Lesson Plan Guide

Teacher Candidate: Kristen Rice Date: 6/28/2014

Grade and Topic: 3
rd
grade Science: Aquatic Biomes Length of Lesson: Two Days, 1 hour/day
Mentor Teacher: Carmen Weaver School: Arlington Elementary

UNIT/CHAPTER OBJECTIVE/GENERALIZATION/BIG IDEA:
This lesson plan is part of an overall unit on different terrestrial and aquatic Biomes of the world that
have been studied over the course of two weeks. As mentioned, the biomes are divided up into two
categories. We have already studied the Terrestrial Biomes, which include:
Rain Forest
The Tundra
The Grasslands
Taiga
The Temperate Deciduous Forest
Alpine
Chaparral
Desert
Savanna

As part of the lesson for the next two days, we will be studying the 2
nd
type of Biome, the Aquatic Biomes,
which include:
Freshwater
Freshwater Wetlands
Marine
Coral Reef
Estuaries


LESSON OBJECTIVE:
Given a handout on the different types of Aquatic Biomes, the student will write out and list
what all they know about the biomes before the lesson with 85% accuracy.
Given different internet sites, the student will browse, study, and write down important
information about Aquatic Biomes with 100% accuracy.
Given a certain Biome, the student will study and create a Prezi presentation on the certain Biome with
95% accuracy.
Given a list of animals from certain biomes, the student will classify each animal as thriving, threatened,
endangered, or extinct with 95% accuracy.

STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
GLE 0307.5.1: Explore the relationship between an organisms characteristics and its ability to survive in
a particular environment.
GLE 0307.5.2: Classify organisms as thriving, threatened, endangered, or extinct.

GLE 0307.7.1: Use information and illustrations to identify the earths major landforms and water
bodies.
ISTE STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
Creativity and Innovation (PowerPoints and Habitat Projects)
Communication and Collaboration (Group Work)
Research and Information Fluency (Research on the Laptops and iPads)
Critical Thinking, Decision Making, and Problem Solving (PowerPoint material)
Digital Citizenship (Being responsible on the internet while conducting research)
Technology Operations and Concepts (How to work a laptop and an iPad)

MATERIALS:
Smart Board
Popsicle sticks
Website #1- http://www.brightstorm.com/science/biology/ecology/aquatic-biomes/
Aquatic Biomes Worksheet
Biome Website Worksheet for Students (which include the following websites):
o Website# 1- Introduction Video to Freshwater Biomes: http://education-
portal.com/academy/lesson/freshwater-biomes-climate-locations-plants-animals.html#lesson
o Website #2- Introduction Video to Marine Biomes: http://education-
portal.com/academy/lesson/open-ocean-biome-plants-animals-climate-definition.html#lesson
o Website #3- http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/index.html
o Website #4- http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/aquatic.html
o Website #5- http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/freshwater.html

For the Prezi:
o Website #5- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GbuiUpPOgY (This is how to make a Prezi)
o Website #6- www.prezi.com (I will teach students how to make an account)

Foam Ball for discussion circle.


BACKGROUND and RATIONALE:
One of the main concepts that students need to be able to comprehend is the fact that we have 2 major
aquatic biomes: Marine and Freshwater. From there, students will comprehend that there are 7 sub-
aquatic biomes;

Freshwater: Marine:
River/Streams Estuaries
Lakes and Ponds Intertidal
Wetlands Coastal
Coral Reefs

Each biome has different characteristics that make it unique and different from the other 6 biomes.
Students will create and present a Prezi presentation in order to demonstrate their understanding of these
differences. Students will also need to understand that different creatures live in the 7 different biomes.
Students will create a table presentation on Microsoft Word listing 5 different animals in their biome,
and finding characteristics that distinguish them from other creatures. Students will also determine if
their animal is thriving, threatened, endangered, or extinct.
Academic Language is not covered in IDT 3600.
This lesson is a continuation of the unit on Biomes; previously discussed were terrestrial biomes.
We will refer back to this lesson when discussing ecosystems and how biomes and ecosystems are
related.
I am aware that the lesson will need to be differentiated for students who did not master the objective
and for those ready for enrichment in order to be effective for future use, but as of right now,
modifications are not covered in this course.




PROCEDURES AND TIMELINE:

Day 1 Introduction: 15 minutes
I will begin by having a picture of the world map projected up on the Smart Board. I will ask the
students how many continents they see. After that, I will ask the students what else they see on the map.
If the students answer water, I will ask the students if there is more water or land on the world map.
Students will need to answer water in order to continue the lesson. I will then tell the students that
over 70% of the Earth is water. I will ask the students what we have been studying for the last week.
They will answer Terrestrial Biomes. I will then explain to the students that since we have already
discussed Terrestrial/Land biomes, that we will now learn about Aquatic/Marine/Freshwater
Biomes.

We will then watch a short video on that gives important details on what an Aquatic Biome is, the
characteristics, and why they are important.
http://www.brightstorm.com/science/biology/ecology/aquatic-biomes/

After completing the video, students will complete the aquatic biomes worksheet that I will pass out in
order to show that they comprehend what they will be learning about today. (Worksheet is listed in the
Assessments part of the lesson plan).

Day 1 Instruction: 35 minutes

After viewing the video, I will announce to the students that they will explore the two different types of biomes by
working together in groups and creating a Prezi. I will pick the groups based on Popsicle sticks. Each student will
have their name on a Popsicle stick. I will randomly draw 4 names at a time, and that will be their assigned group.
I will do this previous to instruction, so as to not waste time. I will assign each group to a certain sub-biome.

Once students get into their groups and I have announced which groups will get which sub-biome, I will give each
student a list of websites that they can use in order to find out all of the information needed for their Prezi. This
information will include:

Name of their biome
If the biome is Fresh-water or Salt Water
Locations of their biome
Rainfall, Climate, and Temperatures of their biome
Characteristics/ Fun Facts about their Biome.
Images of their biome, and animals and plants that live there.
Different styles, sizes, and colors of text.

Once I have given the students all of the information they will need, I will let the students work within their
groups by themselves for 20 minutes. During this time, students will get on these websites, find information on
their biome, and start getting an idea of how they want their Prezi to look like.

After the 20 minutes are up, I will collect the students attention. As a class, we will then watch the following
YouTube video on the Smart Board on how to create a Prezi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GbuiUpPOgY

Once we have completed the video, I will distribute the classroom laptops and let each group create a
Prezi account. After each group has created a Prezi account, I will ask students to return to their seats.

Day 1 Conclusion: 10 minutes
After students have returned to their seats, I will assign the students their homework: Each student is to
create a table in Microsoft Word. In that table, they will list 5 animals and/or plants that are found in
their sub-biome. They will list the following characteristics:

Is it an aquatic or terrestrial animal?
Name a type of the animal (Example: If you list an octopus, give me a certain type of octopus,
such as the Bocks Pygmy Octopus)
Is it a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore?
Is it poisonous?
Does it lay eggs or give live birth?
Is it nocturnal?
Is it thriving, threatened, endangered, or extinct?

Students will complete the table, send it to me in an email, and be ready to complete their Prezis in class the
following day. As students walk to their next class, I will ask them what the name of their biome is in order to
make sure they comprehend which Biome they are responsible for in their homework and their group Prezi.


Day 2 Introduction: 5 minutes
When the students come in to class and get settled, I will have two questions projected up on the Smart Board.
The first question will say, What is your Biome? The second question will ask, Did you send me your
homework in an email? If the students did not send me their email, they will report to the behavior chart and
pull a strip for not following directions. They will return to their desk. When the students know what their
Biome is, they will pick up a laptop in an orderly fashion, and get together with their group to begin working on
their Prezis.


Day 2 Instruction: 50 minutes
I will let the students have 30 minutes to complete their Prezi. Each group should have made individual
job assignments: Information collector, writer, Prezi creator, Prezi Presenter. The Prezi creator will need
to have help from the other 3 group members. The information collector will also need to have help
from the other 3 members. The writer needs to be someone with legible hand writing. The presenter
needs to be someone who isnt shy, speaks clearly, and can present from a Smart Board.

Once the students complete their Prezis, I will have the groups send me their Prezis in an email so I can
project them on the Smart Board Screen. I will then have the groups come up one by one and present
their Prezis to the rest of the class. The other students need to take notes on their peers Prezi. All of this
information will be covered in a test at the end of the week.

Day 2 Conclusion: 5 minutes

Once the students finish their Prezis, I will ask the students to sit in a large circle in the carpet area of the
classroom. We will have a foam ball that we will toss around for discussion time. I will ask the students
to name one thing that they learned from another groups Prezi. Once the ball gets passed to all of the
students, they will be dismissed to their next class.


ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE:
Students will be assessed with three different pieces of work:
The worksheet- formative assessment
The Prezi- formative assessment
The Animal Table on Microsoft word- formative assessment


Rubric for Prezi:
Criteria:
1 2 3
Content Students had little
content, or content
that was unrelated to
their biome.
Students had content,
but failed to elaborate
on crucial points.
Students had
sufficient and
interesting content;
their biome was
covered and had the
correct information.
Images Students only had 1-2
images throughout
the entire Prezi.
Students had 3-5
images throughout
their entire Prezi.
Each slide had an
image; some slides
even had more than
one image.
Spelling and
Grammar
Multiple misspellings
and misuse of
grammar throughout
the Prezi.
Some misspellings
and grammar errors.
Few Spelling and
grammar errors.
Number of Slides 5 slides or less. 6-7 slides. 7 slides or more.
Creativity The Prezi was sub-
par; no different
colors of text, no
different sizes of text,
no different styles of
text.
The Prezi was
acceptable. Different
sizes and colors of
texts, but did not
accurately reflect the
information.
The Prezi was
Spectacular; different
colors, sizes, and
styles of text, images
that were related to
the biome, and
students explored
every use for their
Prezi.
Professionalism Other students in the
group were talking
when the group
speaker was
presenting. Students
were lost when it
came time for them
to speak.
Students were
respectful while
others were speaking,
however, they did not
know when it was
time for their portion
of the PowerPoint to
be presented.
Students were well
behaved and knew
when it was their turn
to speak and present
their part of the
PowerPoint.
Responsibilities No positions were
assigned;
presentation was
chaotic, with no
structure.
Positions were
assigned;
presentation was still
sloppy, with pauses
now and then.
Positions were
assigned and
enforced;
presentation was
effective and smooth.





MODIFICATIONS:

I am aware that the lesson will need to be differentiated for students who did not master the objective
and for those ready for enrichment in order to be effective for future use, but as of right now,
modifications are not covered in this course.



Listed Below are examples of what students work would need to look like:


Name of Biome: Freshwater; River.

Name of
Animal:
Example of
Animal:
Is it
Aquatic,
Terrestri
al, or
Both?
Carnivore,
Herbivore,
or
Omnivore
?
Is it
Poisonous?
Does it
lay eggs
or give
live
birth?
Is it
Noct
urnal
?
Is it
Thriving,
Threatened,
Endangered
, or Extinct?
Image:
Snake Cottonmouth Both. Carnivore Some are; the
Cottonmouth
is one of
them.
It lays
eggs.
No. Thriving

Frog American
Bullfrog
Both. Carnivore No. It lays
eggs.
Yes Threatened.

Dragonfly Ski-Tipped
Emerald
Dragon Fly
Terrestrial Herbivore. No. Lays eggs. No. Thriving.

Moss Fern Moss Terrestrial It is a plant. Some mosses
can be
poisonous.
It is a
plant, it
doesnt
reproduce.
Does
not
sleep,
it is a
plant.
Thriving.

Fish Rainbow
Trout
Aquatic Carnivore No. It lays
eggs.
No. Endangered.






Prezi Presentation:
This would be classified as a 3 out of 3 on the rubric for the Prezi.
http://prezi.com/qctonuhdz-8i/coral-reefs/