Birth
Developing into an adult
Reproducing
Aging and death
Language Function: In the table below highlight the one most important language
function for your lesson. Explain why you chose this.
I chose summarize because students will have to summarize the stages of the life cycle in
their own words.
Analyze
Argue
Categorize
Interpret
Predict
Question
Compare/contras
t
Retell
Describe
Explain
Summarize
Scientific Vocabulary: What are the key scientific terms that your students will learn
through this lesson?
Life Cycle: This has four stages; birth, development into an adult, reproducing, aging and
death.
Instructional Objective: Given an index card, students will be able to summarize and write
down in their own words the 5 stages of the life cycle correctly, if students have 3-4 correct this
will show partial understanding and all five correct will show complete understanding of the life
cycle.
Prior Knowledge (student): None is needed. General knowledge of certain parts of a life cycle,
and some background information about Australia animals would be helpful during these
activities though.
Content Knowledge (teacher): The teacher needs to understand what the 10 most popular
Australian animals are and the life cycles that they go through. The 10 most popular animals are
Kangaroos, Koala, Emu, Kookaburra, Platypuses, Echidna, Tasmanian devil, Dingo, Wallaby,
and wombat. The teacher can look up pictures of each of the life cycles on google.com. The
national geographic website also has some videos of some of the animals from this list that will
help with the understanding of life cycles.
Connections to Students Lives: The teacher can explain to the students that even though we
talked about Australian animals and the life cycle that they have, people, plants and common
household pets also go through a life cycle. The teacher can explain that every student right now
is at a stage of their life, and they were born and are getting older and will eventually get into the
adult stage of their life cycle. This will let students see that every living thing around them goes
through a life cycle.
Accommodations for Students with Special Needs (individual and/or small group):
Students that need extra help or if they are confused with the activity given
will be place at a table with the assistant teacher for one-on-one help where
she will go over the directions again with the student and work through the
activity slowly.
Materials and Technology Requirements:
Index Cards
Bag for each group of three students, with animal names and adult animal
adult animal. They should discuss this for about 5 minutes and try to come to a conclusion to
what baby animal belongs to what name. Groups should also discuss the difference they see
between the adult and the baby animal. The teacher should then ask the kids to hold up the baby
animal that they think belongs to the kangaroo, the students should hold up the animal that they
think it belongs to. The teacher should tell the class the correct number that it should be for
example the baby kangaroo would have a one on the back of the picture so students could look
for this. This should continue until all of the baby animal pictures have been discussed. The
teacher should discuss questions like, how did you think you knew what baby animal matched
up with the adult animal? What were the similarities that you saw? The teacher should talk
about how this is the birthing part of the life cycle and it is very important or these animals
wouldnt be alive.
Evaluate: The teacher will then pass out an index card and will have the student write down in
their own words the steps of the life cycle. The teacher should be able to evaluate the students
understanding by looking at the way the students wrote about the steps of the lifecycle. The
students will show complete understanding if they get all 5 steps of the life cycle, and partial
understanding if they get 3-4 steps of the life cycle. Anything below 3 steps shows no
understanding of the life cycle.
To be completed after the lesson is taught (if applicable)
Assessment Results of All Objectives/Skills:
Nine of the students had complete understanding and correctly identified all of the steps
of the life cycle. The other twelve students correctly identified 3-4 steps of the life cycle.
One student showed no understanding of the life cycle. This one student is the only
student that is below grade level. While I was teaching the lesson, the assistant had this
student pulled and was slowly going over what I was teaching step by step to modify and
help.
Graded Elements
Developing (Level 1)
Acceptable (Level 2)
Exemplary (Level 3)
Initial Planning
Several required components are
missing. The components presented
do not align well with the lesson.
(0-1 point)
(2 points)
(3 points)
(0-1 point)
(2 points)
(3 points)
Identification of academic
language demand (both
language function & vocab),
instructional objective, and
content knowledge
(0-1 point)
(2 points)
(3 points)
Identification of connections
to students lives, prior
knowledge, and
accommodations for special
needs
(0-1 point)
(2 points)
(3 points)
Identification of central
focus, lesson subject, grade
level, materials, time, lesson
source, and safety
Identification of NC
Standards, NGSS, 4 Strands
and 21st Century Skills
Lesson Introduction
Engage
(0-2 points)
(3-4 points)
Lesson Development
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
(0-2 points)
(3-4 points)
(5 points)
(0-2 points)
(3-4 points)
(5 points)
(0-2 points)
(3-4 points)
(5 points)
Lesson Evaluation
Assessment is limited to one form in a
single stage and does not relate to
the objective(s).
(0-2 points)
(3-4 points)
(5 points)
Evaluate
Alignment/structure of
lesson
Communication of ideas
(3 points)
(0 point)
(1 point)
(2 points)
(0-1 point)
(2 points)
(3 points)