KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate:

Steffani Trivelpiece

Date: February 17, 2015

Cooperating Teacher:
Group Size: 25

Coop. Initials
Allotted Time 45 Minutes

Subject or Topic: The World Around You Unit

Grade Level 3rd Grade

Section Environments

STANDARD:
3.1.3.A2- Describe the basic needs of living things and their dependence on light, food,
air, water, and shelter.
I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes):
A. Third grade students will examine environments by acknowledging what is
within it.
B. Third grade students will build a realistic environment by using the
information in the lesson and materials provided.
II. Instructional Materials
A. Plane tickets for the class
B. Introductory work sheet (125)
C. Habitat worksheet (5)
D. Information books:
1 Polar Animals by Ruthie Billingslea
2 North Pole South Pole by Nancy Smiler Levinson
3 Forest Bright Forest Night by Jennifer Ward
4 Natures Green Umbrella by Gail Gibson
5 Creatures of the Desert World by Barbara Gibson
6 A Walk in the Desert by Rebecca L Johnson
7 National Geographic Kids First Big Book of the Oceans by
Catherine D Hughes
8 Eyewitness Ocean by Miranda MacQuitty
9 Rainforest by Fiona Macdonald
10 Rainforest by Joy Palmer
E. Small containers (5)
F. Small amount of sand
G. Small amount of dirt
H. Twigs
I. Leaves

J. Small rocks
K. Small amount of water
L. Small plastic coral
M. Small seashells
N. Small plastic variety of animals
O. Small flowers
P. Small trees
Q. Fake snow
R. Fake moss (green felt)
III. Subject Matter/Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea, outline of
additional content)
A. Prerequisite skills
1 Knowledge of the areas where animals can live and what is in that
area
B. Key Vocabulary
1 Habitat- the natural environment of an organism
2 Climate- the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or
over a long period
3 Arctic- the polar area north of the timber line
4 Woodland Forest- land covered in woods or trees
5 Hot Desert- a region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports
only spares and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all
6 Ocean- the vast body of salt water
7 Tropical Rainforest- luxuriant forest, generally composed of broadleaved trees and found in wettropical uplands and lowlands around t
he Equator
C. Big Idea
1 Animals live in many different areas.
D. Additional content
1 The class will cover the different animals, plants and climate in the
habitats of Arctic, Woodland Forest, Hot Desert, Ocean, and Tropical
Rainforest.
IV. Implementation
A. Introduction
1 Before the students arrive in the classroom the teacher should
arrange the desks to resemble an airplane by placing two rows of
five on one side and three rows of five on the another side with a
space in the middle to create an aisle.
2 The teacher should hand each student a plane ticket created from the
attached word document.
3 Once the students have their tickets, ask them to board the plane and
take their seats.
a. The teacher should explain that they will be traveling to five
different locations (Arctic, Woodland Forest, Hot Desert,
Ocean, and Tropical Rainforest) in North America where
animals live.

B. Development
1 The teacher will tell the students that they are going to land in the
Arctic first.
2 In order to prepare to land, each group of five (each row) should
complete the introductory sheet on what they know about this area
(see attached worksheet).
3 Once the group finishes the paper they can unboard the plane and sit
on the adventure area (the front of the room by the board) with their
group and paper.
a. Once all of the class is off the plane, the teacher will guide
them through the introductory sheet questions on the Arctic, to
ensure the students have an accurate knowledge of the area.
i. Animals that live in the Arctic: polar bears, seals, fish,
penguins
ii. Plants that live in the arctic: shrubs, mosses, herbs
iii. Climate in the Arctic: Cold temperature, Ice glaciers,
snow, cold water
4 The teacher should explain to the students that it is now time to
travel to the Woodland Forest.
a. The students should complete another introductory sheet on
this habitat while the class is traveling to it.
b. After every group is done the teacher will guide them through
the introductory sheet on this habitat
i. Animals that live in the Woodland Forest: chipmunks,
squirrels, deer, wood frogs, spiders and ants
ii. Plants that live in the Woodland Forest: trees (white
oak, red maple, white pine, mayflower, mushrooms,
ferns, and mosses
iii. Climate in the Woodland Forest: has all four seasons
(summer, fall, winter and spring), occasional rain
5 The teacher should explain to the students that it is now time to
travel to the Hot Desert.
a. The students should complete another introductory sheet on
this habitat while the class is traveling to it.
b. After every group is done the teacher will guide them through
the introductory sheet on this habitat
i. Animals that live in the Hot Desert: Antelope,
armadillo, camel, cobra, elephant
ii. Plants that live in the Hot Desert: cacti, shrub
iii. Climate in the Hot Desert: hot, little rain, dry
6 The teacher should explain to the students that it is now time to
travel to the Ocean.
c. The students should complete another introductory sheet on
this habitat while the class is traveling to it.
d. After every group is done the teacher will guide them through
the introductory sheet on this habitat

i. Animals that live in the Ocean: fish (clownfish, puffer

fish) seahorse, starfish, shark, dolphin, crabs
ii. Plants that live in the Ocean: seaweed, kelp, coral
iii. Climate in the Ocean: wet, salty
The teacher should explain to the students that it is now time to
travel to the Tropical Rainforest.
e. The students should complete another introductory sheet on
this habitat while the class is traveling to it.
f. After every group is done the teacher will guide them through
the introductory sheet on this habitat
i. Animals that live in the Tropical Rainforest: butterflies,
jaguars, iguana, parrot, tiger, gorilla
ii. Plants that live in the Tropical Rainforest: vines, shrubs,
orchids, trees
iii. Climate in the Tropical Rainforest: at least 8.5 feet of
rain, rain all year round, warm
The teacher should remind the students that they have now traveled
all over North America. Then each student group should be assigned
one of the five habitats to complete an inquiry on.
a. The teacher will explain that as a group the will recreate the
habitat they have been assigned using the materials provided.
After the students have their habitat, each group member should get
one of the following tasks:
a. Information gatherer- will look at the books provided and
inform the class on the findings needed to create their habitat
i. The information gatherer will have access to the
following books:
1. Arctic
a. Polar Animals by Kathie Billingslea
Smith
b. North Pole South Pole by Nancy Smiler
Levinson
2. Woodland Forest
a. Forest Bright Forest Night by Jennifer
Ward
b. Natures Green Umbrella by Gail Gibson
3. Hot Desert
a. Creatures of the Desert World by
Barbara Gibson
b. A Walk in the Desert by Rebecca L
Johnson
4. Ocean
a. National Geographic Kids First Big
Book of the Ocean by Catherine D.
Hughes

b. Eyewitness Ocean by Miranda

MacQuitty
5. Tropical Rainforest
a. Rainforest by Fiona Macdonald
b. Rainforest by Joy Palmer
b. Animal catcher- will select animals needed for their habitat
c. Plant collector- will select plants needed for their habitat
d. Weatherman/weatherwoman- will select weather related
objects needed for their habitat
e. Reporter- will record all the information from the group on the
attached sheet provided for them
10 The students will have 20 minutes to work together to create their
rendition of the habitat.
B. Closure
1 To conclude the lesson the teacher should give each group 2-3
minutes to give a short presentation of their creation to the class to
serve as an illustration for better understanding for all students.
2 As a linking question to the next lesson in this unit the teacher
should propose the question of, what happens when things change in
the habitat?
a. The students should think about this question to introduce them
to the next lesson.
C. Accommodations/Differentiation
1 One of the students has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity, in order to
benefit this student they should be provided with a wedge seat
cushion in order to allow them to move around while sitting without
disrupting the rest of the class.
2 When grouping the students make sure to have a mix of ability levels
to be the most beneficial to all students.
D. Assessment/Evaluation Plan
1 Formative- The teacher will keep track of student input to their
corresponding groups using the attached checklist
2 Summative- there is no summative assessment with this lesson
3 Performance- the inquiry will be used as an assessment on their
understanding of the material by allowing them to perform a task of
creating a mini representation of a habitat. It will be assessed based
on a rubric.
II. Reflective Response
B. Report of Student Performance in Terms of Stated Objectives (Reflection on
student performance written after lesson is taught, includes remediation for
students who fail to meet acceptable level of achievement)

Remediation Plan

C. Personal Reflection (Questions written before lesson is taught. Reflective

answers to question recorded after lesson is taught)
1 Were the students able to demonstrate their knowledge through
creating a habitat?

Did the lesson confuse the students with the amount of information
that was presented?

Did I make the information accessible to all students?

III. Resources (in APA format)

Gibson, B. (1999). Creatures of the desert world: A National Geographic action book (5.
printing. ed.). Washington, DC: National Geographic Soc.
Gibbons, G. (1994). Nature's green umbrella: Tropical rain forests. New York: Morrow
Junior Books.
Hughes, C. (2013). National Geographic Kids First Big Book of the Ocean. National
Geographic Society.
Macdonald, F. (1999). Rainforest. New York: Franklin Watts.
MacQuitty, M., & Greenaway, F. (2008). Eyewitness ocean (Rev. ed.). New York, N.Y.:
DK Pub.
Johnson, R., & Saroff, P. (2001). A walk in the desert. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books.
Levinson, N., & Hearn, D. (2002). North Pole, South Pole. New York: Holiday House.

Palmer, J. (1991). Rainforests. Franklin Watts.

Smith, K., & Bampton, B. (2004). Polar animals: Unfold and learn. United States:
Flying Frog Pub.
Ward, J., & Henterly, J. (2005). Forest bright, forest night. Nevada City, CA: Dawn
Publications.