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Marcyana Jones

2nd Grade/ Science

Common Core Standards:

● Living things have physical traits and behaviors, which influence their survival.
● Living things have basic needs, which are met by obtaining materials from the physical environment.
● Living things survive only in environments that meet their needs.
● The characteristics of an organism are a result of inherited traits received from parent(s).

Lesson Summary:

In this lesson, children will be learning about the life cycle by exploring various animals and getting to know their species,
diet, survival techniques, and environment. Children will understand that all living things like ourselves need food, water,
shelter, and to either be warm or cold. After this lesson, they will be able to tell the 5 things needed for survival as well as
have increased knowledge about the life cycle.

Estimated Duration:

This assignment should take approx. 50 mins each day. I will hold a class discussion using a short video and a KWL chart to
give the children an opportunity to express their prior knowledge, ask any new questions they may have. We will save the
L for day 2 after we have completed the assignment in its entirety. Large group will be the time where we get to know our
topic and get to use make hypotheses. The class discussion/ topic introduction should only take about 20 mins. Next, we
will break up into groups of 4 and explore the various animal habitats which will be set up in the correct habitats, and quick
facts on the table to explore. Day 2 will be a completion day where we will jump back into our groups and explore the
tables. Later we will gather to compare and contrast what we observed from each of the tables and fill in the L from our
KWL chart. At the end of this assignment, I will ask an open-ended question such as “ if you could be any animal which
animal would you be?”

Commentary:

As for any second-grade classroom I anticipate the children being focused for extended periods of time being a struggle.
With that being said I have to make sure that I incorporate a variety of activities that go along with the To keep the kids
engaged I want to make sure the activities encourage creativity and acknowledge each child’s abilities. My class
will be designed to set each child for success.
When introducing this lesson the room should be inviting and encourage the children to ask questions and
explore their environment. I will start with playing an interactive game on the smartboard. An animal will appear
along with pictures and facts that go along with the animal. Children will take turns and help each other match
the correct to the animal.

Day 1: First 20 mins: An introductory activity where students will Children will take turns and help each other
match the correct to the animal to various pictures or facts.
20 mins- Children will spend time in small groups exploring various biomes using books, pictures, videos on
national geographic, and puzzles. There will be stations set up. They will each have a passport book and once
they visit a station and complete the activities there then they will get a sticker for that station in their passport
books.
10 mins- We will gather to complete a KWL chart and discuss what we learned and any other things we want to
know about regarding a biome or animal.

Day 2: For the first 10 minutes of class we will recap on day 1, then I will introduce the project of the day. we will be using
what we learned to create a mini animal report.
25 mins: Students will go back into their groups and choose an animal to report on. In their report, they will include its
habitat, prey or who it is a predator to, or if it is awake year-round, for example, bears hibernate in the winter.
25mins: Just like day 1, but we will spend 25minutes at the end of class as a whole doing a knowledge check and giving
feedback on what you thought about your explorations. each group will share their reports with the class.

Pre-Assessment:
For the pretest, students will get a 10 question test in which I will read each of the questions and each answer
choice. The children will then make a thoughtful selection for each question. After the pretest, they will turn in the
tests then as a class we will go over the answers to see how much they knew.

Scoring Guidelines:

The pretest will just be a pass or fail grade all I want is to see what the children know and how much I need to go over as
we move forward. For this test, I want to see that the students are participating and trying not just giving an answer. you
can Fail if you do not put thought into your work.
Post-Assessment:
After we complete our projects we will have a post-assessment. I will read the questions and answer choices then students
will turn in their papers. I will be looking to see how much they have learned and evaluated how I can plan around this
topic for another tine

Scoring Guidelines:
This assessment will be graded based on how many questions they got right. this is a post-test so it is important
that the children have enough time to make accurate decisions vs. the pretest. this test will be graded on accuracy.

Differentiated Instructional Support

Describe how instruction can be differentiated (changed or altered) to meet the needs of gifted or accelerated students:
this might be an extra “challenge” assignment using technology, or an opportunity for these students to peer-tutor
students who are struggling- explain

Discuss additional activities you could do to meet the needs of students who might be struggling with the material:

Extension
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/biome/
This site provides information on various biomes and their characteristics. Students can benefit from this site by he
strengthening their prior knowledge about ecosystems.
https://a-z-animals.com/animals/mammals/
This site holds information about animals from A-Z.
https://www.worldwildlife.org/habitats
This site holds information about conserving habitats for animals. it includes a brief overview of an

Homework Options and Home Connections

Describe work that will be assigned to students outside of the classroom. (In the next assignment, you may provide
“examples” (generated by you) of student work if possible). Brainstorm ways that you could make these homework
activities technology-based.
Materials and Resources:

For teachers

Smartboard, shoeboxes that I will use to create my biome displays, Play Animals,
informational books for 2nd graders on specific animal habitats

For students chromebooks, Pencils, Laminated note cards, small booklets,crayons, markers,

Key Vocabulary
Habitat
Hibernate
Prey
Predator
Mammal
reptile
amphibian

Additional Notes