Biology1 Lesson Plan

Class: Honors Biology

Grade Level: Eleventh (Juniors)

Unit: Ecology

Teacher: Ms. Sarah Zellmann

Objectives
I can investigate online an invasive species to better understand it.
I can construct a wanted poster for my species that displays the research I found.

Common Core State Standard(s)-CCSS

Construct an explanation based on evidence that the process of evolution primarily results
from four factors: (1) the potential for a species to increase in number, (2) the heritable
genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, (3)
competition for limited resources, and (4) the proliferation of those organisms that are
better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.

Iowa Core Curriculum-Subject Area Standard

Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the
environment and biodiversity.

21st Century Skill(s)

- Information Literacy (Access and evaluate information)
o The students did this during the research portion of this lesson. They had
to evaluate websites and books for valuable and applicable information.
- Initiative and Self-Direction (Manage goals and be a self-directed learner)
o The students did this by pacing themselves. Their goal was to gather all of
their research and begin work on their poster by the end of class. They had
those goals set for them to ensure they were on task and had to manage
that by themselves.

Essential Question
What kinds of organisms shape an ecosystem and a biome?

***For the sake of this lesson plan there are 20 students in the class.

Anticipatory Set
(20 minutes)
Before the students enter the class have the “I can” statements written on the board.
When the bell rings tell the students to get out their laptop or phone and go to
quizizz.com for the bell-ringer activity. Tell the students these questions are very similar
to the ones that will be on their upcoming exam and that there are only 3 more class
periods before the Unit test. The students have all the knowledge they need to get each of
these answers correct, but it is not expected for everyone to get them all right. Tell the
students that today we are doing an investigation about invasive species and this quizizz
is to help them recall what we’ve already learned to help them with this project.
Project the code or link to quizizz on the board and make sure the correct number of
students are logged in before beginning.
 Link:
o https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/5721f654a56be6c17f1cfc2e/invasive-
species-and-ecology
There are 14 questions on the quiz and each should take the students less than a minute to
answer. If this activity goes over time that is fine, but the students will have less class
time to work. However, it is most important that students understand the correct answers
to the quiz before proceeding.
Any question that 5 or more students answered incorrect should be talked through on the
spot. Have the students do the talking but prompt them as needed. Example short
conversation pertaining to Question 1:
 Teacher: 7 students got this question wrong… most of the 7 answered (become
resistant to diseases) instead of the correct answer (go extinct)… Where do you
think these students went wrong in their thinking?... What is the correct way to
approach this question? Why are you able to rule out each of the 3 incorrect
answers?
By prompting the students this way you are forcing them to communicate the correct way
of thinking to prepare them for the upcoming exam. They are also teaching and learning
from their peers’ answers. Once all 14 questions have been answered and discussed, tell
the students to put phones and laptops away for just a moment.

Teaching: Activities
Activity #1: Project Discussion (10 min)
 Discuss the project
o Tell the class that they are going to be researching an invasive species of
their choice, making a wanted poster, and developing a counter attack on
that species. They have the choice of working individually or with a
partner and that they must sign up for a species with me at the beginning
of work time. Their work will be presented on a poster at a gallery walk 2
class periods from now. The information must be presented in a way that
is easy for others in the class to understand.
 Communicate expectations
o Project the rubric on the board (shown in Materials section below).
Highlight each requirement and ask the students if they are clear on what
they must do. Tell the class that if you choose to work with a partner that
the partnership will receive one grade. Tell the class that their goal by the
end of the period should be to have most or all of their research compiled
on their Notes handout (shown in Materials section below). Anything they
do not find should be researched at home so next class can be all about
assembling the poster. Remind them to use their judgement and to only
use the teacher approved websites for research. Remind the students they
need to cite their sources in APA format on the back of their poster.
 Show an example
o Project the Wanted Poster example (shown in Materials section below) up
on the board. Show students what a rough outline of their poster could
look like. Point out that this is an example pulled from the web and that it
lacks quite a few of the requirements for our project, but is a good visual.

Activity #2: Work time (55 min)

  Tell the students they have 55 minutes to gather their research in class today. Tell
them to decide whether they want to work with a partner or individually and that
only 2 people will be allowed to work on each species so there is a variety of
posters at the gallery walk. Tell the students when they are ready to form a line
and sign up at the front of the class for their species (sign-up sheet shown in
Materials section below).
 Walk around every 5-10 minutes and ask students to share any interesting facts
they’ve found and to be available for questions anyone may have.
 Give the students a 5 minutes left warning and tell them when it’s time to clean up
for the closing activity.

Closure
(5 min)
Two-cents:
Have the students pull out a sheet of paper and draw 2 circles on it. Tell them to write one
interesting fact they learned about their invasive species on one circle. Tell them to write
on the other one of their ideas for dealing with this invasive species. Have them turn this
in as their ‘exit ticket’ for participation points for the lesson.

Independent Practice

In order to keep on task, the students should finish gathering their research at home
before the next class period. At home the students should also consider the layout of their
poster. They need to be completely prepared to begin their poster at the start of the next
class period. Whatever prep they did not finish in class today should be done
independently as homework.

Assessment

The students will have a summative test over the Ecology unit. This will be multiple
choice and short answer response. Some example test questions that pertain to this lesson
specifically are below:

1. A species that is NOT native to a particular region is called

a. Natural
b. Endemic
c. Invasive
d. Extraordinary
2. Exotic or invasive species leads to all of these problems except
a. Increased biodiversity
b. Disease
c. Loss of biodiversity
d. Loss of native species

Materials
Anticipatory Set:
 Link for quizizz above
Activity #1:
 Poster Rubric
 Notes handout
  Wanted Poster example

Activity #2:
 Sign-up sheet
Duration
Anticipatory Set: 20 min
Activity #1: 10 min
Activity #2: 55 min
Closure: 5 min

Modified from Madeline Hunters Lesson Plan Design