WHAT IS A SPECIES?
(DAY 3):
Academic Language
Language Function
Vocabulary
Syntax
Discourse
Differentiation
Special Needs of Students
Content Differentiation
Process Differentiation
Product Differentiation
Outcomes
Students will be able to…
1) Explain how different species evolve
2) Define a species
3) Identify real world examples of species isolation
Pre-assessment & When students come into class they will hand in their vocabulary organizers from the
Students will identify examples of speciation and explain why we have
different species and how we know they’re different.
Speciation, Ancestor, Offspring, Sterile, Fertilize, Habitat,
After reading the article Five Types of Isolation, students will select a
graphic organizer (four choices) to summarize the article. Depending
on the graphic organizer selected, students may summarize key points
from the article and then again in their own words to ensure they
understand the topic, draw what they learned to visualize their learning,
or identify the main idea and structure of the text, with a summary of
the article.
Students will communicate with their peers to discuss how they think
the “animals” in their stations are different and how/why they think
they became different.
This class has two English Language Learners, Ernesto and
Maria, who are both performing at a level 1 English
proficiency according to the NYS ELA test, and need special
support when it comes to reading and writing. They are both
able to converse with other students in fluent English,
though they do often converse with each other in their
native language.
There is a Spanish translation of the article available (though
the vocabulary is still in english) and the video students will
watch has Spanish closed captions available, should they
have difficulty understanding the video and need clarification
on certain words/phrases. There are also images on each slide
during direct instruction to make the point clearer, even if not
all the words are understood.
When learning the different methods of isolation this
slideshow allows Ernesto and Maria to read along with the
audio and look at more examples of isolation in action, rather
than just pictures of different species.
Some of the graphic organizers are broader than others,
giving Maria and Ernesto less words to focus on when
summarizing the article.
Assessments
Formative: Students will complete a worksheet that
explains how similarities don’t also mean animals are
the same.
Students will also use one of four graphic organizers
to summarize an article that covers today’s lesson and
provides students with more examples of the different
types of isolation.
 previous lesson (defined what natural selection was and its effects on populations).
Students will then get back their K-W-L charts (turned in at the beginning of the unit)
and, going around the room, students will be asked to list two words that need to be
Student Readiness
moved from one column to another. Should students not have the majority of the
vocabulary in the “What I Learned (L)” column, do a review of natural selection and the
theory of evolution to ensure proper background knowledge.

Introduction: Anticipatory Set

Students will walk into the classroom and sit down in groups based on where they see their names on tables. With
their groups, they will name a ship (something appropriate). Once all of their ships are named, students will go
around the room in their groups and look at different “animals” (skittles). They will be asked to identify how their
groups of animals are different and how they think they became different. Students will spend four minutes at four
stations (2 groups of 5 and 2 groups of 6).
- Station 1: habitat; red skittles in a “tree” and green skittles in a “river”
- Station 2: size; yellow skittle and a green peanut m&m
- Station 3: time; under a sign that says March show only blue skittles in a meadow and under another
that say June show only purple skittles in the same meadow
- Station 4: hybrids; blue and yellow skittles intermixed in a meadow with green skittles along the
outside

Initial Phase Direct Instruction

Following the skittle activity, students will return to their seats and be presented a slideshow that explains the 9
methods of defining species, splitting them into two categories: before and after mating.
- Students will be told how species are defined through isolation - before and after birth. Isolation in
biology is a process in which two species that could possibly mate and produce offspring are
prevented from doing so through a variety of factors.
- Isolation can occur before mating.
1. Isolation by time (temporal isolation) simply means that the animals are awake at different
times, or have different mating seasons.
a. An example of temporal isolation are 2 orchids who cannot mate and are therefore
different species, as they mate during different times of the year.
2. Isolation by location (ecological isolation) means that the animals live in different areas, so
they will not be able to come into contact with each other to mate.
a. An example of ecological isolation are 2 frogs who live in different environments but
the same location. One lives above ground and one lives underground, causing them
to be classified as different species.
3. Isolation by behavior (behavioral isolation) means that the animals have different ways of
mating, such as mating dances, or an animal may act too weird for another animal’s taste.
a. An example of behavioral isolation are 2 bees who cannot mate since they perform
different mating dances. The mating dance of one bee may scare off the other one.
4. Isolation by size means that the size difference between the animals is too large to effectively
mate. Think of an elephant and a mouse.
a. An example of size isolation are 2 dogs who share the same ancestor but have a large
size difference.
- Isolation can occur after mating.
1. The parents can mate, but the baby may die before birth.
2. The baby can be born, though with several deformities which make it difficult to survive to
adulthood.
3. The baby may make it to adulthood but be unable to produce offspring of their own due to
being sterile.
 4. The baby can make it to adulthood and successfully have children, but the children may be
sterile and unable to have children (delayed sterility).
Middle Phase
Guided Practice
To ensure understanding students will discuss their new knowledge in terms of the skittles populations they
viewed. Station 1 should be defined in terms of habitat isolation, station 2 in terms of size, station 3 in terms of
mating times, and station 4 in terms of a new species as a result of the combination of two others, or hybrid
formation.

Concluding Phase
To close out the lesson, toss a stress ball around the room at random, ensuring every student goes once. When a
student receives the ball, they must state one thing they learned today, avoiding repetitions.
Follow Up: Students will be asked to read this article and fill out one of four graphic organizers to review today’s
lesson and ensure proper understanding before beginning the lesson on how different species come about.

Materials:
Powerpoint
Article w/vocab
What is a species? Video
What is a species? worksheet
Graphic Organizer 1
Graphic Organizer 2
Graphic Organizer 3
Graphic Organizer 4