Tammi Watson

EDU223
Gwynedd Mercy University
School of Education
#MakeMercyReal
Lesson Plan
PDE Academic Standard(s): Science and Technology and Engineering Education 3.1
Organisms and Cells
Big Idea(s): Living things have unique characteristics which differ from nonliving
things. The characteristics of living things can be observed and studied.
Essential Questions
How do adaptions help animals (organisms) survive in their habitat?
Objective/Performance Expectation: What will students know and be able to do as a
result of this lesson?
Students will predict and describe how penguins survive in their environment by
recording how long the cold from the ice water was felt through the blubber and
recording their observations on a record sheet.
I.

PLANNING AND PREPARATION:

1. Briefly describe the students in your class, including those with special
needs. Explain how you will meet the needs of ALL learners
(Differentiated Instruction).
There are 20 students, 11 girls and 9 boys in grade 3. There are two students
with IEPs. One student with a visual IEP sits close to the board. I will use a
variety of strategies and methods described in the IEPs of the other two
students.
2. List the specific standard and expectations as outlined in the PA
Core/Academic Standards (SAS).

PDE Science and Technology and Engineering Education: 3.1 Organisms and Cells
3.1.8A8 CHANGE AND CONSTANCY Explain mechanisms organisms use to adapt to
their environment
3. Explain the psychological principles/theories you used in constructing this
lesson.
This lesson requires a lot of Cooperative Learning in the science activity.
Cooperative Learning means that the students work together in some way to learn

or problem solve, whatever the lesson may be. Students will be sharing thoughts
and ideas and predictions. Students will pair with their lab partner in twos, so
there will be groups. Students will share what they observe and work together by
timing how long until they feel the cold from the ice water. One student records
the time for their partner and then switch roles.
II. CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT:
4. Describe the effective classroom routines and procedures resulting in little
or no loss of instructional time.
The class is split up into teams and each team has a list of jobs. One team is in charge of
clean up and the other team takes out all the material that is needed. The teacher has all
the materials already prepared before the students come in for the day. The materials are
put in a closet each day for the team to set it up before lunch so it is ready when class
comes back from recess.
5. Identify what you will do to set clear standards of conduct and behavior
management of student behavior.
At the beginning of the year we went over my list of classroom rules which is hung on
the wall. Parents/ guardians got a copy sent home. We go over it every once in a while
when I feel the class needs a reminder of the rules. When a student disobeys the rules
they get a phone call home. The class may also lose a star. When the class gets enough
stars in the chart they can choose a pizza day or a movie day. The chart is in a ten count
frame to 100.
6. Identify what you will do to establish expectations for student
achievement.
The beginning of the class the teacher will excite the students by telling them they will be
doing Biology for science. I will make the expectation clear by having the objective
written on our objective board. I will also model my expectations so it is more clear than
reading over it.
III.

INSTRUCTION:
List Materials Needed
Video: https://youtu.be/R_xIeQ13PSQ
4 Bags
4 gloves
2-3 cups of shortening
Containers of water ice
Record sheets
Stop watches
Pencil/ pen
Masking tape

Paper towels
Picture of Penguin

7. Motivation Activities/Strategies:
How will you generate interest or focus your lesson for the students?
First I will facilitate a discussion about penguins and have the class stand up and
walk like penguins in a waddle. I will show a video for children about the different ways
penguins adapt to the cold weather. As a class we will discuss what we saw.
8. Prior Knowledge Activities/Strategies:
How will you activate prior knowledge, build background, or review previous lessons?
To start the topic of penguins I will have a picture of one on the board for our web
chart. I will ask, What do you think we will be talking about in Science class today?
Before we begin we will discuss what we already know and I will write it on the board in
a web chart. Three questions that may be asked are- What do you know about penguins?
Where do they live? How do they get around? What do they eat?
9. Sequence of Lesson: What learning activities/strategies will you use to
engage the students in the learning? What will students do to use and
apply new concepts or skills (independent practice if relevant)? How will
you monitor and guide their performance? Include relevant vocabulary.
There is a picture of a penguin on the board. I will ask, Can
someone tell me what we are going to talk about in Science?.
But not just Penguins we are going to explore biology of
Penguins!
Does anybody have an older brother or sister who take biology?
Now you can tell them you do it in school too
Biology is the study of living things.
What do you know about penguins? Where do they live? How do
they get around? What do they eat?
With my questions we will discuss penguins and draw a web chart
Once someone mentions how they walk I will ask them to model
and have the whole class waddle like penguins
Once a student mentions feathers or any way they adapt I will talk
about the word adaptation
Adaption is the way a living animal changes to their environment.
Pay attention to the way penguins adapt to the cold weather in the
Artic.
Show 2min video on penguin adaptations- discuss ways penguins
adapt and add to web or check off things already said.
How I will further get the students excited about biology

Do you think we can test the way blubber protects the penguins?
What ways could we?
What if I told you we can?
Would you like to find out?
Team go get the materials
Students pair with your lab partner.
One partner will use the stop watch while the other one does the
following
Put on the glove, so you dont get your hands dirty I will
model with my own set in front of me
Pick up the sandwich bag with the shortening in it and put the
hand with the glove inside the bag.
Your partner will tape the bag at the wrist. I will check to make
sure no one is struggling.
Now that is nice at tight what might be the next step do you
think?
yes, when I tell you go you can start.
Your partner gets the timer ready, when you put both hands in. As
soon as you feel the cold from the ice water on the blubber hand,
say Penguin and your partner has to stop the watch and you
record the time.
Stop watches ready. GO!
The student will put both hands at the same time in the ice water.
The student will say stop or penguin when the hand with the
blubber can feel how cold the ice water was.
The student with the stop watch will stop the timer and record on
the other persons sheet.
Students will switch the roles
And do the same
Students will observe what they noticed in the experiment using
their senses. Then summarize the ways penguins adapt to their
environment.
Class will come together to turn and talk and then discuss what
was said to the whole class.

10. Level of Learning/Assessment Evidence

How will you know if students grasped the material? What
techniques/strategies will you use to assess learning (Blooms Taxonomy)?
Identify what informal and/or formal assessments you will use to monitor
student learning. Also identify if this will be formative or summative.
The assessment of the lesson will be summative. Level of questions I will ask
are: Explain one way penguins adapt to their cold environment? (Comprehension). What

things did you observe in the experiment? (Knowledge). Did the blubber we used
produced the result you thought? Did the blubber protect your hand? (Synthesis)
Assessment:
Formal- record sheet, where they put the time, observations, and a summary of the
experiment.
Informal- turn and talk and discussions. Observations from me as I walk around the
room.
11. What will you do to bring closure to the lesson? How will you summarize
this lesson and preview the lesson that will follow?
After the students finish their record sheet and summarize, the students will pair
with someone else and talk about what they noticed about the experiment. I will bring the
group together and have them talk about what they heard of what they noticed
themselves. I will ask my level of questions. And a few students will give me one way
that penguins or people adapt to their environment. I then will summarize the lesson.
And finally I will preview the next lesson to the class.
REFLECTION:
12. Describe what went well with the lesson, what didnt go so well and what
you would do to improve your teaching effectiveness in the next lesson.
I felt really confident about my presentation. I had to condense the activity for
the presentation since our maximum time was twenty minutes. I think next time I
would go over the directions while they got their bags that way there was less
confusion. I had to really think about how much water and ice was put into the
little buckets because I did not want anybody to over flow when they put their
hands in. If I was in a real classroom I would have had a different video to show,
stop watches, and bigger buckets.