Overview and Context

Your name(s): Danny Harro

Grade level and school:
Title of lesson/activity:
Teaching date(s) and time(s):
Estimated time for
lesson/activity:
Overview of lesson:
Context of lesson:
Learning Goals and Assessments
Wines Elementary School, 3rd Grade
Habitats Lesson 5- Owl Food
November 10, 2016 @ 12:00
1 hour
Students will be dissecting owl pellets to learn about the
eating habits of a barn owl. Students will be looking at the
skeletal remains in the pellet and try to identify the owls
habitat from what they know about the organisms in the
owls diet.
Students have been studying habitats. They have recently
explored the idea that animals interact because their
habitats overlap. They talked about the different aspects
that make up a habitat and began briefly talking about a
barn owls characteristics. The students have little
experience with dissection. Most have only done a dissection
of an apple in the second grade.

Science and Disciplinary Core Crosscutting Learning goal /

Engineering Idea(s) Concept(s) Performance
Practice(s) expectation:
Integration of SP,
DCI, CCC

Planning and LS2.C: Ecosystem Cause and Effect Students will be

carrying out Dynamics, able to make
investigations Scale, proportion, and observations of
Functioning, and
Quantity what they find in
Engaging in Rescilience
their owl pellet in
argument from System and system
LS2.D Social order to
evidence Models
Interactions and
Analyzing and Group Behavior
interpreting data

Obtaining,
evaluating, and
communicating
information

Type of assessment:

Students will respond to the following prompt in their journal:

Connection to activities:

Students will start the lesson by engaging in a whole class discussion about what they
already know about habitats and the barn owl. Having this knowledge fresh on their mind
will help them add on to what they already know in this reflection prompt. They can draw
from what they discovered in the dissection to make conclusions about the owls
environment.

Attending to the Learners

Anticipating student
ideas, including
alternative ideas,
misconceptions, prior
knowledge, and prior
experiences:
Making the content
accessible to all students,
including using specific
leverage points for
promoting equitable
science instruction:
Students may think that the owl pellets are feces but they are
not; the preys soft parts go all the way through the owls
digestive system, but their bones and fur dont. We will make
sure we explicitly explain this. And provide the kids with an
alternative reaction to the pellet. Rather than being grossed out
they can push themselves to think, how interesting. Students
may also think it is a scavenger hunt to find all the bones. We
can lead them in a discussion about how if you find the skull of
one animal, what other bones should we be looking for? (the
rest of the bones of that one specific animal).
The best thing about this lesson is that every kid is going to be
provided with an owl pellet so they all get a chance to be hands
on with the investigation and relate to what the explain portion
may address.
I have quite a few students who have troubles focusing in my
class. I will be sure during the independent dissecting time
during the experience portion to check in with them at the start
and make sure they know what they are doing and see if they
have any questions.

I will also try and describe new vocabulary that the kids may
not know so they have enough understanding to continue with
the experiment:
Digest- to break down food in stomach
Dissect- to cut something up and examine it
Regurgitate- to cough up from the stomach
Instructional Sequence: Engage Element

Steps for Engage Element

To clarify your investigation storyline: Make sure you address how you will elicit
students' initial ideas about the phenomenon.
Time: 15 The teacher will: The students will:
minutes
Begin with a whole class discussion drawing Be on the front rug,
on what the students already know about actively listening,
habitats and the barn own. engaging, and responding
o Write a list on the board about what to the discussion
the kids previously learned from the questions.
curriculum for the habitats unit. They should all be given
Teacher will draw oak tree on the board and the opportunity to
lead a whole group discussing reminding the individually think and
students that the tree what part of a barn respond about what they
owls habitat. remember about habitats.
Briefly discuss what other things the students
might think they will find in the habitat of a
barn owl.
o Push students to talk about what small
animals they might find (ie. Mice,vole,
rat, bird).
Elicit students thinking about what an owl
pellet.
Explicitly teach what an owl pellet it
o An owl catches a rodent and swallos it
whol if possible. The owls stomach
digests all the soft parts of prey but
cant digest the bones or fur. These
 then get made into a tight compact
ball called a pellet.
Model how to dissect an owl pellet (my MT is
doing this part so I am placing it in engage
BUT it will be done after predictions).
o Use probe to show how to break pellet
open.
o Express importance of being gentle
because bones are so small
o Explain it is sterile. If gets are getting
queasy encourage them to think
rather than thats gross, instead- how
interesting!

Instructional Sequence: Experience Element

Steps for Experience Element

To clarify your investigation storyline, make sure you address three key aspects of
the Experience element:
What are the key pieces of data you hope students will notice?
How can those key pieces of data be used as evidence to answer the
investigation question?
What questions will you ask students as they collect data (for example, while
you circulate from group to group)?
Time: The teacher will: The students will:
35
minnut "So today we are doing an Be on the front carpet still. They
es investigation just like scientists and should be listening to instructions
scientists take time to make and beginning to think about what
predictions before beginning an they will find in the pellet to record on
investigation. So we are going to their prediction sheet
make a prediction before our Students should wait patiently on the
dissection today. carpet till they get their prediction
Place prediction sheet on document sheet
camera and call on a student to Students should grab a pencil and
read aloud the prompt. nothing else, and be silently working
Yes so we are making a prediction at their seats.
on what we think we are going to Student will pile prediction sheet in
find in owl pellet as we dissect it. middle of table and observe how to
Be very specific in your response. dissect the pellet.
Allow time for questions Students should engage in whole
Explain that the predication sheet is class discussion about why data
the students ticket off the rug and collection is important and how we
tell them they will have about 4-5 are going to do it for this
mins to answer the prompt. investigation.
Now remember, a prediction is just Students should then wait patiently
a guess so there are no wrong at their seats for materials or (if they
answers. Just try and answer the are the group leader) head to the
question the best you can. Think back table and receive the supplies
about what we talked about on the from the teacher, and pass them out
rug about the owls habitat for to their group.
some ideas. Students may begin dissecting once
Pass out sheets to kids on rug and they receive the pellet
set timer. Students should try and have an
Circulate the room and get a read open, positive mind and try not to get
on students grossed out during dissection.
o Students may all just put Students should be using wooden
bones and fur- if so make an stick to break apart pellet, picking off
announcement to them to the fur with their fingers, placing the
be very specific about what fur in cup, identifying bones on their
animals the bones are from chart once they have found a few,
 and how many they will find. and circling the correct boxes to
Once timer goes off: Alright does record data.
anyone care to share out their Students may collaborate or share
prediction of what we will find in an what they found with table group as
owl pellet? (Accept about 3 they work.
answers). Students should follow clean up
I will model how to dissect pellet instruction when prompted.
So now that we are finding some
interesting things in our pellet it is
important that we record this
information. We are going to use
our bone identification sheet. (Put
under doc camera). Now who has
some ideas about why it might be
important to collect data?
o Accept answers from a few
kids. Looking for response
that data helps us
remember what we found
and that it is used as
evidence or proof in order to
answer investigation
question.
Yes we need to record our findings
on our chart in order to help us
remember what we found. But also,
to use as evidence in order to
answer our investigation question
and share our when we reflect on
what we found.
I will then model how I identify
which bone I think I found on my
chart
o Use magnifying glass
o Explain pictures on chart
should be to scale, or same
size as real bones
o Have a discussion with kids
that if we found the skull of
an animal, you might want
to wait and see if you find
other bones from same
animals. Should be finding
bones from 1 animal so may
be helpful to wait to circle
your findings.
o Explain that we are going to
circle the box once we have
identified bone.
o Emphasize that all the tools
are scientific tools and
should be used for their
specific purposes. Can have
kids list behavior norms they
should be following.
Now it is very important everyone
is listening for the instructions on
how to get materials so that we can
begin our dissection as soon as
possible. Group leaders you will be
called up to collect a mat,
magnifying glass, cup, and wooden
probe for all members in your group
and pass them out. Once you all
 have these materials then Mrs.
Rodriguez and I will pass out the
owl pellets. You all need to stay
quiet so that the group leaders can
hear their name being called. So
please be patient and sit tight for a
moment while we make sure
everything is passed out.
I will start circulating once kids
have broken apart their pellet and
started to uncover some bones.
Back pocket questions to ask
students as they discuss
o How does what you are
finding compare to your
predictions?
o (if student found a skull) Ask
them to identify what bone
they found. Now that we
have this skull what other
bones should we be looking
for?
o What are you finding in your
pellet?
o How did these bones get
into the pellet?
o (if student has conjectured
that owl ate the animal of
the bones they found) What
do you think that means
about what can be found in
the habitat of an owl?
Check in with about 10-15 mins left
reminding students to put fur in
cup, actually record data, and finish
up as much as they can
Give a 2 minute warning
Place clean up sheet on front doc
cam and read it aloud. (See sheet
attached below).
Circulate and make sure kids are
cleaning up.

Instructional Sequence: Explain + Argue Element

Steps for Explain + Argue Element

Time: The teacher will: The students will:

10
minut Call the kids to the front carpet
es with their bone identification
charts
Thank you all for cleaning up
quickly and efficiently. As I was
circulating I saw some very cool
bones and skulls at many of your
deks. Now lets share as a class
what we found.
Ask students to hold up a silent
thumb if they found 3 or more
bones of the animal being called.
(Go through each animal)
(Vole should be the most frequent)
Students will bring their bone identification
sheet to the front carpet (with no pencil)
Students should be keeping their papers
still and quiet during the discussion
Student will share out what bones they
found
Students should be good listeners and
engage and respond in the discussion when
necessary
Students will get assessment sheet as
ticket off rug
Students should work on their assessment
independently and quietly at their desks
 Make a note about how the most Students may sketch bones in journal if
thumbs up was for voles and that they finish early
they must be a primary food for
the owl.
Have students turn and talk with a
neighbor about what they think
their findings means about what
we might find in the habitat of an
owl. Share out as a group.
o Rodents and owls must live
in same habitat
Could ask the student what type of
habitat it might be that both
animals are found in

Reflection on Planning

Learning goal for A learning goal I am working on for myself in all subjects for field work is to
self: obtain a serious teaching tone when needed. My class is very difficult
behaviorally so I am working on using a more stern, in charge voice if I am
trying to get their attention and its not working. Also I hope to manage the
materials of this lesson in an organized and time efficient way. There are so
many for this dissection it is an important part of the lesson to consider.
Preparing to teach I will double check the day before that we have all the materials necessary to
this lesson: teach the lesson. I will make and print the worksheets. I will run through some
of the scripting I have prepared in order to be familiar with the teaching
language I want to use.