NAME: Meighan

Quinn

TYPE OF SETTING: 4th

Grade CTT

GRADE/SUBJECT AREA:
TIME FRAME: Full

Grade 4 - Ecosystems

period, 45 60 minutes

PURPOSE: How do organisms interact?

What is competition?
What is symbiosis?
VOCABULARY:
Kudzu An example of a plant that prevents other types of plants from getting sunlight.
Symbiosis A long-term relationships between different species.
Competition The use of the same limited resource by two or more species.
Parasite - organism that feeds off another organism and causes it harm
SKILLS:
- Students will be able to define competition.
- Students will be able to define symbiosis.
- Students will comprehend the interaction between different organisms.
OBJECTIVES:
- Students will have a greater understanding competition.
- Students will be able to differentiate the three different types of symbiosis.
- Students will be able to explain how organisms interact.
COMMONCORE LEARNING STANDARDS:

Science:
- The survival of an organism depends on its ability to sense and respond to its external
environment.
- In all environments, organisms interact with one another in many
ways. Relationships
among organisms may be competitive, harmful, or beneficial. Some species have
adapted to be dependent upon each other with the result that neither
could survive
without the other.
- Some microorganisms are essential to the survival of other living things.

English Language Arts

Reading for Informational text
4.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in
a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area
4.7 Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively and explain how the
information contributes to an understanding of the text in which is appears
Writing for Informational Text
4.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and
information clearly
4.2d Use precise language and domain specific vocabulary to inform about or
explain the topic
Speaking and Listening:
Comprehension and Collaboration
4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on
grade 4 topics and texts, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly.
4.1c Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information,
and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks
of others

4.6 Differentiate between context that calls for formal English and situations where
informal discourse is appropriate; use formal English when appropriate to task and
situation

PRE-ASSESSMENT: The lesson taught to the students in the previous science class was
comparing and contrasting different aquatic ecosystems. This introduced organisms in different
ecosystems to the students and gave them a greater understanding of what different organisms
there are.
LESSON PRESENTATION:
A. SET INDUCTION- Students will be at their teams and told to take out their science

notebooks. They will be asked to write down as many aquatic ecosystems that they
remember from Tuesdays lesson. They will be given 30 seconds to complete this
task. If they finish before the 30 seconds are up they will be asked to raise their hand
as soon as they are done. The five students that answer the quickest and have the
most ecosystems written will be selected to do another activity. Both activities will
model how organisms (humans) interact and show the students what competition is in
species.
B. PROCEDURE- a. The five students that were selected in the previous activity will

bring their chairs over to the middle of the classroom and with play musical
chairs. Students will be asked the rules of musical chairs and then the game will
be played for no longer than three minutes. Students will be led in a guided
discussion to determine that competition determined the winner.
b. Students will then be called to the rug. They will be asked to bring their
science notebooks and a pencil so they can take notes on the PowerPoint.
c. The PowerPoint will link up with the text book that the students have. The
first part of the PowerPoint will explain what competition is and how it could
happen with humans and animals. It will then explain the different things that
animals compete for. The second part of the PowerPoint will explain symbiosis.
It will give the three different types of symbiosis and it will explain what those
types mean. It will also have examples of the three different types and pictures of
the three different types.

d. During this PowerPoint students will be active listeners and will also be jotting
down some of the examples that are given in the PowerPoint. The teacher will
also write some of the questions from the PowerPoint on the whiteboard so that
students know what to write in their notebooks.
e. Once the PowerPoint is finished, students will return to their seats and be
given a worksheet to complete. There will be three differentiated worksheets.
The low group will receive a worksheet with mostly multiple choice questions.
The middle group will receive worksheets with multiple choice and simple short
answers, The high group will receive a worksheets with multiple choice and short
answers. Students will be able to use their notes and their textbooks to complete
the worksheet.
C. CLOSURE- Close to the end of the allotted time for the lesson the teacher will ask
multiple students in the class to explain three different things they learned
during the
lesson.
MATERIALS AND RESOURCES:
-

Dry erase board

Dry erase markers/erasers

PowerPoint

SmartBoard

Computer

# 2 Pencils with erasers

Base ten rods and units

Science Textbooks

Leveled Math Science Worksheets

Science Notebooks

FOLLOW- UP ACTIVITY: Students will choose one of the symbiotic relationships and create
their own scenario using animals or humans to explain the relationship. Students can be creative
and will be asked to write a two paragraph story explaining their relationship and what happens.

EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT: Students will be asked to complete the worksheet handed out

about competition and symbiosis. This sheet will be collected at the end of the period and
graded for the next day.
DIFFERENTIATED: -For Advanced Students: These students will be given a more complex worksheet.
Students that finish early will be given more difficult questions
or asked to help the struggling students.
- For Struggling Students: These students will be given a simpler worksheet. If students
are having trouble with the task, offer them extra help and
will stay at the rug to go over it again with the teacher.
- For Writing Struggling Students: If students are struggling with writing, the teacher can
assist them and encourage them to write
simpler
sentences. If students can still not write simple
sentences, they can write one word or short
phrases or
draw pictures.
- For ESL Students: Students will be shown different pictures to help them understand the
different vocabulary words.
- For Verbal Students: Allow an interactive discussion of ideas for the information
discussed in the class and discuss the homework in class in
depth
before they go home and are confused.
- For Interpersonal Students: Students will be working together in a group at the rug and
in the beginning of the lesson.
- For Intrapersonal Students: Students will individually fill out the worksheet.
RESOURCES:
-

Common core standards. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/