Animal Kingdom Science Lesson
Assessing Communicative Skills – Animal Kingdom Science Lesson
Jennifer L Givens
Grand Canyon University – ESL 523N
June 12, 2013
Assessing Communicative Skills – Animal Kingdom Science Lesson
SOLOM Assessment The student in this assessment is a male 5th grade student whose native country is Burma (Myanmar). He is very quiet and was new to this school environment. He attended school one day and then did not come back the next. The classroom teacher wrote a letter and had the other Burmese students take it and translate it for him. He then came back the next day and has continued to come every day. He is very quiet and hesitant to speak in English but when he does you can tell he has had a decent introduction to the English language. …show more content…
He is able to complete activities with one-on-one guidance and repetition of instructions. He knows his letters and pronounces most of them correctly. He was able to put together 3-letter word puzzles, read the letters and read most of the words. Upon observation of this student using the SOLOM (Student Oral Language Observation Matrix) I would give him a rating of 15 out of 25. He was scored as follows: A. Comprehension – 4 – Understands nearly everything at normal speech. Although occasional repetition may be necessary. B. Fluency – 2 – Usually hesitant: often forced into silence by language limitations C. Vocabulary – 3 – Student frequently uses wrong words: conversation somewhat limited because of inadequate vocabulary (hard to score since he is an overly quiet child at this point) D. Pronunciation – 3 – Pronunciation problem necessitate concentration on the part of the listener and occasionally lead to misunderstanding. E. Grammar – 3 – Makes frequent errors of grammar and word order that occasionally obscure meaning.
I feel this student just needs to build confidence in his abilities to use English. He understands the language when it is spoken to him quite well. He just needs to work on writing the words and feeling comfortable in speaking in English. I would suggest partner activities with a non-Burmese student so that he has to communicate with someone who only speaks English and by working with a partner or in a team he can use them to help improve his reading and writing in English.
Lesson Plan including Summative and Formative Assessments SIOP LESSON PLAN Teacher’s Name: Jennifer Givens Grade 5 | Subject: Science Date: From to | Theme | The Animal Kingdom | Lesson Topic | Learning to classify living things | Rationale | The purpose of this lesson is to teach students how animals are classified and how to compare the characteristics that scientists use. We have several activities and they will all be done with partners/teams created by the teacher. This will assist my ELL student by not allowing him to feel threatened by the work and have an English speaking student as a guide. | Missouri Standards | Strand 3: Characteristics and Interactions of Living OrganismsScope and Sequence – Classification of Plants and AnimalsPart D: Plants and animals have different structures that serve similar functions necessary for the survival of the organisma. Compare structures (e.g., wings vs. fins vs. legs; gills vs. lungs; feathers vs. hair vs. scales) that serve similar functions for animals belonging to different vertebrate classesPart E: Biological classifications are based on how organisms are relateda. Explain how similarities are the basis for classificationb. Distinguish between plants (which use sunlight to make their own food) and animals (which must consume energy-rich food)c. Classify animals as vertebrates or invertebratesd. Classify vertebrate animals into classes (amphibians, birds, reptiles, mammals, fish) based on their characteristicse. Identify plants or animals using simple dichotomous keys Biological classifications are based on how organisms are relatedhttp://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/GLE/documents/cur-sc-gle-k-5-1108.pdf | Objectives:Language | Student will be able to compare classes of animals and define the meaning of vertebrate and invertebrate. | Objectives:Content | Students will learn to identify and classify living things. They will be able to compare characteristics of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish as well as be able to identify an arthropod, invertebrate and vertebrate. | Learning Strategies | We will be using a partner learning strategy. All of our activities for this assignment will be done in partners chosen in advance by the teacher. This will assure that struggling students will have guidance from their partner and not be left to figure it out on their own. The ELL student in the class will get the opportunity to work with an English speaking student to help build not only fluency in speaking but also in reading and writing. | Key Vocabulary | Key Vocabulary words for this lesson are Classify, Characteristic, Mammal, Reptile, Bird, Fish, Amphibian, Vertebrate and Invertebrate. | Materials | See Attachments | Motivation(Building Background) | Students will be introduced to the animal kingdom and the fact that scientists classify animals as mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, or amphibians. They will know that today THEY are the scientists and will learn how to classify animals themselves. | Presentation(Language and content objectives, comprehensible input, strategies, interaction, feedback) | Students will work as partners and will be assessed throughout the lesson as each activity builds on the other. The final assessment will be done when the partners complete a flow chart explaining how to classify an animal. Posters will be created of the flow charts and displayed in the hallway. | Practice/Application(Meaningful activities, interaction, strategies, practice/application, feedback) | Activity – All activities will be with a partner.Activity 1 – learn how scientists sort and classify living thingsPart A – partners will look at pictures of living things and group them in ways that make sense to them and record them on the activity sheet; they will list the characteristic they used.Part B – knowing that scientists may group living things by using characteristics such as appearance, structure, motility (how it moves) habitat and use, partners will look at the same pictures of living things and group them a second time using one of the properties listed above. They will record them on the activity sheet and list the characteristic they used.Activity 2 – partners will look at a list of living things that have been divided into groups: vertebrate and Invertebrate. They will determine why they have been grouped the way they have and record their definition of vertebrate and invertebrate on the activity sheet.Activity 3 – students will learn the characteristics of the five vertebrate groups and partners will fill out Activity Sheet #3 comparing the different characteristics of each group.Students will visit the following websites:http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/classification/kc_classification_main.htmhttp://www.zephyrus.co.uk/vertebrates.htmlhttp://www.kidscom.com/games/animal/animal.htmlActivity 4 – Students will revisit the list of vertebrates from Lesson 2 and see if they can sort them into the correct class of animal using Activity Sheet #4Activity 5 – Partners will take the information they have learned and create a flow chart that would help someone be able to classify an animal. The will make a poster of their flow chart to share with the class. | Review/Assessment:Content(Review Objectives and vocabulary, assess learning) | Lessons 1-4 will serve as the student’s formative assessment.
* Students will build on their knowledge by first trying to group animals simply based on a chart of pictures and a name. They will then learn that scientists use different characteristics when grouping animals and then will try to find another way to regroup the chart of living things. * Next they will look at animals grouped as vertebrate or invertebrates and determine why they are grouped that way and write down their definitions of each word. * They are then introduced to the five vertebrate groups and compare and contrast the different characteristics. * The final formative assessment is to revisit the vertebrate list from Activity 2 and classify the vertebrates into the appropriate animal group.Lesson 5 will serve as the student’s summative assessment. This is assessment is worth 100 points. * Partners will create a flowchart that can be used to help someone classify an animal. The flowchart will demonstrate the student’s knowledge of animal groups (mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian and fish), what characteristics the animals in that group have in common and how someone can use that information to classify an animal. * The flowchart must contain all five vertebrate groups, the characteristics of each group and how someone would use that information and follow the flowchart to determine the classification of an animal. * Students will receive 4 points per animal group listed for a maximum of 20 points earned and 5 points for each animal characteristic listed, for a maximum of 30 points. They will receive 25 points for presentation and 25 points for use of key vocabulary words. * Students will be expected to show that they know the characteristics of all five animal classes.
| Extension: | |
Lesson Evaluation Regarding Student Progress It is my belief that by allowing all students in the class to work as partners, with teams predetermined by the teacher, that it will give those students who are struggling for any reason but even more specially an English Language Learner who is considered to be in the middle stages of learning the confidence to know that they don’t have to figure it all out alone. Sometimes a student just needs a partner to help ease them into the process of taking the knowledge they have, add to it with research and fact building activities to learn the content being introduced and taught. An ELL student partnered with an English speaking student is going to have some security when it comes to having someone explain what they are doing and a role model to follow. It is important that as the teacher I make sure that the ELL student is participating as an equal part of the team and that can be done through observation of the class as they are working on their informal assessments or activities. The end result will be each student having a finished product to represent what they learned. Being able to complete an assignment helps to build self-esteem and confidence and ELL students need that because not only are they learning the content required for their grade level but they are having to also learn English and the ability to understand, speak, write and read. Giving them a partner who will force them to practice their English is only going to make them a better student in the future.
Resources http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/GLE/documents/cur-sc-gle-k-5-1108.pdf Attachments
Classification Table Activity #1 | | | | | | | TIGER | | SNAKE | | TREE | | BACTERIA | | | | | | | | FLOWER | | MUSHROOMS | | DOG | | BEE | | | | | | | | SQUID | | FISH | | EAGLE | | FROG | | | | | | | | OWL | | SLIME MOLD | | CROCODILE | | RAT |
Classification Sheet Activity #1 Name: _______________________ Date ______________ Part A: Characteristic Used: _______________________
GROUP 1 | GROUP 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Part B Characteristic Used: _________________________
GROUP 1 | GROUP 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Classification Table Activity #2 VERTEBRATES | INVERTEBRATES | Bearded Dragon | Beetle | Walrus | Starfish | Bass | Spider | Wolf | Crab | Human | Butterfly | Robin | Snail | Goldfish | Jellyfish | Salamander | Worm | Beaver | Cricket | Piranha | Oyster | Crocodile | Octopus | Squirrel | Lobster | Vulture | Clams | Frog | Sea Urchin |
Vertebrate or Invertebrate?
Activity Sheet #2
A vertebrate is ________________________________________________________________.
Draw a picture: | Give an example: |
An invertebrate is ______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
Draw a picture: | Give an example: |
Comparing Animal Characteristics
Activity Sheet #3
Class | Body Covering | Body Temperature | Breathing Organs | Reproduction | Limbs(arms, legs, fins) | Special Features | Mammals | | | | | | | Birds | | | | | | | Reptiles | | | | | | | Amphibians | | | | | | | Fish | | | | | | |
Classification Sheet Activity #4
Names: _____________________ Date: ______________
Can you classify the vertebrate from the list into the correct vertebrate class?
VERTEBRATES MAMMAL | BIRD | FISH | AMPHIBIAN | REPTILE | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Jennifer L Givens
Grand Canyon University – ESL 523N
June 12, 2013
Assessing Communicative Skills – Animal Kingdom Science Lesson
SOLOM Assessment The student in this assessment is a male 5th grade student whose native country is Burma (Myanmar). He is very quiet and was new to this school environment. He attended school one day and then did not come back the next. The classroom teacher wrote a letter and had the other Burmese students take it and translate it for him. He then came back the next day and has continued to come every day. He is very quiet and hesitant to speak in English but when he does you can tell he has had a decent introduction to the English language. …show more content…
He is able to complete activities with one-on-one guidance and repetition of instructions. He knows his letters and pronounces most of them correctly. He was able to put together 3-letter word puzzles, read the letters and read most of the words. Upon observation of this student using the SOLOM (Student Oral Language Observation Matrix) I would give him a rating of 15 out of 25. He was scored as follows: A. Comprehension – 4 – Understands nearly everything at normal speech. Although occasional repetition may be necessary. B. Fluency – 2 – Usually hesitant: often forced into silence by language limitations C. Vocabulary – 3 – Student frequently uses wrong words: conversation somewhat limited because of inadequate vocabulary (hard to score since he is an overly quiet child at this point) D. Pronunciation – 3 – Pronunciation problem necessitate concentration on the part of the listener and occasionally lead to misunderstanding. E. Grammar – 3 – Makes frequent errors of grammar and word order that occasionally obscure meaning.
I feel this student just needs to build confidence in his abilities to use English. He understands the language when it is spoken to him quite well. He just needs to work on writing the words and feeling comfortable in speaking in English. I would suggest partner activities with a non-Burmese student so that he has to communicate with someone who only speaks English and by working with a partner or in a team he can use them to help improve his reading and writing in English.
Lesson Plan including Summative and Formative Assessments SIOP LESSON PLAN Teacher’s Name: Jennifer Givens Grade 5 | Subject: Science Date: From to | Theme | The Animal Kingdom | Lesson Topic | Learning to classify living things | Rationale | The purpose of this lesson is to teach students how animals are classified and how to compare the characteristics that scientists use. We have several activities and they will all be done with partners/teams created by the teacher. This will assist my ELL student by not allowing him to feel threatened by the work and have an English speaking student as a guide. | Missouri Standards | Strand 3: Characteristics and Interactions of Living OrganismsScope and Sequence – Classification of Plants and AnimalsPart D: Plants and animals have different structures that serve similar functions necessary for the survival of the organisma. Compare structures (e.g., wings vs. fins vs. legs; gills vs. lungs; feathers vs. hair vs. scales) that serve similar functions for animals belonging to different vertebrate classesPart E: Biological classifications are based on how organisms are relateda. Explain how similarities are the basis for classificationb. Distinguish between plants (which use sunlight to make their own food) and animals (which must consume energy-rich food)c. Classify animals as vertebrates or invertebratesd. Classify vertebrate animals into classes (amphibians, birds, reptiles, mammals, fish) based on their characteristicse. Identify plants or animals using simple dichotomous keys Biological classifications are based on how organisms are relatedhttp://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/GLE/documents/cur-sc-gle-k-5-1108.pdf | Objectives:Language | Student will be able to compare classes of animals and define the meaning of vertebrate and invertebrate. | Objectives:Content | Students will learn to identify and classify living things. They will be able to compare characteristics of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish as well as be able to identify an arthropod, invertebrate and vertebrate. | Learning Strategies | We will be using a partner learning strategy. All of our activities for this assignment will be done in partners chosen in advance by the teacher. This will assure that struggling students will have guidance from their partner and not be left to figure it out on their own. The ELL student in the class will get the opportunity to work with an English speaking student to help build not only fluency in speaking but also in reading and writing. | Key Vocabulary | Key Vocabulary words for this lesson are Classify, Characteristic, Mammal, Reptile, Bird, Fish, Amphibian, Vertebrate and Invertebrate. | Materials | See Attachments | Motivation(Building Background) | Students will be introduced to the animal kingdom and the fact that scientists classify animals as mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, or amphibians. They will know that today THEY are the scientists and will learn how to classify animals themselves. | Presentation(Language and content objectives, comprehensible input, strategies, interaction, feedback) | Students will work as partners and will be assessed throughout the lesson as each activity builds on the other. The final assessment will be done when the partners complete a flow chart explaining how to classify an animal. Posters will be created of the flow charts and displayed in the hallway. | Practice/Application(Meaningful activities, interaction, strategies, practice/application, feedback) | Activity – All activities will be with a partner.Activity 1 – learn how scientists sort and classify living thingsPart A – partners will look at pictures of living things and group them in ways that make sense to them and record them on the activity sheet; they will list the characteristic they used.Part B – knowing that scientists may group living things by using characteristics such as appearance, structure, motility (how it moves) habitat and use, partners will look at the same pictures of living things and group them a second time using one of the properties listed above. They will record them on the activity sheet and list the characteristic they used.Activity 2 – partners will look at a list of living things that have been divided into groups: vertebrate and Invertebrate. They will determine why they have been grouped the way they have and record their definition of vertebrate and invertebrate on the activity sheet.Activity 3 – students will learn the characteristics of the five vertebrate groups and partners will fill out Activity Sheet #3 comparing the different characteristics of each group.Students will visit the following websites:http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/classification/kc_classification_main.htmhttp://www.zephyrus.co.uk/vertebrates.htmlhttp://www.kidscom.com/games/animal/animal.htmlActivity 4 – Students will revisit the list of vertebrates from Lesson 2 and see if they can sort them into the correct class of animal using Activity Sheet #4Activity 5 – Partners will take the information they have learned and create a flow chart that would help someone be able to classify an animal. The will make a poster of their flow chart to share with the class. | Review/Assessment:Content(Review Objectives and vocabulary, assess learning) | Lessons 1-4 will serve as the student’s formative assessment.
* Students will build on their knowledge by first trying to group animals simply based on a chart of pictures and a name. They will then learn that scientists use different characteristics when grouping animals and then will try to find another way to regroup the chart of living things. * Next they will look at animals grouped as vertebrate or invertebrates and determine why they are grouped that way and write down their definitions of each word. * They are then introduced to the five vertebrate groups and compare and contrast the different characteristics. * The final formative assessment is to revisit the vertebrate list from Activity 2 and classify the vertebrates into the appropriate animal group.Lesson 5 will serve as the student’s summative assessment. This is assessment is worth 100 points. * Partners will create a flowchart that can be used to help someone classify an animal. The flowchart will demonstrate the student’s knowledge of animal groups (mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian and fish), what characteristics the animals in that group have in common and how someone can use that information to classify an animal. * The flowchart must contain all five vertebrate groups, the characteristics of each group and how someone would use that information and follow the flowchart to determine the classification of an animal. * Students will receive 4 points per animal group listed for a maximum of 20 points earned and 5 points for each animal characteristic listed, for a maximum of 30 points. They will receive 25 points for presentation and 25 points for use of key vocabulary words. * Students will be expected to show that they know the characteristics of all five animal classes.
| Extension: | |
Lesson Evaluation Regarding Student Progress It is my belief that by allowing all students in the class to work as partners, with teams predetermined by the teacher, that it will give those students who are struggling for any reason but even more specially an English Language Learner who is considered to be in the middle stages of learning the confidence to know that they don’t have to figure it all out alone. Sometimes a student just needs a partner to help ease them into the process of taking the knowledge they have, add to it with research and fact building activities to learn the content being introduced and taught. An ELL student partnered with an English speaking student is going to have some security when it comes to having someone explain what they are doing and a role model to follow. It is important that as the teacher I make sure that the ELL student is participating as an equal part of the team and that can be done through observation of the class as they are working on their informal assessments or activities. The end result will be each student having a finished product to represent what they learned. Being able to complete an assignment helps to build self-esteem and confidence and ELL students need that because not only are they learning the content required for their grade level but they are having to also learn English and the ability to understand, speak, write and read. Giving them a partner who will force them to practice their English is only going to make them a better student in the future.
Resources http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/GLE/documents/cur-sc-gle-k-5-1108.pdf Attachments
Classification Table Activity #1 | | | | | | | TIGER | | SNAKE | | TREE | | BACTERIA | | | | | | | | FLOWER | | MUSHROOMS | | DOG | | BEE | | | | | | | | SQUID | | FISH | | EAGLE | | FROG | | | | | | | | OWL | | SLIME MOLD | | CROCODILE | | RAT |
Classification Sheet Activity #1 Name: _______________________ Date ______________ Part A: Characteristic Used: _______________________
GROUP 1 | GROUP 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Part B Characteristic Used: _________________________
GROUP 1 | GROUP 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Classification Table Activity #2 VERTEBRATES | INVERTEBRATES | Bearded Dragon | Beetle | Walrus | Starfish | Bass | Spider | Wolf | Crab | Human | Butterfly | Robin | Snail | Goldfish | Jellyfish | Salamander | Worm | Beaver | Cricket | Piranha | Oyster | Crocodile | Octopus | Squirrel | Lobster | Vulture | Clams | Frog | Sea Urchin |
Vertebrate or Invertebrate?
Activity Sheet #2
A vertebrate is ________________________________________________________________.
Draw a picture: | Give an example: |
An invertebrate is ______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
Draw a picture: | Give an example: |
Comparing Animal Characteristics
Activity Sheet #3
Class | Body Covering | Body Temperature | Breathing Organs | Reproduction | Limbs(arms, legs, fins) | Special Features | Mammals | | | | | | | Birds | | | | | | | Reptiles | | | | | | | Amphibians | | | | | | | Fish | | | | | | |
Classification Sheet Activity #4
Names: _____________________ Date: ______________
Can you classify the vertebrate from the list into the correct vertebrate class?
VERTEBRATES MAMMAL | BIRD | FISH | AMPHIBIAN | REPTILE | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |