of writing it to read and how good writers vary their sentences.
~ Collect their ideas of changing and revising the simple sentences into compound and complex sentences.
~ Walk through each sentence, explaining the type and why. Tell them to look out for clues that will help them be able to tell if it is a compound sentence. Words like and, because, when, before, after, until. Identify them together
~ Have them copy in their notebooks simple, compound, and complex sentences with an example sentence from the board for each.
~ Have them edit their own writing from yesterday focusing on varying their sentence lengths. Meet one-on-one and conference with them about their writing and giving them goals.
Cause and Effect |
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.3
Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
Objectives: The student will be able to identify cause and effect in a story. The student will be able to predict what caused a paper airplane to fly the way it did.
Materials: Reading Wonders. Cause and effect diagram. Paper.
~ Read the story of the Wright Brothers in Reading Wonders pg 305. ~ Model cause and effect as we read. Ask what caused the Wright brothers to move? Ask how did advances in flight lead to planes traveling longer distances?
~ Ask them to find text evidence to answer how the Wright brothers learned from their unsuccessful flights. (Pg 306 should answer this, built bigger wings, added engine). Ask how did other inventors used the Wright brothers ideas?
~ Give them a cause and effect chart to organize their thoughts, model the first cause and effect for them and give them the second cause. Have them find the effect of the second cause and continue to fill in two more examples, citing where they found it in the text.
~ Have them make 2 paper airplanes with different wings or structure. Go outside and have a paper airplane throwing contest. What caused some airplanes to go further? What worked and what did not work? What structure or wings flew the furthest and why?
Language Arts
Inflected Endings |
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.2.F
Use spelling patterns and generalizations (e.g., word families, position-based spellings, syllable patterns, ending rules, meaningful word parts) in writing words.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.4.C
Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root
Objectives: The student will be able to identify root words and predict the meaning. The student will be able to add inflected endings to root words.
Materials: whiteboard and marker.
Inflected endings:
model root word with prefixes and suffixes.
Write common ones like -s -es -ed -ing
Use root word pack (packs, packed, packing)
Spot, drop, and wrap, point out double consonant for words ending in a vowel and consonant (spotted, spotting, drop, dropped, wrap, wrapping)
If a word ends in an E, drop the e. (dance, danced, name, named)
Write in a T chart with their ideas of inflected endings
Subtract subtracted
Amaze amazing
Forget forgetting
Replace replaced
Determine determined
They have inflected endings when you say them, coral read each word.
The root word helps us understand the meaning
Have them guess the meanings
Cheerful (full of cheer)
Graceful (full of grace)
Comfortable (able to have comfort)
Spotless (without spot)
Sensory Language |
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
Objectives: The student will be able to create writing with sensory language and sequence.
Materials: whiteboard and marker.
Sensory Language:
~ Ask what our sense are? What do they think Sensory language is?
~ explain that good writers use sensory language to tell how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels.
~ Model brainstorming: (oobleck, chocolate chip pancakes, iced mocha, walking taco, pineapple)
~ Have them brainstorm an idea of something they cooked, baked, or ate.
~ Explain that we want to be able to taste or feel or see the experiences just like you did.
~ Model sequencing and writing the story about oobleck, adding sensory language (oobleck: smells like glue, hard as cooled chocolate and gets into your nail when you pick it up but then turns to slime, like Nickelodeon, and slips through your fingers). Ask them to think back to when you just said oobleck. How could they picture or understand it? Now that you explained it, what can they picture now?
~ Have the edit and add to their writing from yesterday to add sensory language. Meet one-on-one with each student and check their progress during this time.
Miracles |
Objectives: The student will be able to give examples of miracles from the Bible. The student will be able to apply miracles to their own life.
Materials: Bottle, baking soda, vinegar, balloon, and Bible
Anticipatory Set:
Sing our God is an Awesome God.
~Balloon trick:
1 tsp baking soda into a balloon. 4 tablespoons vinegar into a plastic water bottle. Secure the balloon over the opening and watch what happens as the baking soda drops into the vinegar. Why do they think this happens?
~ It is amazing what can happen because of science or natural reasons. God created these laws of nature that makes such reactions as this. The chemical in the baking soda reacts with the acid in the vinegar to create a gas chemical. However, scientific laws cannot explain a miracle. What is a miracle?
~ Clarify from all their ideas that a miracle is an act of God that is impossible by human or natural causes. Only God can set aside natural laws. The Miracles Jesus did pointed to the fact that he was in fact God (John 10:37). A lot of times the bible uses sign or wonders to mean the same as miracle.
~ What miracles can they think of?
~ Read Isaiah 55:8-9 and Romans 11:34.
~ We cannot explain because we do not know all of Gods ways. Only he has the power over creation and how it works.
Miracles were used as a part fo Jesus ministry in service to God and others. People had a difficult time understanding that God Himself was right there with them. Through the miracles, Jesus could display his power and that he was indeed God.
~ Read John 3:1-2 many miracles showed loved and compassion and needing their needs. After seeing God’s power, many people realized Jesus was God’s son.
~ Ask when miracles happen? (Old Testament, New Testament, Now?)
Explain that miracles happened in the Old Testament and after Jesus went to heaven, they still take place so that we can see God’s omnipotance and believe in Jesus.
~ Tell personal story of boy at school who could walk again.
~ Have them journal as they think through. If you had been with Jesus when he performed a miracle, what difference might it have made in your life? Think about the fact that God still performs miracles. How do you want to respond to this truth?
Bible
The Lord's Prayer |
Objectives: The student will be able to detect aspects of the Lord's Prayer. The student will be able to create their own version of the Lord's Prayer.
Materials: lyric sheet and 2 colors.
Anticipatory set:
Pass out lyrics for As it is in Heaven by Matt Maher. Listen to it once, then sing the second time.
Ask if they know what part of the Bible these words are taken from? (the Lord’s prayer)
Lesson Body:
~ Give everyone a copy of the Lyrics. Ask the students to be detectives and see if they can find any aspects of the song that we talked about yesterday (repent, praising, thanksgiving, requests, confession, etc) underline in one color and find aspects of the Lord's prayer and highlight those in another color.
~ Come back together as a group to discuss what they found.
~ Explain that this is the model Jesus gave his followers to teach them how to pray. Talk about the WWJD bracelettes and how we watch Jesus’ life to see examples of how we should live and the same goes for prayer.
~ Walk through each verse of the Lord's Prayer. Explain that in verse 9 of Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus wanted to show the high value of God, he is our Father in a relationship with us and he lovingly cares for his children. We are to honor his name, to show respect and admiration. And to Hallow him which means treat as holy.
~ Eyes to eyes, knees to knees about what respect, admiration, and treating something as holy looks like.
~ In verse 9-10 Jesus prays for Gods kingdom to be seen and known on earth. How can we make God;s kingdom known on earth? (telling others about Jesus (evangelism), showing love, telling the truth, helping those in need) explain that when we do these things we can get a glimpse of what God is like, and we can know more deeply God’s love and goodness.
~ In verse 11 Jesus asks his followers to ask God to meet their everyday needs. What are some of your needs? (clothing, shelter, food). Tell a personal story of God providing. (Coming to Uganda, and praying to get fully funded).
~ In verse 12 Jesus is telling us about a debt or a sin. Explain that everyone has sinned, no one is perfect and that is what separates us from God but Jesus died to pay that debt. God wants us to come to him and ask for forgiveness and he will forgive and he wants us to forgive others, just like we talked about last week.
~ In 13 Jesus wants us to ask for protection from temptations and Satan. Temptation is not from God, but from the devil and we are told to resist the devil and he will flee. We protection from him and strength from God to overcome it.
~ Discuss the order of priority: reputation of the Father, the kingdom and will of God, then physical and personal needs.
~ Encourage students to write in their bible notebooks their own version, specific to their needs, of the Lord’s prayer in that order of priority.
~ End time with partner prayers about the school. Students, athletics, support staff, teachers, school as a community, etc.