MYP unit planner

Unit Title

Adaptation and Evolution

Teacher(s)

AmyGleason

SubjectandGradeLevel

th
Science6
Grade

TimeframeandDuration

SixWeeks

TopicsCovered

Adaptations (types, uses, purposes), NaturalSelection,Evolution (definition and

types),EvolutionaryScientists,FossilRecord

Stage 1: Integrate significant concept, area of interaction and unit question, and
ensure it can be assessed

Area of Interaction Focus

Significant Concept(s)

WhichAoIwillbeyourfocus?Whyhaveyou
chosenthis?

Whatarethebigideas?WhatdoIwantmy
studentstoretainforyearsintothefuture?

Environments

Organismschangeovertimetobe
successfulintheirenvironment

Thisunitwilldevelopawarenessofhow
organismsadapttotheirchanging
environmentandhowsomethingsarebetter
adaptedtodosothanothers

MYP Unit Question

WhyisChangeNecessary?

Assessment
Whattask(s)willallowstudentstheopportunitytorespondtotheunitquestion?
Whatwillconstituteacceptableevidenceofunderstanding?Howwillstudentsshowwhattheyhaveunderstood?

TheEvolutionoftheHorse:
TimelineandBCR
(CriterionBandCriterionC)
Students will be given images of horses (fromearlyhorses,throughintermediatestages, to themodernhorse)
and descriptions of theenvironmentsthatthedifferentformsofhorseslived in.Students willbe asked to create
a timeline of the stages of the horse and explain how and why they created their timeline as well as why the
horseevolved

WhichspecificMYPobjectiveswillbeaddressedduringthisunit?

-Communicate scientific information using a range of scientific language

-Present scientific information in a variety of formats
-Recognize and recall scientific information
-Explain and apply scientific information to solve problems in both familiar and unfamiliar situations

WhichMYPassessmentcriteriawillbeused?

CriterionBCommunicationinScience
CriterionCKnowledgeandUnderstandingofScience

Stage 2: Backward planning: from the assessment to the learning activities

through inquiry

Content
Whatknowledgeand/orskills(frommycourseoverview)aregoingtobeusedtoenablethestudenttorespond
totheguidingquestion?

What(ifany)state,provincial,district,orlocalstandards/skillsaretobeaddressed?
ChangeOverTime
Characteristicsoforganismsgraduallychangeovertimeasaresultofnaturalselection

Standards:
3.6.1arecognizeandgiveexamplesthatthereisavastdiversityoforganisms,includingplants,animalsand
microorganisms.
3.6.6adescribethechangesthatoccurinspeciesoforganismsasaresultofthechangesinEarthsphysical
environmentovertime.
3.6.6brecognizeanddescribethatsomeorganismssurviveandreproduceandothersdieandmigratetoother
locationwhentheenvironmentchanges.
3.6.7aandbrecognizeanddescribethatorganismsthatarebestsuitedtoanenvironmentsurviveandreproduce.
3.6.7cdescribethatwhenalltheorganismsofonekinddie,thespeciesbecomesextinct.

Approaches to Learning
HowwillthisunitcontributetotheoveralldevelopmentofsubjectspecificandgeneralAtLskills?

TheApproachestoLearninginthisUnitInclude:
Application of knowledge, Informationprocessing, Organization skills, Communication, Analyzing, Collaboration,
Evaluation

Learning Experiences
Howwillstudentsknowwhatisexpectedofthem?Will
theyseeexamples,rubrics,templates,etc.?

Teaching Strategies
Howwillweuseformativeassessmenttogivestudentsfeedback
duringtheunit?

Howwillstudentsacquiretheknowledgeandpractisethe
skillsrequired?Howwilltheypractiseapplyingthese?
Dothestudentshaveenoughpriorknowledge?

Expectations

Whatdifferentteachingmethodologieswillweemploy?
How are we differentiating teaching and learning for all? Have we
considered those learning in a language other than their mother
tongue?Haveweconsideredthosewithspecialeducationalneeds?

FormativeAssessments

Taskspecific rubrics and prior examples will be

presented and discussed before the assignment is
given

Verbal directions and expectations will be presented

and discussed before assignments and activities are
given

Exitandentrancecardswillbegiventoassessdaily
understanding of concepts to determine pacing, need for
reteaching,andoverallunderstandingoftheclass
Weekly quizzes will be used to assessed weekly
understanding of concepts to determine pacing, need for
reteaching,andoverallunderstandingoftheclass

Exemplars

Informal assessment, students will be asked to

raise their hands to identify level of understanding before,
during,andafteranewtopicinintroduced

Prior examples of organisms changing over time

(visual,text,andclassdiscussion)
LearningExperiences

TeachingMethodsandDifferentiation

Invent A Species
Students will choose an
environment in which they areveryfamiliar,thenthey
will create an organism that is perfectly suited to
survive in that environment. To do this they must
consider what the organism eats, how it will protect
itself, whereitleaves, how itmoves,etc.Thisisdone
to allow students to explore how an organisms
adaptations make it best suited to survive in a
particularenvironment

Tiered reading is used in the Evolutionary Scientists

activity groups are determined by ability level. All groups
have different but necessary information, so even though
readingistiered,allstudentshaveasignificantroletoplay
Heterogeneous group for students of varied abilities to
interact and use each others strengths to access
information
IndependentReading

Peppered Moth Students will simulate a

postindustrial revolution environment with a dark
piece of paper. Using dark and light dots to simulate
the peppered moths, students will be given 10
seconds to see how many dots they can identify and
eat. This will be done to show how organisms,
because of environmental changes, change to be
bettered suited for their environment and to explore
naturalselection
EvolutionaryScientistsExpertGroupsStudents
willbedividedintothreegroupsandgiveninformation
about significant evolutionary scientists with a focus
on Charles Darwin. Groups will then complete a
graphic organizer with the information that they read,
then presenttheirinformationtothelargergroup.This
activity allows students to see how Darwin and other
scientists created their theories through evidence
fromlivingorganismsandthefossilrecord.
Elephant Evolution
As a whole class, students
will look at several images of the many forms of the
elephant. Then, working in small groups they will
discuss the changes in the elephant as well as what
theycause for these changes mightbe.Forexample,
elephants grew fur to compensate for a cooler
climate. Then, each group will present their ideas to
the class which will then be discussed and
determined if it a possible cause of elephant
evolution. This activity will allow students to identify
the cause and effect relationship between external
changes in an organisms environment and internal
changestotheorganismitself.
Darwina (done after horse evolution activity)
Students will simulate a variety of organisms and
attempt to compete for limited food. Through this

ThinkPairShare
GroupActivities(expertgroups,jigsaw,simulationgames)
Activity Choice is used on homework assignments where
students aregivenavarietyofmethodstodemonstratetheir
understandingofaconcept
VariedLearning Methods are usedinavarietyofactivities
for example simulation aids the visual and kinesthetic
learner, auditory learners benefit with class discussion,
presentation,andteacherleaddiscussion

activity students will be able to see how competition

impacts adaptations, natural selection, the need to
adaptorevolve,andultimatelysurvival
Field Trip to the Natural History Museum
Students will explore the Museum of Natural History
in Washington DC, taking special note of fossils like
the giant ground sloth and glyptodon (used by
Charles Darwin in the creation of his theory), fossils,
thedifferent variations of the elephant and thehorse,
and the ocean exhibit for examples of adaption and
completion among living organisms. This activity will
provide studentswiththeopportunitytoseeexamples
ofinformationthatwehavebeendiscussinginclass,

Resources
Whatresourcesareavailabletous?
How will our classroomenvironment,local environmentand/orthe communitybeusedtofacilitatestudentsexperiences duringthe
unit?

Avarietyoftexts(textbooks,tradebooks,onlineresources,informationtexts)

Taskspecificrubrics

Taskspecificmaterials(materialsforDarwina,PepperedMoth,etc.)

Ongoing reflections and evaluation

In keeping an ongoing record, consider the following questions. There are further stimulus questions
in the unit planning section of
MYP: from principles into practice
.
Students and Teachers
Whatdidwefindcompelling?Wasourdisciplinaryknowledge/skillschallengedinanyway?
Whatinquiriesaroseduringthelearning?What,ifany,extensionactivitiesarose?
Howdidwereflectbothontheunitandonourownlearning?
Werethereanyattributesofthelearnerprofilethatwereencouragedthroughthisunit?Werethereanyopportunitiesforaction?

Possible connections
Howsuccessfulwasthecollaborationwithotherteacherswithinmysubjectgroupandfromothersubjectgroups?
Whatinterdisciplinaryunderstandingswereorcouldbeforgedthroughcollaborationwithothersubjects?

Assessment
Werestudentsabletodemonstratetheirlearning?
Did theassessment tasksallowstudentstodemonstratethe learning objectives identified forthis unit?DidImakesurestudentswere
invitedtoachieveatalllevelsofthecriteriadescriptors?
Arewepreparedforthenextstage?

Data collection
HowdidIdecideonthedatatocollect?Wasituseful?

StudentsandTeachers
Compelling The students seemed to find the entire unit compelling. They appeared to really understand each of the
topics that we discussed and most students wereactivelyengagedin each lesson. Ofparticular interestwerethelessons
thatincludedrealworldexamplesandimages:horsetimeline, Titanboa, theevidenceofevolutionaryrelationshipswiththe
picturesofrelatedbodystructures,inventaspecies,andimagesofanimaladaptations.
Inquiresand Extensions Students wanted to know about specific organisms adaptations and how theyevolved (why
did the manatees flipper look so much likeanarm,howdidorganisms evolvetoliveon landfromthesea, whydocertain
animals not evolve). The unitwasextendedwithcurrentinformationaboutthe field of evolutionaryscience(howbirdsand
dinosaursarerelatedandhowbirdsmightberetroengineeredtoreconstructdinosaurs,theTitanboadiscovery,etc.).
Reflections
Students reflected weekly on our unit question Why is Change Necessary. This question was addressed
during different lessons when the response would be similar but not the same. When we talked about naturalselection
students identified the need for animals to adapt or they would not survive in their changing environment. When we
discussed Darwin students discussed the changes inthe animalsfrommainland SouthAmericatothe GalapagosIslands
and their need to adapt. One studentsaidthat Darwins theoryrequiredpeopletochangetheirthinkingandbeliefs.When
we discussed thehorsestudentswereaskedtoidentifywhychange wasnecessary for thehorsetosurvive. Thisquestion
allowedstudents to reflect on our contentofthatspecificlesson,review theinformation that wehadpreviouslydiscussed,
andtorevisittheIBunitquestion.
Ireflectedeachdayafterthelessonswerecompletedbywritinginmyplanbookaboutthe activities that workedandwhat
did not, time issues, content that needed to adjusted, examples that really helped students, areas that needed
improvement or additions to allow for further understanding.Theyare writtenonstickynotes sothatnextyearI willnotice
themandmakethenecessarychanges.

Connections
Ihavedonethisunitseveraltimesandhavehadadifficult timeconnectingthisunitwith othersubjectareas.Wedidbriefly
link theneed for change with English and compare the need for physical change (organism in science) andthe need to
changethinkingandbehavior.(ManicMagee)

Assessments
The students were given a variety of opportunities to demonstrate their learning: weekly assessments both formal and
informal, performance tasks, entrance and exit cards, a study guide and a review game, and an end of the unit
assessmentcreatedbymeandonecreatedbythecounty.
Thehorse timeline assessment task allowed students to demonstrate the learning objectives for theunit andtheactivity.
In each prior lesson students were taught scientific terminology and then encouraged to use the terms often.Theywere
taught concepts that would lead them to completing the horse timeline, though they were not directly instructedon that
particular fossilrecord. The day before the activity, as a class, we reviewed the rubricanddiscussedwhat each criterion
meant and how it could be successfully met. Students were asked to write on their own copy of the rubric what the
expectationforeachofthecriterionwas.
I feelthatafterreviewingthestudentsperformancesthroughoutthe unit,their classdiscussions,theresponsesduringour
performance assessments and their BCRs that the students are prepared for the Darwina and the summative
assessmentsattheendofourunit.

DataCollection
I collected data during the horse timeline activity by going around to each student group and asking the groups whythe
horse changed as well as referring to their focus questions. Then I wrote down what each studentsaid.Thisinformation
allowed me to see who used science terminology, if they used it correctly, and if they understood the basic concepts
relatedtotheunitandtheactivity.Ialsowrotedownstudentdiscussionpointswhile theywerepresentingtheirinformation
totheclass.
Thedata that I collected was very helpful when I was using the MYP rubric because itallowedme to specifically identify
whateachchildsaidandiftheytrulyunderstoodtheactivityandcontent.