Millicent Atkins School of Education: Common Lesson Plan Template

Teacher Candidate Name: Stephanie Jay

Grade Level: Second Grade
Subject: Life Science
Date: 1.28.20
PLANNING
List the Common Core/State Standard(s) to be addressed in this lesson.

Second Grade Life Science Standard (Systems): 2-LS4-1.

Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.

List the Rationale (cite theories or theorists):

Archer, A. L. (2011). Explicit Instruction. Effective and Efficient Teaching. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

List the learning objective(s) to be addressed in this lesson (specific, measurable, attainable, timebound).
Use the following format: “Students will be able to…”

Students will be able to identify the characteristics of the six different animal groups (mammals, birds,
amphibians, reptiles, insects and fish), and match the animal to the correct group.

Describe how the learning objective(s) and the learning outcomes is/are appropriate for the
age/developmental level of the students.

Classification is a process skill that can be transferred to other areas as well as how it is used in this specific
lesson.

Describe the Classroom Demographics: (e.g., ethnicities; gender ratios; special needs, including those of
gifted students, those of students’ physical needs, and those due to cultural characteristics).
Group being taught: The group being taught is a second-grade special education classroom. These students are eight
years old.

Describe your Knowledge of Students: (in terms of the whole class and individual students)
(e.g., language needs; approaches to learning; prior learning and experiences; academic
proficiencies/behavioral differences; areas of interest).
Prerequisite skills: The prerequisite skills would be: how to read basic classification ideas, simple prediction skills,
and knowing the definition of an animal.
All students in this classroom will need concrete and visual and auditory experiences in order to successfully learn
the content.

List the materials/resources you will need to teach the lesson.

I will need pictures of twelve different animals: two for each animal group. I will also have a handout that gives
the different characteristics of each animal group so the students can use it as a way to find out what category
each of the twelve animals goes in.

Technology
Describe the instructional and/or assistive technology that you plan to incorporate into the lesson and explain how it
will enhance instruction and student learning.
I will not be including any technology for this lesson plan.

Accommodations: Base this on the information you provided for Classroom Demographics and
Knowledge of Students above.
Describe the accommodations/differentiation/modifications you will use to meet the needs of all learners
and accommodate differences in students’ learning, culture, language, etc. *

You do not need to include this part for this lesson.

Pre-Assessment: Describe the instrument or process you will use to measure students’ level of
understanding toward the learning objective(s) prior to teaching the lesson.

You do not need to include this part for this lesson.

Pre-Assessment: Describe how the results of the pre-assessment (what the students have demonstrated
they know) will be used to design the lesson objectives, instruction, and post-assessment. (Include charts,
graphs if applicable)
You do not need to include this part for this lesson.

Classroom Management
Identify the management and motivational strategies you will use to meet student behavioral/developmental needs
in order to keep students on task and actively engaged throughout the lesson.

I will engage the students by giving them a tactile thing for them to utilize at their tables. I will also walk around
the room and monitor for student on task behaviors.

Implementation
“I Do”
(Teacher introduces lesson and models expected outcome(s) of learning objectives)
Describe what instructional strategies you will use to model/explain/demonstrate the knowledge and skills
required of the objective.
Gain Attention: Good afternoon second grade class. I’d like you to think of your favorite animal. Think
about how it looks and some features you notice about that animal. That animal could be a mammal,
amphibian, reptile, insect, bird, or fish. Now yesterday we learned about these different categories, and
today we are going to learn how to classify animals into them.
Relevance: Classification skills can be very beneficial such as grouping things by color, size and shape.
You will classify many different things in your lives such as grouping different foods by category,
organizing things, and many more. It can also help us understand and make sense of our world.
RULE: There are five different categories: mammal, amphibian, reptile, insect, birds and fish. To find what
category they belong in we must look to the outside of the animal first, or its skin.
Example: An example of this would be a dog. A dog has fur on it’s back, and so does all mammals. We
would then classify a dog as a mammal.
Non-Example: A non-example would be classifying a snake in the fish category because of their scales;
since both fish and snakes sometimes have scales on their skin. That is why we have to look at the outer
layer’s features of the animal, and then look to the chart to accurately group it.
MODELS:
Reptile: First let’s look at this animal. Remember to always look at their outside layer or skin first to
classify. Now this animal looks like it has rough skin, and kind of scaly. Let’s look to the chart and see
which category has these characteristics. So this animal would be classified as a REPTILE.
Bird: Alright, now let’s look at this animal. Remember our rule to look at the outer layer and skin of the
animal first. It looks like this animal has feathers. Let’s look at the questions. This animal does have feathers
and it does have wings. We would classify this as a BIRD.
Insect: This next animal looks like it has a hard shell on its back. Let’s look through the questions. [Reads
through questions] This animal would be classified as an INSECT.
Mammal: Let’s look at this animal’s outer layer. It looks to have a fur and hair on its back. [Reads through
questions]. If we look at the categories that would classify this animal as a MAMMAL.
Amphibian: This last animal’s skin looks to be kind of thinner and dewey. Let’s see what the chart says.
[Reads through questions] Since this animal has thin and moist skin, we would classify this as an
AMPHIBIAN.

With this chart and your classification skills, we can classify animals without even knowing the specific
animals they are. With these skills you can take your favorite animal and classify it into the correct group.
“We Do”
(Teacher engages students in guided practice)
Describe the learning activities you will use to provide students multiple opportunities to practice the skills and
content needed to meet the learning objective(s).
[Now I will hand out a photo an animal to each table and call on the first table to ask them to hold up
the picture].

This first table will show you a picture of an animal, and together we are going to decide what group
to classify each animal in.
This is the first animal [picture of a fish]. Look at this animal, what do you notice first about it? (Call
on someone to give a response from the table). That’s right! Let’s look at our sheet and see the criteria
with that characteristic. We can see that this is in what category? (Group responds). That is one of the
criteria for the FISH category. Great job.

This is the second animal. [Show photo of a mammal]. What is the first thing that you notice about
this animal? (Ask the group and they respond). What category would that make this animal in then?
(Group Responds). That is absolutely right.

For this third animal [reptile], what do you notice about this one? (The group that is called on
responds). What would that characteristic make this animal? (Group responds). That’s right!

Would the next table show their picture? [Photo of insect]. What is the first thing you observe about
this animal? (Group responds). I agree, so because of this, what category would this animal be
classified in? (Group answers). That’s right! Great job.

Now for the fifth animal. [Picture of amphibian]. What does your group notice about this animal?
(Group responds with a characteristic). Right! So what category would that place this animal under?
(Group answers). Correct! Great job.

[If the group does not respond with the correct answer, I will guide them to the right answer by
asking another question about the traits of the animal or something they notice about the animal.
(I will do a similar process for each of the categories when I ask for each of the examples).

“You Do”
(Students engage in independent practice)
Describe what the students will do to independently practice the knowledge and skills required by the lesson
objectives?
Independent Practice: I will give each student twelve different pictures of various animals and six
different sheets of paper with the different categories (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects
and fish) on them.
You will place each category spread out on your desks, giving enough room to put pictures underneath
them. Then you will pick up a picture of an animal and remember to [RULE] always look at the animals’
skin/fur first. This will help to identify what category the animal belongs in. Then, when all of the
animals have been placed under the category you think it belongs in, I will come look at them.
RULE: Always look at the animal’s skin to see the characteristics first.
Correction Procedure: If a student answers a question wrong, I would help guide them in the right
direction to find the answer. For example:
During the “We Do” part of the lesson, I hold up a picture of a frog. I ask the students to look at the
sheet that gives the different classification hints. I then ask a student what category he thinks the animal
belongs in. He says “reptile.” I would respond by asking “what characteristics does the picture show to
you right away? Remember to look at their skin right away for a hint.” He would likely say that they
have colorful skin and a slimy texture. I would then ask him what category also holds those same traits.
He would look at the different categories on the sheet provided and see that those were under
“amphibian.” He would respond with amphibian then and we would continue to classify more animals.
[When doing the “We Do,” I would also give feedback after each student answered a question, saying
things like “I like how you looked at the picture and saw the characteristics that the animal showed” or
“That’s right! I like how you raised your hand and answered the question.”]

Lesson Closing
Describe how you will reemphasize the lesson objective(s) and any skills/content that were taught in an
interactive manner (whole/small group, etc.).
Let’s go through what we have learned about the classification of animals. First, we learned that there
are six different categories that we can use to classify animals. These include mammals, birds,
amphibians, reptiles, insects and fish. We also learned different things about these animals that makes
them unique. Such as (read off the sheet that has the characteristics for a few examples). We learned
how to classify these animals into different groups as well.
Next time, we will be learning about the different biomes that these animals are found in. Biomes
include the type of weather and the part of the world they live in.
Assign independent work: For your own independent practice, you will take a picture of an animal
home, of your choice, (I will have various animals for them to choose from) and use the chart to figure
out what classification the animal belongs in. Then, you will also write on the back of the photo two
reasons why the animal belongs to that classification. When we come back, we will share our animals,
and the information that we discovered about that animal.

Post-Assessment: APPENDIX: Include a blank copy of the lesson post-assessment you will use to measure
students’ level of understanding toward the learning objectives after teaching the lesson.

Not needed for this lesson.

Analyze
Post Assessment: Based on the results of the Pre and Post-Assessment, to what extent did students achieve the
learning goals/objective of the lesson? Cite examples from the lesson plan, assessments, and/or video.
If applicable, insert a table/chart/graph before your explanation.

Not needed for this lesson.

 Reflect
Reflect on your instructional strategies, interactions with students, and classroom management strategies. Describe
what went well and what areas you need to revise in the future. Cite examples (from video) that support your
conclusions.
Describe revisions that you could make if you were to teach this lesson again. Why would you make each revision?
Cite examples from the lesson plan, video and/or student work that would prompt revisions.

I thought my lesson went pretty well. One area I thought went well were the visuals. Second
grade students would enjoy the photos of animals and would be beneficial in teaching them how to
classify the animals. Another area I thought went well was relating the lesson to what the audience
knows. I wanted to ask the audience about their favorite animal and how it looked so they could be
involved in the lesson and want to learn what category it belongs in.

An area that I would need to revise would be the non-example, I thought. I mentioned how a
non-example could be classifying a snake in the “fish” category due to sometimes they both can have
scales. It could be helpful to students to see the scales on both animals. I could also work on my
delivery, specifically the speed and volume which I talk. I may have talked too fast and too quiet. To
help this better next time, I will work on it by recording myself and speaking to a willing person that
could give pointers.

If I were to teach this lesson again, I would possibly bring another model, but this time it
would be a stuffed animal that they could pass around and feel while I would describe what
classification that animal fits under. This could be a way for them to have an idea of what fur feels
like or what scales feel like, so they can better identify the animals. I really enjoyed getting to present
this lesson and it was a great learning experience to benefit for the future!