Sierra Nevada College Lesson Plan

Teacher: Alexis Gunnell Lead Alexis Gunnell

Teacher:
Grade/Subject: 7th Grade District: Washoe County
Lesson Topic: Environmental Science School: Vaughn Middle School
SNC Supervisor: Scoti Gower Time 75 minutes
Allotted:
Date: November 22, 2021 (A Day) # Of 22 Students
November 23, 2021 (B Day) Students:

LESSON CONTEXT
State Standard(s) (Standards this lesson addresses)
MS-LS2-2 Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms
across multiple ecosystems.
MS-LS2-3 Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living
and nonliving parts of an ecosystem
Student Personal Learning Goals (in addition to state & district requirements, what do
students want to know and understand about this lesson topic?)
I will be able to distinguish between an ecosystem and a food web.
I will be able to describe how biotic and abiotic factors interact in ecosystems.

Formative Assessment: (How will mastery of the standard be assessed at the end of the
lesson? This data can be used to inform instruction within the classroom and as a
department/grade level team/PLC.)
Formative assessment will be analyzing the students writing, listening to student’s discussion
while working on Stile, and grade the full stile assignment.

LESSON FOCUS
Objective(s): high cognitive demand for diverse learners Cognitive Level (DOK &
Bloom’s)
Students will be able to connect their learning from past lessons and
DOK 4
use their knowledge to complete the Stile assignment.
Students will create an ecosystem that is sustainable for a shark,
DOK 3
using biotic and abiotic factors.

Connections to past learning or experience, building background

Students have previously learned about how plastic impacts marine wildlife, and how the
impact of plastic is global wide. Students have also learned what plastic is and why it is
harmful to the environment and wildlife. Students have been working through food webs and
food chains and creating their own examples. This lesson will tie together everything that the
students have been learning for the past 3 weeks.

Essential Vocabulary Definitions

Biotic / Abiotic Living things in an ecosystem are called biotic factors.

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 Sierra Nevada College Lesson Plan

Non-living things in an ecosystem are

called abiotic factors

Living things also interact with their physical

environment. For example, many animals breathe air,
Ecosystems swim in water, or use rocks and sand for shelter. A
collection of living things that interact with each other and
with their environment is called an ecosystem.
Strategy for teaching new vocabulary
Students will restate the essential vocabulary as a class and will take notes in their notebooks
with their definitions.

Set (specific activity to review daily objectives, learning target & goal connection, and
assessment with students, activate background knowledge, and create interest in the lesson)
- Teacher will read our student friendly objectives aloud to the class before we begin.
- Explain to the class the activities to lead to the mastery and understanding of the standard.
- Begin class by watching the short YouTube video about plastic pollution and food webs:
https://youtu.be/IA9O9YUbQew
- Show students picture of a shark with plastic wrapped around their necks and ask them to
relate this to previous lessons about food chains.

Teacher Engagement (Sequence Instructional

Paci and Scope of Instruction (include Strategy (IS)/ Formative
ng instructional strategies, Student Assessment/
(tim questions, grouping, Engagement Student Materials &
es) differentiation and transitions) (SE) Metacognition Technology
:10 Engage:
Initiate objectives and give Computers for
directions to the class of what is all students
expected of them today.
Stileapp.com
Explain to the students that they
will be able to connect their
learnings from past lessons to
today’s lesson

Allow students to share what we Recall

have been learning about in the
past classes. Accountable Talk

:30 Inform:

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Ask students what are Written Formative

ecosystems? Assessment

Living things also interact with

their physical environment. For
example, many animals breathe
air, swim in water, or use rocks
and sand for shelter. A collection
of living things that interact with
each other and with their
environment is called an
ecosystem.

ELL / SPED:
Show a picture of a small
ecosystem. For example, a rock
pool

Ask students which are living

and non-living things.

Students will then answer 2

follow up questions:

1. Determine whether the
following statement is
true or false: Active Listening

An ecosystem is a collection of
both living things and non-living
things, interacting with each
other in a shared environment.
2. Select which of the
Formative:
following best
Listening to
completes the definition.
Discussion
Ecology is the study of:

Explore:
Students will then be assessed by
playing a swipe left or right Written Written
game. Depending on if the formative
pictures show an ecosystem or

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not an ecosystem, they swipe left

or right depending.

Then they are to state which of

the images were difficult to
classify. Explain why.

Show students a photo of an

ecosystem in Yosemite Valley,
California and ask them to
explain how this image in Collaboration
Yosemite Valley in California
shows an ecosystem. Allow
tables to share.

Explain:
Explain to students there are
:10 hidden plastics all over. Explain
that hidden plastics are perceived
as harmless or environmentally
friendly but are not!

SPED/ ELL: Use visuals to

explain where Yosemite is
located, and what it looks like.
:10
CONNECTION TO PAST
LEARNING: Reflection
“Did you know that pieces of
plastic waste floating in the
ocean are mini- ecosystems!
Larger pieces can carry mollusks
and other attached organisms
around the world. Even tiny
plastic fragments have become
new habitats for insects and
bacteria. More research is needed
to understand the wider impact Student
on marine ecosystems. discourse

Students are expected to learn

and understand biotic and a biotic
factor. They will do this by doing

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 Sierra Nevada College Lesson Plan

an activity by labeling different

abiotic and biotic factors in an
ecosystem.
Summative
Explain: Assessment:
Explain to students those marine Students
ecosystems are very different reflecting on
from land ecosystems. All the what they have
living things are adapted to life learned
underwater.

CONNECTION TO PAST:

Students have previously learned

about food webs, and what
consumers and producers are.
This might need to be reminded.
Students have previously also
learned about what
photosynthesis.

Introduce students to algae and

talk to them about how algae
have an important role in the
ecosystem. Include key words
such as; seaweed, phytoplankton,
and algae in coral.

Show them a visual of a simple

food chain demonstrating
phytoplankton are microscopic
algae and bacteria that play the
role of producers in many marine
food chains.

Ask the students:

Select which of the following

statements about phytoplankton
are true.

Then challenege their table

groups to answer the question of,
“Some photosynthetic algae live
inside the tissues of corals. The

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sugars produced by the algae

provide the corals with about
90% of their energy needs.
Based on this
information, explain how you
would classify the role of corals
in a food chain.”

Inform students that surrounding

sea water vary from place to
place and the different elements
that many organisms depend on.
Such as salinity and pH scale.

Encourage students to use their

notes on this assignment to
answer the following questions:

1. Recall what salinity is a

measure of.
2. Select which of the
following pH values of
sea water is best suited to
a coral reef ecosystem.
(this is a question I am
expecting students to be
able to go back up in the
assignment and use their
lesson)

Create:
Students will now create an
ecosystem that can sustain a
shark by adding enough biotic
and abiotic factors to support it.

Then, students will complete an

example food web based on their

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ecosystems they built.

Reflect:
Students will summarize what you
think are the three most important
ideas from today’s lesson.

Closure: specific activity to review content and progress toward objectives and
goals
Cover It: Have kids sketch a book cover. The title is
the class topic. The author is the student. A short
celebrity endorsement or blurb should summarize and
articulate the lesson’s benefits.
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/22-powerful-closure-activities-todd-finley

REFLECTION on INSTRUCTION
Teacher Candidate Reflection on the lesson (after delivery)

SNC: January 10, 2018