Lesson Plan

Phenomenon/Driving Question: Why don’t all animals look the same?

Lesson Plan 1: Develop initial understandings/ science talk and Watch live camera video of
polar bear from San Diego Zoo

Learning Objective(s): At the end of this instructional sequence, students will be able to
identify specific ways 3 different animals are able to survive and meet their needs.

Time Estimate: 30 min

Connection to Framework Function: This activity will be covering the pattern framework
function. Students will be making observations and inferences based on what they see and
their prior experiences.

Materials:
 Photo of Polar Bear

 Sticky notes- multiple for 25 students

 Link to San Diego Zoo Polar Bear Cam https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/cams/polar-cam
 Chart paper for anchor chart

Introduction: 5 min
In their seats: Refer back to anchor chart- We have looked at ourselves and why our bodies
look the way that they do, and now we are going to answer questions about why animals look
the way that they do. Today I am going to show you a picture of an animal in its habitat and I
want you to write down a wondering you have about that animal. It could be about the way it
looks or the way it might act. If you don’t have any wonderings, I want you to write down
something you might already know about this animal. In science there are always questions we
can be asking because even people who are scientists and do that as their job don’t know all
the answers. I even have some wonderings about this picture that I might not know the answer
to and that's ok. Throughout this science unit we are going to try and answer some of these
questions together. During this time, I want to give everybody the chance to ask their own
questions so this should be a silent activity. I will give you a chance to share with your
partners after, but we are going to take this time to think on our own first. I will give you 3
minutes to write down your wonderings or ideas so I want you to try and work the whole time.
If you want to write down just a single word to help yourself remember your thoughts for when
it is time to share that is ok too.

Main Teaching Activities: 20 min

Give students the opportunity to share with their table partners. What were some of your
wonderings/observations from the picture? Pull sticks to have people share out what they or
their partner discussed until every group has had a chance to share. Have a thoughtful class
discussion about what answers were shared. Begin somewhat “sorting” student’s ideas into
groups by showing the similarities between student’s answers. Tell the students There is a way
we can watch a real life polar bear from the inside of our very own classroom. Zoos around
the world are meant to help us protect and learn more about animals in the wild that we might
not get see every day. Do we usually see a polar bear walking through Grand Rapids? No, but
we might be able to see one at the zoo. This is a live camera from the San Diego Zoo in
California. We are going to watch it for a couple minutes so you can see how this animal
might act. I want you to look out to see if this video helps you think about some of your
wonderings? (An example could be a student wondering How big is a polar bear? The video
might help the animal to see how big it is relative to other objects in the cage) Have a class
discussion.
After the video, bring the class to the carpet with their sticky notes. Refer back to class
discussion and remind students of some take a ways that you noticed in their responses. Tell
the student Now that we have looked at the polar bear a little bit, I have another question for
you. What does a polar bear need to do and survive? We have discussed what all animals need
to survive, but what does a polar bear need to do? We are going to sort your observations and
questions to help us answer this. Highlight a specific student who was wondering about how
polar bears get food. On a bubble chart, leave the center of the chart blank and come back to it.
One way a polar bear needs to survive is by getting food. On one of the supporting bubbles,
write “To find food”. Does anyone else have a wondering or observation about how polar
bears find food. Sort all responses here. Next, highlight another student response about how
the polar bear stays warm. On another supporting bubble write, “Weather”. The polar bear
needs to survive the cold and stay warm. Does anyone have any responses about how the polar
bear survives the cold? Sort responses here. Ask students what other responses students have.
Create another bubble based on student responses (Some other ideas could be camouflage, or
body shape). Once all the responses have been sorted, fill in the center bubble. Tell students
The reason animals are built the way they are is for very specific purposes. We call these
adaptations. An adaptation helps the animal survive in the area that it lives. For example, a
polar bear might not be able to survive very long somewhere its warm temperatures because it
will get too hot to survive.
Conclusion: 3 min
We are going to continue talking about animal adaptations throughout our unit. Every animal
has adaptations to help it survive just like humans do. We have adaptations that let us breathe
in air. We would not survive very well underwater. There are many many more animals that
we will get to explore!
Academic/Social/Linguistic Supports for individual students. Part of this MUST include
your plan for SPECIFIC STUDENTS (you can name them here or put an initial):

Special Ed/504 Accommodations: RR has a cochlear implant. I will be using the classroom
microphone to ensure that he is able to hear everything clearly.

ELLs:
I am not using academic language for students who are ELL. If students need help sounding
out words, they are able to raise their hand for help. Students are also in the practice of
phonetically sounding words and are comfortable stretching out the sounds that they hear. I
will not be assessing for spelling. There will also be sentence starters for students.

Tier 2 Interventions:
Fe, Ul, Dy, Ad, Mi, all have sticker charts for behavior. This targets certain behaviors such
as raising a quiet hand, staying in their seat, and following the teacher’s instructions. These
behavior charts help to keep students on task who may be prone to getting out of their seat
or blurting out during a lesson.

Assessment (How you know they understood your goal, include DATA):

Students participating in class discussion and writing down their wonderings/observations.

Students will need to participate orally and through writing.