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Running head: ISLA Parsons 1

ISLA

Kennesaw State University

Research Practicum I

Kayla Parsons

ISLA Parsons 2

ISLA

Introduction and Demographics:

New Hope Elementary, located in Whitfield County, primarily consists of

Caucasian (59%) and Hispanic students (33%). Dalton is a small town where

majority of people make a living by working in carpet mills. These jobs impact the

socioeconomic status of our students and their families. Therefore, we are

considered a Title I school because 60% of our students are eligible for free or

reduced lunch, actually our entire county is considered to be Title I.  According to

the data, 24% of our students have limited English proficiency and about 10% of our

students are recognized with a disability. The classroom setting is a Brim model,

which is a reduced size classroom with struggling students and students who are on

or almost on grade level. The idea of the Brim model is that the struggling students

will catch up because they will have more one-on-one time with the teacher, and the

students who are on grade level will serve as models for the low performing

students. There are 15 students, 7males and 8 females. There are nine Caucasian

students and six Hispanic. Out of these students, there are 4 ELLs, 10

underperforming students, 8 struggling readers, and five students with an IEP.

Curriculum and Learner Outcomes:

After introducing water pollution and its’ effects, I taught a lesson which

dealt with an oil spill. This lesson will allow students to further explore a specific

type of water pollution, how plants and animals are affected by an oil spill, how

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difficult it is to clean the water once it has been polluted, and how students can

prevent water pollution. The following standard will be addressed:

S3L2. Students will recognize the effects of pollution and humans on the environment.

a. Explain the effects of pollution (such as littering) to the habitats of plants and animals.

ELACC3SL1 Comprehension and Collaboration: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

ELACC3W2 Text Types and Purposes: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Lesson Plan: Central Focus for the Learning Segment: What is the big idea of the lesson?

Students study and explain the effects that an oil spill has on the environment.Content Standard(s): Georgia Science Performance Standards (List the number and text of the standard. If only a portion of a standard is being addressed, then highlight the relevant part[s].)

S3L2. Students will recognize the effects of pollution and humans on the environment.a. Explain the effects of pollution (such as littering) to the habitats of plants and animals.

ELACC3SL1 Comprehension and Collaboration: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

ELACC3W2 Text Types and Purposes: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Learning Objectives associated with the content standards; Begin your objectives with a measureable verb (Refer to Bloom’s Taxonomy Handout):

Students will study and explain the effects of an oil spill on the environment. Students will orally discuss how the environment is impacted by oil spills. Students will write a reflection discussing the difficulty of cleaning up oil spills and

ways to keep our waterways clean.

Instructional Resources and MaterialsFor the charades game:1. Old work shirt2. Ball cap3. Toy car

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For the experiment: Each group of four will need the following materials:1. Two bowls filled half full of water (disposable soup bowls work well)2. One cup of cooking oil3. Three droppers4. Four cotton balls5. Four sponge strips (one household sponge can be cut into 8 – 10 strips)6. Four pieces of yarn (cut into 4-6 inch pieces)7. Four large craft feathers8. One cup of liquid detergent (Dawn works very well)9. Paper towels for cleaning feathers and final cleanup10. Newspaper to line the table11. Four green leaves

For the remainder of the lesson:1. Cup of used motor oil (optional)2. Book: Oil Spill! by Melvin Berger3. Oil Spill PowerPoint

Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks The teacher will use a hands-on activity (oil spill experiment), PowerPoint

presentation (with class discussion), and pictures to meet the needs of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners.

The teacher will present an experimental activity (oil spill, cleaning the water, animals, and plants) and the students will collaborate in groups to discover the effects of the oil spill on the environment (water, plants, animals, and people).

Differentiation and Planned Universal Supports:

Accommodations- struggling students will be given questions based on their ability. ELL students will be provided with extra time to complete their reflections. Students will be placed in mixed-ability groups. Some students will have the questions read aloud and be provided with sentence stems for journal entries.

Early Finishers- Groups who finish early will be provided with another activity to challenge them. The teacher will have groups that finish early to come up with commercials or skits to perform in front of the class. The goal of the commercial is to explain how to decrease water pollution, why it is important to keep our water clean, and how water pollution affects plants, animals, and/or humans (students will perform these on another day).

Scaffolding- I will begin by showing pictures of an oil spill and allow students to have a discussion about what they see. After they discuss this, I will provide more information about the oil spill and oil spills in general. During the experiment, I will provide students with a scenario about what has happened to their “pond,” and allow them to discover what happens. At the end of the lesson, I will read a book that provides more information about oil spills. By the end of the lesson, students should be able to answer the questions provided based on what they have discovered and

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learned throughout the lesson.

Language Demand- Students will write a reflection about the effects that an oil spill has on the environment. Students will orally discuss what they think will happen and what did happen during their experiment with their group members. Students will listen as the teacher reads Oil Spill! by Melvin Berger.

Language Support- The teacher will show pictures of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The teacher will circulate and listen to students as they discuss the effects of their experiments. The teacher will read the book Oil Spill! by Melvin Berger to the students. The teacher should model vocabulary as he/she is talking with students throughout the entire lesson.

Key Vocabulary: booms, dispersants, recycling and disposal centers

Type of Student Assessments and What is Being Assessed: Informal Assessment: Provide the students’ journal questions BEFORE activity to

discuss and see what concepts students already understand. Analyze students’ journal questions AFTER activity to see what concepts need have been mastered and what needs to be taught again.

Formal Assessment: Students will be given a pre-and post-test before and after the lesson on oil spills and its’ effects on the plants and animals.

Modifications to the Assessments: Extra time, read-aloud of questions, and sentence stems provided

Evaluation Criteria:Questions on board for science journal:

Why is it important to keep our water clean? When there is an oil spill, can we clean up all of the oil? Why or why not? Who is affected by an oil spill and how are they affected? How can we protect our waterways from oil pollution?

Criteria Checklist of science journal:____ Participated____ Follows directions____ Worked well with other group members____ Wrote a reflection____ Used at least one new vocabulary word in their writing

Relevant theories and/or research best practices:

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Hands-on learning- According to Gregory and Parry (2006), students remember and connect the information presented better when learning is active and hands-on.

Learning Activities: Give detailed, step-by-step instructions on how you will implement the instructional plan. Describe exactly what student will do during the lesson. Separate using the 5Es Model with time frames (# of minutes per E).

Engage (5-10 minutes)Start the lesson by presenting photos from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill of 1989. Show the pictures on the PowerPoint of the oil spill to students. Allow the children to lead the discussion as they react to the impact the spill had on the environment. Explain that when accidents such as this one occur, emergency teams step in and clean up as much as they can as quickly as they can. The first step taken is to try to contain the spill in one area. A boom is placed around the perimeter of the spill to contain the oil (show a picture of the boom). This is a temporary, floating barrier, usually made of nylon, cotton, and foam, which surrounds the oil. Ask the students what can occur out in the ocean to prevent the barriers from holding in all of the oil. Lead them to see that weather conditions and waves alone can cause some of the oil to get away. There are many measures taken to clean up the oil including using skimmers to remove oil from the water’s surface. Dispersants are also used to help break down the oil. A common household dispersant is liquid detergent. Many other measures are used to help clean up oil spills, but no matter how much time, effort, and money are spent, the environment is still impacted for years.

Explain (10 minutes)Explain that we sometimes hear of major oil spills such as the Exxon Valdez spill, but that similar types of water pollution can occur in our own neighborhoods. Ask the students what types of water pollution can hurt our waterways. Some examples they may list are: trash, fertilizers and manure from farms, runoff of oil from our roadways, and topsoil. Tell them they will focus today on oil because its visibility makes it easy to study and oil presents major problems in our waterways.

To help bring the issue of pollution closer to home, the students will play a charades game with the teacher. Explain that all students are to watch carefully and guess what you are doing. When asked, volunteers will be selected to share their guesses. Dressed as a mechanic (an old blue work shirt and a cap on backward work well), pretend as if you are checking the engine of a car (a toy car can be used as a prop). Ask the students to guess what your occupation is and what you are doing. Continue the charade by changing the oil in the car. Stop and ask again. With your imaginary bucket of oil, search for a place to dump it. Prompt the students to guess that there is a body of water close by. Pretend you are dumping the oil in the water. Then request a summary of what happened.

Prompt the students into a discussion about what the mechanic did wrong, what should have happened, and what effect the oil could have on the area around the water. The

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mechanic should not have dumped the oil into the water. There are special recycling and disposal centers that collect used motor oil. By pouring the dirty oil into the water, plants, animals, and even people can be hurt. The slick oil can stick to the plants and, in essence, suffocate them. By attaching to birds around the area, the oil can prevent them from flying, making them prey for other animals and keeping them from finding their own food. People can be harmed by eating fish that has consumed the dirty oil and by swimming in the water. Also bring up how the pollution is ugly and can take away from the natural beauty of our environment.

Explore (30-35 minutes)Line each table with newspaper to minimize the mess and set up the materials for each group.

Explain that each group has their own mini-ponds, represented by the bowls. A neighbor has decided to dump his motor oil into one of the ponds. Tell the students that used motor oil is dark and thick, unlike the oil they will be using. If possible, bring in some used motor oil to show the class, but do not have them use it in this experiment. For safety reasons, use new cooking oil. Ask each group of students to predict what will happen to the oil when it enters the water. Will it mix with the water or will it remain separate?

Have a student in each group fill a dropper with cooking oil and put a dropper full (about 20 drops) into a bowl of water (Bowl 1). Instruct all students to watch and see if their predictions are correct. Explain that oil and water do not mix together because most kinds of oil are less dense than water. Remind the students of the effects of the oil spill as described in step one. Have students create small swirls in the water. Have students describe what happens. Have students discuss how the properties of oil may make it especially difficult to clean up.

Using Bowl 1, have a student use a dropper to place five drops of liquid detergent into the container. Have all students observe what happens to the oil when the detergent enters the water. Explain that the detergent is a dispersant, similar to those used in major oil spills, which breaks down the oil and can help to clean up the spill. After the students have completed their experiments, have them discuss what they found in their mini waterways with their group members.

Next, tell the students that a neighbor has dumped a large pot of cooking oil into the neighborhood pond after her fish fry. Have a student in each group put a dropper full of the cooking oil into the other bowl (Bowl 2) of water to represent the fish fry oil being dumped in the pond. Each student will pretend as if he or she is a bird. Tell them to “fly” into the oil by gently dipping their feathers into the “pond.” Ask the children to predict in their groups whether or not they can completely clean up their birds. Using clean paper towels, have the students clean their feathers. Ask if all of the oil was removed. Have the students dip their green leaf in Bowl 2. Have them try to clean the leaf with the paper towel.  Explain that they will not be able to remove it all, but their cleanup efforts did help. Have the students describe how plants and birds could be harmed by an oil spill in their groups. Allow groups

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to share what they discussed aloud with the class.

Next explain that each group is to try and clean up the oil spill represented by the bowl of oil and water, which does not contain detergent (Bowl 2). Have each group member get one of each: cotton ball, yarn, and sponge. Explain that cotton balls, sponges, yarn, and paper are not used to clean up actual oil spills, but are made of materials similar to the items used to clean up oil spills. Before letting the students begin, explain that only one dip in the bowl for each person with each item will be allowed. This is done for management purposes and to ensure that oil will remain in the bowls. As the teacher directs the students, they should begin by dipping the yarn into the oil and placing the yarn on their paper towels. Continue with the sponges and the cotton balls. Have each group observe to see if all of the oil is removed from their “ponds” using the materials provided. Discuss that in their ponds there will still be some oil remaining that can hurt the environment.

Then have each group carefully clean up all materials. When the clean up is complete, all students should wash their hands.

Elaborate (10-15 minutes)

Have students gather in large group. Read Oil Spill! by Melvin Berger to reinforce the vocabulary previously discussed (Exxon-Valdez, booms, skimmers). After discussing the book, remind students that many things may pollute our waterways but we chose to look at oil because it was visible. Ask students how they can help protect our waterways from oil pollution. Accept all answers and make a list on the board.

Evaluation (refer to the assessment section)

Closure:Students will answer the following questions in their science journals:

o Why is it important to keep our water clean?o When there is an oil spill, can we clean up all of the oil? Why or why not?o Who is affected by an oil spill and how are they affected?o How can we protect our waterways from oil pollution?

a. Connecting to students: The lesson will connect to students’ lives by showing them that the ocean is

not the only waterway that can be affected by oil spills. It shows students that the ponds, lakes, and streams near their homes can be affected by oil from their cars and even cooking oil that is poured on the ground. The lesson also shows them how it can affect the animals that live in their neighborhoods. This lesson will relate to future lessons about different types of pollution. Students will be able to compare and contrast the things they learned about oil/water pollution with the things they learn about land and air pollution.

References and Credit:

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Instructional plan adapted from https://www.georgiastandards.org/resources/Pages/Environmental_Education_3-5.aspx.

a. References: List in APA format references for both learning strategies and content. Gregory, G., & Parry, T. (2006). Designing brain-compatible learning (3rd ed.).

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Poythress, L. (2013, July 23). Oil spill. Retrieved from

https://www.georgiastandards.org/_layouts/GeorgiaStandards

/UnitBuilder/DWPublicPreview.aspx?wid=89&obj=69269&mode=1

Method:

Students will be provided with a pre- and post test assessment to analyze

their understanding of the performance standard. This assessment will specifically

target how an oil spill can affect the habitats of plants and animals.

Materials:

Teacher instructional PowerPoint will be attached

Formal assessment:

Pre- and Post Assessment (Oil Spill)

For the post assessment, the following answer key will be used to grade students for the first six questions:

1. A2. A3. C4. B5. B

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6. C

On the last four short answer questions, I will use my judgment based on the particular student and what we discussed aloud in class.

Informal assessment:

Questions on board for science journal: Why is it important to keep our water clean? When there is an oil spill, can we clean up all of the oil? Why or why not? Who is affected by an oil spill and how are they affected? How can we protect our waterways from oil pollution?

Criteria Checklist of science journal:____ Participated effectively____ Followed directions____ Worked well with other group members____ Provided a written reflection____ Used at least one new vocabulary word in their writing

Analyzing and Reporting the Data:

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Whole group analysis: According to the first graph, which compares pre and post-

test scores of all students, most all of the students improved their scores. However,

student G’s score decreased and student J’s score remained the same. The reason

student G’s score decreased is because he was absent from school the day the lesson

was presented. Therefore, he was unable to take the test.

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Males Females0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Pre and Post Test Comparison (Males vs Females)

Pre Post

Student Gender

Stud

ent S

core

s

Sub group analysis: According to the second graph, which compares the average

pre and post-test scores of the male students with the females, the female students

did 5.9% better on the pre test and 26.2% better on the post-test than the male

students. One factor that strongly affected the large percentage gap between the

male and female students on the post-test is student G. Since he was unable to take

the test, he automatically received a score of zero on the exam. However, he was still

accounted for in the average scores of the male students, which caused a large

percentage gap between the male and female students’ post-test scores.

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Student F Student E Student I0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Pre and Post Test Comparison (Performance Levels)

Pre Post

Student's Assigned Letter

Stud

ent S

core

s

Individuals Analysis: According to graph three, which compares the performance

levels of three different students (low, medium, and high), you can see that student

F is the low performer, student E is medium performer, and student I is the high

performer, according to the tests. Although all three students performed differently

on the exams, they all improved their test scores. Both student F and I improved

their scores by 20 points or 2 questions and student E improved by 30 points or 3

questions.

Differentiated Instruction:

The experiment conducted will be a hands-on activity (oil spill experiment), PowerPoint presentation (with class discussion) and pictures. These will be used to meet the needs of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners.

Accommodations- Students will be placed in mixed-ability groups. Students who are struggling readers or have an IEP accommodation for reading will have the questions read aloud to them to ensure understanding of what is

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being asked. ELLs and struggling students will be provided with sentence stems for journal entries.

Early Finishers/Gifted- Groups who finish early will be provided with another activity for a challenge. Groups that finish early will create commercials or skits to perform in front of the class. The goal of the commercial is to explain how to decrease water pollution, why it is important to keep our water clean, and how water pollution affects plants, animals, and/or humans (students will perform these on another day).

Scaffolding- I will begin by showing pictures of an oil spill and allow students to have a discussion about what they see. After they discuss this, I will provide more information about the oil spill and oil spills in general. During the experiment, I will provide students with a scenario about what has happened to their “pond,” and allow them to discover what happens. At the end of the lesson, I will read a book that provides more information about oil spills. By the end of the lesson, students should be able to answer the questions provided based on what they have discovered and learned throughout the lesson.

Reporting Data:

Pre- and Post-Test

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As students finish the test, they were to raise their hand for me to grade the

assessment. If they missed anything, I would circle the wrong answers, so that could

go back and fix their mistakes. If students are given a second chance but still have

difficulty correcting their answers, it allows me to see that they have not yet

mastered the topic. In this case, these students will be retaught the concepts, in a

small group conducted by the teacher. The most common questions missed will be

focused on during the re-teaching of the concept.

Reflection:

For this activity, I decided to use two different assessments. The pre

assessment was to help me decide what the students already knew well and what

the students needed the most instruction on, and the post assessment would help

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me determine the effectiveness of my teaching of the lesson plan. On the pre-

assessment, all but two students selected the correct answer for number five, so I

knew that students would need the least instruction about the recycling symbol.

Also, on the pre-assessment, seven out of fifteen students selected the wrong

answer for number seven. I was surprised because it discussed an oil spill and a ship

and the students who selected the wrong answer put land pollution instead of water

pollution. I believe the students may have misunderstood this question because they

may have associated oil with cars, which drive on land. This data helped me to

determine the subject in which my lesson should be about; I decided that I should

discuss water pollution, specifically dealing with oil spills.

Although the post assessment was different from the pre-assessment, I

decided to use the same question from the pre-assessment about oil spills, that most

of the students missed, on the post assessment. The question that was most

successful on the post assessment, number six, was the question that majority of the

students got correct on the exam. This time, only two students, student M and

student F, selected the wrong answer rather than the seven before. Student M

selected land pollution on the pre-test, but selected air pollution on the post.

However, I found it interesting that he missed four out of six multiple-choice

questions, but did excellent in answering the four short answer questions on the

back. This could indicate the type of test-taker he is. Student F selected the correct

answer on her pre-test, but selected land pollution on the post-test. Student F is an

ELL student and often has a difficult time with understanding vocabulary. I am

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curious to find out if she misunderstood the question, so I will need pull her aside

and ask her the question again aloud to see if this may have been the case, or if she

really did not know the correct answer.

The question that students were least successful in answering on the post

assessment was problem number four which dealt with dispersants; twelve of the

students selected the wrong answer for this question. This data shows me that I was

unsuccessful in explaining and showing students what a dispersant is. Also, many of

the students struggled to answer the short answer questions on the back. However,

they have not been given many opportunities to practice short answer questions

this year.

For this lesson, I used pictures alongside the vocabulary words to explain the

important vocabulary that I wanted students to understand. Also, since I have many

low learners and ELL students, I used a hands-on activity in which students could

physically see what happens when there is an oil spill. Students worked in small

groups to predict what they thought would happen, and discuss what we really

occurred. This was the first time that the students had been given the opportunity to

complete a hands-on experiment where they had to follow step-by-step

instructions.

The data indicated students did better on the questions that they had actually

experimented with. For example, the students had to dip feathers and leaves into

the oily water and attempt to clean off the oil. After they discovered it could not be

completely cleaned off by using the paper towels, we had a class discussion about

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how this could affect animals and plants. The students gave many of the answers we

discussed in class on number seven of the post-test. The questions that the students

struggled with most were the ones that involved vocabulary terms. For example,

students had a difficult time answering questions four and five, which discussed

dispersants and booms. I feel that I could have done a better job in discussing the

vocabulary terms by repeating the words throughout the lesson, reviewing them

after we had completed the experiment, or even showing them a video that

discusses these.

For the informal assessments, I walked around and listened to students as

they made predictions, and their discussions after they had realized what happened.

I would also prompt questions about their discoveries. Some students did not see

what I had wanted them to, so I had them redo what was being asked and pointed

out and explained what I had wanted them to see. Also, as a whole group, I had each

small group tell the class what happened, so that they could see that everyone had

gotten the same results. These informal assessments allowed to me steer students in

the right direction if they did not understand. According to Gregory and Parry

(2006), students remember and connect the information presented better when

learning is active and hands-on. After viewing the data, I can see that this statement

is accurate because the students did best on the questions that were related to the

hands-on experiment.

After viewing the data, I will differentiate instruction and place students in

various groups based on which concepts they did not understand. Since the first six

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questions of the exam only deal with vocabulary, I will focus my group activities on

the back four questions, which are the main concepts that I want students to

understand. I will also have every group come to me to discuss and experiment with

dispersants, since the majority of the class did not understand the term. If students

failed to understand more than one concept, I will have them visit the activities in

which they need to understand. For example, if they did not understand how an oil

spill can affect people, plants, or animals, they will be sent to a station to do the

same experiment but they will also be given materials such as books and pictures

that explain how the oil can harm people plants and animals. Students who

understood the concepts will be given extension activities that build upon their

knowledge.

According to Ronis (2006), educators should use authentic tools like projects,

discussions, and portfolios in addition to paper and pencil tests to display students’

comprehension of subjects. I believe this statement is accurate because if I had not

walked around and had discussions with my students during the lesson and only

looked at their test scores, I would think that my lesson was not very successful.

However, although my students did not make wonderful scores on their tests, I

know that most students did understand the concepts based on class discussions. I

do not believe that the test I provided was the best indicator of how well the

students understood the concepts. After re-teaching and students visit the stations, I

would provide an authentic assessment by having the students create a book about

what they learned, and I would also have them re-take the post assessment. In

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future lessons, I will still provide tests, but I will try to also provide authentic

assessments that I can compare with the traditional multiple-choice/short answer

test.

When I re-teach the concepts using more differentiation, all of the students

will be required to take the post-test again. The students will use the feedback they

were provided to help improve their scores. Students will be given a chance to look

over their graded post-test before the lesson begins, so that they can use the

feedback to improve their scores.

After completing this assignment and teaching the lesson, I have thoroughly

analyzed and considered the learning goals I would like set for myself as an

educator. First of all, I found that many students were lost as we were conducting

the experiment. I discovered that this was due to my instructions, which caused

miscommunication and confusion. I should have modeled and explained what to do

more thoroughly, ensuring that my instructions were clear and concise. Secondly, I

need to be more aware of my time management in order to ensure that we have

enough time to conclude and review what we have discussed. This is the most

important part of lesson to ensure that the learning sticks with students and

vocabulary is heard more than once. Last but not least, since I tested students on the

vocabulary of oil spills, I should have not only discussed the vocabulary terms but

shown an example, picture or video, of how to apply this new word.

There are a few steps I will take in improving these performance areas. First,

when giving instructions, rather than just saying what to do aloud, I will not only tell

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students how to complete the task, but also show how to do it step-by-step in order

to meet both my visual and auditory learners and reduce confusion. I will also begin

to set a timer, in order to ensure that I do have enough time at the end of any lesson

to close and review what has been discussed, so that the concepts will stay with

students and they understand the purpose of the lesson.

References

Gregory, G., & Parry, T. (2006). Designing brain-compatible learning (3rd ed.).

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

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Ronis, S. (2006). Authentic learning. (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin