Gwynedd Mercy University
School of Business and Education
Name: Megan Brass Grade/Level 1
Topic: Science
PA Core or Academic Standard(s): (1 point) PDE STE: 3.1 Biological Standards
Big Idea(s): (1 point) Investigating Rainbows
Essential Questions: (1 point) Why do rainbows exist?
How are rainbows created?
Objective/Performance Expectation: What will students know and be able to do as a result of
this lesson? (1 point) Students will identify how rainbows are created by completing a making
rainbows lab sheet.
I. PLANNING AND PREPARATION:
1. Briefly describe the students in your class, including those with special needs.
Explain how you will meet the needs of ALL learners (Differentiated Instruction).
(2 points)
This is a 1st grade general education classroom with 24 students, 14 girls and 10
boys. There is one student with an IEP. There is one student with a vision
impairment so I will place that student near the front of the room. To address the
needs of all learners, I will have students work with others to complete the
experiment, and desks will be arranged in groups so students can interact with
each other.
2. List the specific standard and expectations as outlined in the PA Core/Academic
Standards (SAS). (1 point)
3.1 Biological Sciences
3.1.1.A Distinguish between scientific fact and opinion; Ask questions
about objects, organisms, and events; Understand that all scientific investigations
involve asking and answering questions and comparing the answer with what is
already known; Plan and conduct a simple investigation and understand that
different questions require different kinds of investigations; Use simple
equipment to gather data and understand that this allows scientists to collect more
information than relying on only their senses to gather information, Use
data/evidence to construct explanations and understand that scientists develop
explanations based on their evidence and compare them with their current
scientific knowledge; Communicate procedures and explanations giving priority
to evidence and understand that scientists make their results public, describe their
investigations so they can be reproduced, and review and ask questions about the
work of other scientists
3. Explain the psychological principles/theories you used in constructing this lesson
and explain how it is manifested in the lesson. (2 points)
Skinner’s theory is shown in this lesson by the marble jar. This is positive
reinforcement so the students can work towards having an ice cream party.
I will use Cooperative Learning in this lesson. Cooperative Learning is the
learning through partners and peer work for students. I will have activities to
enhance Cooperative Learning, including students working in pairs to create
their own rainbow. Having them work in pairs gives them the opportunity to
hear new ideas as well as meet new people.
II. CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT:
4. Describe the effective classroom routines and procedures resulting in little or no
loss of instructional time. (1 point)
Teacher materials are prepared and ready at the front of the room
Centers, including supplies, and desks for students are arranged
accordingly to correlate with the lesson
Students put materials away and sit at their desks as soon as they enter
the room
Students view the board to see if they are to begin with something
specific, and do so if they need to
5. Identify what you will do to set clear standards of conduct and behavior
management of student behavior. (1 point)
Behavior chart with purple, green, yellow, red colors (purple correlates to
exceeding expectations and students on purple will put two marbles in the
marble jar instead of one)
Marble jar and ice cream party once it is filled
Classroom rules posted and signed by all students
6. Identify what you will do to establish expectations for student achievement. (1
point)
Make clear that I expect good behavior all day
Have models
Post learning expectation on the board
Give lab sheet so students can see what they are expected to do
III. INSTRUCTION:
List Materials Needed
Glass filled with water
Flashlight
CD’s for each student or pair
Flashlight for each student or pair
Lab sheet
KWL sheet
Index cards for closure activity
7. Motivation Activities/Strategies: (1 point)
How will you generate interest or focus your lesson for the students?
Create a rainbow on the ceiling using a flashlight and a glass filled with some
water. This will generate interest by appealing to the curiosity of the students as to
how the rainbow was created.
8. Prior Knowledge Activities/Strategies: (1 point)
How will you activate prior knowledge, build background, or review previous
lessons?
Ask questions about the topic in general (Has anyone seen a rainbow? What does
it look like? When do we see them?) and have the students complete a KWL chart
so I can see how much they know about the topic. A KWL also lets me know
what they want to learn. Students will fill out the KNOW column with what they
already know, and the WANT TO KNOW column with what they hope to learn
about rainbows.
9. Sequence of Lesson: What learning activities/strategies will you use to engage the
students in the learning? What will students do to use and apply new concepts or
skills (independent practice if relevant)? How will you monitor and guide their
performance? Include relevant vocabulary. (Please use bullets to sequence your
lesson) (3 points)
Tell students we will learn about rainbows and that we will be creating our
own rainbows
Display rainbow images
Ask students if they have ever seen a rainbow
Ask what rainbows look like
Ask about when we see rainbows in the sky
List ideas from students on the board
Have students complete K and W columns of KWL (making sure they
know it is okay to now know anything yet)
Have students share one thing they want to know about rainbows with
their shoulder partner
Display the rainbow on the paper by shining a flashlight on a glass of
water (from number 7)
Show beginning of PowerPoint explaining where rainbows come from
Ask students how we could see a rainbow if we are not outside
Tell students they will be creating their own rainbows with a partner
Give each student a making rainbows lab sheet
Partners are created by colored dots on the desks
Explain how everyone needs to follow the rules and not shine the
flashlight towards anyone
Put pairs in a spot by the wall and give them the supplies needed to
conduct this investigation
The student in the pair with a star on the back of their dot will come
up to gather supplies needed
Have students work together to create a rainbow on the wall while walking
around to help if needed
Students will shine the flashlight onto the CD in a way to create a rainbow
on the wall
Students will draw what they see on their lab sheet
After all students have had time to create a rainbow, have everyone come
back to their seats
Ask students if they created a rainbow and how it was created
Show the picture of the outside rainbow again on PowerPoint
Ask how this was created with no flashlight
Go over the questions and what is expected of each student
Walk around and help when needed
Go over and discuss lab sheet
Have students fill out L column of KWL
Give students one index card per person
Have students write a letter home to tell their parents/guardians what they
learned in Science today
10. Level of Learning/Assessment Evidence (1 point)
How will you know if students grasped the material? What techniques/strategies
will you use to assess learning (Bloom’s Taxonomy)? Identify what informal
and/or formal assessments you will use to monitor student learning. Also identify
if this will be formative or summative.
Students will complete a making rainbows lab sheet where they compare normal
rainbows to the rainbows they created and explaining how they made the rainbow.
They will also fill out the L column of the KWL. (formal and formative)
I will walk around and observe my students doing the work. This will ensure they
are understanding and I can see who need additional help. (informal)
11. What will you do to bring closure to the lesson? How will you summarize this
lesson and preview the lesson that will follow? (2 points)
Today, we learned about how rainbows are created and how we can create our
own rainbows even if it does not rain outside and how light creates rainbows. We
saw how light creates a rainbow, even inside. We also learned how rainbows
can be created and seen many different ways. Tomorrow, we will discuss other
weather patterns and how they are created, as we did with rainbows today.
