Sarah Nelson
TEAC452V
Second Lesson Plan
Name: Sarah Nelson
School: Waverly Middle School
Cooperating teacher: Gary Brown
Course: Science Plus
Grade level: 8th
Number of students: 25
Listing of special needs (number of students, IEP modifications required, etc.): 2
(Autism/learning disability; typical modifications include closed notes and extra time)
ELLs (number and level of English fluency): none
Science concept/topic for lesson: Respiratory System and Cardiovascular System
Next Generation Science Standard addressed:
MS-LS1-3. Use argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of
interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells. [Examples could include the
interaction of subsystems within a system and the normal functioning of those systems.]
Students will take data from how their bodies are functioning normally and then
when they are put under stress (ie. Doing physical activity). They will see the way
the subsystems interact. They will be able to engage in argument from evidence
from comparing values and seeing how the vascular and respiratory systems
interact and help the body maintain homeostasis.
Nebraska State Science Education Standards (2010) addressed:
SC8.3.1 Students will investigate and describe the structure and function of living
organisms.
Students will do an investigation to see the function of the vascular and
respiratory system working while resting and right after exerting energy.
SC8.1.1.g Evaluate predictions, draw logical inferences based on observed
patterns/relationships, and account for non-relevant information
Students will make predictions of their results and make inferences based on their
findings between the two systems and between the stages of resting and
immediately after physical exertion.
Materials for activity:
 Worksheet for Each Student
 Stopwatch
 White Board
Instructional & Assessment Plan
Working Together: A Look at the Relationship Between Two Body Systems
Inquiry Phase
Engage
Explore
Explain (Part 1:
Students)
Explain (Part 2:
Teacher)
Elaborate
(optional)
Instructional Activity & Evaluation Tool
 Students will be posed with a “bell ringer”
question at the beginning of class.
 “What is the function of the cardiovascular
system, and what is the function of the respiratory
system?”
 Teacher will ask students to share their answers in
a think-pair-share format.
 The teacher will explain the general steps of the
activity and have a “fist-to-five” check for
understanding before the activity begins.
 Students will work through the cardiovascular
worksheet attached in groups of two.
 Students will assist each other; one will use the
stopwatch while the other one completes the lab
and then switch roles.
o Students will measure their heart rate and
breaths per minute for both at a resting
state as well as right after cardio, physical
activity.
o Students will look at their data and see
what the numbers indicate.
 Students will compile information onto the board.
 Students will share their thoughts on how the two
systems interact and support their thoughts with
evidence from the inquiry activity.
 Teacher will help to summarize results on the
board.
 Teacher will help clear misconceptions and gear
students up for the elaborate phase.
o What trends do you see when
o How do you think someone’s results who
participates in sports will be to someone
who does not participate in sports?
o Why does our body react the way it does
when we do physical activity?
 Students will answer the final question as their
ticket out the door.
 Can you think of a way your cardiovascular
system (heart and blood vessels) or respiratory
How long?
7 minutes
20 minutes
10 minutes
10 minutes
3 minutes



system (lungs) work with another body system?
This question helps tie in previous knowledge and
helps bridge connections.
Teacher will collect worksheets at the end of the
class period.
Ideally, the elaborate would be another small
activity that would test their answer to the
question of how the system they answered worked
with the cardiovascular or respiratory system.
Respond to all of the following:
1. Inquiry-based science instruction is used throughout the lesson as laid out in the table
above. The inquiry would be classified as a guided inquiry or verification inquiry.
Students are given the procedure, materials, and problem, but they will get different
numbers for the heart rate and breaths per minute. Students will be asked to work
together during the process and rely on each other to get accurate results. Further,
having a table on the board where students can share their results and see data from
the entire class lends itself to an environment of scientific discourse and mimics a
scientific community.
2. Formative assessment will first come in the form of the “bell ringer” where students
will share what they believe to be the function of the cardiovascular system and the
respiratory systems. This will initially give me an idea of what students know about
the basics, and I can address any misconceptions before the lab starts. The “fist-tofive” is a check for understanding that I will do to make sure that the students have an
idea of what steps they need to do. While the students are completing the inquiry
activity, it is important that I walk around the classroom and observe what is
happening. At this point, formative assessment is occurring because I can make
general, clarifying statements to the class as the activity is progressing or I can assist
any certain group that is having a difficult time. There is a small summative
assessment in the worksheet, when it is asking about the relationship between the two
systems, but, ideally, this would come in a larger unit where there would be a quiz or
exam about the body systems.
3. The needs of students with disabilities would be met by simple accommodations to
the lesson. If any students have a physical disability, they could walk around the
classroom or move their arms in a chair instead of doing jumping jacks for the
physical activity. An simpler worksheet with larger print and simplistic directions
would help them find the tasks more easily. As a teacher, I could write the steps very
simply on the whiteboard:
1. Take heart rate while sitting
2. Take breaths per minute while sitting
3. Do physical activity
4. Take heart rate right after
5. Take breaths per minute right after
This would help assist students in easily identifying the five steps to this experiment.
They could also have a worksheet where words like “goes up” or “goes down” are
written, so they could just circle an option for seeing the relationships instead of
writing out the relationship between the two systems.
4. Many accommodations for students with special needs can also be applied to ELL
students. The simpler worksheet with reduced wording would help them key in on
important details, as well as having the simple instructions written on the whiteboard.
It would be helpful to students who have trouble with English to have pictures on the
white board next to the word, so the word cardiovascular would have a heart by it and
respiratory would have a picture of lungs by it. It would also be helpful to have
posters with the major words about the systems around the room or on a “word wall”
if this lesson was part of a whole unit. Another idea if this were taken as a unit would
be to have a sheet with all the vocabulary on it with very simple and short definitions
that they could refer to throughout the unit.
5. Equal participation will be met by the fact that everyone needs to complete the lab.
While students are working in groups of two, they will need to communicate with
each other to complete the activity successfully. They will need to each take charge
of the stopwatch and also complete the lab. Since each person in the pair will
complete both roles and fill out their own worksheet, equal participation will be met.
Even when some students are not raising their hands to discuss the “bell ringer” or the
collaborative data, collecting the worksheet will help so that each student’s thoughts
are heard.
Name: _________________
Working Together
“Bell Ringer” Answer:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
1. Take your heart rate while calmly sitting in a chair. Find
your pulse by holding two fingers to the side of your neck.
Have your partner use the stopwatch for 15 seconds.
Multiply this number by 4 to get your resting heart rate in
beats per minute.
Resting Heart Rate: ______________
2. Take your breaths per minute while still sitting in the
chair. Count your breaths while your partner runs a
stopwatch for 30 seconds. After the 30 seconds, multiply
your answer by two to get your breaths per minute.
Resting Breaths per Minute:_______________
3. Do jumping jacks while your partner runs the stopwatch
for 45 seconds. After 45 seconds, immediately measure your
heart rate. Find your pulse by holding two fingers to the side
of your neck. Have your partner use the stopwatch for 15
seconds. Multiply this number by 4 to get your resting heart
rate in beats per minute.
Active Heart Rate:_________________
4. After your heart rate is taken, immediately take your
breaths per minute. Count your breaths while your partner
runs a stopwatch for 30 seconds. After the 30 seconds,
multiply your answer by two to get your breaths per minute.
Active Breaths per Minute: ______________
What relationship do you see between your heart rate and
your breaths per minute when you do physical activity?
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
What do you notice as you exert physical activity? (ie.
Flushed cheeks, feeling awake, sweat)
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Can you think of a way your cardiovascular system (heart
and blood vessels) or respiratory system (lungs) work with
another body system?
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________