LESSON PLAN Name: Katelin Barker Date: October 6, 2011 Grade Level/Subject: Fourth Grade Science Prerequisite Knowledge:

: Students should be familiar with the definition of ecosystem, biome and nonliving and living organisms. They should have a broad awareness of the characteristics of ecosystems; such as, their size, resources affecting them, and living and nonliving things interacting within them. Approximate Time: 1 hour 30 minutes (with travel time) Student Objectives/Student Outcomes: 1. Before experiencing the actual pond ecosystem, students will use their prior knowledge to illustrate a picture of what they believe a pond ecosystem looks like. 2. While visiting the pond ecosystem, students will show that they are able to actively engage in scientific observations by completing the Nature Walk Activity sheet, recording what living and nonliving organisms they see in the pond ecosystem. 3. After completing the final drawing, students will demonstrate their understanding of this pond ecosystems characteristics, by illustrating them in the new drawing and actively participating in partner and class discussion about the differences between the original and new drawings. Content Standards: Science State Goal 12: Understand and fundamental concepts, principals and interconnections of the life, physical and earth/space sciences. o B. Know and apply concepts that describe how living things interact with each other and with their environment. 12.B.2a Describe relationships among various organisms in their environments (e.g., predator/pray, parasite/host, and food chains and food webs). Materials/Resources/Technology White Construction Paper Coloring Utensils markers, colored pencils, crayons Pencils Nature Walk Activity Sheets Clip Boards

Implementation: 5 Minutes Opening of Lesson: Hook: o Ask the students to name some ecosystems they have seen around the school. Give them time to discuss these ecosystems among their tables; then, come together as a class to discuss some of the ecosystems. o Ask the students if anyone lives near a pond or has visited one? Talk about things they have seen at the pond or experiences they have had while visiting. o Tell the students that they are going to learn all about a pond ecosystem, specifically the one right by their school. They will have the opportunity to learn about and even see some of the organisms, living and nonliving, that make up a pond ecosystem. Procedures: 1. Each student should have a pencil, coloring utensils, and a piece of white construction paper at their desk. 2. Tell the students, Using your own experiences and what you have already learned about ecosystems and biomes, draw what you think a pond ecosystem looks like. You can include as many details as you want, but make sure to focus on the living and nonliving organisms within a pond ecosystem. o At this point, there should be no specific scientific discussion of pond ecosystems because this activity is meant to get students thinking about this ecosystem. The teacher should use these drawings as a foundation to build off of, as they demonstrate any prior knowledge the students may have. 3. Give the students about 15 minutes to complete their drawings. They should do the drawings independently, as a Think-Pair-Share approach is desired. 4. Once the students have finished their drawing, ask them to discuss their thoughts and drawing with the person sitting next to them. Some guiding questions may be: o What characteristics did you show in your drawing? o Why did you choose these characteristics? o Why do you think the things you drew belong in a pond ecosystem? 5. Once the students have finished sharing their drawings with a partner, come together as a whole class and discuss some of the common characteristics. Make sure to have students do most of the talking and explaining, the teacher should serve as a guide in this class discussion. The same guiding questions may be used as above. 6. After the class has finished discussing characteristics they feel would be found in a pond ecosystem, explain to them that they will be going on nature walk to the pond down the road from the school.

7. Give instructions for the behavior expectations on the nature walk. These should include: o Staying together as a class. o Following the teacher closely when walking to and from the pond. o Using appropriate behavior the same behavior requirements that are expected of them at the school are also expected of them on the nature walk. 8. Give instructions for the nature walk: While on the nature walk, you should pay very close attention to all the characteristics you see, especially the organisms, both living and nonliving. Watch for how they are interacting with each another and look for resources that are present. You will need to take a pencil and clipboard with you because you are going to be completing the Nature Walk Activity sheet while we are there. 9. Line students up, and head towards the pond. Upon arriving at the pond, pass out a Nature Walk Activity Sheet to each student. This worksheet will help them make note of the living and nonliving organisms. (See Appendix A for Worksheet) Spend approximately one-half hour at the pond so that students have adequate time to explore and write down their findings. 10. Call students together during the last five minutes at the pond. Take this time to have them write down any of their last thoughts or observations. Once they are finished, line up, and head back to the classroom. 11. Once back in the classroom, explain to the students, You are going to do the drawing activity that we did before we went to the pond one more time. However, this time, I want you to use your Nature Walk Activity sheets and your experiences at the pond to really help you capture all the characteristics you believe make up a pond ecosystem. 12. Give the students 15 minutes to independently draw a new picture of what they believe a pond ecosystem looks like. Really emphasize to them that they should use their notes on the Nature Walk Activity sheet, as that was the intended purpose. 13. After the students have finished drawing, have them look over both of their drawings the one they did before the nature walk and the one they just completed. 14. Have the students pair up and compare their two drawings with their partners two drawings. The focus of their conversation should be on the things they drew in their new drawing as opposed to their first drawings and why there are differences. 15. Finally, come together as a whole class to discuss what the students discovered on their nature walk to the pond ecosystem. Have a handful of students talk about their specific drawings and then talk about characteristics that were common in many drawings. 10:3510:40 Summary/Closing: Ask students: What did some of you expect to see in this pond ecosystem? o As a class, discuss these things that students expected to see when they were there. Were they there? Did they see them? Where were

Note:

they? If they were not there, why do students think they did not seem them? Ask students: Did anything that you saw in the pond ecosystem today surprise you? o As a class, talk about some of the things that students saw that were unexpected or a surprise. Why were they a surprise? Help students understand that each ecosystem has its own characteristics. These characteristics help the ecosystem function, without one critical component, the entire ecosystem could be forced to change. (They will be learning about how ecosystems change in their next lesson) Student Assessment: Formal Assessment: o The students will turn in their three things at the end of the lesson: The first drawing (before the nature walk) The Nature Walk Activity sheet The second drawing (after the nature walk) o The first drawing will only be graded on effort and completeness, as it was an indication of the students prior knowledge. o The second drawing will be graded on effort, completeness, accuracy, and detail. When compared, the two drawings should show a progression and development in the students knowledge of a pond ecosystem. o The Nature Walk Activity sheet should be graded on completeness and effort, as each student will not have seen the exact same things at the pond. Informal Assessment: o Informal assessment will take place throughout the entire lesson. The teacher should walk around while students are drawing their pictures and discussing with each other. The teacher should also pay close attention to student involvement in whole-class discussions. The students actions should be used to guide and modify (when necessary) instruction. This lesson may be adapted to any ecosystem that is near the school.

Explanation: This lesson plan engages students in one of the most essential elements of scientific thinking, which is modeling. The students create the model in this lesson plan, as it is their drawings of what they believe a pond ecosystem looks like and what they know a pond ecosystem looks like. In this lesson plan, students have the opportunity to construct the model, test the model, evaluate the model, test the model against other ideas, revise the model, and use it to predict and explain the characteristics in a pond ecosystem. First, students construct a model (drawing) based upon what they think a pond ecosystem looks like. They are asked to draw on their own experience and their prior knowledge. Then, they test their model by actually visiting the pond ecosystem. While at this pond, students can evaluate their original model by comparing it to what they are actually seeing. They

may also test it against other ideas by comparing it to their classmates drawings. Once the students arrive back in the classroom, they have the opportunity to revise their model through creating a new, more accurate picture. Finally, the students can use their newly revised models to explain and describe what they saw in a pond ecosystem to their peers. As Kenyan, Schwarz, and Hug describe in The Benefits of Scientific Modeling , through the use of these models, students are making their own scientific knowledge stronger, helping them to think critically, and helping them know more about the nature of science. (P.29) Ultimately, this lesson plan is a fantastic way to engage students in the practice of scientific modeling. As teachers, we must remember models have to build understanding in a meaningful way. This lesson plan has done just that through studentcreated models.

Appendix A:

Nature Walk Activity Sheet

Nonliving Organisms Living Organisms

Nature Walk Lesson Plan ELL Differentiation Ideas Learning Objectives for ELLs (WIDA Level 3-Developing): While on the nature walk, the student(s) will use the Nature Walk Activity sheet to categorize nonliving organisms from living organisms in the pond ecosystem. The student(s) will use his/her artistic ability to draw what they believe a pond ecosystem looks like and then what they know a pond ecosystem to look like. The student(s) will demonstrate an understanding of pond ecosystems by describing key words or features that are present in the pond ecosystem by the school. These contributions will be placed on the Ecosystem word board. Lesson Modifications: To modify this lesson to meet an ELL students needs, I would first implement an Ecosystem Word Board. I would want this word board to be at the front of the classroom at all times, so that the student can readily see words that are stated by him/her and classmates pertaining to the ecosystem. When creating this lesson, I wanted to reach out to the diverse needs that many students may have. This being said, I incorporated two types of activities one that requires drawing and another that requires writing. This way, the teacher has multiple ways to gauge student understanding. For example, if an ELL student has difficulty fully describing the ecosystem, they may show their understanding in the drawings. Furthermore, a key strategy for ELL students is that they are able to categorize information. Therefore, the Nature Walk Activity Sheet allows ELL students to practice this strategy and learn about ecosystem organisms at the same time. As for teacher actions that scaffold learning for ELL students, I find it essential that extra wait time is given. This allows for more time to think through answers and form strong responses. Also, implementing a Think-Pair-Share approach, helps students think about their response, talk to a partner about the response, then share their response with the class. I have found that this helps students feel more confident and prone to share answers.