L4+Fritschy+Rachel

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, HEALTH AND REHABILITATION LESSON PLAN FORMAT
 * UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FARMINGTON

Teacher’s Name:** Ms. Fritschy **Date of Lesson:**
 * Grade Level:** 6-8 **Topic:** Planets

__**Objectives**__

 * Student will understand that** **there are many different kinds of objects in the solar system including planets, the sun, moons, asteroids, and comets**.
 * Student will know** **key factual information such as the order of the planets and their composition due to their location. They will also be able to know vocabulary such as orbit, planet, gravity, dwarf planet, meteor, meteorite, meteoroid, comet, axis, solar and lunar eclipse.**
 * Student will be able to create a model of the solar system which includes all of the planets in their correct order**.

__**Maine Learning Results Alignment**__
Maine Learning Results: Science and Technology D. Physical Setting D1. Universe and Solar System Grades 6-8 Students explain the movements and describe the location, composition, and characteristics of our solar system and universe, including planets, the sun, and galaxies. a. Describe the different kinds of objects in the solar system including planets, sun, moons, asteroids, and comets.


 * Rationale:** This lesson will give students an opportunity to learn about the planets individually and in depth.

__**Assessment**__
When students come into class the day of the lesson, they will notice that the room resembles outer space. After they get settled in, the first activity requires them to work with the Sandwich Organizer. Using this organizer, the students will write down all that they know about the planets including their order, maybe their size, composition, etc. This activity will allow the teacher to get an idea of what the students already know. The next task will be for students to pair up with one of their classmates. While in pairs, the students will in a way interview each other about the information that they have and know about the planets. In about five minutes, the partners will rotate and get a new classmate to share information with. The goal of this assignment is for students to add upon what they already know with information that their peers know. It is important to learn from and listen to each other.
 * Formative (Assessment for Learning)**

After the students have collected as much knowledge as they can from their classmates, they will return to their seats. The teacher will explain the final assessment which will be for the students to in essence become astronomers. Each student will be assigned a planet to research for this project. They will need to present the information they researched about their particular planet in the form of a ComicLife. The students will have class time on day one and day two to work on the project. On day two, students will group up with their classmates to peer review each other's projects. Before presenting the project, students will be creating rubrics by which they should be graded by. The rubric is more for a self assessment portion of the project and the students will be required to fill it out before passing in the final product. The peer review process is important and students should take great advantage of this time to compare their work with their classmates. This project will be graded mostly on content, presentation, amount of information, and organization.
 * Summative (Assessment of Learning)**

__**Integration**__
Technology: It is important for students to incorporate technology into their lives so during this lesson, students will be working a lot with their computers and the internet. For their final assessment, students will be responsible for using the valuable sources on the internet as research tools. They will also be interacting directly with ComicLife. The students will get a minor tutorial into ComicLife during the explanation of the assignment. English: Students will be writing concepts in a graphic organizer format about the planets and their characteristics. They will be verbally sharing their graphic organizers with their classmates in order to gain as much knowledge as possible. Art: Students will be required to get creative with their projects because a boring project is going to distract the viewer. Students should bring out their artistic side during the making of their project so that the final product is the best it can be. History: In order to students to research and learn the most about their individual planet, they will need to delve into the history of the planet. Within the planet's history, students can find immense amounts of information that determine many characteristics of the planet.

__Groupings__
For the first grouping, students will be paired up with a classmate to share the information that they each wrote down on their sandwich organizers. In these pairs, one student will play an interviewer while the other is the interviewee. The students will have to ability to choose who takes on what role first. To get into these pairs, students will just pair up with the classmate closest to them. Students are in assigned seating so they will probably not be sitting near their friends; this will allow for a good mix when the students are paired. When students will be working on their projects, they will be peer reviewing at one point to gain the perspective of their fellow classmate. Students will be getting into groups of three or four for this because they will have the opportunity to peer review a few projects. These groups will be determined by color. There will be however many stations set up that will allow for groups of three to four and each station will be designated by a color. Each student will get a small piece of paper with a color that corresponds to a station. When the teacher says, the students will disperse to the station that matches the color of their piece of paper.

__**Differentiated Instruction**__

 * Strategies**
 * Verbal:** During peer review process, students will be conversing while they provide positive feedback and constructive criticism.
 * Logical:** Students will be researching the scientific characteristics of the planet they were assigned. They will learn about its location, size, atmosphere, moons, and many other fundamental aspects.
 * Kinesthetic:** Students will be pairing up to share what they already know about the planets and where they are in the solar system. They will be rotating partners every ten minutes which requires them to get up and move around the room.
 * Visual:** Students will present what they know about the planet they were assigned in a ComicLife. Their project will include pictures and graphics that will help the viewers understand the planet better.
 * Interpersonal:** Students will be discussing the planets in pairs as well as peer reviewing each others projects in small groups.
 * Musical:** Students are allowed to add any musical element to their project if they believe that it will enhance the finished product. The musical element(s) should be included in the students rubric.
 * Intrapersonal:** Students will be working alone during the beginning portion of class. They will be using their sandwich organizer to write down as much as they already know about the planets. During the paired interviews, students will return to this organizer to write down any new ideas they learn.

//**I will review student’s IEP, 504 or ELLIDEP and make appropriate modifications and accommodations.**//
 * Modifications/Accommodations**

If a student absolutely must be absent, it is their responsibility to communicate with me or a fellow classmate about the work you missed and complete it before next class. If an assignment was due the day she or he was absent then it is the students responsibility to get the assignment to me first thing the next day that student is in class. Contact me as soon as possible if an issue arises that prevents you from getting an assignment in on time.

In this lesson, students will be working directly with the software, ComicLife. This software is a great tool for students to create real life comic strips with any content that they could want. It has many great tools that allow for the utmost creativity. Students will find that this technology is not only a lot of fun but allows them to learn a lot at the same time. Students will be doing a lot of peer reviewing before they present their projects. After the presentation of everyone's project, the students could reflect on the project and their own work in a blog. The students were previously required to create rubrics that they graded themselves by after they finished their project. In this blog, students could reflect on their rubric and why they made it like they did. What elements did the student use and why? After this assignment, students could go on to each other's blogs and comment on the entry. This will get students interacting with blogger and each other.
 * Extensions**

__**Materials, Resources and Technology**__

 * Paper
 * Pens/pencils
 * Computers
 * Internet Access
 * Projector
 * White/black board
 * Desks/Chairs
 * ComicLife Software
 * Macintosh Computer
 * Reference Books

__Source for Lesson Plan and Research__
Lesson plan about planets created by Ms. Rachel Fritschy [] In depth information about each planet and other aspects of our solar system [] Overview of each planet in the solar system [] Information about the planet's in our solar system including weather, and composition] [] All about the planets [] Awesome animation and real time information about the planets [] NASA website about each planet and their characteristics [] An overview of the different aspects of our solar system [] PDF tutorial of ComicLife [] Visual ComicLife tutorial [] Blogger Youtube tutorial

__**Maine Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale**__
Rationale:** Students who love spontaneity and flexibility will love this lesson because they will be able to be as creative as they want. For the final assessment in this lesson, students will be required to research any one planet in the solar system and organize all the information they found into a ComicLife. The ComicLife must fulfill certain requirements but that does not mean that students can not go above and beyond to reach those requirements. It is encouraged that students be as creative as possible because no one likes to watch a boring presentation. Students will be encouraged to use a variety of research tools including books, computers, references, and many more. There will also be a lot of organization involved with this lesson. Students will have a specific agenda that has been outlined for them. This agenda will be followed to the "T". Students will get directions on how to accomplish the tasks outlined for this lesson. They will be learning a lot more about themselves, each other, and the solar system. Students will be working together to gather as much knowledge as they can about the planets in our solar system. They will learn about the planets and their individual roles in our solar system. Also, students will be very comfortable in this learning environment because they will constantly be encouraged to share what they know. While in pairs, students will express any and every idea that they have with their classmates as well as the reverse. Students will respect their peers and will be giving professional and helpful advice when peer reviewing. Students will be getting to know each other much better as well as the subject matter.
 * //Standard 3 - Demonstrates a knowledge of the diverse ways in which students learn and develop by providing learning opportunities that support their intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and cultural development.//

Rationale:** Through this lesson, students will be exploring in depth the characteristics of each and every planet. The planets include Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto has officially been demoted as a planet so the students will not be studying it as in depth. However, they will be learning a little bit about the now dwarf planet and what role it has in our solar system. With the final assessment, students will be expected to deeply research the planet that they have been designated. Since students will be only required to research one planet, they will be encouraged to learn as much as possible about that planet. The goal here is for students to become experts and masters in regards to the characteristics of whatever planet they are assigned to. For this project, students will be required to organize their research into a ComicLife that they will present to the class. In the presentations, the rest of the class will learn a lot more about each individual planet. The student responsible for presenting will share as much knowledge as he/she has obtained about that planet in order to teach the class as much as possible. As a result, students will be in effect teaching each other about the planets in the solar system.
 * //Standard 4 - Plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, curriculum goals, and learning and development theory.//

Rationale:** There will be many different multiple intelligences in my class so I will make sure to include a variety of different instructional strategies to meet the needs of all my students. Students will focus on verbally sharing knowledge and opinions when they are paired up in the middle of class and again when they give each other positive feedback later on their projects. Verbally communicating is important for students to be as clear as possible with each other. Logically, students will be focusing on characteristics of the planet they were assigned. They will research their planet in depth and learn about the scientific aspects of their planet including composition, size, location, etc. Students will be up and moving around the room when they are sharing their knowledge about what they already know as well as when they are peer reviewing each other's projects. Students will be interacting with a lot of visual stimulants, one of which is their computers. It is important for students to use their computers when they research and complete their product. Musically, students are encouraged to add little jingles or songs to any portion of their product to add to it. Finally, students will be working harmoniously when they are sharing knowledge and information during the paired interview activity. Peer reviewing will give the students a chance to become the judge and provide constructive feedback.
 * //Standard 5 - Understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies and appropriate technology to meet students’ needs.//
 * Verbal:** During peer review process, students will be conversing while they provide positive feedback and constructive criticism.
 * Logical:** Students will be researching the scientific characteristics of the planet they were assigned. They will learn about its location, size, atmosphere, moons, and many other fundamental aspects.
 * Kinesthetic:** Students will be pairing up to share what they already know about the planets and where they are in the solar system. They will be rotating partners every ten minutes which requires them to get up and move around the room.
 * Visual:** Students will present what they know about the planet they were assigned in a ComicLife. Their project will include pictures and graphics that will help the viewers understand the planet better.
 * Interpersonal:** Students will be discussing the planets in pairs as well as peer reviewing each others projects in small groups.
 * Musical:** Students are allowed to add any musical element to their project if they believe that it will enhance the finished product. The musical element(s) should be included in the students rubric.
 * Intrapersonal:** Students will be working alone during the beginning portion of class. They will be using their sandwich organizer to write down as much as they already know about the planets. During the paired interviews, students will return to this organizer to write down any new ideas they learn.

Rationale:** When students come into class the day of the lesson, they will notice that the room resembles outer space. After they get settled in, the first activity requires them to work with the Sandwich Organizer. Using this organizer, the students will write down all that they know about the planets including their order, maybe their size, composition, etc. This activity will allow the teacher to get an idea of what the students already know. The next task will be for students to pair up with one of their classmates. While in pairs, the students will in a way interview each other about the information that they have and know about the planets. In about five minutes, the partners will rotate and get a new classmate to share information with. The goal of this assignment is for students to add upon what they already know with information that their peers know. It is important to learn from and listen to each other. After the students have collected as much knowledge as they can from their classmates, they will return to their seats. The teacher will explain the final assessment which will be for the students to in essence become astronomers. Each student will be assigned a planet to research for this project. They will need to present the information they researched about their particular planet in the form of a ComicLife. The students will have class time on day one and day two to work on the project. On day two, students will group up with their classmates to peer review each other's projects. Before presenting the project, students will be creating rubrics by which they should be graded by. The rubric is more for a self assessment portion of the project and the students will be required to fill it out before passing in the final product. The peer review process is important and students should take great advantage of this time to compare their work with their classmates. This project will be graded mostly on content, presentation, amount of information, and organization.
 * //Standard 8 - Understands and uses a variety of formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and support the development of the learner.//

__Teaching and Learning Sequence__
Total Class Time: 120 minutes

Day 1 8:00-8:10 Sandwich Organizer (Pre-assessment) 8:10-8:30 Students Interview Each Other About Organizer 8:30-9:00 Teacher Reviews Information About Planets 9:00-9:05 Introduction to ComicLife Project 9:05-9:08 Separate Into Groups 9:08-9:30 Introduction to ComicLife 9:30-10:00 Work on Planets Project

Day 2, 3, 4 8:00-8:05 Greeting and Overview of Project 8:05-9:30 Work on Projects 9:30-10:00 Peer Reviews

Day 5 8:00-10:00 Project Presentations (If time allows it, students will evaluate themselves with the rubrics they made)

At the beginning of this lesson, the classroom will be set up with the teachers desk at the front of the room near the white/black board. The student's desks will be arranged in a partial circle because the project that they will be doing will require them to present in the front of the class. This type of arrangement will allow all the students to see the presenter clearly during the performance. It is important, however, that the class be set up in a partial circle because most students will need to use the projector during their presentation. From this lesson, students will understand that there are many different kinds of objects in the solar system including planets, the sun, moons, asteroids, and comets. The initial goal is for students to recover any knowledge that they may have learned growing up about the planets and different objects in our solar system. After the project, the students will have learned much more in depth about the solar system and a planet in particular. From this lesson, students will not only learn about the planet that they live on but the many other planet's in their own solar system. The other seven planets in our solar system along with our sun and moon directly affect the way we live our lives. This fact will help students realize this lesson's connection to the real world. There are infinite amounts of objects beyond our lives here on Earth and it is important for students to realize that. It is crucial for students to be aware of the world beyond their world. // From this lesson, students will be able to explain the movements and describe the location, composition, and characteristics of our solar system and universe, including planets, the sun, and galaxies. // In order to get the students excited and immediately interested in the lesson, the teacher will turn the room into a miniature solar system. The environment will be very different than what they are used to but hopefully it is exactly what they want.
 * Where, Why, What, Hook, Tailors: Logical, Verbal, Visual, Intrapersonal, Spatial**

Students will know key factual information such as the order of the planets and their composition due to their location. They will also be able to know vocabulary such as orbit, planet, gravity, dwarf planet, meteor, meteorite, meteoroid, comet, axis, solar and lunar eclipse. When the students are researching and learning about their particular planet as well as the rest of the solar system, they will unknowingly learn a lot about everything in the solar system. It is important for students to understand orbits which they will because of the lessons previous to this one. It is also very important for them to know things like the difference between a meteor and a meteorite as well as a comet. These are the fundamentals that students will be building off of as they learn more and more about the solar system. In the beginning of class, students will be undergoing a pre-assessment. After this pre-assessment, they will be conferring with their fellow classmates about the information they gathered on their own. Through this activity, they will be able to recover any concepts that already know about the solar system. As the students work alone and in groups, the teacher will be walking around the classroom visiting each student and offering to help with any questions. The teacher will check for what students already know and what they do not. When in pairs, the teacher will listen in to each group to hear what students are teaching each other. If any student is lost or has a question about something, the teacher is right there to answer it.
 * Equip, Tailors: Logical, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Spatial, Verbal, Visual**

At the start of class, students will use the sandwich graphic organizer to write down the planets in order, including the Sun. This is an opportunity for students to recollect what they know about the solar system and what they would like to learn more about. The teacher will be able to tell what the students already know about the planets and what they do not. This part of the lesson will act as a pre-assessment for the teacher so that the teacher knows what to cover when he/she goes over the information regarding the planets. After this exercise, students will pair up to combine their knowledge of what they already know about the planets and what order they are in. In these pairs, students will take on roles as interviewee and interviewer. The students will choose amongst themselves who will take on what role when. Every five minutes or so, students will rotate and learn something new with another classmate. The point of this exercise is for students to get to know each other as well as learn from each other. From this experience and from what the teacher has them learn about the solar system, the students will create a model of the solar system which includes all of the planets in their correct order. This will act as the final assessment for this lesson because it will show what the students truly know about the planet that they were designated. Students will, in essence, become astronomers and will be assigned a planet to focus on. They will research the planet to learn its basic characteristics and what separates it from the rest of the planets. Students will then create a ComicLife of the information they found and present it to the class. Before presenting to the class, students will present completed product in small groups of two or three. Peers will review each others projects and will provide feedback. Students will then have the opportunity to perfect their project before presenting it to the class as a whole. Students will create their own rubric for their project which includes components they believe are important to the project. After presenting and completing the assessment, they will grade themselves using their own rubrics**.** Through this assignment, students will become educators and will know so much about one particular planet in our solar system.
 * Explore, Experience, Rethink, Revise, Refine, Tailors: Visual, Verbal, Spatial, Logical, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Musical, Naturalist**

It is incredibly important for students to learn from this lesson and to get to know themselves better. Before the students complete the project, they will create a rubric for themselves. The rubric will include elements that they believe to be important to have in the project. When the students are done the project and have presented it to the class, they will then grade themselves using their own rubric that they created. On the rubric, it is important for the students to write down comments about their project and what they could have done better. Through this exercise, students will be put to the test and will have to take on the role of the teacher. They will realize the importance of certain elements to a project and elements that they do not believe to be important. For the teacher, the projects will be graded promptly and the students will know quickly what they received for a grade on this project. It is important for students to compare what they gave themselves and what the teacher gave them. This will give them a better idea of whether or not they are on the same track. In the future, students will be asked to grade and critique themselves all the time so it is crucial for students to get prepared now. In college, they will be solely responsible for their success which is why lessons like this are very important.
 * Evaluate, Tailors: Intrapersonal, Logical, Visual, Naturalist**


 * Content Notes**


 * Handouts**