Math Lesson: Shape the Seasons
Lesson Plan
45 minutesGrades1Mathematics
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Written by Jess Napolitano, Sustainable Jersey for Schools
About this lesson
In this lesson, students find shapes in nature and discuss the seasons before applying their knowledge of both in an art project.
Inquire: Students sort and categorize the characteristics of each season.
Investigate: Students listen to a read aloud of Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak to learn about the seasons and identify shapes found in nature.
Inspire: Students make designs to show the characteristics of the seasons using geometric shapes.
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Everything you need to teach it
- Teacher SlideshowOpen
- Student DocumentOpen
- Teacher DocumentOpen
- Vocabulary CardsOpen
- Teacher Answer KeyOpen
Teaching tips
Suggestions
- Before the lesson, the teacher creates the Season Stations.
- Teacher posts 4 large pieces of chart paper labeled for each season.
- Teacher provides sticky notes and drawing tools for students to use.
- Students travel to each Season Station and sketch an item, activity, or clothing item that reminds them of each season on a sticky note.
- Students are encouraged to draw something that is not already on the chart.
- The suggested time at each station is 2-3 minutes.
- All ideas are welcome, but specific clothing and activities that match the weather associated with that season are encouraged.
- Teacher creates poster anchor charts from student suggestions with illustrations for reference during the lesson or displays student work directly.
Prerequisites
- Students listen to the story Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak. See the Teacher Document for the Read aloud Guide including discussion questions and guidance in finding shapes in nature.
- Students complete the Sort the Seasons activity in the Student Document, drawing lines from each picture to its correct season. This can be used as a formative assessment.
Differentiation
- Students create displays representing each season using geometric pattern blocks and the Seasonal Shapes Template in the Student Document.
- Students participate in a closing discussion explaining their designs and summarizing their learning. See Teacher Slideshow for questioning and sentence frames.
From the scientist review
In this lesson, students will learn about seasons and weather patterns. They will also study geometric shapes and how to relate them to the different seasons in New Jersey. Our science review of this lesson was complete and satisfactory.
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About the teacher writers
Jess Napolitano
Jess Napolitano has been teaching since 2009 and has 17 years of experience in elementary education. She teaches science, social studies, English language arts, mathematics, and health for third-grade students. Jess holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Early Childhood Education from Kean University and is a Google Certified Educator, National Geographic Certified Educator, and Starlab Planetarium Certified educator. She also serves as a technology leader, supporting STEM and computer science education through technology integration and professional development.
Sustainable Jersey for Schools
Sustainable Jersey is a network and movement of municipalities, schools and school districts working collectively to bring about a sustainable New Jersey. Acting with state agencies, non-profit organizations, foundations, academia and industry, Sustainable Jersey researches best practices for what communities could and should do to contribute to a sustainable future.
