I.
OVERVIEW
OF THE LESSON
A.
November 23, 2010
B.
Four 45-minute periods
C.
Ms. Laura Applegate
D.
Fifth Grade, Environment &
Ecology,
Threatened, Endangered, & Extinct Organisms
II.
PENNSYLVANIA
STATE STANDARDS
A. Pennsylvania
State Standard 4.1.5.D:
Explain the differences between
threatened, endangered, and
extinct organisms.
III.
GENERAL
OBJECTIVES
A. Students will learn about
threatened, endangered, and extinct animals and will understand how and
under
what conditions an animal becomes threatened, endangered, or extinct.
IV.
BEHAVIORAL
OBJECTIVES
A. After researching an
animal that is threatened, endangered, or extinct, students will create
an
informational poster, in groups, about their animal, including
important facts,
images, and information about the animal.
V.
INSTRUCTIONAL
MATERIALS
A.
Pencils
B.
Crayons
C.
Markers
D.
Rulers
E.
24Ó x 18Ó poster paper
F.
Scissors
G.
Glue Sticks
H.
Construction Paper
I.
Poster rubric (attached)
VI.
ACTIVITY
AND PROCEDURE
A.
Motivation and Introduction
1. The teacher will introduce
the lesson by providing the following context: ÒAll living things,
humans
included, have basic needs. Some of these needs include food, water,
air to
breathe, and shelter. Now imagine that suddenly our food source
disappears or
we lose our shelter. What would happen to the human species? Would we
be able
to survive without these basic needs? This is what happens to many
animals and
other organisms. This week we will be focusing on threatened,
endangered, and
extinct animals. We will learn what each of these words mean, as well
as learn
about different types of animals or organisms that may be classified
using
these terms. When we are finished with this project, you will all be an
expert
on one of these species and you will present what you know to the rest
of the
class.Ó
B.
Development
1.
First Class Session
a.
Students will listen to the
teacher
introduce the lesson.
b.
Teacher will write the terms:
threatened,
endangered, and extinct on the chalkboard. The teacher will ask
students to
discuss what they believe the terms mean. Teacher and students will
engage in a
discussion about the meaning of each of these terms. The teacher will
ask
students if they know of any examples of each term.
1.
THREATENED Ð Species that may become
endangered within a foreseeable future throughout their range unless
the steps
are taken to prevent decreasing
2.
ENDANGERED- Species that are in serious
danger of
extinction and have already been reduced to critically low numbers or
have
experienced drastic habitat
3.
EXTINCT- Species that no longer exist
across
their former range.
c.
Teacher will explain the
project that
students will be working on for the next few days and answer any
questions
students may have.
d.
Teacher will display
demonstrations of
what the finished poster is to look like. The teacher will also
demonstrate
various ways students may organize their posters, explaining to them
that the
posters are to be as colorful and creative as possible, as well as
writing the
words large enough for everyone to see.
e.
Teacher will place students
into groups
of no more than four students. Students will work collectively on this
project
as a group. Students will choose as a group, which threatened,
endangered, or
extinct specie they would like to research. The teacher will ensure
that each
group picks a distinct animal so that no two groups select the same
animal to
research.
f.
Students will stop after this
step and
will continue the lesson during the following class period.
2.
Second Class Session
a.
Students will spend this class
period in
the library and on the classroom computers, researching their animal.
Students
will be required to find information and take notes about the following
categories about their group animal: physical characteristics,
habitat/location
or region, diet/food source, reasons why threatened, endangered, or
extinct,
measures taken, if any, to save the species, a map showing the
distribution of
the animal, and illustrations of the animal.
b.
Students will stop after this
step.
Students will place all of their books and research in a safe place in
the
classroom to begin working on their poster during the next class period.
3.
Third Class Session
a. Students
will gather in their groups and
collect all necessary materials they will need to complete the poster
from the
supply table in the back of the classroom, one group at a time.
b. Students
will work on their posters
during this class period. Groups will also have the opportunity to use
the
classroom computers to type up their information on their posters, if
they
choose.
c. Teacher
will check in on students
periodically to make certain that all groups are completing the
assignment
correctly and do not have any questions.
d. Students
will be asked to stop
after this step, and return all materials to the proper places and will
finish
their posters in the fourth class session, and present them to the
class.
4.
Fourth Class Session
a. Students
will reconvene in their groups
and will gather all necessary materials from the supply table
b. Students
will be instructed to finish
their posters because they will be presenting them to the rest of the
class
towards the end of the period.
c. Once
their posters are completed,
students will return the supplies to the proper place.
d. Each
group will submit their posters at
the end of the fourth class period to be assessed and displayed in the
classroom.
C.
Strategies for Diverse Learners
1. Students
who have visual problems will be
required to sit in the front of the
class when the teacher
presents the lesson and is demonstrating the project to the class. The
student
will also be required to sit in the front of the class when the
students are
presenting their completed posters. The teacher will also provide this
student
with larger, typed directions that they could read from their seat
instead of
relying on reading the directions written on the board.
D.
Summary and Closure
1. Once
all of the groups are finished, the teacher will
have each group present
their poster to the rest of
the class, explaining the reasons why their animal is extinct,
endangered, or
threatened. Each group will also be asked to present important
information
about their animal, including the habitat, etc.
E.
Assignment
1. No
homework assignment will be given for this lesson.
F.
Evaluation
1.
StudentÕs worksheet will be
assessed for
completeness and accuracy.
2.
Students will also be assessed
through
observation of cooperative group work, i.e. fair sharing of materials,
working
together, contributing equally to project.
3.
Each groupÕs poster will also
be assessed
using the attached rubric.
*
This lesson
plan and the information in the introduction and development section
were
modified from two lesson plans, from the website: http://sfr.psu.edu/youth/sftrc/environ-series/ete-lesson, and the other from the
website:
http://www.proteacher.com/cgi-bin/outsidesite.cgi?id=5455&external=http://www.teachers.8m.com/p_endang.htm&original=http://www.proteacher.com/110076.shtml&title=Endangered%20Species
Cognitive Complexity of the
Lesson: This
lesson is concerned with
understanding the differences between threatened, endangered, and
extinct
animals and creating a poster to display information about these
animals. I
believe that this lesson falls in either the factual
knowledge-understand cell
or the factual knowledge-create cell of the Anderson-Krathwohl
taxonomy.