Science Lesson Plan Template

Name: Sarah Al-shdifat

School: Lincoln North Star
Cooperating teacher: Mrs. Tracie Chapo
Course: Biology 10
Grade level: 10
Number of students: 22 (period 2) and 26 (period 3)
Listing of special needs (number of students, IEP modifications required, etc.) Period 2- none;
Period 3- Two students. This lesson is designed to meet the needs of all students without needing
special modifications.
ELLs (number and level of English fluency): Period 2- One student; Period 3- one student.
Date lesson is to be taught: Monday September 28th, 2015
Science concept/topic for lesson: Biodiversity
Next Generation Science Standards addressed:
-

HS-LS4-6. Create or revise a simulation to test a solution to mitigate adverse impacts of human
activity on biodiversity.
-- Engaging in Argument from Evidence

Nebraska State Science Education Standards (2010) addressed:

-Life science, grade band 9-12, page 16
-SC12.3.4.a Identify different types of adaptations necessary for survival (morphological,
physiological, behavioral)

Reference the source of all activities (title, author, year):

Materials for activity:
Games- Jenga, Kerplunk, Uno Stacko and the cards for the card game.
Worksheets

Instructional & Assessment Plan

Inquiry Phase
Engage

Explore

Instructional Activity & Evaluation Tool

Start off asking, What comes to
mind when you hear the word
biodiversity? Can you come up
with some meanings for
biodiversity if you break it down to
Bio- and Diversity?
Students will come up with ideas
and jot them down (Will have
students make a T-chart; one side
What I know or think and What
I learned(This will be returned to
at the end of the explain as the
formative assessment).
Students will then share/ discuss
what they came up with and why.
Stations for games
There will be 4 different activities
throughout the classroom: Jenga,
Kerplunk, Uno Stacko and a card
game. Students will choose to play
ONE of the games, Jenga,
Kerplunk, and Uno Stacko, and the
rest of the students will be doing
the card game.
The games, Jenga, Kerplunk, and
Uno Stacko are representing the
stability in the ecosystem (Ex:
Jenga- each block has a organism
on it and as students pull out the
organism the tower will be okay,
however the more organisms you
pull out of the ecosystem, the less
stable it will become and the jenga
stack crashes down- students
should be able to visualize this
happening in the environment as
something happens to those
organisms. This is what all the
games will represent but all in
different formats, same idea.)
The card game will have three
different envelops as a part of the

How long?
2-3 minutes

About 20-25 minutes


Explain (Part 1:
Students)

Explain (Part 2:
Teacher)

Elaborate
(optional)

game: Envelop 1- 5 different types

of amphibians (toad, tree frog,
salamander, leopard frog, and
poisonous dart frog) and 1 raccoon;
Envelop 2- 1 mouse, 5 predators
(fox, coyote, hawk, falcon and
owl), 1 snake; Envelop 3- 1
sunflower, 5 pollinators (bumble
bee, honey bee, moth, butterfly,
hummingbird). The purpose of this
card game is to represent how
different species will suffer as more
of the organism they rely on
disappears. Students will represent
this by forming these cards into
food chains and determining what
goes where and what would happen
if one of those organisms were
removed.
There is an formative assessment
along with this game (attached)
Have students talk about what they About 10-15 minutes
(collaboratively for both
did and why they did it that way;
explain I&II)
what did they learn about
biodiversity? Are there different
types of biodiversity? (Based on
what they learned from the
activity)
I will elaborate more on
biodiversity and the different types
of biodiversity: Genetic,
ecosystem, and species diversity.
Formative assessment: have the
students return to sheet from the
beginning of class and write what
they learned, specifically what they
learned about the 3 types of
biodiversity (all ideas are welcome
though).
Worksheet provided by cooperating
teacher.

About 10 minutes (or

remaining class time;
worksheet will be continued in
class the next day, as students
will more about biodiversity.

Respond to all of the following:

1. Summarize how you will use inquiry-based science instruction. (Organize by 5E phases:
Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate (optional)).
Inquiry based science instruction will be used by implementing the 5E phases. I will begin by
activating prior knowledge and asking student to make a T-chart to write down what they
think or know on the left-side column and what they learned on the right-side column, which
they will come back to later in class (Engage). Students will play different games throughout
the period demonstrating the stability of the environment when certain organisms are coming
in or leaving the environment (Explore). Students will then discuss in groups and come to
consensus on what steps were taken when playing the games to understand the purpose of the
games. I will then elaborate on the information they share and discuss the three different
types of biodiversity (genetic, ecosystem and species diversity) (Explain I and II). Lastly,
students will elaborate by starting on the worksheet, provided by my cooperating teacher that
she would like the student to do to compliment the discussion on the types of biodiversity,
this worksheet will be continued to work on the day in class (Elaborate).
2. Summarize your formative and summative assessment plan (what information about
students understanding will you collect)
Information collected from the assessment will include activating prior knowledge, what they
learned that they may of not known before, will have student demonstrate understanding of
the purpose of the activities (games).
3. How would you meet the needs of any students with special needs? (REQUIRED)
This lesson meets the needs of these student without special modifications, however if it
would to occur, the students are able to pick their own groups, will have instructions along
with all the activities and almost all parts are interactive/ hand-on. These students are also
allowed extra time if needed.
4. How do you plan to address the needs of ELL students? (REQUIRED)
The way the lesson is designed should meet the needs of these students without special
modifications
5. How do you plan to address equal participation of students in the lesson? What ways of
organizing peer-to-peer discourse will you use?

All students will take turns playing the games and must participate as a group or team;
students are expected to work collaboratively and to discuss ideas/solutions together.
Students will do written activities on their own. There may be a possibility that students will
have to assign group members certain jobs within the group (i.e. note taker, putting the game
together, etc)

Name(s) ______________________________________________________
1. We played different games (Uno Stacko, Jenga, or Kerplunk and the Animal card game) to
model the effects of species loss on ecosystems.
a. What did the individual blocks or sticks represent?
b. What did the tower or column of marble represent?
c. Using this analogy, what was the effect on the ecosystem of losing just a few species?
d. What was the effect of continued species loss?
e. Can you always tells which species loss will begin the final, total collapse?
2. Describe how species biodiversity acts as a safety net or backup plan for species in an
ecosystem?