UDL Lesson Plan Template
Lesson Overview:
Title: Let’s Build a Pond
State Standard:
Standard 3.0 Life Science
The students will use scientific skills and processes to
explain the dynamic nature of living things, their
interactions, and the results from the interactions that occur
over time.
1. Explain that in any particular environment, the growth and survival
of organisms and species depend on the physical conditions.
Standard 6.0 Environmental Science
Students will use scientific skills and processes to explain the
interactions of environmental factors (living and non-living)
and analyze their impact from a local to a global
perspective.
1. Recognize and explain that human-caused changes have
consequences for Maryland's environment as well as for other places
and future times.
3.6.8 Explain that food, water, and air provide molecules that serve as
building materials and supply energy for all organisms.
6.6.5 Cite examples illustrating how human activities can accelerate or
magnify many naturally occurring changes (i.e., erosion, air and
water quality, populations).
NETS Student Standard 3: Technology productivity tools
Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase
productivity, and promote creativity.
Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing
technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other
creative works.
NETS Teacher Standard II: PLANNING AND DESIGNING LEARNING
ENVIRONMENTS AND EXPERIENCES.
Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and
experiences supported by technology.
NETS Teacher Standard III: TEACHING, LEARNING, AND THE
CURRICULUM.
Teachers implement curriculum plans that include methods and
strategies for applying technology to maximize student learning.
Author: MCPS/modified by Beth Poss
Subject: Science
Grade Level: 6th grade
Duration: 45 minutes
Lesson Description:
Overview: Students pairs will brainstorm materials needed to build a
pond and then will share their ideas with the class. The teacher will
record materials using the interactive white board and Inspiration
software, creating a graphic organizer for the students to use to sort
biotic and abiotic factors. Students will then work together as a group
to build a habitat in a classroom environment that has the biotic and
abiotic factors necessary to support a population of fish. Following this
hands on, kinesthetic experience, the students will write a letter from
the viewpoint of a goldfish on the new home they have just built,
taking into account the impact the biotic and abiotic factors as well as
human activity on the ecosystem.
Goals: Enduring Understanding:
Abiotic factors (water, air, and
sunlight) and biotic factors (food) interact to create ecosystems
Essential Question: What factors are necessary to support an
ecosystem?
Methods:
Preparation:
 put empty aquarium on a table where it is visible to all students
 set up interactive white board with Build a Pond graphic
organizer
 reserve computer lab for last 25 minutes of class and 1st ten
minutes of next class
Anticipatory Set:
Engage: Think/Pair/Share—Whole class (5 minutes)
Place the empty aquarium on a table in front of the classroom. Tell
students that today you will build a pond! Have students think about
what is needed to turn the empty aquarium into a small ecosystem
that will support goldfish. Students share their thoughts with a
partner, then groups share answers with their class. You will record
responses with Inspiration software in the Build a Pond organizer,
using the interactive white board system. Note: Use the Rapidfire
tool to quickly add to the list of materials
(Note: included students with significant communication needs will
have communication boards with materials and/or voice output devices
with vocabulary programmed)
Explore: Build a Pond Demo—Whole class (20 minutes)
Discuss with the students what needs to be added to the aquarium, in
what amounts, and in what order. Add this information to the list of
materials on the interactive while board. Students help add materials
in the amounts and order that has been determined by the class. As
the students add materials, using the Build a Pond graphic organizer,
have students take turns coming up to the white board and sorting the
materials into abiotic and biotic factors. They can drag the materials
into the appropriate box using the white board pen.
Explain: Supporting Ideas—Individual (20 minutes)
Move to the computer lab. Students write a letter as the goldfish, with
the prompt below. In the Class Shared Folder on the school network,
provide a file in Word and Kurzweil with the writing prompt, and a file
with the prompt and a template of a friendly letter. The saved Build a
Pond graphic organizer with the materials sorted should also be
available in the shared folder for reference by the students. Allow
students to choose the amount of scaffolding for the lesson that they
prefer, reminding those with text to speech accommodations on their
IEP’s that Kurzweil is available. Remind students with word prediction
accommodations to open Co:Writer or Word Cue when they begin
writing.
Prompt:
Imagine that YOU are the goldfish! Write a letter to your friend in
which you describe your new home. Does it have everything you
need? Will you be happy there? Explain your answers. Be sure to
refer to the Goldfish Letter rubric as you write
Peer Editing: (5 minutes)
Be sure students save their work.
Students should swap computers and read a peer’s letter. Have
students enable Track Changes from the Tools Menu (for letters
written in Word) or use the Notes feature (for letters written in
Kurzweil) and record comments and feedback based on the Goldfish
Letter rubric.
Follow up: (10 minutes)
Use the first 10 minutes of the next class to edit letters and turn into
the teacher’s in/out box on the network.
Assessment: (Formative)
Students are assessed using the following rubric, which has been
provided prior to beginning their writing:
Goldfish Letter
Rubric
Criteria
Letter format
Abiotic/Biotic
Factors
Impact of human
activities
Unsatisfactory
Letter is not written
according to the
guidelines for a
friendly letter.
Few or no abiotic
and biotic factors
that make up the
home (less than 3)
are listed and the
affect of these is
not described.
Satisfactory
Letter is written
adhering to most of
the guidelines for a
friendly letter.
Some examples of
abiotic and biotic
factors that make
up the home are
listed (between
3and 5) and some
of the ways that
these factors affect
the home positively
or negatively are
described.
The impact of
human activities on
the ecosystem is
not described.
The impact of
human activities on
the ecosystem is
described.
Exemplary
Letter is written
adhering to the
guidelines for a
friendly letter.
A variety of
examples of abiotic
and biotic factors
(at least 6) that
make up the home
are listed and the
ways that these
factors affect the
home positively or
negatively are
described with
supporting details.
The impact of
human activities on
the ecosystem is
described in detail.
Materials:
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10-25 gallon aquarium
Dirt
Gravel
Aquatic plant
Feeder goldfish (1-3)
Fish food
Interactive White Board
Inspiration with Build a Pond graphic organizer
Computer lab with the following available:
o Microsoft Word
o Kurzweil or other talking word processor
o Co:Writer or Word Cue word prediction software
o Writing prompt in Word and Kurzweil
o Friendly letter template with Writing prompt in Word
and Kurzweil
o Headphones
 Communication Boards/Voice Output devices as needed
Additional Materials for Support/Building Background Knowledge:
 http://www.brainpop.com/science/populationsandecosystems/ec
osystems/preview.weml
 United Streaming Video “Human Impact on the Balance of
Ecosystems