Inquiry Lesson Plan Template (with Four Ways of Thinking

connection)
Teacher:
Content & Title:
Grade Level:
Martiah Rall
Sea Turtles: Why are Third grade
they an endangered
species?
Standards:

PO 2. Construct reasonable explanations of observations on the basis of data obtained (e.g., Based on
the data, does this make sense? Could this really happen?).
(2.SL.2) Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented
orally or through other media.
(2.W.8) Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer
a question.

Objectives (Explicit & Measurable):

Students will be able to construct solutions for keeping the ocean a safe and
clean environment for sea turtles by hypothesising solutions with reasonable
explainations.
Students will be able to recognise ways humans cause threats to sea turtles by
identifying information from the book Sea Turtles in Danger by Michael Portman
read aloud by the teacher.
Students will be able to brainstorm and record ideas on how to maintain a safe
and clean ocean environment for sea turtles by recalling information from
experiences in the days lesson.

Evidence of Mastery (Measurable Assessment: formative and summative):

Students will answer questions about the information in the read-aloud book and
relate the information to theats caused to sea turtles by humans.
Students will be able to answer the question: How can we maintain a safe and
clean ocean so sea turtles do not go extinct?

Sub-objectives, SWBAT (steps that lead to completion of objective; sequence from

simple to more complex):

Students will be able to listen to the teacher read a book aloud by sitting crisscross with their hands in their lap.
Students will be able to ask questions about the book when they do not
understand by raising their hand.
Students will be able to discuss why sea turtles are an endangered species by
recalling information from the read aloud.
Students will be able to brainstorm possible solutions to the problem by using
futures thinking.

Lesson Summary and Justification: (summary gives detailed information about what
students are doing. Justification why is this lesson being taught)

This lesson provides students with the opportunity to understand why sea turtles are
an endangered species by explaining to them the threats brought to sea turtles by
humans including pollution, improper fishing habits, and poaching. It then allows them

time to reflect and use futures thinking to create solutions they can act upon today to
create a better life for sea turtles in the future. The lesson starts with a whole group
read aloud, then goes into partner discussion, and ends with a writing assignment
where the students asnwer the question provided by the teacher.
This is an important subject to cover because many third graders are curious about
sea animals but theres not much taught about them in schools. Sea Turtles are one of
the oldest species on Earth, dating back to the time of the dinosaurs over 110 million
years ago. Although it is hard to say how many sea turtles are alive since they dont
come back to land after hatching unless they are nesting, we do know that only one in
1,000-10,000 turtles survive to adulthood because of threats caused by humans. All
sea turtles found in the U.S. are federally listed as endangered or threatened. This is
why I think it is important for students to learn about sea turtles through science and
literacy in schools.
Information About Sea Turtles: Threats to Sea Turtles. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2016, from
http://www.conserveturtles.org/seaturtleinformation.php?page=threats
Background Knowledge: (What do students need to know prior to completing this
lesson)

Students will need to know the seven species of sea turtles, where they live, what they
eat, and the sea turtle life cycle. This should be taught to them on day one of the Sea
Turtles: Theyre More Than Just Cute unit.
Misconception: (what possible misleading thoughts might students have?)

Humans purposfully injure sea turtles.

It is too late to nuture the sea turtle population back.
Sea turtles come back to land often.

Process Skills: (what skills are you introducing or reinforcing)

Introducing:
Futures thinking to benefit the life of sea turtles in the future
Critical thinking
Reinforcing:
Writing complete sentences
Listenening and responding
Four Ways of Thinking connection: (Provide a complete explanation of how your
lesson plan connects to futures, system, strategic, or values thinking. Define the way of
thinking you selected and used in this lesson plan. Remember, this should be included
meaningfully in the lesson plan.)

This lesson requires students to use futures thinking. Futures thinking means thinking
about how the past and present influence the future. The lesson discusses how the sea
turtle populations have declined since the 1970s and the cause of the decline has
mostly been from human threats such as poaching, irresponisble fishing, and pollution.
The lesson then talks about what is happening presently to conitnue harming the
environment such as sea turtles mistaking plastic bags for jellyfish. The last part of the
lesson allows the students to think about possible solutions and actions we can take

now to help keep the ocean a clean and safe environment for sea turtles in the future.
Safety: (what safety rules and items need to be addressed?)

Be respectful of each others space

Remember to put caps back on markers when done writing

Inquiry Questions: (testable in the here and now.)

1. Why are sea turtles an endangered species?
2. What can we do to keep the ocean a clean and safe environment for sea turtles to live in?

Key vocabulary: (list and define)

1. Endangered Species: a species of plant or
animal that is seriously at risk for extinction.
2. Extinct: animal or plant having no more living
members.
3. Futures Thinking: thinking about how the past
and present influence the future.
4. Pollution: any contamination of air, soil, water
and environment.
5. Global Warming: the recent increase in the
worlds temperature that is believed to be
caused by the increase of certain gases in the
atmosphere.
6. Poaching: hunting or fishing illegally
7. Threat: a source of danger

Materials: (list item and possible

quantity)
1. Book: Sea Turtles in Danger by Michael
Portman
2. Paper, pencil, markers
3. A picture of each specie of sea turtle with
its corresponding name tag
4. Science notebooks

Engage - In this section you should activate prior knowledge, hook student
attention, pose a question (IQ#1) based on your lesson objective that students
will seek to answer in Explore.
Teacher Will: (hook)
Students Will:

To spark students prior knowledge,

put a picture of each specie of sea
turtle on the front board with the
names of each one scrambled to the
side for the students to all look at.
Ask the students to think in their
heads of the names of each sea
turtle. Allow time for them to think.
Ask students to raise their hand if
they can name one sea turtle.
Call on student to answer question.
Model moving the name of the sea
turtle with its corresponding picture.
Repeat six more times asking
students to come to the board to
name the remaining turtles. If
students do not raise their hand then
call on students.
Guide students in correction if
needed.
Ask students to think about why they
think sea turtles are an endangered

Try to silently remember the seven

species of sea turtles from the
previous days lesson.
Raise hand if they know the name
of at least one sea turtle.

Take turns coming to the board

and matching the names to the
correct sea turtle.

Silently think about why sea

turtles are an endangered species.

Turn to shoulder partner and share

ideas.

species.
Allow time to think.
Ask students to turn to their should
partner and share their ideas.
Walk around and listen to discussions.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

Pictures allow assistance for ELL students

Allow wait time for thinking

Explore - In this section students should take the lead and actively use materials
to discover information that will help them answer the question posed in
Engage. Teachers may choose to give steps to follow, especially for younger students,
but the goal is for students to discover some or all of the sub-objectives of the lesson.
Teacher Will: (pose IQ #1)
Students Will: (list all steps)

Bring attention back to the front of

the room.
Ask students to grab their science
notebooks and pencils and meet you
on the front carpet. Remind them to
sit criss cross and to respect each
others space.
Grab Sea Turtles in Danger book and
sit on a chair in front of the students.
Introduce the title and author of the
book to the students.
As you flip through the pages and
allow the students to look at a few of
them ask them what they think the
book is about.
Tell the students you are going to read
the book aloud to them and as you
read they should write down anything
that might answer the question of
why sea turtles are endangered
animals.
Tell the students they can stop you to
ask questions throughout the book.
Begin reading, asking questions about
the book along the way to guide
students thinking process. Questions
could include:
- Why do you think we need to save
the beaches sea turtles are born
on after they leave?
- What is the danger to sea turtles
on this page?

Attention to the front of the room.

Grab science notebooks and
pencils and meet teacher on the
front carpet.

Make educated guesses about

what the book is about.

Actively listen to teacher read the

book, ask questions, record
information in science notebook.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

Provide guided questions

Read aloud

Explain In this section students share what they discovered, teacher connects
student discoveries to correct content terms/explanations, students
articulate/demonstrate a clear and correct understanding of the lesson sub-objectives
by answering the question from Engage before moving on.
Teacher Will:
Students Will:

After you are done reading the book

make a combined list of ways sea
turtles are in danger on the board by
calling on students and to see what
they collected from the book.
As students are sharing their ideas,
ask questions to guide their discovery
in the right direction and explaination
where needed.
- Do you think human waste matters
to sea turtles?
- What would happen if a sea turtle
mistaked a plastic bag for a
jellyfish?
Allow students to keep giving ideas
and have discussions about why sea
turtles are an endangered species
until there is a class agreed upon
answer.
Repeat the classes reason for sea
turtles being an endangered species
and add any key points they may
have missed.

Recount and describe and key

ideas from the book relating to
dangers of sea turtles.

Take turns sharing ideas from the

book until a the class has come up
with a clear idea of why sea
turtles are an endangered species.

Best Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes

Recalling of key ideas

Self discovery of ideas with assistance for students who need it

Elaborate In this section students take the basic learning gained from Explore and
clarified in Explain and apply it to a new circumstance or explore a particular aspect of
this learning at a deeper level. Students should be using higher order thinking in this
stage. A common practice in this section is to ask a What If? question. IQ #2
Teacher Will: (pose IQ #2)
Students Will:

Say to the students, What if we did

something to help keep the oceans
clean and safe for sea turtles? and
then pause.
Second graders, what can we do to
keep the ocean a clean and safe place

Think about possible solutions for

Best

for sea turtles?

creating a cleaner and safer
environment for sea turtles.
Allow students to brain storm ways to
be more sustainable by using futures
thinking. What are some changes we
Use the teachers guide to think of
can make in our every day lives that
would benefit the sea turtle
more solutions.
population in the future?
Guide them towards the key points
mentioned earlier and towards
Turn to shoulder partners to
thinking about solutions.
discuss solutions.
Teacher can start the list by
mentioning reducing the amount of
plastic water bottles we use by using
reusable water bottles.
Allow time for students to turn to their
shoulder partners and discuss
solutions.
Attention back to the front.
Walk around and listen to
Share solutions with the class.
conversations, jumping into some to
steer them in the right direction.
Take note of 2-3 students who had
some great ideas that would truly
benefit the future of sea turtles.
Bring attention back to the front.
Call on those 2-3 students to share
their ideas they came up with using
futures thinking.
Create a second list with a few
solutions that the class came up with.
Teaching Practice Strategy/Differentiation/ELL and Teacher Notes
Futures thinking
Guidance in partner discussion

Evaluate In this section every student demonstrates mastery of the lesson

objective (though perhaps not mastery of the elaborate content). Because this also
serves as a closing, students should also have a chance to summarize the big
concepts they learned outside of the assessment.

Teacher Will:

Instruct students to now think of

one solution they will personally do
in their lives to improve the lives of
sea turtles in their ocean habitats in
the future. Part of creating the
solution is to be able to explain why
the solution will work in the future.
Pass out paper and ask students to
get out their markers.
Instruct students to write their
solution on the piece of paper in
their nicest handwriting.

Students Will:

Think of one solution to use in every

day life.
Think about a reasonable
explaination for their solution.

Get out markers.

Write soltuion on paper in nicest

handwriting.

Include the WHY portion of their

solution. This could include
something along the lines of:
because sea turtles wont be
harmed by (insert solution such as
plastic bags, anchors, oils) anymore
so they can conitnue living healthy
and thriving lives.

Tell students that we will be using

these solutions later in the week so
they need to pass it in for the
Turn in papers to the teacher.
teacher to keep safe until then.
Use the papers handed in by
students as a summative
assessment to see if they grasped
the idea of future thinking and
problem solving.
Rubric:
5 Students write a solution that answers
the question: what can we do to keep the
ocean a safe and clean environment for
sea turtles? Students are able to provide a
reasonable explaination for their solution
including why it will help sea turtles in the
future.
3 Students write a solution but it doesnt
relate to keeping the ocean clean for sea
turtles. Students may or may not be able
to provide a reasonable explaination for
their solution including the why sea turtles
will benefit in the future segment.
1 Students dont write a solution.
Students do not have a reasonable
explaination.
Closure: (revisit objective, IQs and make real world connections)

Today we learned from our book that sea turtles are an endangered species mostly
because of threats caused by humans. What are some of those threats? Allow time for
students to give a few examples. We were then able to use futures thinking to

recognize the problems of the past and present to brainstorm solutions for keeping the
ocean a clean and safe habitat for sea turtles and write them down to use in a later
activity. I am so proud of our class coming together to become future problem solvers
and changemakers. Our solutions can help save sea turtles from extinction.
**Best Practices List the Best Teaching Practices you will use to enhance
the learning outcomes. In each section where prompted, list the best
practice, how the practices will be used and the purpose.