Ocean Exploration

Unit Plan
By: Nicole Germann
& Marissa Palminteri

Table of Contents:
Rationale...3
Course Standards...3-4
Unit Goals and Description of Unit....4-6
Bulletin Board Explanation.....6
Summative Assessment...6-7
References for Teachers and Kids........7-8
Concept Attainment Lesson Plan........8-12
Cooperative Learning Lesson Plan.................12-17
Direct Instruction Lesson Plan...17-21
Presentation of Advanced Organizer....21-26

Rationale:
When deciding what type of lesson to do, we took inspiration from our own interests in
school to decide what students would enjoy learning about. We both enjoyed learning
about different animals, more specifically ocean animals. There are so many
possibilities of different lessons plans to do with ocean animals, so we knew that we
would not run out of idea. We also believed that most students would have a basic
understanding of different ocean animals, and if they did not, it would be easy to provide
that by showing them different books, youtube videos, and other resources.
All of our lesson plans incorporated different types of strategies. The first lesson that we
did was A Day in the Life of a Sea Turtle which was a Concept Attainment Lesson Plan.
In this lesson introduced students to ocean life through the life stages of a sea turtle.
Our second lesson plan is Dinner Reef for our Cooperative Learning Lesson Plan.
Within this lesson plan, students will arrange algae, parrot fish, eel, and bull shark into a
food chain. Our third lesson plan is Adaptations of Ocean Animals for our Direct
Instruction Lesson Plan. For this lesson, students were able to discover what it would
be like to be an animal in the intertidal depth, open ocean, and deep water zone. The
fourth lesson plan was Symbiotic Relationships in the Ocean for a Presentation of
Advanced Organizer Lesson Plan. During this lesson, students will fill in a graphic
organizer of what type of symbiotic relationship (commensalistic, mutualistic, parasitic)
for algae-spider crab, remora fish-shark, clown fish-anemone, eal-shrimp, barnaclecrab, and tapeworm-whale.

Content Standards:
With our course standards, we took each of them from the Iowa Core State Standards
for Grades 3-5 Essential Concepts and/or Skills and Life Sciences. Within each lesson,
we also had students read and write, but those were not the main standards that we
were focussing on.
Concept Attainment:
Use evidence to develop reasonable explanations.Understand and apply knowledge of
organisms and their environment, including: structures, characteristics, and
adaptations of organisms that allow them to function and survive within their
environments.
Cooperative Learning:
Use evidence to develop reasonable explanations.
Understand and apply knowledge
of organisms and their environment, including: structures, characteristics, and
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adaptations of organisms that allow them to function and survive within their
environments.
Direct Instruction:
Understand and apply knowledge of organisms and their environments including
structures, characteristics, and adaptations of organisms that allow them to function
and survive within their habitats.
Presentation with Advance Organizer:
Use evidence to develop reasonable explanations. Understand and apply knowledge of
organisms and their environment, including: structures, characteristics, and
adaptations of organisms that allow them to function and survive within their
environments.
Unit Goals and Description of Unit:
Within our unit, we wanted students to grasp a better understanding of marine life as a
whole. We not only wanted them to learn about the different animals, but all the
relationships that the animals have with each other and our relationship with them. We
wanted them to develop a more complex comprehension of marine life.

The main goals of the unit are:

Students will be able to write a short story about sea turtles using facts from class.
Students are able to work together to construct a food chain using given ocean animals.
Students will be able to write about the different ocean zones through a journal entry.
Students will be able to create a poster to demonstrate the ocean symbiotic relationship
that they were given.
Students will be able to create a class plan about how to create an ocean friendlier
classroom.

For each lesson, we had an objective. They are:

1. After learning facts about sea turtles, and having already practiced how to write a
successful short story, each third grade student will write a short story where their main
character is a sea turtle and they must include at least 7 facts about sea turtles with no
more than 1 factual error. (concept attainment)
2. After reading about a specific ocean animal and listening to other classmates
presentations on three other ocean animals, groups of four students will be able to write
out the corresponding food chain with all four ocean animals in the correct food chain
sequence (100% accuracy). (Cooperative Learning-academic)
3. Students will be expected to contribute ideas while discussing the sequence of the
food chain. (Cooperative Learning-social)

4. After the class demonstrations and group presentations on their specific ocean depth,
each student will write a response in their journals using the sentence starters we
provide them with. Responses should include the correct identification of one ocean
animal for each ocean depth, correct adaptation for each of the three ocean animals
(one for each of the three different depths), and an explanation of what that animals
adaptation is and why that adaptation is important (with no errors). (direct instruction)
5. After students are given a card with a set of two marine animals, the students will work
in groups to read articles about the two marine animals they were given. The groups will
make a poster to share with the class identifying the correct symbiotic relationship their
two marine animals have as well as including at least two examples from their articles to
support their decision. (with 100% accuracy) (presentation of advanced organizer)
6. Students will write a proposal that they will present to the class based off of the info that
was learned through reading articles about how to help the ocean and will be able to
use proper language (80% of the time) and have educated plans (based off of the facts
of how to help the ocean environment) 100% of the time. (problem based inquiry)
The activities and lessons that we have students do align with the lessons and goals
that we have for each of our students.
We will be able to check and make sure that our students accomplish the different goals
by utilizing the summative assessment at the end. During each of the lessons, we will
also be double checking that our students are getting the most out of the goals and
objectives we set up for them through formative assessments. These formative
assessments might be writing a story or creating a poster to demonstrate what they
have learned.
Bulletin Board Explanation:
With our bulletin board, Our School of Learning- Ocean Exploration, students will be
able to track their learning throughout the unit. We decided to do a KWL chart for out
lesson plan (K-know before unit, W-want to learn from unit, L-learned from unit). We
thought that it would be a great way to get the unit moving by students assessing what
they are already know and create ownership for the unite by having students ask what
they would like to learn from the lesson. In the end, students will be able to display their
final project for summative assessment on they learned from the unit. We wanted
something that would be attractive to the students, as well as, serve a purpose with
assisting their learning for the unit.
Summative Assessment:
For a summative assessment, students will create a brochure that will assess how well
they learned each of the different types of materials. One page of the brochure will be
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about sea turtles, and students will have to list facts about their diet, predators, where
they life, and a fun fact that they learned from this lesson. Another page of the brochure
will focus on the ocean life food chain and students will draw a food chain with the
animals: barnacles, crab, sea turtle, killer whale. On the third page of the brochure,
students will answer questions about ocean zones adaptations like How do I stay warm
in the open ocean?, How would I see in the abyss zone?, and how do I stay put in the
intertidal depth zone? The fourth page will focus on symbiotic relationships. Students
will first match-up commensalistic, mutualistic, and parasitic with their correct definition
and a face that symbolizes each (commensalistic=smiley face, mutualistic=face with no
emotion, parasitic=unhappy face). Then they will match pairs of animals with each of
their respected symbiotic relationship. The last page of the brochure is about an ocean
friendly class. Students will have to think of three ways that they can as a class reduce
their impact on the oceans.
Students will receive a template with all the information above to help them develop the
brochure. They will either answer questions or reflect on their learning. When these
brochures are done, they will be hung on the KWL chart for the rest of the class to see.
The students will be graded on the information that they include in the pamphlet. We are
strictly assessing the students on whether or not they know the content. The teacher
circle the amount of points each student received. .
1 2 3 4 Students include how many facts about sea turtles?
1 2 3 4 Students will draw the correct food chain with the given animals.
1 2 3
Students be able to state the correct adaptation for each given animal.
1 2 3
Students will be able to match the correct symbiotic relationship with its
correct animal.
1 2 3
Students will be able to match the correct symbiotic relationship pair
animals with their correct name.
1 2 3
Students will be able to list off 3 ways to have an ocean friendly classroom.
Total points: 20
It is important to remember that learning in the classroom never ends. Even after the
summative assessment, the topics can still be redressed or reviewed.
References for students and teachers:
https://www.educateiowa.gov/pk-12/standards-and-curriculum/iowacore/science/science-grades-3-5 Iowa Core State Standards Link
http://www.seeturtles.org/43/sea-turtle-facts.html A website about sea turtles.
http://www.defenders.org/sea-turtles/basic-facts A website about sea turtles.
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 http://www.seaturtle-world.com/facts-about-sea-turtles.html A website about sea turtles.

http://www.arkive.org/education/teaching-resources-7-11 A website where we found an
idea for our Diner at the Reef Lesson Plan.
http://www.fun-science-project-ideas.com/What-is-Algae.html A website about algae.
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/AnimalDetails.aspx?
enc=VsGX+Lst7QbmikwnWJQ31Q== A website about Parrot fish.
http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/CooperES/Teacher_Websites/Watson_Web/fifth_tuesday
_marine_biology_site/matthewc.html A websitea about eels.
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/bull-shark/ A website
about Bull Sharks.
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/exploringunderwater/ A
website with a lesson plan that we got our water zones adaptations lesson plan from.
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/archive/xpeditions/lessons/08/g35/seascolumn.
html?ar_a=1 A website with a lesson plan that we got our water zones adaptations
lesson plan from.
http://www.ducksters.com/animals/clownfish.php A website about clownfish.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbiosis A websitea about symbiotic relationships.
http://animalsymbiosis.weebly.com/sharks-and-remora-fish.html A website about Shark
and Remonas symbiotic relationship.
http://bigbluebiome.weebly.com/symbiotic-relationships-of-the-ocean-biome-eco.html A
website about symbiotic relationships in the ocean.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_an_example_of_parasitism_in_ocean#slide1 A
website about symbiotic relationships in the ocean.
http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2009/02/01/symbiotic-fish-animals-sea-ocean-water/ A
website about symbiotic relationships in the ocean.
http://www.50waystohelp.com/ A website about ways to help the ocean.
http://oceana.org/en/living-blue/ocean-friendly-tips A website about ways to help the
ocean.
http://www.bluefront.org/files/50ways.php A website about ways to help the ocean.

Concept Attainment Lesson Plan (10 pts)

Lesson Background:
Your Name: Marissa Palminteri
Grade Level: (circle one) K 1 2 3 4 5 6
Nicole Germann
Subject: (circle one)
Language Arts
Social Studies
Mathematics
Science

Lesson Title: A Day in the Life of a Sea Turtle

Content Standards: Use evidence to develop reasonable explanations.
Understand and apply knowledge of organisms and their
environment, including: structures, characteristics, and
adaptations of organisms that allow them to function and survive
within their environments.
(taken from Iowa Core Science Standards grades 3-5)
Materials Needed:
-pencil
-paper
-Flip Chart paper
-tape
-notecards (Yes/nos)
Prerequisite Skills:
-know the components of how to write a short story
-basic knowledge of ocean animals
Lesson Objective: After learning facts about sea turtles, and having already practiced
how to write a successful short story, each third grade student will write a short story
where their main character is a sea turtle and they must include 7 facts about sea turtles
with no more than 1 factual error.
Concept Label: Sea Turtles
Critical Attributes:
[yes]

I hatch from an egg

When Im born I follow light to the water

There are seven different species of me

My diet is made up of seaweed, jellyfish, crabs, to shrimp

Ive been on the earth for over 100 million years

I prefer to live in warm water temperatures

We can live up to 80 years old

My biggest predators are sharks and other large fish

Fishing nets and boats are also a threat for me

I have a shell for protection

Non-critical Attributes [no]

The zoo
8

Plants
Forests
I have fur
Cold temperatures
Ability to fly
Only eat meat
Snow
Movies
Internet

Etc,etc, for other unrelated animals/things

Definition of Concept: A large marine reptile living in warm or tropical oceans, that uses
its flippers to help it swim, and its shell for protection.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Interaction with Students:
1. Provide examples and non-examples to the class: (Distinguish yes/no attributes)
Time: 15 minutes
(Before stating the lesson, the teacher will create a t-chart on a piece of flip chart paper.
On the left side of the t-chart will be a YES header and on the right side, there will be a
NO header. The teacher will also have prepared different examples of each on pieces
of paper that will stick onto the chart.) Students, today you all are going to be
detectives and decide what we are going to learn about today. As you know, we have
been focusing a lot about oceans and the different characteristics of the oceans and the
animals. But today we are going to learn about something a little new. (teacher grabs
the t-chart). We are going to learn about one specific type of ocean animal. I will start
by giving you clues as to who this ocean animal is. There is a yes column and a no
column. All of the yeses are qualities of this animal we are going to learn about. All
the nos are qualities not about this animal. I will add one characteristic at a time to the
list to its correct side. As I add each characteric, I want you to think quietly in your
head what animal this might be. (Place I hatch from an egg, when Im born, I follow
light to the water, and there are seven different species of me in YES; place forest, I
have fur, and cold temperatures into NO) Now I will show you the remaining cards one
by one, if you think you know where that specific card goes you will raise your hand. If I
call on you, you will be able to come up to the chart and place the card in the column
where you think it belongs and explain why you placed it there. After each card is
placed in a column, we will discuss as a class if we agree or disagree as to where it

was sorted. (Show the kids 5 more cards and have students come up to place them in
columns. Make any corrections along the way if necessary.)
2. Test for attainment: (Do the students understand the concept?) Time: 10 minutes
Good job to all of the volunteers who came up here and placed the cards into their right
columns. I would like every one who thinks they know what the concept we will be
learning today to put a thumbs up in the air. (if there are still a few students who dont
have their thumbs up/dont yet understand what the concept is, call more volunteers up
to the board to place a couple of cards into their columns) Now if everyone could turn to
the person beside you and share what you think the concept for the day is and why you
think so. (Walk around and listen to students discussing and predicting what the
concept is) Direct the classs attention back to the front and call on a few students to
state what they think the concept is based on that activity and explain why they think so.
After the whole class has shared and come to an agreement on what the concept is,
have the class put the remaining cards into the correct column.
3. Analyze student thinking processes and integration of learning: Time:5
minutes
(Are they able to provide additional examples and non-examples?)
Excellent work! There are no more cards up here to sort, but now Im going to give you
all the chance to show me what more you know about sea turtles. What are some other
facts or characteristics we could put in the YES column that describe sea turtles? (As
students list off words or traits about sea turtles, write them in the YES column along
with asking the student to further explain why it should be placed there) Lets move on
to the NO column-- what are some words that dont describe sea turtles we can put in
the NO column? (as students list off unrelated words and ideas about sea turtles, write
them down. Could be characteristics of other land animals. Have them explain why it
would be in the NO column)
4. Clarify lesson objectives: (What are students going to DO with these?)
Time:
5 minutes
Using the knowledge we now have about sea turtles, each of you is going to write a
short story about a day in the life of a sea turtle. You can use your previous
understanding on the necessary components of a successful short story (beginning,
middle, end, characters, setting, conflict) to help you with this task as well as the list of
descriptions and characteristics of turtles we have just created. While this is a short
story, and the main character is focused about a sea turtle, Im expecting you to include
at least seven facts about sea turtles with no more than one error.
5. Procedures for Using the Concept in a meaningful way? time: 0 minutes
This lesson focuses on the characteristics, behaviors, and interactions of sea turtles.
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The students get to explore this by first sorting cards about sea turtles into the YES
column and other unrelated facts into the NO column. Students then have to explain
their thinking about why they think a trait belongs to the YES column. This helps enrich
the whole classs understanding about sea turtles.
When asked to write a short story with a sea turtle as the main character, students have
to think about how they are going to incorporate the facts and behaviors they have just
learned about this animal in a relevant way.
6. Assessment / Closure (How do you evaluate student progress or provide closure
for this lesson?) Include rubric, checklist, assessment documents.
Time:
15 minutes
The teacher will assess the students knowledge about sea turtles by collecting their
short stories and checking to see if each student has written a short story with a sea
turtle as their main character and has included at least 7 facts about sea turtles, with at
maximum one factual error.
The teacher will float around while students are writing the short story to make there is
no questions and all of the students are on the same/correct page. The teacher will
also gather an idea of where the students are at with the concepts before having
students turn in their final short story.

Sea Turtle Facts

within short story

Very Satisfactory

Satisfactory

Needs
Improvement

Includes all 7 facts

about sea turtles
with a maximum of
one factual error.

-Includes all 7 facts

with between 2-4
factual errors.
OR
-Includes between
6-4 facts will a
maximum of one
factual error.

-Includes all 7 facts

with between 5-7
factual erro.rs
OR
-Includes between
4-0 facts with a
maximum of one
factuel errors.

7. DIFFERENTIATION of Content, Process or Product:

a. Adaptation for students who need extra help, time, or attention?
Students who need extra help, before writing their own short story could be presented
with a website to watch a video about a sea turtle and given a graphic organizer
outlining setting, plot, conflict, characters, and ending. The graphic organizer would be
filled out during class time and then complete a short story based on the exact plot of
the video he/she watched. This could be turned in the next morning to give the student
more time to actually write the story. Any student who needed more help could also be
given a copy of traits and facts about sea turtles on a piece of paper in front of the
11

student as well as any beneficial pictures to aid in their understanding.

b. Extension for students of high ability? (Remember, assigning gifted students
to be the tutor for others is not sufficient academic challenging for students who
have mastered the lesson).
Students of higher ability could have an extension to this lesson by gathering additional
resources whether from websites or textbooks that they then will have to turn into an
expository story rather than a narrative. The focus of their story would be more on the
endangerment of sea turtles and what threats sea turtles are exposed to rather than
making a narrative.
TOTAL LESSON TIME: 50 minutes

Cooperative Learning Lesson Plan (10 pts)

Lesson Background:
Your Name: Marissa Palminteri

Grade Level: (circle one) K 1 2 3 4 5 6

Nicole Germann
Subject: (circle one)
Science

Language Arts

Social Studies

Mathematics

Lesson Title: Reef Dinner

Content Standards: Use evidence to develop reasonable explanations.
Understand and apply knowledge of organisms and their
environment, including: structures, characteristics, and
adaptations of organisms that allow them to function and survive
within their environments.
(taken from Iowa Core Science Standards grades 3-5)
Materials Needed:
-Four separate animals for each group (algae, parrot fish, eel, bull shark)
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-One article for each animal listed above

-paper
-pencil
-White Board/dry erase markers
Prerequisite Skills:
-Students will have the basic knowledge of predators/preys relationships.
-Know the responsibilities of each group job
-Know how to work appropriately in groups
Lesson Objective(s):
a.

Academic in A B C D format

After reading about a specific ocean animal and listening to other classmates
presentations on three other ocean animals, groups of four students will be able to write
out the corresponding food chain with all four ocean animals in the correct food chain
sequence (100% accuracy).
b.

Social Goals for your lesson

Students will be expected to contribute ideas while discussing the sequence of the
food chain.
Cooperative Learning Grouping Structure: (see course pack.Jigsaw? Think Pair
Share? etc)
Jigsaw (algae group, small fish group, large fish group, shark group)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Interaction with Students:
1. Present objectives: (Tell students what they are going to learn?) Time: 3 minutes
Today we are going to learn about the food chain of certain animals. You will be split up
into groups of four and each group will be given a specific ocean animal. As a group,
13

you will learn about that animal through reading a given text and will then have to share
to the class what that animal likes to eat and what animals like to eat it. With the
information from your groups reading as well as the other groups presentations, your
group of four will come together to decide the food chain of those four specific ocean
animals. Also, you will practice sharing and contributing ideas with your group members
in order to make the decision together of how the food chain should be set up.
2. Present information for the academic goal: (What are procedures for the
academic goal?) Time: 40 minutes

Students will be divided into four separate groups for each ocean animal (algae, parrot
fish, eel, bull shark). Each group will be assigned a different space in the room to work
to decrease possible distractions. Once all the students are in their groups with their
assigned animals, the group member who is in charge of supplies will go up to the front
to grab a copy for each person in the group of their ocean animals reading. Students
will read over the text individually and then later collectively as a group. The motivators
job will be to encourage each group member to contribute and share any ideas they
think are important, also giving positive reinforcement and words along the way. Group
members will share ideas and decide what main points they should share with the
class, making sure to include what their specific animal likes to eat and what animals
like to eat it. (who their predators are and what their prey is.). The recorder will write
these ideas down as notes for the presenter to share with the class later on. Sentences
starters will be provided for each recorder stating The name of this animal is, The
prey of this animal is The predator of this animal is . Once all the groups have
decided on what to share with the rest of the class(each group will indicate their
readiness to move on by raising their hand), the first groups presenter/speaker will
share the name of their ocean animal to the class as well as its predators and prey.
This will continue until each of the four groups have presented their ocean animals
information. The order of groups will be at random so as not to replicate the actual food
chain of these animals. After each group is done sharing their main ideas and evidence
with the class, the teacher will ask the rest of the class what they thought were
important details or points that have to do with predator/prey relationships of that
animal. The teacher will record student responses on the whiteboard in a designated
column for the ocean animal being discussed.
3. Organize students into learning teams:

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Time: 10 minutes outside of class to create groups based on reading ability. Then
another 2 minutes to number off each student in every group (1,2,3,4, up to 5) Then on
the board writing each number down and the role next to it.
a. Explain how theyll practice the social goal?
Students will be able to practice the social goal before they get assessed on it later in
the lesson. So after each student reads the text about their groups animal in the first
part of the lesson, students will be able to practice contributing ideas by asking
beneficial questions to other group members and using evidence or examples from the
readings to support their own thoughts.
b. How will you organize the groups?
Groups are organized by reading level ability. Students at a high reading level will
receive more challenging textual readings related to their ocean animal whereas
students at a lower reading level will receive more basic reading passages.
c.What group roles will you have?
Students will initially be separated into four separate groups, we predict the group size
to range from 4-5 depending on overall class size. So some examples of roles we would
assign to group members would to have one person be in charge of supplies/materials
needed, one person to be the presenter/speaker of the group, one person to
record/write down the groups ideas, and one person to motivate and encourage other
group members. If groups were on the larger size, instead of having one person in
charge of supplies, there could be one person designated to getting the supplies and
one person designated to returning or putting back the supplies. The teacher will assign
these roles by giving each student in the individual groups a number (1-4 or 1-5). After
assigning the numbers, the teacher will write the jobs for each number on the board.
(For example, all 1s will be supplies, 2s will be presenter, 3s will be recorders, and 4s
will be motivators).
4. Assist team work and study:

Time: 15 minutes

a. How will you monitor academic progress?

The teacher will visit with the different groups to see what they are each getting out of
their readings. Teacher will ask questions to encourage thinking about the prey/predator
relationship. If students are not understanding the purpose of their reading, the teacher
will ask prompting questions to help the students get on the correct page.

15

b. How will you monitor the social goals?

While visiting each group for the academic progress, the teacher will encourage
students to contribute their own ideas. If a student is not sharing as much as other
students, the teacher will ask that student for their opinion specific to the topic. If a
student is sharing too often, the teacher will encourage the student to listen to other
students responses by asking other group members what they think.

5. Provide recognition:

Time: Going on throughout lesson

(How will students know they have met both academic and social goals?)
While visiting each group, the teacher will provide students with positive feedback such
as good job, youre on the right track, I like your examples for academic successes
and thats a good point, nice questions, for the social goal. If a student does not
usually share often, the teacher will be sure to point out specific to what the student is
working on like youre doing a great job participating today or even with a student who
normally has trouble shouting out in class or dominating group conversation to make a
point to tell that student Im very pleased with the way youre taking turns and listening
to other people

6. Assessment / Closure: (How do you evaluate student progress or end this

lesson?)
Time: Academic Assessment: 15 minutes outside of class
Social Assessment: The teacher will assess the social aspect of the lesson while
students will be discussing and creating the final food chain in their groups; 10 minutes

For assessment, we are only assessing them on how they work together as a team so
each individual group member contributes ideas, and the final food chain that each
group agrees upon. The other steps such as the readings and verbal presentations are
set up to help students succeed in the final steps of the lesson that we are assessing
them on (final food chain and contributing ideas to the group for the final food chain).

Food Chain Checklist:

16

____All 4 animals are in the correct food chain order (algae parrot fish eel bull
shark)
_____Only 3 animals are in the correct food chain order
_____ Only 2 animals are in the correct food chain order
_____ Only 1 animal is in the correct food chain order
_____ None of the animals are in the correct food chain order

Each group will turn in one final food chain at the end of the lesson. The teacher will
look through each groups food chain and grade it based on the checklist above.

Social Goal:

Contributes
Ideas

Very Satisfactory

Satisfactory

Student is engaged with

other group members.
He/she asks questions
that will benefit the entire
group and offers own
ideas or opinions with
supporting evidence
several times

Student is
somewhat engaged
in conversation with
other group
members. He/she
offers few ideas or
opinions.

Needs Improvement

Student is not
engaged with group
members. He/she
does not ask
questions and does
not contribute any
ideas.

The teacher will be floating around with a clipboard to observe students interactions
within the groups and assess how well the student is contributing ideas during the final
discussion. On the clipboard, there will be slips of paper with the social goal rubric for
each student. The teacher will circle the section that the students fit mostly in based off
of the description in the rubric.

17

Include documents for assessing both the academic and social goals.
7. DIFFERENTIATION of Content, Process or Product:
a. Adaptation for students who need extra help, time, or attention?
We differentiated content in this lesson by splitting up the groups based on reading level
from low to high. The students who are in the lower reading level group will be given
more basic or even below grade level reading passages. The teacher can keep this in
mind when spending time checking in with each group (giving the lower-level reading
group more attention and help), offering extra scaffolding or providing them with more
guided questions in order to reach the right conclusion.
b. Extension for students of high ability? (Remember, gifted students need
challenge).
This lesson starts off by providing some differentiation for higher ability students by
placing them in a group based on having a high or above grade average reading level.
This means that the readings they were given would have more challenging vocabulary
and structures. Also to modify this activity for high ability students, the teacher would not
provide this group with the sentence structures the other groups received to organize
their thoughts. Another modification that could be made is to have additional questions
for the gifted students to answer after writing out their food chain. Questions that would
prompt their thinking about what would happen to the balance of the food chain if there
was more or less of one of the ocean animals.
TOTAL LESSON TIME: 85 minutes
8. References Consulted (Curriculum books in Drake SOE curriculum lab, previous
teachers as resources, online websites, your past experiences, or your own initiatives,
etc):

Standards:
"Science-Grades 3-5." Iowa Department of Education. Iowa.gov, 2012. Web. 9 Oct.
2013.

18

Jigsaw: Own experiences from classes

Course Pack from Curriculum and Pedagogy

Lesson Idea:
Dinner at the Reef - Teachers' Notes. N.p.: ARKive, n.d. DOC.

Reading Samples for students:

(algae)
http://www.fun-science-project-ideas.com/What-is-Algae.htm

(parrot fish) http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/AnimalDetails.aspx?

enc=VsGX+Lst7QbmikwnWJQ31Q==

(eel)
http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/CooperES/Teacher_Websites/Watson_Web/fifth_tuesday
_marine_biology_site/matthewc.html

(bull shark)
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/bull-shark/

Direct Instruction Lesson Plan (10 pts)

Lesson Background:
19

Your Name: Marissa Palminteri

Grade Level: (circle one) K 1 2 3 4 5 6
Nicole Germann
Subject: (circle one)
Language Arts
Social Studies
Mathematics
Science
Lesson Title: Adaptations of Ocean Animals
Content Standards: Understand and apply knowledge of organisms and their
environments including structures, characteristics, and adaptations of organisms that
allow them to function and survive within their habitats.
Materials Needed:
-Reflection journals and pencil
-two shark teeth jaws
-seven pictures of animals from the different depths of the ocean (21 pictures for 21
students)
-intertidal depth zone: tray of water, rock, paper starfish, paper starfish with tape on the
back (tape would demonstrate the suckers), paper towels
-open ocean zone: trays of cold water, paper towels, vegetable shortening, stopwatch
-abyss zone: tent/fort (black blankets/paper), small objects (eraser, paper clip, etc.),
flashlights, stop watch
-poster paper and markers
Prerequisite Skills:Expectation about how to effectively work in small groups, being able
to accurately present information to a large group, knowing the characteristics of each
of the 3 sections of the ocean (intertidal zone/shallow, open ocean, abyss), and the
vocabulary relating to this lesson (adaptations, traits, names of ocean animals, depth).
A B C D Lesson Objective:
Students will write a journal entry on the adaptations specific to the animals they
learned about through the activities they did at their assigned station and the
presentations shared to them in class, making sure to discuss each topic outlined on the
checklist.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Interaction with Students:
1. Provide objectives: (What are students going to learn?) Time: 5 minutes
Today, were going to learn about the animals that live in the different sections of the
ocean based on depth. We are also going to learn about why certain animals have the
traits ( ex: physical appearance, internal) that they do because of the depth they live in.
2. Demonstrate knowledge or skill: (Input/Modeling by the teacher) Time: 7 minutes
The teacher would bring in two sets of jaws from a shark, one to be passed around the
20

classroom while the other to be referenced by the teacher. The teacher would start off
by asking the students what they observe about the jaw of a shark. Students would give
answers describing how the teeth are sharp and pointy, there are multiple rows of teeth,
etc. Then the teacher would ask further questions like why the students think a shark
needs multiple rows of sharp teeth. After students make inferences, the teacher would
explain how over time sharks adapted to having multiple rows of sharp teeth in order to
survive.
3. Provide guided practice: (Guided practice with the teacher)
Time: 20 minutes
The teacher will explain how there are other adaptations other ocean animals have
made, more specifically to the depth that they live in. Teacher will have previously cut
out different ocean animals, 7 for each ocean depth. The teacher will place all of the
different animals in a hat and have each student pick one animal. To divide into small
groups, each student will have to identify what ocean depth their animal lives in and go
to that classroom station.
For the intertidal depth, a station will be set up that shows how a starfish uses the
suckers on its arms to stay attached to stationary objects even with the presence of
waves. We will have a tray filled with water, a rock to act as the stationary object, and a
paper starfish. Theyll experiment by first simply placing the paper starfish on the rock
and moving the water tray back and forth to stimulate waves. Theyll then record their
observations. The next time, theyll do the same thing except the students will add tape
to the bottom of the paper starfish and stick it on the rock. After moving the tray back
and forth they should notice how the starfish is able to stay attached to the rock even
with the presence of waves. Students will record their observations again.
For the open ocean zone, a station will be set up that will demonstrate the significance
of blubber on underwater animals. For this station, there will be multiple trays filled with
cold water. At first, students will have to place their hands in cold water for an allotted
amount of time. When they take their hand out of the water, students will record how
their hand felt and describe the temperature. After doing this experiment with their bare
hands, students will be asked to coat their hands in vegetable shortening. Students will
place their hand in a tray of cold water for the same amount of time. After, students will
then record how their hand felt and describe temperature.
For the abyss zone, a type of fort would be set up that would be completely dark (so
made up of black fabric or black paper) .Each student will have a set time to go in the
fort and find various small objects like a paperclip, an eraser, etc. After doing so,
students will record the level of difficulty it was to find these objects with no light source
available. Next, however, students will do the same activity but this time will be provided
with a small flashlight to aid in finding the same objects (similar to how an angler fish
21

has its own light source to find food). They will then record how difficult or easy this was
with aid of the flashlight.
4. Check for understanding and provide student feedback: (How will you know
students understand the skill or concept? How will they know they get it?)
Time: 20 minutes
Teacher can check for understanding during and after the stations. During the stations
the teacher can easily gauge student understanding by walking around and asking
students questions why they think this adaptation is helpful. Also, to expand to other
animals, the teacher would ask the students to think of different types of animals from
their ocean section and the unique adaptations that those animals have.
After the students complete the designated task for their ocean depth, they will have to
present what they learned about their specific ocean depth to the class in a way that
they choose between a poster, graphic organizer, pictures, a speech, etc.
5: Provide extended practice and transfer: (Independent practice of the skill)
Time: 10 minutes
Students will be asked to write a journal reflection on the activity they completed as well
as the ones the other two groups shared to the class. In their responses, students will
have to identify the animal and the adaptation that animal has for each of the ocean
depths. They will also have to further explain why that adaptation is important. Lastly,
students will be asked to come up with and describe an adaptation of another sea
animal of their choice not covered in any of the activities done that day.
6. Assessment / Closure: (How do you evaluate student progress or provide closure
to this lesson?) You MUST include rubric, checklist or assessment document.
Time: 0 minutes of student time, 2 minutes of teacher time for each student entry
The teacher will collect the journal entries from each student for an informal, formative
assessment to make sure students are grasping the idea of adaptations and why they
are important.
Checklist:
_____ Identify correct animal for each ocean depth
_____ Identify correct adaptation for each animal
_____ Explain why that adaptation is important
_____ Identify a new ocean animal of their choice (from any of the three zones)
_____ Identify the correct adaptation for the animal of their choice
_____ Explain why that adaptation is important for their animal
7. DIFFERENTIATION of Content, Process or Product:
22

a. Adaptation for students who need extra help, time, or attention?

Students who need extra assistance can use a different approach for the journal entry.
Instead they can fill out a table with sections already labeled corresponding to the
checklist. This way, the expectations for the journal are clear and students have a visual
representation of what the teacher is looking for. Another alternative could also be
having students who might struggle with writing simply giving an oral understanding of
the information.
b. Extension for students of high ability? (Remember, assigning gifted students
to be the tutor for others is not sufficient academic challenging for students who
have mastered the lesson).
When students have to decide their own animal for the journal entry, a high ability
student instead will have to create a storyline involving the animal of their choice
including what ocean depth that animal lives in and showcasing its specific
adaptation.They also will have to describe how their adaptation helps them survive or
how it affects their relationship with other ocean animals. This modification can be
applied to high ability students because it is asking them to think at a deeper level than
what is asked of the rest of the class, therefore changing quality of instruction instead of
quantity.
TOTAL LESSON TIME:1 hour and 2 minutes
8. References Consulted (Curriculum books in Drake SOE curriculum lab, previous
teachers as resources, online websites, your past experiences, or your own initiatives,
etc):
"Sea Animals & Ocean Mammals Lesson Plan for Grades 3-5." Sea Animals &
Ocean Mammals Lesson Plan for Grades 3-5. Discovery Education, n.d. Web. 17
Sept. 2013.
"The Water Column: Where Do Ocean Animals Belong?" National Geographic
Education. Archived Xpeditions, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.

Presentation with Advance Organizer Lesson Plan (10 pts)

Your Name: Marissa Palminteri
Grade Level: (circle one) K 1 2 3 4 5 6
Nicole Germann
Subject: (circle one)
Language Arts
Social Studies
Mathematics
Science
Lesson Title: Symbiotic Relationships in the Ocean
23

Content Standards:

Use evidence to develop reasonable explanations

Understand and apply knowledge of organisms and their
environment, including: structures, characteristics, and
adaptations of organisms that allow them to function and survive
within their environments.
(taken from Iowa Core Standards)

Materials Needed:
-Index card with pictures of 2 marine animals with a symbiotic relationships
- 2 or 3 articles/explanations for each group and their marine animals
-Elmo with connected projection screen
-highlighter/pen to annotate article/explanation
-flip chart for each group
-markers for flipchart
Prerequisite Skills: Knowing the definition of what is a relationship, being able to
successfully pull out information from readings to be successful with deciding the
symbiotic relationship, capable to work in groups efficiently, and understanding the
qualities of a well thought out presentation
Lesson Objective:
After students are given a card with a set of two marine animals, the students will work
in groups to read articles about the two marine animals they were given. The groups will
make a poster to share with the class identifying the symbiotic relationship their two
marine animals have as well as including at least two examples from their articles to
support their decision with 100 percent accuracy.
1. Present objectives: (What are students going to learn?) Time: 2 minutes
Youve already learned about the different types of animals that live in the ocean, but
today you are going to learn about the different ways marine animals can interact.
These interactions are called symbiotic relationships. You will split into groups in a few
minutes, each of the groups will be handed an index card with a set of two marine
animals and a couple of articles on those animals. After you read the articles as a
group, your group will have to organize a poster or presentation to share with the class.
In your presentation you will need to name the correct type of symbiotic relationship
your two marine animals have as well as reasons to support your answer you found
from the article.
2. Present advance organizer: (A metaphor or logical connection?) Time: 7 minutes
But before we get into all of that, lets talk about the different relationships you have in
your own life. Can anyone describe a situation where both people in the relationship are

24

affected in a postive way? (wait for students to offer up examples; the teacher can give
a clarifying example of how two students who study for a test together will both benefit
from that act and get a good grade afterwards) The term we use in science to explain
this relationship is called mutualism, where both animals benefit or get something they
want. What about a situation where one person benefits and the other isnt affected in a
positive or negative way? (again wait for students to give examples, the teacher can
provide the example of how as a student if you fall down playing or hurt yourself, you
would go to the nurse and she would help you. The student is benefiting by receiving a
band aid, ice pack, or general care, while the nurse is neither being harmed or
benefiting). The scientific term we use to explain this relationship is commensalism,
where one animal receives some kind of benefit and the other isnt affected. Lastly, can
anyone describe a relationship where one person benefits and the other person is
affected in a negative way? (wait for student answers, the teacher can describe how
there might be a bully who takes another students lunch money. The bully is getting
what he wants, the money, but the other student would now feel sad or upset as well as
having his money taken away.) This is a parasitic relationship, where one animal will
receive some kind of benefit, but the other animal is harmed in the process.
3. Demonstrate knowledge or skill: (Input/Modeling by the teacher) Time: 30 minutes
The teacher would start by having one index card with the pictures and names of two
marine animals with a symbiotic relationship. He/she would use the elmo to show their
annotations on an article that explains the relationship between the two ocean animals
specific to the index card. The teacher would go through the main ideas of the article
with the class and ask them to make predictions about what kind of symbiotic
relationship they think those two marine animals have. Once all the students offered up
their predictions, the teacher would tell the class what type of relationship it was
(choosing from mutualistic, commensalistic, and parasitic) and point out where in the
article she found evidence to support her answer.
After going over the first example as a whole class, the teacher would break up students
into 6 groups. There will be two groups for each of the the symbiotic relationships,
essentially two examples of each relationship (mutualism, commensalism, and
parasitism). Once everyone was settled into their groups, the students will receive an
index card with the two marine animals they have to focus on and a couple of articles or
research relating to those specific animals and their relationship. Because we are
assessing the students on correctly identifying the type of symbiotic relationship their
two marine animals have, the teacher will have to cross out or black out any direct
reference to the specific name of the relationship if it were mentioned in the articles
student groups were given. The students will annotate the article for any main ideas
from their readings if it was essential in identifying their animals symbiotic relationship.
The students should prepare an explanation of what symbiotic relationship their animals
25

are portraying as well as what led them to believe that. The students will be made
aware they will have to use this information later when they present it to the class.
4. Check for understanding and provide student feedback: (How will you know
students understand the skill or concept? How will they know they get it?) Time: 15
minutes
Once the students feel like they have correctly identified and provided reasonable
evidence to support their answer, they will be told to raise their hand. The teacher, upon
seeing this, will know to go over to the group and check their answer and the
explanation they gave to see if the students are truly understanding their symbiotic
relationship. If the students are off in their reasoning, the teacher can ask guided
questions or provide more examples to help get rid of their old misconceptions. At this
point, once the teacher sees all group members have a clear understanding of what
type of symbiotic relationship it is and why it is that relationship, he/she will give the
small group a flip chart piece of paper and markers. The teacher will tell the group
members to organize their thoughts on a poster to share with their classmates.
5. Assessment / Closure: (How do you evaluate student progress or provide closure
to this lesson?)
Time: 5 minutes per group
The assessment for this lesson would be when each group of students presents and
shares the example of their two marine animals. They can take up the poster they would
have created in the time allotted before to explain to the rest of the class what type of
symbiotic relationship they determined their two animals to have as well as listing off
their reasoning for believing so. For this they would include examples from the articles
and texts provided to them. After each presentation, the rest of the class can offer up
their opinions as to whether they disagree or agree with that groups decision and
explanations.
CHECKLIST:
_____ Did the group identify the correct symbiotic relationship of their two marine
animals
_____ Did the group provide clear examples they found in the text that supported their
decision
6. Adaptation for students who need extra help, time, or attention? Extension for
students of high ability?
When dividing up into the 6 groups, the teacher can already have these groups planned
out taking into account student ability. So in this case, the groups would have a majority
of the lower level students in one group so that the teacher will know to check on them
more often or provide them with additional supports. Also, the teacher can supply a
26

group of lower level students with articles or research developmentally appropriate for
them ( might be at grade level or below grade level content)
With high ability students, this lesson can also be modified to meet their academic
needs. The teacher can provide the high ability students with more challenging articles
to read (might be above their grade level). These students could also have the chance
to think of another example of two marine animals who have the same type of symbiotic
relationship as the ones given on their notecard. They will have to share this additional
example with the class and state their reasoning behind why they thought those two
ocean animals might have that symbiotic relationship based on what they have
previously learned.
TOTAL LESSON TIME: 59 minutes
7. References Consulted: (Curriculum books in Drake SOE curriculum lab, teacher
resources, websites, etc):
"Animals for Kids: Clownfish." Ducksters. Technological Solutions, Inc. (TSI), Sept.
2013. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ducksters.com/animals/clownfish.php
"Science-Grades 3-5." Iowa Department of Education. Iowa.gov, 2012. Web. 24
Sept. 2013.
Symbio. "Symbiotic Relationship." Symbiotic Relationship. WikiWP, 16 Apr. 2013.
Web. 23 Sept. 2013

Websites for Different Symbiotic Relationships:

http://animalsymbiosis.weebly.com/sharks-and-remora-fish.html

http://bigbluebiome.weebly.com/symbiotic-relationships-of-the-ocean-biomeeco.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_an_example_of_parasitism_in_ocean
http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2009/02/01/symbiotic-fish-animals-sea-ocean-

27

water/
Beisser, 2000

Animal 1

Animal 2

Symbiotic Relationship

Algae

Spider Crab

commensalistic

Remora Fish

Shark

commensalistic

Clown Fish

Anemone

mutualistic

Eel

Shrimp

mutualistic

Barnacle

Crab

parasitic

Tapeworms

Whales

parasitic

28

29