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Lesson plan · Grades K-2 · 30 minutes

I Spy Science

I can name things in nature and describe them by color, size, parts and texture.

▶ Open the tool Download the tool
Standard
WIDA.ELD-4 WIDA-ELD-2020
Shape
Explore first
Grouping
Whole class on the carpet, with partners.
You need
The tool on the big screen. A few real things to touch: a pinecone, a shell, a leaf, a smooth rock.
Tool
curioclass.org/tools/i-spy-science/
  1. Hook4 min
  2. Explore10 min
  3. Make sense6 min
  4. Apply6 min
  5. Exit check4 min

Before class

  • Open Explore on the Pond.
  • Put the real objects in a bag for Apply.
  • Write the sentence frames on the board: I see a . It is . It has . It feels .

Hook 4 min

  1. Hold up the bag. "I have something from nature in here. It is brown and bumpy. It has lots of scales." Let the class guess. (Pinecone.)
  2. "Scientists describe things so well that other people can picture them. Today we practice."

Explore 10 min

  1. In Explore, tap the frog. It zooms in and says: "Frog. It is green. It is small. It has four legs." Say it together.
  2. Tap two more things at the pond. Each time, a volunteer describes it first, then listen to the tool.
  3. Change to the Garden with the buttons in the side panel. Partners point and whisper one describing word before you tap.
  4. Read the tip each time: is it living or not?

Make sense 6 min

  1. Switch to I spy. Read the clues one at a time: color, size, parts, what it can do. Children point before you tap.
  2. Ask: "Which clue helped you most?" Name the four kinds of words: color, size, parts and texture.
  3. "Which things are living? Which are not? How do you know?"

Apply 6 min

  1. Switch to Describe it. Tap a thing and pick its color, size, parts and texture from the word cards. Press Say it together.
  2. Pass the real objects around. Partners use the frames to describe one: "It is . It feels ."

Exit check 4 min

Play I spy with one thing in the classroom. A child gives two clues using the frames, and the class guesses. Do it with three children. Note who can give a color and a texture word.

Support and stretch

  • Support: beginners point and say one word (green, small).
  • Support: keep the sentence frames on the board and point to each one while speaking.
  • Stretch: compare two things: "The frog is smaller than the duck."
  • Stretch: a child gives all four I spy clues for a thing at the Beach or the Forest floor.

Short on time

  • Explore the pond with three things (5 min).
  • One round of I spy (5 min).

How each button works is in the teacher notes. From Curio Class, free under CC BY 4.0: change it, print it, share it.