Inquiry Lesson Plan Template (with Four Ways of Thinking

connection)
Teacher:
Content & Title:
Grade Level: 2nd
Kailie Fisher
Coral Reefs- Class
Mural Day 5
Standards:
(W.2.2) Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use
facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or
section.
(PO 1.) Formulate relevant questions about the properties of objects, organisms,
and events in the environment.
Objectives (Explicit & Measurable):
Explicit: Once students have a better understanding of what a coral reef is, and the
importance that lies behind a coral reef, students will begin creating a classroom
mural depicting coral reefs. On the last day of this unit, the students will act out life on
a coral reef, the importance of their life and what would happen to them if coral reefs
became extinct, through a short skit. This approach to studying coral reef habitat will
engage many types of learners and get the students to use a different type of
thinking.
Evidence of Mastery (Measurable Assessment: formative and summative):
(formative) The teacher will help students identify their strengths and
weaknesses with their
(summative) The students will be assessed at the end of the lesson through
answering questions that the teacher will have provided.
Students will answer questions like:
1. What specific organism are you?
2. Why are coral reefs important to you (as the organism)?
3. What might happen to the organism if coral reefs become extinct?
4. What can you personally do to help this from happening?
Sub-objectives, SWBAT (steps that lead to completion of objective; sequence from
simple to more complex):

SWBAT state three important parts of a coral

SWBAT describe coral, fish and urchins
SWBAT recognize examples of different parts of the coral reef
SWBAT depict a coral reef and its parts through art
Lesson Summary and Justification: (summary gives detailed information about what
students are doing. Justification why is this lesson being taught)

In this lesson, students will learn about life on a coral reef. A PowerPoint
presentation introduces coral reefs through the organisms in which live on them,
providig students with information and pictures about coral, fish and urchins.
Background Knowledge: (What do students need to know prior to completing this
lesson)
Students should have background knowledge and be familiar with what exactly a coral reef is, the
different organisms that live in a coral reef, why coral reefs are so important and what problems coral
reefs are facing. Students will use their knowledge that they have gained over the 5 day unit on coral
reefs and apply that knowledge to this lesson.
Misconception: (what possible misleading thoughts might students have?)
N/A.

Process Skills: (what skills are you introducing or reinforcing)

Observation- Through other students.

Exploration-Through the discovery of what marine life is like in a coral reef and why that marine life
needs a coral reef
Critical Thinking- Reinforcing the students thinking process and critical thinking skills on reasons why we
should be saving our coral reefs.
Four Ways of Thinking connection: (Provide a complete explanation of how your
lesson plan connects to futures, system, strategic, or values thinking. Define the way of
thinking you selected and used in this lesson plan. Remember, this should be included
meaningfully in the lesson plan.)
This lesson will connect with values thinking. Values thinking means being able to examine the effects
our values have on our decisions. With this said, this lesson goes into play with this type of thinking
because students will be put in the situation as if they were actually a living organism in coral reef, so
being on that side they have to come back to a conclusion as to how they would save coral reefs. This is
aligned through the lesson as each student will think of their own ways in how they can personally save
our oceans ecosystem.
Safety: (what safety rules and items need to be addressed?)
N/A.

Inquiry Questions: (testable in the here and now.)

1. (to explore) What strategies did you come up with to help save our coral reefs?
2. (to elaborate) Why do you think these strategies are important to follow?
Key vocabulary: (list and define)
Materials: (list item and possible
1. Ecosystem- a biological community & their
physical enviroment
2. Coral Reef- a ridge of rock in the sea form
by the growth and deposit of coral
3. Organism- an individual animal, plant,
single-celled life form
4. Habitat- an enviroment or home of an
animal, plant or organism

quantity)
1. Computer (What is a Coral Reef
PowePoint)
2. Blue Butcher paper
3. Markers/Crayons/Paint
4. Colored paper
5. Long strips of construction paper
6. White index cards
7. Glue

Engage - In this section you should activate prior knowledge, hook student
attention, pose a question (IQ#1) based on your lesson objective that students
will seek to answer in Explore.
Teacher Will: (hook)
Students Will:
The teacher will inform students to
The studnts will gather thoughts
gather all their information that has
on the knowledge they have taken
been learned over the course of the
away from previous days
last 4 days together
The students will think about the
The teacher will pose the question:
question as to how they feel they
With what you have learned, How do
could personally help stop coral
you feel we could help coral reefs?
reefs from being endangered
The teacher will explain the pieces of
The students will gather
their mural that they have already
information on the last pieces of
been putting together, then explain
the class mural
the last half of the project they will be
doing.
Teacher will explain to students that
they will be using Values Thinking and
connecting it back to their knowledge
on coral reefs
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
Make sure the teacher gives the students clear instructions, so that they are aware of
their expectations.
Explore - In this section students should take the lead and actively use materials
to discover information that will help them answer the question posed in

Engage. Teachers may choose to give steps to follow, especially for younger students,
but the goal is for students to discover some or all of the sub-objectives of the lesson.
Teacher Will: (pose IQ #1)
Students Will: (list all steps)
Teacher will inform students that they
Student will become more aware
will be performing a short skit for the
of the skit they will be performing
rest of their classmates
Student will gather important
Teacher will remind students that they
information about the coral reef
will be using their Values Thinking
and write it down on a notecard
through the process of telling their
Student will begin making their
story
costume for the sea animal they
Teacher will inform students to review
have been assigned
and summarize the one important
Students will think about the
fact about sea life that they have
following things that the teacher
written down
has given them to conclude on;
Teacher will inform students that they
ways in why they belive coral
will create their own costumes using a
reefs ae important, what would
headband, paper, glue and coloring
happen to them as sea life if coral
utensil to create the sea animal that
reefs didnt exsist and what they
they have been assigned
could personally do to save coral
reefs
Teacher will inform the students that
they must think of ways in why they
belive coral reefs ae important, what
would happen to them as sea life if
coral reefs didnt exsist and what they
could personally do to save coral
reefs
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
Observe and allow the students to work on their experiment on their own, analyzing
the errors they are making and investigating ideas of different ways they could go
about the experiment.
Explain In this section students share what they discovered, teacher connects
student discoveries to correct content terms/explanations, students
articulate/demonstrate a clear and correct understanding of the lesson sub-objectives
by answering the question from Engage before moving on.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:
Teacher will inform students that they
Students begin performing their
will now begin performing their skits
skits in front of the class
Teacher will inform students to first
Students will say aloud their
discuss the important fact they have
important fact about coral reefs
written down on their notecard to the
and their role that they play in the
class about coral reefs and their part
coral reefs
in the coral reef
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
Teacher will allow students to use 15 minutes to really make reflections and observations about their
process. The teacher will be sure to encourage the students thinking process by asking open ended
questions so that the students understand the full experiment.

Elaborate In this section students take the basic learning gained from Explore and
clarified in Explain and apply it to a new circumstance or explore a particular aspect of
this learning at a deeper level. Students should be using higher order thinking in this
stage. A common practice in this section is to ask a What If? question. IQ #2

Teacher Will: (pose IQ #2)

Students Will:
Students will bring their attention
back to the teacher

Students will think about the

question using their Values
Thinking; What will happen to the
class as a family of marine life if
coral reefs become extinct?
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
The teacher will be very clear on her expectations on this lesson and what she expects
her students to get out of this lesson and encourage them that it is okay in making
corrections to their science experiments.
Evaluate In this section every student demonstrates mastery of the lesson
objective (though perhaps not mastery of the elaborate content). Because this also
serves as a closing, students should also have a chance to summarize the big
concepts they learned outside of the assessment.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:
Teacher will replay the The Coral
Students will rewatch The Coral
Song video that was played on day
4 of this mural making unit
Song video to get a little refresher
on a major threat that is happening
Teacher will present that the
to our coral reefs
students need to think about the
Students will think about the
following questions since we now
know how we would personally feel
questions;
as our marine life since we have put
1. What could we personally do
ourselves in the shoes of one;
ourselves to help our oceans coral
1. What could we personally do
reefs so that they do not become
ourselves to help our oceans
extinct?
coral reefs so that they do not
2. How would you feel if your home
become extinct?
went extinct?
2. How would you feel if your
Students will go back to their seats
home went extinct?
and write down their response to
Teacher will inform students that
these two questions
they will go back to their seats and
Students will come back as a class
think about these two questions and
for a whole group discussion on why
write them down
it is important that we help our coral
Teacher will bring class back
reefs so that are coral reef marine
together for a whole group
life friends have a place to live.
discussion on why it is important
that we help our coral reefs so that
are coral reef marine life friends
have a place to live.
Closure: (revisit objective, IQs and make real world connections)

Teacher wil bring class attention back

together as a whole group
Teacher will pose the question using
their values thinking So what will
happen to the class as a family of
marine life if coral reefs become
extinct?

In conclusion, students will not only have a better understanding about what a coral reef is,
and the importance behind coral reefs but to what they can do to change the outcome of
coral reefs being an endangered species. Students will have physically played out a specific
part of a living organism that lives within a coral reef and has gotten knowledge on why
they need a coral reef to live, which gives them a completely new and better understanding
as to why coral reefs are important. Students will have learned and used Values Thinking
through, which they identify what they can personally do to help our oceans ecosystem,
coral reefs.

**Best Practices List the Best Teaching Practices you will use to enhance
the learning outcomes. In each section where prompted, list the best

practice, how the practices will be used and the purpose.