Animal Habitats

Unit Plan Contextual Factors

DIXIE STATE COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION UNIT PLAN TEMPLATE Semesters 1& 2
Teacher Candidate: April Talbot Content: Animal Habitats

Step 1 DESIRED RESULTS A. Utah State Core Curriculum Standard Utah Core Standards science - 2nd grade Standard 4: Life Science. Students will gain an understanding of Life Science through the study of changes in organisms over time and the nature of living things. Objective 2 Identify basic needs of living things (plants and animals) and their abilities to meet their needs. a. Communicate and justify how the physical characteristics of living things help them meet their basic needs. B. Enduring Understanding/Big Idea Animals live in different habitats. Different habitats, Ocean, Rain Forest, Tundra, Desert. C. Concepts C1. Students will gain an understanding of Life Science through the study of changes in organisms over time and the nature of living things. C2. Students will understand simple geometry and measurement concepts as well as collect, represent, and draw conclusions from data C3. Students understand, interpret, and analyze narrative and informational grade level text. C4. Students will be able to apply scientific processes, communicate scientific ideas effectively, and understand the nature of science. C5. Students will acquire number sense with whole numbers and fractions and perform operations with whole numbers. D. Skills S1. Identify basic needs of living things (plants and animals) and their abilities to meet their needs. S2. Describe data represented on charts and graphs and answer simple questions related to data representations. S3. Apply strategies to comprehend text. Ask questions about text read aloud and independently. S4. Communicate effectively using science language and reasoning a. Developing social interaction skills with peers. b. Sharing ideas with peers. S5. Compare and contrast the characteristics of living things in different habitats. S6. Identify and describe even and odd whole numbers. E. Essential Questions/Guiding Questions What are the basic elements that animals need to survive? What characteristics do different animals have to live in a certain habitat? How are the animals in ocean, rain forest, tundra, and desert habitat the same? How are they different? How are the different habitats the same? How are they different? How can you collect and share information using bar graphs and picture graphs? How can we find information on different habitats? Where are the ocean, rain forest, tundra, and desert habitats located in the United States? What elements should you use when writing a story? Step 2 ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE S1. Basic needs worksheet. Identify basic needs of living things (plants and animals) and their abilities to

meet their needs. S2. Complete the animal graph and answer simple questions related to data representations. S3. Complete a graphic organizer to comprehend text. S4. Writing a paragraph about the animal they chose and sharing their ideas with peers. S5. Write an information book with a beginning, middle, and end comparing and contrasting the characteristics of living things in different habitats. S6. Complete the counting by 2s. Step 3 INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES & LEARNING ACTIVITIES Animal activity game on animals needs. Have students draw the bar graph and explain the information. Graphic organizer to comprehend text. Class discussion for each student and the animal they selected. Make a habitat information book and share with class.
Adapted from: McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2005). Understanding by design, 2nd ed. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.; Ainsworth, L. (2003). Unwrapping the standards: A simple process to make standards manageable. Denver, CO: Advanced Learning Press.

Contextual Factors Mrs. April Talbot teaches at Heritage Elementary School in St. George. Heritage Elementary School is located in St. George, UT and is one of 24 elementary schools in Washington County School District. It is a public school that serves 579 students in grades K-5. Heritage Elementary School made AYP in 2009. Under No Child Left Behind, a school makes Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) if it achieves the minimum levels of improvement determined by the state of Utah in terms of student performance and other accounting measures. In 2008, Heritage Elementary School had 25 students for every full-time equivalent teacher. The Utah average is 24 students per full-time equivalent teacher. Learn more about Heritage Schools students and teachers.

Heritage School Student Diversity

Ethnic Group White Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander Black American Indian/Alaskan Native Percentage 88% 6% 4% < 1% < 1%

Mrs. Talbots First Grade

The students in this class require a highly structured classroom environment. Several seem to be delayed in their social and cognitive development. These students require a great deal of teacher support, encouragement and direction. They need well-defined procedures they can follow throughout the day. The students in this class also enjoy creative projects that allow them to make their own decisions about the process they use to design their project. 15 boys 9 girls 2 students parents divorced and remarried within 1 year 1 student experiencing a custody battle between parents 1 student observed parents being arrested currently lives with grandparent 1 ELL student, Spanish primary language spoken in home 8 students below grade level in reading and math 5 students above grade level in reading and math 7 students on grade level 2 students identified as gifted

Testing Data
Fall (3-8/D-E) Student ELL/ AL RES Ind. Level Winter (10-14/G-H) Spring (16-18/I-J) Spelling Inventory (1-2-3-4)

% 97 98 97

Comp

Ind. Level

Comp

Ind. Level

% 99 95 95 96 100

Comp

Oct. 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 3 --

Jan. 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 2

Apr. 4 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 3 2 3 3 4 2

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S

ELL

8 3 2 2 -2 -2 -2 8 1 1 3 3 6 16+ 16+

16 16 -------18 ---

100 96 99 100 100 96 96 100 100 100

16 18

28 6 8 6 4 8 4 2 10 12 24 7 4 12 10 14 28 34 4

34 16 12 16 20

22 18 18 20 21

12 16 * 8 6 20 16 34 34

96 96 94 95 97 99 100 100

16 21 16 16 17 21 20 23

96

16

14

18

99

21

Fall Students Enrolled Students Tested # At Risk (Below Benchmark) % At Risk 20 20 10 50% 20 20 8 40%

Winter 20 20 8 40%

Spring