Name: Susanne Spencer Date: November 16, 2017

EDU 513 Lesson Planning Template

Grade/Grade Band: 3rd Topic: Beavers Lesson # 1

Brief Lesson Description: Students will be learning about the different characteristics of Beavers, as well as learning about their habitats
and diets. Students will learn about how beavers can impact the environment around them and how they impact the local area of New
York.
Performance Expectation(s):

New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards:

3-LS1-1. Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction,
and death.

3-LS4-3. Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and
some cannot survive at all.

3-LS4-4. Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and
animals that live there may change.

English Language Arts Learning Standards:

3.R.1. Ask and answer questions to locate relevant and specific details in a text to support an answer or inference.

3.R.2. Determine a theme or central idea and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize portions of a text.

3.W.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to explore a topic and convey ideas and information relevant to the subject.

3.W.7. Recall relevant information from experiences or gather information from multiple sources; take brief notes on sources and sort
evidence into provided categories.

Specific Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to recall important facts from the readings and video about Beavers. Students will be
write the facts they know into a paragraph that incorporates the main points of the lesson. Students should be able to understand what
group of animals the beaver is categorized into, as following the unit lesson.

Narrative/Background Information
Prior Student Knowledge: Students already have prior knowledge about mammals and their characteristics from previous lessons from this
unit. Students will also have a background in understanding different diets, habitats, and reproduction characteristics.

Science & Engineering Practices: Disciplinary Core Ideas: Crosscutting Concepts:

Engaging in Argument from Evidence LS1.B: Growth and Development of Patterns

Construct an argument with evidence.
(3-LS4-3) 

Make a claim about the merit of a
solution to a problem 
 by citing
relevant evidence about how it meets
the criteria and constraints of the
Organisms
Patterns of change can be used to make
Reproduction is essential to the continued predictions. (3-LS1-1)
existence of every kind of organism. Plants
and animals have unique and diverse life
cycles. (3-LS1-1)
Cause and Effect
LS4.C: Adaptation 

Cause and effect relationships are routinely
identified and used to explain change.
For any particular environment, some kinds
of organisms survive well, some survive less
 well, and some cannot survive at all. (3-LS2- 1),(3-LS4-3)
problem. (3-LS4-4) 

(3-LS4-3) 

Systems and System Models

LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans A system can be described in terms of its


 Populations live in a variety of habitats, components and their interactions. (3-LS4-4)
and change in those habitats affects the
organisms living there. (3-LS4-4) 


Possible Preconceptions/Misconceptions: Students may have the preconceived notion that beavers do not live anywhere near them.
Students also may think that beavers cannot swim. There also may be confusion on the actual size of beavers, as they may think they are
smaller than they actually are. Some students may also believe that beavers live in their dams, rather than beaver lodges.

Teaching Materials: Computers, projector, and Common Core Language Arts Skill Strand books (Unit 2).

Safety: None

LESSON PLAN – 5-E Model

ENGAGE: Opening Activity – Access Prior Learning / Stimulate Interest / Generate Questions:
Students will be asked if they have ever seen a beaver before in their back yards. Students will be asked to discuss what they know
about beavers with the students next to them. Students will be asked to write down all the things that they know about beavers. Once they
have talked about their prior learning we can start to see if there were any misconceptions that will be talked about in the book.
.
EXPLAIN: Concepts Explained and Vocabulary Defined:
We will be talking about different characteristics of beavers and their classifications. We will also talk about the environment that beavers
live in and the local areas that beavers could survive. We will also mention that beavers are the official state animal of New York and
explain why.
Next the students will be listen to chapter 14 in the Unit 2 Common Core Language Arts Skill Strand reader. There will be stopping
points in the lesson to describe new vocabulary that may be new to them. This will help to lead the discussion more on beavers and their
characteristics.

Key vocabulary that you will introduce/use:

Gnaw- to bite or to chew.
Extinction- when there is no more individuals of a species left.
Pelts- the skin of a dead animal.
Wetlands- an area of land covered by shallow water.
Rodent-a small animal that has sharp front teeth, that continue to grow.
EVALUATE:

Formative Monitoring (Questioning / Discussion):

The lesson will begin and end with a discussion of the main topic. The beginning discussion will target what students know or what they
may want to know. The end discussion will talk about what they have learned and what they still may want to know on the subject. This
may lead to them doing research of their own. Students will be asked throughout the lesson if there are any questions that will help clarify
their understanding of the topic. Students will be able to create their own fact sheets that list some of the characteristics that we learned
about beavers

Engagement activity Students will be allowed to sit on the floor for this activity and have their notes on a clipboard.
(5 minutes)
Teacher Talk- “Today we are going to learn about an animal that we have in our area. Before I tell you what the
animal is I want you to take a guess with some clues I tell you. When you think you have an idea put your
thumbs up and try to keep from yelling out your answer till everyone has had a chance to think. I have a long flat
tail, a furry body, big teeth, can be the size of a large cat, I can swim, I chew on trees, sometimes I scurry in yout
backyard and am sometimes a nuisance. Can you guess what I am? (Allow time for students to take guesses until
someone get the answer correct. If no one does give further descriptions i.e I build dams, I cut down whole trees
 with my teeth). If you said beaver, you guessed correctly! The beaver is such an interesting animal that we can
see right outside our houses. Although, we will learn that sometimes seeing these animals can be bad for the
environment around us. I want you to take time to write down all the things that pop into your head when you
think of beavers (Allow a few minutes for students to take quick notes).

Direct instruction Teacher Talk- “ We have already learned about many different ways to classify animals into categories. Can you
(15 minutes) remember the names of a few (Students should mention vertebrates/invertebrates, cold-blooded/warm-
blooded, mammals, amphibians, etc.). Let’s think of our chart we made a few classes ago and decide which
categories our beaver friend will fall under. I am going to have you all read along in your books with me and we
will start to learn more about beavers. Before we start reading I want to spend a few minutes talking about
some new words that we will learn today. (Review Vocabulary above by asking students what they already know
and guiding them towards the definitions. Gnaw- to bite or to chew. Extinction- when there is no more
individuals of a species left. Pelts- the skin of a dead animal. Wetlands- an area of land covered by shallow
water. Rodent-a small animal that has sharp front teeth, that continue to grow.)

Read from Unit 2 Chapter 14 of The Common Core Language Arts Reader for 3rd Grade.

Teacher Talk- “That was some really interesting information, I know I learned a lot. What are something that
Check for you wrote down on your sheet that you learned about beavers (Allow students to talk about their different
understanding answers. Write them up on the board for all the students to see). So, we have learned many new things about
(10 minutes) beavers. Did you know that the beaver is actually the state animal of New York? We have so many in the area
that it gets a special title. Remember from the reading that sometimes the beavers can alter and change their
environment that might have negative impacts on us. In fact, there were once beavers that were living down by
the nature trail behind the school. Some of the teachers had to remove the dams properly to ensure that the
area would not have to deal with negative impacts. So, while they are interesting to see it is always a good idea
to keep your distance and tell an adult. You have all learned a lot about beavers today and I want us to continue
to think about different ways we would categorize animals as we prepare for tomorrow.”

Differentiation/Modifications: Students who are in need of laptops for writing their notes will be given access to their Chromebooks for the
lesson.

Assessment/Reinforcement: Students will be assessed based on their participation int eh classroom discussion both before and after the read
aloud.

References:

Common Knowledge Foundation (2013). Classification of animals: Tell it again! Read-aloud anthology.Core Knowledge: Charlottesville,
Virginia.
 Materials Required for This Lesson/Activity
Quantity Description Potential Supplier (item #) Estimated Price
19 Common Core Language Arts Reader School N/A
Companion Books