KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

LESSON PLAN FORMAT
Teacher Candidate: Erica Mistler

Date: 2/16/16

Cooperating Teacher: Dr. Varano

Coop. Initials

Group Size: 20 Allotted Time: 1 hour

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Subject or Topic: The Sun

Section

STANDARD:
S.K-2.D.2.1.1 Identify weather variables
I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes):
A. The kindergarten students will locate the sun in the sky throughout the day by
recording its location on a chart.
II. Instructional Materials
A. 20 charts to record placement of sun
B. 20 practice charts
C. Large chart on poster board
D. Globe
E. Crayons
F. Markers
G. On Earth by G. Brian Karas
H. Pencils
I. Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6bekDJ3w0o
III. Subject Matter/Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea, outline of
additional content)
A. Prerequisite skills
1. Basic understanding that the sun rises and sets.
B. Key Vocabulary
1. Sun - a very hot object located in space that rotates around the Earth
2. Directions - North, South, East, and West
3. Tilt - leaning to one side
C. Big Idea
1. The sun stays in the sky for longer in the summer than the winter.
D. Content
1. Sun rises in the East and sets in the West

2. Daylight changes with the seasons

IV. Implementation
A. Introduction
1. Read the book On Earth to the students.
2. Ask the students if they learned anything new from the book?
B. Development
1. The teacher will record on the board all of the students responses.
2. The teacher will circle any responses that have to do with the tilt of the
earth and the sun.
3. The teacher will write the word sun on the board.
4. The teacher will ask students to come up with words to describe the sun.
5. The teacher will call on individual students and write their responses on
the board.
6. From these responses the teacher will write a definition for sun on a
separate part of the word that is similar to a very hot object located in
space that travels around the world.
7. Next the teacher will pull out a globe.
8. The teacher will ask the class what they notice about the globe.
9. The teacher will point out to the students, if they dont point out
themselves, that the Earth is on a tilt.
10. The teacher will tell the students that since the Earth is on a tilt,
sometimes different parts of the Earth are closer to the Sun.
11. Ask the students which way they think the Earth is tilted in the summer?
In the winter?
12. The teacher will tell the students that the Earth is tilted so that the United
States is closer towards the sun in the winter.
13. This is why the temperature gets warmer in the summer.
14. Ask the students if they have ever noticed that in the summer the days are
longer than in the winter?
15. Tell the students that this is also because during the summer the Earth is
tilted towards the sun.
16. Ask the students if they know what direction the sun rises in? East
17. Ask the students if they know what direction the sun sets in? West
18. Tell the students that we will be making a chart today of where the sun is
located in the sky.
19. First, the teacher will demonstrate how this chart will be made.
20. The teacher will put the poster board on the front board for everyone to
see.
21. The teacher will play the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=E6bekDJ3w0o of a mock sunrise
22. The teacher will pause the video once at 2 seconds to record the time and
placement of the sun on the chart. The teacher should make sure she
includes the buildings on the chart also. (For this instance the teacher will
make up a time)

23. The teacher will play and pause the video again at four seconds doing the
same thing as before. Marking the time and the location of the sun.
24. Now the teacher will tell the students we will practice making the chart
together.
25. The teacher will hand out the practice chart paper and the markers and
crayons to the students.
26. The teacher will then play the video and pause it at the same spots, each
time guiding the students on what they will be drawing.
27. Once the teacher feels the concept is grasped she can then pass out the sun
charts.
28. The teacher will tell the class that they will be going outside every hour to
observe where the sun is in the sky.
29. The teacher should explain to the students that when they go outside they
should not look directly at the sun. They should use something like their
hand or their piece of paper to shield their eyes.
30. The students should write the time they go outside in the first column and
draw a picture of where the sun is in the sky in the second column. Make
sure the students draw where the sun is in relation to the objects on the
ground.
31. When the students return inside after every drawing the teacher will help
guide them to label what direction the sun was in, north, south, east, or
west.
32. The students will repeat this process every hour until 2:00.
33. After each drawing we will discuss as a class how the suns placement in
the sky changed.
34. After we have recorded all the data we will focus on the first and last
picture and compare them.
35. The teacher will discuss why there is such a big difference between the
two pictures and also talk about how the Earths tilt causes that change.
36. Then we will discuss if they think the suns location in the sky would be
the same if it was winter? Spring? Fall?
37. Also, the students will discuss if they noticed if the sun started out in one
direction (East) and was closer to another direction at 2:00 (West).
38. The teacher will explain that this is because the sun rises in the East and
sets in the West.
39. The teacher will tell the students to put their sun charts in their science
notebooks.
C. Closure
1. The teacher will collect the students science notebook to grade the
students sun charts.
2. The teacher will ask the students if they have any questions.
3. As an exit slip, the teacher will go around the classroom and have the
students name one thing they learned about the sun today.
D. Accommodations/Differentiation

1. Accommodations - Jordyn, a student with a specific learning disability in

reading and writing, will be given extra time in the learning support room
to finish her sun chart.
2. Differentiation for students that seem to grasp the topic, they will be told
to also draw the shadows they are seeing, as this will connect to the next
unit.
E. Assessment/Evaluation Plan
1. Formative
a. The teacher will assess the students by looking at their chart to see if it
was completed and the students understand the concept. They will be
graded on a rating scale from 3-1. 3 represents full understanding, 2
represents somewhat understands, and 1 represents no understanding.
2. Summative
a. This will be at the end of the unit.
V. Reflective Response
A. Report of Student Performance in Terms of Stated Objectives (Reflection on
student performance written after lesson is taught, includes remediation for
students who fail to meet acceptable level of achievement)
Remediation Plan
B. Personal Reflection (Questions written before lesson is taught. Reflective
answers to question recorded after lesson is taught)
1. What can I do to improve this lesson?
2. Did the students seem to grasp this concept?
VI. Resources (in APA format)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6bekDJ3w0o
Karas, G. B. (2008) . On earth. United Kingdom: Puffin Books

Name___________________________________________________________________