Planning Guide
Creating Learner-Focused
Schools
* Madison-Oneida BOCES- This document may not be reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of the District Superintendent or his designee.
| LU Title: Fatten Up or Freeze |
Author(s): Bill Breitenbuecher, Anthony Beck, Kathleen Marceau |
| Grade Level: 2-3 |
School Address: Guardino
Elementary School |
| Subject Area: Science |
School Phone/Fax:315-654-5578,
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CONTENT KNOWLEDGE
| Declarative |
Procedural |
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ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
INITIATING ACTIVITY
DAY ONE: Give each student a card with a July, August, January or February date. Ask them to pack their backpacks for the following day to include clothing, a lunch, and an object to represent an activity you might do on that date. The following day, maintain a discussion with the class about the various dates and items students have brought in and tell how they are alike or different.
Level: Science level: 2-3
| Standard- MST#2-Information Systems- Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies. Key Idea#1-Information technology is used to retrieve, process, and communicate information and as a tool to enhance learning. 3. Students will access needed information from printed media, electronic data basis, and community resources. |
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Standard- MST#4-Science Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principals, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science. Key Idea#1-Earth's motion and perspective
Key Idea#2-Many of the phenomena that we observe on Earth involve interactions among of air, water, and land. 1. Students will use the concepts of density and heat energy to explain observations of weather patterns, seasonal changes. |
| Standard: MST#4-Science The Living Environment Key Idea #6-Plants and animals depend on each other and their physical environment.
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Standard: ELA#1 Key Idea #1-Listening and Reading to acquire information involves collecting data, facts, and ideas; discovering relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and using knowledge from oral, written, and electronic sources. 1.apply reading skills and strategies to variety of informational books. 2.use books to gather information for research topics. 6.summarize information found in texts. Key Idea#2-Speaking and writing to acquire and transmit information requires asking probing and clarifying questions, interpreting information one's own words, applying information from one context to another, and presenting the information and interpretation clearly, concisely and comprehensibly. 1.write in a variety of formats. 4.use general, frequently used words to convey basic ideas. 6.use prewriting strategies to plan written work...use strategies to draft and revise written work…use strategies to edit and publish written work. 7.use conventions of spelling, capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure… |
Unit Theme:
| Standard: Social Studies#3 Geography Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live-local, national, and global-including the distribution of people, places and environments over the Earth's surface. |
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Standard: |
| Key Idea #1 Two essential elements of geography-physical settings, environment 5. Know ways in which people depend on the physical environment. |
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Learning Experiences
Declarative Knowledge
| What declarative knowledge should studentsbe in the process of acquiring & integrating? As a result of the unit, the student will know or understand… |
What experiences or activities will be used to help students acquire & integrate this knowledge? |
What strategies will be used to help students construct meaning, organize and/or store the knowledge? |
| Concept: Elements of winter environment. *Temperature *Amount of daylight *Frozen water and ground *Decreased foliage *Precipitation/ground cover (snow) Concept: Adaptation *Animals store food *People eat different foods *Predation becomes more difficult causing physical changes *physical changes in animals *People wear different clothing *Animals and people prepare their shelter *Hibernation *Migration of animals and people |
Research *Almanac *Newspaper *Guest speaker
*Videos, films, filmstrips *CD's: Nat. GeographicMammals; Animals *Internet *Field trip to a zoo, nature center or natural history museum *Library books: "When It Starts To Snow" Phillis Gershator *Discussions *Guest speaker |
Brainstorming Small Groups Cooperative Learning
Advance Organizer Questions Construct meaning for Vocabulary Terms Graphic Organizers (Comparative Chart) Physical and Pictographic Representations |
Describe what will be done.
DAY TWO:
After the initiating activity give the students copies of the weather information section of a local newspaper from July and January. Organize the students into small groups and give the groups sets of questions requiring this information: High/Low Temperature, Sunrise/Sunset Times, Type and Amount of Precipitation
Using a chart the class will reunite to share what the small groups have found. This should include all of the above, but the Sunrise/Sunset times should be converted to hours of daylight. This discussion should conclude by focusing on the elements of winter weather.
Students will be given a winter picture showing people or animals inappropriately adapted for the season. (See attached). (Or teachers may supply pictures and materials of their choices and use other materials to depict this). They will study the pictures with a partner and locate the errors. Each pair will explain to the class the errors that they have found in their pictures.
DAY THREE:
Students will use almanacs in cooperative pairs to identify common elements (temperature, daylight, precipitation) for winter.
DAY FOUR: SEE PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE
DAY FIVE:A local meteorologist will be invited to speak concerning winter weather and temperature changes.
DAY SIX: Referring to the initiating activity, have the class discuss how the elements of Winter influenced what they brought in their backpacks. Construct the first two parts of a KWL chart stating what the students know about local animals and what they want to know about those animals. One or more of following videos or filmstrips, or other appropriate materials can be used: Winter Filmstrip from National Geographic "The Season's" Kit
DAY SEVEN: Students will view the video: "Where Do Animals Go In Winter?" National Geographic M51743
Students will view video: "Animals in All Kinds of Weather" National Geographic NG51366
Students will view video: "Eyewitness: Pond and River" BBC Worldwide Americas Series
Following the viewing of one or more of the above, the teacher will discuss the following vocabulary terms: adaptation, hibernation, source.
DAY EIGHT: In a small group brainstorming session, students will identify animals native to their locality. They will decide if these animals will migrate or remain during winter months. The class will then add to the "K" and "W" of a list of adaptations that they think they know about the non-migratory animals.
THE NEXT TWO ACTIVITIES CAN BE DONE AT ANY TIME DURING THE UNIT:
Arrange a visit to a local nature center or zoo. Ask the educators at these facilities to speak to your class about various adaptations made by the animals they see.
Invite local experts on animals and their habits to speak to the class. Ask them to focus on seasonal adaptations of animals.
DAY NINE: SEE PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE SECTION
DAYS TEN AND ELEVEN: Students will choose an animal to research. The Librarian will assist at this as students use appropriate materials to answer the following questions. These questions will be given as an "advanced organizer" or in the form of a web (graphic organizer):
Does your animal hibernate?
Where does your animal live in the winter?
What does your animal eat or do to prepare during the winter?
Does your animal look different in the winter?
What does your animal do during the winter?
DAY ELEVEN: Following the research the class will make a comparative chart of the information they have learned about their animals.
FINAL PROJECT:
After this the final mural and writing pieces will be produced.
Learning Experiences
Procedural Knowledge
| What procedural knowledge will students be in the process of acquiring & integrating? As a result of this unit, students will be able to: |
What will be done to help students construct models, shape & internalize the knowledge? |
Describe what will be done. |
| Research a topic using a variety of sources including books, encyclopedia, CD's and the Internet. Read a thermometer, both Fahrenheit and Celsius, and identify a typical summer and winter temperature for their region |
Demonstrate and provide practice. Provide students with a written set of directions. Demonstrate and provide practice. |
DAY FOUR: Model the location of the range of summer and winter temperatures on the Fahrenheit and Celsius thermometers. Assist cooperative pairs of students to correctly locate three temperatures within the average range of the summer and winter in your area. DAY NINE: Isolate the key vocabulary the students will need to research their animals. Assist the students as they go through the sources where they are able to find information about the changes their animals go through to survive winter. |
Learning Experiences
Extending and Refining
| What knowledge will students be extending and refining? Specifically, they will be extending and refining their understanding of… |
What reasoning process will they be using? |
Describe what will be done. |
| The effects of climate on living things. The local geography and climate and the animals which live there. What living things need to adapt to remain healthy. |
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FINAL PROJECT: Students will draw, color or paint a picture/mural contrasting the differences in the geography and animals during the summer/winter seasons. Students will follow the writing process steps to compose a paragraph explaining similarities and differences among animals and their adaptations through the summer/winter seasons. Students will list the reasons that living things need to adapt to remain healthy. |
| Planning Guide |
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Unit: |
| Step 1 |
Step 2 |
Step 3 |
| What knowledge will students be using meaningfully? Specifically, they will be demonstrating their understanding of and ability to........... |
What reasoning process will they be using? |
Describe student's products and performances and the criteria for evaluation. |
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[ ] Decision Making |
Products/Performances Students will produce a picture/mural showing the differences of local animals' adaptations from summer and winter. They will also be able to explain these changes in a researched, written piece about a local animal of their choice. Students will be able to show an emergent ability to locate the above information using a variety of sources appropriately. Students will be able to orally compare the changes people and animals make during the summer and the winter. |
| Criteria for evaluation
Correct information on both the mural and written composition of adaptations of: location, shelter, physical changes, and food source. Picture quality is neat, controlled, exhibits a strong effort, measures appropriately to scale and is pleasing to look at. The written piece should be computer generated or written with good organization, edited for grammar, spelling and punctuation. |
Rubric:
Key Questions:
What are the key elements, traits, or dimensions that will be evaluated?
The correct factual information learned from appropriate assisted research and the use of two or more research materials. Correct comparison and contrast of adaptation information. A neat, well organized piece of artwork and quality of writing. Use of technology, writing and art materials, as well as research materials.
Are the identified elements of equal importance or will they be weighed differently?
The first and third elements are weighted much higher because the correct information acquired is more important to the academic expectations of this unit.
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Element #1 |
Element #2 |
Element #3 |
Element #4 |
| Elements Scale |
Information about animal adaptations |
Paragraph |
Picture Information |
Picture Quality |
| Weights |
4 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
| 4 |
Includes all four criteria: location, shelter, Physical changes, food source |
Computer generated with good organization, edited for grammar, spelling and punctuation |
Shows animal with appropriate adaptations: shelter, food, activity and or physical changes |
Neat controlled strong effort to scale color pleasing to look at |
| 3 |
Includes only three of the above criteria |
Computer generated with some organization and few errors |
Shows animal in appropriate location with only two adaptations |
Some effort, neat, controlled, color |
| 2 |
Includes only two of the above criteria |
Computer generated with many errors |
Shows animal in appropriate location, but without proper food, shelter, or activity and no physical changes |
Weak effort incorrect color lack of control |
| 1 |
Includes only one of the above criteria |
Hand written, poorly organized with unedited grammar, spelling, and punctuation |
Shows animalwith incorrect shelter, food, activity or physical changes |
Little concern for quality, messy, no color, out of scale |
NOTE: Rubric or other performance asessment instruments may be used.
(Rubric or Activity Specific Key)
Key Questions:
* How many score points are needed to discriminate among the full range of different degrees of understanding, proficiency, or quality?
This response, product, or performance provides evidence of understanding of winter adaptations
| Score Point 4 |
Score Point 3 |
| [ ]Completely understands the need for and variety of adaptations animals and people make for winter including shelter, food, physical activity/changes and location |
[ ] Partially understands the need for and identifies some of the adaptations made by people and animals in winter. |
| [ ]Accurately reads a thermometer and identifies correct temperatures within a seasonal range. |
[ ]Can read the thermometer to the nearest 5 degrees and identify temperatures appropriate for winter. |
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| Score Point 2 |
Score Point 1 |
| [ ]Identifies changes made by animals and people but cannot give reasons for these changes. |
[ ]Can identify one change one animal might make for winter. |
| [ ]Can tell if a temperature is warm or cold, but cannot read thermometer independently. |
[ ]Knows winter is cold and summer is hot, but cannot relate this to temperature. |
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Have You Considered These Yet?
Learn to Learn Skills: Students will be assisted in the use of a variety of resources to locate information. They will learn to identify, extract and restate the pertinent information. Students will learn to work in cooperative groups. Students will learn to read a thermometer.
Assessment Modifications: IEP modifications will guide teachers for special students.
Unit Schedule/Time Plan: Two to three weeks.
Written Overview: Upon the completion of this unit students will understand winter adaptations of animals and people in local communities.
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