Indiana Wesleyan University

Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template

CAEP 2018 K-6 Elementary Teacher Preparation Standards

LESSON RATIONALE
It is important for students to identify the properties of various matters because we classify items
by their properties in everyday experiences. By knowing what type of properties to identify
materials with, students will be able to classify the objects they use on a daily basis.
READINESS
I.Goals/Objectives/Standard
A. Goal: Students will be able to classify materials based on their properties of matter.
B. Objectives:
a. After completing this lesson, students will be able to categorize various objects in
their environments by their properties.
b. At the end of this lesson, students will know how to identify materials based on
their properties and how they relate to their description.
C. Standards:
a. 2.PS.1 Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds
of materials by their observable properties.
b. SEPS.3 Constructing and performing investigations
II. Management Plan-
a. Time: 50 minutes
i. Anticipatory set: 10 minutes
ii. Minilesson: 10 minutes
iii. Exploration & experiment: 20 minutes
iv. Closure: 10 minutes
b. Use of space
• During the anticipatory set students will be walking around the room going on
a scavenger hunt to find various objects. The whole classroom will be used for
discovery. During the minilesson students will be on the front carpet going
over the various properties and what they mean. For the lesson presentation
students will be at their desks performing an individual exploration on a
certain unknown object. After they have performed this investigation, they will
be move into groups around the room discussing their findings. They will then
all move to the front carpet to present their discoveries to the class. For the
closure, students will be back in their seats filling out an exit slip to conclude
their thoughts.
c. List of materials
• Scavenger hunt worksheet
• Various materials/ objects being used around the classroom
• Five of the same objects
o Pinecones
o Sponges
o Paperweights

1
 o Set of dice
• 4 groups of 5 covered mystery boxes
• Big sticky note poster
• Exit slip
III. Anticipatory Set
 I will have the students participate in a classroom scavenger hunt. Each student will get a
worksheet with six different items being described by their properties. These objects can
be found around the classroom and may or may not have more than one answer.
 The worksheet will have these six descriptions
o Something that is hard, sharp, and short
 This can be a number of objects, but the one I was thinking of was
scissors.
o Something that is flexible, short and pink
 This can be an eraser
o Something that is long, light, and smooth
 This can be multiple different things, a pencil, a marker, a piece of paper,
etc…
o Something that is straight, big, smooth and transparent
 The window
o Something that is liquid, sticky, and white
 Glue
o Something that is flexible, hard, and clear
 A ruler, or something else they might have found while searching
 While passing out this worksheet I will say, Has anyone participated in a scavenger hunt
before? Well we are going to do a classroom scavenger hunt today! On this worksheet
you will find six different objects being described by what it looks and feels like. There
isn’t one specific answer for each one, but the objects you find need to fit the description
for it. When I tell you to go you can get up from your seat, walk around the classroom
and start the scavenger hunt.
 Make sure you are keeping your answers to yourself because we will come back after and
share our findings! GO!
 Give the students 10 minutes to find objects and walk around, when they are done, they
will sit on the carpet ready for the next instruction.
 Now that everyone is back, let’s talk about the objects you all found around the room. I
don’t expect each student to find the same object I was thinking of when I thought of
these materials and their properties. The more answers for one description the better. This
will give more opportunities for students to discuss why they see certain properties in one
thing than in others.
 During this discussion time I will make sure to point them in the direction of why there
could be multiple answers for one description and not the others.

Purpose statement: Today we will be learning about different materials and their properties,
just like how you found objects using those descriptions. It is important to learn this because we
use properties to help us categorize real-world objects on a daily basis.

2
PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION
Adaptation to Individual Differences and Diverse Learners
• Being able to do hands-on work is essential for learners who have difficulty learning
through lectures and listening. Getting them active and able to express what they are
understanding through feeling these objects gets them excited about learning.
• For ELL students they are able to feel but might need help with writing and expressing
these thoughts, so being paired with someone who is understanding of the content will be
very beneficial for them.
• By modeling the investigation beforehand all students will benefit how to go about it and
get a better understanding of how to write the sentences. This could benefits the students
so that they can go about the investigation correctly as well.

Lesson Presentation (Input/Output)

 Continuing instruction on properties, the students need to visualize the many possibilities
for properties. While keeping them on the carpet for instruction I will take a poster and
create an anchor chart with five separate sections identifying size, shape, mass, color, and
texture.
 These five sections are how we can identify properties of objects, but since these are just
categories, we need description words to help us identify them.
 What are some words to help us describe size?
o Give them time to answer. Make sure to guide their answers to not just big and
small, but to thin, think, skinny, fat, long, and short
 What are description words for shape?
o Guide them to think about math and what types of shapes we talk about for
geometry. Circle, square, rectangle, heart and oval are good, but get them to think
of 3-D shapes such as cube, cone, and cylinder.
 What can you use to describe mass?
o Light and heavy can be used here. If they think of others make sure it can be
related to mass, and not in the other property categories.
 We can think of many colors but what are some main ones that we see every day?
o Listing the ones, they see every day will help them narrow it down even though
there are millions of colors. Make sure they understand that clear and transparent
can be used as a description word for the color.
 When you think of texture, what are some words you would use?
o There are various ones they can hit on, a couple they could find are smooth, soft,
hard, bumpy, rough, and pointy.
 While writing these down and giving the students time to respond connect their
understanding to various objects they would use in every-day life. Get them to think
about what they come in contact with every day and how they use it.
 What types of things can you use and see in everyday life from these different categories?
 Okay I am going to demonstrate what you guys will be doing soon for your activity. I
have a covered box in front of me with nothing in yet, I am going to pick someone who
has been listening very carefully today to put something in the box while I am not looking
(give this person time to find a safe object, not say what it is and place it in the box).

3
 I will feel around in the box and verbalize what type of properties I am feeling. I will
question and make blind observations until I am ready to write a couple sentences about
it.
 When I write the sentences, I will make references to the chart that we made and make
sure to use those words to help guide my thinking.
 When I write the sentences, I will make sure to include all the properties except color and
see if the students understand why I would include that one.
 While I write these sentences, I am going to focus on all but one of the properties, which
one wont I write about? And why?
 Having them understand that a lot of these properties can be seen without really
visualizing them gives them the hands-on and self-discovery aspect of learning.
 Now that I have written these sentences, I will make a guess about what was in the
mystery box! I will express my thoughts and tell them my guess (hopefully it would be
right, but if not I think the students would still find it fun to “trick” me).
 Alright so you have seen me make a discovery using the properties we have listed here
and making an educated guess. Now it is your turn to do this!
 Each of you will receive a mystery box. Inside that box is an object that you will not be
able to see until the end. When I say to start, I want you to spend time feeling it with both
hands and making blind observations. While you are making these blind observations,
you will take out your science journals and write three to four sentences describing what
you feel and what the properties of this object are. Remember what property will you not
be able to use in your sentence?
 Go ahead and go back to your seats to start making some good guesses on these different
objects.
 There will be five students with the same object in their boxes and four objects, so all
together there will be 20 boxes.
 While each student is feeling, guessing and writing their sentences I will walk around to
make sure they are making the right observation according to their object.
 I will ask and talk to them by saying things such as, Tell me about your observations,
What makes it smooth instead of soft? What is the difference between it being fat instead
of thick?
 After a good amount of time for them to write their sentences and make a guess I will
have them get up with their sentences and talk with each other to find their matching
object group.
 Before we reveal what is in the box, I have something else to reveal! You guys have
matching objects in your boxes with four other people in the classroom. I want you to
walk around the room and share your sentences with one another to see if some of them
match. You will end up in four groups of five! Your sentences might not match exactly but
there will be clear similarities in some of them than there are in others.
 Give them time to walk around and find their partners. Some students might need more
guidance than others to find and read their sentences, so I will walk around and help each
student as seen fit. Each group should end up together and be spread out around the room.
 Now that you are in your groups take some time to talk about what you guys felt and
describe the properties to each other. Ask questions and see if you all think the same

4
 thing about your object. It is okay if you have different thoughts about it because that is
what makes it a fun mystery!
 While they are discussing I will have one student from each group grab their mystery box
and bring it back to the group.
 Each group should have their box with them, when I say go, you guys can open it up and
see if your guesses where correct! GO!
 The students will be able to talk and discuss what they see and if their property sentences
match the properties of the object. I will walk around and give students questions to think
about as well.
 Was this something you thought was your object? What are some properties you used to
describe it? Would you change it now that you can see it or keep it the same? What are
some things you would add to your description?
 Allow time for them to discuss these questions and listen to the types of conversations
they are having. Guide them in their discussion if they get off topic.
 As a group, come up with one paragraph of 3 to 4 sentences explaining your object. Use
the description words for the properties and make sure everyone in the class will be able
to understand it. Don’t give any clues away about what your object is because you will
come back to the front carpet, read your paragraph out loud and see if the class can
guess what your object is based on the properties you use to describe it.
 When you are done come to the front of the carpet.

Check for understanding.

• Have the students come back on the carpet for one last discussion on each groups object.
• Since you have written a final paragraph on your object, I want you to go around and
read them out loud to the class.
• Each group will share their paragraphs, and everyone will guess what their object was
and see how their descriptions used the right properties.
• To check for their understanding, I will see how they used the correct properties for their
material as well as the students answers to the description to see if they got it right.
• After they are done sharing their object with the class, I will have them go back to their
desks to fill out an exit slip.
• Go back to your desks now and fill out an exit slip answering this question: How can you
use what you learned today about materials and their properties on a daily basis? How
does this relate to your everyday life?
Review learning outcomes / Closure
• We have learned a lot today about the many properties that objects have and how we can
identify and categorize them. We learn this because it helps us classify objects in an
easier way during various daily activities.
• I can tell you guy learned a lot today and were very attentive! Thank you, now turn your
attention to the next thing on our schedule.

PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT

• During the lesson I will be assessing their understanding through asking thought
provoking questions and creating opportunities for them to answer. A type of formative
assessment will be during the anticipatory set to see how they comprehend viewing the

5
 different types of property description words. During the mini lesson I will also have a
formative assessment based on their answers to filling in the anchor chart as a class.
• A formative assessment will also take place while they write their 3 to 4 sentences on
their object.
• A summative assessment will be performed further down the unit, to test their
understanding of the overall content matter.

REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS

1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
7. Were students able to effectively explain what properties of materials are?
8. Did the skills they learned during the lesson transfer to the closure?
9. What adjustments did I have to make to reach varied learning styles?

6
Name:

Classroom Scavenger hunt

1.Something that is hard, sharp and short

2.Something that is flexible, short and pink

3.Something that is long, light and smooth

4.Something that is straight, big, smooth and

transparent

5.Something that is liquid, sticky, and white