Appendix 1

LESSON PLAN
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

LESSON ORGANISATION
Year Level:

Time: 55 mins

Students Prior Knowledge:

Date: Term 4

Learning Area: Science

Strand/Topic from the Australian Curriculum:

Students would have basic knowledge of different animal

classes (mammals, reptiles etc), and know that animals
can be identified as species

Science understanding - Biological sciences - Survival of

living things affected by conditions of environment

Students would be able to identify the different

continents, as well as the states of Australia.

(ACSSU094)
Science as a human endeavour - Use and influence of

Knowledge that living things depend on each other and

the environment to survive (ACSSU073)

science - Scientific knowledge is used to solve problems

and inform decisions (ACSHE100)

Knowledge that Earths surface changes over time as a

result of natural processes and human activity
(ACSSU075)
Students would know how to access their Gmail
accounts for the purpose of accessing ICT tools
General Capabilities (that may potentially be covered in the lesson)
Critical and
Literacy
Numeracy
ICT
competence

creative thinking

Ethical
behaviour

Personal and
Social
competence

Intercultural
understanding

Cross-curriculum priorities (may be addressed in the lesson)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
histories and cultures
Proficiencies:(Mathematics only)

Asia and Australias engagement with Asia

Sustainability

Lesson Objectives (i.e. anticipated outcomes of this lesson, in point form beginning with an action verb)
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
Recall the three broader categories of animal endangerment (extinct, threatened, lower risk), and the
sub-classification of critical endangerment (very high risk of extinction)
Recall three common threats facing animal species worldwide
Present researched data in a persuasive graphical form (here via Marqueed)

Teachers Prior Preparation/Organisation:

Weebly WebQuest pages constructed and published
(lesson one page, team pages)
TitanPads created and loaded with instructions and
critically endangered species (organised by animal class)
for each continent group. Data taken from the IUCN
Redlist (http://www.iucnredlist.org/)
Laminated continent cards to allocate students into
groups
Computer with access to projector / IWB
Prepared Marqueed continent maps, with all students
invited to the overall group.

Provision for students at educational risk:

Students with visual impairment can be seated at the
front of the class.
Gifted / fast students will have room for extension in the
form of more species covered and more precise
geographical representation on the Marqueed maps.
High risk students can be given more direct teacher
attention during the independent WebQuest portions of
the lesson.

LESSON EVALUATION (to be completed AFTER the lesson)

Assessment of Lesson Objective and Suggestions for Improvement:
Teacher self-reflection and self-evaluation:
[OFFICIAL USE ONLY] Comments by classroom teacher, HOPP, supervisor:

LESSON DELIVERY (attach worksheets, examples, marking key, etc, as relevant)

Time

Note - italics indicate actual speech, normal text indicates reasoning and
directions to the teacher.
Motivation and Introduction:

Resources/References
Align these with the
segment where they will be
introduced.

Tell the students that, over the next four lessons, they will be learning about
the threats facing the natural world. The first lesson will be about the worlds
endangered species, and they will learn of many facing extinction across the
regions of the world.
Introduce the topic by playing the video (until 2:32). Ask students to watch
quietly. (In the meantime, dress up in a white lab coat and some goofy
glasses if you can). Once it has finished:
At 5
mins

Online video
http://www.abc.net.au/btn
/story/s4131949.htm

Okay students! Today we will be role-playing as some of the worlds sharpest

scientists. You are all needed for a very important task. The natural world is in
danger. More and more unique animal species are becoming extinct all the
time. Most world leaders dont know how bad its become, and dont know
why its happening
Only you scientists can inform the world of how desperate the planets
animals are. You are essential to helping world leaders make the right
decisions for planet earth.
Tell students that their task for the lesson is to research information about the
endangered species of each continent, and putting this on a map of the
region. This will provide a persuasive graphical record of a kind that can
influence decision makers to better protect the planet. This will all be
conducted via a WebQuest
Lesson Steps

At 8
mins

Distribute randomly among students laminated continents (4 per continent)

which will serve to allocate students to their continent teams. This can be
done by prior sticking these continents to the underside of the students chairs
when they are out of the class.
Tell the students to group themselves in their teams and to shake hands with
their new scientist colleagues. Then tell students to sit down with their
computers in their proper groups.

At 12
mins

On the projector, display the Weebly WebQuest page, and direct students to
the link. Follow the detailed WebQuest instructions, showing the respective
pages on the projector as the students progress.
The main steps are as follows:
Have the students click on the image for their allocated continent. This will
take them to their team page on the weebly (e.g.
http://polarbearsandhurricanes.weebly.com/team-australia.html). Direct them
to the endangerment ranks information article to the ABC webpage and briefly
describe to them the various risk categories.Tell them you would like them to
remember the three broader categories; extinct, threatened and lower-risk.
Then draw specific attention to the CR (critically endangered) subcategory,
and inform the class that this will be their research focus for the lesson.
Ask the students to return to their team page, and then click on the link to
their continents TitanPad

Webquest Home:
http://polarbearsandhurri
canes.weebly.com/lesson
-one.html
ABC webpage
http://www.abc.net.au/btn
/story/s3974781.htm

At 15
mins

Describe the students task. This is to copy the species in the TitanPad into
the IUCN Redlist search and then summarise the following information from
the Redlist for each species on the TitanPad workspace: (1) Geographic
range, (2) Population, (3) Threats. Tell them the entries dont have to be
highly detailed. Show them the following example of a summary.
Animal X (common or scientific name)
Lives in Queensland rain forests.
Estimated population: 10,000.
Main threats: introduced species and habitat destruction

Titanpad
https://conservation6.tita
npad.com/1
ICUN Redlist:
http://www.iucnredlist.org
/

On the projector show them the process of using the search and then editing
TitanPad.
Tell the students that they will have to collaborate and allocate the species
between them. This can be done via animal class or any other sorting they
see fit. Leave them to their independent work, and wander throughout the
class asking if any students are stuck. Help those that need it.
At 20
mins

Stop at
40 mins

Monitor the TitanPads. After you can see that each student has catalogued 3
or so species, tell the class to stop. Ask them to open a new window, and
direct them to their Marqueed logins. Tell the students to click on their
continent image (note: continent images are public domain, sourced by the
Library of Texas). Tell the students to watch the projector as you show them
how to create and fill a positional Marqueed note. Tell them you want them to
place a note for each of the species they catalogued, in the correct place as
per their geographic range, and then in the note paste all the summarised
research they performed and outputted in their TitanPad.
Once again leave students to their independent work. Once again filter
through the class, looking to see if any students are lagging and need help.
Periodically monitor the Marqueed pages. After you can see that each student
has made 2-3 positional notes. Ask the class to stop.
Lesson Closure:(Review lesson objectives with students)
Thank the students for their work as scientists.

At 50
mins

Invite groups one by one to come up to class and have a spokesperson

present either what they thought to be the most interesting species or what
they were most surprised about from their allocated continent
Review the three main categorisations of endangered species; extinct,
threatened, lower-risk. Review the concept of critical endangerment
Discuss some of the more common types of threats discovered by the
students during the activity in preparation for lessons to follow.
Transition: (What needs to happen prior to the next lesson?)

At 55
mins

Students to log out and return to their normal seating arrangements. Students
to sit quietly at their desks and wait for further instructions
Assessment: (Were the lesson objectives met? How will these be judged?)

Marqueed
https://www.marqueed.co
m/

Perform either an oral assessment or online quiz (e.g. via Kahoot) to test the
students knowledge of the categories of endangerment (objective 1)
Teacher makes an observational assessment to see which students were able
to list and explain common threats to endangered species (objective 2)
Teacher assesses teams work on Marqeed to determine students ability to
create an accurate geographic representation (objective 3)
Kahoot
https://kahoot.it/

REFERENCES
Australian Broadcasting Corporation. (2014, April 1). Behind the news: Animal extinction. Retrieved from
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3974781.htm
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Producer). (2014, November 25). Behind the news: Species list [Video file].
Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4131949.htm
Charlton, M., Pendlebury, M., & Santalucia, E. (2016). Lesson One. Retrieved from
http://polarbearsandhurricanes.weebly.com/lesson-one.html
Hofstdtler, C., Prokop, M., & Renner, M. (2010). TitanPad (version not displayed) [Computer software]. Retrieved
from http://www.titanpad.com

Kahoot. (2016). Kahoot (version not displayed) [Computer software]. Retrieved from http://www.getkahoot.com

Marqueed. (2014). Marqueed (version not displayed) [Computer software]. Retrieved from
http://www.marqueed.com
School Curriculum and Standards Authority. (2016). Western Australian Curriculum Science v8.1. Retrieved from
http://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/p-10-curriculum/curriculum-browser