Lesson Plan Template
HDFS 4223/4850
Candidate Name: Candace McLain
Lesson Title: Classifying animals
Day, Date, Time of Implementation: TBD
Grade Level: 3rd
Objectives (connect to PASS/Common Core):
● Process Standard 1: Observe and measure - Observing is the first action taken by the
learner to acquire new information about an object, organism, or event. Opportunities for
observation are developed through the use of a variety of scientific tools. Measurement
allows observations to be quantified.
○ Compare and contrast similar and/or different characteristics in a given set of
simple objects, familiar organisms, and/or observable events.
■ Students will observe animals to compare and contrast their
characteristics.
● Process Standard 2: Classify - Classifying establishes order. Objects, organisms, and
events are classified based on similarities, differences, and interrelationships.
○ Classify a simple set of objects, familiar organisms, and/or observable events by
observable properties.
■ Students will categorize the 6 groups of animals. (Mammals, fish, birds, reptiles,
amphibians & arthropods).
Vocabulary:
● Mammals
● Reptiles
● Amphibians
● Arthropods
Required Materials:
● Films, filmstrips, or slides about animals. (Must include all 6 categories of animals.)
● Live or mounted animals from each category. (State Division of Wildlife Agency and
public zoos may be able to help you find these.)
● Magazines: 2 per child (Make sure the magazines have plenty of animal pictures in
them.)
● Scissors
● http://m.quietyoutube.com/watch?v=BSo5SG_BgcU
Books:
● Classification of Animals (Sci-Hi: Life Science), by Casey Rand.
Introduction/Transition into Lesson:
How will you capture the students’ attention?
● http://m.quietyoutube.com/watch?v=BSo5SG_BgcU
● Play the animal classification video after the students have gathered onto the whole group
rug.
What prior knowledge will be related to this lesson?
● Knowledge of animal characteristics
● Knowledge of grouping
How will you communicate to the students the objective for the lesson?
● “Today, you will be working in groups to observe animals to compare and contrast their
characteristics and then classify the animals by sorting them into groups.”
Step-by-Step Procedure: (What will you be teaching? How will you facilitate the learning?
How will students practice what is learned? Give an overview of the activities used in the lesson.
Activities must match objectives.)
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Call students to whole group rug.
Introduce the lesson as described above.
Read, Classification of Animals (Sci-Hi: Life Science), by Casey Rand.
Discuss with students the process of separating animals into groups or categories so that
they are more easily studied and discussed by scientists and others.
Add what students Know and what they Want to know about classifying to the KWL
chart.
Explain that the following activity will help students learn about the categories of
animals. * Do not give any clues at this time as to how animals are to be categorized.
Students will come up with their own unique system of grouping.
Divide students into small groups of 3-5. Give each child 1 or 2 magazines that have a lot
of animal pictures in them. (National Geographic, Outdoors, Field and Stream, etc.)
Students in each group look through the magazines and cut out any pictures of animals
that they find. Have students keep a common stack for their group.
After all pictures have been put into a pile, each group divides their pile of pictures into
5-7 smaller categories. This is done through small group discussion and consensus.
After each group has categorized their pictures, bring the entire class back together and
let one person from each group explain why they grouped their pictures as they did.
(They will come up with groupings by color, size, shape, extinct or not, eating habits,
living habits, size of ears and tails, etc.)
Discuss these groups and why it helps scientists to have animals broken down into
smaller groups.
Add what students Learned about classification to the KWL chart.
Discuss the KWL chart.
Call students by group to transition to the next activity.
Questions to Facilitate Understanding: (consider Bloom’s Taxonomy)
·
Remember: Describe what you observed about the animals.
·
Understand: Can you explain why you put those animals in that group?
·
Apply: Do you know of another way that you could classify those animals? Explain...
·
Analyze: If we classified animals by ____, what do you think the outcome would have
been?
·
Evaluate: Why did you put those animals in that group?
·
Create: What can you make to show each classification to your classmates?
Lesson Closure/Transition out of Lesson:
In what way will students reflect on what was learned? Be specific.
● Students will reflect using the KWL chart and through discussion.
When will the reflection take place? Be specific. (ex: after the main lesson has ended; as
children are practicing)
● After the activity has ended.
How will you summarize the lesson and transition to the next activity?
● Discuss what objectives the students met through the activity and what they learned on
the KWL chart, then call students by name or group to line up or move to their next
activity.
Assessment:
What specifically will be used to assess/document student progress? (assignments, anecdotal
notes, checklists, projects, rubrics, etc)
● Anecdotal notes of students’ interactions and conversations during the activity.
● Pictures to document the students’ actions, collaboration, and progress throughout the
activity.
● Rubric to determine if learning objectives were met.
● KWL chart
How will you decide if the learning objectives were met? (link to the specific form of
assessment)
● Students will be assessed via rubric to determine to what extent the learning objectives
were met. (Attached at the end of the document)
Classroom Management:
What special considerations will be made for classroom management? Include ways you will
divide students into groups or partners. How you will ensure all students are engaged? If
students need to get materials, how you will manage the procedures?
● Make sure the rules are clear before starting.
● Teachers will provide the materials as necessary
● Students will be engaged by collaborating with their group members.
● Students will be grouped with two higher level students with two lower level students to
allow for scaffolding.
Modifications (as needed for children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities):
● Students will be working in groups where they can scaffold and collaborate with each
other.
Changes/adaptations: (Make hand-written notes after the lesson.)
What worked well? What needs to be changed?
N/A
Rubric
Criteria
Exceeds
Meets
Needs
Improvement
Students can
classify animals.
Demonstrates
full
understanding of
how to classify
animals.
Demonstrates
some
understanding of
how to classify
animals.
Demonstrates
little to no
understanding of
how to classify
animals.
Students will
participate in the
activity to
compare and
contrast animal
characteristics.
Student
participated in
the activity and
can fully
compare and
contrast animal
Student
participated in
the activity and
can somewhat
compare and
contrast animal
Student
participated in
the activity but
cannot compare
and contrast
animal
Total
characteristics.
Total
characteristics.
characteristics.