Sierra Nevada College Lesson Plan

Teacher
Candidate:
Grade/Subject:
Lesson
Content:
SNC
Supervisor:

Andrew Moltz
7th Grade/Science
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Lead
Teacher:
District:
School:

[Type text]

Time
Allotted:

50 minutes.

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Materials, including technology:

Classroom books and laptops. Both of these materials will be used for student
research on the assignment.
Standard(s), including literacy for all content areas and/or SMP
MS-LS4-1. Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and
change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.

How will learning be assessed at the end of the unit/learning cycle (summative):
Unit materials will be assessed using an assessment featuring both multiple-choice and
open-ended written response questions. There will be questions about mass extinctions and
extinct organisms, including possible causes of mass extinctions.
Objective(s): high cognitive demand for diverse learners

Cognitive Level (DOK or

Blooms)

1.

Students will learn about the events and

environmental conditions at the end of the Cretaceous as
well as which animals went extinct.

This objective reaches the Bloom

Digital Taxonomy level of
Understanding. Students are not
only reciting lists; they are also
gaining a level of understanding
about the environmental conditions
and events at the end of the
Cretaceous.

2. Students will use available evidence and theories and collaborate with their peers
to determine the cause or causes of the terminal Cretaceous extinction and design
their own presentation featuring their theory of choice.

This objective reaches the Bloom

Digital Taxonomy levels of
Creation. Not only will students be
evaluating different scientific, but
students will also collaborate to
make a presentation that states
their opinions.

Connections to past learning or experience, building background

Students will have previously learned about extinction and how there are certain
events in Earths history where most living species at the time became extinct as a
result of severe changes to Earths environments.
Essential Vocabulary

Definitions

Ammonite

Extinct shelled mollusks that became extinct at the same time as the

Sierra Nevada College Lesson Plan

Bolide impact

Deccan Traps

dinosaurs. They were once as common in the sea as fish are in todays oceans.
A catastrophic event when a meteorite or other large object collides with
Earths surface.
Thick sequences of volcanic rocks in India that coincide with the extinction
of the dinosaurs.

Strategy for teaching new vocabulary

For teaching new vocabulary I will use a narrative to explain the situation at the end of the Cretaceous and give a sense of
mystery to the issue students are going to research and debate on.

Sequence and Scope of Instruction (include

instructional strategies, questions, opportunities
for meaning making through discourse and other
engagement strategies, formative assessments,
opportunities for metacognition, grouping,
differentiation and transitions)

Instructional Strategy

estimate
d time

Warm-up

Students will start with a warm-up

that asks them about what mass
extinctions are. This will enable them
to review a concept they learned
about a previous class.

5 minutes

Introduction to Class Assignment

The teacher will begin by presenting

the situation of the K-T Extinction to
the class in a narrative form.
Proposed theories as to the cause of
the extinction will be put forward,
including the Yucatan bolide impact,
Deccan Trap volcanism, gradual
changes in Earths environments,
disease, and multiple causes. The goal
of this assignment is for students to
break out into groups and look at
scientific evidence regarding the
terminal Cretaceous extinction and
come to their own conclusions as to
the cause of the extinction without
simply being indoctrinated in any one
theory. The teacher will instruct
students to appropriate books in class
as well as laptops to search for
reliable resources on the subject.
Students will be assigned by the
teacher to groups of four or five
each. Two students in each group will
research, and two students in each
group will record what the
researchers find. If there is an odd
fifth person out that person will be
the spokesman for the group the
following day during their
presentations; that person will also
put together what each
researcher/recorder pair has
discovered.

5 Minutes

Sierra Nevada College Lesson Plan

Group Research and Discussion

The students start researching and

working in their assigned groups. The
goal is for students to find available
scientific evidence and then discuss
their findings. After researching for
a while students will discuss with
their groups the evidence they have
come up with. They will reflect on
what they have learned, so there will
be some opportunity for
metacognition. As a group they will
come up with a group position as to
what they think caused the extinction
of dinosaurs and most other animals
at the end of the Mesozoic. One of
the recorders or the odd person out
will write up the groups position for
the presentation tomorrow. Students
then put away any books used as
references before answering a
reflection question at the end of
class. Group presentations will occur
during the next class period.

35 Minutes

Closure : specific activity to review content

After students have researched their topic and discussed with their groups they will reflect by thinking about how the
terminal Cretaceous extinction helped create the world humans and other modern day organisms live in today. They will
write down their answers in their science journals.

Teacher Candidate Reflection on the lesson (after delivery)

Did students understand the environmental conditions that existed at the end of the
Cretaceous? Did students understand the events that occurred and learn which groups of
animals survived and which died? What available resources were students using during
their research? What theories seemed to be popular with students? Were students coming
up with their own novel theories during their research and discussions? Were all group
members participating in the discussions and performing their assigned roles? Were
students reflecting at the end of the period? Were students actively engaged in the
assignment?
SNC: April 3, 2014