Lesson Plan Reflection #4

Bailey Riddick

UED 496

28 March 2022
 Lesson Plan Reflection #4

This lesson focuses on animal characteristics and how they are classified by these similar

characteristics. While it is taught during the Science block, there is a Writing and Language Arts

portion of this lesson. Each student must choose an animal, apply research, and create a project

outlining their research. My lesson supports the Science SOL 1.5: “The student will investigate

and understand that animals, including humans, have basic life needs that allow them to survive.

Key ideas include a) animals need air, food, water, shelter, and space (habitat); b) animals have

different physical characteristics that perform specific functions; and c) animals can be classified

based on a variety of characteristics” (Virginia Department of Education, 1.5 a-c, 2018). This

lesson also supports the following Language Arts SOLs: 1.10 “The student will read and

demonstrate comprehension of a variety of nonfiction texts. Key ideas include d) identify text

features such a pictures, headings, charts, and captions”, 1.12 “The student will write in a variety

of forms to include narrative, descriptive, and opinion. Key ideas include a) identify audience

and purpose b) Use prewriting activities to generate ideas and c) focus on one topic, and 1.13

“The student will edit writing for capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Key ideas include a)

use complete sentences b) begin each sentence with a capital letter and use ending punctuation

and c) use correct spelling for commonly used sight words and phonetically regular words”

(Virginia Department of Education, 2017). In support with these SOLs, this lesson also

corresponds with the competencies Content Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Curriculum and

Student IEP and ELLs Needs.

This lesson corroborates with integrating content knowledge between two subjects.

Integration of content areas can have a variety of uses in the classroom, as it takes multiple

subjects and combines them. This type of integration gives students an opportunity to
“remember things better make real life connections, and transfer knowledge more easily to

different real-life situations” (sySTEAM, pg. 2, 2018). Teachers can benefit from integrating

subjects because it allows them to assess where the students are not only in one skill or content

area, but in many. This form of integration found in my lesson plan integrated Science with

Language Arts, specifically with project-based learning. Since we are discussing animals and

their classes and characteristics, each student will choose an animal to do research on. The

students were given a packet, discussing the elements of the project, a rubric, and the research

sheet. The research sheet is guided to help direct the students and will be due first to see where

the students are. After the students have their research checked, they may start on their project.

Each student is given choices of types of projects they can create- from a poster to a power point

to a mobile. But the project must relate back to the research and their animal and be completed

with minimal help from the parents. The project elements must include complete and well-

written sentences, neat penmanship, correct spelling and capitalization of words, and details

explaining their animal. Students must also get their research from a teacher-provided book

(animal specific) to help them understand nonfiction texts and how to grasp important

information. This aligns with Language Arts SOLs of writing and nonfiction texts. This

integration should help students grow in their writing skills and give them practice on giving

detail and thought into their writing.

In addition to an integration of subjects, there is accommodation with an IEP Speech

student. This student does well in academics and in understanding of content, but they leave

during the phonics and reading time for one-on-one instruction with a specialist. The student has

a speech impediment and has trouble sounding out words and word blends. The student is not

always in need of accommodations, as most of her needs are met when she leaves to go to
instruction. During this specific lesson, the student will be accommodated during the project and

presentation. This gives opportunity to the student by allowing them to participate in the

presentation of their project, as well as any classroom discussion about their project and animal

(Colclasure, et. al., 2016). This student is also given plenty of time to go through their

presentation to help them sound out their words and give time to practice oral presentation

practices.

This lesson meets both competencies and gives support to classroom success.

Throughout the introduction of the animal project and time to do their work and research, I was

able to review and instill writing practices needed for first grade. At this stage, students should

be writing with spaces and know how to write in complete sentences. Students also need to be

able to begin sentences with a capital letter and a punctuation at the end. Their writing needs to

also have a main idea and purpose, which in this case should be the animal they have chosen for

their project. During a writing exercise in Language, I also had the students write in their writing

journals about their animal and their knowledge of this animal based on their research. These

practices allowed me to integrate Science and Writing together to give students exposure and

allow them to use their knowledge in both fields to the test. The student with an IEP was given

amble time during her presentation to go through the information. This student was also allowed

to bring her research over to her Speech and Language teacher to review and get data from her

work. Integrating Subjects and Differentiation for a Student with an IEP are both met with this

lesson plan with thought and detail throughout.

Overall, this lesson went well and is continuing in our classroom. The research portion

was due last week, with the presentation and project due this Friday. The students have been

very motivated and interested throughout this project and given great information about their
animal. My cooperating teacher and I have found, however, that a hindrance to this project is

that some parents have not read the rubric all the way. Some think that the project is only the

research portion, so the students will turn it in thinking they are finished. But, other than that,

the lesson reviewing animal characteristics and classes has gone well. The students seem to

understand what sets each class of animal apart from the other. Using the Animal Factsheet, the

students can check off the qualities on a chart to see which classes have similar features. The

students then learned about the different features and appendages of animals (fins, scales, fur,

claws, etc.) that help it survive in its environment.

I have loved teaching this unit on animals and their characteristics. This supports my

teaching philosophy and faith, as I believe that students need to learn about the world around

them. It is important for students to understand how their world works and functions, and their

role in it. From a Christian standpoint, students’ place in this world is important, as our job is to

be stewards of the world and have knowledge of the things that inhabit our world. It is also a

great subject to teach, because I get to engage kids and get them excited about nature and God’s

creation. As a teacher, I might not be able to vocally share my faith. However, I can show my

students the beauty of God’s creation. This aligns with Psalm 96:11-12: “Let the heavens be

glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and

everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy” (ESV). Scripture states that

nature itself worships its Creator, so we should exemplify that in our classrooms.
 References

Colclasure, B. C., Thoron , A. C., & LaRose, S. E. (2016). Teaching Students With Disabilities:

Speech and Language Impairments. IFAS Extension. Retrieved March 28, 2022, from

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/WC263

Crossway Books. (2011). The holy bible: English standard version (Esv), containing the old and

new testaments.

sySTEAM. (2018). Guidelines for integrating different subjects. STEAM EDU. Retrieved March

28, 2022, from http://steamedu.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Guidelines-for-

Integrating-Different-Subjects.pdf
Virginia Department of Education. (2017). Standards of Learning: English Grade 1. Retrieved

from https://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/index.shtml.

Virginia Department of Education. (2018). Standards of Learning: Science Grade 1. Retrieved

from https://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/science/index.shtml.