Sophia Schneider

Ms. Baldwin Clymore Elementary School

To be taught: 11/29/16
Submitted: 11/22/16

LESSON PLAN OUTLINE

JMU Elementary Education Program

A. TITLE/TYPE OF LESSON
Who Polluted the Potomac?

B. CONTEXT OF LESSON AND UNWRAPPING OF THE STANDARD

Through observation of some of the students ocean unit, I was able to determine that they have a
significant understanding of the way the ocean works. The ability to explain these processes is
essential to understanding how our actions as humans can result in ocean pollution. The concept of
pollution has yet to be introduced in this school year. Students have prior knowledge of the ocean and
its ecosystem necessary to make meaning of the pollution process. Students are familiar with the
concept of pollution, but may not have a full understanding which places them in the zone of proximal
development for learning the information.

C. UNWRAPPING THE VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING and the NEXT GENERATION

SCIENCE STANDARDS (NATIONAL STANDARDS)

Standard 4.5 the student will investigate and understand how plants and animals, including humans, in
an ecosystem interact with one another and with the nonliving components in an ecosystem.

Concept Skill Taxonomy

Adaptations Distinguish Blooms 2 understand
Investigate Blooms 4 analyze
Types Infer Blooms 6 create
Structural (physical) Understand
Behavioral Explain
Function
Examples for organisms
Habitats Describe Blooms 2 understand
Compare Blooms 3 apply
Communities Contrast Blooms 4 analyze
Niches Illustrate
Food webs
Life cycles ex: frog,
butterfly
Interactions Differentiate Blooms 4 analyze

Human influence
Positive
Negative

Big Idea Essential Question

I will understand that organisms use unique physical and Why cant a polar bear live in the desert?
behavioral adaptations to succeed in a given
environment.
I will understand that organisms develop niches in the Why dont penguins eat polar bears?
food web of their specific community as they adapt and
Sophia Schneider
Ms. Baldwin Clymore Elementary School
To be taught: 11/29/16
Submitted: 11/22/16
interact with their habitat.
I will understand that humans have significant positive
and negative impacts on their environments.
D. LEARNING INTENTIONS and SUCCESS CRITERIA
Understand Know
I will understand that humans have
significant positive and negative
impacts on their environments.
E. ASSESSING LEARNING
Learning Intention and Success
Criteria
Students will be able to define
pollutant.
Students will be able to list some
pollutants in bodies of water.
Students will be able to explain
a cause and effect relationship
between human actions and the
pollution that they cause in
bodies of water.
Students will be able to
distinguish between positive and
negative human influences on
ocean ecosystems.
How do picnics pollute the ocean?
Do
I will know that pollution is
the introduction of
contaminants into an
environment that causes
instability, disorder, harm, or
discomfort to the ecosystem.
I will know that a pollutant is
the substance that pollutes an
ecosystem.
I will know that some
pollutants include poisons
and waste that run off into the
water like fertilizer,
pesticides, antifreeze,
manure, and sewage. Also
gases from factories or car
exhaust fuel that create acid
rain, and general litter left too
close to a water environment.
Opportunities to Respond
Discussion questions asked during
demonstration.
Presentations of who polluted the
Potomac discussion question.
Presentations of who polluted the
Potomac discussion question and
first small group discussion.
Ideas brought up during first small
group discussion.
I can define pollutant.
I can list some pollutants in
bodies of water.
I can explain a cause and
effect relationship between
human actions and the
pollution that they cause in
bodies of water.
I can distinguish between
positive and negative human
influences on ocean
ecosystems.
Evidence
Students explain that a pollutant is
a substance that pollutes an
ecosystem.
Students presentations include
some of the pollutants mentioned
in the demonstration such as run
off waste, gases that cause acid
rain, or general litter.
Students presentations show direct
and indirect connections between
the actions of humans and the
pollution of the water.
Students are able to come up with
their own ideas of ways that
humans can have positive impacts
on bodies of water.
Sophia Schneider
Ms. Baldwin Clymore Elementary School
To be taught: 11/29/16
Submitted: 11/22/16

F. MATERIALS NEEDED
For this lesson I will need one clear bowl, one gallon of water, nineteen black plastic film canisters
with character labels, story Who Polluted the Potomac?, film canister contents: dry leaves, dry soil,
fishing line, baking soda, assorted litter, water, coffee, dish washing soap, green food coloring, red
food coloring, yellow food coloring, vinegar, popsicle sticks, colored paper. I will be responsible for
sourcing all materials myself.

G. MISCONCEPTIONS or ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTIONS

Some students may think that water pollution can be undone or fixed if we are more conscious about
littering and using resources. I will need to make it clear that while the pollution in our bodies of water
can be improved, it can never be wholly undone. To illustrate this, I may ask students how they would
attempt to clean out the bowl of polluted water. Students may also believe that humans only have a
negative impact on water resources so we will need to focus on some of the positive actions they can
take as well. To assist students who believe this I may ask what they think they can do to help the
environment around them and discuss the ways that this can impact their oceans as well.

H. PROCEDURE
 Activity
Element Procedures and management Students
& Time
Sophia Schneider (in
minutes)
Ms. Baldwin Clymore Elementary School
To be taught: 11/29/16 Ask: How do picnics pollute the ocean?
Students will turn and talk to
Submitted: 11/22/16 their partners or table groups
Engage - Instruct: Turn and talk with your table groups to
about what they think.
Introduction determine an answer. Hold on to that answer as we
go through the next demonstration.

Demonstration
Do: Pass out one film canister to each student and
instruct them to pay attention to the label on their
Students will receive their
canister without giving away their identity. They
individual film canisters,
should also leave their canister upright on their
read their label, and leave
desk.
them upright on their desks.
Do: Place the bowl of water somewhere where
Event 1 Students will listen to the
students can see it.
passage and dump the
contents of their film
Instruct: As I read through the story, each of your
canister into the bowl of
roles will be called upon. When you hear your role,
water as their characters are
come to the front of the room, open your film
called upon.
canister, and dump its contents into the water.

Do: Read through Who Polluted the Potomac?

Students will bring their
Give students the opportunity to come take a closer
canisters to the front of the
Transition look at the water bowl and bring up their empty
room and take turns looking
canisters.
at the bowl of dirty water.
Small Group Discussion
Do: Give each table group two potential discussion
questions and explain that they can choose to discuss
one or both of the topics.
Students will read their
discussion question as a table
Say: Make sure that everyone at your table
and discuss.
understands your thoughts on the question because I
will call upon one person to share your question and
Event 2 The student called to share a
answer with the class.
summary of their groups
discussion will do so as the rest
Do: Observe as students discuss and offer support
of the class listens.
where necessary by asking additional questions or
giving relevant examples.

Do: Call on one student from each table to read and

answer their tables question.
Students will pick one colored
Instruct students to draw one colored popsicle stick popsicle stick and group with
Transition each and group with others that have the same color. the students that have the same
color as them.
Whole Group Discussion
Say: Now we will all focus on the same question:
who polluted the Potomac?

Instruct: In your new groups, discuss this question Students will discuss their
thoughts on the question then
and decide on a demonstration for your answer.
Event 3 decide with their groups how
You may choose to make a poster, song, or brief they want to display their
Sophia Schneider
Ms. Baldwin Clymore Elementary School
To be taught: 11/29/16
Submitted: 11/22/16
I.
J.
K.
I. DIFFERENTIATION
Content
During the first part of the
discussion, each table
group will be given two
critical thinking questions
and are able to choose
Interest
which they would like to
discuss. Discussion must
focus and relate to
pollution and the passage
read.
During the first part of the
discussion, students will
discuss one of four
Readiness different sets of critical
Process Product
In the second portion
To answer the question of
of the discussion,
who polluted the
students are able to
Potomac? students will
decide how they will
have the opportunity to
show their ideas. This
decide between making a
will drive the way that
poster, writing a song, or
they discuss. For this
creating a skit to present
activity, however,
their ideas. Each groups
students are all
final product will look
considering the same
different, but will focus
question, who
on the same discussion
polluted the
question.
Potomac?
During the first part of Students will be in tiered
the discussion, groups when creating a
students will be researched river clean-up
grouped together action plan. Tier 1
Sophia Schneider
Ms. Baldwin Clymore Elementary School
To be taught: 11/29/16
Submitted: 11/22/16

based on level of
thinking questions that
understanding. Groups
address the topic of river
with a beginning level
pollution. Students with a students will be given a
of understanding will
beginning level of guided research sheet that
be given two
understanding will receive takes them to specific
discussion questions
questions that address this websites and guides them
that focus on the
topic within the context of through finding articles on
pollution story.
the story while students those sites, tier 2 will be
Groups with a more
with a more developed given a list of websites to
developed level of
level of understanding will explore, tier 3 will be
understanding will be
receive questions that asked to find their own
given two discussion
address the topic with sources.
questions that extend
extensions to other bodies
to bodies of water in
of water.
general.

L. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?

When considering what could go wrong in a lesson my biggest concerns are time management and
behavior management. If the first discussion takes too long, I will allow students to create their
presentations with those questions rather than introducing a new question. To ensure that the students
still consider the whole group question I will make it an exit ticket. If students are finishing early, I
will give them the task of creating an action plan for cleaning up the Potomac or another nearby river.
If behavior with the canisters becomes a challenge during the demonstration I will restate behavior
expectations and explain that any student who does not comply with these will have to leave their
canister at the front of the room until their role is called upon. If behavior challenges persist during the
discussion activities I will use the schoolwide behavior plan of handing out cardinal cash to those
who are exhibiting appropriate behavior.
Sophia Schneider
Ms. Baldwin Clymore Elementary School
To be taught: 11/29/16
Submitted: 11/22/16

Lesson Implementation Reflection

As soon as possible after teaching your lesson, think about the experience. Use the questions/prompts below to
guide your thinking. Be thorough in your reflection and use specific examples to support your insights.

I. How did your actual teaching of the lesson differ from your plans? Describe the changes and explain why
you made them.
a. During the first discussion portion of the lesson, students began to naturally address both of their
given questions. Upon noticing this I suggested to the class that everyone attempt to discuss both
questions. This eliminated one element of choice that contributed to my differentiation by interest.
I made this decision despite this fact because I took the natural progression to the second question
as an indication that students were engaged in the discussion. Their engagement excited me so I
wanted to continue with the activity. In retrospect, all of the groups may have decided on their
own that they wanted to answer both questions, but my forcing the issue took away an opportunity
for choice.

II. Student Work Sample Analysis: Based on the assessment you created, what can you conclude about your
impact on student learning? Did they learn? Who learned? What did they learn? What evidence can you
offer that your conclusions are valid?
Sophia Schneider
Ms. Baldwin Clymore Elementary School
To be taught: 11/29/16
Submitted: 11/22/16

Look at the assessment data and identify 2 students who appear to fall into these 3 categories: (1) Gets it;
(2) Has some good ideas, but theres still room for learning and (3) Does not get it. Organize your
responses to the following questions in a chart/table form similar to the one below.

Gets it Has some good ideas, but Does not get it

Student A Student B Student C Student D Student E Student F
a. Can define Can define Can define Can define Can define Understands
Understands pollution and pollution and pollution and pollution and pollution and that pollution
understands understands understands its understands understands is negative.
its effects. its effects, effects. that river that humans
Can name few
including the pollution is take part in
Can come up Can explain the pollutants.
increase in harmful to the the process.
with other process of
effects as river and its Only named
pollutants the pollution Can name
human inhabitants. pollutants in
process that including litter trash on a
population group
they go and waste that Student can beach or boat
increases. Ex: discussions.
through to enter directly, name several exhaust fuel
answered a Created a
enter the river chemicals that pollutants that as pollutants.
discussion poster that
in addition to fall as acid rain, effect the river.
question on SOLO read stop
those and those that Listed trash,
the impact of unistructura pollution
described in enter as run-off. chemicals, fuel,
increasing l with a picture
the and sewage
population by SOLO of a brown
demonstratio when creating
explaining multistructura river.
n story. group Who
that more l
Polluted the SOLO
Can develop people create
Potomac skit. unistructural
one idea for more trash
removing waste in the SOLO
waste from area around multistructura
water. Ex: the Potomac. l
suggested
Can explain
using several
all of the
cotton balls
processes of
to clean the
pollution
water in the
described in
bowl and
the
creating
demonstration
larger ones to
story.
clean the
river. Can describe
positive
Can
human actions
generalize
in preventing
conversations
pollution.
about the
Potomac to SOLO
all rivers. relational
SOLO
extended
Sophia Schneider
Ms. Baldwin Clymore Elementary School
To be taught: 11/29/16
Submitted: 11/22/16

abstract
b. Confused Did not make Struggled to Struggled to Cannot express Struggles to The student
about a connection develop ideas come up with ways that river name can clearly
between for river ideas for river pollution can pollutants visualize what
rivers and clean-up clean-up or harm the beyond litter pollution
ocean beyond pollution surrounding or waste that looks like, but
pollution. picking up prevention. land are put has difficulty
trash. environment directly into explaining
Ideas were far-
and other the river. where it
Only fetched and
bodies of water comes from,
communicate imaginative, Does not
when prompted especially
d ideas in but lacked understand
to. outside of the
relation to the realistic the concept
context of the
Potomac solutions. Ex: of run-off
water bowl
rather than we could pollutants or
demonstration
generalizing create a air pollutants
.
for all rivers. vacuum to suck that can fall
up all of the in the form of
pollution in the precipitation.
river.
c. Questions What other Can you think How would you Can humans be Can you How did the
to ask to bodies of of ways to clean up the affected by the pollute a river become
clarify what I water could clean the dirty water in pollution that river from brown in your
know the Potomac liquid waste the bowl? they create in your home? picture?
pollution from the rivers?
How can you What types How do you
effect? Potomac?
produce less Do our oceans of pollution think you can
Would you pollution? and lakes suffer can driving stop
clean another from as much cause? pollution?
river the same pollution as our
way? rivers?
d. Ideas to The Strategies and Strategies and The Run-off Revisit
work on next connection technology technology relationship processes that different types
between the used currently used currently between the drain of pollutants.
river and to clean up to clean up river and its pollutants
Explain how
other bodies rivers. rivers. surrounding into nearby
these enter a
of water and environment. bodies of
The Suggestions for river from
the role this water.
connection everyday life The connection close
plays in
between the made by anti- between the Chemicals proximities
ultimately
river and pollution river and other that enter the and distances.
polluting
other bodies campaigns. bodies of water. air and fall as
oceans.
of water and acid rain.
the role this
plays in
ultimately
polluting
oceans.
Sophia Schneider
Ms. Baldwin Clymore Elementary School
To be taught: 11/29/16
Submitted: 11/22/16

a. Where is each students learning within the framework of the SOLO Taxonomy? What evidence do
you have to support your answer? Please provide student work samples.
b. What does each student appear to understand?
c. What does each student appear to be confused about?
d. What questions might you want to ask each student to clarify what you know about the students
understanding?
e. What ideas does each student need to work on next?

III. Describe at least one way you could incorporate developmentally appropriate practice in a better or more
thorough way if you were to teach this lesson again.
a. If I were to teach this lesson again, I would give students more clear guidelines in creating their
Who Polluted the Potomac? presentations. Their discussions were strong, but with the
presentations being so open ended, I was not necessarily able to assess exactly what each student
knew as specifically as I would have liked to. I would keep the choice of what their final product
will look like (skit, song, or poster), but would give more than an open ended question to address.
I might require that in addition to answering the question students name some specific pollutants,
describe how they entered the river, and explain some of their effects. With the open ended
question, some students did not address all of these objectives, but this does not necessarily mean
that they couldnt. If these need to be represented somehow in their presentation, I will be able to
gauge the depth of their knowledge on these topics more accurately. With a lesson that can
sometimes lean into controversy I think that I tried to compensate by keeping activities after the
demonstration as open ended as possible, but in doing this I made it more difficult to authentically
assess students.
b. I noticed that one of the most challenging concepts for students to grasp was that of removing the
pollution from a body of water. Most of the students were either unable to come up with ideas for
this, or made suggestions that were unrealistic. To make the concept more authentic for them I
could give each table group a portion of the polluted water at the end of the demonstration as well
as tools for attempting to clean it up. These could include coffee filters, cotton balls, etc. This way
students would be able to attempt this task themselves to create strategies that they could consider
bringing to a larger scale.

IV. Based on the assessment data you collected, what would you do/teach next if you were the classroom
teacher?
a. Based on my observations of student interactions and the assessment data that I was able to
collect, I would focus on pollution prevention and clean-up next. This seemed to be the concept
that students struggled with most when generating ideas. I might attempt the activity mentioned
above and give students the opportunity to research other successful methods as well. Once they
found ample information on the complexities of these tasks we would discuss why it is important
to prevent pollution.

V. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about young
children as learners?
a. Teaching this lesson definitely reinforced the idea that children are more invested in their learning
when they can relate it to themselves. Throughout the demonstration, students were hearing about
things that they do on a regular basis that could cause river pollution if they are not careful. This
automatically sparked prior knowledge for them to connect the new material to. Because they
were invested in the story and its relatability, discussions were able to go deeper and expand more.

VI. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about teaching?
Sophia Schneider
Ms. Baldwin Clymore Elementary School
To be taught: 11/29/16
Submitted: 11/22/16

a. This lesson taught me to be selective when giving students choice. Choice is extremely important
for students, because it can give them the opportunity to learn in a way that interests them, but it
should not necessarily mean that assignments should lack guidelines. Some students need guides
to give support in self-starting. I took levels of understanding into account when planning for
differentiation, but did not come up with a plan for students who have difficulty developing their
own criteria for a presentation. Some students do prefer to have more direction and I should be
more prepared for that outcome in the future.

VII. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced about yourself?
a. As a result of teaching this lesson I learned that through getting to know my students, I have
improved my classroom management skills. It has always been my belief that I am not strong
enough in classroom management, but after being observed I was complimented on some portions
of my lesson that had management built in. It was also pointed out to me that my relationship with
my students helped to predict moments when behavior could have become an issue. For example,
in creating randomized groups for presentations, fate gave me an entire group of particularly
rambunctious boys. I kept close proximity to their group simply to keep an eye on them, but in
turn discouraged inappropriate behaviors. By no means have I mastered management, but I was
definitely unaware of the growth that I made in this area.