PUSD Common Core Lesson Plan Template
DRAFT
Teacher(s):
Unit of Instruction / Theme: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation
Grade Level/Course: 3rd grade
of Traits
Lesson Title: Animal Offspring
Duration: 1 lesson
Date:
Content Standard(s):
3-LS3-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits
exists in a group of similar organisms.
RI.3.3 Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using
language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
SL.3.4Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an
understandable pace.
CC Literacy Standard(s):
(6-12 Only)
ELD Standard(s): PI.3.12 Selecting and applying varied and precise vocabulary and language structures to effectively convey ideas
Lesson Foundations
Learning Objective(s)/Language Objective(s):
Students will:
 identify and match animal offspring to their
parents and recognize characteristics that
distinguish one animal from another
 describe which characteristics they used to sort
and classify offspring and parents
 articulate their learnings as a result of the card
sort and Double Bubble
Assessment(s): Describe each assessment in detail and
include its purpose in helping you monitor students’
progress towards specific learning objective(s).

Clear Link

Students will pair offspring cards to their parent
cards and be able to describe how they
sorted/paired the cards
Carry the knowledge changed from the card
sort to the creation of a Double Bubble map
and be able to use the tier 1, 2, and 3
vocabulary terms to describe their
categorization
Essential Question: How are offspring like their parents?
College and Career
Readiness Skills
(check all that apply)
Demonstrating independence
Responding to varying demands of
audience, task, purpose, and discipline
Building strong content knowledge
Using technology & digital media
strategically and capably
Demonstrating understanding of
other perspectives and cultures
Adapted: jcash2013 & Claremont Graduate University
Comprehending as well as critiquing
Proving point of view with evidence
Teaching and Learning
As you plan and write your lesson, use the following guiding questions to support the implementation of the skills, 4Cs, and rigor.
 How are the identified Common Core and Readiness Skills embedded in the lesson?
 Which of the FOUR C’s will be engaged during this lesson? (check all that apply)
Communication
Collaboration
Creativity
Critical Thinking
 How is academic RIGOR demonstrated in this lesson through the DOK?
Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Level(s): (check all that apply)
Level 1: Recall
Level 2: Skill/Concept
Level 3: Strategic Thinking
Level 4: Extended
Lesson Opener (Sharing objective(s) and Engaging/Motivating Students): Describe in detail how you will communicate learning
objective(s). How will you purposefully engage students so they are either excited to learn “x” or feeling like “x” is important, worthwhile, and/or
relevant? How will you access prior knowledge? How will you teach vocabulary (if applicable)? How will you check for understanding?
Time
What Teacher Does
Allocation
15 min.
Engaging/Motivating Students:
What Students Do
Differentiation
RTI (Benchmark, Strategic, Intensive)
ELD (Emerging, Expanding, Bridging)
1. Ask students how they know
whether something coming down
the sidewalk is a person or an
animal.
2. Invite students to tell you some
characteristics of humans. [Two
legs, two arms, a head, two eyes,
one nose, hair, two ears, 10 fingers,
10 toes, etc.]
Answer the questions in complete
sentences.
Students who need it will be
provided with sentence stems.
Vocabulary will be defined in
context.
Think time
Use of Equity Sticks
3. Ask them to tell you the
characteristics of a baby human.
Adapted: jcash2013 & Claremont Graduate University
[same as above]
Objective Sharing:
Tell them that they will be studying how
offspring resemble their parents. Define
offspring for them as babies. Baby dogs are
called puppies. Baby cats are called kittens.
Ask how baby dogs resemble their parents.
Instruction and Practice: Describe in detail your instructional approach (direct, discovery, inquiry, etc.). What will you do to present the
content so it is comprehensible and purposefully designed to help students meet the learning objective(s)? What will you do for guided practice?
What will you do for independent practice? Furthermore, how will you promote and monitor student engagement and check for understanding at
all levels of instruction? How will you check for understanding?
Time
What Teacher Does
Allocation
Instruction: Read My Mother is Mine by
20 min.
Marion Dane Bauer. Review characteristics
of humans and that they will be studying
how offspring resemble their parents.
Define offspring for them as babies. Baby
dogs are called puppies. Baby cats are
called kittens. Ask how baby dogs
resemble their parents.
What Students Do
Have students draw a picture of offspring
and parent with matching traits.
If appropriate, move on to twocircle Venn diagrams.
Have students generate a question about
what is being read by using some of the
tier 1, 2, or 3 words. Students pose their
question to a partner and engage in
dialogue.
Provide a visual word wall for
student to reference.
Have students get into groups and
distribute one set of animal cards to each
groups and distribute one set of animal
group. Have them cut out the cards and
cards to each group. Have them cut out the ask them to match the offspring to the
cards and ask them to match the offspring
parents by looking closely at the
to the parents by looking closely at the
characteristics. Students work
characteristics.
collaboratively to match cards and orally
use characteristic descriptors when talking
As a class, go over the correct matches (see
to peers about their matching selections.
Solutions) and discuss any animals that
Guided Practice: Have students get into
Differentiation
RTI (Benchmark, Strategic, Intensive)
ELD (Emerging, Expanding, Bridging)
Assist them by writing labels
based on the characteristics
they have chosen. One label
should go inside the circle, and
the other should go outside the
circle. For example, lives in
water/does not live in water.
Adapted: jcash2013 & Claremont Graduate University
students had difficulty identifying. Pay
special attention to animals that differ from
their offspring. If desired, you may also
take this time to share the different names
that baby animals have.
Independent Practice: Distribute paper and
have students create a Double-Bubble Map.
Ask them to sort and classify the animal
cards in various ways. Suggested sorts
include size, coverings (feathers, scales,
hair, shells), how they move, where they
live, or other physical features.
Assist them by writing labels based on the
characteristics they have chosen. For
example, lives in water/does not live in
water.
Closure: Describe in detail how you will know if lesson objective(s) are met? How will students reflect on their learning? How will
you connect learning to real world experience?
Time
Differentiation
What
Teacher
Does
What
Students
Do
RTI (Benchmark, Strategic, Intensive)
Allocation
ELD (Emerging, Expanding, Bridging)
10 min.
Ask the following questions in order to
Work collaboratively to make sense of
Students are allowed many
have the students make content
what is being asked, answer the
opportunities to discuss their
connections.
questions, and make content connections answers with a partner or
to the essential question.
group before sharing out.
What are offspring? [babies]
In what ways do most offspring look like
their parents?
What are some characteristics that an adult
and an offspring might share?
The picture cards are still
available to provide visual
clues to students who have
difficulty expressing their
thoughts.
Adapted: jcash2013 & Claremont Graduate University
How do you know that a puppy isn’t the
offspring of a fish?
Which adult animal cards were the most
difficult to pair with an offspring card?
Why?
Discuss how your group sorted the cards.
What were some of the headings you
chose?
Share some interesting new facts you
learned about an animal pictured on the
cards.
What animals are you interested in learning
more about now?
Identify vocabulary
that will need to be
introduced or
reviewed:
Tier 1 Words: person, animal,
Materials and
resources needed
for lesson:
Book: My Mother is Mine by Marion Dane Bauer, animal cards, scissors, and paper for Double-Bubble Map.
Tier 2 Words: characteristic, adult, Tier 3 Words: trait, genes,
resemble
heredity, offspring, human, inherit
Adapted: jcash2013 & Claremont Graduate University