Teacher: Paulette V.

Perez (Horizon Heights Elementary, Room 400)

Subject/Grade level: Science/ 4th Grade
Unit topic: Investigating Physical Properties of Matter.
Lesson goals: The student will be able to find the volume of irregular shapes using
the water displacement method.
Lesson title or topic: Finding the Volume of Irregular Shapes/ Under the Sea Lab
Activity.
Estimated length of lesson: Approximately 45 minutes.

TEKS Standards: This is a continuation of the last science lesson, which was an
introduction on how to find the volume of irregular shapes. This lesson would be a
way for students to show what they learned in the previous lesson in a fun and
interactive activity.

4.5A Measure, compare, and contrast physical properties of matter, including

volume; 4.1A demonstrate safe practices and the use of safety equipment; 4.2B
collect and record data by observing and measuring; 4.2D analyze data and
interpret patterns to construct reasonable explanations from data that can be
observed and measured; 4.2F communicate valid oral and written results supported
by data; 4.4A collect, record, and analyze information using tools, including
graduated cylinders.

Learning Objective(s): The students will be able to determine the volume of

irregular shapes using the water displacement method.

Academic Language: volume, water displacement

Grouping: This activity will be done in groups of 4 students and one group of 5
students. The students will remain in the same groups as in the classroom. Prior to
this activity, students were grouped based on their STAAR reading and math scores.
At each group, there is one student who either “met” or “mastered” both subjects,
and three students who fell into the “did not meet” or “approaches” category.

Materials: Under the Sea Lab Activity Handout, 5 graduated cylinders, 5 measuring
cup, 15 sea creature toys, safety goggles

Resources: -Under the Sea Lab Activity from The Science Penguin (2013) - This
resources covers TEKS 4.5A, 4.1A, 4.2B, 4.2D, 4.2F, 4.4A by giving the students an
opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the concept of finding the
volume of irregular objects through a hand on activity.

-The SISD 4th Grade Pacing Guide for science was used as a resource when I was
creating the lesson. It gave me the opportunity to see what TEKS had to be covered
on the fifth week of school.
-The Flipchart that was created by me for this lesson will be used as a resource to
cover TEKS 4.5A before beginning the activity to review.

Connections to Other Subjects: I am integrating math into my science lesson

activity. Student will be doing subtraction of three digit numbers and will need to
read a number lines and decimals. I will integrate literacy into the lesson by having
the students write a descriptive paragraph after comparing and analyzing the
volume of different sea creature toys.

Instructional Procedures (including differentiation and targeted support)

o Introduction: I will begin the lesson by first going over the lab expectations since
this is going to be the first time they are in the lab. Then I would frame the lesson to
establish the purpose of the lesson by going over the learning objectives with the
students. I will then begin with me asking students what volume and displacement
is using the Think, Pair, Share method. After that, I will do a brief recap on how to
find the volume of irregular shapes to activate prior knowledge.

o Teacher Modeling: I will model the lesson objective by reviewing it with the
students since this is a practice that the students are familiar with. I will also look
back at what they learned by doing a brief recap on how to find the volume using
water displacement and asking them what volume and displacement is.

o Body of the Lesson: Before beginning the activity, the teacher will user the
Flipchart on the Studentnest in the shared school drive to review what volume is
and how to calculate it using the water displacement method. Since this topic is not
new to them, I will have the students working in groups to calculate the volume of
various sea creature toys. This activity will be a supplemental pertaining to a lesson
that was already done. This will allow students to show what they learned in a fun
and engaging way.

o Guided Practice: I will go over the steps that need to be done to find the volume
of irregular shapes as a whole class before entering the body of the lesson. This
would be my way of doing guided practice. I will use an example that was done
during the previous lesson to activate prior knowledge and to help them re-
familiarize with the topic. I will differentiate the lesson by having the students who
have trouble “zooming into the number line” by going over decimals and how to
read them. I will also have those students use a place value chart to help them
clearly see how to add decimals. I will check for understanding by asking students
what volume and displacement is, and helping me identify what the steps for finding
the volume is when I am reviewing.

o Independent Practice: As a group, the students will find the volume of the water
without the sea creature and the volume with the sea creature, but students will
independently do the math to calculate the volume of the sea creature. I will ensure
that students completely understand the directions by asking them what should be
done when working after I have explained it. I will also go group to group to make
sure they are following the directions. If a student were to finish early, I will allow
them to find the volume of irregular objects of their choice.

o Conclusion (closure): I will conclude the lesson by having them explain to how
do we find the volume of irregular shapes. I will also have them share their findings
with the class. After that, I will go over what volume is and clarify any
misconceptions they may have. I will informally assess students’ learning of the
lesson objective by what they individually wrote at the end of the activity handout.
This will help me identify if any students need a reteach of the subject.

Assessment: During the lesson, I will be going to each group and individually asking
the students to tell me what matter is and what is the next step for finding the
volume of irregular shapes. I will assess if the students have achieved the learning
goal based on what they individually put on their activity handout. I plan on
providing feedback when I am asking them questions and guiding them individually
if they don’t get how to find the volume of irregular shapes.

Accommodations/Modifications/Enrichment:

- Special Needs Learners: In the classroom, we have two students who are
diagnosed with special needs. Their IEP’s indicate specific accommodations. Both
students need to be given extra time to finish assignments. One of the students is
pulled out for instruction during the day. The other student is allowed to leave the
class to attend Access, which is a program provided by the department. There, the
teachers provide them with the appropriate accommodations on the subject I am
teaching.

- English Language Learners

For students who are identified as LEPS, I will provide an image showing what
water displacement is. I will also constantly use the vocabulary words in context to
the lesson.

- Gifted and Talented

For students who are part of the GT program, they will be given the opportunity to
create an irregular shaped object using at least three materials provided by me.
After creating the object, they will find the volume of the item. Then, they will
deconstruct the object and find the volume of each individual item they used to
create their irregular shaped object. They will compare the two volumes and
determine if they were the same and if not they are different they will determine
why.