CEP Lesson Plan Form

Teacher: Lexi Reeves

School: Steamboat Springs Middle School

Date: 09/24/16
Grade Level: 8

Title: Electroscope Lab/Demonstration

Content Area: Science

Lesson #:_1_ of _1_

Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson:

Standard: 1. Physical Science: 2. there are different forms of energy, and those forms of energy can be
changed from one form to another but total energy is conserved.
Inquiry Questions:
1. Which forms of energy can be directly observed, and which forms of energy must be inferred?
2. Is there a limit to how many times energy can be transferred? Explain your answer.
3. How are the subatomic particles affected as the balloon is brought near the
terminal/conductor?
4. How is electricity and the energy types that we have previous learned about related?
Concepts and skills students master:
-

Static electricity is electricity that stays in one place

o

Static electricity can be generated through friction

Electricity is the movement of electrons between atoms.

A conductor is a material that allows for free flowing movement of electrons through an
object

An insulator is a material that restricts the flow of electrons

Energy transfers convert electricity to light, heat, or kinetic energy in motors.

Evidence Outcomes: (Knowledge/ Skills, Lesson Objectives)

Every student will be able to:
-

Understand the concept of free flowing electrons

Identify the conductor and insulator in the electroscope

Create an electroscope that demonstrates repulsion of the like charges with aluminum
leaves

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

Assessment of Evidence Outcomes:
-

Students will complete worksheets/handouts

I will go over each question with them as a group through discussion to make sure that the
objectives have been met.

Students will turn in worksheet and numbers 3 and 6 for correctness to check for
understanding individually

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

Planned Lesson Activities

Activity Name

Should be a creative title for you and the children to associate with the activity.
Electroscope Lab/Demonstration

Approx. Time

How long do you expect the activity to last?

One, 50 minute period (1 Day)
Warm Up #6: Electroscope Day (5 minutes)

Anticipatory Set

1.

What types of charges attract each other?

2.

What types of charges repel each other?

3.

Provide an example of each:

a. A conductor:
b. An insulator:

4.
Teaching/
Presentation:
(Select the most
appropriate teaching
model.)
-direct instruction
-presentation model
-concept teaching
-cooperative learning
-inquiry

Name the 3 subatomic particles:

Includes: Input, Modeling and Checking for Understanding (10 minutes)

1. Input: The teacher provides information needed for the students to gain the knowledge through lecture, film,
etc.
We will discuss the answers to the warm-up questions and go over examples of conductors and insulators briefly.
Once this is complete we will transition to the electroscope handout and informational slide.
2. Modeling: Once the material has been presented, the teacher uses it to show students examples of what is
expected as an end product of their work. The critical aspect s are explained through labeling, categorizing,
comparing, summarizing, etc.
I will transition the class to the electroscope handout and project the informational slide on the smart board that
will serve as a visual model of what they will be building. We will then read the materials and procedure list
together. All direction for success of the lab will be given here. In addition to instruction, we will review the lab
safety rules that are aligned with this lab.

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

3. Checking for Understanding: Determination of whether students have got it before moving on. It is essential
that the students practice doing it right so the teacher must know that the students understood before
proceeding to practice. If there is any doubt that the class has not understood, the concept or skill should be
retaught before practice begins.
I like the thumbs up/sideways/down method for checking for understanding: Once everything has been
explained I will check for understanding by asking students to show a thumbs up for got it, thumbs down for
lost/confused, and thumbs sideways for I still have questions. At this point I will assess whether or not I need
to spend more time on the material covered:
- If there are 5 or less students with a thumbs sideways or down I will let the class continue and then check in
with them individually. More than 5 and I will take questions as a class.
4. Questioning Strategies: Utilizing the Blooms Taxonomy of Educational Objectives- Questions should progress
from the lowest to the highest of the six levels of the cognitive domain (knowledge, comprehension, application,
analysis, synthesis and evaluation) (these will be used throughout the WHOLE Lesson as the day progresses)
- L1: Knowledge:
o Can you recall from the warm-up what type of charges attract? Repel?
-

L2: Comprehension:
o Can you infer what will happen to the aluminum leaves when you bring the balloon near the
terminal?
o Can you explain what is happening in the electroscope on a subatomic level using the vocabulary
words terminal, conductor, insulator, electrons, and protons?
L3: Application:
o How could you apply what you have learned to build a circuit?
L4: Analysis:
o What evidence can you find from this lab to support what you know about electricity?
o What is the function of the balloon?
o What is the function of the paper clip?
L5: Synthesis:
o Using what you know about electricity could you formulate a theory that explained why the
aluminum leaves separated?
L6:Evaluation:
o Can you recommend a better conductor or insulator for the electroscope that would create a better
visual of electricity? Justify your recommendation based on your knowledge of conductors,

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

insulators, and electricity.
Teaching Strategy:
Guided Practice
&
Differentiation

Teaching Strategy:
(Independent
Practice)

Closure

Materials

(25 minutes)
I will release the class to begin running off of student led learning through engagement of the lab/demonstration. I will
observe, praise, prompt, and leave.
I will prompt students with open ended questions regarding the portion of the experiment they are on (this activity is
group-paced over the whole day so groups may be at different steps) in order to generate further thought and
application.
*These questions go in order as the experiment progresses. Any question is viable depending on where the group in
question is at in the lab process. (See the Blooms questions from above too.)
- Draw your electroscope on your paper and label each piece: conductor, insulator, and terminal. Use this to
help you understand what is happening to the subatomic particles throughout the electroscope.
- What are you doing when you rub the balloon on your head?
o What are you generating by doing this?
o How does this create a flow of electrons?
In Lesson plan #7 the students are using the skills that they acquired from this lab and transferring those ideas into
another lab. These labs are being used as a precursor to enhance their electricity knowledge that they may be able to
apply the idea of energy transfer to electricity and then to a motor and a generator. Later lesson plans are also used to
reinforce the ideas and knowledge that they gained from this activity (Lesson Plan 6, 7, 8, and 9 will all reinforce these
ideas of electricity through energy transfer).

(10 minutes)
We will have a class discussion over all of the questions that are included in the worksheet. We will focus largely on
questions 3, 4, and 6. An understanding of these questions will help the students to gain better insight to what is
happening on a subatomic level with electricity. We will also draw and label our own electroscope on the board to refer
to while discussing the movement of electrons and protons and how this relates to electricity.

14, 500mL beakers

14, 3x5 index cards
28 strips of aluminum foil (2 per beaker)
14 paper clips
14 balloons blown up and tied

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

Accommodations
&
Modifications

56 electroscope worksheets
1 pencil for every student
To modify:
IEP students: Students will be placed in a group that will aid in the learning of all level students
- Orally present/explain data gathered to teacher I have one student that is unable to write
- Questions for students will be in multiple choice form and fill in the blank rather than short answer.
o Words banks will be provided for fill in the blank
o Applied to questions 1-6 of electroscope activity.
To extend:
- Once students have completed the electroscope activity they will try to build another electroscope using
materials that are available to them around the science lab.
o They will have to understand the definitions of conductor and insulator and understand the flow of
electrons to complete this.
- Another option is to describe the flow of electrons in both directions
o Then try to get the aluminum leaves to attract rather than repel and explain the procedure and
concluding thoughts on a separate piece of paper.

Assessment

Students will turn in worksheet and numbers 3 and 6 for correctness to check for understanding individually
I will hold a group discussion to make sure that the objectives have been met:
o

Understand the concept of free flowing electrons

Identify the conductor and insulator in the electroscope

Draw and label an electroscope and label the flow of subatomic particles as the balloon is brought to
the terminal (conductor)

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

Post Lesson Reflection

1. To what extent were lesson objectives achieved? (Utilize assessment data to justify
your level of achievement)
Based on our closure activity group discussion, I believe that the objectives were achieved.
The objectives for this lesson were:
-

Understand the concept of free flowing electrons

Identify the conductor and insulator in the electroscope

Create an electroscope that demonstrates repulsion of the like charges with aluminum
leaves

In our group discussion, that was mostly student led, I didnt have to teach the material. The
students took the initiative and developed an understanding of the activity through exploring
and using each other as resources. I was there, mainly, to facilitate continuous learning and
offer open-ended questions to help keep them thinking and learning. During the group
discussion, I had a students answering students questions. It was amazing to see them all work
together in their small groups and then also again as a whole class. Based on the conversation I
would say that the objectives were met at a high level.
Based on the data from their electroscope worksheets, every student was able to receive full or
partial credit on questions 3, 4, and 6. These are the questions that reflect the objectives most,
in my opinion. Since all of the students received full or partial credit for these questions and it
was the first time that they were learning about electricity I would say that they were able to
achieve the objectives at a high level for this activity.
2. What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would you make if you were to
teach again?
If I were to teach this again, I would keep the worksheet the way it is currently and add a
section for a conclusion. I did have them write their concluding thoughts in the box on the front
of the worksheet, however, they did this as more of an addition to what they observed. I would
have them write a full conclusion paragraph for homework after we were able to have a group
discussion about the activity.
By adding the conclusion paragraph, I can see the students who have truly achieved the
objectives. This conclusion paragraph would serve as a mini assessment to see if I needed to
cover the material again before moving on.
3. What do you envision for the next lesson? (Continued practice, reteach content, etc.)
As mentioned in the CEP Lesson plan above, I will be continuing the electricity practice in lesson
plan #7- Electricity & Magnetism Stations Lab (2 days). This will be an extension of the introduction to
electricity that they received today.

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

Direct Instruction
Presentation Model
Concept Teaching
Cooperative Learning
Describe or demonstrate
Describe or demonstrate
Describe or demonstrate
Describe or demonstrate
the lesson introduction
the lesson introduction
the lesson introduction
the lesson introduction
including how you
including how you
including how you
including how you
establish set (i.e., prepare establish set (i.e., prepare establish set (i.e., prepare establish set (i.e., prepare
students to learn) and how students to learn) and how students to learn) and how students to learn) and how
you share the lesson
you share the lesson
you share the lesson
you share the lesson
outcome.
outcome.
outcome.
outcome.
Demonstrate or list the
task analysis of the skill or
procedure (i.e., define
precisely what the
learners need to do)
Describe or demonstrate
your modeling of the skill
or procedure.
Describe or demonstrate
guided practice including
the second (or third)
example and then address
your method to check for
understanding (i.e., how
you assess student
learning before moving to
the next stage). Include
examples of feedback you
provide for correct and
incorrect student
responses.
Describe or demonstrate

Describe or demonstrate
an advance organizer.
Describe, picture or
demonstrate learning
materials and activities
specific to the options of
this model (e.g., explaining
links and examples; ruleexample-rule; signposts
and transitions). Two or
more of the teaching and
learning activities are rich
and engaging.
Describe, list or
demonstrate one or more
questions, or a discussion
structure you provide to
extend your students
thinking on the content.
Describe or demonstrate
how your students
demonstrate their

Describe or demonstrate
all of the critical attributes
of the concept, identify
the class or category to
which the concept
belongs.
Describe or demonstrate a
clear progression of
examples and nonexamples; deduction is
illustrated through the
early definition of the
concept; induction is
illustrated through
definition of the concept
late in the activities.
Describe or demonstrate
the assessment processes
you use to test for
acquisition of the concept
at key points during the
presentation of examples
and non-examples.

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Inquiry
Describe or picture the
instructional materials and
resources you use to
reveal their creativity,
functionality, and
appropriateness to the
question(s) posed.
List the specialists and
field experiences you
included.

Describe or demonstrate
the assessment methods
you use to determine the
academic progress of
Describe or demonstrate
EACH student in the class
how you inspire curiosity
(i.e., make each student
on the part of your
individually accountable)
students. Describe or
and how you assess the
demonstrate your review
social and/or interpersonal of classroom guidelines for
skills identified for
social and/or interpersonal
acquisition or practice
skills
during the lesson.
Describe or demonstrate
Describe or demonstrate
how you prompt
the grouping arrangement
investigative processes.
and
Reveal how you facilitate
the ways in which you
your students efforts as
promote positive
they propose how to
interdependence between gather information, study,
group members.
craft an experiment,
observe and/or conduct
Describe or demonstrate
interviews.
the instructional materials
and resources; address
Write or demonstrate a
resource interdependence sample question through
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CEP Lesson Plan Form

your method of
independent practice.
Two or more of the
teaching and learning
activities during guided
and independent practice
are rich and engaging.
Describe or demonstrate
how your students
demonstrate their learning
after instruction (e.g., a
quiz, ticket-to-leave, etc.).

learning. Address
assessment methods
during instruction (i.e.,
checking for
understanding), and after
instruction (e.g., a quiz,
ticket-to-leave, etc.).

as necessary.
Describe, list or
demonstrate one or more
questions, or a discussion
structure you provide to
extend your students
thinking on the concept.
Two or more of the
teaching and learning
activities are rich and
engaging.
Describe or demonstrate
how your students
demonstrate their learning
after instruction (e.g.,
students summarize their
definition of the concept
orally or in writing, etc.).

Describe or demonstrate
your directions for group
formation, rearranging
furniture (If necessary)
and how
materials/resources are
distributed.
Describe or demonstrate
the expectations for
demonstration of
interpersonal and small
group skills
Two or more of the
teaching and learning
activities are rich and
engaging.
Describe or demonstrate
your method to check for
understanding (i.e., a
description of how you will
assess student learning
academically and socially)
as you circulate among the
groups as well as the
feedback you provide.

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which you assist students

to make connections
and/or discover new
knowledge
Summarize or
demonstrate your method
to help students share
their new ideas with
others. Possible formats
include a panel discussion,
a debate, a gallery walk, a
science fair, etc. Frame or
illustrate two questions
during which you assist
your students to discuss
the conclusions they can
draw from their collective
effort.
Describe or demonstrate
two or more teaching and
learning activities that are
rich and engaging.
Reveal how you promote
reflection. Share one
question that may prompt
students to reflect on the
process they followed;
share a second question
that prompts students to
identify new questions
that arose from this
lesson.

CEP Lesson Plan Form

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