Lightning and Thunderstorm lesson

Date:

Student group: Year 6

Teacher: Miss Tatt

Duration of the lesson: 45 minutes

Class size: 23 students

Title of lesson/activity: Lightning and thunderstorms

Intended Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this lightning lesson students will know how lightning is formed , when lightning occurs, how
lightning and thunderstorms effect the earths surface
This is relevant to the Australian curriculum of science inquiry skills as students are posing
questions about storms and lightning. This lesson is in line with AusVels processing and
analyzing data and information as students will be able to describe storms, thunder and
lightning using visual, written and verbal cues as well as different technologies
Australian Curriculum year 6 science
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/science/curriculum/f-10?
layout=1#cdcode=ACSSU096&level=6
AusVels curriculum year 6 science http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Science/Curriculum/FPrior Learning and Experiences:
Students have already completed physical sciences and know about electrical
circuits and sources of electricity so they understand static electricity
The prior knowledge of static electricity will help students understand how
lightning is formed

Teaching Strategies:
Outline of lesson
The topic of lightning is relevant to the students at this time as winter is coming to a close
therefore they would have witnessed a thunderstorm and seen lightning. To introduce this topic to
the class I will play this video which shows thunder and lightning
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp9bKDHRfsM
- Class discussion on static electricity(mind map on the board) When this happens give each
student a dice and once they contribute to a discussion you collect the dice, this encourages
everyone to contribute.
- Explain why the flash of lightning comes before the sound of thunder.
- How lightning occurs, what happens to the earth when it happens
- Types of lightning, fork, sheet, ribbon and bead. Students will complete a poster in groups on
this, then present it to the class
- A lightning experiment will be completed at the conclusion of the lesson
Students will be required to contribute to group discussion and encouraged to ask questions when they
can
Students will interact and work with each other on tasks appropriately
Students will take notes on important information (the teacher will tell them when
to write information down)
To help create a collaborative classroom students will work together in groups to create a
lightning poster. The tables will be pushed together in groups to make the arrangement of the
room feel inclusive (this also makes room for Emily as she is in a wheelchair her group will be
near the door)
There is a place in the classroom called the question wall and students can write down questions
and place them on the wall . This is so students who do not want to speak up in class in front of
others or disrupt the class through asking questions at inappropriate times can go and stick their
answer on the wall. The teacher will read and answer them after each lesson.
To keep students on task I will have a timer ticking down using this site http://www.onlinestopwatch.com/classroom-timers/
I will also move students if they are not working well with others
Resources, Materials and Organisation:
This is a link to a lightning experiment the class can complete at the end of the lesson
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/experiments-make-lightning.htm
For this experiment the class will need:
- Pencil and eraser
- Thumbtack
- Aluminum pie pan
- Styrofoam plate
Materials needed for activities:
A3 sheets of paper for students to draw and describe types of lightning and colored textas to write and
draw with .
Lightning and thunder video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp9bKDHRfsM
Students Science books will be handed out

Assessment:
The posters that the students complete in groups and present will identify how much
information has been remembered and used by the students
I will be checking their notes in their science books for the prac report write up (piece of
assessment)
Involvement in class discussions
- To do all of this I will be keeping a record for each topic in my planner.
- At the end of each unit will get verbal and written feedback from students
about what they enjoyed or didnt and will also give students written and
verbal feedback throughout the this unit to help further engage their learning
involvement.

Learning Differentiation
Emily: There is wheelchair access all around the room.
Jordan: I will run through lesson with him before class so he is
aware of what we will be doing and know if he feels uncomfortable
he can go to the sensory corner. Jordan will again enjoy the different
aspects of the lesson to gauge his attention. He will especially like
the hands on science lightning experiment but again will have to do
it by himself or with the teacher as in groups he does not work well.
Reena: The subtitles will be on for the videos and Reena will again
be sitting at the front of the class with the talk to text app on so she
can easily follow in the group discussions. I will provide her with a
paper lesson overview so she can read over if she gets lost or
confused
Charlie: Charlie will be working with the class in the group
discussions but will draw up her own lightning poster. She will work
in the same group for the experiment as he close friends as she will
feel comfortable and will get her work done. I will give her extra
time to complete the notes and work with her if she requires extra
help.
Brody: The aide will be with him to support him with his note
taking. He will learn more through the videos and pictures, as an
extra aid I have printed off pictures and put it next to his vocabulary
cards to help him follow and understand the task and group
discussion.
Zenba: Zenba will have a ipad available to him in all group
discussions which has an app called itranslate on it where he can
type in the words and translate it so he understands. At the end of
class I will give him a list of new words to focus on. In the
experiment he will work in a group.