Week 1: Day 1

Lesson Goals & Purpose: By the end of the lesson, students should be familiar with the ocean
and begin to critically think about why it is important to conserve it.

Materials:
● Writing journal
● Science journal
● 12 x 18 paper
● Colored pencils
● Markers
● Crayons
● Stickers
● Puff balls

Websites used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfWyzrkFkg8

Standards:
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.OA.B.3
Generate two numerical patterns using two given rules. Identify apparent relationships between
corresponding terms. Form ordered pairs consisting of corresponding terms from the two
patterns, and graph the ordered pairs on a coordinate plane. ​For example, given the rule "Add 3"
and the starting number 0, and given the rule "Add 6" and the starting number 0, generate terms
in the resulting sequences, and observe that the terms in one sequence are twice the
corresponding terms in the other sequence. Explain informally why this is so​.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.2.A
Introduce a topic clearly, provide a general observation and focus, and group related information
logically; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
5-ESS2-1 Earth's Systems
Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere,
and/or atmosphere interact.

Learning Targets:
SWBAT recall prior experiences and tell them in organizational fashion.
SWBAT discover similarities and differences in their work in comparison to their classmates.
SWBAT record previous knowledge while also defining what they hope to learn.
SWBAT describe and display the organisms that make up the ocean.
SWBAT create a model of their own ocean scene.
SWBAT identify crucial components of ocean life.
SWBAT understand simple aspects of the ocean.

Prior Knowledge:
Students should have prior knowledge of key aspects of the ocean in a way that allows them to
further think about tips to conserve it while also beginning to further understand its diverse
systems. They must also be able to identify some creatures that live in the ocean. It is crucial that
students can reference prior experiences or knowledge of the ocean.

Daily Scheduled activities:

8:30-9:00 Morning Meeting​: Students will meet on the carpet to participate in a morning
meeting, this is where students will be briefed and introduced to the theme of the unit we will be
learning about today. Additionally this is also a time where students have the opportunity to
share about their personal lives and anything else they may want to bring to the attention of the
class. We will begin the meeting by first having all students share what their highlight of their
weekend was. Once this is completed, I will introduce today's lesson plan and theme for the unit
we are beginning which is Ocean Life.
9:00-10:00 ELA​: Once students return to their desk after Morning meeting, students will be
instructed to pull out their writing journal. They will turn to the next available page and begin a
free write. Today's free-write will be about the ocean in general; they may write about personal
experiences with the ocean, what they already know, what they hope to learn, and any
assumptions about the ocean that they have heard before. Students will be given about 15-20
minutes to complete this task. After this time, students will have the opportunity to share what
they wrote with an elbow partner using a think- pair-share activity. Students should be looking
for similarities and differences in what they wrote. They will be given 10-15 minutes to complete
this think-pair-share activity. Once completed, students will be able to share their free-writes and
what they talk about with their partner. The teacher would then close the activity by sharing
some of their own personal experience.
10:00-11:00 SCIENCE/ART​: This time will begin with having students watch a quick video
from National Geographic called, “Ocean 101”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfWyzrkFkg8). Once students finish watching the video,
2-3 students will be called upon to share what they found to be the most interesting part of the
video. Students will be asked to pull out their science journal, then students will make a KWL
chart (​K​now, ​W​ill know, ​L​earned). Students will do this individually. Students will be instructed
to only do the K and W part as they will fill out the L part at the end of the lesson. For the
remainder of this time, students will participate in the activity, “Create your own ocean!”.
Students will get in groups of 3-4 where they will be given a large piece of paper and they will
be instructed to draw and color their idea of what the ocean looks like. There will be a checklist
of items they must include in their drawing. The purpose of this is to allow students the
opportunity to create an oceanic system of their own and fill it with organisms that are crucial to
the dynamic success of their ecosystem. Students must also define each organism they choose to
include in their system and why it is important. Finally, it allows students to exercise their
creativity skills.
11:00- 11:50 LUNCH/RECESS
11:50-12:50 MATH​: Students will be learning about how to solve real world problems using the
analysis of patterns and relationships.
12:55- 1:40 SPECIALIST (Library)​: During this time students will take a trip to the library
where they will be picking and checking out what book they will be reading for this unit’s book
club. Books are broken up between reading levels: Whale (high), Shark (at standard), and
Dolphin (low). Students will have 2 options for each level. For Whale the options are Shark Life:
True Stories About Sharks & the Sea by Peter Benchley and Heart of a Dolphin by Adrian
Barrios. For Shark the options are The Great Shark Escape by Jennifer Johnston and Beyond the
Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk. Finally the selections for the Dolphin are Attack of the
Shark-Headed Zombie by Bill H. Doyle and Mermaids in the Backyard by Adrian Barrios.
1:45- 2:50 BOOK CLUB:​ Students will begin to read their book club books. Since today is the
first day they received their books, they will only be required to read for 20 minutes and then
they will have the option to work on/finish their “Create your own ocean!” activity.
2:50-3:00 PACK & CLEAN ROOM

Modifications (All types of learners): A modification that can be made for students who struggle
to write can instead of participating in a free-write they can draw their prior knowledge or
experience in their journal. This would only be an option for those students who still struggle to
write complete sentences or ELL students. Additionally modifications to grouping can include
allowing students to work in groups of 3-4 instead of pairs. The different levels of the books
students can read pose as a consistent modification to the book club system.

Assessment: Students will be assessed on the completion of the “Create your own ocean!”
activity. The teacher will grade the activity based off of completion and ability to fulfil the
requirements included in the checklist.
 

CREATE your own ocean!   

 
Directions: This is an opportunity to display your knowledge of the organisms that 
make up the ocean and the ecosystem that makes it thrive! On a 12 x 18 piece of paper 
you will draw and color an ocean ecosystem of your own, you will do this in groups of 
3-4 students. In each ecosystem there is a minimum amount of organisms and life 
that you must include. By the end of the activity, you must be able to define each 
organism and explain its role. You may reference the internet to research species 
and plant types. Beyond these requirements, you can include anything else you want 
to make your ocean scene unique to your group. Be as creative as you can, They will 
be hung around the classroom once you are finished! 
 
 
Checklist of what your ocean scene you must include:  
❏At Least 7 animal types and species 
❏Purpose / role for each  
❏At least 4 plant types 
❏Purpose / role for each  
❏Ocean temperature 
 
 
 

 
 Week 1: Day 2

Lesson Goals & Purpose: To inform students of the differences between salt and freshwater
following the theme of the ocean and critically thinking about characteristics that make it unique.
Additionally, to facilitate complete comprehension of conservation students will focus their
attention on the principles of cause and effect.
Materials:
● The Little Fish Who Swam to the Big Ocean​ by ​Acharya E.T.
● A one cup measure
● A 1/4 cup measure.
● Eye dropper
● Two eggs
● Two clear 16 oz. glasses
● Water
● Salt
● Food coloring
● Science notebook
● Book club book

Websites used:
https://www.teachervision.com/oceans-oceanography/density-saltwater
https://www.bedtime.com/the-little-fish-who-swam-to-the-big-ocean/

Standards:
5-PS1-1 Matter and Its Interactions
Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
5-PS1-3 Matter and Its Interactions
Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.
5-PS1-4 Matter and Its Interactions
Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in
new substances.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.1
Recognize that in a multi-digit number, a digit in one place represents 10 times as much as it
represents in the place to its right and 1/10 of what it represents in the place to its left.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.3.A
Read and write decimals to thousandths using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded
form, e.g., 347.392 = 3 × 100 + 4 × 10 + 7 × 1 + 3 × (1/10) + 9 × (1/100) + 2 × (1/1000).
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.4
Use place value understanding to round decimals to any place.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.5
Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect,
problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.8
Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text,
identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing
inferences from the text.

Learning Targets:
SWBAT reference previous knowledge.
SWBAT read and analyze a text for evidence of cause and effect.
SWBAT interpret a text in chronological order.
SWBAT make connections between 2 events in a text.
SWBAT follow procedural directions.
SWBAT may begin to make hypotheses for themselves.
SWBAT define density and elaborate on examples.
SWBAT understand the principles of density.
SWBAT understand base 10 place values.
SWBAT recognize patterns and relationships in numbers.
SWBAT participate in an active discussion of a text.

Prior Knowledge: Students will use prior knowledge to know that the ocean is full of salt water
rather than fresh water. They will also require prior knowledge of being about to read and
interpret a text in order to identify certain details. Students can reference any of their previous
learning to be familiar with the term density. With prior experience of identifying patterns and
relationships of numbers, students will be able to accurately learn about base 10 and place value.

Daily Scheduled activities:

8:30-9:00​ Morning Meeting: In today's morning meeting, we will briefly be going back over
what students learned yesterday by having each student share their biggest take away. Students
as a group will also present their oceans that they created yesterday. The teacher will then begin
to introduce the topic of day, which is the difference between saltwater and freshwater. The
teacher will then ask students to share their opinions. This will allow students to bounce ideas off
one another and begin to hypothesize what they think separates the 2. The morning meeting will
end with students participating in a quick game to get them ready for the day, the game is called
“Leaky faucet”. The way this game works is all students hold hands in a circle and students must
move the “water” through the pipes as fast as they can. The way that the “water” travels is by
gently squeezing the hand of the person to your left. You pick one student to “turn on the
faucet”, then once your right hand is squeezed, you immediately squeeze the hand of the person
to your left. The faucet stops once the last student in the circle’s right hand gets squeezed. The
teacher will then time the students to see how fast they can go.
9:00-10:00 ELA​: Students today will be working on the principles of cause and effect,
specifically focusing on students ability to read a text and analyze what leads up to an action or
consequence. Students will practice this skill by reading ​The Little Fish Who Swam to the Big
Ocean​ by ​Acharya E.T.​, they will read this text as a class using the technique of popcorn reading.
Once the short story is finished students will then break up into groups or 2-3 and do a cause and
effect worksheet. Students will have to break down 3 events in the story by defining first why it
happened or what led up to it (Cause) then they must identify what happened as a result (Effect).
Short story and worksheet attached below.
10:00-11:00 SCIENCE​: Students will be performing an experiment today to determine the
underlying factors that differentiate freshwater from salt water. The experiment will begin by the
teacher writing the word “density” on the board, then ask students to define the word. The
definition that should loosely be on the board is “the weight of an object divided by the space it
occupies”. The teacher would then go into a bit more detail and provide some examples in real
life. Explaining that something that is heavy has a high density and something that is lighter will
have a low density; ie. ping pong ball = low density and pool ball = high density. The rest of the
experiment will be explained
11:00- 11:50 LUNCH/RECESS
11:50-12:50​ MATH: Students will begin to work on building fundamental skills to properly
understand base 10 with the use of prior knowledge of patterns and relationships.
12:55- 1:40 PE
1:45- 2:50 BOOK CLUB:​ Students are required to silently read for 35 minutes and then they
will meet with the other students in their book club and they will discuss their book for the
remaining 30 minutes.
2:50-3:00 PACK & CLEAN ROOM

Modifications (All types of learners): For the ELA portion of the class, i think that having it
being read aloud popcorn style helps the students that struggle to read in general because they
can just follow along with their finger as it is being read out loud. As for ELL students during
this time may have a hard time comprehending the book in general as their knowledge and
understanding of English would most likely be lower than the students around them. In this case,
they could replace the reading with a text that is of their reading level even if that means it would
be replaced with a picture book as long as they can point out cause and effect in the text. During
the science portion of the class, students will be working in groups which usually helps students
that may be slower than others. On top of this, I knew that if a student needed some additional
support I would create groups so that they may be surrounded with students that I know would
support them and help them out as much as they can. Again, the different levels of book club is a
constant modification within the classroom.

Assessment Plan: Students would be assessed based upon their completion of the cause and
effect worksheet and their ability to display their comprehension of cause and effect. Those that
show little to no comprehension would meet with the teacher tomorrow during either ELA or
book club time so that they may receive a more personal instruction of the content. Additionally
students will be graded on how well they can define the difference between salt water and fresh
water by the end of the lesson. With that activity, the teacher would be looking more for
comprehension of the content rather than how well they performed the experiment since it is
being done as a whole class.
The Little Fish Who Swam to the Big Ocean
By: ​Acharya E.T.

Once upon a time, there was a fish named George. He lived in the water, as all fish do but
something was different about George, he did not like the water. He swam and swam around in
the water, and every place he swam, he would find something that he did not like. First, he said
that the rocks were too big, then he said that the rocks were too small. Nothing would please
him. The other fish in his school, all fish belonging to a school, would try to cheer him up. They
did not understand why he was unhappy. They loved swimming around in the shallow water and
being together.

The school lived in the intercoastal waters of South Florida. This water was full of life and
warmth. There was always plenty of food and activity and there was never a dull moment for
these fish. However, for some reason, George felt restless and discontent and he wanted more.
One day, a big, old and wise fish came to visit his school. He listened intently. The old and wise
one was telling of vast waters and limitless swimming. He was telling of great whales and big
fish. He was also telling about great light and darkness. Suddenly George wanted to experience
this too. The other fish in his school were not interested but George was eager. He swam with the
big fish towards these vast waters with great dreams. He did not know where he was going but
he trusted the older and wiser fish..

Soon the water began to feel cold and he was seeing giant fish that looked very hungry. He
would have been afraid for his life, but he was much too excited by the new sights. Soon they
came to a cave and they found a safe place for the night with food nearby.

George liked it in the cave. It was very quiet and he could hear calming sounds. Melodious
sound seemed to be coming from a long distance. Even when the big fish swam away, George
decided to remain. This was against all normal fish instinct, as fish wants to be with other fish.
However, as I said earlier, George was not a normal fish. The melodious sound fascinated him
and he could not stop listening to it. He even began to distinguish the different tones and types of
sound. He listened and he listened. He did not eat or move because he was so busy listening. The
more he listened, the more he began to understand about who he really was. The more he
listened, the more he fell into a different awareness and soon he forgot that he was a fish and that
he did not like the water.

One day the big and wise fish was swimming by the cave and he thought about George, so he
went into the cave. There he found George just where he had left him quite some time ago.
George had changed however, and did not look the same at all. He was shining in a special way
and his breathing was extremely slow. George recognized the old and wise fish and welcomed
him.

George was now also old and wise and the two left the cave together.
Cause and Effect Worksheet 
The ​Cause​ is why something happened. The ​Effect​ is what happened. 
 
 
Cause Effect 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Discovering Density Lab 
Objectives 
● Students will learn that saltwater is denser than freshwater. 

Materials 
● One of the following for each student group: 
○ A one cup measure   
○ A 1/4 cup measure. 
○ Eye dropper 
○ Two eggs 
○ Two clear 16 oz. glasses 
● Water 
● Salt 
● Food coloring 

Procedures 
1. Divide students into small groups (3-4 students) and distribute the cup 
measures, eye dropper, eggs and glasses to them. 
2. Ask the students to fill one of the glasses with 1 cup of water. 
3. Direct the students to gently drop one egg into the water and record what 
happens in their science journal.  
4. Ask students to fill the second glass with 1 cup of water and 1/4 cup of salt. 
5. Tell them to stir until the salt is completely dissolved. 
6. Ask students to add a few drops of food coloring to the salt water and allow it to 
sit for five minutes. 
7. Direct the students to carefully and slowly add fresh water using the 
eyedropper, being careful not to disturb the settled colored salt water.  
8. Tell students to drop the second egg into the glass and record what happens. 
9. Have students respond to the following questions: 
○ Compare the way the two eggs float. Describe the differences. 
○ Why do you think the eggs float differently in the separate glasses? 
○ What conclusions can you draw about the density of either the eggs or 
the water? 
10. After the students have shared their thoughts, explain that the egg sunk in the 
freshwater because it had greater density than the salt water. The egg floated in 
the salt water because when salt is added to water its density becomes greater 
than that of the egg. That makes the egg float. 
11. Have students clean up 
12. Have a class discussion about the question 
○ What implications might this have in the ocean?