UMF Unit-Wide Lesson Plan Template

Name: Haley Estabrook Program: Elementary Ed. Course: EDU 450

Lesson Topic / Title: Vertebrates - Introduction
Lesson Date: Sept. 17 Lesson Length: 45 Minutes Grade/Age: Fourth Grade
Learning Objectives & Content Standard Alignment - Selects, creates, and sequences learning
experiences and performance tasks that support learners in reaching rigorous curriculum goals based on
content standards.
Learning Objective(s) Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
(Student Friendly Learning Targets) - The learning targets were selected to
reflect the goals of the lesson. The
- I will be able to define vertebrates. lesson is designed to introduce
students to vertebrates and
- I will be able to list the five vertebrate classification, as well as provide
classification groups. students with a glimpse of what the
unit will look like.
- I will begin to identify with each classification - Students will be exposed to the term
group. vertebrates and the definition
multiple times throughout the lesson,
resulting in students becoming
comfortable with that vocabulary
word.
- Students will analyze different
characteristics of each classification,
working backwards to determine
which traits go with which vertebrate
classification group, therefore,
allowing the students to become
exposed to the five classifications.
Content Standard(s) Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
Maine Learning Results - This content standard was chosen
E1 - Biodiversity Students compare living things based because the students will be
on their behaviors, external features, and environmental introduced to the concept of how
needs. living things can be sorted in many
Grades 3-5 a. Describe how living things can be sorted ways.
in many ways, depending on which features or behaviors - Students will be practicing looking at
are used to sort them, and apply this understanding to the different traits that scientists look
sort living things. at when sorting vertebrates and
determining what animals belong in
each classification group.
Assessment - Uses assessment flexibly to expand and deepen understanding of learner performance and
determines best supports for continued learner growth.
Assessment Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
Students will be assessed in two ways. The teacher will - Assessment used in this lesson is
be walking around the classroom to visit each group. formative assessment.
During this time, the teacher will observe the interactions - Using observation to gauge student
taking place between table groups, as well as ask guiding understanding helps the teacher to
questions to probe for student understanding. understand when it is necessary to
The students will be asked to fill out a quick exit ticket at alter instruction to ensure students are
the end of the lesson. This will allow the students to see understanding the material.
the learning objectives in action, and assess how well - Using an exit ticket to assess students
they did on meeting those objectives. It also allows for at the end of the lesson will allow the
the teacher to check in with students and see where the teacher to see what parts of the lesson
gaps in understanding are. stuck with the students as well as
what students met, partially met, or
did not meet the learning objectives
for the class that day.
Instructional Materials and Resources - Stays current in content knowledge and expands expertise in
reviewing instructional materials from the perspectives of both the discipline and individual learner needs.
Materials, Resources, and/or Technology Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
- Handouts - This lesson is heavily based on
- Activity directions student inquiry and student
- Clue envelopes (25 total) discussion. Because of this, the
- Exit ticket materials are just to guide students to
- Learning objectives think about the five different
classifications.
- Through inquiry based learning,
students will begin to discover the
Lesson adapted from: traits that make up each classification.
https://betterlesson.com/lesson/622590/verte-what-verteb using the clue envelopes to help push
rates their thinking.
Instructional Methods: Selects, creates, and sequences learning experiences and performance tasks by
using a variety of instructional approaches, strategies, and technologies that make learning accessible to
all learners and support learners in reaching rigorous curriculum goals.
Teaching and Learning Sequence Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
1) Boys and girls - today we are going to dive into ** Though all animals with a backbone are
learning about vertebrates. As you remember, last classified as vertebrates, they are further
week we started out doing a worksheet that classified into 5 groups because different
helped me understand what you knew and what organisms vary in how they look and function
you wanted to learn
2) Start out by asking what is a vertebrate (an since they have different inherited
animal with a backbone) - give students time to information.
think and share out a few ideas.
3) After students share out their ideas of what a
vertebrate could be, the teacher asks students
what classification (how scientists arrange
animals in groups by features that are alike)
means - students will have opportunities to share
out their ideas. Today we are going to become
researchers and begin to categorize each of the 5
vertebrate groups!
4) As we get started, we will need to know that
there are 5 different classifications of vertebrates
- this means that all the vertebrates fall into one of
the 5 categories. To start to become more familiar
with each category, we are going to do an
activity
5) Teacher asks Sparky to pick a partner and hand
out instructions. Review directions with whole
class.
6) Hand out first envelop to each group of students.
Allow 3 minutes for students to read and discuss
and record their guess for the animal at their table
group.
7) Have each table share out their animal guess -
write on board. After the list is created, ask
students what classification their animals belong
in (if students are struggling they can use the
chart hanging in back of room). Write animal
class on the top of the list.
8) Bring to the attention of the class that Though all
animals with a backbone are classified as
vertebrates, they are further classified into 5
groups because different organisms vary in how
they look and function since they have different
inherited information.
9) Repeat for each classification.
10) Come back together as whole class - So today
we started looking into the different
characteristics of vertebrates, and became
 scientists that categorized each animal. We will
start looking more at each of the 5 categories
soon!
11) Ask students to fill out exit ticket and collect.
Meeting students needs (differentiation, extensions, Instructional Decisions / Reasoning
modifications, accommodations)
AMa needs to be closely monitored while doing the exit - Student will need to be reminded of
ticket assessment, without prompting and redirecting expectations to make sure that they
reminders to stay on task, the student will not complete are completing their work.
the assignment.
Check in with AH to make sure the student understands - It is important to make sure there are
the directions going along with the exit ticket. no language barriers preventing this
ELL student from accessing the
Differentiation: information they learned during the
- Whole group discussion lesson.
- Small group investigation
- Visual supports of directions
- Brainstorm on whiteboard
- Independent assessment

Field Course Only Post lesson

Reflection
Overall, this lesson went well introducing the students to the topic of Vertebrates and proving those
students with an overview of what they will be learning during the next science lessons. Instead of
lecturing students and telling them what they would be learning about, I designed this lesson to put the
learning into the students hands.
The exit ticket assessment was scored out of 10 points. The first question, What is a vertebrate? was
worth 5 points, and the second question asking students to list the five classifications of vertebrates was
also worth 5 points (one point for each classification). These are the results of the exit ticket check-in:
- Sixteen students scored a 10/10.
- Two students scored a 9/10, one student missing birds, and the other missing reptiles.
This indicated that the lesson was effective in helping students meet the learning objectives. By putting
the learning into the students hands, they were able to really retain the information and meet the learning
targets. This formative assessment also tells me that some students will need more information on some
of the classifications. I will pay closer attention to those two students as we continue through the unit,
making sure that they are understanding the material and meeting the learning objectives.
If I were to reteach this lesson, I would definitely use the clue envelopes again with the students.
Allowing them to physically open up the envelopes, sort out the clues, and sort out the information
together as groups was not only effective delivery of instruction, but it also kept the students engaged and
involved in the lesson.
One thing that I would change about this lesson is going over the classroom expectations for collaborating
in groups during activities. During the lesson, I noticed that some students were bossy or taking over the
group discussion. The purpose of implementing small group work is to make sure that all students, even
the more shy students, are getting the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas. By not reminding
students about the expectations for working in groups and providing each of their group members a
chance to share out equally, I feel that it took away from some of the students participation, therefore,
impacting those students ability to access and discuss the information. While during the lesson I regained
students attention quickly for DT or Direction Time, to remind students about collaborating as groups, it
would have been much more effective instruction to begin the lesson explaining the expectations and then
reminding students during the lesson if necessary.
This lesson went over the time limit of the class period, as I proceed through the unit, I will need to make
sure that the lessons meet the time limit and do not take away from the periods around science. If I were
to teach this lesson again, I may have included an introductory book and then split the lesson into two
classes to make sure there was enough time spent on the material and I did not feel like I was rushing the
students through the material.
Teaching Standards and Rationale
Standard 1:
Paraphrase: The teacher is able to demonstrate understanding of how students learn. The teacher
understands that each student learns and develops differently in cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional,
and physical areas. With that knowledge of individual learners, the teacher can create developmentally
appropriate and challenging classroom experiences.

Rationale: This lesson was developmentally appropriate for all learners in the classroom. When the lesson
was created, each learner in the classroom was taken into account. Students were challenged to pull
together clues about vertebrate classifications and correctly classify animals based on their physical traits
and environmental needs. The learning objectives for the lesson are age appropriate and ask the students
to synthesize the information delivered to them in the lesson practice the science skills from the Maine
Learning Results.

Standard 2:
Paraphrase: The teacher understands that each student learns differently and each student comes from a
diverse culture. The teacher applies that knowledge to create a classroom community that is an inclusive
learning environment.

Rationale: The lesson took into account the individual differences between learners in the classroom. The
students needs were a priority in creating this lesson, as all students were encouraged to share their
personal knowledge or new ideas. Multiple styles of communication and discussion were implemented
into the lesson to provide an environment for students to feel comfortable in sharing their thoughts.
Individual students were also accommodated in the lesson to ensure they were able to successfully
explain what they learned and demonstrate to the teacher that they met the learning objectives for the
lesson.

Standard 3:
Paraphrase: The teacher works with learners in the classroom to foster a collaborative learning
environment that encourages positive interactions with peers, and actively engaged, self-motivated
learners.

Rationale: This lesson encourages positive social interaction because it validated students ideas. There
were many opportunities for students to share out their thoughts and feel validated by their peers, whether
it was whole class or table groups. Because of this, the students were actively engaged in the material and
most were willing to take risks and share out their ideas. Those ideas were written on the board for all
students to see, making the activity exciting for students to allow them to see their ideas written out on the
whiteboard.

Standard 4:
Paraphrase: The teacher understands the material that is being delivered to students. The teacher creates
classroom experiences that allow learners to access and create meaningful connections to the material.

Rationale: The teacher demonstrated understanding the content being taught by using multiple
representations of the material that allows the learners to understand the skills that are being taught. In the
lesson, the teacher encourages students to use inquiry as they sort through the classification traits,
learning about the classifications in a reverse order.

Standard 5:
Paraphrase: The teacher is able to connect concepts during instruction and engage students in deeper
thinking by using and encouraging different perspectives. The teacher creates a learning environment that
fosters critical and creative thinking, connecting material to local and global issues.

Rationale: This lesson uses innovative applications of content because students are asked to read clues
from envelopes and synthesize the information. Students are working in small groups and there is
minimal direct instruction from the teacher. The teacher asked the students questions to help them think
about the traits of different classifications and how many different animals fall into each vertebrate
classification.

Standard 6:
Paraphrase: The teacher is able to apply multiple methods of assessment to aid students in becoming more
aware of the progress they are making. The teacher is able to analyze assessment data to inform planning
and instruction.
Rationale: The lesson implements different forms of assessment to monitor student understanding. The
teacher carefully observes and listens to student responses while they are problem solving in small groups
during the main section of the lesson. The teacher is also able to listen to many different answers from
students throughout the lesson to gain knowledge on student understand as well as misconceptions the
students may have. Students are also asked to fill out an exit ticket to allow them to demonstrate meeting
the learning objectives for the lesson.

Standard 7:
Paraphrase: The teacher draws upon multiple factors such as learner development, knowledge of content,
and pedagogy to develop lessons that supports and challenges each learner in the classroom.

Rationale: This lesson was carefully planned out to help students meet their learning objectives. Students
were given supports such as handouts to help students follow instructions throughout the lesson and
inquiry based activities to allow them to learn the material and meet the learning objectives. The lesson
was appropriately sequenced to allow students to take their learning into their own hands, synthesize the
information given to them, and make generalizations about that information.

Standard 8:
Paraphrase: The teacher is able to implement multiple instructional strategies to promote deep
understanding of content and material by helping students create connections and build skills to access
and apply information.

Rationale: The teacher implements many different teaching and instructional styles into the lesson to
encourage learners to develop a deep understanding of the material. Examples of the different
instructional strategies implemented in the lesson are: Whole group instruction, small group discussion,
inquiry based activities, brainstorming, and individual work.

Standard 9:
Paraphrase: The teacher is a reflective practitioner that is always evaluating their teaching practice and
interactions with individuals. The teacher is continuously seeking opportunities improve their practice to
meet the needs of their learners.

Rationale: The teacher demonstrates reflection and continuous growth in this lesson by sitting down after
the lesson is taught and analyzing student assessment data, student participation, and instructional
practices. The teacher analyzes about what went well during the lesson that helped the students meet the
learning goals, and what could be changed in the future to allow students to be more successful in
meeting their learning objectives.
Standard 10:
Paraphrase: The teacher finds opportunities to take on leadership roles and opportunities to take
responsibility for student learning. The teacher collaborates with students, parents, community members,
and other professionals to advance the profession and foster learner growth.

Rationale: In this lesson, the teacher demonstrated collaboration by meeting with their mentor teacher to
ensure that the lesson was meeting the needs of all the learners in the classroom. This allowed the teacher
to effectively differentiate the lesson and develop strategies that allowed the teacher to meet the needs of
all the learners in the classroom and encourage achievement. The teacher used the pre-assessment given
to students to mold the plan for the instruction.

ISTE 11.5:
Paraphrase: The teacher continuously improves their professional practice, models lifelong learning, and
promotes and demonstrates effective use of digital resources.

Rationale: Technology was implemented to create and plan this lesson. Resources were acquired from the
internet using the website Better Lesson. The teacher met this standard by modeling lifelong learning and
effectively using a digital resource to enhance their instruction and develop a new lesson that fosters
scientific discourse between students.