SETON HILL UNIVERSITY

Lesson Plan Template

TOPIC
Name
Subject
Grade Level
Date/Duration
Big Ideas
Essential
Questions

PA/Common
Core/Standards

Objective
Bloom's
Taxonomy
Webb's Depth of
Knowledge
(DOK)
Formative &
Summative
Assessment
Evidence

DETAILS
Miss. Gallen
Earth and Space Science
Fourth Grade
One Class/Sixty Minutes
The planets have many different characteristics that
make them unique
What are the basic characteristics of the planets in our
solar system?
Why can Earth support life forms?
What is a dwarf planet?
Why is Pluto a dwarf planet?
3.3.4.B1
Identify planets in our solar system and their basic
characteristics
Describe the Earths place in the solar system that
includes the sun (a star), planets, and moons
Recognize that the universe contains many billions of
galaxies and that each galaxy contains billions of stars
In small groups, fourth grade students will successfully
identify the characteristics of the different planets two
out of three times
In partners and small groups, fourth grade students will
hypothesize theories on why the Earth can support life
forms and why Pluto is a dwarf planet

ISTE Standards
for Students

Framework for
21st Century
Learning

Formative Assessment: Have conversations with each

group of students about how they came up with their
hypothesis to why the Earth can support life forms and
why Pluto is a dwarf planet. Mark down the answers
given by the student to use as an inference grade
Summative Assessment: Provide an end-of-unit test on
all aspects of our solar system
Standard 3b
Students critically curate a variety of resources using
digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative
artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for
themselves and others
Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility
and relevance of information, media, data or other
resources
Students will continue research on their selected planet
and decide which websites that they use are credible
sources
Along with the list of sources they use, students will

CK

Accommodation
s, Modifications

provide a brief explanation of why they chose and trust

their websites
Notes with additional explanations will be provided for
Johnathon
Additional time will be given to Johnathon when
completing tests and quizzes
Johnathon will be able to record their voice and search
through recordings if needed to complete research

SUPERVISING
TEACHERS
SIGNATURE

Seton Hill University Lesson Plan Template Step-by-Step

Procedures
RATIONALE for
the Learning
Plan

Introduction

Explicit
Instructions

This lesson will be taught after the students show their

understanding of standard 3.3.4.A2-Identify the basic
properties and uses of Earths materials including rocks, soils,
water, and gases of the atmosphere.
This unit will provide understanding of the materials the Earth
has to help life forms survive.
Activating Prior Knowledge
Ask students to list the planets in order
Talk about hot and cold planets
Hook/Lead-In/Anticipatory Set
Watch clip from Bill Nye the Science Guy-Planets (1:043:41)
Big Idea Statement
The planets are all different
Essential Questions Statement
How are the planets in our solar system different from
each other?
Why can we live on Earth?
What are dwarf planets?
Objective Statement
Students will identify how the planets are different
Students will determine why we can live on Earth and
why Pluto is a dwarf planet
Transition
Students are grouped by the planet they chose to
research and are called to switch tables
Students are grouped to have one student from each
planet group and have to move in the order of the
planets
Key Vocabulary
Rings
Mercury
Venus
Earth

CK

Lesson
Procedure

Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
Life Forms
Oxygen
Atmosphere
Dwarf Planets
PreAssessment of Students
Students will play a game of Kahoot to determine how
much they already know about the planets
Modeling of the Concept
List what students know about the Earth
o Think, Pair, Share
o Hand out whiteboards
o Students will write down all information they know
about Earth
o After three minutes of working, have students
share with a partner what they wrote down
o Hand out large pieces of paper and markers
o Students will write down all of the information they
came up with after collaborating and hang the
paper around the room
o Class will discuss what they wrote and what their
peers wrote
Earth PowerPoint
o Hand out note guides (fill in the blank)
o Students will follow along with a pre-made
PowerPoint describing the aspects of Earth that
support life forms
o PowerPoint will end with time for students to ask
questions
Planet Characteristics
o Have students transition into their planet groups
o Students will use computers to complete research
and put together a presentation about the planet
they chose
o Students will fill out an about me for the planet
they chose
o Students will use this time to work with their peers
and compare the information they are researching
Planet Share
o Students will transition into groups with one
student for each planet
o Students will take turns sharing the information
from their about me

o Peers will take notes on the information being

shared
o Students will be provided with a guide to fill out
Class Share
o Class will return to their seats
o PowerPoints will be shared by each planet group
o Any extra notes can be taken by peers at this time
Pluto
o Class discussion on how Pluto is different from the
other planets
o Hand out pictures that compare Plutos size to the
other planets
Dwarf Planets
o Students will return to their planet groups
o Discussion questions will be provided to have
students describe what a dwarf planet is based on
what they know about Pluto
o One student will record the answers to the
discussion questions and hand them in at the end
of class
Guiding the Practice
List what they students know about Earth
o What did we learn in our previous unit on the
Earth?
o What do we require, as humans, to survive? /What
are some things you cannot live without?
o Look Fors-Oxygen, Food, Water, Atmosphere
Planet Characteristics
o What makes your planet different from the other
planets?
o What would the other planets and students want
to know about you?
o Is your information similar to your peers
information?
o Look Fors-Rings, Colors, Atmosphere, Moons
Planet Share
o How does your information compare to that of
your peers?
o Is your planet more interesting than the other
planets?
o Is there anything about your planet that stands
out?
o Look Fors-Extensive information, interested
students, lots of notes taken
Dwarf Planets
o How does the size of Pluto compare to the other
students?
o Do you think Pluto should be a dwarf planet?
o Look Fors-Small, good discussion, lots of notes

being written down

Providing the Independent Practice
Students will begin to create their own version of the
planet they are researching
They will be provided with paper and markers and will
start creating their representation of the planet they
chose
Transition
Students are grouped by the planet they chose to
research and are called to switch tables
Students are grouped to have one student from each
planet group and have to move in the order of the
planets
Reading
Computers
Materials
Paper
Technology
Markers
Equipment
White Boards
Supplies
Bill Nye the Science Guy-Planets
Evaluation of
Formal Evaluation
the
Students will hand in their notes from the Think-PairLearning/Master
Share
y of the
Students will hand in their notes from the dwarf planet
Concept
discussion
Students will be evaluated on their presentations about
their planet
These grades will go into their daily work grade
Informal Evaluation
Students will be noted on the information they acquired
during their group work and the discussions they
completed
This information will be recorded into a rubric and used
for a class participation grade
Closure
Summary & Review of the Learning
Students will discuss in groups what they learned during
class
Students will be evaluated when they discuss dwarf
planets
Students will write down two to three aspects they
struggled to understand during class
Students will turn to their neighbor and discuss different
suggestions for how to teach the difficult parts of the
lesson
Homework/Assignments
Students will finish creating their two-dimensional
version of the planet they chose
Students will be provided with a rubric to create a threedimensional version of their planet for extra credit

Teacher
Self-reflection