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Lesson Plan
Katie McIntyre & Rachel Horn
Unit Topic or Theme: Science
Grade Level: 4 or 5
Lesson Topic: Mitosis (cell division)
Lesson Objectives: The student will be able to correctly name and explain the four
main stages of mitosis
The student will be able to correctly use and perceive the
vocabulary related to mitosis
Instructional Techniques: class discussion, note taking group work, worksheet, interactive
website
Theoretical Perspective: The understanding of cell division is very important for elementary
school children. It solidifies recent lessons regarding cell structure and function. By learning
mitosis, students will learn how even cells reproduce. Also, how things such as, hair and
nails, continue to grow because of mitosis.
Procedure:
A. Introductory Activity: As a pre-class discussion, the teacher would ask as a class to
reflect something that has changed about themselves in the last month or week. Things
would include hair, nails, or even plant growth outside. Then the teacher would present the
question with why and how your hair and nails grow while presenting mitosis.
B. Step-by- Step: A class lecture will be given where each step of mitosis should be
written down in the student’s notes.
After notes are taken as a class, the class will divide into four groups.
Each group will receive a picture of a cell going through one of the four main phases of
mitosis. As a group, they will determine which stage their cell is in and present it to the
class. The presentations will be done in order from the first to the final stage of mitosis.
The students will then utilize the interactive website. The website will be
located directly under bookmarks after the logging in process. This website activity should
be done alone. Using the worksheet provided the students will keep track of the number of
tries it took to correctly answer each question.
After the website activity is completed, a fun review of the vocabulary used
in mitosis will be given, until each student has had a chance to complete the website
activity.
C. Closure At the close of the lesson, the teacher can discuss with the students the
importance of mitosis. Such as, how a cut can heal itself. Also, the teacher can discuss
the positives and negatives of the interactive websites. They can find out if any students
were able to explore other websites and what additional information they have learned
there.
D. Adaptations:
For students with ADD/ADDHD this lesson provides many opportunities for students
to become active in their learning, such as the group work and the interactive website.
Other adaptations could be to let these students assist other students with the interactive
website if they have completed first. Also, let them be the “speaker” for their group
discussion. For slower working students, this lesson does not pertain to any time frame,
and with the teacher’s help can be started from where the student left off, if they needed
an extra day.
Evaluation:
A. How/When will you determine if you have met your objectives?
The teacher will be able to see how well students are understanding the
information by asking questions along the way through the lecture/note taking process.
Also, during the group work, the teacher should walk around the room and briefly work
with each group to make sure each student is working on the assignment. It will also be
beneficial to evaluate the short group presentations and look for explanations of the stage
and, use of vocabulary. Another form of assessment will be the website worksheet. Things
to look for are the amount of tries it took to answer each question. The crossword puzzle
is another great way to ensure the understanding of the vocabulary. The final assessment
could be the closing discussion for the class. Listening to their comments and other
informational facts they have learned through the website will help the teacher know if
objectives were met.
B. Concerns/Questions you have about teaching this lesson?
We have concerns about the group work, if some students will not work as
hard as others, or if some students will fool around at that time. Another concern is the
amount of computers that our classroom would be able to use. We have provided a
worksheet for students who have finished early, but do not know if the worksheet will still
fill up some of the students’ time while waiting for others.