Living or Non-living?
A Kindergarten
“First” Learning Experience
By: Pamela Hays
Royalton-Hartland Elementary School
Gasport, New York
Peer Review: February, 2012
1
Peer Review Focus Questions
• Are there further revisions that would
make this LE more complete or useful to
other teachers?
• Are there suggestions for improving my
presentation of the LE?
Peer Review: February, 2012
2
District Background
Information taken from NYS Report Card
• Rural school district in upstate New York.
• 33% of students qualify for free or reduced
lunch.
• 94% identify as Caucasian.
• Average class size: 22 students
• Total K-12 enrollment approx. 1430 students
Peer Review: February, 2012
(slide modification 7/13)
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Grade Level/Ability of Students
• Learning experience for a kindergarten class
comprised of 22 students, 11 girls and 11 boys.
• Included one identified child (speech impaired), 3
students at varying levels of the RTI process, and 3
students receiving ERSS speech and/or OT
services.
• One third of the students entered kindergarten at
age 4.
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Time Frame for LE
• Four to five days of instruction and
assessment.
• Students continued to explore concepts for
several weeks after formal lessons
ceased.
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Rationale
MST 4 (Science) Key Idea 1 (Living Environment)
Younger students’ ideas about the characteristics of organisms develop
from their basic concepts of living and non-living things. As students
are given opportunities to observe and classify living and nonliving
things, they should be reminded that living and nonliving things are
sometimes given attributes they do not really have. Understanding the
variety and complexity of life and its processes can help students
develop respect for their own and for all life. It should also lead them to
better realize the value of all life on this fragile planet.
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Essential Questions
• Year-long Essential Question: What is our
responsibility to the planet Earth as human
beings? Or How can we be good stewards of the
Earth?
• LE Essential Question: Why is it important for
humans to know if something is living or nonliving?
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Enduring Understandings
• Things in our world can be sorted into two
categories: living or non-living.
• Living things have needs that non-living things
do not.
• Humans impact living things by their decisions.
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Major Objectives
• Make qualitative observations in order to
classify an item as living or non-living.
• Consider role of humans in the care of
living things. (self-reflection)
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Learning Opportunities
• Develop key questions to determine if an object
is living or non-living.
• Sort objects into living and non-living categories,
in groups, with family members, and individually.
• Uncover the difference between naturally
occurring and man-made non-living objects.
• Communicate ideas for caring for living things.
Peer Review: February, 2012
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New York State Standard
Related to yearlong theme
MST 4 (Science) Key Idea 7 (Living Environment)
• Human decisions and activities have had a profound impact on the
physical and living environments. Humans are dependent upon and
have an impact on their environment. Students should recognize
how human decisions cause environmental changes to occur.
• Students should be given opportunities to identify and investigate
the factors that positively or negatively affect the physical
environment and its resources.
• PI 7.1 Identify ways in which humans have changed their
environment and the effects of those changes.
Peer Review: February, 2012
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New York State Standards
Specific to this LE
MST 4 (Science) Key Idea 7 (Living Environment)
• PI 1.1 Describe the characteristics of and variations between
living and non-living things.
•
MST 1 (Analysis, Inquiry and Design): Students will use
mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering
design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and
develop solutions.
Peer Review: February, 2012
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Common Core State Standards for
English Language Arts Specific to this LE
Speaking and Listening:
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
• SL.K.4. Describe familiar people, places, things, and
events and, with prompting and support, provide
additional detail.
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Assessments
• Pre-lesson (diagnostic): Living or Non-living pre-assessment .
• During the LE (formative): Completion of “My Living and Non-living
Things Cards” will be used to assess students’ understanding during
the LE. In addition, pages generated for whole class student book
will be evaluated for student understanding.
• Post-lessons (summative): Living or Non-living post-assessment. In
addition, students are assessed on their understanding of the
difference between man-made and natural non-living things using
Natural or Man-made?
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Developing Student
•
•
•
•
•
•
How did you know which things were living? (What makes
them living?)
Needs food/water
Grows
Reproduces
Needs air
Gets rid of waste
Reacts to environment
Comments: Like when we have lunch. When asked if there was
anything else, shrugged shoulders. When asked to name
something that was living stated “my dog”.
Peer Review: February, 2012
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Proficient Student
•
•
•
•
•
•
How did you know which things were living? (What makes
them living?)
Needs food/water
Grows
Reproduces
Needs air
Gets rid of waste
Reacts to environment
Comments: Needs water (pets get drinks from people, some
animals get drinks from the pond, we have to water the plants in our
room). Have to eat (plants get their food from the sun – don’t really
get that) They have babies that grow up to be like them.
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Distinguished Student
•
•
•
•
•
•
How did you know which things were living? (What makes
them living?)
Needs food/water
Grows
Reproduces
Needs air
Gets rid of waste (emerging)
Reacts to environment
Comments: Eats and drinks (plants die when you don’t water
them), grows, has babies or grows more from seeds. Breathes
(students asked previously about plants breathing and was satisfied
that plants need air as well). Noted that animals and people “poop
and pee” and inquired if plants did too. When asked what he
thought, student thought they probably did, just differently, like when
they “breathe”.
Peer Review: February, 2012
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Modification Table
Modification
Instructional: Use
of Small Groups
Rationale
Benefit
Students are able
Small groups
to provide
provide peer
assistance and
interaction for the additional
purpose of
information to
learning/
peers. (The sum of
completing a task. the parts is greater
than the whole…)
Students work in small groups independently after the first
month of school. The first month is spent learning
procedures and social skills to accomplish this.
Peer Review: February, 2012
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Changes that resulted from past
peer reviews….
• Re-organized congruency table and added ELA
common core standards.
• Added titles to tables within the written LE under
“Student Work” section.
• Revised rubric to better reflect learning
objectives/goals.
• Added Table of Contents and
(hopefully) clearer organization
of LE components.
Peer Review: February, 2012
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Instructional Task
NEW
Classify given pictures as
living and nonliving.
Communicate rationale for
classification in one-on-one
interview with teacher.
Learning Objectives
Make observations
necessary for classifying
items as living or nonliving.
Classify objects or pictures
as either living or nonliving
based on understanding of
living and nonliving things.
Consider role of humans in
Reflect on the role of humans the care of living things.
in the care of living things
(self-reflection)
during the individual
interview.
Student Work
Living or Nonliving postassessment (individual)
Conversation with teacher
during interview
Assessment Tool
Interview Rubric –
Classifying Skill dimension
Interview Rubric – Interview
Explanation dimension
Anecdotal notes
Conversation with teacher
during interview
MST 4 1.1, 1.2, 7.1
SL.K.4
OLD
Learning Objectives
Make qualitative
observations in order to
classify an item as living or
nonliving.
MST 1 - S1.1, 1.2, 1.3
Instructional Task
Using whole class
observations brainstorm
criteria for determining
living or nonliving. List
criteria and evaluate each
idea for validity.
Student Work
Large, whole class chart.
Peer Review: February, 2012
Assessment Tool
Teacher will address each
student to allow for
individual ideas to be
expressed and to assess
student understanding.
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Interview Rubric: Living and Nonliving
Dimensions
Classifying Skill
The extent to which the
student, using the
knowledge of
characteristics of living
things, can classify
pictures as living or nonliving things independently
and correctly.
Interview explanations
Extent to which the
student can identify and
explain in words the
characteristics of living
things as rationale for
classification decisions.
Level 4
Student classifies pictures
independently and
correctly at a glance and
without hesitation
demonstrating confidence
in understanding the
criteria for the
classification.
Level 3
Student classifies pictures
independently and
correctly while thinking and
examining the picture. Any
hesitations are for
processing the criteria for
the classification.
Student correctly
identifies characteristics
of living things as rationale
for classification.
Student correctly identifies
characteristics of living
things as rationale for
classification.
Student independently
synthesizes learned
information into
generalized thoughts and
details, using complex
sentences and scientific
language to explain
rationale for classification.
Student independently
used accurate terms that
reflect language and
detailed ideas learned in
class to explain rationale
for classification.
Level 2
Student classifies
independently and
without hesitation, but
decisions are incorrect.
OR
Student can only complete
the task with adult
prompting to think
through the criteria for
classification. Decisions
are correct.
With adult prompting,
student correctly
identifies characteristics
of living things as rationale
for classification.
With adult prompting and
clarifying questions,
student can explain
rationale for classification
in simple sentences or
phrases.
Peer Review: February, 2012
Level 1
Student hesitates while
classifying and can only complete
the task with adult prompting.
Decisions are incorrect even with
adult prompting.
Student confuses characteristics
while needing continual adult
prompting to identify rationale
for classification decisions.
With continual prompting and
clarifying questions, student uses
phrases or words to describe
rationale for classification.
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Reflections
• The big picture: Working on LE’s and participating in
peer review changes the way I think and ultimately the
way I teach.
• Thank you to the members of TLQP and
students/teachers in Teaching to the Standards at
Daemen College for helping me to learn, practice, and
improve.
• Although I am not teaching kindergarten this year I hope
to continue working on LE’s that encourage the teaching
of science in the early childhood grades.
Peer Review: February, 2012
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