Lesson Plan Version 1.

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Section 1: Framing the Lesson
I imagine this lesson fitting into a unit that might be called: Physics and Engineering in the World
(Towers)
Subject/Course: Science
Necessary time frame for this lesson: 75 minute lesson (total)
- 10 Minute Lecture
- 10 Minute Explore
- 30 Minute Create
- 20 Minute Test
- 5 Minute Reflection
Strand: Understanding Structures and Mechanisms Force acting on structures and
mechanisms
Grade(s): Created for grade 5 however can be adjusted for higher or lower grades

Section 2: Desired Results

Lesson Objective(s):
Learn about structural engineering
Learn engineering design and redesign
Learn how engineering can help solve societys challenges
Learn about teamwork and problem solving
By the end of this lesson, students will
Develop and understanding of engineering design, structural design and teamwork
Ontario Curricular Overall Expectation(s) with which this lesson aligns:
1. Analyse social and environmental impacts of force acting on structures and mechanisms
2. Investigate forces that act on structures and mechanisms
3. Identify forces that act on and within structures and mechanisms and describe the
effects of those forces of structures and mechanisms
Ontario Curricular Specific Expectation(s) with which this lesson aligns:
1.2 evaluate impact of society and the environment on structures and mechanisms
2.1 follow established safety procedures
2.2 measure and compare force required
2.3 use scientific inquiry
2.4 use technological problem-solving skills
2.5 use appropriate science and technology vocabulary
2.6 use a variety of forms to communicate with different audiences

3.1 identify internal forces

3.2 identify external forces
3.3 explain advantages and disadvantages of types of mechanical systems

Section 3: Gathering Acceptable Evidence

What Information will you collect during this lesson that will allow you to make claims about how
your students are progressing toward the curricular expectations?
Student diagrams and planning
->2.4; 2.3; 2.5
The student diagrams would allow for an instructor to see the thought process
and thinking that went into the design of each tower. These designs would
incorporate different science and technology words through the measurements
included; would demonstrate an inquiry process which took place when students
discusses their ideas as well as problem solving skills.
Observing how students work in teams
->2.1; 2.5
By observing each group, proper adherence to the safety procedures would be
something each instructor would do regardless of curriculum criteria but
would also allow for the students to demonstrate the kind of science and
technology language students use with each other when discussing ideas
Presentation/Testing of tower
->3.3; 2.3; 2.2; 2.6; 2.5; 1.2
The presentation and testing phase and the large formative assessment of this
lesson. It would incorporate many of the previous elements such as language
and inquiry but also includes a presentation component to test the various ways
a team may present their tower; a measurement of force when the tower is put to
the test as well as how well students are able to relate these classroom lessons
to the world outside of the school
Student reflection sheet
->2.5; 3.3; 3.1; 3.2; 1.2
The reflection sheet would allow students to critical think about all the work they
did in class and relate it to the real world. Students would note the many forces
that acted upon their tower, how these towers must be built to withstand these
forces and how to use proper language to describe their thoughts.

Section 4: Plan
Sequence of Learning and Instructional Activities [including assessments for learning]
Use the table below to list the ordered sequence of learning, teaching and assessment activities
that will take place [adjust/edit the table as necessary by adding/deleting rows]. The sequence
of activities should align with the stated objectives, and align with what you know about how
learning happens.

Teacher Will

Students Will

(Before Lesson) Show and provide reference

materials for students to overview

Overview the provided materials the night

before coming to class

Introduce the lesson Towers in the world

by discussing buildings in the
neighborhood/city, discussing the changes in
building heights in the last century and the
functions of certain buildings

Take notes and mental pictures of the towers

presented and how they are constructed

Introduce the tower building challenge

Students will create teams of 2-4 students

(depending on class size)

Hand out tower building design worksheet

Students will complete worksheet in groups

and begin to design their tower

Hand out tower building materials

Students will complete their towers according

to their designs and redesign if necessary

Testing phase of each student-constructed

tower

Students will present their towers (why the

designed it this way, their challenges and
questions) and test them

Hand out reflection worksheet

Students will complete a reflection worksheet

partly in class with their group and by
themselves at home

Logistics and Materials

Student Groupings:
Students will be working in teams of 2-4 depending on the classroom size, the number of
students in the class as well as how much time there is
Materials Required:
-Golf Balls
-Plastic Straws
-Piper Cleaners
-Paper Clips
-Uncooked spaghetti
-Student design worksheets
-Student reflection worksheets

Rationale for this Lesson Design

(a) Based on what you have learned in this class so far, how does the design of your lesson
plan address the official curriculum expectations that you have identified? Provide a

justification for your design using your understanding of learning and methods that support
student learning.
The lesson I designed meets many of the expectations specified by the Ontario
Curriculum Documents due to the fact that I worked with these documents to create the lesson
rather than designing a lesson and then afterwards trying to find what aspects of it fit in with the
expectations. With backwards design in mind, I started off with a general goal and lesson that I
wanted students to learn and have a grasp of then looked in the Ontario Curriculum to see what
specific expectations might align well within that goal. In the end, I had a list of certain objects
and expectations and crafted a lesson around those.
Using this type of planning may not be the most efficient in terms of time management
however it is the most reach in that it does not leave time for fluff in the classroom. Teachers
are expected to meet the specific expectation for every subject thus time management and
effective lessons are of the utmost concern.
With that in mind, I designed a lesson that is conducive with multiple ways of learning for
every student and have given them the resources and space to explore the topic in their own
individual ways.
(b) How does our lesson plan incorporate concepts from the backward design approach that
is advocated by school boards in Ontario and as represented in the course materials?
Backwards design is implemented is a three-stage approach: 1) identifying desired
results; 2) determining acceptable evidence; and 3) planning learning experience. In the lesson
that I have made, I wanted students to really get at the idea of engineering how is it done, who
does it, why is it done? This started me off to identifying which curriculum expectations can meet
this idea leaving me to go to Grade 5, the highest grade which incorporates a structures and
forces unit. Looking at this unit, many of the specific expectations did not align completely with
my Big Idea so I took only the ones that made sense.
With the curriculum expectations in mind and big idea, I started thinking of creative and
interesting ways to demonstrate engineering. I knew that having a hook or something students
have experience with would allow them to access the message and ideas easier so I chose a
building that everyone would be familiar with towers. With towers, I wanted to allow students
to try something and test their own ingenuity, like an engineer, so I thought of particular ways in
which I could find acceptable evidence. This led me to having a lesson similar to how an
engineer might present their own work and the phases they go through. By putting the students
through these steps, I can see their work step-by-step to ensure each student is on the right
track. Finally, I put together all of these steps and fine-tuned the lesson to include various
resources and prompts to form the complete project.
(c) Concept of differentiation

The concept of differentiation involves providing students with multiple entry points in
regards to assessment, teaching materials as well as making sense of the ideas being talked
about in class. Although not previously stated in the lesson, there are numerous tools that can
be used to help students acquire the knowledge and understanding being taught in this lesson.
Modifications:
1) Giving students additional time to work on worksheets, letting them submit
them online or from home and allowing students to answer questions to
instructor verbally instead of submitting a printed copy
2) Large sized fonts on handouts and providing online copies of each of the
handouts
3) Ability groupings creating groups for certain students and individuals
(dependent on the class)
4) Time-management aids (Instructor directed time reminders, timer posted on
each students desk, timer projected onto screen, and visual and audio cues
on time)
5) Allowing students to use additional materials to help with time-management
6) Handouts can be printed off on different coloured paper for students
Accommodations:
1) Instead of using appropriate science and technological terminology and
vocabulary, they can use everyday words to achieve the same result in a
single form to communicate their ideas
2) Removing the expectation for students to present in multiple forms and
allowing them to choose a single form that allows them to best express
themselves and their ideas
(d) Please provide a 200-250 word rationale explaining your revisions, making reference to
material covered in course readings. Your rationale and lesson plan must clearly indicate
where the revisions were made.
The major areas of revision for this lesson is the inclusion of modification and
accommodation ideas; the inclusion of specific expectation requirements in the Acceptable
Evidence section and lastly, a more comprehensive explanation of the backwards design
process for this lesson.
Regarding the modifications and accommodations, I have provided multiple ways for
students to access information, online and in print form, as well as multiple ways to present and
express their own ideas. The key to teaching to the curriculum, at least from what I can see, is
meeting the Big Ideas and hitting the key critical thinking phases of childhood development
instead of memorizing and regurgitating lessons. By allowing students the opportunity to present
their thoughts and feelings in a non-traditional sense as well as giving them the option to give
the standard presentation, every learner will be making efforts to understand the material. It is
more important to have the students engaged in the lesson and to express it in whatever way
they can.

Looking at backwards design, I focused primarily on incorporating the 3 phases of

backwards design to describe my thought process. By outlining my thinking in this way, I am
hoping that the take home lesson would be more clear and succinct to a reader or supply
teacher (hypothetically).