Template Lesson Plan
All subjects excluding PE & Gaeilge
Thematic Unit by Valerie King : Environmental Awareness
Class Level: 4th-6th class
Lessons:
English x 1
Maths x 5 (Data)
Geography x 2
Science x 1
SPHE x 1
Art x 1
Drama x 1
Music x 1
Religion x 1
Total lesson plans: 14
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Template Lesson Plan
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Date:
Subject: SPHE
Time:
Class: 4th, 5th, 6th.
Duration of Lesson: 30 minutes
Number of Pupils: 15
Theme: Environmental Awareness
Strand: Myself and Others
Strand Unit: Myself and my friends
Relating to other people
Differentiated Learning Objectives:
1. That all children will be enabled to build a class contract.
2. That most children will be enabled to listen to each other, to give others a chance, and to
acknowledge something positive in other people’s work.
3. That some children will be enabled to discuss and reflect on important values a person should
have, for example, respect, encouragement, understanding and to accept individual differences.
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Assessment:
Teacher observation/questioning:
-
The children and I will discuss the importance of different rules in the classroom.
-
While the children are in pairs, I will circulate and listen to the children discuss co-operation
and its importance.
-
I will record my findings in my Personal Assessment Notebook.
Language / Literacy Development:
Vocabulary: new vocabulary will be developed, for example, contract, co-operation. Oral discussion
will also form part of the lesson.
Oral Language: the children will be using oral language throughout the discussion on rules in the
classroom.
Teaching Methodologies: (Underline where relevant)




Talk and Discussion: listening, questioning, brainstorming, think, pair, share.
Collaborative/Co-operative Learning: group work.
Active Learning: hands on experience.
Skills Through Content: observing, predicting, investigating and experimenting, estimating
and measuring, analyzing, synthesizing, describing, categorizing, recording and
communicating.
 Using Local Environment: use of pupil environment and lived experience.
 Problem Solving: apply logic and rationality to given situations.
Introduction:
I will begin the lesson with the Inclusion Game. I will ask all the children to stand up. The game will
start with one child calling out another child’s name. When the first child calls the others name, they
sit down. The child whose name was called out says another child’s name and sits down and so on.
Development:
I will explain to the children that they will be participating in four different activities:

I will get the children to write down one rule that they think is important for the classroom.

I will collect all the rules and read some aloud, and discuss with the children:
-
Why do we need rules?
-
What would it be like if there were no rules?
-
What is the importance of rules?
-
Name some school rules, why are they in place?
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
What happens of you break a rule?
Co-operation – I will put the children in pairs and they will have 2 minutes to discuss what it
means to be cooperative. They will have to give an example of co-operation at home and in
school.

I will then ask the children for their ideas and write the ideas up on the whiteboard.
(For example: Listening, taking part, being polite and helpful.)

We will discuss how each child must agree with every rule on the class contract. To
summarise down to 4 rules, a vote may be required.

The new class contract will then be written up on a poster and displayed in the classroom for
all to see.
Conclusion:
To complete the lesson, each child in the class will then receive a sheet of card. They will trace their
hand print onto it and then cut out the handprint. On their hand, each child will sign their name and
decorate their hand in whichever way they would feel best represents their personality. To conclude,
I will tell the children that this hand symbolises the child’s acceptance of the contract and will be
displayed around the class contract.
The children will then tidy up their desks and return to their seats.
Teacher Questioning (throughout the lesson):
Higher order questions:
-
Why do we need rules?
-
What would it be like if there were no rules?
-
What is the importance of rules?
-
Name some school rules, why are they in place?
-
What happens of you break a rule?
Resources:
Whiteboard
Card
Pencils
Scissors
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Integration:
Record of Assessment: (To be written after lesson is taught – Report on observations & show how
information gathered is interpreted and used to inform future planning and teaching)
Action Plan:
Date:
Subject: English
Time:
Class: 4th, 5th, 6th.
Duration of Lesson: 1 hour
Number of Pupils: 15
Weekly Theme: The Environment
Strand: Reading.
Strand Unit: receptiveness to language, competence and confidence in using language, developing
cognitive abilities.
Differentiated Learning Objectives:
1. That all children will be enabled to read and discuss a teacher created power point about the
environment. All children will take turns reading aloud from their English reader (a story based on the
environment) All children will record themselves reading and will listen to the recording to identify
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any mistakes they made. ( 4th and 5th only)
2. That most children will be enabled to read a variety of newspaper articles about environmental
issues. (6th class) Most children will be enabled to pick out five interesting sentences from the
article.
3. That some children will be identify the main message in the article. Some children will pick out
their favourite part of the article and explain why. Some children will replace certain words with more
descriptive words.
Assessment:
Portfolio:
Teacher-designed task: What would you do to help sustain the environment if you were the Minister?
The children will read their work out the following day and place it in their portfolios. I will record the
assessment by use of a checklist.
Teacher Questioning
Lower Order questions- What is global warming? What causes global warming? What damages the
environment? What is pollution? What causes it? Do you recycle?
Higher Order Questions: What can we do to help sustain the environment? What can the community
do as a whole to help the environment? What should the government do? What effects will global
warming have on the environment?
Language / Literacy Development:
Vocabulary: global warming, green house effect, environment, renewable energy, non renewable
energy.
Oral Language: A class discussion about how we can help sustain the environment- what changes
can we make in our daily lives? Each class comes up with five reasons.
Teaching Methodologies: (Underline where relevant)




Talk and Discussion: listening, questioning, brainstorming, think, pair, share.
Collaborative/Co-operative Learning: group work.
Active Learning: hands on experience.
Skills Through Content: observing, predicting, investigating and experimenting, estimating
and measuring, analyzing, synthesizing, describing, categorizing, recording and
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

communicating.
Using Local Environment: use of pupil environment and lived experience.
Problem Solving: apply logic and rationality to given situations
Introduction:
The children will engage in group work by playing a game of ‘Word Tennis’ in pairs. The game
begins by one child saying a word associated with ‘The Environment’, such as global warming. Each
child will say a word associated with ‘The Environment’. Whoever says the most words wins the
game.
I will introduce the children to the topic by use of an on-line interactive quiz based on environmental
issues. This will also ascertain their prior knowledge of the topic.
Development:
I will show the children a power-point about the environment. The power-point will be interactive, with
a variety of questions and interactive tasks for the children to complete. The children will take turns
read the slides aloud.
I will then hand out three different articles to 6th class. They will read the articles and swap over when
finished. 4th and 5th class will read a story from their reader. While I listen to fourth class, 5 th class will
record themselves reading and replay it to check for mistakes. While I am listening to fifth class,
fourth class will take turns recording their reading.
When we are finished with the differentiated reading, we will have a whole class discussion. The 6 th
class will tell us what the articles were about.
Conclusion:
We will have a discussion on how we can help to sustain the environment to conclude. We will
discuss the changes we can make in our every day lives.
Resources:
Interactive whiteboard
Power-point
Newspaper article cut outs
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A dictophone or other recording device.
Images of global warming.
New vocabulary flashcards.
Green schools website.
Integration:
Geography: global warming
Drama: improvisation of a scene affected by global warming- e.g. hurricane Katrina.
Art: Dioramas made from recyclable materials.
Maths: A bar chart showing the effects of global warming.
Geography: Case study- hurricane Katrina.
Science: An experiment to measure environmentally friendly solar power.
Record of Assessment: (To be written after lesson is taught – Report on observations & show how
information gathered is interpreted and used to inform future planning and teaching)
Action Plan:
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Template Lesson Plan
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Date:
Subject Geography
Time:
Class: 4th, 5th, 6th
Duration of Lesson: 50 minutes
Number of Pupils: 15
Weekly Theme: Eco Explorers- exploring environmental awareness/
Strand: Environmental Awareness and Care
Strand Unit: Caring for the Environment
Differentiated Learning Objectives:
1. That all children will be enabled to identify and discuss a global environment issue.
2. That most children will be enabled to define and discuss the terms ‘global warming’ and ‘green
house effect’. (5th and 6th) children will write a report about Hurricane Katrina. Most children will
identify renewable and non renewable energy (4th class)
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3. That some children will be enabled to write a detailed report about Hurricane Katrina, suggesting
actions which should be taken, the lives of the people involved and solutions and the effects of these
on people involved. (5th and 6th) 4th class will complete a worksheet on renewable and non
renewable energy sources.
Assessment:
Teacher Designed Task:
The children will complete a written report about Hurricane Katrina.( 5 th) The very able children will
write a longer , more detailed report. (6th) The children in 4th class will complete a teacher designed
worksheet about renewable and non renewable energy.
Teacher Questioning
Lower Order questions
What is global warming?
What causes it?
What does ‘the greenhouse effect’ mean?
What caused Hurricane Katrina?
Higher Order Questions
Do we contribute to global warming and the greenhouse effect?
How can we help preserve the environment?
How could we raise environmental awareness within our community?
How do you think the people felt in the aftermath of the hurricane?
Language / Literacy Development:
Oral Language: A brief classroom discussion about the causes of global warming.
Vocabulary: global warming, green house effect, green house gases, tsunami,
Teaching Methodologies: (Underline where relevant)





Talk and Discussion: listening, questioning, brainstorming, think, pair, share.
Collaborative/Co-operative Learning: group work.
Active Learning: hands on experience.
Skills Through Content: observing, predicting, investigating and experimenting, estimating
and measuring, analyzing, synthesizing, describing, categorizing, recording and
communicating.
Using Local Environment: use of pupil environment and lived experience.
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
Problem Solving: apply logic and rationality to given situations
Introduction:
We will have a group discussion about environmental awareness. The children have achieved a
green flag for the school in the past, so we will discuss this and how they achieved it. I will show the
children a power-point presentation about global warming. I will display the key words in the lesson
on the whiteboard. Whoever offers the best definition of each word gets a point. I will allow the
children to play an on-line game to test their knowledge of global warming.
Development:
The children will read laminated articles about Hurricane Katrina. Fourth class will engage in an
interactive activity on the whiteboard about renewable and non renewable energy. When the children
have finished reading we will discuss the hurricane, what caused it and how it may be prevented
from happening again. The children will imagine that they were reporters when the hurricane took
place and will complete their reports on the hurricane. They will then dramatically read their reports
aloud for the class.
Conclusion:
The children will engage in an interactive game on the IWB to enforce the learning which took place
in the lesson.
We will have a quick recap of the new words we learnt in the lesson.
Resources:
Interactive whiteboard,
Pens,
Paper
Laminated information sheets about hurricane Katrina.
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Integration:
Geography: global warming
Drama: improvisation of a scene affected by global warming- e.g. hurricane Katrina.
Art: Dioramas made from recyclable materials.
Maths: A bar chart showing the effects of global warming.
English: reading of articles about global warming and a mini group discussion about how we can
help to sustain the environment.
Science: An experiment to measure environmentally friendly solar power.
Record of Assessment: (To be written after lesson is taught – Report on observations & show how
information gathered is interpreted and used to inform future planning and teaching)
Action Plan:
Page 12 of 54
Template Lesson Plan
All subjects excluding PE & Gaeilge
Date:
Subject Geography
Time:
Class: 4th, 5th, 6th
Duration of Lesson: 50 minutes
Number of Pupils: 15
Weekly Theme: Eco Explorers- exploring environmental awareness/
Strand: Environmental Awareness and Care
Strand Unit: Caring for the Environment
Differentiated Learning Objectives:
1. That all children will be enabled to identify and discuss a global environment issue.
2. That most children will be enabled to define and discuss the terms ‘global warming’ and ‘green
house effect’. (5th and 6th) children will write a report about Hurricane Katrina. Most children will
identify renewable and non renewable energy (4th class)
3. That some children will be enabled to write a detailed report about Hurricane Katrina, suggesting
actions which should be taken, the lives of the people involved and solutions and the effects of these
on people involved. (5th and 6th) 4th class will complete a worksheet on renewable and non
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renewable energy sources.
Assessment:
Teacher Designed Task:
The children will complete a written report about Hurricane Katrina.( 5 th) The very able children will
write a longer , more detailed report. (6th) The children in 4th class will complete a teacher designed
worksheet about renewable and non renewable energy.
Teacher Questioning
Lower Order questions
What is global warming?
What causes it?
What does ‘the greenhouse effect’ mean?
What caused Hurricane Katrina?
Higher Order Questions
Do we contribute to global warming and the greenhouse effect?
How can we help preserve the environment?
How could we raise environmental awareness within our community?
How do you think the people felt in the aftermath of the hurricane?
Language / Literacy Development:
Oral Language: A brief classroom discussion about the causes of global warming.
Vocabulary: global warming, green house effect, green house gases, tsunami,
Teaching Methodologies: (Underline where relevant)





Talk and Discussion: listening, questioning, brainstorming, think, pair, share.
Collaborative/Co-operative Learning: group work.
Active Learning: hands on experience.
Skills Through Content: observing, predicting, investigating and experimenting, estimating
and measuring, analyzing, synthesizing, describing, categorizing, recording and
communicating.
Using Local Environment: use of pupil environment and lived experience.
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
Problem Solving: apply logic and rationality to given situations
Introduction:
We will have a group discussion about environmental awareness. The children have achieved a
green flag for the school in the past, so we will discuss this and how they achieved it. I will show the
children a power-point presentation about global warming. I will display the key words in the lesson
on the whiteboard. Whoever offers the best definition of each word gets a point. I will allow the
children to play an on-line game to test their knowledge of global warming.
Development:
The children will read laminated articles about Hurricane Katrina. Fourth class will engage in an
interactive activity on the whiteboard about renewable and non renewable energy. When the children
have finished reading we will discuss the hurricane, what caused it and how it may be prevented
from happening again. The children will imagine that they were reporters when the hurricane took
place and will complete their reports on the hurricane. They will then dramatically read their reports
aloud for the class.
Conclusion:
The children will engage in an interactive game on the IWB to enforce the learning which took place
in the lesson.
We will have a quick recap of the new words we learnt in the lesson.
Resources:
Interactive whiteboard,
Pens,
Paper
Laminated information sheets about hurricane Katrina.
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Integration:
Geography: global warming
Drama: improvisation of a scene affected by global warming- e.g. hurricane Katrina.
Art: Dioramas made from recyclable materials.
Maths: A bar chart showing the effects of global warming.
English: reading of articles about global warming and a mini group discussion about how we can
help to sustain the environment.
Science: An experiment to measure environmentally friendly solar power.
Record of Assessment: (To be written after lesson is taught – Report on observations & show how
information gathered is interpreted and used to inform future planning and teaching)
Action Plan:
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Date
Subject: Maths
Time:
Class: 4th- 6th Class
Duration of Lesson: 45 minutes
Number of Pupils: 15
Weekly Theme: Eco Explorers- exploring environmental awareness
Strand: Data
Strand Unit: representing and interpreting data.
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Differentiated Learning Objectives:
1. That all children will be enabled to work on a class project of drawing up a survey. (4th, 5th and 6th)
2. That most children will be enabled to collect and organize the data gathered. ( all classes) Most
children will be enabled to represent the data gathered (all classes). Most children will be enabled to
work out the average of their results. ( 6th class only)
3. That some children will be enabled to incorporate scales into their bar charts. ( 1:10- 4th and 5th)
1:100 (6th)
Assessment:
Teacher designed task:
I will assess the children’s comprehension of the topic of data by assessing the tallies they gather
and the class bar charts they create. I will spend time with each group to ascertain each child’s level
of understanding of the topic.
Teacher Questioning
Lower Order questions
What is a bar chart?
What are they used for?
What are the advantages of using a bar chart?
Higher Order Questions:
What questions should you ask?
What will the results show you?
How will you represent the results gathered?
Language / Literacy Development:
Vocabulary: Tally, results, represent, scale, tally sheet, pictogram, bar chart, table, row, column,
graph, survey.
Oral Language: oral language will be developed as the children circulate the classroom and the
neighbouring classroom asking questions for their surveys.
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Teaching Methodologies: (Underline where relevant)






Talk and Discussion: listening, questioning, brainstorming, think, pair, share.
Collaborative/Co-operative Learning: group work.
Active Learning: hands on experience.
Skills Through Content: observing, predicting, investigating and experimenting, estimating
and measuring, analyzing, synthesizing, describing, categorizing, recording and
communicating.
Using Local Environment: use of pupil environment and lived experience.
Problem Solving: apply logic and rationality to given situations
Introduction

I will introduce the children to the game ‘Conductor’s Choir’

The children will be divided into groups. One group will start on counting up in fours. I will
stop them at 20, the next group will count up in fives, then I will stop them at 40 and the next
group will count up in sixes. I will switch between each group regularly throughout the
exercise.

I will also use a ‘target board’ as a warm up for the children, based on addition, subtraction,
and multiplication.
Development:

I will begin by revising the new mathematical words we learnt yesterday. I will question the
children to see how much they remember.

I will ask them to name a variety of charts on the IWB.

The children will then decide what topic they will do their surveys on. The groups will create a
list of questions.

I will do a sample tally and bar chart on the board for the children.

The children will spend ten minutes working on their bar charts.

4th and 5th will then complete a teacher designed task in which they create a bar chart based
on the information given.

I will directly teach 6th class about averages. We will do samples on the IWB.
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
Differentiation:
4th class: Child M in 4th class has severe behavioural and emotional issues. It is not possible
for him to concentrate for an extended period of time. I will differentiate his work by giving him
simpler tasks. He will be in charge of asking the younger classes the questions for the survey.
Children O and T in 4th class are quite weak at maths so their tasks will be simplified. They
will receive lots of scaffolding. I will draw out a sample bar chart for them to fill in. They will not
be able to create their own bar chart yet.
5th class: Children S, S and S are in 5th class are also weak at maths. They will be grouped
with 4th class for maths as a form of revision. 5th class will attempt to draw their own bar
charts.
6th class: The eight children in 6th class are quite strong at maths. Their tasks will be
differentiated by asking them to display the data in other forms, such as a pie chart, a bar line
graph and a block graph.
Conclusion:

All class levels will play the interactive game on data handling from the website
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?f=barchartv2 (explanation of game in resource folder)

I will finish the lesson through reinforcing the maths vocabulary again. I will ask the children to
consider the next step in their survey project.
Resources:
Websites:
www.Surveymonkey.com
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?f=barchartv2
interactive whiteboard
pencils/paper/graph paper
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photographic samples of charts
flashcards of mathematical vocabulary
task sheets for 4th and 5th class.
Multi-link cubes
Pictures of items surveyed
Chart template
Integration:
Science: graph of results from experiment
Geography: graphs of effects of global warming
Art: Graph of most used/least used art equipment
Maths: data
SPHE: tally of most important classroom rules
Record of Assessment: (To be written after lesson is taught – Report on observations & show how
information gathered is interpreted and used to inform future planning and teaching)
Action Plan:
Page 21 of 54
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Date:
Subject: Religion
Time:
Class: 4th, 5th, 6th
Duration of Lesson: 30 minutes
Number of Pupils: 15
Weekly Theme: Eco explorers- exploring environmental awareness
Strand:
Strand Unit:
Differentiated Learning Objectives:
1. That all children will be enabled to read the story ‘The Prophets’ and ‘The Woman who fed Elijah’
2. That most children will be enabled to discuss and understand the main points of the stories.
3. That some children will be enabled to read the prayer aloud for the class.
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Assessment:
Teacher observation- I will assess the children during discussion time to ensure they understand
the moral of the story.
Teacher Questioning
Lower Order questions:
Who were the prophets?
What did they do?
Did they have a hard life?
Who was Elijah?
Was he a good person?
Higher Order Questions:
Would you like to be a prophet?
What is your understanding of the prayer- what does it mean to you?
Language / Literacy Development:
Vocabulary: prophets, testament, covenant, Mount Sinai
Oral Language: the children will engage in a class discussion about the story. This will develop their
oral language and confidence in speaking aloud to a group.
Teaching Methodologies: (Underline where relevant)






Talk and Discussion: listening, questioning, brainstorming, think, pair, share.
Collaborative/Co-operative Learning: group work.
Active Learning: hands on experience.
Skills Through Content: observing, predicting, investigating and experimenting, estimating
and measuring, analyzing, synthesizing, describing, categorizing, recording and
communicating.
Using Local Environment: use of pupil environment and lived experience.
Problem Solving: apply logic and rationality to given situations
Introduction:

The class will begin with five minutes of ‘still time’. The children will sit and relax for five
minutes.

I will introduce the topic to the children. I will explain the term ‘prophets’
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
I will show the children a short on-line cartoon about The Prophets.
Development:
The children will take turns reading the stories ‘The Prophets’ and ‘The Woman who fed Elijah’ from
their books.
Conclusion:
We will have a class discussion about the stories. The children will work in groups and partake in a
think, pair, share activity. Each group will explain what the story meant to them and their
understanding of it.
We will end the lesson with a prayer from the chapter.
Resources:
Alive-O five- teacher resource book
Alive-O – fifth class text book.
Integration:
Record of Assessment: (To be written after lesson is taught – Report on observations & show how
information gathered is interpreted and used to inform future planning and teaching)
Action Plan:
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Date:
Subject: Drama
Time:
Class: 4th, 5th, 6th
Duration of Lesson: 30 minutes
Number of Pupils: 15
Weekly Theme: Environmental Awareness
Strand: Drama to explore feelings, knowledge and ideas, leading to understanding.
Strand Unit: Exploring and making drama
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Differentiated Learning Objectives:
1. That all children will be enabled to enter fully into the fictional world of drama using props as an
aid.
2. That most children will be enabled to depict scenes from when Hurricane Katrina struck using
improvisation.
3. That some children will be enabled to use the strategy of freeze framing to show scenes from the
natural disaster.
Assessment:
Teacher Observation:
I will assess the children’s ability to enter willingly into the fictional world of drama.
I will assess the children’s ability to be imaginative and creative when creating their freeze frames of
when the hurricane struck.
I will assess the children’s ability to work as groups to collaboratively plan their scenes.
I will record my findings in my observation notebook.
Teacher Questioning
Lower Order questions
What is global warming?
What causes global warming?
What caused Hurricane Katrina?
What was that group portraying?
Did they depict it well?
Did you like it?
Does anyone have any questions for that character?
Where did it take place?
Higher Order Questions
What can we do to help prevent global warming?
How do you think the people felt after hurricane Katrina?
Language / Literacy Development:
Vocabulary: hurricane Katrina, global warming, green house effect, drought, natural disasters
Oral Language: the children will discuss what they know about Hurricane Katrina, and global
warming. They will orally discuss how they would feel in such a situation.
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Teaching Methodologies: (Underline where relevant)






Talk and Discussion: listening, questioning, brainstorming, think, pair, share.
Collaborative/Co-operative Learning: group work.
Active Learning: hands on experience.
Skills Through Content: observing, predicting, investigating and experimenting, estimating
and measuring, analyzing, synthesizing, describing, categorizing, recording and
communicating.
Using Local Environment: use of pupil environment and lived experience.
Problem Solving: apply logic and rationality to given situations
Introduction:

I will introduce the lesson by explaining the rules of the game ‘Greetings your Majesty’. One
child will sit in a chair with a blind fold on. The other children will take turns tapping the child
on the back and saying ‘greetings your majesty’ in a different voice than their own. The child
will have to try to guess who each child is. If he/she guesses correctly, then that child wears
the blindfold. We will play this game for five- seven minutes.
Development:

I will develop the lesson by discussing with the children how they would feel in the aftermath
of a hurricane. I will explain the strategy of ‘freeze-framing’.



I will then distribute cards where each group gets a scenario portraying disaster which they
will have to rehearse the scene depicted on the card and perform the scene in groups.
Each group will portray the scene given to them for the rest of the class.
We will discuss each freeze frame at the end of the lesson. E.g. were they accurate? Did you
know what they were depicting? Did they fulfill the freeze frame criteria?
Conclusion:
We will have a vote to decide which group portrayed their scene most accurately whilst fulfilling the
criteria of freeze-framing.
We will play a warm down game of ‘Don’t wake the Indians’.
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Resources:
Props- prop box
Task cards
Integration:
Geography: global warming
English: the children will read information sheets about global warming and engage in a discussion/
debate.
Art: dioramas made from recyclable materials.
Maths: a bar chart showing the effects of global warming.
Geography: case study- hurricane Katrina.
Science: an experiment to measure environmentally friendly solar power.
Record of Assessment: (To be written after lesson is taught – Report on observations & show how
information gathered is interpreted and used to inform future planning and teaching)
Action Plan:
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Date:
Subject: Geography
Time:
Class: 4th, 5th, 6th
Duration of Lesson: 40 minutes
Number of Pupils: 15
Weekly Theme: Eco-explorers- exploring our environment
Strand: Environmental Awareness and Care
Strand Unit: Caring for the Environment
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Differentiated Learning Objectives:
1. That all children will be enabled to develop deeper their understanding of what causes climate
change
2. That most children will be enabled to tell me the main points about climate change after watching
a short video about it. Most children will tell me about the effects of climate change.
3. That some children will be enabled to complete a teacher designed task about climate change
and its causes, detailing their knowledge of the term.
6th class will be enabled to write a page about climate change.
5th class will write half a page.
4th class will write five lines about global warming. ( from the white- board- teacher scaffolding- the 3
children in 4th class are very weak)
(Child M in 4th class has social and emotional issues, and speech and language difficulties- he
attends resource teaching. Child S in 5th class is dyslexic. Both pupils need scaffolding)
Assessment:
Teacher designed task:
I will assess the children’s knowledge of global warming by asking them to write down everything
they can remember from the video about climate change. I will also assess their knowledge via
discussion at the start of the lesson. I will have briefly introduced climate change the day before, so I
will assess what they can remember about it.
Teacher Questioning
Lower Order questions
What can you tell me about climate change?
Is it bad for us? How does it affect us?
Higher Order Questions
What can we do to help the environment?
Can you give examples of climate change in recent years?
How about the climate in your area- has it changed much since you were very small? Is it sunnier,
colder, has it snowed lately?
Language / Literacy Development:
Vocabulary: global warming, green house effect, carbon footprint, tsunami, natural disasters,
climate change, green house
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Teaching Methodologies: (Underline where relevant)






Talk and Discussion: listening, questioning, brainstorming, think, pair, share.
Collaborative/Co-operative Learning: group work.
Active Learning: hands on experience.
Skills Through Content: observing, predicting, investigating and experimenting, estimating
and measuring, analyzing, synthesizing, describing, categorizing, recording and
communicating.
Using Local Environment: use of pupil environment and lived experience.
Problem Solving: apply logic and rationality to given situations
Introduction:

I will begin the lesson by using the interactive whiteboard. The children will play on-line games
and quizes which test their previous knowledge of climate change. (10 minutes)

The children will complete a KWL chart, detailing what they know, want to know and what
they have learnt about global warming.
Development:

I will develop the lesson by using the IWB to show the children what causes climate change
and the effects of it. This will be whole class teaching.

I will divide the children into groups for a think, pair, share, exercise. They will think about
climate change and discuss what they know about it with their partner. They will then present
their information to the class.

( I will write the information up on the board for child M in 4th class- social and behavioural
issues, speech and language difficulties-needs a lot of scaffolding) ( Child S in 5th class is
dyslexic and also needs the scaffolding of modeled writing)

The children will work in groups of four to complete a fact file of what they now know about
climate change. Each person in the group will be assigned a role. The presenter will present
their information to the rest of the class.
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Conclusion:

I will ask each child to say a sentence using the new climate change words. I will have these
words on flashcards. Each child will say a factual sentence using the new vocabulary.

Each group will read out their fact files.
Resources:
IWB
Climate change websites
Fact file templates
Flash cards of new vocabulary
Video about climate change
Integration:
Geography: hurricane Katrina
Drama: improvisation of a scene affected by global warming- e.g. hurricane Katrina.
Art: Dioramas made from recyclable materials.
Maths: A bar chart showing the effects of global warming.
Science: An experiment to measure environmentally friendly solar power.
English: debate climate change, reading articles about climate change.
Record of Assessment: (To be written after lesson is taught – Report on observations & show how
information gathered is interpreted and used to inform future planning and teaching)
Action Plan:
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Date:
Subject: Maths
Time:
Class:
4th, 5th, 6th
Duration of Lesson: 45 minutes
Number of Pupils: 15
Weekly Theme :Eco Explorers- Exploring Environmental Awareness
Strand: Data
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Strand Unit:
Differentiated Learning Objectives:
1. That all children will be enabled to transfer their results from the tally to a bar chart. All children
will be enabled to make a bar chart on line using the criteria given. ( each class will complete a
different bar chart)
2. That most children will be enabled to draw the class bar chart to scale. (1:10- 4th and 5th class)
(1:100 – 6th class)
3. That some children will be enabled to present the information correctly to the class. Some
children will complete the extra teacher designed task sheets containing more difficult graphs.
Assessment:
Teacher Designed Task:
The children will finish the class bar chart they have been working on. They will represent the data
on the bar chart. I will assess how they represent the data they gathered. I will use a check list to
establish the learning which took place.
Teacher Questioning
Lower Order questions
How will you present this information?
What type of bar chart will you create on line? Why did you pick this topic?
Will it be easier or harder to add more sections?
Higher Order Questions
How important is it to make sure the information is accurate?
How did you ensure this information was accurate?
What questioning methods did you use?
How did you gather the data?
Language / Literacy Development:
Vocabulary: tally, scale, interpret, present, represent, scale, average, multiple bar chart.
Oral Language: oral language will be developed as the children in each class present their bar chart
and findings to the rest of the classroom.
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Teaching Methodologies: (Underline where relevant)






Talk and Discussion: listening, questioning, brainstorming, think, pair, share.
Collaborative/Co-operative Learning: group work.
Active Learning: hands on experience.
Skills Through Content: observing, predicting, investigating and experimenting, estimating
and measuring, analyzing, synthesizing, describing, categorizing, recording and
communicating.
Using Local Environment: use of pupil environment and lived experience.
Problem Solving: apply logic and rationality to given situations
Introduction:
I will explain to the children that they will be presenting their graphs today.
We will play a warm up game using a target board.
Development:

Each group will be given an A3 piece of paper, a ruler and a pencil. Each child in the group
will be assigned a job.

The children will draw up their bar charts using the information they gathered throughout the
week.

The children will present their findings to the rest of the class.

The children will engage in a questions and answers session at the end of each presentation.
I will ask questions about the project as a form of assessment.

Differentiation:
4th class will display the data using unifix cubes.
5th class will draw a bar chart showing the data
6th class will draw a bar chart and a pie graph using the data.
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Conclusion:
We will have a class discussion about the data collected and the results. We will pick three other
classes to test out survey on.
The children will play a game on the interactive whiteboard to further cement their knowledge of bar
charts before moving on to pie charts tomorrow.
Resources:
Unifix cubes
Graph paper
Pencils/pens
Samples of bar charts and graphs.
Integration:
Geography: global warming
English: the children will read information sheets about global warming and engage in a discussion/
debate.
Art: dioramas made from recyclable materials.
Geography: case study- hurricane Katrina.
Science: an experiment to measure environmentally friendly solar power.
Drama: improvisation scene based on global warming.
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Record of Assessment: (To be written after lesson is taught – Report on observations & show how
information gathered is interpreted and used to inform future planning and teaching)
Action Plan:
Date:
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Subject: Maths
Time:
Class: 4th, 5th, 6th.
Duration of Lesson: 30 minutes
Number of Pupils: 15
Weekly Theme: Eco-explorers- exploring environmental awareness
Strand: Data
Strand Unit: measuring and representing data
Differentiated Learning Objectives:
1. That all children will be enabled to complete a teacher designed quiz based on data. ( the quiz will
be differentiated for each class)
2. That most children will be enabled to understand the term ‘averages’. I will introduce 5th class to
this topic today. Each sentence will say a sentence using the word average.
3. That some children will be enabled to complete a series of tasks based on using averages. ( 6th
class only) Some children will be enabled to find the temperature of four different countries and will
represent it on a bar chart.
Assessment:
Teacher designed task:
I will create a teacher designed task for the children to complete. The quiz will be based on the
learning which took place throughout the week. I will record my findings via a checklist.
Teacher Questioning
Lower Order questions:
Which type of graph shows the information best? Why?
Which line is the horizontal / vertical axis?
What is the average of the following numbers?
Higher Order Questions
Can you explain the word average?
Why are graphs used and needed?
Can you calculate the average age in the class?
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Language / Literacy Development:
Vocabulary: graph, scale, x axis, y axis, key, tally, pictogram, horizontal axis, vertical axis, title,
average,
Oral Language: whole class discussion on the use of bar charts and how they are useful to us.
Teaching Methodologies: (Underline where relevant)






Talk and Discussion: listening, questioning, brainstorming, think, pair, share.
Collaborative/Co-operative Learning: group work.
Active Learning: hands on experience.
Skills Through Content: observing, predicting, investigating and experimenting, estimating and
measuring, analyzing, synthesizing, describing, categorizing, recording and communicating.
Using Local Environment: use of pupil environment and lived experience.
Problem Solving: apply logic and rationality to given situations
Introduction:

I will introduce the lesson by holding up flashcards with vocabulary associated with data on
them. I will ask the children to explain each word- for example, what is a tally?

Each group will have a buzzer. The group to answer fastest wins a point for their class.
Development:

4th and 5th class will complete a short quiz based on data.

While 4th and 5th class work on this, I will work on averages and data sets with 6 th class.

When 4th and 5th are finished, the whole classroom will come together again. I will continue
with the lesson by asking the children to create a human bar chart.

The bar chart will be based on the information 5 th class found about the temperatures in four
countries.

They will then line up to form the x and y axis and the bars in the chart. 1 child represents one
child.

The children will be divided into groups and each child will be given a separate role.

This lesson will serve as a form of revision for the weaker students. I have moved on with the
high attainers in 6th class by doing further work with them on averages and data sets while the
other classes worked on the quiz.
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Conclusion:

The children will discuss the human bar chart they created.

They will work in groups to create questions for each class to answer.

Resources:
Interactive whiteboard
Teacher designed task
Graph paper
Rulers
Selection of images of graphs
Integration:
Science: using graphs to represent the results of an experiment.
Geography: studying graphs of the effects of global warming and climate change. Engaging in class
discussion based on the findings from the graphs.
SPHE: a graph of the most important classroom rules, compiled through the results of a think, pair,
share activity.
Art: Compiling a graph of the most used art supplies in making our dream bedroom, the least used
art supplies, etc.
Record of Assessment: (To be written after lesson is taught – Report on observations & show how
information gathered is interpreted and used to inform future planning and teaching)
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Action Plan:
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Date:
Subject: Music
Time:
Class: 4th, 5th, 6th
Duration of Lesson: 30 minutes
Number of Pupils: 15
Weekly Theme: Eco-explorers- exploring environmental awareness.
Strand: Performing
Strand Unit: Song singing
Differentiated Learning Objectives:
1. That all children will be enabled to sing the 1st verse of the song ‘Hall of Fame’
2. That most children will be enabled to sing the harmonies in the above song.
3. That some children will be enabled to sing the first verse without the lyrics.
Assessment:
Teacher Observation:
I will assess the children’s ability to sing in key with the backing track to the song.
I will assess the children’s knowledge of musical concepts found in the song.
I will assess the children’s ability to sing the 1st verse of the song without lyrics.
I will record my findings in my teacher observation notebook.
Teacher Questioning
Lower Order questions:
What is the tone of this song?
Is it a loud/soft song?
What are the lyrics about?
Higher Order Questions:
Are the lyrics inspirational?
What was your favourite part of the song?
What were the dynamics in the song?
Can you beat out the tempo on the table with your pencil?
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Language / Literacy Development:
Vocabulary:
Tone, dynamics, tempo, inspirational.
Oral Language:
We will discuss the lyrics of the song ‘Hall of Fame’ and discuss what the song is about.
We will discuss the two styles of singing in the song- rapping and harmonies.
Teaching Methodologies: (Underline where relevant)






Talk and Discussion: listening, questioning, brainstorming, think, pair, share.
Collaborative/Co-operative Learning: group work.
Active Learning: hands on experience.
Skills Through Content: observing, predicting, investigating and experimenting, estimating
and measuring, analyzing, synthesizing, describing, categorizing, recording and
communicating.
Using Local Environment: use of pupil environment and lived experience.
Problem Solving: apply logic and rationality to given situations
Introduction:

The children will engage in a vocal warm up

The teacher will introduce the song to the children by playing it for them on the IWB.
Development:

Each child will have a copy of the lyrics to the song Hall of Fame

I will play the song through for the children.

I will play the song again. The children will sing along with the first verse. I will do this twice.

I will then play the backing track of the song for the children to sing along to.

We will focus only on the first verse.

By the end of the class some children will be able to sing the first verse without the lyrics.
I will ask the children to point out examples of three musical concepts in the song.
1. tone
2. tempo
3. dynamics
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Conclusion:
The children will engage in a cool down breathing session after the song singing.
Resources:
Recording of the song ‘’Hall of Fame’
Copies of the lyrics of the song.
Backing track to the song.
Vocal warm up- ‘boom chicka boom’.
Integration:
Record of Assessment: (To be written after lesson is taught – Report on observations & show how
information gathered is interpreted and used to inform future planning and teaching)
Action Plan:
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Date:
Subject: Science
Time:
Class: 4th, 5th, 6th
Duration of Lesson: 40 minutes
Number of Pupils: 15
Weekly Theme: Eco-explorers- exploring environmental awareness
Strand: Environmental Awareness and Care
Strand Unit: Science and the Environment
Differentiated Learning Objectives:
1. That all children will be enabled to understand the power of solar energy as opposed to non
renewable energy.
2. That most children will be enabled to understand the process of solar energy.
3. That some children will be enabled to understand the advantages of solar energy.
Assessment:
Learning Log:
The children will complete their learning logs in this subject which I will assess.
Teacher Questioning :
Lower Order questions:
What is solar energy?
Can you give me an example of renewable energy?
Can you give an example of non-renewable energy?
Higher Order Questions:
What are the advantages of solar energy?
Do any houses in your area use solar panels?
What did you learn from this investigation?
What gives you your energy?
Where do plants get their energy from?
Where do cars, buses, trains and planes get their energy from?
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Where did these fossil fuels get their energy from?
Burning fossil fuels also produces energy to make electricity. Can you think of any other kinds of
energy which are used to make electricity?
What will we do for energy when these fossil fuels run out?
Language / Literacy Development:
Vocabulary: solar energy, non renewable , renewable, solar panels, solar cells, energy, fossil fuels,
wind farms.
Teaching Methodologies: (Underline where relevant)






Talk and Discussion: listening, questioning, brainstorming, think, pair, share.
Collaborative/Co-operative Learning: group work.
Active Learning: hands on experience.
Skills Through Content: observing, predicting, investigating and experimenting, estimating
and measuring, analyzing, synthesizing, describing, categorizing, recording and
communicating.
Using Local Environment: use of pupil environment and lived experience.
Problem Solving: apply logic and rationality to given situations
Introduction:

I will introduce the children to the topic by showing them a power-point of all the ways we use
energy. I will show them images of renewable and non renewable energy.

I will explain the investigation we will be doing to the children.

I will provide the children with the materials needed for the investigation.
Development:

I will explain the importance of the sun to the children and the many ways in which it provides
us with energy.

I will explain that without the sun there would be no life on earth. I will ask the children to give
examples of how we rely on energy from the sun.

I will provide the children with all the necessary back ground information about fossil fuels,
electricity and solar energy.
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
I will explain how people make gadgets to capture the suns energy-, i.e. solar panels.

We will carry out the investigation.

The children will put one of the cartons in a sunny spot and one in a shaded spot (Remember:
FAIR TESTING).
The children will dip their fingers in each and feel how hot or cold the water is. They will leave the
cartons standing for 30 minutes and then take the temperature of the water in each carton.
The children will record their results. They will dip their finger into both cartons again. They will then
try it with cling film to see if it makes a difference.
The children will put three thermometers in a sunny place.
Cover the bulb of one with black paper.
Cover the bulb of another with white paper.
Leave the third one uncovered.
Predict: Which thermometer do you think will
get the hottest?
Wait for a few minutes.
Record the temperatures of the three thermometers.
Conclusion:
We will draw a graph showing the results of the investigation. I will ask the children to explain the
results of the investigation.
Resources:
butter cartons,
scissors,
cling film,
thermometer,
water
3 thermometers,
black paper,
white paper
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Integration:
Science: using graphs to represent the results of an experiment.
Geography: studying graphs of the effects of global warming and climate change. Engaging in class
discussion based on the findings from the graphs.
SPHE: a graph of the most important classroom rules, compiled through the results of a think, pair,
share activity.
Art: Compiling a graph of the most used art supplies in making our dream bedroom, the least used
art supplies, etc.
Record of Assessment: (To be written after lesson is taught – Report on observations & show how
information gathered is interpreted and used to inform future planning and teaching)
Action Plan:
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Date:
Subject: Art
Time:
Class: 4th, 5th, 6th.
Duration of Lesson: 1:05 hours
Number of Pupils: 15
Weekly Theme: Environmental Awareness
Strand: Construction
Strand Unit: Making Constructions
Differentiated Learning Objectives:
1. That all children will be enabled to create a diorama based on their dream room, using
environmentally friendly art supplies only. All children will be enabled to choose which materials they
need and why.
2. That most children will be enabled to develop an awareness of shape and how to use shape in
their dioramas. Most children will be enabled to distinguish between environmentally and non
environmentally friendly art supplies and choose environmentally friendly art supplies to make their
dioramas. Most children will be enabled to think as a designer.
3. That some children will be enabled to discuss the features of their dioramas, including how the
different parts relate to the whole, and the outline and space created. Some children will be enabled
to discuss the functional and ergonomical aspects of the design.
Assessment:
Teacher Observation:
I will assess :
The children’s ability to become fully involved in the project taking place.
The children’s ability to pick the recyclable art materials from the non-recyclable materials.
The children’s use of shape and space within the construction.
All results will be recorded in my observation notebook.
Teacher Questioning
Lower Order questions:
What materials do you need?
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Why?
Higher Order Questions:
How will you make use of the limited amount of space available?
Why did you choose to put the – in this part of the room?
Are you satisfied with the final result?
Is there anything you would change?
Can you identify any lines and angles in your diorama?
Language / Literacy Development:
Oral Language: The children will engage in a group discussion before the art activity and a group
discussion after the activity.
Vocabulary: structure, sturdy, strong, recyclable, balance, design, architect, designers, functional,
spatial arrangements, outlines, rhythms.
Teaching Methodologies: (Underline where relevant)






Talk and Discussion: listening, questioning, brainstorming, think, pair, share.
Collaborative/Co-operative Learning: group work.
Active Learning: hands on experience.
Skills Through Content: observing, predicting, investigating and experimenting, estimating
and measuring, analyzing, synthesizing, describing, categorizing, recording and
communicating.
Using Local Environment: use of pupil environment and lived experience.
Problem Solving: apply logic and rationality to given situations
Introduction:
I will introduce the children to the term ‘diorama’.
Brainstorm Session: We will discuss our bedrooms at home, what we like/ don’t like about them. We
will discuss what our dream bedroom would look like. We will assess our art supplies and the
criteria given. The children will choose the recyclable art materials.
I may show a power-point with examples of dioramas for children who are struggling.
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Development:
The children will begin the activity by making a list of the materials they will need. They will then
choose the materials in pairs. The children must follow the criteria given:
Use recyclable materials.
The box must be completely covered in materials, no brown bits allowed.
Use line and shape to influence your construction.
The children will work in groups of four. Each child will be given a shoe box to design as a bedroom.
Each child will be given a smaller box to gather their materials in.
Once the children have gathered their materials, they will begin the construction. They will drawa
rough plan of the bedroom first on a piece of paper. When they are finished the planning section,
they may begin the construction.
I will encourage the children to discuss their dioramas with their group as they work, and to assist
each other where necessary.
I will spend time with each of the four groups. I will question each child, for e.g. why did you choose
that material instead of -? Why did you choose that colour? Is it light or dark in the bedroom? Will
there be enough space for everything or will it become cluttered?
Conclusion:
Each child will bring their dioramas to the front of the room. We will sit in a circle. Each child will hold
up their diorama and explain the materials they have chosen to the other children. The children will
be encouraged to ask each other questions. Every child will have a turn to show their diorama. We
will then photograph all the dioramas and make a power-point presentation of them for the school
blog.
Resources:
15 shoeboxes.
A variety of smaller boxes, e.g. matchboxes.
A selection of fabric squares- wallpaper, carpet, curtains.
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Argos catalogues
Smyths catalogues
Integration:
Science: using graphs to represent the results of an experiment.
Geography: studying graphs of the effects of global warming and climate change. Engaging in class
discussion based on the findings from the graphs.
SPHE: a graph of the most important classroom rules, compiled through the results of a think, pair,
share activity.
English: report writing based on global warming.
Record of Assessment: (To be written after lesson is taught – Report on observations & show how
information gathered is interpreted and used to inform future planning and teaching)
Action Plan:
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Template Lesson Plan
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