Inquiry Lesson Plan Template (with Four Ways of Thinking

connection)
Teacher: Aaron Nakazawa
Content & Title:
Grade Level:
Renewable
Middle school
Energy
(6-8)
Standards:
MS LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaing
biodiversity and ecosystem services.
MS-ESS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design a method for
monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
Objectives (Explicit & Measurable):
Students will be able to determine what is the best way Arizona can
create energy based on what it currently has.
Evidence of Mastery (Measurable Assessment: formative and summative):
(formative) As the students are working on their ideas to create a
design, the teahcer can go around asking questions based on why they
chose to get energy from that way and why they chose that type of
energy.
(summative) The teacher could be asking questions at the debate that
will be graded based on the students ability to answer questions and
how well they were able to present their idea.
Sub-objectives, SWBAT (steps that lead to completion of objective; sequence from
simple to more complex):

Students will be able to create a design and argue in a debate to prove

that their way to create more energy is the best.
Lesson Summary and Justification: (summary gives detailed information about what
students are doing. Justification why is this lesson being taught)

This lesson is to bring on the creativity of the students. They are going to
be figuring out their own ways to produce energy from the methods we have
and create a poster to help them prove that their design is the best to be
used in Arizona.
Background Knowledge: (What do students need to know prior to completing this
lesson)
Students need to know about the different types of energy that we use and what are some
of the energy sources that are produced in Arizona.
Misconception: (what possible misleading thoughts might students have?)

Renewable energy is expensive

Renewable energy cannot supply energy 24/7
Process Skills: (what skills are you introducing or reinforcing)
Observation- The students are to be looking at different types of energy that we produce. If
they are to build a design, they need to know what energy is currently produces in Arizona
and what are some designs that are currently being used to collect energy.
Understanding- The students will need to know that if they choose a type of energy that is
not that plenty in Arizona, their design will not be able to take in much of that type. They
will have to figure a way to produce more energy then will the smaller amount that they
have.
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.)
What I am trying to do is try to get my students to get started thinking out of the box and
think of ideas that allow for new ways for energy to be created. I want them to know that

they could be the next one to find a new method to producing more energy that is safe, but
they need to get creative and understand what we have now that we can try to improve
upon. We do not have to reinvent the wheel as we try to find new ways to produce energy
efficiently. This way, in the future we could have many different scientists or engineers that
are creating designs that could help redesign current energy productions and be able to
make them more efficient.
Safety: (what safety rules and items need to be addressed?)
Computers are only for looking up information or working on the project, not playing.
Do not go around and messing around with other peoples designs.
Talking with others to get ideas is fine, but the classroom should not be so loud that
students cannot focus on their work.
Inquiry Questions: (testable in the here and now.)
1. (to explore) Why do we have solar energy in lots of places in Arizona?
2. (to elaborate) What are some ideas that can improve current energy producers?
Key vocabulary: (list and define)
Materials: (list item and possible
1. Renewable energy: Energy can be produced
quantity)
easily and without much trouble.
1. Laptops
2. Fossil Fuels: Energy that comes from long
2. Paper
ago. Because there is only a set amount at a
3. Pencil
time, it will run out.
4. Poaster boards
5. Markers

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 bring back up what they
decided was the best idea for proucing energy
in Arizona. Then the teacher will ask the
students if they think that the same idea will
work for other states. The teacher wil ask the
students to think about what were some of the
characteristics that allowed Arizona to have
the tyoes of energy it has.

The students will think about what they

think the best idea was for producing
energy in Arizona will still be the best in
other states.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

The teacher will go around and talk to students, helping them think about
what do different states have if they are stuck.
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)
The teacher will introduce IQ #1 to the class
and have them think about why there are solar
energy places in Arizona. The teacher will
then have the students discuss with each
other about why and then share it with the
teacher. After that, the teacher will bring up
some information based on how much solar
energy Arizona gets.

The students will listen to what they

teacher has to say about IQ #1 and then
talk with the other students about what
they think is the answer. They will then
share their findings with the teacher.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

The teacher will be doing cold call on the groups, giving them some time for
the students to prepare their thoughts to explain what they think the
answer is.
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:

The teacher will ask the students to look up

the information as well on their own laptops
and discuss in groups what would be the
reason why Arizona gets solar energy. After a
bit of waiting, the teacher will bring up a 7-day
forcast of the weather in Arizona to see if that
could help students understand why there is
solar panels in Arizona. After that, the
students will answer IQ #1 by raising their
hands and explaining their reasoning.

Students Will:

The students will go on their laptops and

find information that the teacher is
showing and use that to help them answer
the question about solar energy. The
students will also bring up a 7-day forecast
too if they feel like they may not know the
answer.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

The teacher will be walking around and asking questions like why am I
asking about looking at the 7 day forecast? What does it have to do with
solar energy? to the students. They can also challenge students who know
the al\nswer quickly to find out how much of Arizona is covered with solar
panels.
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:
The teacher will ask IQ #2 and have the
students begin their big activity project. This
project should last for two days. The students
are to choose an energy type and make a
design for it that would benefit the people in
the future. The constraints to the project is
that all ideas have to be oked by the teacher,
and it cannotbe based off of some energy type
that does not exist yet. The students are to be
notified that their designs will be presented in
the front of the class, and they will be
selecting the best design out of all of them.

The students will listen to the rules of the

project and then start to get to work on
the project, researching information and
planning designs. They should also be
answering any questions that the teacher
may ask and get permission to go with a
design from the teacher.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

The teacher can help the students think of different designs by showing
some of the students some of the designs that are currently being used, so
the students can try to improve upon those designs.
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:
Have the students present their design to
The students will listen to what their peers
the class and explain what energy they
present and ask questions based on the
chose and the actual design. They will also
information they learned from the design.
talk about why they decided to choose this
type of energy, why they think their design
is the best, and then end it off with a few
questions from their peers. The teacher will
then ask the students to vote on what
design they thought was the best.
Closure: (revisit objective, IQs and make real world connections)
The lesson will end with the teacher discussing with the students what the best design was,
and what made it so good. Then, they teacher will ask if these ideas can be applied to other
states. After hearing a few ideas, the teacher could mention a state like Washington, where
they hardly get any sun at all compared to Arizona. The teacher will then let the students
know that what they have been doing is what scientists and engineers are trying to do as
our fossil fuels start to run out. The students now know that scientists and engineers can

have some similar job problems, and they are on the first step to become one after this
lesson.

**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.