Understanding by Design Unit Template
For Drafting Designs
Unit Cover Page
Unit Title: Animal Habitat
Subject/Topic Areas: Kindergarten / Science
Designed by: H.R., S.Z., G.L., L.D., J.W.
Time Frame: 3-4 Weeks
Brief Summary of Unit (including curricular context and unit goals)
What is the purpose of this unit? What should students learn in this unit? How does it relate to units that precede it, and those that
come after? What are the most important understandings that students should take away from the unit? What are the themes,
essential questions, or big ideas? What will the major performance assessment be?
This unit has been developed and meant to be implemented during the kindergarten classroom which is intended to
provide students an opportunity to further their understandings of animals and their habitats. The students should learn
about the different local habitats (pond, forest and underground) and the animals which live in these regions. The
information presented in this unit is tied to a number of different standards and other lessons which are taught
throughout the year such as: sorting and classifying, asking open-ended questions, making observations and drawing
conclusions, describing how plants and animals resemble their parents, and using five senses to make observations about
the natural world. The unit also directly connects to the real world local experiences of the student body. The most
important thematic understandings include: basic needs of survival and the adaptive behavior of living organisms. The
learning process during the unit engages students in small group, large group and independent tasks. Students will be
assessed based upon their performance during a presentation of an animal and its habitat.
Unit Design Status:
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Completed template pages—Stages 1, 2, and 3
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Completed rubrics
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Directions to students and teachers
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Materials and resources listed or included
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Suggested accommodations
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Suggested extensions
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Samples of student work as “anchors” included
Status:
? Initial draft (date ______________)
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Revised draft (date _____________)
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Peer reviewed
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Field tested
Stage 1—Desired Results
Established Goals: State Standards or goals addressed in this unit
 All organisms have identifiable structures and characteristics that allow for survival.
 ES #2, LS #1,4,6
Understandings:
Essential Questions:
Appropriate Overarching Essential Questions from the Course
Students will understand that. . .
Appropriate Overarching Understandings from Course
Frameworks
Frameworks.
 What would happen to an organism that wasn’t
 Characteristics help living things live in their
having its needs met?
environment
 What do animals need to survive in their
 Living things have basic needs that must be met in order
environment?
to survive
 Why are living things able to survive in one place
Topical Understandings that are specific to the unit topic:
and not another?
Students will understand that….
Topical essential questions that are specific to the unit topic
 Living things in reside in local habitats (pond, forest,
and underground)
Students will know. . .
 What key knowledge and content will students acquire as a
result of this unit? (key concepts, processes, formulas,
vocabulary)
 Students will need to know what a habitat is and will
list the animals and plants in it. Identify basic needs of
all animals and plants.
 Sort and classify living and non-living things.
Students will be able to. . .
 What skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?
What should they eventually be able to do as a result of these
new skills?(see performance indicators in state standards)
 Investigate a specific animal
 Demonstrate an understanding of habitat and be able to
describe the animals which live in that habitat
Stage 2—Assessment Evidence
Authentic Performance Tasks Using Grasps Format:
Through what authentic performance tasks (using GRASPS) will students demonstrate the desired understandings?
Goal of task related to understandings: The goal is for students to research an animal and its habitat. Upon completing
the research, students will create an Animal Habitat report that will be incorporated into a class book.
Role: You are an author/illustrator and have been asked to create one page for an animal habitat book that will be shared
with your class. Your job is select one animal and research that animal and its habitat.
Audience: The target audience is a kindergarten class (or another kindergarten class!).
Situation or Context of Scenario: You are an author now and you will be presenting your page in the class book to your
classmates.
Product(s) or Performances for evaluation: You will complete the Animal Report page as your graphic organizer. Once
completed, you will use the information from the Animal Report to write one page about your animal and its habitat. You
will also illustrate a picture of your animal. The graphic organizer will be evaluated with a rubric and the book page will
be shared with the class.
Standards for evaluation (see below): Your work will be evaluated with a rubric. Your graphic organizer needs to be
completed in a neat manner with complete facts. The class book page should meet kindergarten writing expectations and
the illustrations should be detailed.
Key Criteria or Rubric:
By what criteria will performances of understanding be judged? (S of GRASPS)
Animal Report Rubric
 3: Ten out of ten facts are given on the animal report.
 2: Seven out of ten facts are given on the animal report.
 1: Less than seven facts are given on the animal report.
Presentation Rubric
 3: Presents all information independently.
 2: Presents all information with some teacher support.
 1: Presents all information with much teacher support.
Other Formative and Summative Evidence:
What diagnostic or pre-assessment about the unit concepts, content, or skills will guide teacher instruction?
 Knowing the local environment which each student is exposed to be a major understanding which must be used to guide
instruction.
 KW (L) – Brainstorming as a class to find out what we know about local living organisms and habitats, as well as things
we would like to find out or questions we have about local living organisms and habitats.
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Through what other evidence (e.g., quizzes, tests, academic prompts, observations, homework, journals) will students demonstrate
progress or achievement toward the desired results? How will the teacher use this formative assessment to guide instruction and
students?
Students will progress toward the desired results. In order to fully understand an animal and its habitat, an individual
could focus on a specific local animal, guiding instruction through scientific inquiry.
 Animal report: Students will research and discuss habitats and animals that live in them. They will complete a project
that features an animal in its habitat.
 Observations: Students will observe and record information about local plants and animals in order to more clearly
make sense of adaptive behaviors and characteristics of the living organisms.
 Sorting: Students will be given various pictures of living things and will sort according to the environment in which the
animal lives in.
 Writer’s workshop: Students will create a drawing showing an animal in its habitat and will write and tell how the
habitat helps it to survive.
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How will students reflect upon and self-assess their learning?
 Students will be able to read each animal report after they are displayed or published in the classroom. The
students will be able to assess their own work, as well as exploring and examining the various reports which have
been completed by their classmates.
 Students will be rereading their own work from their writer’s workshop lesson in this unit. After rereading the
writer’s workshop pages which they have composed, the students will share the pages with his/her classmates.
Stage 3—Learning Plan
Lessons and Activities should be aligned with Stages 1 and 2 best outlined in the order they are to be taught
Label the purpose of the activity: What learning experiences and instruction will enable students to achieve the desired
results? How will the design:
W = Help the students know Where the unit is going and What is expected? Help the teacher know Where the
students are coming from (prior knowledge, interests)?
H = Hook all students and Hold their interest?
E = Equip students, help them Experience the key ideas and Explore the issues?
R = Provide opportunities to Rethink, Reflect, and Revise their understandings and work?
E = Allow students to Evaluate their work and its implications?
T = Be Tailored (personalized) to the different needs, interests, and abilities of learners?
O = Be Organized to maximize initial and sustained engagement as well as effective learning? This is day by day
Please also label at the end of the activity the appropriate learning principle AMT. (label with capital A, M, or T) How will activities
within the unit provide a balance of transfer, meaning making, and acquisition activities to guide students toward understanding?
Children’s Literature with Animal Habitat Unit:
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TIME TO SLEEP by Denise Fleming
DIARY OF A WORM by Doreen Cronin
IN THE SMALL, SMALL POND by Denise Fleming
FOREST EXPLORER by Nic Bishop
THE TEENY WEENY TADPOLE by Sheridan Cain
TREE HOMES by Carol Ghiglieri
UNDERGROUND HOMES by Jeff Bauer
IN A TREE by David M. Schwartz
IN THE FOREST by David M. Schwartz
AT THE POND by David M. Schwartz
HOW GROUNDHOG’S GARDEN GREW by Lynne Cherry
THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS HOPS HOME by Pat Reef
FITTING IN by Gilda Berger
CRINKLEROOT’S GUIDE TO KNOWING ANIMAL HABITATS by Jim Arnosky
ANIMAL HABITATS by Judy Press
ANIMAL HABITATS OF THE UNITED STATES by Jeff Corwin
WHERE DO ANIMALS LIVE? by AnnMarie McLaughlin
WHAT LIVES IN THE FOREST? by Oona Gaarder-Jutti
POND ANIMALS by Francine Galko
FOREST ANIMALS by Connor Dayton
A FOREST HABITAT by Bobbie Kalman
ALL KINDS OF HABITATS by Sally Hewitt
ANIMAL HOME by Ann O. Squire
Day 1: Lesson Focus:
(all lessons have 2 letters, one from WHERETO and one from AMT.)
Day 2: Lesson Focus:
Day 3: Lesson Focus: