Towson University

Department of Secondary Education

Lesson Plan Final
Directed Reading Lesson
Name: Jennifer Wong

Date: 5/7/2015

Brief Class Description (contextual information including number of students, subject,

level, IEP/ELL/GT or other special considerations): Grade 6, 25 students, race: 10% African
American. 10% Asian, 20% Hispanic, and 40% Caucasian, gender: 15 girls, 10 boys, special
considerations: 1 boy with an IEP, Jimmy and 1 girl who is a GT student, Sarah

Unit and Unit Goals: Ecology

Lesson Topic: Predator and Prey
Prior Knowledge (How do you know the students are ready for this lesson?): Students
will need to know what an organism and an ecosystem is in order to understand how they will
interact with one another.

Alignment:
Common Core
Disciplinary
Literacy Standards

Objective

Assessment

Activity(ies)
(Which step(s) of
DRL teach this
objective?)
4

1. Writing
Standard: 1. Write
arguments to
support claims in an
analysis of
substantive topics or
texts using valid
reasoning and
relevant and
sufficient evidence.
2. Reading
Standard: 1. Read
closely to determine
what the text says
explicitly and to
make logical
inferences from it;
cite specific textual
evidence when
writing or speaking
to support
conclusions drawn
from text.

1. SWBAT explain the

relationship between a
predator and prey by
analyzing a graph.

1. Students are able to

write an explanation
of the graph using
evidence from the
graph, the new
vocabulary words,
and information from
the texts.

2. SWBAT identify
and analyze one
ecological
relationship between
organisms.

2. Students share what 3

they have learned
from the texts after
silently reading. They
are able to find
examples in the text
and think of their own
form the information
theyve gathered.

3. Science
Standard
(NGSS): MS-LS2-4
Construct an
argument supported
by empirical
evidence that
changes to physical
or biological
components of an
ecosystem affect
populations.

3. SWBAT identify
and categorize
biological and
physical factors that
affect the increase
change in predator
and prey populations.

3. Students will read

the graph and
determine why the
population was
high/low using
evidence from the
texts and class
discussions to support
their answer.

Materials Needed (Include Text Macrostructure): A computer will be needed to

watch the movie clip and view the presentation, the vocabulary worksheet
Technology Integration/Needs: a short clip from the Lion King
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-guVqe0PcGI
Lesson Procedure:
1.a. Readiness: Motivation Activity
Today we will be learning about a specific relationship between organisms in an ecosystem. We
will start off by watching a clip from The Lion King. Students will watch the short clip.
Time Allotted: 8 minutes
Adaptations (for IEP, ELL, culture, and other special needs): No adaptations are
necessary.
Transition (explicitly linking concepts/activities/objectives): Now can someone
tell me what is going in this scene? A student will answer with Nala was trying to eat Pumbaa,
but Simba saved him.

1.b. Readiness: Background Knowledge Activity

So, what kind of animal is Pumbaa? What kind of animal is Nala? A student will answer A
warthog and a lion. Then ask What is an ecosystem? Does anyone remember? There will
be some discussion and students will come to correct answer then ask What kind of
ecosystem was it in the movie? Students will answer The desert. Then say There are
many interactions between organism like Nala and Pumbaa in other ecosystems too.
Time Allotted: 7 minutes
Adaptations: The student with an IEP has ADHD, because he has trouble
focusing, a PowerPoint with the questions will be presented. Answers to the questions
will also be written on the board.

Transition: Okay, so lets learn more about this relationship that Pumbaa and
Nala have.

1.c. Readiness: Concept Development Activity

The teacher will already have the two important vocabulary words written on the board.
The teacher will also hand out a worksheet with the vocabulary words on it. The teacher will say
Okay, so take a quick look at the words that we will be looking for today. Can someone read
aloud what the words are? A student will read the words.
The teacher will ask So what goes in the chart? What does in the first A student will
answer In the first column we fill out what we think the definition is. The teacher will say
Correct. So in this column youre going to think for a minute about what you think predator and
prey means or anything that comes to mind when you hear those words, write it down. Then we
will share our ideas as a class. So the next two columns are what? A student will raise their hand
and answer Sentences from text that use this word and what we think it means now. The
teacher will respond with Right! So this part you complete while you are reading. It might be
helpful for you to underline and mark up the texts as you read and fill out the chart later. You
could do it either way. After we finish rereading, we will share what we put in those two
columns. Lastly, what do we write in the final column? A student will answer We write the
actual definition. The teacher will answer Yes. I will give you the formal definition after we
finish reading and sharing our chart information. So, lets begin to fill out the first column.
Remember to write down anything that you can think of that is related to that word. You can
even draw pictures if youd like. I will give you guys about 2-3 minutes.
Time Allotted: 7 minutes
Adaptations: No adaptations are necessary
Transition: Okay, so now lets share what weve come up with. The teacher
will call on a few students to share their answers. Some anticipated responses for predator are:
lions, big animal, bear, fast, or strong. Some anticipated responses for prey are: weak, small,
rabbit, or a mouse. These are some great answers. Now lets read and compare our answers!

1.d. Readiness: Purpose for Reading Activity

Today you will be reading to be informed. You will be reading about the importance of a
specific animal relationship in an ecosystem, what that relationship is, and examples of it.
Remember to complete the second and third columns of the worksheet.
Time Allotted: 3 minutes
Adaptations: Jimmy will already be seated in the front of the room where he will
have fewer distractions while reading.
Transition: Any questions before we begin reading? If there are no questions,
then you may begin. Remember we are silently reading.

2. Silent Reading Activity

The students will be given a reading (10 Examples of Predator-Prey) Relationships). The teacher
will say Before we begin reading, we will complete the first column of the worksheet. What are

we supposed to fill out in the first column? Teacher will call on a volunteer to answer. Yes, in
the first column we write down what we think the word means. In this column you can write
down any words that you think of when you hear predator or prey or you can draw pictures to
describe what the word means. As they are reading to themselves, they will complete the
handout. The teacher will say Okay, now we are going to read silently to ourselves and
complete the chart. Be sure to look for those two vocabulary words in the text look for sentences
that may help you with define the word, look for context clues. While we are reading, we are
only filling out the second column, if you have enough time
Time Allotted: 10-15 minutes
Adaptations: John will be seated in an area with few distractions so he can read
efficiently.
Transition: Okay, it seems that most of us have completed the second column
and some have completed the third column. Now lets share!

3. Discussion Activity
Talk with the people at your table and share what you have put into the first two
columns of the chart. After about 5-7 minutes of discussing with your table, I will gather us back
up to share as a class.
After the students discuss in their groups, they will be gathered together. I will ask each
group to have them share what they discussed. Then, I will ask Have you ever heard the term
predator/prey used before in a different context? Have you ever seen this type of relationship in
your backyard or anywhere else in real life? Have you ever seen this in movies before? Did you
ever learn this in another class?
As the students discuss at their tables, they will be recording those thoughts and ideas in
the chart. As we discuss as a class, the students will be recording those thoughts in the row below
their table discussion row.
Time Allotted: 20-25 minutes
Adaptations: No adaptations are necessary.
Transition: Lets reread to get an even better idea of what these two words
mean.
4. Re-reading Activity
You may also use the information from your table discussion and our class discussion.
While you reread and look for context clues, complete the third column of the chart. Also, take a
look at the graph and analyze it. Their observations of the graph will be written on the packet in
the space provided. Determine who the predator is and who the prey is. Be prepared to justify
your answer. The class will have another brief discussion. The teacher will ask questions like
Have we ever seen an example of this before? or How do you think the population of prey
changes if the population of predator increase? I will ask other questions that involve students
to recall the information from the text and then apply the information.

Students will be reading individually and looking at the graph with a partner. Raise your hand if
youre ready to discuss. If a majority of the students raise their hand, then we will discuss, if not
the teacher will allow them five more minutes to reread and analyze the graph.
Time Allotted: 20-25 minutes
Adaptations: No adaptations are necessary.
Transition: Now, were going to start our short story.

5. Follow Up Writing Activity (Closing Activity)

The students will choose two animals that have a predator and prey relationship. The
teacher will explain to students You will choose two animals to write a short story about. The
two animals must have a predator and prey relationship. We will start our short story today by
simply choosing the two main characters, the animals. You can name the animals as well if youd
like. We will start writing the story next class. Write down the two animals and their names if
they have one, on the half sheet Ive provided.

After the Lesson: The lesson should be a more interactive. Students learn better when they
are active learners. It would be more fun if there was a game. If students acted as the predators
and they preys. Students would be randomly selected to be predators and preys and I would give
each student a chance to be a predator and prey. I would increase/decrease the number of
predators for one round and increase/decrease the number of prey for other rounds.