Instructional Framework For a Lesson on Frogs at Risk
TASK #1: Lesson Goals and Rationale
1. Context For Learning
I teach in an urban, Pre-K to 8th grade school
with about 900 students; 85% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. About 11% of the student body receives special education services. In terms of the ethnic/ racial student demographics, there are approximately: 58% Latino, 28% African-American, 8% White, 4% Native American and 2% Asian-American students. The students receiving ELL services are about 44%. My 5th grade class has many students of color. Overall, I have 22 students in the class and of that number, 3 students are on an IEP and 13 students are receiving ELL services. There is one EA, educational assistant, who works with the students receiving special education services. I am the ELL teacher and I co-teach the Science lessons with the cooperating teacher. (She teaches all other content areas). In terms of technology, there is a Promethean Board that works, there is an overhead projector as well as a Lumens Document Camera to project worksheets for the students to view as a class. There is an iPad cart designated for grades 3-5 grades that is available upon request in the Media Center. At times it is hard to check the cart out as other grades may need the cart as well. There are textbooks used in the class, but for Science, I usually bring in outside reading materials, videos and the like to supplement the instruction.
2. Lesson Overview
This lesson will be done over the course of a
week. My students will analyze key concepts such as cause-and-effect in a Science-oriented expository passage. Through this passage and other media, we will explore the frog populations and its decline in Central and South America. Students will read the text and employ a few
effective reading strategies to better comprehend
it. This lesson will also include the students watching a video on frogs as well as looking at interactive maps of Central and South America using Google Earth. In the end, students will complete a summative assessment in the form of creating a cartoon to show comprehension of text. 3. Lesson Objectives
Read the text and learn to identify
academic or signal words that show cause-and-effect relationships (Ex. as a result, therefore, hence, thus, consequently, for this reason and until) Learn new domain-specific vocabulary words Gather information presented in diverse media and formats Work collaboratively to design a cartoon using Toontastic for final summative assessment
4. Learning Targets
Students will learn and identify cause-and-effect
signal words as well as content-specific words in a text and use them in sentences. Students will work collaboratively to design a project (cartoon) to demonstrate reading comprehension.
5. Rationale for using disciplinary
literacy
I will use disciplinary literacy strategies to help my
students consume the expository text with ease during this week-long project. I will start by activating the students prior knowledge regarding the content of the text and vocabulary words. Later, I will teach the unknown vocabulary and academic words. Next, I will use a short video and maps to give the students more context which will help them make connections when reading text. After that, I will cement these new concepts by pairing students up and asking them to use each word in a sentence. Later, the entire class will gather to play Vocab Charades using the new vocabulary. The idea is to give the students multiple opportunities to view and manipulate the vocabulary before reading the text.
The students will then read the passage and later
identify the causes and effects in the text. They will then need to write sentences connecting the signal (academic) words to the appropriate cause and effect. Finally, the lesson will end with the students working in small groups to create a mini cartoon demonstrating their comprehension on the Toontastic app. 6. Content Standards/ Core Curriculum Addressed
5.4.2.1.2: Explain what would happen to a system
such as a wetland, rainforest, prairie or garden if one of its parts were changed. (Such as the decline in frog population). 5.4.4.1.1: Give examples of beneficial and harmful human interaction with natural systems. (Rainforests of Central and South America).
TASK #2: Instructional Strategies
Learning Activities What do I do BEFORE the lesson:
What do students do BEFORE the lesson:
I will ask students what they know about
frogs to engage their prior knowledge. I will ask in what ways are frogs (amphibians) different from lizards or crocodiles (reptiles). I will later after everyone has had a chance to respond to the question, will explain the differences. Then I will ask students about their knowledge of the vocab words: species, extinct, amphibians, cold-blooded, habitat, deformed, salamander, temperature, environment.
The students will answer the questions,
explaining how frogs are different from reptiles. They will also discuss their knowledge or experience with a reptile or a frog. Students will define to the best of their ability the new vocab words.
What do I do DURING the lesson:
What do students do DURING the lesson:
I will begin the lesson by teaching the
unknown vocabulary words, as well as the signal words through scaffolding and modeling. Next, I will show the students the maps of Central and South America on Google Maps to give geographical context of the location of the reading and video. Next, before watching the Rare Frogs and Endangered Species video, I will instruct them to make note of any vocabulary word
Students will write down the definitions of the new
vocabulary and signal words discussed in class. The students will then watch the video and take note of when any new vocab word was used. After the video, the students will share what they saw and heard in the video. The students will then pair up and use the vocabulary words and signal words in sentences
used or mentioned in the video. After
playing the video on the Promethean Board, I will ask the students to briefly share what they saw in the video as well as the vocab words mentioned. (45 min class time). The next day, we will briefly review the vocab and signal words. The students will, next, need to pair up and use the vocabulary and signal words in sentences with their partner. After that, we will play a brief game of Vocab Charades so as to solidify the understanding of the words through acting and movement. (45 mins).
with their partner. Later, the whole class will
participate in Vocab Charades. Finally, the students will read the text and write down the causes and effects on the worksheet given to them. They will then make sentences, individually, connecting the signal words with the causes and effects.
The following day, the students will
independently read the text. After that is done, I will pass around a worksheet where they will write down the causes and effects that they identified in the reading. They will then on that same worksheet, need to create sentences connecting the signal words to the appropriate causes and effects. I will model what how the sentences should look on the Promethean board: For example: Cause: There was a lot of disease and pollution in the frogs habitat. Effect: There is a decrease in population. Sentence with Signal words: There was a lot of disease and pollution in the frogs habitat. As a result, there was a decrease in population. (45 mins). What do I do AFTER the lesson:
What do students do AFTER the lesson:
The next day, the iPad cart will be in the
classroom and I will give the students clear instructions on the summative assessment; which requires the students to work in small groups to create a mini cartoon displaying the main points of the reading. I will explain to them also how to use the Toontastic app. (Some of them already know about the app and how to use it, so it will be review for them). The students will get into their groups and begin working on the cartoon.
The students will get into groups after hearing the
instructions and collaborate to make a mini cartoon on Toontastic using the iPads. They will highlight the main concepts they learned in the reading. After the project is done after two days, the students will email the link to me so that I can grade it. All students (especially 5th grade and up) in our district have emails and use them quite frequently.
The EA, the cooperating teacher and I will
float around to help out where necessary. Afterwards, I will model how the students can email their cartoon link to me. This will be a two-day project. 8. Differentiation Methods
To extend the lesson, I could have the students
make Signal word stop signs, by having them cut out octagons and write the academic or signal words on each octagon. Later, I could supply the students with popsicle sticks to glue or tape to the octagon shape. The students can then use the signal word stop signs as a visual representation as they are paired up to make sentences using these words and the vocab words. For ELL students, depending on their proficiency level, I would give them lots of visual aids to make sense of the words.
9. Materials and Resources
For this lesson, I will play a video on YouTube,
Rare Frogs and Endangered Species, for my students. This is the URL: https://youtu.be/_lWQLd5U0g8?list=PL50KW6aT 4Ugwu-6yxK_ju-zl4pvzxCukx I will also use Google Earth to show interactive maps of Central and South America: https://www.google.com/earth/ I will play both the video and the maps using the Promethean Board. I will create a worksheet with three columns for the students to write down the causes, effects and sentences with signal words. I will check out the iPads for the two days that my students will need to them to create their cartoons. The Toontastic website is: https://www.smore.com/4e7f-toontastic-free
TASK #3: Academic Language
10. Academic Terms
The academic terms are: as a result, therefore,
hence, thus, consequently, for this reason and until.
prior knowledge of the vocab before the students read the text. Next, I will teach the unknown vocab words through scaffolding and modeling. Next, the students will pair up and use the vocabulary and signal words in sentences with their partner. After that, we will play a brief game of Vocab Charades so as to solidify the understanding of the words through acting and movement. Later, after they read the text, they will individually fill out a worksheet where they will identify the causes and effects and create sentences connecting the new academic words to the appropriate cause and effect.
TASK #4: Assessment Plan
12. Assessment Methods
There are a three main formative assessments
that I will use to check if the students have learned the new material: The first is very lowstakes in that I ask the students to pair up with a partner and use the academic and content vocabulary in sentences. The second assessment is that they engage in a Vocab Charades game to demonstrate mastery of the words through movement and acting. If the students struggle in acting out the words or identifying the words, I will use that information to inform my instruction the next day. I could spend a little more time using different scaffolding approaches to teach the words until they understand them. The third assessment evaluates comprehension of the text by identifying the specific causes and effects mentioned. They have to demonstrate mastery in a worksheet that I provide them. On that same sheet, they will need to make sentences with the causes, effects and academic words. I will collect those worksheets and evaluate how much review I will need to do before the last assessment. The only summative assessment involves the students to collaborate in small groups and
design a mini cartoon showing comprehension
using the Toonstastic app. This is a creative way to use technology to inspire high-level learning in accordance to Blooms Taxonomy. 13. Disciplinary Literacy Assessment Plan Rationale
I chose a combination of formative and
summative assessments to give the students many opportunities to view, review and manipulate the vocabulary and the text. Research has shown that more the students practice and see the new concepts, the more they will understand and draw valuable and lasting connections. Also, the nature of these assessments gives me the chance to receive feedback quickly that will help inform my instruction in the next class.
14. Disciplinary Literacy Analysis of
Assessment Data
As I mentioned before, these assessments will
give me many opportunities to evaluate whether the material is being learned and understood by the students. I will be able to quickly change course or modify the upcoming lessons if there are students struggling or are bored because the lesson and tasks are not challenging enough. I could use more visual aides or other strategies in response to the data I receive from the assessments.
https://schoolrequest.mpls.k12.mn.us/schools/fol well_performing_arts Minnesota Dept. of Education: http://education.state.mn.us/mde/index.html Minneapolis School Finder: http://minneapolisschoolfinder.org/school/folwellarts-magnet/ School Digger: http://www.schooldigger.com/go/MN/schools/212 4001866/school.aspx