Student Teaching Lesson Plan Template

(Indirect Instruction)

Subject: Science Central Focus: Animal and Plant Adaptations

Essential Standards/Common Core Objective (2): Date submitted: 11/12/19 Date taught: 10/25/19

5.L.2 Understand the interdependence of plants and

animals with their ecosystem
Daily Lesson Objective (1):

Students will be able to explain what an adaptation is and create their own animal with adaptations
scoring at least 4 out of 5 points.

21st Century Skills (1): Academic Language Demand (if Handbook applicable)

Critical Thinking because students ● Language Function: Explain

have to create their own animals
with their knowledge of ● Content/Academic Vocab: adaptation, behavior, survival of the
adaptations. fittest, mutation, instinct, inherited, habitat, extinct

● Discourse possibilities: Turn and talk, class discussions, creating

posters (Animal Wanted/Create Your Own Animal)

Prerequisite knowledge and skills Global Awareness (1):

needed (1):
Students know characteristics of
animals and the types of places that
they live. The teacher should know
that animals have certain
characteristics that help them adapt
to the environments around them.
Students are learning about how environmental factors influence the
world and the habitats around us. Discuss what types of animals that
live around us currently and what they might do to survive. How do
humans survive in different parts of the world where it may be cold or
hot, like in Alaska and Australia? Students will become aware of the
changes organisms have to make to survive and examples of these
organisms around the world (such as cactus’ in the desert and coyotes
in the winter).

Activity Description of Activities and Setting Time

1. Engage (3) What do you know? Kahoot 5 min

This Kahoot is a warmup for students to see what they

know before the lesson and engage them on what they
will be learning about.

https://create.kahoot.it/share/what-do-you-know-
warmup/e943b881-1841-44ad-9789-b5e1cb5c3483

2. Explore (3) Transition into having students each explore a different 10 min
organism: Cactus’, Dolphins, Coyotes, Zebras. Students
will read the short articles and use their highlighter to
highlight the adaptations discussed in the article.

Students will then create an “Animal Wanted” poster,

talking about their animal and the adaptations they use
to survive to identify them.

When done, students will do a short presentation to the

group about their animal and their adaptations.

Discussion questions:
 What do you notice about these organisms?
 Do all of the organisms adapt to their
environment in the same way?
 What do you think would happen if these
organisms did not adapt to their environment?

Student work is provided on the Weebly.

3. Explain (3) Ask for student definitions of adaptation. After 3-5 min
responses, introduce the textbook definition of
adaptation: a specific change to a physical feature or a
behavior common to a species which helps the species
survive.

Explain that animals are able to live in their

environments, their habitats, even when it is changing.
Ask students: what is a habitat? Listen to student
responses and then introduce the textbook definition of
 habitat: the natural home or environment of an animal,
plant, or other organism.

Essential Questions to Answer:

 What is an adaptation?
 Does an animal have to adapt to survive in the
long run?
 What happens if an animal is unable to adapt?
 What are examples of animals that have
adaptations?

4. Elaborate/Extend (3) Open up the Science A-Z Adaptations booklet that their 8-10 min
teacher has already provided to them. Review the book
that they read before the lesson and go through the book
and highlight important information.

Read pages:

Page 6: Review survival of the fittest and mutations

Page 9: Review extinct
Page 15-16: Review inherited, behavior, and instinct

Discussion questions:
 What are examples of behaviors humans have?
 Can someone give me an example of an instinct
humans have?
 What does extinct mean in your own words? Do
you know any animals that have gone extinct?
 Do humans inherit genes like other organisms?
What is something you may have inherited from
your parents?
5. Evaluate (Assessment Students create their own animal with adaptations 10 min
methods) (3) through a drawing of a picture and a summary.

Possible adaptations to choose from:

 Beak, Webbed feet, Stripes, Fur, Sharp Claws,
Wings, Scales

Student work is provided on the Weebly.

Student(s) &
Modifications/Accommodations
(2):
1. Vision Impairment: Students
with a vision impairment will
receive handouts with enlarged
pint on a larger size paper.
2. ADHD: Allow students to
have frequent breaks during
stations with fidget gadgets and
flexible seating.
Student/Small Group
Students struggling to read and/or
comprehend a text.
Differentiation:
Provide guiding questions to help
elicit student thinking.
Students are given iPads that can play
audio for students who struggle to
read.
Student/Small Group
Gifted Students
Differentiation:
Students are encouraged to dive
deeper and add more adaptations
to their animal than required.
Students could think a little
deeper about what their animal
might eat, where it lives, its life
span, etc.

3. Hearing Impairment:
Students who have a hearing
impairment have a hearing aid
that has a Bluetooth ability to
connect to a microphone device
that the teacher wears that
amplifies the sound directly
through the student’s hearing
aid.

Materials/Technology (1): Science A-Z Adaptations Booklet, Science A-Z Quick Read for Dolphins,
Coyotes, Zebras, Cactus’, Animal Wanted Poster, writing utensils, blank white paper
Reflection on lesson:

I loved teaching this lesson because the students were so engaged and ready to learn. Beginning the
lesson with a Kahoot proved to be successful because the students were excited to learn about adaptations and
it created a little bit of a competitive atmosphere. After the Kahoot, the rest of my activities involved creating
mini posters, class discussions, and reviewing an adaptations book. I think I did a great job on this lesson plan
because I tried to incorporate engaging pieces into my lesson and students had the opportunity to share their
work and be creative. The feedback my clinical educator provided me told me that my activities were
“thought provoking” and “high level” as well as very engaging. Hearing this positive feedback reinforced my
thinking that this lesson went very well.
If I were to do this lesson again, I think I would have liked to launch it a little differently as the Kahoot
seemed very easy for the students. Another way I could have done this was to show a picture of humans in
the cold and ask how humans adapt to cold weather. In the picture, the humans would have hats, gloves,
coats, and boots to keep them warm. Then, I would relate how humans adapt to their environment around
them and how animals do the same. I think that this would require a higher level of thinking than the Kahoot,
but then again the students loved competing against one another and got them excited for the lesson ahead. I
also reviewed what I could have done better on my feedback form and it indicated that I should use a timer to
keep the pace going as we did fall a little behind schedule. This is a great idea and I plan to implement this in
future lessons as I struggled to fit everything in a short amount of time. Looking back, maybe I should have
only implemented one mini poster project, but I got a little excited!

Rubric:
Meets Partially Meets Does Not Meet
The Animal The animal has at The animal has at The animal has one
least 3 characteristics least 2 characteristics or less characteristics
that help them adapt that help them adapt that help them adapt
to the environment (3 to the environment (2 to the environment.
pts) pts) (0 pts)

The Summary The summary The summary There is no summary

consists of the three consists of the three (0pts)
characteristics and characteristics, but
how it helps the does not explain how
animal survive. (2 it helps the animal
pts) survive (1pt)
Vocabulary:

Adaptation A specific change to a physical feature or a behavior

common to a species which helps the species
survive.
Behavior the way in which an animal or person acts in
response to a particular situation or stimulus.

Survival of the fittest the continued existence of organisms which are best
adapted to their environment, with the extinction of
others, as a concept in the Darwinian theory of
evolution.

Mutation the changing of the structure of a gene, resulting in

a variant form that may be transmitted to
subsequent generations, caused by the alteration of
single base units in DNA, or the deletion, insertion,
or rearrangement of larger sections of genes or
chromosomes.

Instinct an innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in

animals in response to certain stimuli.

Inherited (of a quality, characteristic, or predisposition)

derived genetically from one's parents or ancestors.

Habitat the natural home or environment of an animal,

plant, or other organism.

Extinct (of a species, family, or other larger group) having

no living members.
i.e. no longer in existence