5E Lesson Plan with Interactive Simulations

Updated 2026-10-02

A 5E lesson plan gives a science or math lesson a clear arc: students get curious, explore, make sense of what they found, apply it and show what they know. Interactive simulations fit this model unusually well, because one simulation can serve several phases. It can be a hook on the projector, an investigation in pairs and an assessment task at the end. This guide explains the 5E model briefly, shows what the simulation does in each phase, and then gives a complete, timed 5E lesson on the rate of photosynthesis with the data students will really collect. You'll also get a blank template to reuse with any simulation and ideas for adapting the plan to your class.

What is the 5E model?

The 5E instructional model was developed by BSCS in the late 1980s. It is now one of the most widely used lesson structures in science education. It is built on a simple idea: students understand a concept better when they meet the phenomenon before the explanation.

The five phases are:

Engage: spark curiosity and surface what students already think.
Explore: students investigate hands-on before any formal teaching.
Explain: students share findings, and the teacher introduces the vocabulary and the model.
Elaborate: students apply the idea to a new situation or a harder problem.
Evaluate: students and teacher check understanding against the goal.

The order matters. In a traditional lesson, the explanation comes first and the activity confirms it. In a 5E lesson, the activity comes first, so the explanation lands on real experience. The phases aren't strictly linear either. You can evaluate informally throughout and loop back to Explore when an explanation doesn't hold.

How simulations fit each phase

Phase	What the simulation does	Typical format
Engage	Shows a surprising result or poses a question with a locked prediction	Projector in present mode, whole class
Explore	Lets students change variables and collect data quickly	Pairs or small groups on devices, via link or QR code
Explain	Provides shared evidence to point at while you name the concept	Projector, with student results on the board
Elaborate	Sets a challenge with new values or a different screen of the same simulation	Pairs, often a pinned link with new starting values
Evaluate	Carries a question set with number, multiple-choice and short-text answers	Individual, nickname only, results table for the teacher

Two features make this work smoothly. First, present mode (add ?present=1 to the play link) shows the simulation on the projector with a "Show QR code" button. Students scan the code and move from the Engage demo to their own devices in seconds. Second, a question set attached to the link can include prediction questions that lock the simulation until students commit. Those predictions can be asked again after the experiment, which gives you a built-in before and after across the whole lesson.

Complete 5E lesson: what affects the rate of photosynthesis?

Level: ages 12–16 (middle school life science or high school biology) Time: 60 minutes Simulation: Photosynthesis – counting oxygen bubbles in pondweed Learning goal: Students can describe how light intensity, CO₂ concentration and temperature affect the rate of photosynthesis, and use the idea of a limiting factor to explain why the rate levels off.

Photosynthesis – counting oxygen bubbles in pondweed

The simulation shows a sprig of pondweed under a funnel. In light it releases oxygen bubbles, and the number of bubbles per minute measures the rate of photosynthesis. Students drag the lamp or use sliders for light intensity (0–100%), CO₂ concentration in the water (0–0.1%) and temperature (0–50 °C). A graph plots the rate against the chosen factor, and the info line shows the current rate in bubbles per minute.

Before the lesson (10 minutes of prep)

On the Share page, create a link for the class (for example "Photosynthesis – 8C"). Pin the starting values: light 60%, CO₂ 0.04%, temperature 25 °C, graph axis light intensity, bubble counter on.
On the Questions tab, build a question set (see Evaluate below) and attach it to the link.
Print or post the data table for the Explore phase.

Engage (8 minutes)

Open the link in present mode on the projector. Let the bubbles run for 20 seconds without comment, then ask: "What is coming out of the plant? Where does it come from?"

Collect answers, then drag the light slider to 0. The bubbles stop. Ask: "What does that tell us?" Students usually connect light and photosynthesis quickly. Now pose the real question: "If we keep making the light brighter, what happens to the bubble rate?"

Students answer the first prediction question on their devices (scan the QR code). The simulation stays locked until they commit:

P1 (multiple choice): As the light gets brighter and brighter, the rate of bubbles will…

1. keep rising at the same pace
1. rise, then level off ✔
1. stay the same
1. fall

Don't reveal the answer. Most classes split between A and B, which is exactly the tension you want for Explore. If you want more on running predictions, see Predict–Observe–Explain with simulations.

Explore (17 minutes)

Students work in pairs. Every pair starts with light intensity, keeping CO₂ at 0.04% and the temperature at 25 °C. They set the light to each value and record the rate from the info line.

Expected results from the simulation:

Light intensity (%)	0	20	40	60	80	100
Rate (bubbles/min)	0	33	45	52	56	59

After 8 minutes, split the class. Half the pairs investigate CO₂ (light back to 60%, temperature 25 °C). The other half investigate temperature (light 60%, CO₂ 0.04%). Each pair switches the graph axis to match its factor.

CO₂ concentration (%)	0	0.02	0.04	0.06	0.08	0.10
Rate (bubbles/min)	0	37	52	61	66	70

Temperature (°C)	5	15	25	30	35	40	45	46
Rate (bubbles/min)	1	16	52	61	52	33	16	0

The bubble counter also counts real bubbles over time. Its count fluctuates a little, so tell students to use the rate in the info line for the table and the counter as a check.

Circulate and ask one question per pair: "Which change made the biggest difference? Where did the curve start to flatten?"

Explain (12 minutes)

Bring the class together. Put the three graph shapes on the board, drawn from the students' data:

light and CO₂: rise, then level off (saturating curves);
temperature: rise to a peak around 30 °C, then fall, and stop above 45 °C.

Now name the ideas:

Photosynthesis equation: carbon dioxide + water → glucose + oxygen, using light energy absorbed by chlorophyll. The simulation displays this word equation next to the current rate.
Limiting factor: the rate is held back by whichever factor is in shortest supply. When the light curve flattens, light is no longer the limit. Something else is.
Enzymes and temperature: photosynthesis relies on enzymes. Warmth speeds them up, but too much heat denatures them, which is why the curve has an optimum.

Return to P1. Ask a student who chose A to explain why it seemed reasonable, then use the light data to show the leveling off. Keep this short. The data has done most of the work.

Elaborate (15 minutes)

Give pairs a challenge: "At 100% light the rate is only about 59 bubbles/min. Without changing the light, find settings that push it above 85."

Students have to use the limiting-factor idea. Raising CO₂ to 0.1% and the temperature to 30 °C does it: at 100% light the rate reaches about 92 bubbles/min. With those settings, ask them to redo the light series:

Light intensity (%), CO₂ 0.1%, 30 °C	0	20	40	60	80	100
Rate (bubbles/min)	0	51	71	81	88	92

The whole curve has moved up. That is the key evidence that CO₂ and temperature were limiting before. Finish with a real-world link: "Why do some commercial greenhouses add CO₂ and heating, not just lamps?"

For older or faster students, the photosynthesis and compensation point simulation adds respiration and net photosynthesis, and shows the light compensation point.

Photosynthesis rate – light, CO₂, temperature and the compensation point

Evaluate (8 minutes)

Students answer the rest of the question set individually, below the simulation. P1 is asked again so each student can compare their before and after answers.

P1 again: As the light gets brighter, the rate will… (B ✔)
Number: With light 60%, CO₂ 0.04% and 25 °C, what rate does the simulation show? Answer 52 bubbles/min, tolerance ± 2.
Multiple choice: With light at 100%, CO₂ at 0.04% and 25 °C, which single change raises the rate most?
- 1. Raise the temperature to 30 °C
- 1. Raise CO₂ to 0.1% ✔ (rate rises to about 80, compared with about 69 for option A)
- 1. Move the lamp even closer
Number: At what temperature is the rate highest? Answer 30 °C, tolerance ± 2 °C.
Short text: Why does the rate fall above about 35 °C and stop above 45 °C? Model answer: the enzymes that control photosynthesis are damaged (denatured) by high temperatures, so the reactions slow down and then stop.

Add an explanation after question 3: "At 100% light, light is close to saturation. CO₂ was the factor in shortest supply."

After class, open the results table for the link. If many students missed question 3, start the next lesson with the Elaborate challenge again rather than moving on. For more on acting on results, see using simulations for formative assessment.

Reusable 5E template for any simulation

Copy this structure and fill in the brackets.

Topic: [concept] · Simulation: [name and link] · Time: [45–60 min] Learning goal: Students can [observable verb] [relationship or value].

Phase	Time	Teacher does	Students do	Simulation setup
Engage	5–10 min	Projects the simulation, asks a puzzling question	Commit to a prediction (locked prediction question)	Present mode, pinned starting values
Explore	15–20 min	Circulates, asks "what changed most?"	Change one variable at a time, fill in a data table	Class link via QR code; groups split variables
Explain	10–12 min	Collects patterns, names the concept and vocabulary	Present findings, revisit their prediction	Projector, student data on the board
Elaborate	10–15 min	Sets a challenge in a new context	Apply the concept to reach a target	Same simulation, new values or a different screen
Evaluate	5–10 min	Reviews the results table after class	Answer the question set individually	Up to 5 questions; prediction asked again

Checklist before you teach:

Have I run every step in the simulation myself and noted the real values?
Does the Engage question have a common wrong answer?
Does Explore come before any formal explanation?
Does Elaborate need the concept, not just more of the same data?
Can each Evaluate question be marked automatically or in under a minute?

Adapting the plan

Projector only, no student devices. Run Explore as a whole-class investigation. Pairs take turns calling out a value to test, and everyone records the results. Collect predictions on mini whiteboards. You lose the automatic results table, but every phase still works.

Short periods (40–45 minutes). Split across two lessons. Engage, Explore and a quick summary on day 1. Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate on day 2. The class link keeps the same starting values both days.

Flipped or homework Engage. Send the link home with the prediction question and five minutes of free exploration. Start the lesson from the results table. Students don't need accounts, so a QR code on a printed sheet or a post in your LMS is enough. See how to embed a simulation in your LMS.

Mixed-ability classes. Give support pairs the light series only, with the table half filled in. Give confident pairs the Elaborate challenge early, or the compensation-point simulation.

Other subjects. The same arc works for a math concept. For example, use graphing quadratics with "What happens to the roots when c changes?" as Engage, a table of c against the number of roots as Explore, the discriminant as Explain and "find c for exactly one root" as Elaborate.

Turning Explore into a full lab. If you want a formal practical with repeats and analysis, see how to create a virtual lab activity. For more ways to use simulations beyond 5E, start with how to use interactive simulations in the classroom.

FAQ

How long should a 5E lesson with a simulation take?

A single concept fits in 45–60 minutes. Explore usually needs the most time (15–20 minutes). If your periods are shorter, split the plan across two lessons.

Can one simulation cover all five phases?

Often, yes. Use it on the projector for Engage, on devices for Explore, with new values for Elaborate and with a question set for Evaluate. For Elaborate, a related simulation can add challenge.

Where do prediction questions fit in the 5E model?

In Engage. A locked prediction makes every student commit before exploring, and asking it again during Evaluate shows how their thinking changed.

Do I need a paid plan to run this lesson?

No. Playing simulations, class links and question sets work on the free plan, which includes 100 student answers per month. Pro removes that limit.