Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

Georgia Southwestern State University Lesson Plan

Created by GSW School of Education

Classroom/Lesson Context

____ Whole Group   _____ Small Group   _____ One-on-One 

_____ Students with IEPs/504s   _____ ELL Students

____ Other (Please specify:) _______________________________________________________________________

  Please specify the number of students :

__9___ Girls   ___13__Boys  

Learning Central Focus

Lesson Plan Title: Swamp and Marsh Habitat: The Okefenokee Swamp

Grade Level: ___3 rd _____

Central Focus:

The central focus of this lesson is to identify the features of the Okefenokee Swamp and the features that allow the plants and animals identified in this habitat to live.

Content Standard:

S3L1. Students will investigate the habitats of different organisms and the dependence of organisms on their habitat.

a. Differentiate between habitats of Georgia (mountains, marsh/swamp, coast, Piedmont, Atlantic Ocean) and the organisms that live there. b. Identify features of green plants that allow them to live and thrive in different regions of Georgia. c. Identify features of animals that allow them to live and thrive in different regions of Georgia

Student Learning Goal(s)/ Objective(s):

Skills/procedures:

Students will identify and discuss features of the Okefenokee Swamp. Student will identify plants that live in the Okefenokee Swamp and what features allow them to live in this habitat.

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

Students will identify animals and their features that allow them to live in the Okefenokee Swamp. Students will differentiate between the different habitats and their plants and animals.

Concepts and reasoning/problem solving/thinking/strategies:

For students to complete the skills and procedures in this lesson, students will need to recall information about the animals and plants in the Okefenokee Swamp habitat. Students will need to observe the features of the plants and animals in this habitat. Students will need to recall information from the video about the Okefenokee Swamp.

  Prior Academic Knowledge and Conceptions :

Students will need to have a prior knowledge that there are different habitats in Georgia. Students will need to know what a habitat is. Students will need to know that certain plants and animals live in certain habitats. Students will need to know that plants and animals need a certain habitat in order to live and thrive. Students will need to know about other habitats and their plants and animals such as the Piedmont, Coastal Plains, and the Mountains.

These students have a prior knowledge about the Piedmont, Coastal Plains, and Mountains and the plants and animals associated with these habitats. They have already learned that Georgia is separated into different habitats, and they already know what a habitat is. This prior knowledge will help students with this lesson’s concepts.

Common Errors, Developmental Approximations, Misconceptions, Partial Understandings, or Misunderstandings :

There are a few misunderstandings associated with this lesson. Students may think that all plants and animals can live in any region of the state. Another misconception is that all plants and animals can adapt to their environment. Plants are only herbivores. Alligators and snakes is the only animals that live in the swamps.

I will address these misunderstandings by explaining to students that each region has certain plants and animals that thrive in that area. Plants and animals can’t just live anywhere. I will say, “We have talked about certain plants animals that live in the Piedmont, Coastal Plains, and the Mountains. Animals and plants that live in the mountains can’t always live in the swamps.” We will also discuss how not every plant and animal can adapt to their environment. The foldable book on swamps and marsh will help address the misunderstandings students may have about plants being only herbivores or that snakes and alligators are the only animals that live in swamps.

Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks

Launch: _____5_____ Minutes

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

I will begin the lesson by getting everyone’s attention. I will clap my hand in a certain rhythm and if they are paying attention they will mimic my rhythm. I will then say, “We have been learning about the different habitats that make up Georgia and what plants and animals live in that habitat. Today, we are going to learn about another habitat. It is the swamps and marsh, but we are going to be talking about a specific swamp called the Okefenokee Swamp. Now before we begin our lesson on the Okefenokee Swamps, I want us to take these pictures of different plants and animals and place them in their correct habitat on our map of Georgia. I will place a few that we will talk about today that belongs to the swamp habitat.” I will remind students that we must be quiet and respectful during our activity. I will call on different students to come up and take a picture of a plant or animal and place it in its correct habitat. I will say, “Student A, tell the class what your picture is.” The student will tell the class what his/her picture is. I will say, “Now, please show us which habitat your picture belongs in.” We will continue this as we go through all the pictures. I will also ask students to tell me what each region or habitat is like. This will allow the students to review what they already know so that they can build on that knowledge today as we learn about what plants and animals live in the Okefenokee Swamp. When students come to the pictures that belong to the swamp, I will say, “This is a new one. Can you guess what region or habitat this picture would belong in?” (Wait for student to respond.) “Yes, that’s exactly right it belongs in the swamp and marsh habitat.” If students need help finding where that picture goes, I will direct them to the right region. After we have finished the pictures, I will say, “You all did a great job on our review. Now let’s learn about the Okefenokee Swamp.”

Instruction: ____20______ Minutes

I will begin the lesson by asking, “Have any of you ever been to the Okefenokee Swamp?” (Wait for students to respond.) “Well today we are going to learn a lot about it and about the plants and animals that live there.” We will begin by reading about the Okefenokee Swamp in their HSP Georgia Science book. It is on pages 288 and 289. These pages inform us about the Okefenokee Swamp being one of Georgia’s best known wetlands and how it got its name from the Seminole Indians. It tells us that the swamp is made up of lakes, islands, marshes, and forests. I will say, “What is the muddy soil in the swamp called?” (Wait for students to respond.) “Yes, it is called peat.” It also tells us about the plants and animals that live in this swamp. As we read the page about the animals that live in the Okefenokee swamp, I will ask students, “Do any of these animals live in another habitat?” (Wait for students to raise their hand and respond.) “Yes, black bears also live in the mountain region of Georgia.” We will talk about different animals that live in the Okefenokee Swamp. We will then discuss the plants that live in this region. After we have read this section on plants, I will say, “What adaptation do some of these plants have that live in the Okefenokee Swamp?” (Wait for students to raise their hand and respond.) “Yes, some plants capture insects.” Discussing and asking questions will help to ensure that students are understanding and meeting the learning objectives. Then I will say, “Now that we know a little bit about the Okefenokee Swamp and the plants and animals that live in this habitat, we are going to watch a documentary on the Okefenokee Swamp. This will tell us how the Okefenokee Swamp began and about what is happening today at the Okefenokee Swamp. It will also give us a little more information on the peat in the swamp. Since we have already gone over the plants and animals located in this habitat, I want you to be looking to see if you see some of these plants and animals in this video, and we will talk about some of the ones you seen after the

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

video.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np2rIPmIDP4 After the video is finished, I will say, “The Okefenokee Swamp is a pretty cool habitat, isn’t it? Did anyone see any plants and animals that we talked about?” (Wait for students to respond.) “Yes, we seen different birds, alligators, snakes, pitcher plants, and other plants. This video even told us about Cyprus trees that grow in this habitat.” We will quickly discuss some of the things we seen in the video.

Structured Practice and Application: ____15______ Minutes

We Do

For our we do practice, we are going to put together our “The Swamp & Marsh” flipbook that we will put into our interactive science notebook. I will say, “We are going to make our flipbook that will go into our interactive science notebook. Student A, will you please pass out all of the interactive science notebooks?” (Wait for students to get their notebook.) “Now, I am going to pass out the pages that you will need to cut out to make our flipbook.” After students have cut out their pages for their flipbook, we will staple the book together and glue it into our interactive science notebook. Then I will say, “Now, you need to take out your highlighter, because we are going to read through the book together and highlight important information.” We will read each page and discuss and underline important information that they will need to recall later as they complete their independent practice. We will do this as a whole group. I will ask questions such as: “Where does the word Okefenokee come from? And what does it mean? What land features make up the Okefenokee Swamp? What does carnivorous mean?” Students will answer the questions and highlight the information in their text that will help them answer these questions. This will determine if students are understanding the content that we are reading and discussing about the Okefenokee Swamp. Student should be able to answer question about the Okefenokee Swamp and its plants and animals. If students answer the question wrong, we will go back and discuss that piece in greater detail to help students with any misconceptions they may have.

You Do

For the you do practice, students will complete the questions that go along with this flipbook. Students will answer these questions without using their flipbook. I will take this as a formative assessment grade to ensure that students are learning about the Okefenokee Swamp and its plants and animals. Once students are finished, they need to raise their hand and I will pick up their quiz. When students are finished, they may work on an Okefenokee Swamp Word Search worksheet until everyone else is finished. After everyone is finished, I will make for sure that everyone has received an Okefenokee Swamp Word Search, and I will say, “Please, glue this word search on the next blank page in your journal. This sheet has a list of different plants and animals associated with the Okefenokee Swamp. Now everyone please put your interactive science notebook away.”

Closure: ____5______ Minutes

http://www.superteachertools.us/jeopardyx/jeopardy-review-game.php?gamefile=2120571 I will close this lesson by playing a review game of jeopardy. I will group students into groups of six. Each group will have a turn to answer a question on our jeopardy game. They will select

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

which category and point value question they want. Students will then have ten seconds to answer the question as a group. I will say, “We are going to play a game of jeopardy. This will review all the things we went over today in our lesson. Each group will have a turn, but everyone needs to be paying attention. Because if one group gets their question wrong another group will have the opportunity to steal their question. We will keep score on this game.” Students will answer these questions as a group. As we go through these questions, we will discuss what we have learned today. I will take this time to clear up any misunderstanding or questions students may have about today’s lesson. This is a fun way to review and bring our lesson to a close. This game will allow me to make sure that all students are understanding this lesson about the Okefenokee Swamp and its plants and animals.

Differentiation/ Planned Support

During our science lesson, I will have an inclusion teacher during that time that will help me with individuals who may need one-on-one help. I will ask the inclusion teacher to please assist students who have learning disabilities on “The Swamp & Marsh” flipbook. Between the inclusion teacher and I, we will give the students who may have learning disabilities the help they need to guide them through this lesson. During the independent practice, students with specific IEPs may need to have a word bank so that they can see different answer choices.

PowerPoint: I can also use the PowerPoint listed below as another method to teach for those students who may need something a little more detail. The PowerPoint not only gives visuals for students, but it also gives them some useful information. If students as a whole are not understanding, I will take another day to review and reteach the content. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1aJi7i26YbuqwUMjlqcV0fibJ1R9tfqlReZPHJBtQa1c/edit

Enrichment Activity: This activity can be used as an enrichment activity for students who are gifted. This will serve as a higher order activity for students who are gifted. I will use this to help my gifted students in this class. Instead of doing a 3D map of all of Georgia, they will create a 3D section of the swamp and marsh area. They will use many different things in order to make this project. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/1e/cd/b1/1ecdb1635cfbe03b9fbdcef327975854.jpg

Activity: The flipbook can also be used as differentiation. It is a great hands-on activity for students to complete. We will go through each flap and write the necessary informa-tion under each flap.

Voice Thread: I will also use the voice thread that is over pages 288-289 in their Harcout Science book as differentiation for students who may be struggling readers, English Lan-guage Learners, and others. This will allow students to hear the information instead of having to read it. https://voicethread.com/share/9162906/

Interactive Learning: This is an interactive game that students can do for more practice. Students can come up and choose their own question. They can help keep score on the

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

board. I really feel like kids will enjoy this game, and it will be good for review. This is differentiation for students who need hands-on learning. http://express.smarttech.com/?url=http://exchangedownloads.smarttech.com/public/content/4d/4dc584d8-d963-41e0-85ad-cfcb0b1e8f1a/Habitats%20Review%20Game.notebook #

Apps, Games, and Learning Modules: These links will help kids who need to review material through fun worksheets and games. Some students need more hands-on stuff, and this will serve as differentiation for them.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibiome-wetland/id900933868?mt=8 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-earth/id293622097?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/brainpop-featured-movie/id364894352?mt=8

http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-kids/0150-swamps-and-marshes.php

http://www.superteachertools.us/jeopardyx/jeopardy-review-game.php?gamefile=2120571#.WRoRTIWcHIU

To support those students who have gaps in prior knowledge, I may need to go into further detail during the instruction or it may be beneficial to form a small group to assist with any gaps students may have. Students will need to know about the other habitats in Georgia. If they do not, I will need to form a small group to review with them the other habitats of Georgia.

Student Interactions

During this lesson, students participated in whole group and small groups. We mostly participated in whole group interaction. During our launch, instruction, and “We Do” part of the lesson, students participated in whole group instruction and interaction. During our launch, we placed the pictures of different plants and animals in a whole group setting. During our instruction time, we were actively discussing the Okefenokee Swamp as a whole group. Our “We Do” part was whole group, because we all read through the foldable book and as a whole group went back and underlined things. For our closure, we broke up into groups of six to play our jeopardy review game. They answered their questions together as a small group. They might need to discuss together what the answer is, or they may just chorally say it together as a group. Students were grouped according to their seating arrangement. This just allowed for a smoother and quicker transition into groups. Although the game was played as a whole group, students were broke into small groups and collaborated as a small group.

What Ifs

During this lesson, if the internet was down then we would not be able to watch the documentary about the Okefenokee Swamp. If this happens, it may would be best to just read a book from the library on swamps or the Okefenokee Swamp. The internet being down would also keep me from being able to play the jeopardy review game. If this happened, I could just set up a jeopardy review game on the white board. If the printer was not working, I would not be able to print out

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

the pictures for our launch. If this happened, I could cut out pictures out of a magazine to put up on our map of Georgia.

Theoretical Principles and/or Research Based Best Practices

These learning tasks are supported by Neil Flemming’s Learning Styles theory. His theory states that students learn in different ways. Some students learn better by hearing things which means they are auditory learners. Some students learn better by seeing things which mean they are visual learners. Other students learn better by doing hands-on activities which means they are kinesthetic learners, and some students learn better by reading. Therefore, it is important that each lesson involves each learning style. During the instruction, we used the documentary video and active discussion to appeal to auditory learners. The video also appealed to students who are visual learners. The flipbook was a hands-on activity that kinesthetic learners could benefit from. It had important information that they could put together to form a flipbook. The students who learn better by reading had the opportunity to read their science book, and we also read over the flipbook. This helped students who are reading learners. The jeopardy review game appealed to visual, auditory, and reading learners. Students could read the questions and answers. Students could see the questions and answers, and student could hear me read the questions and answers. This lesson appealed to all learning styles in some sort of way. Therefore, these learning tasks were supported by Neil Flemming’s Learning Style theory.

Materials

In this lesson, the teacher needs these materials:

Pictures of different plants and animals from different regions. HSP Georgia Science book “The Swamp & Marsh” flipbook Promethean board

In this lesson, the students need these materials:

Scissors Pencil Glue Highlighter HSP Georgia Science book

Academic Language Demand(s)

Language Demand

In this lesson, students will be listening and speaking during our discussion and questions on the Okefenokee Swamp and the plants and animals that live there. Students will also listen and speak during our jeopardy review game as we go over the things we learned today about the Okefenokee Swamp and the animals and plants in this habitat. Students will listen as we watch

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

the documentary on the Okefenokee Swamp. Students will read their “The Swamp & Marsh” flipbook, and they will write the answers to the questions at the end of the book. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the content through answering questions throughout the lesson.

Language Function

In this lesson, students will investigate the Okefenokee Swamp habitat and identify the plants and animals in this habitat. Students will identify the features that allow these plants and animals to thrive in this habitat.

Content Specific Terms

Habitat Georgia Regions Organism Mountain Piedmont Marsh/Swamp Okefenokee Swamp Atlantic Ocean Coastal Plains Carnivorous Pitcher Plant Seminole Indians White Ibis Adaptation

Language Discourse

Students will speak knowledgeably about this content area. Students will use the vocabulary associated with this lesson and standard. Students will answer using complete sentences.

Language Syntax

In this lesson, students will orally answer questions using complete sentences and the correct vocabulary. During the “We Do” practice, they will organize their pages of information that they will cut out for their flipbook. When they complete the questions at the end of the flipbook, they will answer the questions using phrases and some one word answers. The jeopardy game has organized the information into different categories, and students will answer these questions orally.

Support

I will support students by properly using the vocabulary of this standard and lesson. I will give students the support they need to correctly answer questions in our discussion on the Okefenokee

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

Swamp. I will support students by encouraging them to use the correct language and vocabulary associated with this lesson.

Assessments

Describe the tools/procedures that will be used in  this lesson  to monitor students’ learning of the lesson objective(s).  Attach a copy of the assessment and the evaluation criteria/rubric in the resources section at the end of the lesson plan.

     

Type of assessment

(Informal or Formal)

Description of assessment

Modifications to the assessment so that all students could demonstrate their learning.

Evaluation Criteria

What evidence of student learning (related to the learning objectives and central focus) does the assessment provide?

 Formal

 

I will use the questions that they answer that go along with their “The Swamp & Marsh” flipbook as my formal assessment. This will show me if students are understanding the content on the Okefenokee Swamp. Students will independently answer the fill in the blank questions on the Okefenokee Swamp and its plants and animals.

Students with specific IEPs may need to have their questions read to them. It may be beneficial to form a small group for students with IEPs and struggling readers to read their questions to them.

Students will prove that they have learned the content about the Okefenokee Swamp and the plants and animals in this habitat. Students will prove that they understand the features that allow plants and animals to thrive in this habitat.

 

 Informal

 Students will play the jeopardy game during the closure part of this lesson. This will give me a

Students with specific IEPs may need the question read to them, and they may need more time to answer the question.

 This is a fun game that students will prove that they know the content associated with this lesson. If students are able to answer the questions

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

quick view about what the students have learned during this lesson. Students will choose a category and point value and will be showed a question and they will have ten seconds as a group to answer that question.

on this jeopardy game regarding the Okefenokee Swamp this will show that student understand this lesson. Students will identify features of the Okefenokee Swamp and the plants and animals in this habitat. Students will also identify the features that allow plants and animals to live and thrive in this habitat.

 

      

Analyzing Teaching

Worked/Didn't Worked

There were several things that worked in this lesson. One thing that worked well was the launch. Students enjoy reviewing the other habitats. They enjoyed coming up and placing the pictures on the map of Georgia. It worked well for the students because it was a good review, but it also worked well for the teacher too because this will give a quick update that students have understood the previous lessons. The video worked well in some parts. The kids enjoyed seeing the different animals and features of the park. They thought some of the information was very interesting, but there was some of the information that was boring and wasn’t necessary for us. As a whole, the video was a great thing to use during instruction. The flip book was great. It gave students the opportunity to cut and paste. It also gave them something that they could read and highlight the information that we need to know about the Okefenokee Swamp. It worked really well for the students to be able to have this book.

Some things didn’t go as well. Reading the pages in their Science book did not work very well. The things that were in the book is a lot of what is on the video and flipbook. From the teachers stand point, it felt like we were going over the same thing. The video worked much better for instruction than the pages from the book. The video works better for the kids, because it holds their interest way more. I will say though that some of the video did not work as well. Some of it was irrelevant information for us. During the part of the video that had information that they didn’t really understand, they were more apt to just be looking off and not paying attention. For the most part, the video worked well, but there were just some parts that didn’t work as well.

Adjustments

Some instructional changes I would make when going into tomorrow is that I would most definitely make for sure that all of my information just isn’t overlapping each other. The video

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

and reading the pages was just a little much for instruction. If I was using a video tomorrow, I would just make for sure that the information isn’t overlapping and that it isn’t too much instruction to use. This will help students not get bored and feel like they just went over that. I would also be a little more firm with rules. It is hard to talk over 22 children if they are trying to talk when you are. I need to make for sure to implement rules about talking a little more. Another thing is if I am showing a video tomorrow I need to make for sure that everyone can see where they are sitting, because if they can’t then I will need to move the chairs. This will keep kids from getting out of their desk and coming to sit on the floor during our instruction video. During guided practice when I am instructing them on where to highlight, I think it would be best to maybe show them on the promethean board. This will help with any confusions that students may have about where to highlight.

Proposed Changes

Whole group:

If I could teach this lesson again, I would most definitely cut parts of the video out. Some of the stuff it was talking about was information that was unnecessary for these students. I would skip the part of the video about the Okefenokee Swamp’s early development and how all the people that lived there were killed. I would also skip the part about the sun’s rotation. I just feel this material is a little much for them. I would also pause the video a little more than I did and give better clarification of what the documentary was talking about. This will allow for more active discussion time as well. These are some changes I would make to the whole group part of this lesson if I could teach it again.

Group of Students:

I did not use groups during this lesson, but if I could teach it again, I might would do the guided practice using groups of students. This way I know that all students are highlighting the right thing. Some students were underlining everything which is defeating the purpose. We are just supposed to highlight important things that will help us answer the questions at the end of the flipbook. Using groups during this time will help with the highlighting and I think it will be good to be able to read and actively discuss the flipbook in groups. This allows more students to answer and discuss what they learned about the Okefenokee Swamp. This is some changes I would make for groups of students.

Individual Students:

As for individual students, if I could teach this again there are some students that would benefit from getting their questions at the end of their flipbook read to them. It is not that they do not understand the material just that they may not understand the question. Some individual students need to be moved to a different table, because they are too chatty with others and therefore do not pay attention. If I could reteach this lesson, I would move some students away from certain students so that they can focus better. This will allow the lesson to go so much smoother.

Justification

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

These changes would help improve student learning. If we cut out the information in the video that doesn’t really apply to what we are learning, then that will help kids to be more engaged. This will also cut down some of the video time and we can do more active discussion on the Okefenokee Swamp. Using groups would help all students make for sure that they are underlining the right stuff. This would help with students who just underline everything, because they have no idea where you are at. This would also allow for some more discussing on the Okefenokee Swamp, and that would allow the teacher to make for sure that every student is understanding this content. This would keep kids actively discussing the lesson instead of just passively following along. Some students who have reading disabilities struggle with comprehending the questions in the independent practice, because they are focusing on what the question even says. These students normally know the information, but since they are not understanding what they are reading, they get some of the answers wrong. So individually reading the questions to these students will benefit them. Making sure that certain individuals are placed in a seat that encourages less talking really helps the class to go smoother. The teacher isn’t having to stop and ask the student to quit talking. This just helps everything to go much smoother.

The active learning theory by C. Bonwell supports some of these changes. Active learning is when students are actively involved. These changes give more opportunity for students to be actively involved in their learning by encouraging active discussion. Students will have more time to actively discuss and talk about this content area. Students should be actively learning not just passively sitting and listening. There is a time to listen, but there is also a time for active involvement in learning such as in this case active discussion. Some students learn better from things that other students say. Well if students don’t have the opportunity to talk and discuss the content then how can the students learn from one another. These changes allow for more active discussion time.

Resources

Attach each assessment and associated evaluation criteria/rubric.

a. HSP Georgia Science book excerpt

b. “The Swamp and Marsh” flipbook

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

a.

b.

c. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/1e/cd/b1/1ecdb1635cf - be03b9fbdcef327975854.jpg

This activity can be used for an activity for gifted students as an enrich-ment activity.

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

d.

This can serve as an assessment to assess that students are under-standing what they are reading about the Okefenokee Swamp. This would also serve as a great independent activity.

e. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/ 1aJi7i26YbuqwUMjlqcV0fibJ1R9tfqlReZPHJBtQa1c/edit

This powerpoint can be used during the instruction and as another resource for students who may not understand.

f.

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Name: Phaedra Merritt Date:3/6/2017Spring 2017

This flip book is a great thing to use for differentiation. It is also a great thing to use during guided practice. The students and I will go through each flap and insert necessary information under each flap.

g. https://voicethread.com/share/9162906/

This is the voice thread for pages 288-289 in the Science book. This can be used during the Instruction time and as Differentiation.

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