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Overview of lesson:
Context of lesson:
Learning Goals
SWBAT explain the possible effects of
introducing an invasive species into an
ecosystem.
Anticipating student ideas:
Making the content accessible
to all students:
Kristina Whitfield
Entrepreneurship Preparatory School Fifth Grade Science
Invasive Species
9/18/19
60 min
In this lesson, students will explore how the introduction of an invasive
species affects the organisms that are native to the ecosystem. Students
will then identify examples of species that are native and invasive to
Northeast Ohio. Finally, students will read about two more examples of
invasive species and use evidence from the text to argue whether or not
efforts should be made to remove the species.
This is the eighteenth lesson in Module one. Prior to this lesson, students
learned how to read and interpret food chains and webs. Following this
lesson, students will explore how the addition or removal of a species to a
food web can impact the rest of the organisms.
Learning Goals
Standards Addressed
5.LS.1: Organisms perform a variety of roles in an ecosystem.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons
and information.
Attending to the Learners
The introductory task was selected because creating food webs based on a
table of information is a skill that students have struggled with in the past.
During the explore activity, I anticipate that students will quickly make the
connection that other group members are not able to collect as many
resources after the “invasive” member is introduced. I will use that
connection to help students generate the definitions of the terms “native”
and “invasive” during the explain portion of the lesson. I am also
anticipating that most students will assume that the impacts of invasive
species are always negative, which is why I selected the example of the
turtle in Hawaii.
I am planning on starting with local examples to help students connect the
new vocabulary to ecosystems/species with which they are already familiar.
During the explore activity, I will utilize mixed ability groups so that
students can assist one another. During the explain and elaborate portions
of the lesson, I will use the smartboard to model the processes of creating
definitions, annotating a piece of text, and collecting evidence before
students are expected to do so independently. While most students work
independently, I will pull those who are on IEPs or are struggling readers to
work in a small group with me.
1
 Assessments

Type of Assessment: Learning-Goals Connection

Exit Ticket The exit ticket for this lesson involves the “because, but, so” sentence-level activity
from The Writing Revolution. Students will have to show their knowledge of how
invasive species impact an ecosystem using the sentence stem “Invasive species are a
threat to the ecosystem…”

Instructional Sequence
Materials:  Smartboard
 Metal Trays (1 per group)
 Plastic Spoons (4 per group)
 Puff balls (3 different colors, 15 of each color for each group)
 Student Worksheets

Time Main Steps Describing What the Teacher Notes and

components and Students Will Do: Reminders
(including
management
considerations)

10 Do Now  Students enter the classroom, clear their desks, Because this is a
min skill students
and work independently to create a food web
for four minutes struggle with, it
 Teacher circulates and collects two or three may be necessary
exemplars to model the part of
 Teacher show calls exemplars (CFUs: How did the food web on the
this student know that the brown bat is board and have
connected to the cucumber beetle? Why are the them fill in the
arrows pointing in this direction? From where arrows
are the vegetables getting their energy?)
 Pause for questions and then a student reads
the learning objective
15 Explore  Students are separated into mixed ability Give all directions
min groups of four. Each student is assigned a Lake before showing
Erie fish species. groups and handing
out supplies
 Each group of students receive a tray with 45
pom poms and four spoons. Project groups and
 For round 1, the perch, walleye, and trout have fish species
one minute to scoop up as much food (their assignments on the
assigned pom poms) as possible using one board
hand. When the timer rings, the whole group
records how many pom poms each member
Project a timer for
scooped out.
each round
 For round 2, the goby joins the game. The goby
can get any color pom pom. The groups again

2
Time Main Steps Describing What the Teacher Notes and
components and Students Will Do: Reminders
(including
management
considerations)

have one minute and then record how many

pom poms each member scooped out.
 Students have a count down from 30 to return
all supplies to the front table and return to their
assigned seats.
 Students have 1 ½ minutes to independently
respond to the question “How did the game
change when the goby was introduced?”
 Share responses whole class and fill in the term
“invasive” in the blank
7 min Explain  Students complete definitions of native and
invasive species (combination of teacher and
student ideas)
 Examine Lake Erie examples
 Students complete notes about how invasive
species travel to new ecosystems (provided by
teacher)
 Students have 1 ½ minutes to independently
respond to the question “How could invasive
species be a threat to the ecosystem?” drawing
upon experience from the game
 Students engage in a turn and talk before
sharing their answers with the entire class
20 Elaborate  Teacher cold calls students to read text about
min Burmese pythons Pull groups of
 While students read, teacher models process of scholars who
receive
annotating text (+ for reasons to keep species,
accommodations or
- for reasons to remove species) and organizing who are struggling
annotations into the graphic organizer readers during
 CFU: Show a thumbs up if we have more independent work
evidence for keeping the pythons or a thumbs time
down if we have more evidence for removing
them.
 Teacher models answering the question “Should
the Everglades keep Burmese pythons or try to
get rid of them?” using the claim-evidence-
reasoning format
 Students have 8 - 10 minutes to read the
second text, create annotations, and answer the
follow-up question independently (or in a small
teacher-led group)
 Students engage in a turn and talk before

3
Time Main Steps Describing What the Teacher Notes and
components and Students Will Do: Reminders
(including
management
considerations)

taking a class poll about what should be done

with the turtles – call on scholars to explain
both sides of the argument
8 min Exit Ticket  Students have five minutes to complete and
turn in the “because, but, so” writing activity
 Teacher circulates and shares exemplar
responses after all papers have been collected