KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate: Nicole Malack

Date: 4/7/15

Group Size: 25

Grade Level 3rd Grade

Allotted Time 45 minutes

Subject or Topic: Aquatic Ecosystems: Oceans

STANDARD:
4.2.3.C. Identify plants and animals that live in lakes, ponds, streams, and wetlands.
I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes):
A. The 3rd grade students will learn about ocean life.
B. The 3rd grade students will learn about the different adaptations some of the
animals make in the ocean.
II. Instructional Materials
A. Globe
B. Book: Down, Down, Down A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea by: Steve
Jenkins
C. Crisco (Shortening)
D. Sandwich Bags (2 per person, 8 per group)
E. Ice
F. Big bucket or container filled with water (1 per table)
G. Trays (1 per table)
H. Inquiry Sheet ( 1 per person)
III. Subject Matter/Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea, outline of
additional content)
A. Prerequisite skills
a. The students have to be able to recognize that animals adapt to
living in different parts of the ocean.
B. Key Vocabulary
a. Adaptation- Special characteristics that enable plants and
animals to be successful in a particular environment.
b. Antarctic- The region around the south pole: Antarctica and
surrounding waters

C. Big Idea
a. Animals in different parts and depths of the ocean have certain
adaptations that help them survive.
D. Additional content
IV. Implementation
A. Introduction
a. The teacher should use the globe to explain how much of the
world is water and show how much is oceans.
b. The teacher should explain that much of the ocean is
undiscovered.
c. The teacher should present the book Down, Down, Down to the
students.
d. The teacher should read the book and explain each page
e. The teacher should ask questions throughout the book that have
the students predict about certain animals.
B. Development
a. When the teacher finishes the book, the teacher should write
the word Adaptation on the board.
b. The teacher should ask the students what they think the word
means.
c. The teacher should write the definition on the board and then
ask the students about the animals in the book and ask which
animals had to make adaptations.
d. The teacher should write the word Antarctic on the board and
bring the globe back out.
e. The teacher should have the students make predictions about
what they think it would be like in the Antarctic and discuss.
f. The teacher should write the definition on the board and
explain that it is very cold.
g. The teacher should explain that if humans swam in the oceans
in the Antarctic we could freeze and/or get sick.
h. The teacher should then ask the students how they think
animals in the ocean survive in the freezing waters.
i. The teacher should then explain that fish and animals have a
layer of fat, called blubber that helps them stay warm.
j. The teacher should then pass out the trays and the buckets of
ice water to each table.
k. The teacher should also pass out an inquiry sheet to each
student.
l. The teacher should then pass out a sandwich bag to each
student and tell the students to put their hand into the bag.
m. The teacher should tell the students to then put their hand into
the ice water.

n. The teacher should then tell the students to write on their sheet
how the water felt to them.
o. The teacher should tell the students to put the sandwich bag
back on their hand.
p. The teacher should pass out another sandwich bag with Crisco
(Shortening) inside and have the students put it on top of the
other bag on their hand.
q. The teacher should have the students put their hand back into
the ice water and have them write on their sheet how they felt
this time with the shortening.
r. The teacher should explain that the Crisco is supposed to
represent the blubber that some of the animals have in the
Antarctic and other cold oceans that help them survive.
C. Closure
a. The teacher should have the students discuss the difference in
feelings with and without the shortening.
b. The teacher should tell the students that many animals in many
different environments have to adapt to their surroundings in
order to survive.
D. Accommodations/Differentiation
a. If Shelly, a student with Autism doesnt want to participate sit
with her and explain why the animals in the cold temperatures
survive. Have her write down how animals survive in the cold
waters and let her observe the students in her group to fill out
her inquiry sheet.
E. Assessment/Evaluation Plan
1. Formative- the students will complete an inquiry on animal adaptations in
the ocean to ensure they comprehend the content presented and the teacher
will track their on task behavior, comprehension, and participation in the
lesson.
2. Summative- There is no summative assessment in this lesson.

V. Reflective Response
A. 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
B. Personal Reflection (Questions written before lesson is taught. Reflective
answers to question recorded after lesson is taught)
1. Did the students connect with the message of the
lesson?
2. Was I able to complete the lesson in the allotted time?
3. Were the students able to follow directions and
complete the inquiry?
VI. Resources (in APA format)
1. Jenkins, S. (2009). Down, down, down: A journey to
the bottom of the sea. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt.
2. What Does Adaptation Mean? (2002, January 1).
Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/rforest/adapt.htm
3. Kids.Net.Au - Dictionary Definition: Antarctic. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://dictionary.kids.net.au/word/Antarctic
4. SG, K. (2014, June 19). Blubber experiment: How
animals stay warm - Gift of Curiosity. Retrieved April
7, 2015, from http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/blubberexperiment-how-animals-stay-warm