DIXIE STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

ELED 4300 SCIENCE LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

(8/23/14)
Teacher Candidate _Paula Finlinson___ Grade Level __2_ Title ___Tundra _____
CONTEXTUAL FACTORS (classroom factors)
Contextual Factors:
20 Students
10 Girls
10 Boys
1 Pacific Islander (Mesepa)
4 Hispanic (David, Ethan, Ruth, Aron)
1 Behavioral IEP (Wesson)
3 Academic IEP (Wesson, Ethan, Natalya)
3 Speech IEP (Aron, Natalya, Macy)
3 ELL WIDA levels are unknown
2 High Level Learners (Lachlan, Chloe)
2 SPED Students (Ruth, Natalya)
1 Student Aspergers (Wesson)
Classroom environment:

Large room. Multi colored rug at the front of the room. Students are organized in tables
of 4 with all students facing the front. The room has a promethean board, 4 iPads,
clickers, and projector. Large tiki reading hut in the corner of the room.

WALK-AWAY (As a result of this lesson, what do I want the students to know, understand, and be able to do?)
State Standard/Objective:
2nd Grade Standard 4 Objective 1.a Compare and contrast the characteristics of living things in different habitats.

Content Walk-Away:
I will write the characteristics of animals and plants living in the tundra.

Language Walk-Away:
I will write the characteristics of animals and plants living in the tundra.

Vocabulary:

tundra, characteristics, habitat, blubber

ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE (What evidence do I need to show the students have
learned the Walk-Away?)

Modifications/Accomodations (ELL, IEP, GATE, etc.)

Formative Evidence (checking for understanding throughout the lesson):

Students will be following along to the lesson and presentation. They will join in the
class discussion and questions. Students will experience how blubber keeps animals in
the arctic tundra warm.

Content Walk-Away Evidence (Summative):

Students will fill in their triorama accurately depicting the tundra habitat.

Language Walk-Away Evidence (Summative):

Students will write which animals and plants live in the tundra habitat.

ELL: Students will draw

2 animals in their
triorama.
High: Students will draw
1 additional animal (4
total) for both habitats.
Behavior IEP: If he is in
the room, offer a lot of
encouragement to get
him to finish the
triorama.
SPED: Students will
draw 2 animals in
triorama.
Academic IEP: Students
will draw in 2 animals in
both habitats instead of
3.

Approx
.
Time

ACTIVE LEARNING PLAN

Approximate length of entire lesson:_45__ minutes.
______

Teaching time: from _____to

Activate/Building Background Knowledge

Students are at the rug. This week we have been talking about different habitats. On Tuesday we discussed
the rainforest habitat. What are some things we learned about the plants and animals that live in the
rainforest? Which habitat did we learn about yesterday? Right, the desert habitat. Do we live in a desert
habitat? Where are some of the other desert habitats located? What are the plants and animals like in the
desert? What is the continent called that is located at the very top of the globe? Right, antarctica. The habitat
in Antarctica is a tundra. Tundras are very cold. Today we are going to be learning about the tundra habitat.
Say tundra.
SIOP 1,2,3,7,8,9
Formative assessment: Students will be paying attention.
Learning Goal

Success Criteria

Assessment Strategy

Understand that Tundra is a

habitat.

Students will use tundra in a

sentence.

Discussion.

Modification/accommodations: (ELL, IEP, GATE, etc.)

ELL: Vocabulary words will be posted in the room. I will ask the Spanish speakers to say it in Spanish.
Low: Pre-teach vocabulary.
High: Ask if they know of any animals that live in the tundra habitat.
Focus Lesson (I do it)
I found a fun video for us to watch about the tundra. In the video they call it the Arctic Tundra. Arctic Tundra
and Tundra are the same thing, sometimes we just add the word Arctic before it. Play movie.
Formative Assessment: Students will be watching and paying attention.
Learning Goal
Students will know where the
tundra is located as well as some
plants and animals that live
within the habitat.

Success Criteria
Students will watch and listen to
the short video.

Assessment Strategy
Listening.

Modification/accommodations:
ELL: Pre-teach some of the vocabulary words that are brought up in the movie.
Low: Pre-teach vocabulary.
High: Have them generate questions about the video.

Guided Instruction (We do it)

I also put together a slide show like the ones I made for the other two habitats. The slide show will help us
become more familiar with the plants and animals within the tundra habitat. Remember, we are going to fill
out our graphic organizer as we go, this will help us complete our triorama later on. Go through slide show
while discussing important points.
Formative Assessment: Graphic organizer will be correctly filled in.
Learning Goal
Students will understand how
blubber keeps animals warm.

Success Criteria
Students will conduct the
experiment and discuss the
results.

Modification/accommodations:
ELL: Graphic organizer is partially filled in for them.

Assessment Strategy
Discussion.

Low: Allow them to write just the key words instead of a full sentence.
High: Ask them to generate one additional sentence on their own in the animal and plants category.

Collaborative/Cooperative (You do it together)

Students are still at the rug. We are going to do an experiment to help us understand how blubber keeps
some animals in the tundra warm. I have 2 big bowls full of ice water. Youll put one hand in a bag then
straight into the ice water but the other hand will go into a bag that is full of crisco which is fat or blubber,
then into the ice water. Remember, blubber is what some animals in the tundra have and this keeps them
warm. Working with you rug partner, I want you to fill in this worksheet. You will make predictions about
what you think will happen and why. After they have finished, separate them into 2 groups of students to
make it more manageable. Have the students go outside and conduct the experiment. How many of you
made correct predictions about what would happen with the two different types of bags? How did the crisco
help keep your hand from getting cold? Do you see now how the blubber on tundra animals keeps them
warm?
SIOP 22,

SIOP 4,5,6, 13, 14, 15 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Formative Assessment: Students observe the difference in blubber vs. non blubber.
Learning Goal
Students will understand how
blubber keeps animals warm.

Success Criteria
Students will conduct the
experiment and discuss the
results.

Assessment Strategy
Observation.

Modification/accommodations:
ELL: Separate them into different groups. Buddy them with students who will work with them patiently.
Low: Pair with a middle strength student.
High: Have them generate a t/f question to compile into a short quiz for the class.

Independent (You do it alone)

Now, we need to do our triorama. This will be the third one. That means we only have to do one more habitat
then we can glue them and hang them up! This is the same as the other two; you need to accurately depict the
tundra habitat. Make sure you use the correct colors for the plants, scenery, and animals. Also, make sure that
you draw 3 animals. Before you start drawing, make sure that you fill out the bottom part of your paper where
you write down the habitat, animals, plants, and weather.
SIOP 10,11, 12, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
Summative Assessment: Students will fill in a paper of their triorama for the tundra. They need accurately
depict the wildlife and plants. 3 animals must be drawn unless the student is listed under the modifications.
Modification/accommodations:
ELL: Write the key vocabulary in spanish as well as english.

Low: Draw 2 tundra animals.

High: Draw 4 tundra animals.

Closure/Review of walk-aways, vocabulary, and essential questions

(Note: Closure includes student interactions, reflection, and/or demonstrations.)

Today we learned about the tundra habitat. What was your favorite thing you
learned about the tundra habitat? Use name sticks. Where is the tundra
located? What are some of the special characteristics that tundra animals have?
What do tundra plants look like?
SIOP Indicators
Preparation: 1-Content objectives, 2-Language objectives, 3-Content appropriate, 4-Supplementary
materials, 5-Adaptation of content, 6-Meaningful activities
Building Background: 7-Linked to background, 8-Linked to past learning, 9-Key vocabulary
Comprehensive Input: 10-Appropriate speech, 11-Clear explanation, 12-Variety of techniques
Strategies: 13-Students use learning strategies, 14-Scaffolding, 15-Higher-order thinking,
Interaction: 16-Opportunity for interaction, 17-Grouping supports objectives, 18-Wait time, 19Opportunity for L1 students
Practice/Application: 20-Hands-on materials, 21-Activities to apply content/language knowledge, 22Language skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking)
Lesson Delivery: 23-Content objective supported, 24-Language objective supported, 25-Students
engaged, 26-Pacing
Review/Assessment: 27-Review vocabulary, 28-Review concepts, 29-Feedback, 30-Assessment

TEACHING NOTES
What do I need to remember to do? What materials do I need to have ready? What is the approximate time needed for
this lesson?

Bowls
Ice water
ziplocs
crisco
duct tape
REFLECTION AFTER LESSON
How can I use the assessment data to reflect on & evaluate the outcomes of teaching and learning? How can I transfer
what I learned from teaching this lesson to future teaching? What was effective and not effective? What goals can I set
to improve my practice and student learning?
This was the students 4th time writing and coloring their triorama so they have gotten very good at it. All of the students

knew that they were to accurately depict the tundra landscape, list three types of animals that live in the tundra, and draw
3 animals that live in the tundra. Based upon the summative assessments, I feel that they learned the objective very well.
An effective part of this lesson was the science experiment. The students really enjoyed it and I feel that it was an accurate
at demonstrating how blubber insulates the animals body to keep them warm in the tundra. The experiment was also the
least effective part of the lesson because I would pull one group back at a time to do the experiment but I didnt have
anything for the other table to be doing so they were just sitting at their desks either watching or talking. In the future I
will be sure to have some sort of activity for them to do while they are at their desks. I learned that it is always important
to have something for students that arent being worked with in a small group to do so that they dont become distracting
to the small group.

Note: You must arrange to have at least 40 minutes to teach your lesson.