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LESSON PLANNING GUIDE

- Inquiry III
Teacher: Mazaherian

Topic of Lesson: Biomes

Grade Level: Third Grade

Content Area: Life Science

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Expected Outcomes: What new concept or information do you want students to know at the end
of this one lesson?
The students will be able to identify examples of animals that live in different environments
(biomes).
Focus Student: How will you modify, accommodate, and differentiate instruction to ensure
universal access to the curriculum for your Focus Student?
For Anaya, I will have her sitting close to me up front so she can hear me teach about the different
animals found in each biome. She will name fewer animals than her classmates and I will give
her pictures to keep the context of what biomes look like. For example, the ocean will remind her
of the animals who live there, and the pictures of desert and grassland will help her to remember
what kind of animals live there. I can differentiate my lesson for her to include a text that has
simpler words and phrases for her to read. I will also allow her to name the animal orally instead
of write them down in a paragraph.

Assessment: What evidence will you gather to assess student learning? I will have the students
write a small informational paragraph about a biome in a group of 4. Each group will get a

different biome and then we will present what we learned about the animals to the rest of the
class. They should include several animals who live in each type of environment, the kind of
plants you might find there, and where on earth you might find these biomes.

Flexible Grouping Strategies: How will you group students at various points in the lesson to
address individual students needs?
I will break the students into groups of 4, mixed heterogeneously according to ability. I will allow
them to choose from 4 jobs so that each student is engaged and learning from this activity. One
person will be in charge of finding the information in the textbook, one person will be in charge
of writing small notes, one person will be in charge of talking about the biome in the front of the
class, and the last person will be able to draw some illustrations on a poster. I will have them
each take turns so everyone gets to do each job once.

What academic content standard(s) will you focus on during this lesson?

3.b.Studentsknowexamplesofdiverselifeformsindifferentenvironments,suchas
oceans,deserts,tundra,forests,grasslands,andwetlands.

Lesson Design: Describe each stage of your lesson in detail (e.g. Introduction, Modeling, Guided
Practice, Independent Practice, Closing or Reflection)
INTRODUCTION: Recap the last lesson on animals who serve different functions in the
environment, introduce the learning goal for todays lesson, pre-teach the vocabulary words,
describe what they are to be doing today, and for the rest of the week.
MODELING: Show the students your notes on a particular biome- what animals are found there,
where it is located on Earth, and what types of plants live there. Show your project as a poster that
illustrates the biome and its native animals, and do a mini presentation for them to see what you
expect when they talk about their own biome to the class.
GUIDED PRACTICE: For guided practice, help the students with research, give them tips on

how to search online for information about environments and animals. Continually check for
understanding to catch anyone getting off track with the assignment.
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE: Here, the students should already be on their way to collecting
information, drawing pictures, and writing notes. The presenter should have 2-3 points they want
to make about the biome, each person will be presenting different information so they will need to
decide who talks about what part of the presentation.
CLOSING: Once they have found a stopping point, I will check to see how much information
each group gathered, and see where they are in terms of presenting the information to the class
and creating their posters. I will assign homework for them to print up a photo of one animal they
learned about today and bring it to school tomorrow.

Student Engagement: Explain how your lesson ensures student engagement and differentiates
for all learners.
Since each student has a job to do, there should be engagement in all aspects of the lesson.
Science is a high interest topic for children and the pictures of biomes and animals are colorful
and capture the attention of even the most inattentive child. I will keep switching jobs every 5
minutes so that the students dont get bored and each gets to draw, write, research, and present.

Academic Vocabulary Instruction: What specific vocabulary/terms will you explicitly teach and
have students practice during this lesson to ensure concept understanding?
BIOMES
DIVERSITY
ENVIRONMENTS
TUNDRA
WETLANDS

Asking Critical Questions: What specific questions will you pose to students to ensure thinking
that requires analysis, evaluation, synthesis and application of content ideas across proficiency
levels?
What is a BIOME?
What are the 6 major biomes on Earth? (tundra, desert, ocean, grassland, wetland, rainforest.)

Classroom Management: List any logistical, materials-related or behavioral issues you may
need to consider to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for student learning.
We will be working with large paper for posters, crayons, markers, books, and biome
informational pamphlets. I will have desks grouped in 4s so the children will be facing each other
in a discussion type setting. For the beginning of the lesson I will have them come to the carpet
so they can see me model how I want the poster and presentation completed.

Integration of Technology: How will you integrate available technology resources into this
lesson as you plan, teach, and assess student learning?

We can use our Chromebooks to research the animals in each biome, in addition to the school
text. I will present my photos from the internet on the projector. For homework, each child will
be allowed to print a photo of their favorite animal in the biome they are studying and being it
back to class to talk about it.