TEXAS TEACHERS LESSON PLAN PROJECT FORMAT

INSTRUCTIONS: Fill out all portions of the lesson plan. Within the plan note the following items as

indicated below to facilitate identification of the required elements.

Use of Groups Blue or Aqua

Critical Thinking or Problem Solving Pink or Magenta

Learning Modalities Underline

NAME: New Teacher SUBJECT: Environmental Systems

CERTIFICATION AREA: __Science 7-12_________________________________________

TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

Environmental Systems (4) Science concepts. The student knows the relationships of biotic and abiotic

factors within habitats, ecosystems, and biomes. The student is expected to:

(G) predict how species extinction may alter the food chain and affect existing populations in an

ecosystem.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE(S):

The student will predict how species extinction may alter the food chain and affect existing populations

in an ecosystem by making predictions and explaining the effects of extinction on populations given a

sample food chain and extinction scenarios.

ASSESSMENT/PERFORMANCE MEASURE:

Informal Assessment: In the “We Do” portion of the class, I will walk around and check off whether their

group dry erase predictions were correct or not. If they were incorrect, I will guide them into explaining

the question until they find the correct answer.

Formal Assessment: This will be a short quiz at the end of class. Students will be given a sample food

chain and possible extinction scenarios. Students must be able to predict whether the other species in

the food chains will have increasing or decreasing populations, as well as explain why this would occur

using the relationships that food chains describe. Their performance will be scored with a rubric where

the criteria will include a correct prediction based on the scenario and a correct explanation of the

student’s prediction.

MATERIALS and SETTING What materials do you need for this lesson? What is the setting? Are students in pairs, groups, stations, floor, library, science lab?

Setting: Classroom Materials: Dry Erase Pockets with different food chain pictures, dry erase markers Students will start as a whole class for “I do”, will move into partners for “we do”, and will go as individuals for “you do”

KEY VOCABULARY and ACADEMIC LANGUAGE What vocabulary terms must students know to understand the concept being taught?

Vocabulary: Extinction, food chain, producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer Academic Language: Sentence stems to help guide them in their responses. Based on the food chain, if the population of (organism) went extinct, the populations of (XYZ) would increase and the populations of (ZYX) would decrease. I know this because (explain their answer through the relationships of organisms in a food chain).

FOCUS ACTIVITY/ANTICIPATORY SET What activity will students engage in that will pique their interest about the upcoming lesson? Think of this like a preview for an upcoming movie – something that ignites curiosity

I will start the lesson talking about things that have gone extinct (dinosaurs, mammoths, dodo birds) and have a fun discussion about what that means. When they correctly answer a group dry erase question later in the lesson, I will have a new one ready for them to answer after. We will form it as a competition to see who can answer the most in the time. Winners will get some sort of prize.

CONNECTION TO PRIOR LEARNING OR REAL WORLD This is what you say to students about what they have already learned and how it prepares them for what they are about to learn; review what they have learned to prepare them for the upcoming lesson.

This will help you understand why the ecosystems around the world are changing because of the impact species extinction has on all the other organism in its ecosystem, and how that affects us as humans. As we move through the semester and talk about how animals have changed over time, this will be important to understand how those changes happen!

OBJECTIVE STATEMENT (be sure to include the performance measure) This is what you say to students about what students will learn today, and how they will show they have learned the content (that is the performance measure)

Today we will be learning to predict how species becoming extinct could alter the food chain and affect the other existing populations in an ecosystem. We will do this by evaluating food chains and given a sample extinction scenario, predict the effect the extinction of one population would have on the others and explain this using the relationships between organisms. After we do a few examples together, you will complete a similar activity on your own and will be scored using a rubric based on your ability to correctly predict and explain the effects of extinction on populations in a food chain.

PURPOSE OF LEARNING Why do students need to learn this today? This should be written in what you will say to students and should include both why it is important to the content and why it is relevant in their lives.

We are learning this to understand the importance of relationships between organisms within an ecosystem and the impacts that changes in these relationships is important. This will also help you understand why the ecosystems around the world are changing because of the impact species extinction has on all the other organism in its ecosystem, and how that effects us.

INSTRUCTIONAL STEPS Include:

1. I will start the lesson talking about things that have gone extinct (dinosaurs, mammoths, dodo birds) and have a fun discussion about what that means.

Step by Step Instructions Key Points Directions to give

2. We will then quickly move into the objective statement: Today we will be learning to predict how species becoming extinct could alter the food chain and affect the other existing populations in an ecosystem. We will do this by evaluating food chains and given a sample extinction scenario, predict the effect the extinction of one population would have on the others and explain this using the relationships between organisms. After we do a few examples together, you will complete a similar activity on your own and will be scored using a rubric based on your ability to correctly predict and explain the effects of extinction on populations in a food chain. 3. I will then go through the “I do, you do, we do” method of modeling. With a food chain up on the board, I will explain the effects of species extinction on the entire food chain, and explain my findings using relationships within food chains. As I am modeling, I will be asking the class for answers to help me model and to assess student learning. 4. In the “we do” portion, I will pass out dry erase sleeves with food webs chains and extinction scenarios they have to answer in groups. They will have to write down their answers, and when I come by to check be able to explain how they found it. I will have a new one ready for them to answer after. We will form it as a competition to see which group can answer the most in the time. When I check each group, I will make sure that each member is equally contributing and understanding, by asking specific questions that require open-ended answers. 5. : We will then move into the formative assessment. This will be a short quiz at the end of class. Students will be given a sample food chain and possible extinction scenarios. Students must be able to predict whether the other species in the food chains will have increasing or decreasing populations, as well as explain why this would occur using the relationships that food chains describe. Their performance will be scored with a rubric where the criteria will include a correct prediction based on the scenario and a correct explanation of the student’s prediction. This will be online and give them multiple attempts that I can grade throughout class.

LITERACY STRATEGIES USED

When we are modeling the questions, we will go over how to read the question, underline or highlight important

information, and relate it to the graphic (the food web) using labels, annotating, and drawing arrows and “X”s.

STUDENT USE OF TECHNOLOGY

Students will use technology to take their quizzes. This allows almost immediate feedback on correct/incorrect, and I can also make additional comments on their explanations if they need more instruction or if they did well. It also allows me to give them multiple attempts to maximize their learning potential and let them correct their mistakes.

CLOSURE: Review: How will you cement the learning that has taken place in this lesson? Connect to future learning: How will what students learned today help them in upcoming lessons?

At the last 5-10 minutes of class after all students have turned in their quizzes, we will have closing. We will briefly review our learning objective, and on a scale of 1-5 rank how confident we feel on our learning. We will discuss what this applies to for the remainder of the week to our upcoming lessons, and briefly state the learning goal for tomorrow.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Answer each of the following questions in the text box provided. Your answer

should be written in complete sentences and be at least one and no more than three paragraphs per

question.

1. Explain how the instructional strategies you chose for this lesson help your students learn the

material. Consider the diverse learning needs in a typical classroom, including your students who

are below grade level or English learners.

2. Explain what criteria you will use to group students. Include things such as group size, learner

characteristic, special needs of specific students, etc.

I like to use the “I do, we do, You do” method of modeling in my class a lot, to demonstrate to my

students exactly what I am expecting and quickly address any issues or misconceptions. This also

allows for group work in the “We Do” portion to help them with their academic language with

each other and allows students to ask each other questions to figure out a problem without

needing my help. It also allows my student who are at a lower learning level to have an example

of what to do and peer support before they perform an assessment on their own. I also do most

of my assessments online because it allows for accommodations and modifications if needed,

such as content clarifiers, text-to-speech, translation, reduced answer choices, and extended time

to name a few. I chose to do an open-ended quiz, so the students are required to not just answer

the question but explain their learning. Providing sentence stems allows them structure to

organize their thoughts, but still requires them to think for themselves.

3. Explain how this lesson plan supports what we know about how learning occurs and how learners

develop, construct meaning, and acquire knowledge and skills

4. How will you encourage persistence and a growth mindset throughout this lesson?

When I group students, I try to mix them as evenly as possible, given gender, personality, class

grade, ELL level, or learning disability. I try to group students with others who may not be their

best friends, but they will still be able to enjoy each other’s company while accomplishing the

work. I try to pair a student who struggles in one area with another who thrives in the area, to

support them and help guide them. I put students with behavior issues with others who have lots

of patience. When making groups, I also always include at least one with neat handwriting and

one who is not afraid to speak up in front of the class, in case those two skills are needed. Making

multiple drafts of groups also takes into account any absences that may happen.

The I do, we do, you do model slowly gives students more responsibility for their learning. We start

with teacher driven, then move to group driven, and finally individual driven to help them slowly

take control and be self-sufficient learners. This also allows for most learning, including visual,

reading/writing and audio. It could also be adapted to be kinesthetic if needed. The lesson allows

the students to drive their own learning in the group portion, which gives the teacher the

opportunity to walk around to observe and answer any questions before they move to individual

assessment.

Praising effort goes a long way to encourage students to persevere. Many times, we offer more

correction than we do praise, and this can affect the classroom environment. Letting students

know when they are doing a good job helps them have a positive outlook on learning and feel

confident in themselves. The model I use in this lesson which slowly gives more control to the

students helps foster the growth mindset. By modeling as a teacher, then allowing them to try with

groups, this gives them an opportunity to understand and work through problems with support

and feel confident before they have to work on their own.