Lesson Plan Form - LBS 400

Revised 08/05/14

Candidate: Ken Cabillan

Subject: Science

Grade level(s):

Date: November 11, 2020

2
Standard: 2-LS4-1 : Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different
habitats.
I. DESCRIPTION OF CONTENT & CONTENT TYPE (Fact, Procedure, Concept, or Principle):
Students will be learning about characteristics of different animals in certain habitats and why certain
characteristics are important for that habitat.
II. LEARNING OUTCOME (Objective):
Given _animal trait cards , students will analyze _animals and their related habitats_ by _categorizing trait
cards to their appropriate animals and explaining why certain trait cards are unique to certain habitats_.
DOK/Cognitive Rigor Level: DOK 3 / Tier 4
Language Demands: Conversational and academic language. Conversational language is important
because the students will be conversing in groups.
III. CURRICULUM CONNECTION: A lesson that would come before this is identifying different
animals and different environments. A lesson that might come after this will also involve animal traits
and habitats but may also encourage children to create their own animal based on environment.
IV. INSTRUCTION
A. ENGAGEMENT:
The teacher displays a photo of a dessert and asks students to identify the environment. The teacher
then ask students about the different characteristics of a dessert (such as dry, hot, etc.). The teacher may
also give example of desserts around the school such as Big Sir and Death Valley. The teacher will
repeat this sequence with different environments such as oceans, forests, tropical rainforest, mountains,
etc.
Student friendly objective: By the end of our lesson you should _analyze__ __animal
traits_________ by ____categorizing which traits are prominent in certain environments and
why____.
Purpose: Students are learning about animal traits so that they can make a connection between
environments and the animals that live there. It is important to make connections between animals and
their habitats so that kids can place value on environments they visit as well as respect environments
surrounding their city.
B. INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE (Teaching Methodology With Student Activities):
Step #1: _____Ocean - Gills____________________
a. T input The teacher places the ocean placemat on an overhead and reads the description. The
description hints that the oxygen rich water is filled with tiny creatures called plankton.
a. T model After reading the hint, I noticed that the ocean has oxygen rich water. I should find an

animal trait that allows underwater breathing. The teacher picks up the gill card and reads the hint.
The hint states that gills allow certain animals to take in oxygen from water. Who thinks that the gill
trait is prominent in the ocean environment?
b. Student response: Students raise hands and answer. The teacher then asks which creatures have
gills.
Step #2: ______Desert - environment_________
a. T input The teacher places the desert placemat on the overhead. This is the desert environment.
In your groups, please have someone read the description on the bottom. Write a list of things that
make a desert unique. This will give us a hint on what animal trait is predominant here.
a. T model After reading about the desert, what makes the desert unique compared to the ocean?
b. Student response: Students reply that deserts are hot during the day, and cold at night. They also
state that deserts are very dry and that water is very scarce.
Step #3: ______Desert - scales____________________
a. T input Very good. Deserts are very hot and dry. Because of these conditions, animals have to
save what little water there is.
a. T model In your trait decks, there is a card that helps with saving water. Discuss with your group
which card helps with water saving and place it on the desert placemat. Well have two minutes to
decide.
b. Student response: Students discuss in groups which trait saves water. Upon reading the many
descriptions of different cards, many groups will come across the scales card, which provides the hint
that scales help creatures such as lizards minimize water loss by keeping in moisture. Tortoises are
known to use their dry scales to absorb any moisture they come in contact with.
Step #4: ___Scales- continued_____________
a. T input I see that many groups put scales on the desert placemat. The teacher places the scales
card on the desert placement that is on display on the projector.
a. T model Which group would like to tell me why scales belong in the desert environment?
b. Student response: Students respond that scales help with water retention. In animals such as
tortoises, scales also absorb moisture from the air and ground.
Step #5: _____Misleading in the desert - mirage___________________
a. T input The teacher picks up the Hands card and places it on the desert placemat. Hands are
found on a limited amount of animals on the earth. Hands are useful for climbing up trees and picking
fruit.
a. T model Does anyone think the hands card should be in the desert? Are there many tree in the
deserts?
b. Student response: Many students will place this card on desert simply because the teacher did.
Some students will say that there are only cactus in the desert.
The teacher should reply to the last comment, connecting the limited trees with the lack of water in the
desert. The teacher should then connect the lack of trees and why the hands card does not belong in the
desert.
C. APPLICATION ACTIVITY : Students will have to place the rest of the trait cards in the appropriate
environment placemat. There can be up to four different environments per group, depending on the

number of students and desks.

D. MATERIALS & RESOURCES: 1) Environment placemats (can be created with poster paper,
description, and a picture). Environments may include ocean, desert, savanna, forest, tropical
rainforest, mountains. 2) Trait cards (can be created with 4x6 notecards, a picture, and a description.)
V. ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES :
E. Formative: The teacher should walk around observing each group. The teacher should pay special
attention to conversation, trait placement, and student participation. If the teacher notices a trait card in
the wrong environment, question the group on their reasoning why they think it belongs there.
Summative: At the end of the lesson, the teacher will ask each group what trait they put in a certain
environment. The teacher will ask different groups about different environments. Once a group member
states the trait and why they put it, the teacher will ask other groups if they agree. This will be repeated
until each group have contributed one trait correctly.
VI. ACCOMMODATIONS and/or MODIFICATIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL LEARNERS (Content,
Instruction, Practice): How can we provide equal access for all students? (Accommodation)
How will you help struggling learners or differentiate (challenge) high achievers? (Modification)

VII. HOMEWORK : A worksheet titled favorite animal will prompt students to write down what their
favorite animal is and why. They will then research online (with a parent) what traits and habits they have.
They will write down traits (such as claws, hibernation, etc) under the trait section. They will also research
where the animal is predominately found and write it down at the top of the worksheet. The HW will
imitate the in-class activity, except the assignment will focus on one animal.