Helen Coates

Teachers As Practitioners
Fall 2010

TAP Impact Assessment Plan

Rationale and Background

The unit taught and assessed is a two week unit for First Grade entitled “Well-adapted

Creatures: Bats and Owls”. Taught in the fall, the unit corresponds with the fall themes of

nocturnal animals: bats, squirrels, and owls and begins with a lesson on what all living things

need to survive. From there the lessons will introduce owls first, then bats, focusing on the

unique physical adaptations of each animal and the ways those adaptations help it survive in its

environment.

The unit will conclude with a Venn diagram that compares bats and owls, sorting their

particular characteristic similarities and differences. The final summative assessment is a test

where the students identify traits as belonging to a bat, an owl, or both.

Learning Outcomes

Students will understand that all living things need air, food, water, shelter, and space to

survive and beyond that animals have various physical characteristics that enable them to survive

in their own environment. Specifically they will learn about two nocturnal creatures, the Barn

Owl and bats, and they will end the unit by comparing the physical adaptations of a bat and an

owl and connecting how those adaptations contribute to their survival particularly as it impacts

diet and habitat.

NCSCOS Goals and Objectives:

Science Competency Goal 1: The learner will conduct investigations and make observations to
build an understanding of the needs of living organisms.
Science Objective 1.02 Investigate the needs of a variety of different animals:
 • Air.
• Water.
• Food.
• Shelter.
• Space.
Science Objective 1.04: Identify local environments that support the needs of common North
Carolina plants and animals.
Science Objective 1.05 Discuss the wide variety of living things on Earth.
Science Competency Goal 3: The learner will make observations and conduct investigations to
build an understanding of the properties and relationships of objects.
Science Objective 3.02 Investigate several ways in which objects can be described, sorted, and
classified.

Social Studies Competency Goal 1: The learner will analyze how individuals, families, and
groups are similar and different.
Social Studies Competency Goal 7: The learner will recognize how technology is used at home,
school, and in the community.

Language Arts Competency Goal 2: The learner will develop and apply strategies and skills to
comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
Language Arts Objective 2.03 Read and comprehend both fiction and non-fiction text
appropriate for grade one using: prior knowledge, summary, questions, graphic organizers.
Language Arts Objective 2.04 Use preparation strategies to anticipate vocabulary of a text and
to connect prior knowledge and experiences to a new text.
Language Arts Competency Goal 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral
language, written language, and media and technology.
Language Arts Objective 3.02 Recognize and relate similar vocabulary use and concepts across
experiences with texts.
Language Arts Competency Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral,
written, and visual texts.
Language Arts Objective 4.04 Extend skills in using oral and written language.
Language Arts Objective 4.06 Compose a variety of products (e.g. stories, journal entries,
letters, response logs, simple poems, oral retellings) using a writing process.
Language Arts Competency Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions
to communicate effectively.

Math Competency Goal 5: The learner will demonstrate an understanding of classification and
patterning.
Math Objective 5.02: Use a Venn diagram to illustrate similarities and differences in two sets.

Pre-assessment

There is no pre-assessment planned, as this is an introductory science unit for the first

grade and requires little prior knowledge for understanding or context.

Assessment Plan

The assessment plan includes observation checklists, anecdotal notes, journal entries,

diagrams, a writing piece, and culminates with a Venn diagram and a short test. The checklists

will let me know what I need to review before going on to the next lesson, and the anecdotal

notes highlight observations about the three learners that I have chosen.

Evaluation Plan

Using observations and anecdotal notes about the learning outcomes for each day, I will

assess what I need to review or present

Student Samples

Lesson One

Desired Learning Outcomes:

Students will know that animals, plants, and people need air, shelter, food, water, and space to
live. Students will also know that nocturnal animals are active at night.
Assessment

A combination of informal observations of participation during the lesson, anecdotal notes and a
checklist with the five basic needs listed.

Anecdotal Notes on Three Students:

Adam listened well and was attentive while I read the book, and he actually really perked
up during the discussion about basic needs of living things. It seems (and would make sense)
that Adam is relatively well read for a first grader and he had no trouble making connections
about what animals need to survive. He even mentioned the word habitat in the discussion of
shelter and homes.
Emma paid attention during the reading and our discussion, but she is so shy and reserved
that it was difficult for me to when she understands what we’re talking about or when she is
confused. Answering questions, whether voluntarily or when called upon, really seems to push
her out of her comfort zone and she is evidently extremely introverted. She was not able to
recall the fifth basic need of space.
I put Juan right at my feet in front of everyone else so I could easily make eye contact
with him and watch him as I read. At times he seemed to simply “zone out”, and when the
children laughed or made comments about the pictures, he would turn his attention back to us.
Twice I gently reminded him to listen – once while I was reading, and once while we were
making the list on the board. When his magic number was pulled for a question, he was unable
to respond and even though I asked the question three different ways, he did not respond. I don’t
know if he can’t hear me, doesn’t understand the question, or is too embarrassed to give any
answer at all for fear of being wrong. I spent several minutes with him when we listed the five
basic needs, but he could only name air, food, and water. I really think language is a barrier here
and I wish I knew how to speak Spanish. He does well in math but is struggling with reading,
writing, and it looks like I’ll have to figure how to help him understand more than just the
vocabulary words specific to this unit.
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Lesson Two

Desired Learning Outcomes:

Students will state four facts and/or adaptations about the Barn Owl and will actively participate
in the virtual dissection of an owl pellet.
Assessment

Informal observations as they watch the presentation and have each child answer at least

one question or make one comment about what they learned. Note how well students were able

to follow directions regarding the use of the Active Board pen for the virtual owl pellet

dissection.

Anecdotal Notes

Juan did fairly well, but even though he sat near the front, he wanted to be last to do the
virtual dissection. I can understand that since it was all so new to the students, and particularly
to him as an ESL student.
Adam did great and really loved the whole presentation, especially the webcam and
videos of Barn Owls. He wants to learn more about Barn Owls, so I sent home the links to
several of the websites that I used so he could spend more time learning about owls.
Emma was quiet but attentive and seemed to enjoy the virtual dissection. She actually
voluntarily raised her hand and answered a question after the presentation.
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Lesson Three

Desired Learning Outcomes:

• Students will correctly list four adaptations of the Barn Owl.
• Students will discuss the difference between fiction and non-fiction texts.
• Students will write four cohesive sentences about owls using proper punctuation,
complete sentences, and correct spelling of Word Wall words.
Assessment

Assessment comes in Lesson Four with the writing piece graded using the writing rubric.
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Lesson Four

Desired Learning Outcomes:

Students will communicate what they learned about owls in a four to five-sentence paper that

states several facts about owls and why they are well adapted to survive in their environment.

Assessment

The writing assignment will be evaluated based on the attached rubric that includes grammar and

writing conventions appropriate for First Grade.

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Adam’s graded paper and his rubric.

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Special Note:

*Each student had their name and the date on their paper as required, but for
confidentiality reasons, I covered the names up and used the pseudonyms I had chosen for
each of the three unique learners.

Writing Rubric
Name ______________________________

Name and Date

Capitalization
Punctuation
4 sentences
Correct spelling of Word Wall words
Spacing between words
Lesson Six

Desired Learning Outcomes:

Students will recognize three adaptations or traits of bats. They will also be able to differentiate
between bats and birds.

Assessment

As you finish reading the third page of the Scholastic News, have the students turn over

to page four. Explain that they are going to quickly compare a bat to a bird and then read the

directions at the top of the page. Point out that they choose one of three possible answers: bat,

bird, or both. Direct them to color in the bubble next to the correct answer for the first three

questions and then they will answer the final question by bubbling in the word that correctly

completes the sentence.

Walk around the classroom, making sure that students understand the directions and that

they use the diagrams to help answer the questions. Spend extra time as needed with the ELL

students to make sure they understand the questions, the directions, and the answers. The

diagram pictures will help them, but they may need a bit more support to answer each question.

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 The class as a whole and my three students, Juan, Adam, and Emily did very well on their short

worksheet about bats and birds. Emily didn’t bubble in her answers, she used an X to mark each one, but

I don’t see that as a big problem. Some of the other students put either an

X or a check mark so next time I will be sure to use either the white board or the overhead projector to

better illustrate what I expect them to do. They probably just needed to see what it was supposed to look

like.

I was pleased that the children did so well on this worksheet and it showed that they were

prepared to move on and learn more specifics about animal similarities and differences. In the next lesson

we will read Stellaluna and they will continue to make comparisons between bats and birds. Both Bloom

and Marzano would be proud of me for doing all this comparing and contrasting.

Lesson Eight

Desired Learning Outcomes:

Students will learn about the two types of bats - microbats and megabats - and which adaptations or
physical traits help them survive in their environment.
Assessment

Students will copy the T-chart in their Science journals and be able to use that information to give

three facts about megabats and three facts about microbats. Below are the three student samples from

Adam, Emma, and Juan.

I am also using this Science unit to introduce several types of graphic organizers – a bubble map, a

T-chart, a diagram, and a Venn diagram – so we can build on that skill as we plan and write papers and

stories throughout the year. These graphic organizers can be used across the curriculum and they will see

them more in their textbooks as they move into the upper elementary grades and into high school.

Graphic organizers are also good teaching strategies for ESL learners and for visual learners.
Anecdotal notes:
Adam’s entry into his journal was the most complete, as it took up two pages and had most
of the facts listed. Emma’s entry only had a portion of the facts for microbats and no facts for
megabats, but this is the first time they have really had to copy such detail off the whiteboard.
Emma is also a slow and careful writer, so that may be why she didn’t get as much done. Juan was
only able to copy the chart and one fact about microbats because he had to go to ESL while we were
copying the T-charts.
I did not have the students finish copying the facts in their journals because I wanted to
move on to the bat diagram lesson and we will discuss these adaptations in more detail tomorrow.
My real focus in this unit is that all living things need the same five things to survive, but there are
many different kinds of animals, even within species. A also want the students to realize that
animals have special physical features that allow to survive well.

Students at the front of the

classroom to copy details
from the T-chart that
compares megabats and
microbats.

Adam is in the forefront

and Juan is kneeling on
the left of the white board.
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Lesson Nine

Desired Learning Outcomes:

In a whole group format, students will name the adaptations of a bat and copy a diagram of a bat in

their science journals.

Assessment

As the students draw the bat in their journals, walk around the room commenting on

drawings and pointing out good handwriting and great detail. Make sure that the children are

labeling the parts correctly and stop to ask questions about bat anatomy. The point of this lesson is

to connect an animal’s diet and habitat with his physiology, so as we drew the diagram and as the

students copied it into their journals, we pretended to be scientists and investigated the major wing

and body parts of a bat to what they eat and where they live. The students had some real “aha!”

moments when they realized that claws, echolocation, big ears, and being able to hang upside down

really make a bat special and help him hunt and find food.
Emma’s diagram of the bat has
many of the parts labeled but the
drawing doesn’t show clearly the
finger bones of the bat’s wing. I
spoke to her and we discussed the
significance of the bat wing
anatomy and the part it plays in
how he lives.
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Lesson Ten

Desired Learning Outcomes:

Students will use a Venn diagram to organize, compare, and contrast the facts they have learned
about bats and owls.
Assessment

Using the worksheet “What Am I?” students match traits with the animal that has that trait.

The teacher reads each fact and then asks the children to circle whether that trait belongs to a bat, an

owl, or both a bat and an owl.

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Anecdotal notes

As a class, the students did well on the worksheet, but they struggled with the concept of
circling the correct answer that was opposite the question. We had never done a worksheet like this
before and it was probably not appropriate at this point in the year, but we had done something
similar a couple of days before with the questionnaire on the back of the Scholastic News issue.
When I explained the directions to the class and then read the first question and ended with
“What Am I?” several students raised their hands. I thought they had a question, but they gave the
answer to the question that I had just posed. Obviously I hadn’t explained the question very well.
Next time I would definitely use the overhead to model how to answer the first question.
The children understood the information taught and I think that for those students who didn’t do as
well, it was because of language issues, and there were no pictures or visuals to help them with
vocabulary words.
Adam and Emma did fine, except I have no idea why Adam missed number 8 which said “I
have wings” unless he thought that bats have “hands” instead of wings. I understand Juan’s
answers and feel like he did really well, especially since he had to leave some days to go to ESL
class. I did read the questions slowly standing near his desk when I gave the test, and I went back
and read two questions for him that he seemed confused by.