NAUTeach Lesson Template  

Team Members Working on this Lesson:

Names
William Beam
Anthony Granio
Shelby Speerstra

Title of Lesson: Grade Level: Length of lesson:

Discovering Taxonomy 9 50 min
Overview of Lesson ​–​ ​Brief description of the major concept addressed in the lesson and its everyday applicability.
The major concept addressed in this lesson is taxonomy which is the branch of science concerned with the classification of organisms. Taxonomy applies to
organization which can be applied to anything such as organizing a closet or how a grocery store is organized. Humans constantly organize items in their everyday
lives, and taxonomy applies to the organization of the species that we can see in the real world. It is important for students to have an idea of how scientists organize
and classify species along with the processes that scientists follow to do so.
Instructional Model and Strategies ​–​ ​Instructional model (e.g., learning cycle…) and strategies (e.g., cooperative learning…) that will be used during the lesson
and why.
Instructional Model: 5E Lesson Plan because this model is an easy yet effective way to portray information to students and get them engaged in the lesson
Instructional Strategies: Probing questions, and Student discourse because these strategies involve the most students engagement and conversation which is what
needs to be facilitated in the lesson
Materials and Resources​ – ​Include the number of each item needed per student/group. Include the # of students in each group. Consider using online resources as
much as possible.
Leaf Worksheet (online version found on BbLearn), positive attitudes!!! :)

Standard(s) for the lesson ​–​ ​Identify the standards from AZ Science
Standards for your chosen grade level that will be addressed in this lesson. State
the actual standard(s), not just the identification number.
L1: Organisms are organized on a cellular basis and have a finite life span.
Practice(s) for the lesson ​–​ ​Identify the Science and Engineering practices
that students will get to experience in this lesson. State the actual practice(s), not
just the identification number.
Conducting Investigations
Communicating Information
Arguing from Evidence
Cross-Cutting Concept(s)​ – ​Identify which cross-cutting concept/s might be
addressed in this lesson
Patterns
Structure and Function
Goal/s from your Rationale Paper: ​Identify which one or more of the
goals from your rationale paper will be addressed in this lesson and describe how
they will be addressed.
Connect ideas to the real world: This will be done through the
engagement section on how humans organize items in the real world
Have students engage in discourse and discussion to further
understanding of concepts: This will be done throughout the lesson but
will really be addressed in the explanation and elaboration sections of the
lesson.
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Essential Question​ – ​This question guides your lesson plan and establishes a conceptual framework for the days’ learning.
How do scientists organize and classify different species?

Safety Considerations and/or Behavior Expectations

Normal classroom behavior; attentive students, active listening, and questioning.

Lesson Sequence
Lesson
Give actions ​(underlined)​ of lesson plan with dialogue (​blue​) with probing/guiding questions (​bolded​) and anticipated
Segment
correct (​red​)/incorrect responses (​italicized​).
& Time
Engage Brief Description of Activity: Ask students questions about how various items are organized in their lives
( 5 min)

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LP: The teacher will begin the lesson by asking students questions
D: Alright class, to begin this lesson, I am going to start off by asking you all some questions
Q: How is your closet organized?
A: I organize my closet by color from lightest to darkest.
A: I organize my closet by having all my tank tops together, then my t-shirts, followed by long sleeves and sweaters.
A: I just have all of my clothes on the floor, all mixed together.
A: I don’t know how it is organized, my clothes are just there.
D: Those are all great ways to organize your closet but that leads us into our next question.
Q:Why do you organize your closet that way?
A: I organize my closet that way because they are easier to find because then I know where to look.
A: I organize my closet in a specific way, so depending on the season my clothes are more available to me
A: I have no way of knowing where my clothes are because they are not in any sort of order
D: When scientists are looking at different organisms, they need a way to classify species and also have a system where scientists can use to
identify unknown species that they have encountered. Just like how you would organize your closet, scientists also have a system of how they
classify and organize different species and organisms in the world.

Explore Brief Description of Activity: The students will have a worksheet and attempt to classify different leaves based off of the previous
(20 min) discussion.
LP: After the engagement discussion, students will be given a worksheet with different kinds of leaves
D: ​Now, that we have talked about why people organize different things into specific groups and why it is important, you guys are going to
(TONY) break out into groups and work on the worksheet that you will find in the bblearn shell. Today, we are going to be looking at Dichotomous Keys,
if no one knows what that is, allow me to explain. A Dichotomous Key is a tool created by scientists to help other scientists and non-scientists
identify objects and organisms by looking at a series of choices between alternative characteristics. Now that you have a general idea of what a
Dichotomous key is your groups will have 20 minutes to discuss the worksheet.
LP: Teachers walk around and assist the groups if needed, making sure the activity is the focus of each group. The teacher should also be asking
questions about the activity to each group to make sure they have an understanding of the lesson so far
Q: Why did you classify that leaf as (insert name here)?
A: I followed the dichotomous key and came to that conclusion
A: I don't really know I just kind of guessed
Q: If you were to look up a picture of a (insert name here) leaf, how confident would you be that you have classified the leaf correctly?
A: I am confident, because I followed the key
A: Not very confident, I don’t really know whatI am doing or how to do this.
Q: How easy was it to use the Dichotomous Key to identify the different leaf species?
A: It was pretty easy to use the Dichotomous Key to identify the leaf species because the pictures and the questions were pretty easy to
understand. The Dichotomous Key was easy to follow.
A: I do not like Dichotomous Keys at all, they should never be used.

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Explain Brief Description of Activity: Why we use classification and Dichotomous Keys when classifying species
( 10 min)
LP: After the students have filled out the worksheet and learned what Dichotomous Keys are, we will dive into why we use Dichotomous Keys.
D: ​Now that we have looked at Dichotomous keys and how they work for identifying unknown species, we will dive into why we use them in
science.
Q: Why do we think we use Dichotomous keys when trying to find out what a species’ name is?
A: Dichotomous keys can help non-scientists identify what organism they have found and what group they belong into.
A: They are useful because it allows the people using them to answer simple questions that anyone can answer by looking at a picture to
identify a common species.
A: Dichotomous keys have no purpose and are confusing to use
A: They are not useful when identifying species and looking them up on the Internet is better.
D: ​The reason why scientists use Dichotomous keys is because it helps scientists and non-scientists have a universal way of identifying species
that everyone can use.
Q: Do you think Dichotomous Keys are an effective way of identifying species? Why or why not?
A: Yes, because it allows for an easy system to follow to come to the conclusion about the identity of a species
A: No, because it would not be easy for people who are not visual learners
Elaborate Brief Description of Activity: Why is taxonomy important and connections to the real world
( 10 min)
LP:Now that we know why Dichotomous Keys are important, we will connect this to taxonomy and the real world.
D: ​Now that we have talked about Dichotomous Keys and what their importances is for scientists, we can relate this topic to another important
aspect in Biology, which is Taxonomy. For the people who may not know what Taxonomy is, Taxonomy is the study of naming, defining, and
classifying organisms into evolutionarily related groups. Taxonomy overall gives biologists a common language that is universal for all.
Q: How are Taxonomy and Dichotomous Keys related?
A: Well Taxonomy is all about naming and classifying organisms, which relates to Dichotomous Keys because we use those in order to classify
species and scientists use them to make identifications in their work.
A: Taxonomy has no correlation to Dichotomous Keys, they are not related at all.
Q: Why is Taxonomy important?
A: Taxonomy is important because it shows the relationship between organisms and past relationships as well.
A: Taxonomy is important because it is a way to classify all living and extinct organisms that scientists can use to have a common language.
A: Taxonomy is not important because it’s all about taxes.
A: Taxonomy is important because it is about how animals adapt.
D: Taxonomy is an important aspect in science because it is how we got the name of the thousand species we have today. It is the reason why we
call certain organisms the names that we do. If we didn’t have taxonomy we wouldn’t know what to call the species that we see everyday. This
also helps with Dichotomous Keys because they help scientists and non-scientists find a way to learn what a species is that they don’t know the
name of.
Evaluate Brief Description of Activity: Students will fill out an exit ticket summarizing what they learned in class today.
( 5 min) https://padlet.com/srs695/e2tr5gu3imwnkyv6

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LP: Teachers will post the Padlet link in the Collaborate chat,
D: ​Ok everyone, now that we are approaching the end of our lesson, we are going to write down some ideas to summarize what we have learned
today. We are going to post a padlet link in the chat, please take some time to answer the questions listed.
Q:Why did scientists develop taxonomy?
A: Because it provides an easy way to classify organisms
A: Because they needed help with their taxes
Q:How do scientists organize and classify different species? ​(TONY)
A: Scientists organize and classify different species by
A: They close their eyes and throw darts on a map
Specific ADHD: ​Having a controlled classroom with limited distractions is essential to aiding the focus of students with special needs like ADHD.
Considerations Similarly, having group work and discussions in smaller groups allows more focus as well, and presents an avenue for each student to be able to
speak freely with limited fear of criticism amongst their peers.
for Students
with Special
Needs

Component of Learning to be assessed:
● Students understand why Dichotomous Keys
are important
● Students understand why scientists
developed Taxonomy
● Students understand how and why scientists
organize and classify different species
Assessment Plan
How Assessed: When Assessed:
● Can be assessed by asking students probing ● This can be assessed during the explanation
questions and having them discuss with their portion of our lesson
groups and the teacher on why they are
important.
● This is assessed through an exit ticket where ● Assessed at the end of the lesson during the
students write down and then share their evaluation part of the lesson
responses
● This is assessed through an exit ticket where ● Assessed at the end of the lesson during the
students write down and then share their evaluation part of the lesson
responses

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