Life Cycles Unit Plan

Unit Author
John Bunker
bunkerjohn73@gmail.com
Unit Overview
Unit Title: The Cycle of Life
Unit Summary:
This unit will develop students’ understanding of the life cycle concept by
raising classroom organisms and investigating their needs and behaviors.
Students are developing beliefs regarding plants, animals, growth, and the
continuity of life, and it is vital for them to be based upon fact. By
understanding the uniqueness of life cycle stages, students will be better
able to appreciate the diversity of all living things. This also supports the
school improvement plan by teaching cooperative learning skills. Life cycles
is the final of three major units within the scope and sequence for Jefferson
County School District (the previous two being electrical systems and objects
in the sky). This unit is also meant to cross the curriculum to a unit on
expository writing.

Subject Area: Science

Grade Level: 3rd
Approx. time needed: 4 weeks
Unit Foundation
Needs Assessment
Throughout this Life Cycle unit, experimental inquiry is critical to the
students’ learning. By creating lessons that are highly engaging and hands
on for the students, they are able to hypothesize regarding life cycles,
making predictions as to what they believe life stages to be and look like. It
allows them to develop their own ideas for testing these theories and to
conduct the actual experiments to see the results. As these experiments are
conducted, the students will be continually testing their theories and
recording their observations using technology. Students are able to see first
hand how life cycle stages of various plants and animals progress prior to
teacher directed instruction which will provide the students with correct
terminology and clarification of their observations and transfer of this
knowledge.
Framework model
This unit follows a constructivist 5E model: Engage, Explore, Explain,
Elaborate, and Evaluate. With this model, the learning experiences are
sequenced for students to construct understanding of concepts.

Wiggins and McTighe’s Understanding by Design, Backward Design model

has also been followed, with direct alignment of learning objectives,
assessment determination, and then instructional development.

Marzano's 9 instructional strategies are also utilized throughout the unit.

Please refer to “Instructional Design Notes” on each specific lesson for

further details regarding the design of each individual lesson within the
overall unit.
Targeted content standards/benchmarks:

Colorado Model Content Standards and Benchmarks

Science Standard 3: Life Science: Students know and understand the

characteristics of living things, the processes of life, and how living things
interact with each other and their environment.

3.1: Students know and understand the characteristics of living things,

appreciate the importance of the diversity of life, and begin to recognize the
infinite number of ways that living things can interact with each other and
with their environment.

B. Identify and classify a variety of animals and plants according to

student-selected or teacher-selected characteristics.

Student Friendly: Describe what makes different plants and animals similar
and different.

D. Describe the basic needs of animals (water, food, shelter, and air)
and plants (water, light, air, and nutrients).

Student Friendly: Tell what plants and animals need to survive.

3.4: Students know and understand how organisms change over time in
terms of biological evolution and genetics.

Student Friendly: Understand that plants and animals go through changes

as they grow older.

Science Standard 1: Students understand the processes of scientific

investigation and design, conduct, communicate about, and evaluate such
investigations.

1.2: Students will communicate observations, experimental methods,

understandings, and results in a variety of ways.

Student Friendly: Describe what you discover, how you discover it, and
what it means.
Student objectives / learning outcomes:
When given pictures of a plant, an insect, and some other type of animal,
students will be able to develop posters and explain, either verbally or
through writing, the prior life stages of the organism scoring a minimum of
proficient according to the rubric.c.
Curriculum Framing Questions
Essential Question:

• How do living organisms change over time?

Unit Questions:

• How do caterpillars, mealworms, and seeds change as they grow

older?
• What is a life cycle?
Content Questions:

• What are the differences and similarities between seeds and eggs?
• How are insects similar?
• What life stages do animals and plants go through?
Student Assessment Plan

Learner Outcome: Assessment Formats and

Methods:

When given a picture of a plant or animal, Pre-Assessment including a Google

students will be able to develop a Movie Form Quiz and a visual “What Came
Maker movie to explain the life cycle Before?” poster. Rubric.
stages of the organism scoring a
minimum of proficient according to the Post Assessment will be a capstone
rubric. Movie Maker movie with embedded
narration in addition to short test
taken using Google Forms. Rubric.

Formative Assessments will be

through Google forms, student
 blogs, and anecdotal notes taken
throughout the unit.

Peer Feedback
• Students will be able to comment on each others' blogs.
• The students will also be working in lab groups which will be
encouraged to provide continual internal feedback.
• Students will complete evaluation forms at the completion of the unit
for peer feedback.

Unit Details
Prerequisite Skills
• Student should be familiar with classroom lab procedures including
handling of scientific equipment.
• Students should have basic computer knowledge including how to find
files, save images from the internet, and complete basic forms.
• Students should have basic knowledge of Power Point including
inserting pictures, drawing tools, and text insertion.
• Prior to this lesson, students will be taught a lesson on blog creation.
Instructional Procedures

Some lessons will be conducted simultaneously because of time necessity.

For example: The Mealworm investigation will be running concurrently with
the Caterpillar investigation.

Accommodations for Differentiated Instruction

ILP student: Vocabulary and higher level words will be linked to
definitions or explanations. Multimedia, hands-on, and differentiated
assessments will assist the instructor.
ELL: Hands-on investigation and multimedia.
Gifted Student ALP: This unit will have many opportunities for students to
take learnings to another level. More advanced students will be expected to
produce more "polished" projects.
Unit Teaser: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Materials and Resources Required for Unit
Technology Hardware (check all needed equipment)
X Camera X Internet connection _Interactive Whiteboard
_Clickers _Netbooks _Digital Camcorder
X Computers X Projector _Video Conferencing
_Connections cables equipment
_Printer _ Other
_Document cameras
X Scanner _______________
_DVD Player _PDA: iphone/touch, cell
phones, digital readers,
tablets
Technology - Software, Webware:
• Movie Maker
• Power Point
• Kidspiration
• Google Site for Unit
• Misc. audio/video
Printed Materials
• Heller, R. (1981). Chickens Aren't the Only Ones. New York: Grosset &
Dunlap.
Supplies
• Brine shrimp eggs (I vial)
• Bucket (for soil)
• Cups, 10oz plastic (10)
• Darkling Beetle Assortment Culture (2)
• Film Canister (20)
• Hand Lenses (class set)
• Jars, small baby food sized (20)
• Measuring cup, 1 cup capacity
• Microscopes, 2 way (2)
• Milk cartons, half pint size
• Newspapers
• Notebooks (class set)
• Oatmeal or bran flakes
• Painted Lady Butterfly Garden Kit (33 caterpillars)
• Paper, drawing
• Paper Towels
• Pencils
• Plastic jugs, 1 gallon size
• Plastic wrap
• Posterboard (can substitute large sheets of butcher paper)
• Potting Soil, 10lb bag
• Rubber bands (10)
• Ruler, 30cm
• Scissors (10)
• Scoop (for soil)
 • Sea Salt (brine shrimp hatching mix)
• Spoon, plastic (10)
• Sugar (in packets) (3)
• Sweet pea seeds (60)
• Water supply
• Yeast (1 pkg)
Internet Resources
All internet resources may be found through the unit website:
http://sites.google.com/site/lifecycleunit/
? Unit self assessment / and or Peer assessment
Students will complete self and peer evaluations to complete at the end of
the unit.

Narrative

Background/Rationale

While I am not currently connected with a class or school, I have decided to

integrate technology with Jeffco's 3rd grade science unit, Life Cycles. This
was a unit I taught when student teaching, and I see an importance for
technology integration with district mandated units and hands--on
investigations. As I plan to re-enter elementary education, I believe this
unit would prove a good example of how I could incorporate technology into
the everyday curriculum. With the critical importance of investigations for
student learning, I could easily adapt these specific investigations to others I
might conduct with students in the future.

Assumptions

Because this unit is being created for a hypothetical classroom, my unit

focuses on the classroom technology environment I have seen most
commonly in schools. It is also critical to plan for differentiated instruction,
and I wanted to create a plan that focused on diversity, thinking of some
specific students needs I have had in the past. These assumptions are
meant only to provide a basis to follow.

• Mobile computer labs are available, but may need to be scheduled in

advanced
• Classroom has four permanent computers (may be desktops or
laptops)
• 24 students (12 boys and 12 girls)
 • 2 students on IEP’s
• 1 Gifted and Talented student
• 5 English Language Learners
• Students have previously had an introduction to technology and are
familiar with basic functions within Microsoft Office.

Unit Summary

This unit will develop students’ understanding of the life cycle concept by
raising classroom organisms and investigating their needs and behaviors.
Students are developing beliefs regarding plants, animals, growth, and the
continuity of life, and it is vital for them to be based upon fact. By
understanding the uniqueness of life cycle stages, students will be better
able to appreciate the diversity of all living things. This also supports the
school improvement plan by teaching cooperative learning skills. Life cycles
is the final of three major units within the scope and sequence for Jefferson
County School District (the previous two being electrical systems and objects
in the sky).

Technology Use and Design Notes

The use of technology throughout this unit has been purposefully

orchestrated to provide a learning experience beyond the traditional
classroom and to provide data driven results. This is done primarily through
following the work of Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski and their book,
“Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Hubbell et al,
2007).” By focusing on the use of Marzano’s 9 Strategies for classroom
instruction, this unit uses technology in a way that enhances the learning
process through covering the spectrum of Bloom’s Taxonomy to engage the
learner in higher order thinking processes.

To begin with, this unit has been created with all resources on a Google site,
found here: http://sites.google.com/site/lifecycleunit/. This site will serve
as a content management system for the unit as well as provide a location
for both formative and summative assessments through Google forms. It
serves as a “one-stop shop” for everything in the unit ranging from teacher
lesson plans, student materials, and assessments. It will also host
multimedia for students, links to student blogs, and important
announcements. By having one location, students always know where to
find the resource they need and may be more inclined to further investigate
the unit while at home or other location with internet access.
The benefits of the website extend to the instructor of the unit by allowing
the flexibility for student pacing, setting of personal objectives, and
providing differentiation for students at all levels. Videos are embedded
within the site to assist English language learners, students with reading
deficiencies, and students with developmental disabilities.

Students will also set up personal blogs to record key observations and
reflections. This blog space has been set up using Kidblog.org and can be
found here: http://kidblog.org/MrBunkersClass/. This blog will also be
linked directly to the unit website for easy access by students. By utilizing
blogs, students are able to record and reflect upon their daily observations.
They are able to insert pictures to compliment their written descriptions
which allows for non-linguistic representation, one of Marzano’s strategies.
Throughout their reflection process, students will be asked to identify
similarities and differences which has been shown by Marzano’s research to
have the largest effect size on student achievement (Marzano, 2004). The
blogging forum is also ideal for providing students with recognition and
immediate feedback, also proven strategies.

The overall unit structure of the unit follows a constructivist “5Es”

Instructional Model: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. By
following this model, learning experiences are sequenced so students can
construct an understanding of the concepts, not simply recite and memorize
information (Investigating Life Cycles Teachers Edition Level 3, 1999).

Throughout this Life Cycle unit, experimental inquiry is critical to the

students’ learning. By creating lessons that are highly engaging and hands
on for the students, they are able to hypothesize regarding life cycles,
making predictions as to what they believe life stages to be and look like. It
allows them to develop their own ideas for testing these theories and to
conduct the actual experiments to see the results. As these experiments are
conducted, the students will be continually testing their theories and
recording their observations using technology. Students are able to see first
hand how life cycle stages of various plants and animals progress prior to
teacher directed instruction which will provide the students with correct
terminology and clarification of their observations and transfer of this
knowledge.

Taking this model and applying Wiggins and McTighe’s Understanding by

Design backwards design principles, I focused on key learning objectives and
specific benchmarks within the Colorado State Education Standards and
developed directly aligned assessment. While this unit also meets several, if
not all, NETS standards, the primary focus was to use technology as a tool
to enhance the state learning objectives, not on the technology itself.
Another key component to this unit is cooperative learning. Again a
research based strategy; students’ interacting with others helps students
broaden their knowledge and understanding (Hubbell et al, 2007). Within
today’s fast paced world, students must learn to work together to learn and
produce. In working together to design Power Point presentations and
movies in Movie Maker, students are required to take on specific roles and
responsibilities and organize collaboratively.

Throughout the unit, students will utilize the brainstorming and organizing
software, Kidspiration. Using this software, students are able to create a
non-linguistic representation of the scientific process and life cycles of plants
and animals.

References

• Hubbell, E.R., Kuhn, M., & Pitler, H. (2007). Using Technology with
Classroom Instruction That Works [USING TECHNOLOGY W/CLASSRO].
Alexandria: Ascd.
• Investigating Life Cycles Teachers Edition Level 3 (BSCS Science
T.R,A.C.S.). (1999). na: Kendall / Hunt Publishing Co..
• Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., & Pollock, J. E. (2004).Classroom
Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing
Student Achievement (ASCD). Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall.
• Mctighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2005). Understanding by Design (2nd
Edition) (ASCD) (2 ed.). Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall.