Fogarty Lesson Plan for Magic Schoolbus

The Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean

Lesson Plan

Created by Megan Fogarty

Introduction

This lesson introduces primary grade (2 - 3) students to The Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean. The students have been studying the ocean. They have heard and read many books on the topic. This software will bring the ocean to life and provide information to enhance the students’ knowledge prior to a field trip to Mystic Aquarium. The amount of information presented on this software initially may be overwhelming for students. The whole class will take part in this lesson to learn how to navigate this software.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able:

Identify the question mark as a help button.

Identify the steering wheel and gearshift as links to the Ocean Zones.

Identify Ms. Frizzle and her students as a link to information and games.

Identify the school bus as a link to reports and experiments.

Label the navigational tools on a worksheet.

Instructional Materials

The Magic School Bus Explores the Ocean CD-ROM

LCD Panel and Overhead Projector

Icon Matching Worksheet

Pencils

Lesson Sequence

The teacher will build on prior knowledge by initiating a whole class discussion about the ocean and the life in it.

The beginning of the program introduces Ms. Frizzle and her students.

Clicking on the school bus will turn it into a submarine. Once in the submarine, a speaker will appear. Clicking on the speaker will prompt animal sounds. The teacher will ask students to listen to the sounds and try to identify the animals.

A demonstration of where the steering wheel and gearshift are and how to use them will show students how to locate their desired Ocean Zone.

The teacher will reinforce use of the question mark as a help button.

Evaluation

Students will complete a worksheet by labeling the function of the question mark, the steering wheel and gearshift, the school bus and Ms. Frizzle and her students.

The results of the evaluation will determine if another lesson is necessary.

The teacher will keep a chart of the major functions posted as a reference for students.

Software Evaluation Table of Contents | Table of Contents for Lesson Plans

Last revised January 30, 2001