WELCOME TO THE WORLD!

STEM UNIT ON HABITATS

Table of Contents
Page Num-
ber:

Page 1
Parent Introduction Letter: Welcome to the World!..……………………………………3

Lesson One: Introducing Habitats! ..…………………………………………………………4

Lesson Two: Our Own Habitat..………………………………………………………………..6

Lesson Three: Habitats Around the World!..……………………………………………….8

Lesson Four: The Rainforest ..…………………………………………………………………10

Lesson Five: The Desert ..………………………………………………………………………12

Lesson Six: The Tundra ..……………………………………………………………………….14

Lesson Seven: Grasslands ..……………………………………………………………………16

Lesson Eight:Ocean and Water Habitats ..……………………………………………….18

Lesson Nine:Pollution and the Ocean ..……………………………………………………20

Lesson Ten: Project Based Learning..………………………………………………………22

Summative Assessment..……………………………………..…………………………………24

Rubric for Assessment..……………………………………..…………………………………..26

Activity Examples…………………………………………………………………………………..27-32

WELCOME TO THE WORLD!

Dearest Parents/Guardians,

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 Over the next few months, your kindergartener’s will begin a journey together exploring
the different habitats around the world! We will be starting the unit off by exploring the world
around us, both at school and at home! With your help, the explorers will have the opportunity to
create a home video explaining elements of their habitat that we will be showing in class. Our
unit will focus on the six major habitats around the world, the current
environmental issues our habitats face, and learning about what we
can do to help.

Additionally, our worldly explorers will be:

• Helping to transform our classroom
into a rainforest habitat!
• Collaborating with their peers to design
a tool for picking up trash!
• Taking a field trip to do a beach clean up giving them the oppor-
tunity to use the tools that they designed!

As we progress through the unit, the explorers will be learning content that meets the
Kindergarten Common Core standards through a variety of lessons. The students will be partici-
pating in hands on learning about habitats through a variety of subjects and instruction that re-
flect the STEAM( science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics) model. This will give each
one of our explorers the opportunity to learn, grow, and explore the wonders of this world with
real life application.

At the conclusion of the unit, our students will be using their newly gained knowledge to
create a travel brochure for a habitat of their choosing. I can’t wait to get started adventuring
around the world with your students! Thank you so much for your continued support. Should you
have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Kindly,
Miss Runyon

STEM Unit, Lesson Plan One

“Introducing Habitats”
Age: Early Elementary, K

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 (i) Common Core Standards: RI.K.3- “With prompting and support, describe the connection
between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text”.
(ii) Instructional Resources and Materials
(i) A copy of the book, Habitats, by William B. Rice
(ii) Youtube Video, The 4 Basic Needs of Animals,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOXay8rdzRg
(iii) Sticky notes or index cards
(iv) Class set of the Animal Habitat Match-up worksheet worksheet
(v) Class set of Animal Habitats Coloring worksheet (if time permits)
(vi) Crayons or colored pencils
(iii) Objective: The students will be able to identify what a habitat is by demonstrating their
understanding through the habitat match-up worksheet.
(i) Academic Language: habitat
(iv) Assessment
(i) Informal (Formative) Pair share
(ii) Formal (Summative) Match-up worksheet and drawing animal/habitat activity
(v) Instructional Strategies:
(i) Anticipatory Set
(i) Engage Students:Show video, 4 Basic Needs of Animals
(i) Teacher will have discussion with students after on what kinds of
things animals need to survive.
(ii) Activate Prior Knowledge:
(i) Teacher will have students pair share about their pets at home/pets
in general and think about what they need at home (ie. where do
they sleep? what do they eat? drink?).
(i) Encourage students to think about the similarities between
people and animals, asking questions like, “what do we need
to survive?”
(iii) Teacher will make poster of “What Animals Need” in front of class and
record class thinking in a list.
(iv) Teacher will then discuss key term habitat, and explain definition.
(ii) Instructional Modeling:
(i) Read aloud the book, Habitats, by William B. Rice.
(ii) Pause throughout book as they read to define unknown words and add in-
formation to the “What Animals Need to Live” list.
(iii) Guided Practice:
(i) Ask students to think about some of the different kinds of habitats in the
world

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 (ii) Teacher will write desert, tundra, ocean, and jungle on the board and ask
students to think about each habitat, what kind of animals or plants they
might see there, and what it looks like.
(iii) Capture student thinking on the board by passing out sticky notes or cards
and having students draw pictures of a plant to animal for each habitat.
(i) Have students place sticky under each correct habitat.
(iv) Independent Practice:
(i) Each student will complete the animal/habitat match-up worksheet on their
own at their table.
(ii) Each student will now get to select one of the animals on the board that we
discussed and can draw a picture of this animal in its’ habitat.
(v) Closure
(i) Students will share with their table partners which animal they chose to
draw and explain their picture to each other.
(vi) Inclusive Practices:
(i) This activity utilized a lot of visual elements making it accessible to ELL students.
Diverse learners will be able to participate in the coloring/matching activities.
Video and book will give diverse learners opportunity to understand and engage.

STEM Unit, Lesson Plan Two

Lesson: “Our Own Habitat”
Age: Early Elementary, K

(i) Common Core Standards: K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants
and animals (including humans) need to survive.
(ii) Instructional Resources and Materials
(i) Pencil

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 (ii) Our School Habitat! Worksheet
(iii) Basic Needs vs. Wants worksheet
(iv) Poster Chart-Basic Needs-things we can and can’t live without
(v) Youtube Video- “What is a habitat?” on basic needs-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxrlEajA398
(vi) Markers
(iii) Lesson Objective: Students will be able to identify the basic needs for human and animal
survival by creating their home habitat video and completing the basic needs vs. wants
worksheet.
(i) Academic Language: basic needs shelter, habitat, species
(iv) Assessment
(i) Informal (formative) Campus habitat tour worksheet, pair share activities.
(ii) Formal (Summative) Basic needs vs. wants worksheet, Home video describing
their habitat and basic needs.
(v) Instructional Strategies:
(i) Anticipatory Set
(i) Engage Students:
(i) Show “What is a habitat?” video that focuses on basic needs.
(ii) Activate Prior Knowledge:
(i) Students will pair share what their basic needs are, discussing things
that they can and cannot live without.
(ii) Instructional Modeling:
(i) Teacher will go over key terms such as basic needs, shelter, and species.
(ii) Students and teachers will brainstorm what shelter looks like for different
animal species.
(iii) Teacher and students will create poster chart differentiating between basic
needs (things they can’t and can live without).
(iii) Guided Practice:
(i) Students and teacher will walk around school filling out, “Our School Habi-
tat” worksheet identifying plant and animal species and basic needs.
(iv) Closure:
(i) Pair share one thing that student can live with, and one thing that they
can’t live without with one another.
(v) Independent Practice:
(i) Basic Needs vs. Wants worksheet-students will circle basic needs and cross
off wants.
(ii) Additionally, students will create a “my own habitat” video at home when
they give a tour of home, introduce family, and favorite foods and drinks.
(vi) Inclusive Practices:

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 (i) This lesson has a multitude of teaching instructional strategies, giving the diverse
learner the opportunity to participate. It includes a physically interactive portion
that will enable ELL students to participate in regardless of their English level. The
two worksheets are drawing and picture based, so any ELL students will be able to
do them using the visual aids.

STEM Unit, Lesson Plan Three

Lesson: “Habitats Around the World”
Age: Early Elementary, K

(i) Common Core Standards:

1. K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (includ-
ing humans) need to survive.
2. K-ESS2-2. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants and ani-
mals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs.
(ii) Instructional Resources and Materials
(i) Poster for class discussion
(ii) Flashcard set of five main habitats for each student.
(iii) Matching Habitat worksheet

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 (iv) Video: Habitats around the world,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byvf7jwdvOI
(v) Adaptations video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB8nLZmxN_M
(vi) 5 posters for table group work
(vii) Crayons, pencils, markers
(iii) Lesson Objective: Students will be able to identify the different habitats around the world
by being able to identify the five main ones and characteristics of each. The students will
be able to understand that different species live in different places for a reason.
(i) Academic Language: adaptation, forest, ocean, tundra, desert, rainforest
(iv) Assessment
(i) Informal (formative) Flashcard Habitat Game
(ii) Formal (Summative) Matching Habitat worksheet, Table group poster
(v) Instructional Strategies:
(i) Anticipatory Set
Engage Students:
(i) Teacher will introduce the concept of adaptation through video, Ad-
aptations in Animals, Kindergarten.
Activate Prior Knowledge:
(ii) The students will pair share the questions: Why can’t a polar bear
live in the desert?; Why can’t a fish live in the forest?; What do we
do to adapt to our surroundings? (ie. weather or playing sports).
(ii) Instructional Modeling:
(i) Teacher and students will make a chart of the five main habitats (will add to
this chart through STEM unit with specific details).
(ii) Teacher and students will discuss very basics specific of each.
(iii) Flashcard game: students will play interactive game where teacher shows a
characteristic of a specific habitat and students hold up flash card that they
believe corresponds with it.
(iii) Guided Practice:
(i) Teacher will assign one habitat to each table group. Students will work with
table groups to come up with five characteristics for that specific habitat by
either writing words or drawing pictures.
(iv) Closure
(i) Pair share students favorite habitat with table partner.
(v) Independent Practice:
(i) Matching habitats worksheet to be completed at table independently.
(vi) Inclusive Practices:
(i) This lesson incorporates visual elements to help with understanding for the diverse
learner, including ELL students. Visual elements include: two youtube videos,

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 group poster chart, and matching habitats worksheet, pictures of habitats on flash-
cards.

STEM Unit, Lesson Plan Four

Lesson: “The Rainforest”
Two Day Lesson
Age: Early Elementary, K

(i) Common Core Standards:

1. K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (includ-
ing humans) need to survive.
(ii) Instructional Resources and Materials
(i) Rainforest book, The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest, by
Lynne Cherry
(ii) Pencils, crayons, markers
(iii) Construction paper, stencils, scissors, glue
(iv) Magic School Bus Rainforest clip, https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5viv00
(v) Layers of the rainforest worksheet
(iii) Lesson Objective: Students will be able to identify characteristics of a rainforest habitat by
completing the rainforest layers worksheet and helping to transform the classroom into a

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 rainforest. Student will be doing an art project to demonstrate their knowledge of the lay-
ers of the rainforest, specific characteristics, and the species that live there.
(i) Academic Language: rainforest, rainforest layers: emergent layer, canopy layer,
understory, forest floor.
(iv) Assessment
(i) Informal (Formative): KWL discussion after reading book, Rainforest Art Project
(ii) Formal (Summative): Rainforest Layers Worksheet
(v) Instructional Strategies:
(i) Anticipatory Set
Engage Students:
(i) Show Magic School Bus Rainforest clip
(ii) Show map of where rainforests are in the world.
Activate Prior Knowledge:
(iii) Pair share what kind of animals might you find in the rainforest.
(ii) Instructional Modeling:
(i) Read book, The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by
Lynne Cherry.
(ii) Do KWL chart with students after reading the book.
(iii) Teacher will introduce art project and assign each students to a specific
feature of the rainforest- species, layers, etc.
(iii) Guided Practice:
(i) At tables, students will do worksheets that represent four layers of the rain-
forest. Students will practice writing actual word for each layer.
(iv) Closure:
(i) Pair share favorite or most interesting thing that they learned about the rain-
forest with partners.
(v) Independent Practice:
(i) Students will be doing an art project to transform classroom into rainforest.
Students will be assigned to create specific element of rainforest: animal or
plant species, layer of rainforest, etc.
(vi) Inclusive Practices:
(i) A large portion of this lesson will be designated to the art project component. Each
student will be creating an art piece that is a portion of the rainforest to transform
classroom. Students will also have the opportunity to trace and write four layers of
rainforest, allowing all students to participate.

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STEM Unit, Lesson Plan Five
Lesson: “The Desert”; Close Reading Lesson Plan
Age: Early Elementary, K

(i) Common Core Standards:

1. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.1: With prompting and support, ask and answer
questions about key details in a text.
2. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.2: With prompting and support, identify the main
topic and retell key details of a text.
(ii) Instructional Resources and Materials
(i) Magic School Bus Video, All Dried Up
(ii) Close reading text, “Desert Animals”
(iii) “Desert Animals” book study worksheet
(iv) Sorting Animals Worksheet
(v) KWL poster chart
(vi) Markers
(vii) Crayons and colored pencils
(viii) Map of World identifying deserts
(iii) Lesson Objective: Students will understand the characteristics of a desert by completing a
worksheet that differentiates desert animals and species from others around the world. The
students will understand that the characteristics of these species allow them to survive in
this habitat.
(i) Academic Language: desert, climate, adaptations

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 (iv) Assessment
(i) Informal (Formative): KWL chart and pair sharing activity
(ii) Formal (Summative): Sorting Animals Worksheet, Close text worksheet on desert
animals
(v) Instructional Strategies:
(i) Anticipatory Set
Engage Students:
(i) Show Magic School Bus clip, “All Dried Up”.
(ii) Show map of the world and identify where deserts are located.
Activate Prior Knowledge:
(iii) Pair share what students know about desert. Answer questions,
“Have you ever been to the desert? What did it look like? What did
you see?, etc.”.
(ii) Instructional Modeling:
(i) Do KWL chart about desert.
(ii) Teacher will introduce new vocabulary to students prior to reading such as
climate.
(iii) Read close reading text, “Desert Animals” in a circle on the carpet.
(iv) Teacher and students will discuss characteristics of animals that live in the
desert and add to KWL chart.
(iii) Guided Practice:
(i) Students will do “Desert Animals” worksheet at tables.
(i) Students will go through book and select one animal to draw and
one characteristic of that animal to write about.
(iv) Closure:
(i) Students will share one thing that they learned about the desert habitat.
(v) Independent Practice:
(i) Students will do Sorting Animals worksheet categorizing animals that live
in the desert vs. others.
(vi) Inclusive Practices:
(i) This lesson includes a variety of teaching practices including visual elements, a
close reading text, KWL chart, partner discussions, and video clip. This makes les-
son accessible for varying types and levels of learners.

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STEM Unit, Lesson Plan Six
Lesson: “The Tundra”/Math Lesson Plan
Age: Early Elementary, K

(i) Common Core Standards: K-ESS3-1. Use a model to represent the relationship between
the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live.
(ii) Instructional Resources and Materials:
(i) EBook, “Counting the Tundra 1-2-3”, by Aaron R. Murray
(ii) “Life as an Eskimo” Video
(iii) Poster Chart for Venn Diagram
(iv) Markers
(v) Venn Diagram worksheets for students
(vi) Colored pencils, pencils, crayons
(iii) Lesson Objective: Students will be able to identify characteristics of the tundra habitat by
completing a venn diagram worksheet that compares and contrasts life of an eskimo to
their own.
(i) Academic Vocabulary: tundra, arctic, polar region, igloo, eskimo, specific animal
and plant vocabulary to tundra environment
(iv) Assessment:
Formative (Informal): Guided practice table group conversations about what stu-
dents would bring if moving to the tundra.
Summative (Formal): Venn Diagram Worksheet
(v) Instructional Strategies:
(i) Anticipatory Set
(i) Engage Students:
(i) Show, “Life as an Eskimo” Video.
(ii) Discuss things learned about Eskimos after video.
(ii) Activate Prior Knowledge:

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 (i) Pair share questions prior to video: Has anyone ever been to the
snow? What did you wear? How did you feel? What do you remem-
ber?
(ii) Instructional Modeling:
(i) Read “Counting the Tundra 1-2-3” with class.
(ii) Students will practice counting while learning the animals and plants that
live in the tundra.
(iii) Students will come back together after guided practice to create venn dia-
gram as a class, comparing and contrasting life as an eskimo to their own
lives.
(iii) Guided Practice:
(i) Students will brainstorm with table groups to discuss three things they
would bring if they were moving to the tundra.
(ii) Students will come up with one way how the life of an eskimo is different
from their own to share with the group.
(iv) Closure:
(i) Students will answer “why or why not” question on if they would like to
live in the tundra.
(v) Independent Practice:
(i) Students will create own venn diagram chart independently after teacher
and students created it together.
(ii) Students will compare and contrast how life in the tundra for eskimos is
different than their own.
(vi) Inclusive Practices:
(i) Varying level students will be able to complete this exercise as they will be able to
either write or draw pictures on their venn diagrams to compare and contrast.
Higher level students will be able to write sentences if they would like to.

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STEM Unit, Lesson Plan Seven
Lesson: “Grasslands”
Age: Early Elementary, K

(i) Common Core Standards: K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants
and animals (including humans) need to survive.
(ii) Instructional Resources and Materials:
(i) Youtube video, African Savanna:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnSTLQB__FY
(ii) Map of the world
(iii) Book, “All About Grasslands”, by Anna Wilson
(iv) Prairies vs. Savanna Picture Matching Game
(v) Pencils
(vi) Colored Pencils
(vii) African Safari worksheet
(iii) Lesson Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the grasslands habi-
tat by doing the African Safari worksheet and playing the Prairies vs. Savanna picture
matching game.
(i) Academic Vocabulary: grasslands, savanna, prairie, temperate, grazing, herbivore
(iv) Assessment:
Formative (Informal): Prairie vs. Savanna game
Summative (Formal): African Safari worksheet
(v) Instructional Strategies:
(i) Anticipatory Set
(i) Engage Students:
(i) Show youtube video of the African Savanna
(ii) Activate Prior Knowledge:
(i) Pair share questions: you know the names of any of these animals?
Where have you seen them before?
(ii) Instructional Modeling:
(i) Show map of where you can find grasslands around the world.
(ii) Read book aloud, “All About Grasslands” with students, stopping through-
out to differentiate between the types of grasslands (specifically prairies vs.
the savanna).

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 (iii) Discuss key vocabulary specific to grasslands after reading book.
(iv) Teacher will create word bank list of animals and plant species that students
might see on an African safari.
(iii) Guided Practice:
(i) Play Savanna vs. Prairie interactive game as a group: students will have
cards with various pictures of animals that live in savannas or prairies.
(ii) Students will have to separate animals into categories demonstrating where
they believe they belong.
(iv) Closure:
(i) Students will share at their tables which animals they chose to see on their
African safari.
(v) Independent Practice:
(i) Student will complete the African Safari worksheet.
(ii) Students will write three sentences about animals that they might see on an
African safari.
(iii) Students will add drawings of the three animals to worksheet.
(vi) Inclusive Practices:
(i) This lesson includes many visual elements as well as an interactive game. Students
of varying academic levels will be able to participate in the game as it it matching
pictures. When completing the worksheet, students of varying levels have the op-
portunity to complete this independently, with the help of the word bank, sentence
starters, and picture cues. Lower level students may opt to write one word describ-
ing the animal rather than a sentence.

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STEM Unit, Lesson Plan Eight
Lesson: “Ocean and Water Habitats”
Age: Early Elementary, K

(i) Common Core Standards:K-ESS3-1. Use a model to represent the relationship between the
needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live.
(ii) Instructional Resources and Materials:
(i) Globe
(ii) Magic School Bus video, “Ocean Adventure”,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6uAGrM6ecs
(iii) Book, “Water Habitats”, by Bobbie Kalman
(iv) Paper for “Under the Sea” scene
(v) Shells and sand dollars
(vi) Posters for each group
(vii) Poster for KWL Chart
(viii) Marker
(ix) Pencils
(x) Colored Pencils
(iii) Lesson Objective: Students will be able to identify and describe different kinds of water
habitats by creating group posters of the different habitats and their own “Under the Sea”
scene.
(i) Academic Vocabulary: rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, ocean, sea
(iv) Assessment:
Formative (Informal): Student’s group posters for the varying types of water habi-
tats.
Summative (Formal): “Under the Sea” Scene
(v) Instructional Strategies:
(i) Anticipatory Set
(i) Engage Students:
(i) Teacher will have selected students come up and close their eyes,
spin the globe, and see where their finger lands (to demonstrate how
much of our world is covered by water).
(ii) Show Magic School Bus video, “Ocean Adventure”.
(iii) Students will have the opportunity to pass around shells and sand
dollars, investigating each.
(ii) Activate Prior Knowledge:
(i) Have students pair share what kinds of bodies of water they know or
have been in. Students will share out with group after their discus-
sions.

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 (ii) Instructional Modeling:
(i) Teacher and students will create KWL chart on the ocean habitat.
(ii) Teacher will read aloud, “Water Habitats”, filling in WL portion.
(iii) Teacher and students will discuss the different types of bodies of water.
(iv) Teacher will create word bank for student group work.
(iii) Guided Practice:
(i) Students will break into small groups, creating posters for the different
bodies of water.
(ii) Posters will include animals that belong to the specific water habitat with
drawings of each.
(iv) Closure:
(i) Students will share one thing that they learned about water habitats with
their table groups.
(v) Independent Practice:
(i) Students will create their own “Under the Sea” scene.
(ii) Students will draw and label plant and animal species.
(vi) Inclusive Practices:
(i) This lesson incorporate varying types of learning including art, video, book, group
work, pair share, and group discussion. The variety gives more opportunity for di-
verse learning to occur ideally allowing all students to engage and participate in the
lesson.

STEM Unit, Lesson Plan Nine

Lesson: “Pollution and the Ocean”/World Issue Lesson/Change Makers Lesson
Age: Early Elementary, K

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 (i) Common Core Standards: K-ESS3-3. Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact
of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.
(ii) Instructional Resources and Materials
(i) See, Think, Wonder poster with picture
(ii) Markers
(iii) Learning/Wondering chart poster
(iv) “How much plastic is in the ocean?” video from youtube,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFZS3Vh4lfI
(v) Book- Polluted Oceans by Ellen Lawrence
(vi) Worksheet with “trash littered” beach picture, with “P O L L U T I O N” writing
practice
(iii) Lesson Objective: Students will be able to identify the negative impact of pollution by
completing a worksheet that demonstrates their understanding of how it harmful to our
oceans.
(i) Academic Language: pollution, littering
(iv) Assessment
(i) Informal (Formative) Listening to students during pair share, also can evaluate un-
derstanding through
(ii) Formal (Summative) Worksheet
(v) Instructional Strategies:
(i) Anticipatory Set
(i) Engage Students:
(i) Show video on polluted ocean from youtube, “How much plastic is
in the ocean?”
(ii) Activate Prior Knowledge:
(i) Pair share questions: What is trash? Why is there trash in the ocean?
What do we do with trash? What could we do with trash?
(ii) Instructional Modeling:
(i) Present students with the picture of the polluted body of water.
(ii) Do See, Think, Wonder chart with picture at focus point.
(iii) Reading, “Polluted Oceans” book as a group.
(i) Stopping throughout for comprehension and questions.
(iv) Do Learning/Wondering chart as group with students after reading book.
(iii) Guided Practice:
(i) Pair share ideas of what students themselves can do to help with this prob-
lem.
(ii) Writing practice on carpet with whiteboards, the word “P O L L U T I O
N”.
(iv) Closure

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 (i) Share one thing with partner that they learned about the negative impact of
trash in our oceans.
(v) Independent Practice:
(i) Students will do the worksheet with “trash littered” beach picture at their
tables.
(vi) Inclusive Practices:
(i) There are many visuals in this lesson plan including the video, the “see, think,
wonder” picture, and the worksheet. There is the option for varying levels of writ-
ing- students can either trace the word pollution or write it on their own. Higher
levels of students can create sentence with the word pollution in it.

LESSON PLAN 10
PROJECT BASED LEARNING LESSON

*This lesson will focus on world issues, change making, community service, and project based
learning/engineering*.

Name of Project: Beach Clean Up Tool!

Duration: Two Day Activity:
i. Day One: Project making day

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 ii. Day Two: Field trip day to the beach

Subject/Course: Habitats-Science Unit

Teacher(s): Lead teacher, teacher’s aide
Grade Level: Kindergarten

Other subject areas to be included: Math

Key Knowledge and Understanding

CA NGSS standards –
i. K-2-ETS1-1. Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation
people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the develop-
ment of a new or improved object or tool.
ii. K-ESS3-3. Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, wa-
ter, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.*
CCCSS Math –
i. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4.A
When counting objects, say the number names in the standard order, pairing each ob-
ject with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only
one object.

21st Century Skills:

All four of the 4 C’s are present in this PBL project, and it will incorporate learning and
innovation skills, life and career skills, and interdisciplinary themes. The students will be collab-
orating together in small groups of four to come with the idea for a tool, giving them the oppor-
tunity to practice important life and career skills. Students will need to communicate throughout
the project as they will be working together for the entirety of it. The students will have to think
critically about what tool they will want to make, how to make it, what this tool with do, and
how they will be able to actually clean up the beach with it. The students will not be given spe-
cific directions of what to make, but rather just a variety of objects and materials to make it. This
will give them the opportunity to be very creative, having to design a tool and then actually cre-
ating it.

Project Summary:

After the students have done the habitat lessons on “Oceans” and “Polluting our Oceans”,
they will work together in small groups of four to create their own beach clean up device. The
students will be working on creating the tool one day before going to the beach another day to
participate in an actual clean up. to work on Students will be given different tools and crafts to

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create a tool to clean up the beaches, but will not be given any other specific directions. The stu-
dents will then have the opportunity to utilize this device during a beach clean up field trip. The
students will also be counting the pieces of trash that they pick up to see who is able to pick up
the most with their tool. They will also have gloves to pick up trash by hand as well.

Inclusive Practices:
Since this activity incorporates a lot of hands on learning, ELL students and diverse
learners would be able to participate and be engaged. For the ELL students, even if they cannot
orally contribute to the conversation or group discussion, they could physically contribute by
working on the tool with their peers.

STEM Unit, Summative Assessment

Lesson: “Creating a Habitat Travel Brochure”
Age: Early Elementary, K

(i) Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA LITERACY.L.K.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and
multiple-meaning words and phrases based on kindergarten reading and content.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descrip-
tions as desired to provide additional detail.
K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including
humans) need to survive.
(ii) Instructional Resources and Materials
(i) Travel Brochures

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 (ii) Habitat Poster Charts
(iii) Markers
(iv) Colored Pencils
(v) Paper
(vi) Scissors
(vii) Glue
(viii) Map of World
(ix) Map cutouts for each student
III. Lesson Objective: The students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of what they
have learned throughout this unit by creating a travel brochure that identifies the specific charac-
teristics of a particular habitat.
i. Academic Language: Travel brochure, habitat specific vocabulary
IV. Assessment
i. Informal (Formative)
(i) Sharing at table groups what habitat they will be selecting and what they
will put on their brochure.
(ii) The student’s progress on the brochure throughout the project.
(x) Formal (Summative)
(i) The travel brochure itself that the students are creating.
V. Instructional Strategies:
(xi) Anticipatory Set
(i) Engage Students:
(i) Present students with various travel brochures, explaining what a
brochure is and the purpose of them.
(ii) Have students pass brochures around and look through them.
(ii) Activate Prior Knowledge:
(i) Ask students if they have seen a brochure before. Where was it?
What was it for?
(ii) Students pair share what they found most interesting in the bro-
chures and why it makes them want to go to that place.
(xii) Instructional Modeling:
(i) Teacher will explain what a brochure is and the project.
(ii) Teacher will provide/create an example of the travel brochure that they will
be making, going over the specific guidelines for the project.
(iii) Teacher will review the habitat poster charts with students.
(iv) Teacher will go over key characteristics of each as a class.
(xiii) Guided Practice:
(i) Students will brainstorm which habitat they would like to make for the their
brochure with table groups.

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 (ii) Students will brainstorm ideas together of the drawings, words, and sen-
tences that they will include in the brochure.
(iii) Students will eventually share the brochure they have created with the
class.
(xiv) Closure:
(i) Pair share with table group why they selected this habitat for their travel
brochure.
(xv) Independent Practice:
(i) Each student will be creating a brochure on their own that includes identify-
ing on a map where the habitat is, pictures of the specific elements of their
selected habitat, and three sentences describing the habitat.
VI. Inclusive Practices:
(xvi) If needed, ESL students have the ability to write words on the brochure in
their native language. Higher level students will have the opportunity to write sen-
tences independently from the word bank, while lower level students will have
more assistance either by tracing or sentence starters.

RUBRIC: For “Habitat Travel Brochure”

/3 Student includes cover page for brochure with all requirements (Title-1pt, name-1pt, relevant
picture-1pt)
/1 Student
/2 Student has picture of map identifying where their habitat would be (picture of map-1pt, accu-
rate location of habitat-1pt)
/3 Student include three pictures of plant or animal species specific to their habitat.
/3 Student includes three sentences describing specifics of this habitat.
/4 Student presents brochure to class describing why they selected this habitat and one key trait
of it.
Demonstrates Understanding of the following Common Core Standards: /4
K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans)
need to survive.

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K-ESS3-1Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or ani-
mals (including humans) and the places they live.

CCSS.ELA LITERACY.L.K.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-

meaning words and phrases based on kindergarten reading and content.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as de-

sired to provide additional detail.

Total Points: /20

Examples of Worksheets/Lesson Materials:

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KWL Chart utilized in multiple lessons:

Match-Up Habitat Worksheet:

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Bears live in the forest.

Zebras Foxes
Monkeys

Sharks Snakes Goats

live in .
live in .
live in .
live in .
live in .
live in .

the desert the mountains

the forest

the sea the jungle

the plains

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Layers of the Rainforest Worksheet

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 Travel
Brochure
Example
(for higher
level stu-
dents):

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Page 30
Polluted Oceans Group Activity: See, Think, Wonder Chart

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Student/Teacher Collaboration Posters for Introducing Habitats Lesson:

Example of Classroom Trans-

formation to Rainforest Art Pro-
ject

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