Developmental Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate: Alyssa Madara Date: 1/31/19

Group Size: 24 students Allotted Time 20 minutes Grade Level 1st grade

Subject or Topic: Penguin Unit: Life Cycle

Common Core/PA Standard(s):

4.4.1.C Describe the life cycles of different plants and animals in a terrestrial habitat.

Learning Targets/Objectives:
1st grade students will be able to:
 Describe the life cycle of a penguin by labeling them on a worksheet.
 Read Scholastic News letter together as a group and answer questions on the back.

Assessment Approaches: Evidence:

1. Penguin Life Cycle worksheet 1. Students will show understanding of
the life cycle of a penguin by put the 4
different items in order.
2. Scholastic News letter 2. Students will show understanding of
the news letter by filling out the 3
questions on the back as a class.
Assessment Scale:
1. Penguin Life Cycle worksheet
Proficient: Student was able to glue all 4 pictures correctly on the worksheet
Basic: Student was able to glue 2 pictures correctly on the worksheet
Below Basic: student was not able to glue any of the pictures in order on the worksheet
*If student does not glue the pictures in the correct order, the teacher will score the
worksheet and then tell the students to fix them.
Subject Matter/Content:
Prerequisites:
 Information learned from pervious days in the unit.
 Basic information about the life cycle and how it works.

Key Vocabulary:
Chick: a young bird, especially one newly hatched.

Adult: a matured bird that has grown out of the fledgling stage.

Fledgling: a young bird that has just fledged.

Brood pouch: It is a pouch that the parents have on their bodies to keep the chicks warm.

Crèche: Chicks help each other stay warm, they huddle in a group.

Content/Facts:
Students will be learning about the life cycle of a penguin as well as reading the Scholastic
News letter with the students. The life cycle will also be
Introduction/Activating/Launch Strategies:
1. The teacher will start the lesson of with the live video to see what the penguins are
doing today. https://explore.org/livecams/penguins/live-penguin-cam-2
2. The teacher will then call the students over to the floor and read Penguin’s Big
Surprise
 On page 6, the teacher will talk about what is going on. The teacher will also
ask the students, “what did Pugwug find?”
 On page 14, the teacher will ask the students why Pugwug doesn’t understand
why his little sister/brother won’t play with him?”
 On page 16, the teacher will ask the students, “why are the penguins in trouble?
What is the issue with seals?”
 At the end of the book the teacher will explain why we read this book. “This
book briefly explains the life cycle. Penguins are not just born, they have to
hatch from their eggs and it might take a while.”
3. The teacher will discuss to the students that they will be learning about the life cycle of
a penguin.

Development/Teaching Approaches
1. Once the students are back to their seats, the teacher will pass out the life cycle
worksheet.
2. The teacher will say, “you will be cutting out the 4 items at the bottom of the page and
gluing the correct parts on the correct spots. We will be numbering the boxes first. Top
square will be number 1, the square to the right of that will be 2, the bottom square will
be 3 and the box to the left will be 4.” As the teacher is saying this, they will write the
numbers on the paper for all the students to see.
 As the students are gluing the the items onto the worksheet the teacher will
walk around the room to assist any students who need help.
 3. Once students start finishing up the worksheet the teacher will instruct the students to
color the worksheet, the 4 pictures as well as the arrows. The teacher will say, “make
sure you take your time coloring because these will be posted on the bulletin board
outside the room for everyone to see.”
4. Once all students are finished the teacher will collect the worksheets and pass out the
Scholastic News letter about penguins.
5. The teacher will then pass out the Scholastic News letter about penguins and go over
the letter as a class.
 First, the teacher will start off by talking about the question on the front cover,
“This chick is too little to take care of itself. How will it get the help it needs?”
 Once the students have discussed, this question the teacher will tell the students
to open and talk about the first block, “The chick snuggles.”
 The teacher will pick on a student to read the first block and talk about the
brood pouch that the parents have for the chicks.
 The teacher will then pick on another student to read “The chick huddles.” The
teacher will discuss what crèche means.
 The teacher will pick on another student to read, “The chick eats.”
 For the last block the teacher will pick one more student to read, “The chick
grows up.”
 After the student is done reading the teacher will draw the students’ attention to
the bottom part that says, “See the chick change” and talk about how it is like
the life cycle that they learned earlier in the week.
 On the back the teacher will go over the Emperor Penguin Life Cycle with the
students- this should be a review for all the students.
 The teacher will go over the 3 questions on the back of the letter.
6. Once all the questions are answered the teacher will quickly walk around to make sure
all the students have them answered and have the students put them away.
Closure/Summarizing Strategies:
 1. To close the lesson, the teacher will tell the students, “you have one more day left of
learning about penguins and we will be doing a penguin report next to put on the
bulletin board.”

Accommodations/Differentiation:
According to the students IEP’s they will all need assistance in certain things like keeping
them on task.
If needed, assist student O with the life cycle worksheet

Materials:
 Scholastic News Letter: Fuzzy Penguin Chick (1 for each student
 Life Cycle worksheet (1 for each student)
 Glue stick (1 per student)
 Scissors (1 per student)
 Penguin’s Big Surprise by Susie Jenkin-Pearce

Resources:
Live Penguin Camera - penguin beach. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://explore.org/livecams/penguins/live-penguin-cam-2

Emperor Penguin Life Cycle Activity. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Emperor-Penguin-Life-Cycle-Activity-4048519

“Fuzzy Penguin Chick.” Scholastic News. Jan. 2019.

Jenkin-Pearce, S., & Macnaughton, T. (2007). Penguins big surprise. New York: Scholastic.

Reflective Response:
Report of Student Learning Target/Objectives Proficiency Levels
All students were able to place the pictures in the correct order once we went over where they
went as a group. They all got proficient at coloring as well, I had them color the page after they
were done gluing the pictures correctly.
 Remediation Plan (if applicable)
I need to explain directions better with what kind of materials to use, the students got out
their scissors as soon I passed out the worksheet even when I told them we would go over it
before we started cutting. I would also compare a life cycle of another animal to penguins to
show that not only penguins have a life cycle. Also compare how some birds are born from an
egg and some are not. Only a few students understood that concept so I would like to push that
more of just the concept of the life cycle and how ever living thing has a life cycle.

Personal Reflection Questions

1. Will the students know the life cycle from prior knowledge?
2. What if the students do not understand what fledgling means?
3. Will I have enough time for both parts of the lesson?

Additional reflection/thoughts
1. The students were able to answer my questions about the life cycle like what is a baby
penguin called, what is the first stage of the life cycle. The students knew a lot from prior
knowledge then I expected.
2. I decided to write fledgling on the board with the definition so the students could
understand it better. This helped the students understand the cycle more during the
lesson.
3. I went over on time a little due to some students taking long on the coloring part of the
life cycle so we went faster on the news letter. The students like coloring so I let them
take a longer time on the worksheet and went faster on the news letter.
In all, the lesson went very well I believe. I tried a new cue with the students throughout the
lesson. When they finished something I told them to put their hand on their head until I told
them the next step. This worked very well with the students, they caught on to it and some
students even did it before I asked them to do it. They were also able to recall what we did
yesterday in the lesson. The news letter went well, the students know how to do them
because they do them every Friday.