Inquiry Lesson Plan Template (with Four Ways of Thinking

connection)
Teacher:
Content & Title:
Grade Level:
A Frogs Skin
3rd or 4th
Standards:
4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and
external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and
reproduction (Next Generation Science Standard).
3.MD.A.2 Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using
standard units of grams (g), kilograms (kg), and liters (l).1 Add, subtract,
multiply, or divide to solve one-step word problems involving masses or volumes
that are given in the same units, e.g., by using drawings (such as a beaker with
a measurement scale) to represent the problem (Common Core Math Standard).
Objectives (Explicit & Measurable):
Students will be able to share and support two reasons as to why frogs are more
susceptible to water pollution.
Students will be able to measure the circumference and mass of two hard boiled
eggs, before and after the experiment.
Evidence of Mastery (Measurable Assessment: formative and summative):
Monitor and listen to students reactions/discussions to the experiment
(formative).
The students will make a postcard that shows/explains two ways frogs are
affected by water pollution (summative).
Sub-objectives, SWBAT (steps that lead to completion of objective; sequence from
simple to more complex):
SWBAT measure an object using a ruler and other
SWBAT measure the circumference of an object.
SWBAT determine the mass of an object.

measuring tools.

Lesson Summary and Justification:

In this lesson students will be conducting an experiment to see why frogs are affected more by water
pollution, compared to other animals. In this lesson students will measure the circumference and mass
of their hard boiled eggs, both before and after experiment, so they can see and monitor the affects on
the eggs. This is important for students to understand so they have a stronger understanding of one of
the reasons why frogs are in danger of extinction. At the end of the lesson students will create a
postcard showing/describing how frogs are affected by water pollution students can complete their
postcards using illustrations, writing, or a combination.

Background Knowledge:
Students will need to have a knowledge of how to find the mass and
circumference of an object.
Misconception:
Frogs/amphbians do not have lungs because they breathe through their skin.
Process Skills:
Observation (reinforcing)
Four Ways of Thinking connection:
One type of thinking this lessson connects to is systems thinking. In this lesson students will

think/consider how the water system affects frogs and other amphibians. This includes how water is
polluted by causes such as trash, pesticides, and so on. Throughout this lesson students will learn how
the various water systems (rain, ponds, lakes, rivers, etc.) affect the internal system of frogs and how it
may possibly affect reproduction, growth, behavior, and survival.

Safety: (what safety rules and items need to be addressed?)

Do not eat the eggs.

Do not spill or drink the liquid in the cups/beakers.

Inquiry Questions: (testable in the here and now.)

1. What animal would be more affected by water pollution, a frog or a lizard?
2. What types of pollution might affect frogs and what is the source of this pollution?

Key vocabulary: (list and define)

Materials: (Quanities dependent on class

1. Permeable having openings that liquids (or

gasses) can pass through.
2. Toxic poisonous.

size)
1. Hard boiled eggs (prepared before class)
2. Food coloring (dark colors)
3. Measuring tapes
4. Clear cups or beakers
5. Water
6. Knife

Engage - In this section you should activate prior knowledge, hook student
attention, pose a question (IQ#1) based on your lesson objective that students
will seek to answer in Explore.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:
Discuss the function of skin.
Consider the importance of skin.
Have you ever been in the shower or
Think about the purpose their skin
a pool for a really long time? What
has and how skin is different on
starts to happen to the skin on your
other animals.
fingers and toes?
Why is skin important to mammals?
Discuss how an amphibians skin is
different.
How is an amphbians skin different
from a humans skin?
Introduce the definition of permerable
and describe how frogs have
permerable skin and how they use
their skin to help them breathe.
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
Explore - In this section students should take the lead and actively use materials
to discover information that will help them answer the question posed in
Engage. Teachers may choose to give steps to follow, especially for younger students,
but the goal is for students to discover some or all of the sub-objectives of the lesson.
Teacher Will: (pose IQ #1)
Students Will:
Peel one of the hard-boiled eggs.
Divide students into groups.
Measure the circumference and
Each group will need: 2 eggs, 2 clear
mass of each egg.
cups, and food coloring.

Put each egg in a cup and label

Explain the directions to the students.
the outside of the cup with
See student will section for step by
peeled or unpeeled.
step directions.
Put 20 drops of food coloring in

Monitor the students as they measure

their eggs and place them in their
cups.
WAIT 24 HOURS
Explain directions for the second half
of the activity.

each cup.
WAIT 24 HOURS
After waiting 24 hours remove
both eggs from cups.
Gently peel the egg that still has
the shell on it.
Gently cut each egg in half (from
top to bottom).
Use rulers or measuring tape to
measure how far the food coloring
has moved into egg.
Measure the circumference and
mass of both eggs
Discuss/write down observations.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

Explain In this section students share what they discovered, teacher connects
student discoveries to correct content terms/explanations, students
articulate/demonstrate a clear and correct understanding of the lesson sub-objectives
by answering the question from Engage before moving on.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:
What did you notice about the
Share their observations of their
difference between your two eggs?
eggs.
Which egg absorbed more water?
Discuss obseravations and
predictions with classmates.
Which egg absorbed more food

Think about which egg

coloring?
represented a frog.
Why did this happen?
Discuss how the skin of a frog
Allow students to discuss their
related to the egg in small groups.
answers in small groups.
Which egg do you think represented
the frog?
Frogs and other amphibians have a
unique type of skin.
The skin of these animals is
permeable.
Discuss the definition of permeable
and how it relates to frogs and other
amphibians.
In our activity the shell of the egg
acted like what?
Allow students to give answers to the
question.
The shell acted like skin, like the skin
on reptiles or even humans.
So if you look at your egg that did
not have the shell what predictions
can you make about the skin of frogs
and how they are affected by what is
in the water?
Allow students to share out in small

groups.
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
Elaborate In this section students take the basic learning gained from Explore and
clarified in Explain and apply it to a new circumstance or explore a particular aspect of
this learning at a deeper level. Students should be using higher order thinking in this
stage. A common practice in this section is to ask a What If? question. IQ #2
Teacher Will: (pose IQ #2)
Students Will:
Have students discuss how frogs are
Discuss the effects of pollution on
affected by pollution (specifically
frog populations.
water pollution).
What if I went to a small frog pond
and poured bleach or another
chemical in it?
How do you think this could affect
the way frogs live? How they act?
How they grow?
Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
Evaluate In this section every student demonstrates mastery of the lesson
objective (though perhaps not mastery of the elaborate content). Because this also
serves as a closing, students should also have a chance to summarize the big
concepts they learned outside of the assessment.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:
Now you will create a postcard
Create a postcard showing ways
showing/telling ways that frogs are
frogs
are
affected
by
water
affected by water pollution. Pretend
pollution.
you are making a postcard to send
Use illustrations and text to create
to someone who doesnt know
their postcards.
about frogs and water polluiton. You
can should create your postcards
using pictures and a few sentences
to describe what is happening in
your pictures.
Closure: (revisit objective, IQs and make real world connections)
Ask students to discuss with a partner what they observed during the egg
experiment and how it relates to frogs.
Ask students to discuss possible things that we put in our water system that may
have an impact on frogs.
Talk and debrief with students about water pollution (briefly mention a few
different kinds of water pollution) and how the polluted water makes it way to
frogs.
Discuss what humans use their skin for and what happens to our skin when we
get in water.
**Best Practices List the Best Teaching Practices you will use to enhance
the learning outcomes. In each section where prompted, list the best
practice, how the practices will be used and the purpose.