Oxana Cebotar

TECH 4320/5320 02
Lesson Plan #1
09/25/2014


Lesson Topic: Wild Cats: Their physical characteristics and common behaviors

Grade/Proficiency Level: 2nd Grade

Content area: Science

Goals:
TEKS (Science) 112.13.b
(10) Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms resemble
their parents and have structures and processes that help them survive within their
environments. The student is expected to:
(A) Observe, record, and compare how the physical characteristics and behaviors of
animals help them meet their basic needs such as fins help fish move and balance in
the water;

Technology Applications TEKS, Kindergarten Grade 2
(b) Knowledge and skills
(5) Digital citizenship. The student practices safe, responsible, legal, and ethical
behavior while using digital tools and resources. The student is expected to:
(a) Adhere to acceptable use policies reflecting appropriate behavior in a digital
environment
(b) Comply with acceptable digital safety rules, fair use guidelines, and copyright
laws


Objectives:
The student will be able to observe, record, and compare how the physical
characteristics and behaviors of wild cats help them to meet their basic needs in the
wild.

Value and Importance:
Explain to the students that studding the physical characteristics and common
behaviors of wild cats will help them know more about the world around them and
their pet, if they have one.

Materials Needed:
1. Text: Winston, P. D. (1981). Wild cats (Books for young explorers). Des Moines,
IA: National Geographic Society.


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TECH 4320/5320 02
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2. Student copies of the text
3. SmartBoard & Markers
4. Directed Reading-Thinking Activity Chart
5. Student Journals & Pencils
6. Document Camera



Technology:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHahWWw4rlI
Document camera
SmartBoard



Strategies: read aloud of Wild Cats with prediction and discussion with the DR-TA
chart using the document camera, text lookbacks and partner discussion (think-
pair-share)


Key Vocabulary: Tiger, lion, bobcat, cheetah, cougar/mountain lion, wild, tame,
claws, paws, whiskers, stalks, leaps, hunts, wrestle, mane, pride


Instructional Strategies

Prior Knowledge and Skills Needed:
The students will know from previous units that animals have basic needs that have
to be met to survive such as eating, sleeping, etc. They will know how to look at
pictures and describe details, and they will have basic reading and writing skills
(unless they are beginning ELLs still learning to read and write in English).

Previously learned - TEKS (Science) 112.13.b
(9) Organisms and environments. The student knows that living organisms have
basic needs that must be met for them to survive within their environment. The
student is expected to:
(A) Identify the basic needs of plants and animals.


Anticipatory Set:
Explain to the students that we are going to be learning about wild cats today. Ask
the students to raise their hand if they have a pet cat at home or know someone with
a pet cat. Do they like cats? Do they know that there are a lot of different types of
cats in the world, large and small? Then show the first 4 min from the YouTube
video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHahWWw4rlI)

After the discussion and short video, move into a factstorming time. Write Cats in
the middle of the Smartboard and ask the students to name words that come to
Oxana Cebotar
TECH 4320/5320 02
Lesson Plan #1
09/25/2014

mind when they think of cats. It can be descriptions like whiskers or paws or
different types of cats like tabby cats, lions, bobcat, etc. They might think of different
things cats might eat or like to do or different adjectives that come to mind. This
time of factstorming can help to activate background knowledge, build context, and
prepare students for learning. It will also provide a time to let ELLs hear possible
words that will be used in the text and build understanding. Let students share
examples and reasons why those words come to mind.

Direct Teach/Setting the Purpose:
Then show the class the cover of the Wild Cats book using the document camera.
Explain that we will be reading it together to learn more about wild cats, their
characteristics, and what they do. Explain to them that they should think about how
the physical characteristics and behaviors of the wilds cats help them to meet their
basic needs like that of finding food and surviving in the wild.

Modeling:
Draw the students attention to the DR-TA chart and document camera; explain that
you are going to read through the book with them out loud. Yet we are also going to
predict what will happen and what we might learn! Remind them to look for
physical characteristics and behaviors that can help the cats survive. Model some of
the predicting, reading, and proving activity for the students. Open to the front cover
of Wild Cats and look at the comparisons of sizes between the house cat and wild
cats. Make some possible predictions about learning about the similarities and
differences between cats. Help draw their attention to different characteristics of
the cats, highlighting vocabulary words like mane and whiskers. Write
predictions on the chart, and then model reading out-loud and reporting what
actually happens on the other side of the chart. Continue to model and help support
the predicting and making inferences from the images as you and the students work
through the book in sections.

Guided Practice:
After you have modeled for the first page or two, begin the reading aloud of the
book. For each new page or two, let one of the students come and use the document
camera. Let the student first look at the pictures and describe them to the class.
Together they can come up with predictions about what these pages will be about or
how these characteristics seen in the pictures help cats survive (ex: sharp teeth,
claws, good eyesight). They can see if they can name the cats in the pictures. Mark
these predictions down as a class, and then let the student read the text out loud.
Discuss together if the predictions were right or what they actually learned, again
focusing on how certain characteristics and activities help the cats survive and meet
their needs. They can also look at similarities and differences between the cats.
Continue to work your way through the book as a class, letting each student to come
and make predictions while also highlighting key vocabulary and supporting their
discussion.

Independent Practice:
After you have finished reading the book together as a class, give the students time
to do text lookbacks. Ask them to go back through the text and write in their student
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journals all of the physical characteristics of cats that they can find as well as the
different activities and behaviors mentioned. As they look back through the book,
also ask them to also think about which is their favorite cat and why. After some
time, let them get together with a partner to compare their lists of the
characteristics and activities and add any to their own list if needed. Then let them
share which was their favorite cat and why. To end this think-pair-share activity, let
the groups share with the class and discuss.

Modifications for Special Populations:
Gifted students could be partnered with ELL or struggling students in order to help
them in the text lookbacks and list creation. Beginning ELLs could just point to
images in the text of important characteristics and activities during the group
prediction and discussion, and they could also just point to their favorite cat and
learn the name. Visual drawings on the DR-TA chart with the predictions and actual
information can also help them learn words like whiskers, claws, or eyesight. Gifted
students could make a chart to compare two cats from the books to see similarities
and differences as well.

Closure:
To end, remind the class that animals, including cats, have physical characteristics
and behaviors that help them to meet their needs and survive like the book showed
and explained. Remind them about some of these characteristics like the cats sharp
teeth, claws, good eyesight, speed, camouflage, and more, or have them mention
these things again. Remind them to keep their eyes open to the different animals
they see everyday like pets and birds to see if they can notice characteristics and
behaviors that help them meet their needs. Remind them that they can learn a lot
from reading and exploring books, especially when they seek to predict and be
actively involved!

Check for understanding:
The checks for understanding will be ongoing. The initial factstorming would
provide a look into the students current understanding and background knowledge
on cats. Then their predictions during the DR-TA will help to show if they
understand the purpose of the reading and are drawing correct inferences from the
pictures. The group discussion on what the text actually says will also be an
opportunity to see if students understand, especially about the different
characteristics and activities of the wild cats. The teacher can also help students
later as they are working individually and with pairs to support their understanding,
and the lists from the independent practice will show their understanding as well.


Reflections
Did the lesson go well? Did the students seem to enjoy the book and stay engaged?
Did they understand about making predictions and then checking them with the
text?
Were they noticing the characteristics and activities that help wild cats survive and
meet their needs, or would there be a better way to teach this?
How could I improve this lesson for the futur
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Directed Reading Thinking Activity

Our Predictions

What Really Happened