Lesson Plan: Observing School Supplies
Grades: K – 3
Sandra May
Kindergarten Teacher
Poinciana Elementary School
Boynton Beach, FL
(Lesson edited and formatted
by Real Curriculum, Inc.)
Summary
Students develop observation skills by identifying objects based on
magnified images.
Topic(s)
• The Skills of a Scientist: Observation and the use of observation
tools
Concepts
• Property
Knowledge
and Skills
• The student understands that all matter has observable,
Equipment
and Materials
• ProScope M2, ProScope HR (recommended) or Scope on a Rope™
measurable properties.
with video capture board
• A set of school supplies (crayons, markers, pencils and pens, art
paper, paper clips, etc.)
• Printouts of images of magnified school supplies (see examples
below)
• Hand lenses and microscopes (if available)
Purpose:
The student will learn how to use various scientific tools to observe properties such as
color, size, and texture of items used in the classroom.
Preparation
Prepare a center set of 10x or 50x magnified photos of school supplies taken with a
ProScope. (Laminate for long-term use.)
Place actual school supplies in a basket at the science center.
© 2007, School and Science Technology Resources.
Lesson Plan: Title
www.schooltr.com
Procedure
Instruct students in the correct use of hand lenses and, if available, microscopes.
Allow time for them to use these tools to look at objects in the classroom (or found
outside) which they select, and to describe what they see.
Ask students to generate a list of “describing words” for the objects they observe, with
and without the lenses/microscopes. In this context, introduce the word “property” as
“something you can observe or measure” and get students to practice using the word
in their descriptions (e.g., “One property I noticed was…”, or “This book has the
property of being green.”)*
Have students notice the properties of the school supplies in the basket and compare
them to properties shown in the images, so as to match each image with the correct
object. (This may be done as a class activity, or you may wish to set up stations for
students to visit individually or in groups of 2-3 members).
As a class activity, use the hand-held microscope to display magnified images of the
objects and verify the matches. (As you do this, be sure to model the action of
describing aloud what you see in the image and the use of the word “property”.)
Examples
Page 2