Developmental Lesson Plan

All equal
Teacher Candidate: Nicole Tener, Devyn Grube, Leslie Montero Date: 9/24/18

Group Size: 22 students Allotted Time: 45 minutes Grade Level: 3

Subject or Topic: Environment and Ecology: Lesson 4

Common Core/PA Standards:

Standard Area - 4.1: Ecology
Standard - 4.1.3.E Identify changes in the environment over time
Standard - 3.1.3.A1 Describe characteristics of living things that help to identify and classify
them.
Standard - 3.1.4.C2 Describe plant and animal adaptations that are important to survival.
Standard - 4.1.3.A Differentiate between the living and nonliving components in an
environment.
Standard - 4.1.4.D Explain how specific adaptations can help organisms survive in their
environment.

Learning Targets/Objectives:
The students will be able to recognize the differences between Pennsylvania’s ecosystem and
the desert.
The students will be able to identify the characteristics, such as the plants and animals of a
desert by creating a desert encyclopedia together.

Assessment Approaches: Evidence:

1. The students will give a thumbs up 1. The teacher will take anecdotal notes as
once they understand the difference students work.
between Pennsylvania’s ecosystem 2. Research using the Ipads and/or
and the desert. informational books about the Desert.
2. The students will use their
knowledge on the Desert to fill out an
inquiry sheet.

Assessment Scale:
5 - Proficient, has two or more facts
4-3 - Has at least one fact
2-1 - Does not have any facts
Subject Matter/Content:
Prerequisites: The students will know the differences between Pennsylvania’s ecosystem and
the desert.
The students will be able to identify plants, animals, and trees that are in the Desert.

Key Vocabulary:
● Ecosystems: An ecosystem is a large community of living organisms (plants,
animals and microbes) in a particular area
● Desert: A large area of land, usually in a hot region, where there is almost no
water, rain, tree, or plants.
● Habitat: A habitat is a place that an animal lives. It provides the animal with food,
water and shelter
● Biomes: A biome is a large region of Earth that has a certain climate and certain
types of living things
● Biotic: The living things in an ecosystem
● Abiotic: The nonliving parts of an ecosystem
● Community: A natural group (as of kinds of plants and animals) living together
and depending on one another for various necessities of life (as food or shelter)
● Population: A group of people or animals living in a certain place
● Living: Any living organism, such as animals, plants, insects, and bacteria.
● Non-living: Any non-living organism, such as temperature, water, soil, and air.
● Cactus: A succulent plant with a thick, fleshy stem that typically bears spines,
lacks leaves, and has brilliantly colored flowers.

Content/Facts:
● Deserts around the World
○ Sahara Desert
○ Arctic
○ Gobi Desert
○ Kalahari Desert
○ Antarctica

● Animals of the Desert:

○ Lizards
○ Camels
○ Scorpions
○ Tortoises
○ Xerocole
○ Meerkats
○ Mule Deer
 ○ Snakes
○ Sand Cat
○ Jerboa
○ Bighorn Sheep
● Plants of the Desert:
○ Barrel Cactus
○ Brittlebush
○ Succulents
○ Pencil Plant
○ Bunny Ear Cactus
○ Zebra Cactus
○ Desert Marigold
○ Desert Sage
○ Burros Tail
● Trees of the Desert
○ Joshua Tree
○ Tree Aloe
○ Mexican Thread Grass
○ Ocotillo
○ Vitex

Introduction/Activating/Launch Strategies:
● Before class, teacher places different materials on each table (to the side), such as
sticks, leaves, cotton balls, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, etc.
● Teacher: “Good morning class, today we will be learning about the opposite ecosystem
from the one we have here in Pennsylvania. It is called the desert”.
● Teacher: “On your desk, you each have a sticky note and some materials. I want
everyone to write down one word they think of when they hear the word, ‘Desert’ and
place it onto our word wall, do not touch any of the materials yet”.
● Once all students have placed their sticky note on the wall/board, the teacher will go
over each word and say it aloud.
● Next, the teacher will play a short video for the students to watch:
○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAs7lqce1cI
● Next, the teacher will pass out informational books on the Desert to each table.
● While passing out the books, the teacher will say, “You have ten minutes to look through
a book about the desert and pick a plant, tree, or animal you would like to know more
about”.
○ All About Deserts by Christina Mia Gardeski
○ Deserts of the World by Baby Professor
○ My Home in the Desert by J. Patrick Lewis
○ Creatures of the Desert World by National Geographic
○ Hidden in the Desert by Thomas Wlewandt
Development/Teaching Approaches
● After ten minutes, *teacher claps*.
● Teacher: “Let me see a thumbs up if you found a plant, tree, or animal from the desert
you would like to know more about”.
● Once every student has their thumbs up, the teacher will ask each student to share the
plant, animal, or tree they chose.
● Teacher: “Now that each of you have selected a living thing from the desert, we are
going to create a classroom encyclopedia about the Desert”. *Shows an example of an
encyclopedia*
● Teacher will hand out the inquiry sheet to every student.
● While handing out the inquiry sheet, the teacher will say, “Begin by finding information on
the living thing you chose. You can use the books I have provided, or you can grab an
Ipad”.
● While students are filling out their inquiry sheet, the teacher will write questions on the
board such as,
○ How does it survive in the Desert?
○ What special parts does it have to survive in the heat?
○ What does it do to get water?
○ How does it conserve energy?
● Once the students are almost done filling out their inquiry sheet, the teacher will pass out
a blank sheet of paper.
● Teacher: “When you are finished filling out your inquiry sheet, you can begin by creating
your plant, animal, or tree using the materials provided on the table”.
● Teacher: “Write at least two facts about your living thing next to your creation”.

Closure/Summarizing Strategies:
● Once all the students are done creating their living thing, they will do a gallery walk to
view their peers creations.
● Teacher: “Please walk around to each table and view what your peers have created from
the Desert”.
● After the students spend about two minutes at each table, the teacher will tell them to
switch.
● After the gallery walk, the students will return to their seats and the teacher will collect
the inquiry sheets and the paper to create an encyclopedia.
● Lastly, the teacher will review the vocabulary from the word wall with the students and
ask them if those words still make sense.
 Accommodations/Differentiation:
● Student J group will work near the teachers desk to avoid distraction from windows and
doors
● Teacher will also be making sure student J is involved by asking him questions
● Teacher will make sure student J is on task and finding appropriate information/facts

Materials/Resources:
● Ipads
● Informational books about the Desert
● Glue
● Paper (22 pieces)
● Toothpicks
● Popsicle Sticks
● Cotton Balls
● Sticks
● Leaves

Reflective Response:
Report of Student Learning Target/Objectives Proficiency Levels
● 18 out of 22 students showed proficient work on their inquiry sheets
● 21 out of 22 students created an informational page for the encyclopedia

Remediation Plan (if applicable)

N/A

Personal Reflection Questions

1. How was the overall all pacing of the lesson? Was it too fast, too slow, or just right?
2. Was the class able to recall the information that was presented in the lesson in the
assessment?

Additional reflection/thoughts
 Desert Inquiry Sheet
Name:

1. What is the plant, tree or animal from the desert you have chosen?

2. How does it survive in the desert?

3. What special parts does it have to survive in the heat?

4. What does it do to get water?

5. How does it conserve energy?