Science for Ohio Home

Elements of a Complete Lesson

There are as many ways to craft a lesson as there are teachers, but all well-crafted lessons contain the same basic elements. Use the information below as a guide when crafting your lesson.

Materials Needed
Provide a list of the materials and/or preparation steps needed for your lesson. In Science for Ohio, this is referred to as the Ready... section.

Set
The Set is the introduction and the focus for the learning that will come in the body. In Science for Ohio, this is referred to as the Get Set... section. The following elements should be present in the set:

  • Catch Interest. The best interest catchers are physical materials that students can manipulate or unusual questions that surprise students.
    • Example 1: At the beginning of an inquiry on soil, a bag of leaf litter mixed with topsoil from a forest is distributed to teams of four students. They are directed to empty this soil into a dishtub and are given five minutes to make observations about the soil and the creatures in the soil.
    • Example 2: At the beginning of an inquiry on gravity, Mr. Shoe holds up a bowling ball and a marble and poses the question, "If I drop these, which one will hit the ground first."
  • Introduce the Topic. Give students an outline or summary of what will take place during the inquiry. This will often take 5-30 seconds, but is essential to focusing your students for the learning to come. Include any pertinent objectives for which students will be held accountable (e.g., "At the end of this lesson, you will be expected to know the six processes of the water cycle.").
  • Establish a Knowledge Base. Introduce the terms and/or concepts that will be reinforced by the activity.
  • Establish the Mood/Tone/Climate for Instruction.
    • Tell students how the lesson will be structured (e.g., whole class introduction, then team investigation, then discussion/sharing).
    • Tell students how you expect them to respond during the lesson (e.g., a team hand raise when a team is stuck, heads down at a team table when the task is complete).

Body
The Body is the meat of your lesson. This is where the core investigating/learning takes place. In Science for Ohio, this is referred to as the Go!!! section. Student graphic organizers such as Thinksheets and Data Sheets should be used in the body so that the investigation is consistent with the lesson's purpose. Discussion/questioning time should be incorporated into the body either formally or informally to allow students to clarify questions and share their learning.

Closure
The Closure of the lesson is one of the most underutilized components of "the lesson" in classrooms today. Many teachers (often without realizing it) jump from initial instruction to testing without putting thorough closure on a lesson. The following elements should be present in the closure:

  • Relate Back to the Set. This can be done in one or more of the following ways:
    • Review the key terms and concepts introduced in the set.
    • Discuss the answer to the core question of the lesson (e.g., A bowling ball and marble will fall to the ground at the same rate.).
    • Share media (e.g.,book, video, poem, song) that summarize the focus of the inquiry.
  • Summarize the Main Points of the Body.
    • Review the key terms and concepts that were emphasized during the body.
    • Clarify information on graphic organizers such as Thinksheets and Data Sheets.
  • Provide a Sense of Achievement. Tell students what they did well. Be specific so that your comments build a framework for expectations throughout the year.
    • Example 1: I heard some great questions being asked during the investigation. Cheryl asked if there was a connection between the type of soil and the amount of organisms present.
    • Example 2: I liked the way that teams remembered to use the team hand raise when they needed my help. This allows me to spend more quality time with each team.
  • Evaluate Student Progress Formatively and Summatively.
    • Formative evaluation occurs during the lesson and may include one or more of the following:
      • verbal interaction with students
      • anecdotal notes from "kid watching" with immediate feedback
      • a key question that students respond to in the last few minutes of class time on a small square of paper (e.g., Explain the difference between decomposition and dehydration.). Feedback is given at the end of class or the beginning of the next day's class.
      • other _______________
    • Summative evaluation occurs at the end of the lesson and may include one or more of the following:
      • a quiz/test
      • a project
      • an essay
      • other _______________