LESSON PLAN

Name Jacie Nakazato Timeframe - 8:05-8:55

Kanoelani Elementary School Grade level 3

Goal:
To deepen my students’ understanding of inherited traits.

Student Objectives:
Students will be able to explain that animals have traits inherited from
parents.
Students will be able to create a model to demonstrate their
understanding of inherited traits.

Learning Target:
I can demonstrate my understanding of why offspring animals do not look
identical to their parents.

Standards:
NGSS-3-LS3-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants
and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these
traits exists in a group of similar organisms.
CCSS.W.3.2 - Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and
convey ideas and information clearly.
Resources/Materials:
Construction paper cut outs
● Bug bodies (circle, triangle, heart)
● Bug eyes
● Bug legs
● Bug wings
Ziploc bags for bug materials
Ziploc bag for trait cards
Data Table worksheet
Writing worksheet (assessment)
Pencil
Glue
Scissors
Laptop for note taking
iPad for displaying on TV
Conceptual & Procedural Knowledge:
Conceptual Knowledge
- Identifying inherited traits
- Analyzing data table
- Explaining understanding of inherited traits
Procedural Knowledge
- Listening to directions
- Following directions
- Communicating effectively with partner
Student Preparation: Instructor Preparation:
Materials (pencil,glue, scissors) Cut materials
Ziploc bags full of materials for each
student
- bug bodies (2 shapes,
triangle, square)
- legs (pink blue yellow)
- eyes (purple, blue, green)
- wings (pink blue yellow)
Ziploc of trait cards
- parent 1 body
- parent 2 body
- Parent 1 eyes
- Parent 2 eyes
- Parent 1 wings
- Parent 2 wings
- Parent 1 legs
- Parent 2 legs
Create Data table worksheet
Create KWL chart
Phone for filming

Introduction & (your) Procedures:

Prior to lesson: students have been introduced to traits, and have learned
the vocabulary the past couple of days

Introduction: Pre-assessment – Students will do a KWL chart to assess

prior knowledge
Introduction/Pre-Assessment
- Pre-assessment: Pre-assessment will be given at the start of
the lesson, students have about 5 minutes to complete the K and W
part of the chart.
- Activating Prior Knowledge: I will activate prior knowledge
before pre-assessment by asking students to think about what they
have learned so far about traits, writing in the K and W portion of the
chart. I will be doing the chart with the students.

Activity
- I will explain the bug activity, which will have been modelled
the day before during science with the mentor and the student
teacher
- After assigning partners, the students will create their parent
bug and the offspring bug
- After that, the students will use their data table worksheet to input
their data from the parent and offspring bug traits

Post-Assessment
- Students will be given prompt to write about, then directions to
use the data table they created to analyze their data and explain
how the offspring bug inherited the parent traits
- “What do you want me to notice about your bug family? Explain
why your offspring bug does not look identical to its parents.”

Time &
Minutes
 Teacher Goal:
12:30 - Objectives To deepen my students’ understanding of
12:35` (5 Written on board inherited traits.
min)

Activating PK Student Objectives:

Students will be able to explain that animals
have traits inherited from parents.
Students will be able to create a model to
demonstrate their understanding of
inherited traits.

Learning Target:
I can demonstrate my understanding of why
offspring animals do not look identical to
their parents.

Learning Target will be written on the board

Activating PK
I will remind students about what we have
been learning prior to today.
I will read the poem to activate prior
knowledge of the vocabulary.
 After handing out the KWL chart, I will have
12:35- Pre-assessment students raise their hands and tell me what
12:45 (10 KWL Chart they already know about inherited traits. As
min)
they tell me, I will be displaying a KWL
Done on chart on the TV so that the students can
worksheet follow along and write down the K portion of
the chart. I will do the same with the W
portion, asking what they want to know
about inherited traits.

12:45- Demonstration (I - Modeling done the day

12:47 (2 Do) before for bug, but will show
min)
them the bug model that I
created again, and I will show
them the data table and how to
fill out using my bug models
when they are ready to do data
table
- Assign partners with who
12:47 - Creating Parent they are sitting close to, and
1:00 bugs (13 min) assign parent 1 and parent 2 by
(13 min)
doing rock paper scissors
(student who wins raises their
hand, that is parent 1. They
write parent 1 name on the data
table, then parent 2 write their
name on data table)
 - Every student will create a
parent bug
1:00 - - After finishing parent bugs, the
1:10 (10 Creating offspring students will share their bugs
min) bug (10 min) with their partner for 30
seconds.
- Then, they will have cards
labeled with the different traits
in a ziploc bag (parent 1 eyes,
parent 2 eyes, parent 1 wings,
parent 2 wings)
- Each partner will pick two traits,
with a total of 4 traits (body,
eyes, legs, wings)
- After choosing the traits, the
partners will create the offspring
bug
1:10 - Data table - After completing their bug family,
1:15 (5 demonstration (I students will use the data table
min)
Do) worksheet which will be passed out at
this time
Explain the - I will demo with my bug family and
writing write down the traits on my table
assignment - They will write down the traits for
parent 1 and parent 2, then the traits
for their offspring
- Students will circle which trait they got
from which parent (if they got eye
traits from parent 1, they will circle
parent 1 eye color)
- Before they start on the data table,
give them instructions on the writing
assignment.
- Read the prompt “What do you want
me to notice about your bug family?
Explain why your offspring bug does
not look identical to its parents.”
1:15 - Doing data table - Students will do data table and
1:40 (25 and post complete post assessment
min)
assessment - Early finishers may build another
offspring bug, and do the second
question on folder paper “Explain why
your offspring bugs may look alike but
are not identical”

- Differentiation
- For low students (EL), students will
complete the writing to the best of
their ability and I will take them to the
back to have them explain to me
verbally what they wrote (notes and
provide additional prompting
questions)
- Prompting questions
- What do you notice about
your bug family?
- Are there any similarities
between your parent bugs
and your offspring bug? -
Probing - I notice your
offspring bug does not
look exactly like the
parent bugs, why is that?
- Why doesn’t your
offspring bug look the
same as the parent bugs?
Does your offspring bug
have traits
- For high students, I will have them
build a second offspring bug and
explain in writing why the two
offspring bugs do not look identical.
Once that is completed and if there is
more time, students must find a real
world example of inherited traits
1:40 - Wrap-up - Go back to learning target: I can
1:45 (5 demonstrate my understanding of
min)
why offspring animals do not look
identical to their parents.
- How did you meet the learning target
today?
- Examples of answers: I was
able to explain in my writing that
my offspring bug does not look
exactly like the parents because
they got traits from both the
mom and the dad
- On my data table, I could circle
which trait my offspring bug got
from which parent so I could
see what trait my offspring bug
got from each parent
- Students will be able to understand
that by building their bugs they
demonstrated their understanding of
why offspring animals do not look
identical to their parents
- They get traits from both parents so
they look like a mixture of both
- Extra time: What are some real world
examples of inherited traits?
Reflection:
This lesson went extremely well. The students were all able to grasp the concept that inherited traits
come from both parents and that is why offsprings do not look identical to their parents. Students were
collaborating and asking each other questions. The lessons that came before with student inquiry was
important to show what the students know and what they wanted to learn about. They were engaged
throughout the lesson and the grouping of the students worked well. The differentiation for the EL
students helped tremendously, by having them speak to me verbally I was able to understand what they
truly knew. The note taking for the vocabulary and allowing students to keep the vocabulary 2 column
notes out was a good idea and a great way to help them improve their note taking skills.

For next time, for less prep have the students draw out bugs or cut out bugs. Also improving the bonus
question for the enrichment and ask students about a real life family and what inherited traits the parents
gave. Having them connect to the world by giving examples of inherited traits in their own life.
Emphasizing behavior expectations on how to collaborate with partners, role playing on how to
communicate with friends. Giving clear expectations on noise level as well.
Assessment Rubric
4 3 2 1
Student is able to Student is able to Student is able to Student is unable
answer both answer both answer both to answer both
questions with questions with questions with questions with
great detail. For adequate detail. some detail. For detail. For
question 1 they For question 1 question 1 they question 1 they do
must write about they must write must write about not write about
their entire bug about their bug their bug family their bug family or
family and what family and what and what trait what traits the
trait each bug trait each bug each bug has, offspring received
has, including all has, including 2 including 1 trait from each parent.
traits the traits the the offspring bug
offspring bug got offspring bug got Student is unable
got from which
from which from which parent. to answer
parent. parent. question 2
Student is explaining why
Student is able to Student is able to somewhat able to the offspring bug
answer question 2 answer question 2 answer question 2 does not look
explaining why explaining why explaining why identical to the
the offspring bug the offspring bug the offspring bug parents and
does not look does not look does not look provides no
identical to the identical to the identical to the evidence from
parents and parents and parents and their own bug
provides accurate provides evidence provides little family.
evidence from from their own evidence from
their own bug bug family. their own bug
family. family.

Student
completes the
Bonus question,
giving real world
examples of
inherited traits.