Unit Plan Overview

Unit: Stage 1- Desired Results Connections to Context: School goals are to be kind, to be safe, to be there and ready, and to be a learner. This unit will teach them to be kind to animals, to take care of the needs of (be safe) animals and themselves, and it will expect them to be there and ready to learn about animals. In regard to student experiences, all but five students have been to the zoo, and all but three have a pet at home. I am sure all the students have seen bugs, squirrels, and birds outside.
(How does this fit with students experiences, the school goals, and the larger societal issues?)

Transfer Students will be able to independently use their learning to Care about and for animals Consider their impact on animals by their daily actions Develop wonder in science and the world
(What kinds of long-term independent accomplishments are desired?)

UNDERSTANDINGS Students will understand that All animals have certain needs shared with all other animals Our actions and lives affect animals Humans and animals have many similarities Animals are more than just mammals
(What specically do you want students to understand? What inferences should they make?)

Meaning ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS Students will keep considering What is life? /What makes something alive? How do my actions affect animals? How are humans like and unlike animals?

Established Goals
L.OL.00.11 Identify that living things have basic needs L.OL.00.12 Identify and compare living and nonliving things S.IA.00.12 Share ideas about science through purposeful conversation S.IA.00.13 Communicate and present findings of observations S.IA.00.14 Develop strategies for information gathering (ask an expert, use a book, make observations, conduct simple investigations, and watch a video) S.IP.00.11 Make purposeful observation of the natural world using the appropriate senses

(What thought-provoking questions will foster inquiry, meaningmaking and transfer?)

Acquisition of Knowledge, Skill and Values/Commitments/Dispositions Cognitive Objectives Physical Development Objectives Socio-emotional Objectives Collaboratively gather information Create a presentation to share Collaboratively gather from books and the internet about their learning with the class information from books and the a specific category of animals internet about a specific category Use audio recorders to take of animals notes Identify important information from what they gathered Create a presentation to share Use actions to remember a list of their learning with the class animal needs (food, water, air, Use audio recorders to take notes shelter, space) Formulate a plan for what the fish Create a presentation to share their needs learning with the class Take a short video of the fish with someone talking about it Take a short video of the fish with Use a rubric to shape their someone talking about it presentation Observe the outdoor world via a structure and with specific Explain if an environment allows Use actions to remember a list of aspects to look for flourishing for animals animal needs (food, water, air, shelter, space) Use their knowledge of food Provide for pet needs based on chains to discover the rules for knowledge of animal needs Determine the needs of specific food chain tag animals in connection to their Observe the outdoor world via a category (i.e. mammals, birds, fish) List animal needs with actions to structure and with specific help their memory aspects to look for Formulate a plan for what the fish

Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum

S.IP.00.14 Manipulate simple tools (for example: hand lens, pencils, balances, non-standard objects for measurement) that aid observation and data collection S.RS.00.11 Demonstrate scientific concepts through various illustrations, performances, models, exhibits, and activities (What content standards and program- or mission-related goal(s) will the unit address? What habits of mind and cross-disciplinary goal(s)- for example 21st century skills, core competencies- will this unit address? Include source and identifying number)

needs Take a short video of the fish with someone talking about it Explain if an environment allows flourishing for animals Provide for pet needs based on knowledge of animal needs Observe the outdoor world via a structure and with specific aspects to look for Draw observations and take pictures of discoveries on a team As a group, list plants and animals in an order that reflects a food chain Use their knowledge of food chains to discover the rules for food chain tag Categorize animals according to their kind, and as animals List animal needs with actions to help their memory Draw a picture of treating animals or the environment well Organize a set of animals according to their place in the food chain

Draw a picture of treating animals or the environment well

Draw observations and take pictures of discoveries on a team Draw a picture of treating animals or the environment well

(What discrete skills and processes should students be able to use?) (What values and commitments and attitudes should students acquire or wrestle with?)

(What facts and basic concepts should students know and be able to recall?)

Evaluative Criteria Effort (all tasks) Participation (all tasks) Completion/following directions (all tasks) Clarity (primarily 1, 2, 3, 7) Correct order (6, 8, 9) Demonstrates understanding (3, 6, 8)
(What criteria will be used in each assessment to evaluate attainment of the desired results?)

Stage 2- Evidence Students will show their learning by PERFORMANCE TASK(S): 1. Creating an audio recording while investigating a category of animal 2. Creating a model or picture of an animal or habitat 3. Presenting their learning to the group with prompting, if necessary 4. Performing their actions (for remembering animal needs) for a video camera 5. Filling out a data collection sheet while exploring the outdoors 6. Naming a plant or animal in order for a food chain game 7. Drawing a picture of caring for an animal/environment 8. Organizing pictures of animals into different boxes (mammal, fish, bird, et.) on a worksheet 9. Gluing plants and animals in order on a page to create a food chain

Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum

(How will students demonstrate their understanding- meaning-making and transfer- through complex performance?) (Regardless of the format of the assessment, what qualities are most important?)

Effort Participation Completion (subcategory of participation)

OTHER EVIDENCE: Sharing in classroom discussions Answering questions Their conversations and learning process, which I will be walking around observing Questions they ask Their group rubrics that they fill out for themselves
(What other evidence will you collect to determine whether Stage 1 goals were achieved?

Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum

Stage 3- Learning Plan Plan: I created two worksheets (one front-and-back page) for the students to fill out. On one side was a set of twelve images, some animals, some plants, some man-made objects, and some other aspects of nature. The students were prompted to circle all the animals. On the other side, there was a list of actions (or non-actions) including Give my pet food, Leave McDonalds food outside, Forget to give your pet water, Leave your pe t outside in the cold, Be mean to animals. Under each statement were images of thumbs up and thumbs down. The students were prompted to circle the thumbs up or down depending on whether or not it was a good thing to do (or not do). The final aspect of my pre-assessment was a question and answer time as a group. I asked what animals needed to live, and I asked what it meant for something to be alive/how you could tell if something was alive. Results: Identifying animals worksheet: 11 students circled all the animals and only the animals (goldfish, robin, cat, horse, tortoise, and spider), 2 missed only the spider, 1 missed the spider and goldfish (though he asked us if the spider was an animal), and 1 (the same who struggled with the thumbs up and down worksheet) circled only the horse and tortoise. Thumbs up/down worksheet: 13 students answered correctly on all of the statements. One answered that it was good to leave a pet outside in the cold. Another (who struggles with schoolwork) said it was good to leave McDonalds food outside and it was goo d to forget to give your pet water. Animal needs (suggested in a large group): water, food, pet food, shots, meat, spaghetti, air, bed, and bath Living things: moving, breathing, jumping around, running, talking
(What pre-assessments will you use to check students prior knowledge, skill levels, and potential misconceptions?) (Toward which goal does Learning Events each learning event build?) Acquisition

Progress Monitoring I will walk around the room, looking over shoulders and listening in on conversations, attempting to gauge if they are learning/participating. When I ask questions of them, I will evaluate their answers to see if they need further explanation or re-teaching.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Meaning

Student success at transfer, meaning, and acquisition depends upon their participation in these learning events 1. Students will work in groups with a video (from the internet) and a book or two at different stations to learn about different groups of animals (mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and bugsor invertebrates). They will use audio recorders to take notes on their learning. With what they learned through research, students will create a presentation to teach the rest of the class a) what their animal group is, b) how you can tell an animal is a member of that group, c) what an example or two of that animal is, and d) share an example of that animal that they as a group created out of paper or other art supplies. Listening to other group presentations, answering questions throughout all the lessons, and asking questions. Come up with actions to accompany a list of animal basic needs. Mix up a very dirty jar of water as a class and then do a thought experiment on what would happen to our fish if we put it in the dirtied water. Looking for animals and trash in an outdoor environment, then recording their observations. In a circle, we will create a food chain, with each person suggesting a plant, animal, or decomposer that will eat/grow from the one before. It will also be

1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9
Transfer

1, 5, 6, 9 2.

(How will you monitor students progress toward acquisition, meaning, and transfer during lesson events?)

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

(How will students monitor their own progress toward Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum

For some lessons, students will have a rubric or checklist to follow to see if they are meeting expectations. At other times, I can ask questions that can help them judge if they are on task. For certain activities, they will be split into specific roles that will hopeful keep the students accountable to each other for learning and participating.

a memory game, as the students will have to list the entire food chain up to that point. 8. Through a game of food chain tag, students will solidify in their minds the concept of a food chain carnivores eat herbivores which eat plants which grow from the ground that decomposers broke down. 9. Draw a picture of caring for an animal or the environment. 10. Organize pictures of different kinds of animals into their classification group. 11. Organize pictures of different plants and animals into a food chain.

acquisition, meaning, and transfer?)

(Have you included multiple means of representation, multiple means of action and expression, and multiple means of engagement?) (Are all three types of goals (acquisition, meaning, and transfer) addressed in the learning plan?) (Does the learning plan reflect principles of learning and best practices?) (Is there tight alignment with Stages 1 and 2?)

(What are potential rough spots and student misunderstandings?)

Student research with videos and books may be a rough spot because of all the information coming at them. It may be hard for them to filter what they need to learn. Keeping everything in the time limits will be hard. Creating checklists that students can use when they cant really read will be an issue. Any time I let the students do small group work, there is the concern that they might not actually do it, or do it as well as I would like. There may be a rough spot when creating a presentation for the second lesson after at least a whole day since they did their research. Vocabulary struggles both with the names of animal categories and with kinds of animals whether I mean mammal/amphibian/bug or cat/dog/goldfish. Im concerned we wont find much life outside. Some activities may take more time to explain than we actually have to play (such as food chain tag).

(How will students get the feedback they need?)

Throughout the lessons, I will praise good work and gently correct wrong work. In small group work, students can hold each other accountable and get feedback from each other. If they have any questions, I and their regular teacher will be open to answering them or guiding the student to answer the question through scaffolding.

Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum