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Hayley CunninghamSimple Machines- LAP 4

Part I: “Posters based on research”Part II: “Teaching the class”

I. Content : Describe what it is you will teach. What is the content?

In this two-piece lesson students will use their expert knowledge of their simple machine

to create posters. These posters will serve as a springboard for students to be able to teach the

class about their class of simple machines. While each simple machine group presents, the

audience will be expected to listen carefully, ask questions, and take notes in their journal.

II. Learning Goal(s) : Describe what specifically students will know and be able to do after the experience of this class.

Students will be able to create a poster using the information from their journal; students will be able to work as a group to complete this poster.

Students will be able to list the 6 types of simple machines. Students will be able to explain how simple machines make work easier. Students will be able to give a brief overview of each type of simple machine and

list some examples of each type of simple machine. Students will be able to orally present information to the class.

III. Rationale : Explain how the content and learning goal(s) relate to your Curriculum Unit Plan learning goals.

The main goals of this unit are for students to be able to identify and explain the six types

of simple machines and be able to explain how each simple machine makes work easier. In the

previous lesson students took on the role of researchers to become an expert on one class of

simple machines. This week students will take what they discovered in their research and took

notes on and create a poster board relaying all that information. Students are expected to present

these posters to the class, hence teaching them about their simple machine. The poster serves not

only to help them as they present, but it also serves to help them reinforce their knowledge

through a creative means. By the end of this lesson, students should have knowledge of what a

simple machine is, what the 6 types of simple machines are, and how each machine makes work

easier.

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IV. Assessment : Describe how you and your students will know they have reached your learning goals.

Students will be assessed both formally and informally in this lesson. All expectations

will be clearly given at the beginning of each lesson and be repeated throughout. Informally

students will be assessed on participation; if they are an active participant in their group and

contributing equally to the work. Students will also be informally assessed based off of their

ability to listen respectfully during each presentation. Students will be formally assessed through

a variety of means. For one, students will be assessed on their poster. Did they include the

necessary information? Is the information accurate? Is it colorful? Does it include pictures? Is the

handwriting clear and legible? Secondly, students will be assessed on their presentation. Did all

students present? Did students talk loud and clearly? Did they present on all necessary

components? And finally, students will be assessed on their completion of the journal. Students

know that they are being held accountable for filling in their journals with the information each

group presents. They know that that they are only be given a couple minutes per group to fill out

this information so that it is paramount that they listen and ask questions if they have any

confusions.

V. Personalization and equity : Describe how you will provide for individual student strengths and needs. How will you and your lesson consider the needs of each student and scaffold learning? How specifically will ELL students and students with learning disabilities gain access and be supported?

This lesson serves to support all types of learners. It is an extension of lesson 3, which

serves those who learn by reading and writing. This lesson serves those students who learn

through a creative lens, such as making a poster to replicate information within, those students

who learn only if someone orally explains information, and finally those who learn by voicing

the information. Additionally, in terms of students with learning difficulties, some students in my

class have difficulty reading and writing, but are great at speaking. Additionally, some students

in my class have the opposite difficulty, they can read and write perfectly, but have difficulty

oral speaking. This lesson gives students the opportunity to not only showcase their

understanding through a variety of means, but it also gives them practice with skills that they are

struggling with.

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VI. Activity description and agenda a. Describe the activities that will help your students understand the content of your

class lesson by creating an agenda with time frames for your class. Be prepared to explain why you think each activity will help students on the path toward understanding.

DAY 1Time/Location Teacher Activity Student Activity Materials Needed1-10 Minutes

On the rug

Explain that today we are going to be using our research and making posters about our simple machine.

Explain that the posters will be used for students to present to the class on their simple machine. The rest of the class will need to fill out their packet with the information being presented.

Explain the expectation for the posters:

What information should be included (name of simple machine on top of poster in big letters, the definition of the simple machine, how it makes work easier, some examples of this type of simple machines, and pictures of the simple machines)

Working together as a group means every one should participate

Hand writing should be clear and big

Actively listenAsk clarifying questions

N/A

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Students should be able to explain the information on their poster in their own words and be able to answer student questions when they present.

Each group should work in a section of the room

Review expectation for transitioning to various parts of the room.

Move quickly and quietly to a section of the room with group

10-15 Minutes Hand out materials Material Managers will help pass out materials.

Student

Poster PaperJournalsResearch booksCrayons, MarkersCut-outs of simple machines

15-55 MinutesSpread throughout the room

Filter through the roomProbe student thinkingHelp students that are having trouble

Work on posters-If poster is completed early students will use the remaining time to discuss the presentation (such as who is saying which piece). If finished with that, there will be cootie catchers on simple machines available.

Poster PaperJournalsResearch booksCrayons, MarkersCut-outs of simple machines

55-60 Minutes Help Facilitate cleanup Clean up all materialsReturn to seats

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DAY 2Time/ Location Teacher Activity Student Activity Materials Needed1-5 Minutes/Rug

Review expectation for presentation:

The presenting group must use a loud voice while presenting and everyone must contribute

The audience will listening to the presenters and taking notes in their journal

Actively listeningAsking clarifying questions

N/A

5-55 Minutes/Rug

Help each group with hanging their poster upFacilitate transitions among groupsProbe groups having trouble with questions

Actively listen to presenters and take notes in journal

Present in a loud voice while facing the classroom

Posters

55-60 Minutes Transition students back to tables; collect posters

Quickly and quietly transition back to tables

N/A

b. What particular challenges, in terms of student learning or implementing planned activity, do you anticipate and how will you address them?

I anticipate that students will have struggles orally presenting. It’s not a practice we

utilize often in our class. I chose to include it in this lesson because I think it’s a skill that

students don’t get to practice often, yet it’s one of the many skills they need practice in for life

after school. Another reason I felt confident taking the risk in having my class present was

because we have such a great community among our students. I think that despite students being

nervous about presenting, they will because they know that they are in a safe learning

environment and can take risks without being judged by peers. In terms of addressing this, we

will review expectations for presenting as a class beforehand and I will continually remind

students that there is no pressure during this presentation that I am just looking for students to

participate and try their best; that they’re not being judged on how well they can present.

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VII. List the Massachusetts Learning Standards this lesson addresses.

Technology/ Engineering, Grades Prek-22.1 Identify tools and simple machines used for a specific purpose, e.g., ramp, wheel, pulley, lever.

SL.4.5 Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

SL. 4.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

VIII. Reflection

a. In light of all areas of planning, but especially in terms of your stated purpose and learning goals, in what ways was the activity successful? How do you know? In what ways was it not successful? How might the activity be planned differently another time?

Day 1 of this lesson was definitely a success. Students loved being able to use markers and

crayons and create a poster on their simple machines. I really saw their interest and

understanding peak when they were asked to draw their simple machines. Some perfectionists in

my class needed their simple machine examples to look perfect. The posters all turned out great

(see Appendix)! There is definitely some information missing from the posters and some

misconceptions. I didn’t address the missing information because some of it was too complicated

to explain with my time constraints (such as a screw has an inclined plane wrapped around it). I

also thought what they had was a great foundation for them to build on when they reach 5th

grade. I didn’t want to overload them to the point of confusion. Again, my main learning goal is

for students to identify the 6 types of simple machines and explain briefly what they are and do.

In terms of the misleading information, I clarified it during presentations. For example, the

inclined plan group had a great understanding of what an inclined plane was, but struggled

severely in translating it into word/writing. I explained to the group that an inclined plane, also

called a ramp, makes it easier to move an object up or down a flat surface set at an angle. I used

the group’s examples in their poster to explain further. If time permitted, I would have loved to

have sit down talks with each group one-on-one to go over their journals before they began their

posters. I only had the opportunity to filter through quickly. In the end, I think that the

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knowledge each group had for their simple machine was great! They definitely met my learning

goals in terms of understanding one simple machine thoroughly.

Day 2 of the lesson was somewhat unsuccessful. One major positive was that all students,

even my ELL students participated. Students tried their hardest and had the support of their peers

which made me happy. I helped facilitate some of the presentations by asking them specific

questions about their simple machine. This seemed to help them get the ball rolling. If I were to

implement this lesson again, there are many aspects that I would change about the presentation

portion (Day 2). For one, students definitely needed a whole lesson on how to present. I assumed

that students have presented in the past and were somewhat comfortable on the format of

presenting, but this was not the case. Students stood in front of their posters, back to the

audience, and read the information word for word. This meant that as their backs were turned,

the audience could neither see the poster nor hear the speaker clearly. I prompted continuously

throughout the presentations. A lesson on how to present with some practice would have

definitely enhanced this lesson.

A second aspect of this lesson I may or may not change is the format of the presentation. For

the amount of students that are in my class, it just didn’t make sense for students to sit and listen

to 5 other groups. Students couldn’t sit too long and were getting antsy. I think I would do a type

of speed-dating scenario. There would be 3 groups stationed in a section of the room. There they

would have their simple machine manipulatives, their poster and some books. The 3 other groups

would rotate among the three groups. For example, the lever group, the wheel & axle group, and

the wedge group are stationed. They don’t move throughout. Then, the screw group would meet

with the lever group, while the pulley group meets with the wheel and axle group, and finally

while the wedge group meets the inclined plane group. Each group would get 5 minutes to

present their poster and use their manipulatives and books as needed for clarification. Once each

group has presented, they would be prompted to rotate and the presentations begin all over again.

This would be very time consuming, but it would give students the ability to present 3 times,

hence enhancing their knowledge and reinforcing information. It would also give students a

smaller setting to learn about other simple machines, as well as time to answer personal

questions. It would also serve to keep students more engaged as they are up and moving.

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Finally, the last aspect of Day 2 that I would change is the journals. They were too much for

students to do while listening to the presenter. Many students either didn’t finish, or didn’t have

the attention span to multi-task. I chose to do it this particular way because it is a skill that they

are learning in their ELA block (taking notes while listening to a speaker). Maybe it was the

format of my journal, or the fact that it was the end of the day after Art, but it just didn’t work for

my group of students. I would either change the format to be simpler or I would merely do an

exit slip at the end of the lesson. In the end, there were positive and negative aspects to this

lesson.

b. What did you learn from the experience of this lesson that will inform your next LAP?

I learned that time plays a big role in the outcome of your lesson. Lesson 3 and 4 deserved to

have about a month of time to implement, but got crammed into a couple 30-minute blocks. But

despite this, my students still came out with knowledge. With my next lesson, I’m going to pay

particular attention to the timing. I also learned that it is not wise to implement any presentation

component in my next lesson unless we go over how to present and there is ample time for

students to prep and prepare.

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Appendix

Student Sample 1Wheel & Axle: Kevin, Anthony, Mee, Huy, Ezekiel, & Carlos

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Student Sample 2 Pulley: Alkwathar, Gilmary, Angellyse, & Jasmine

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Student Sample 3Screws: Diana, Paola, & Noelani

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Student Sample 4Levers: Dashaun, Sebastian Delgado, Sebastian Diaz, Samantha, & Van

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Student Sample 5Wedges: Simone, Vanecia, & Han

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Student Sample 6Inclined Planes: Prince, Johannis, Gianni, & Tayen

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