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MSP Lesson Plan Format
CANDIDATE NAME: ________Emily Kraemer__ DATE/TIME: ______________
ESTIMATED LESSON LENGTH:___about 1.5 hours___________
GRADE LEVEL: ___3_____
SETTING: [X ] WHOLE CLASS [ ] SMALL GROUP [ ] INDIVIDUAL
CONTENT AREA: This lesson will focus on animals and their habitats
LESSON TOPIC, CONCEPT or SKILL:
Review the concept of biomes and have students categorize animals into biomes based
on perceived physical characteristics
LESSON RATIONALE:
Lesson develops students concepts of ecology and evolution by relating adaption to
the survival and fitness of the organism. Sets foundation for teaching principle of
natural selection and enhances students knowledge of plants and animals in different
environments.(Science Framework For California Public Schools)
CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARD(S):
OR
CA COMMON CORE STATE STANDARD(S):
3.b Students know examples of diverse life forms in different environments such as
oceans, deserts, tundra, forests, grasslands and wetlands
ELD STANDARDS:
- Exchanging information and ideas with others through oral collaborative discussions
on a range of social and academic topics
-Reading closely literary and informational texts and viewing multimedia to determine
how meaning is conveyed explicitly and implicitly through language
-Listening actively to spoken English in a range of social and academic contexts
VOCABULARY/ACADEMIC LANGUAGE NEEDED:
Biomes, climate, terrain, forest, desert, rainforest, deciduous forest, grasslands, tundra,
adaptation
STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT ACADEMIC LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT:
Students will be encouraged to think of animals and their relation to their environments
and how these adaptations allow them to live where they are.
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OBJECTIVE(S):
Students will identify different biomes and understand the relationship between
environmental factors of the biome and the animals within that biome. Students will be
able to describe examples of adaptations of animals to biomes.
ASSESSMENT:
Completion of Biome worksheet
Grading based on rubric, student should receive a 7 or higher
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES: (e.g., direct instruction, guided inquiry, etc.)
Direct Instruction
REQUIRED TEACHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Knowledge of 6 different biomes
TASK ANALYSIS:
Students must understand what a biome is and the differences between the types of
biomes as well as how to identify/describe physical characteristics of something. They
must also understand what it means to categorize something.
PROCEDURES:
General Outline
Introduction:
Review: Review biomes and the types of plants that grow in those biomes. I am going
to categorize different pictures of landscapes into biomes. What does categorize
mean? Who can tell me what the 5 different biomes are? (Combine evergreen and
deciduous forests) List the 5 different types of Biomes on the board and project pictures
This is an
of different biomes onto the whiteboard or other surface. As you project each picture,
assessment
say, This is a ____ biome because it has these characteristics. For example, This is
of previous
a tundra biome because it has snow, looks like a cold climate, there isn't a lot of fauna,
knowledge
the trees in the picture are found in the mountains.
Show video related to biomes. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0fb8143ndo8
Lesson Sequence:
Biomes often have different types of animals and plants which have adapted to the
environment. Adapted means to have undergone changes to become more suited to an
environment. Some animals and plants are more suited to live in certain biomes. We
have already talked about some plants found in different biomes, now we will be
discussing different animals that live in different biomes. Tell students that they will be
identifying characteristics of animals and figuring out what biomes they would most
likely live in but first we must clarify what characteristics of animals are: Skin type:
hairy/not hairy, color of skin/fur. Types of appendages: hooves, paws/claws, fins,
gills/no gills. Write these on the board as students come up with them. These
characteristics are adaptations to biomes that animals live in. After explaining, ask
students to categorize animals into a biome based on its characteristics. For example,
ask if a camel would live in a forest biome. Have them discuss it within their group. Then
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ask what biome a camel would live in. Why would it live there? Can repeat same
questions with other animals as well. (students may have previous knowledge about
certain animals like camels.)
Instruct students to read either with a buddy or individually, the portion in textbook about
diverse life forms in different environments.
Project a world map onto whiteboard. Tell students to talk within their group and decide
where the animal might live based on its characteristics. Have tables come up to the
board one at a time and place their animal on the board. After each one say Yes/no,
this animal would live here because of ____, ____, and ____. (Ex. This polar bear
would live here because it has fur to keep it warm, it's fur is white like the snow, and it's
paws are good for walking on snow.
Assessment: Give each student a worksheet, the worksheet will have a variety of
different biome pictures with animals already in them. Some animals will be in the right
biome, while some will not. Next to each picture they will have to write yes/no as to
whether the animal is in the right biome or not and explain their answer. If the animal is
not in the right biome, they will have to draw the biome in a blank space offered next to
the original picture. Students should use their prior information on biomes and eco
diversity to be able to fill out worksheet. Encourage students to ask for help, as well as
use their textbooks.If they do not finish in class, tell them to take worksheet home and
continue working on it.
Closure:
After the lesson, ask two students to give the name of their favorite animal and its most
interesting features for survival it its biome. Write the names of the animals on the
board, including their features and biomes they live in.
Then ask Students: What would happen if the animals switched habitats? What
adaptation features would be useful or useless in the new habitat? Do you think the
animal could survive in the unfamiliar habitat? What does that tell you about how
animals adapt to their environments?
Tell the students that as a lunch pass or recess pass to draw on a piece of paper
with their name, either a star which means they need more practice, or a moon if they
feel confident in the material. Have them place these in a bucket or something on their
way out of class. Use these as a formative assessment of how the lesson went.
As a summative assessment, to be completed the next class day, or whenever you feel
is applicable: Have students complete an extended written response to the prompt,
What have you learned about this biome Above this prompt will be a picture of a
particular biome complete with images of animals/plants.
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UNIVERSAL ACCESS:
Challenge- For students who complete work quickly and easily: Challenge these
students to think of animals that live in one specific biome and have them try to come up
with similarities between these animals and differences as well. Students will begin to
see the diversity of animals in areas but also what they have in common.
Support: For students that need extra help, you can pair them up with the challenge
students above. This would give the challenge students an opportunity to help teach
and therefore expand their own knowledge. For students who need support you may
also find it necessary to designate a parent helper or teachers aid. Let them use their
book for reference.
ELD: For ELD students, you can accommodate by again designating a parent helper or
teachers aid or another student. Let them use their textbooks as references, as well as
any helpful translating materials. The worksheet is very visual which is beneficial to
these students, however it can be modified to allow them to answer simply yes/no to the
question but still incorporating the drawing.
CONTENT INTEGRATIONS/EXTENSIONS:
Reading, listening, drawing, and collaborating with peers to connect with and deepen
understanding of information.
MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
PowerPoint with pictures of different biomes
Video https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0fb8143ndo8
California Science textbook
Large world map
Cut out pictures of animals from different biomes
Biome worksheet
Blank pieces of paper
RESOURCES/SOURCES:
American Association for the Advancement of Science: ScienceNetLinks. Animal
Adaptations. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from
http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/animal-adaptations/
Free School. Biomes of the World for Children: Oceans, Mountains, Grassland,
Rainforest, Desert - Free School. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0fb8143ndo8
PERSONAL TEACHING FOCUS: (where you want your supervisor to focus the
observation)
ASSESSMENT OF PERSONAL TEACHING FOCUS:
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Rubric For summative Assessment, Modified from Elk Grove Unified School District-
Informational/Explanatory Rubric, Grade 3
1 point 4 points 7 points 10 points
Information Demonstrates Demonstrates Demonstrates Demonstrates
little to no limited understanding strong
understanding of understanding of concepts understanding
concept of concept of concept
Organization -ideas are not -Attempts -Ideas are -Ideas are
grouped together, organization mostly organized
lack of but ideas lack organized and logically and
organization cohesion related coherently
information is
-lack of -limited use of -Skillfully
grouped
transitional transitional groups like
words/phrases words/phrases -Transitional information
phrases used -Uses
transitional
phrases
skillfully to link
ideas
Support/Evidence -Does not use -Makes -Uses relevant -Skillfully uses
relevant/accurate relevant claims, and sufficient relevant and
information but lacks text support for substantial
sufficient claims evidence for
-Few to no facts
and/or accurate their claims
and/or details -develops the
evidence topic with facts -develops
-limited use of and details topics with
facts and/or facts, details,
details and examples
Language -Uses little to no -Uses some -Uses correct -Uses
correct sentence correct and varied purposeful and
structure sentence sentence varied
structures structures sentence
-uses incorrect
structures
and/or simplistic -Utilizes basic -Strong and
word choice word choice grade-level -creative and
appropriate flexible
-Limited -Some grade
word choice conventions
use/understanding level
of grade level conventions but -Conventions -Precise and
conventions and errors might at grade level sophisticated
errors affect affect and errors word choice
readability readability don't affect
readability
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