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6- Integrated Lesson Plan

Class Subject: Science Course/Grade: Grade 3

Lesson Plan: Lesson #: 1 Title: Creative Creatures

Big Idea: Living things are diverse, can be grouped, and interact in their ecosystems
Content: Biodiversity in the local environment. Biodiversity is the variety of different types of
living things in an ecosystem, along with characteristics of local plants, animals and fungi.
Lesson Rationale: An introduction to biodiversity and the impact of the environment on an
organisms characteristics/features.
Expectations and Curricular core competencies: Students are expected to be able to do the
following:
 Demonstrate curiosity and a sense of wonder about the world
 Make predictions based on prior knowledge
 Make observations about living and non-living things in the local environment
 Sort and classify data and information using drawings or provided tables
 Use tables, simple bar graphs, or other formats to represent data and show simple patterns
and trends
Language Objectives:
- Students will record ideas in a graphic organizer
- Students' will brainstorm and orally discuss and share ideas with partners/ tablemates
- Students will write a description of their creative creature: name, habitat, diet, predators,
life cycle and any interesting facts they may have.
- Students will define and use key science vocabulary:
o Habitat o Bills/beak o Antennae/feele
o Diet o Bodies rs
o Predators o Wings o Mouthparts
o Life cycle o Legs o Eyes
o Tails
- Students will read the criteria of the “Creative Creature” Project.
- Students will create their own “Creative Creature”
- Students' will orally share their projects once finished their draft
Materials
- Pictures of birds and insects
- Creative Creature Handout x30
- Grid paper x30
- Examples and cut outs already done
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Lesson Plan: 80 minutes

Clock Activity Teaching Notes

Time &
Minutes

20 Introduction: This project utilizes the students' knowledge in

minutes Science and making connections with our
subjects!
Showing pictures of different birds and
describing their features and why it’s
suitable for where they live: talking about
beak, wings, colour, feathers,
Science: real bird and insect parts, and
scientific descriptions
Art: open ended creativity
Math: rows and columns
Social Studies: Mapping using grids
Language Arts: written description of your
creature

Show pictures of different insects and their Ask students'

components: Antennae, body, mouthparts, “Why do you think some of these animals
tails, eyes have these features?”
Discuss in partners and groups, share

*discuss on what each body part is, what it

looks like, what it does

Create an opportunity for ELLs to use their L1

to either label the body parts or maybe share
what type of insects or birds they’re familiar
with

Lesson Notes - Go through the specific vocabulary in

Handout project sheet and go through it the criteria
30 with the class
minutes - After students' have gone through the
Have students' read the instructions instructions with a partner, debrief and
afterwards with their partners clarify any confusion

- Discuss that they will only be doing

Step 1
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Activity: - Show and work through the example of

Only working on Step 1 today:
30 Choose which body parts you want
minutes
Draw all the parts onto a grid
*if time cut out the larger portions
Step 1:
- Choose a body part and go through
counting and using the grid paper
-show a finished example of a creative creature
Once students' have drawn one body part have
them show you to ensure they are correctly
counting columns and rows.

*leave all parts on the board so students' can

refer to them while they are working

5 minutes Closure to Learning - Give students' a container or Ziplock

Clean up with their names on them so that small
Lesson will be carried on for the next few pieces don’t get lost!
weeks

Grid for self-assessment

Criteria 1 2 3 4 5

Scaffolding and differentiation ✓

Learning and language objectives ✓

Activate prior knowledge ✓

Pre-teach vocabulary ✓

Self or peer evaluation ✓

Formative assessment or feedback opportunities ✓

Student talk, oral practice, or student practice time (peer review, peer scaffolding, ✓
collaborative practice)

Takes into account students’ interests, culture, strengths, and ability level ✓

Writing to learn ✓
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Reflection:

This was my first time creating a lesson plan for an Elementary class. I realized my timing
wasn’t the greatest as I went along. I think my lesson is more suitable as a unit plan, since to
cover everything it would take at least a few weeks. I would also do this lesson at the end of the
year as a wrap up to topics we’ve previously covered, such as graphing, mapping, and
descriptive writing.

Strengths of the lesson:

- The topic/project is cross- curricular, students' will be able to connect the knowledge
from math, social studies, language arts and science together. All the while creating
something new
- Students' have ample time to share ideas and collaborate with peers
- Between each step there will be a check in which will be a means of formative
assessment, to ensure the students' are understanding and completing the objective of the
step.
- Within this project, students' will have worked on all 4 broad skills: reading, writing
listening and speaking
- ELL’s are given the chance to work with their L1 when discussing different birds/insects
- The project is broken down into steps that seem less daunting to work on
- Scaffolding is done but within each step. For example, the graphic organizer below
would be another lesson or step 5. Where students' are asked to write a description of
their creative creature.
Stretches
- The timing was off for all of this, I think the project way too long to be a single lesson
and this will take a few weeks to finish. I didn’t realize this until working through the
lesson plan.
- Instead of showing pictures I should have created a PowerPoint or presentation of sorts to
make it more visual and colourful. I could also add a video in before to pique the interest
of the class.
- I could differentiate the activity so ELLs could use birds and insects they are familiar
with (native to their home country)
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- The criteria sheet is a bit overwhelming when looking at it. I should change it up by
making it more spacious and less text heavy by adding visuals to each step.
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Date: __________________ Name:-

____________________
CREATIVE CREATURES

IMAGINE

What would a robin’s head look like on a caterpillar body? In this activity, you mix and match
body parts from different birds and insects to invent a new creature. You may choose to add parts of
your own invention as well. As you look at the dissected bird and animal parts, can you identify which
bird or animal they are from?

CURRICULAR AREAS
SCIENCE: REAL BIRD AND INSECT PARTS, AND SCIENTIFIC DESCRITIONS
ART: OPEN ENDED CREATIVITY
MATH: ROWS AND COLUMNS
SOCIAL STUDIES: MAPPING USING GRIDS
LANGUAGE ART: WRITTEN DESCRIPTION OF YOUR CREATURE

MATERIALS
- Gridded copies of bird and of insect parts: including facts about the parts of the animal species,
and their purpose
- Graph paper: (different sizes)
- Blank paper: to create your own larger grid if you choose to make bigger
- Ruler: to help draw your own grid
- Scissors: to cut out your parts
- Pencil crayons, felts, crayons, paint etc.
- Glue stick, white glue
- Coloured construction paper

DOING IT
Step 1:
- Draw each body part separately, you will assemble after you have your parts
- Choose a body first, and the grid size, from those supplied, or draw your own larger grid.
Whichever grid you use, carefully look at the number of rows and columns used on the animal
pages and duplicate on your grid (math).
- Copy the body carefully on your grid
- Select other larger body parts: wings, legs and the size grid that matches the size you want them to
be (as you did with the body). Pay attention to the rows and columns, and how the parts are filled
in each square on the grid
Step 2:
- You may choose to colour the parts before cutting them out or later when they are assembled
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- Cut out the larger parts and play with how you want to connect them
Step 3:
- Once you decide how the large parts will be connected, and coloured, glue them on your
construction paper
- Now you can look at adding the smaller parts, using the grid, or drawing them freehand
- Cut them out (colour now, or after assembly?)
- Decide where they are attached to the other parts, and glue in place
Step 4:
- You may choose to neatly label the creature’s parts and give a brief definition of their use, like
those on your bird and insect parts pages

Step 5:
WRITTEN DESCRIPTION OF YOUR CREATURE
 Name
 Habitat: where does it live? Describe it
 Diet: what does it eat?
 Predators: what eats it?
 *optional* life cycle: does it hatch from an egg, or is it born live?
 Interesting facts about this creature
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Written Graphic organizer (teacher notes to facilitate mindful discussion)

4.6- Integrated Lesson Plan