Daily Science Lesson Plan

Teacher: Miss Hansen

Grade: 5th
Overall lesson topic/title: Lizard Activity: Variation and Natural Selection

NGSS Performance Expectation for this lesson:

3-LS4-3. Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some
survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. [Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence could include
needs and characteristics of the organisms and habitats involved. The organisms and their habitat make up a system
in which the parts depend on each other.]

Rationale: This interactive activity will help students establish a basic understanding of natural
selection while also highlighting the importance of variation within a population. Students will
learn that even when we try to replicate things exactly, we create small variations, and these
small variations are the fuel for current and future adaptations. Understanding natural selection
is critical for understanding biology and the world around us.

Materials & supplies needed:

- Elmo
- EXPO markers
- Transparencies
- 52 half sheets of paper
- Colored pencils
- Sticky tack

How is this lesson differentiated

Procedures based on information gained from
the pre-assessment/science talk?
Introduction (10 minutes):
- During the science probe, a
To start the lesson, have the children watch you as you draw and color couple of students thought
a lizard on a piece of paper underneath the Elmo. After youre finished with that the imaginary animal
your drawing, call the paper captains up to distribute the 27 pieces of white (divo) could survive after
paper to students. Once students have received their piece of white paper, the drastic environmental
have them put their finger on their nose to ensure that they do not move change affects its habitat
forward without further direction. When all of the students are ready to move by altering its behavior or
forward, ask the class to fold their piece of paper into thirds, modeling how physical characteristics to
to do so under the ELMO for them to see. Once students have folded their adapt to the changes. Since
papers into three equal parts, have them put the piece of paper in the air so small changes in animals
that you can do a quick check to see if some students need further assistance occur over tens of
or time. Tell students to cut along the folds so that they have three equal thousands of years in
pieces of paper, modeling for them under the ELMO. Assist any students that response to environmental
may need further help. changes, the divo in the
Once students have the three equal pieces of paper cut out, have them scenario would most likely
put two of the pieces of paper off to the side. Tell students to have just one of die because characteristics
the pieces of paper in front of them at this time. Instruct students to draw and that once were
color a similar lizard to my lizard on that piece of paper. Once students are advantageous in the
finished drawing and coloring their lizards, have them hold up their pictures environment that it lived in
in the air. Discuss with students whether all the lizards are the same or were now disadvantageous
whether they are different. Students may notice slight differences between to have in the new
the drawings and the original, including different size, colors, and patterns. environment. I wanted to
Explain to students that even when we try to replicate things exactly, like provide an opportunity to
how they did with their drawings of lizards, we create small variations, or show students that change
differences. There is variation between all different animals (dogs and cats), occurs over many
and between a population (lizards). Show students a Prezi that includes generations, and that
images of different lizards so that they can see real world examples of animals cannot
variation. immediately, or even in the
lifetime, change their
characteristics to adapt to
their new environment.
Outline of activities during the lesson (35 minutes):
Divide the class into two groups. One group, Team Tigers, will consist
of the students within the color groups blue, orange, and red, while the other
group, Team Lions, will consist of the students within the color groups
yellow, green, and purple. Project the graphic (included under Materials
section) onto the board for students to see. Explain to students that the
habitat where my lizard (drawing of a lizard) was living had a fire that burnt
down all the trees in the area, transforming the lush, green landscape into
black. Students will then discuss and decide whose lizard drawing, created
by one of the students in the group, would survive the best in the given
situation. Students are utilizing their lizard drawing from the beginning of
this lesson for this activity.
Once students have decided, they will choose one team representative to
bring up their chosen lizard, and I will then tape the chosen lizards under
Round 1 for both teams on the graphic. The team representatives will then
pass out another half sheet of paper to their teammates. The groups will then
try to copy their teams chosen lizard onto their half sheet of paper. After the
students have finished drawing their lizards, teams will once again choose
the lizard that they think will survive best in the scorched environment.
Team representatives will come up with their teams chosen lizard, and I will
then tape the chosen lizards under Round 2 for both teams on the graphic.
We will then repeat this activity for a third round. At the end of this activity,
there should be a total of seven drawings of lizards on the board: my original
lizard drawing, and six student-drawn lizards (three for each team).
Have students return to their original seats. Once students have settled,
have them look at the completed graphic on the board, displaying the seven
drawings of lizards. Ask students to turn and discuss with a partner what has
happened to the lizards from my original lizard drawing to the third round of
drawings. As students discuss with one another, walk around the classroom,
asking students what they have identified and discussed with their partners.
Reconvene as a whole-group and have students share what they noticed by
looking at the seven drawings. Explain to students that the rounds of this
activity were supposed to represent generations of lizards. Emphasize that
this activity, however, is an exaggeration of how quickly changes can
happen, as we only worked through three generations of lizards due to time.
Tell students that if we were to complete the same number of rounds as
generations it took to show differences in an animal, it would take us
hundreds of thousands of rounds! (30 minutes)

Have students take notes while you review with students the concept of
adaptation. Explain to students that the lizards that were chosen as the best
in each round have characteristics or features that help them to survive and
reproduce in their environment. In other words, the chosen lizards were
adapted to their habitat. These chosen lizards were better adapted than those
lizards that didnt have advantageous characteristics and therefore died and
were not chosen. Over time, the characteristics of the lizards in the
population changes, and the process of this change is called natural
selection. The population of animals, like our lizards, is said to have
evolved, or changed over time, towards having characteristics that improve
their chances at survival. Emphasize once again to students that evolution
occurs over thousands of years not over a couple of generations! (5
minutes)

Closure for the lesson (10 minutes):

Ask students if the lizards chosen by both teams in the third round are the
same as one another (students should notice that they are different because
the characteristics that were selected for in the first round would be slightly
different (i.e. one team might have chosen a smaller lizard whereas the other
team may have chosen a darker colored lizard).] Explain to students that the
difference in characteristics will increase as the number of rounds of
selection increase, resulting in the advantageous characteristic becoming
more dominant in the population.
Ask the paper captains to come up and pass out small sheets of notebook
paper to the class. Ask students to respond to the following questions on the
sheet of paper: 1) Miss Hansens green and yellow colored lizard at the
beginning of the activity was thriving in its habitat! After the environmental
change (the fire), would Miss Hansens lizard still be successful? Why or
why not? Explain your reasoning., 2) Write one thing you learned from
todays lizard activity., 3) Write one question you have about todays lizard
activity. Give students time to respond to the exit slips. Call color groups up
one at a time to turn in their exit slips into the blue basket at the front of the
classroom. (10 minutes)

Formative assessment: Differentiation during

assessment:
Students will complete a quick-check, answering the following true or false
questions and follow up question on a half sheet of paper: - Reading aloud questions to
students while they also
1. Natural selection is the change in a population over time. have their quick-check
True or False sheets of paper, providing
2. Natural selection happens over one generation. students with the
True or False opportunity to listen to and
3. An animal that is adapted to its habitat is more likely to survive answer the questions one
than animal that is not adapted to is environment. by one as I read them
True or False aloud, or they could read
4. The animals we see today are the same as the animals seen in the the questions and fill it out
past due to natural selection. silently at their desks.
 True or False
5. Explain in your own words what natural selection is. - Students who may prefer to
communicate their answers
Once students are finished, I will collect the quick-checks. As a whole- in an alternative way, such
group, we will then discuss and review the questions from the quick-checks, as through a drawing or a
providing students with an opportunity to have an immediate review with the complete sentence, may do
correct answers and information. Depending on the results from the so, as long as it relates to
assessment, I could allocate more time to review the concepts of natural and answers the question.
selection through several other interactive activities to solidify the concept
for the students. Regardless of the results, however, I want to continue to
review the concept of evolution, natural selection, and variation with the
students so that they are prepared for the upcoming project for this unit.