Lesson Plan for Ground Pollution Lab
Course/Class: Environmental Science
Topic: Ground Water Pollution
Name: M. Parsons
Unit:3
Date: Oct 12,09
Grade:12
A. Intents/Objectives/Purpose
Students will develop an understanding that because of energy-matter cycles pollution does not “disappear”
Students should be able to explain how contaminants can leach through different soil types and rocks and how this affects
humans as well as how humans contribute to amount of contaminants.
B. Activities
C. Resources D. Students
are…
Administration/Homework
 Set out lab materials for the class such as soil samples, food colored water,
and secondary containers.
 Set the classroom up into four groups of five
Soil samples, food
colored water,
secondary catch
dishes, the lab
handouts and the
Groundwater lab
PowerPoint
Presentation.
Just entering
the classroom
and sitting into
groups
1.
Introduction/Set/Advanced Organizers
 Tell students that today’s lesson is going to consist of an in-class lab and a
lab report done as an assignment at home based on ground pollution
 Activate the prior knowledge of the students by reviewing some of the
vocabulary learned in the lesson on the previous day such as aquifer,
porosity, and infiltration on a power point presentation called Groundwater
Lab.
 On the same PowerPoint slides, let the students know the 4 different types
of soil they will be working with today.
PowerPoint
Presentation
called
Groundwater Lab
Listening in
their groups ,
and watching
the power point
presentation
2.
Clarifying/Creating-Understanding/Concept-Development
Power Point, lab
handout
Listening to the
teacher explain
the lab,
watching the
visual
representation
of the lab
procedure.
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Show pictures of the lab procedures so that those students who learn
visually can see what they are going to do as the teacher reviews the
procedures verbally. This is on the same PowerPoint presentation
To motivate learning towards the topic, ask the students to create a
hypothesis as to what they think will happen when the water poured into
soil samples. How fast and why?
Ask the students to designate a group member to be a timer, a pourer, a soil
holder and an observer.
Pass out the lab handout in which the students will look to for lab
completion and for reflection questions.
Remind the students to make sure they observe how fast the food colored
water passed through the soil samples, which soils samples allowed for the
fastest water flow and how did the colored water change or not change
color?
Get the students thinking about real word situations by asking students to
reflect on what they think the water, the food coloring and the soil samples
represent. (Water represents rain or solute that can penetrate the ground,
soil samples is the ground and food coloring is pollution)
Remind students to fill out time chart on their labs so we can compare soil
samples and infiltration speeds at the end of class.
Aoki (1979), Hunter (1982), and Rosenshine and Stevens (1986)
Discussing who
will be each
designated role
in their group
Thinking of the
teacher’s posed
questions and
possibly voicing
their answers.
Lesson Plan for Ground Pollution Lab
3.
Coached/Guide-Practice/Seatwork
 Have the students begin to do the lab experiment as the teacher(s) visit each
group individually
 Watch as the students pour the colored water into the soil and make sure
they are timing how long it takes for the water to go completely through the
soil sample( if over 5 minutes tell them to give up)
 Ask students what they are noticing, in general, as they complete the
experiment
 To influence larger scale thinking, ask why they think the water has changed
color and tell them to think of two possible reasons. Answer: because some
of the fine soil particles came out of the soil sample with the water and that
maybe some of the food coloring (pollution) stayed in the soil and did not
make it to the second container (aquifer).
 After the students have completed the timing and observing process, have
the students volunteer there times for each soil sample they have
 Write these results with Smartboard so that the class is able to see and
compare the times for gravel. Sand, top soil and clay.
 After all the results are up on the Smartboard, ask the class which soil
allowed for the quickest water infiltration time and why they think that is.
(Clay or top soil should have the slowest infiltration time as it is the least
porous and gravel should be the fastest as it is the most porous)
 To refer back to the introduction to the class, and to participate in a more
formal lab set up, ask the students if their hypothesis was correct based on
what they found in their lab results.
4.
Closure/Summary
 Begin to go over the summary questions on the back of the lab handout
which allows the students to think outside the lab, and put the lab results in
the context of everyday, real world experiences. (The water pouring could
be rain, or someone washing their car. The food coloring could represent the
pollutants in the car wash that is now going straight into the ground.) The
direct answers to each question are available on the lab answer key.
 Go over each question with the class, but make sure they understand that
this is just a general debriefing and that they are to pass in their answers as
an informal lab write up.
 Tell the students that the lab is due one week from today
 Allow the students to have an opportunity to think of tomorrow’s lesson by
telling them that pollutants do not always just go into the ground and stay
there, they can also make their way to the oceans. Next Lesson will be Water
Pollution.
5. Homework
For homework the students will have one week to complete their lab. Since they have
done several labs before this, they should have a good understanding of the marking
rubric and how to prepare the lab.
List of summary
questions in the
back of Lab
handout, Smart
Board, computer
Participating in
the lab
procedures in a
timely manner.
Reflecting on
and answering
the questions
posed by the
teacher.
Discussing with
their group
members what
they are seeing
and what that
may mean.
Recording
results.
Lab handout
answer Key
Reporting group
results to the
teacher.
Thinking about
the summary
questions and
possibly sharing
their thoughts
on answers
Listening to the
teacher or
classmates
when they
share their
responses.
6. Review/Assessment
The teacher will assess the student’s understanding of groundwater pollution with
the completion of a lab handout, since many of the discussion questions are based on
thinking critically and interpolating answers, the student’s answers should
demonstrate how well they understood the main ideas with this lab.
EDFX 200—Aoki (1979)—and EDPS 310 cited research—Hunter (1982), Rosenshine and Stevens (1986)—+ homework.