STEM 434/534 Lesson Planning Template Spring 2021

Name: Clare Stauffer Grade: First Grade Topic: Animal Needs

Brief Lesson Description:
For this lesson students will be learning about animals and humans have basic needs and characteristics.
Students will take different objects out of the bag on by one and tell us what the animals is, what specific
needs the animal has and where they live. Once the students understand the needs of animals, they will
create a plate diagram for the animal they pick from the bag. Students will then show their knowledge
about animals and where and what they need to survive.
Specific Learning Outcomes:
Animals include humans. They have the same basic needs as all other animals, including the need for air,
food, water, shelter, and space. It's common for students to confuse necessities and wants. Needs are
things like the ones we just talked about—air, water, food, shelter, and space. Wants are things we would
like to have but are not necessary for our survival, such as a new bike.
This activity will take 2 days, 30 minutes each day but we will be talking about this topic for a week.
How did this lesson develop as a result of your examination of research and data about employing culturally sustaining pedagogical
strategies? (Think equal opportunity, student interests, race, gender, disabilities etc.)

BrainPopJr:
Animals
Links:
Animal Cracker Habitat Sort
Videos:
Magic School Bus: Ocean Habitat

Narrative / Background Information

Prior Student Knowledge:

Students should already know:

-the distinction between living and non-living
-living things develop, move, react to their surroundings, and give birth.
– All living things have needs

To survive, all organisms require energy and matter. Animals move, consume, breathe, and reproduce by
utilizing matter and energy. Each animal has features that allow it to function in distinct ways to get food,
reproduce, and survive in its environment. Animals are classified based on these features.
Science VA SOL Health VA SOL NGSS (You may have to look to a different
grade level for the connection)
1.5 The student will investigate Energy Balance
and understand that animals, MS-ETS1-2: Evaluate competing
1.5 The student will identify
design solutions using a
including basic nutrition concepts of
systematic process to determine
humans, have basic needs and energy balance.
how well they meet the criteria
certain distinguishing and constraints of the problem.
c) Explain why the body needs
characteristics.
water.
Key concepts include: d) Explain that food provides Solving challenges requires
energy for physical activity. students to create and evaluate
a) basic needs include adequate both hardware and software
designs according to scenario
air, food, water, shelter, and
scoring criteria.
space (habitat).
Science & Engineering Practices: (You must tie engineering practices into your plan)

Building a diorama ecosystem

 I can describe the life needs of animals, including air, food, water, shelter, and space.
 I can identify physical characteristics of an animal.
 I can design and construct a model of a habitat for an animal based on physical characteristics.
 I can observe animals in the schoolyard and describe their physical properties.
 I can predict what type of home (land or water) an animal would live in based on its physical
characteristics
 I can group animals using similar characteristics and explain the grouping
Possible Preconceptions/Misconceptions:

1. Each habitat only contains a small number of distinct species of living organisms.
2. The only habitats left are those that are close to the students' homes.
3. Animal characteristics are unrelated to their living environment.
4. An animal's demands are unrelated to its habitat.
LESSON PLAN – 5-E Model
ENGAGE: Opening Activity – Access Prior Learning / Stimulate Interest / Generate Questions: (Discrepant events are awesome to use
here)

1. Make a special announcement inviting kids to a group meeting spot in the room. Have some
students pretend to fly like birds, while others jump like rabbits, crawl like turtles, swim like fish,
or engage in other animal-inspired movements. Have the various objects in the brown bag placed
prominently in the center of the group gathering space.
Ask students several questions about what they need.

1. What are some of the things that you as a human need to stay healthy?
(Simple solutions like eating, drinking, sleeping, etc. The stuff that students want but may not
necessarily require can be identified by the students. Enable them to distinguish between the two.
Make sure the kids have come up with the responses of food, water, air, shelter, and space by the
end of the debate.)
2. Are humans considered animals? Why?

EXPLORE: Lesson Description – Materials Needed / Probing or Clarifying Questions:

 Animal pictures
 A brown paper bag with a variety of the following inside:
 Toy animals
 Stuffed animals
 Pictures of animals
 A doll or pictures of a human
 White paper plates with two lines drawn across the plate, dividing the plate into four equal
 sections (like a pie) – one plate for each student
 Crayons, markers, or colored pencils

1. Put the brown paper bag on display in front of the students.

2. Tell the students that although they undoubtedly already know a lot about animals, the objects in
the bag are an opportunity to explore what else they might be able to offer. Inform students that
they should raise their hands to contribute any knowledge they have about each item when it is
taken out of the bag. Accept an answer like "I have a pet rabbit at my house that resides in a cage"
if, for instance, a plush bunny is produced out of the bag.

3. As you bring out each animal, have the children choose what needs that specific animal has.

4. Make sure students start to understand that each animal needs a home, air to breathe, etc. when
you are talking about each one.

5. Ask that kids go back to their seats.

6. Go over with the class the items they identified as necessities for each animal. On a whiteboard or
a big piece of chart paper, write out the needs.

7. Distribute four equally sized parts of paper plates to each student.

8. Have the students write the words "food, water, shelter, and habitat" on each section of their plate.
Tell them that we are surrounded by air, so that they won't mistakenly attribute air to a certain
area.

9. The students will glue a small blank circle in the middle of the 4 sections on the plate.

10. Let each student select an animal (They may choose a different animal or one of the creatures that
were discussed during the large group period.)

11. Ask them to write the name or draw the animal on the small circle in the middle of the plate

12. Ask each student to depict their animal's unique needs in each region of their paper plate. (For
instance, if they choose a squirrel, they might depict the animal's habitat as a tree, its food as an
acorn, etc.)

13. After everyone is done, instruct the class to bring their paper plates back to the large group area.

14. Give each student enough time to display and describe their paper plate.

15. Ask students whether there is a distinction between a need and a want as you wrap up the class.
Remind students that necessities like the ones we just spoke about—air, water, food, shelter, and
space—are necessities. Wants are things we would like to have but are not necessary for our
survival, such as a new bike.

16. Stress the fact that people are animals and that they require the same things as the creatures on
their paper plates, including air, food, drink, shelter, and space.
THIS IS MY EXAMPLE: ( I did not have a paper plate so I used paper)

EXPLAIN: Concepts Explained and Vocabulary Defined:

A list of these vocab words will be on the board, and I will ask students if they know what the words
means or what they think the words means. I will write down a combination of what they say and then
read these definitions out loud as well to make sure each student fully understands the vocabulary.

Air: Air is a gas that provides humans and animals with oxygen. All living things, such as plants, animals,
and people, would not be able to exist without air.
Food: Any nutritious item eaten by humans or animals as food provides them with energy and the basic
structure they need to grow and heal.
Water: The substance water is what allows life to exist on Earth. Life as we know it would not exist
without water, where there is water, there is life.
Shelter space: Animals and humans both use shelters to protect themselves from their surroundings.
Living organisms can be protected by shelters from the elements, predators, and other dangers.
Animals: A living organism that can move, eat, and respond to the environment using its senses,
particularly sight and hearing.
Humans: you and me!
Needs/Necessities:
Wants: A want is something you might like to have but you do not need it to survive.
ELABORATE: Applications and Extensions:

1. Make a Camouflage Fish

2. Animal Appendage Sort
3. Land and Water Animal Sort

OR

1. Construct dioramas of favorite animals in shoe boxes. Remind students to incorporate all of the
needs of the animals into the diorama.
2. 2. Examine parent matches and young animals (Kindergarten K.6c). Do infants have additional
demands beyond those that have already been discussed in the lesson?
3. Set up an aquarium or terrarium for the children' use as an animal habitat in the classroom.
(Confirm local and state regulations on the use of live organisms in the classroom.) Students
should take care of the habitats as permitted. For the first grade, a worm habitat is contained and
 covers additional social and scientific criteria. The students can see the needs firsthand in a
controlled environment, and it is simple to set up.

(First‐Grade Science 1.8 and Social Science 1.8)

4. Arrange a field trip to a nearby zoo, vet, or wildlife sanctuary. Discuss how animals may differ
from their natural environment by observing them in these areas. Alternatively, ask representatives
from these organizations to educate the pupils about the treatment of animals.
EVALUATE:

Formative Monitoring (Questioning / Discussion):

What are the five things all animals need to live?

If a student can tell me 5 different things animals need to live, they will get a check plus (100%). If a
student can only give me 3 out of the 5 things animals need to live, I will write that down as a check and
then sit with them to brainstorm a few more ideas.
Summative Assessment (Quiz / Project / Report) (Include a rubric):
Journal writing:

Students will have the choice to pick one of the top three journal activities to complete and then they will
pick one of the bottom two activities to complete for me to assess their level of understanding after the
lesson.

1. Sketch you and a favorite animal. Tell us about your similarities and differences. Which needs do you
have? What possibly wants to do you have?

2. Take a photo of a made-up animal from a comic book or magazine page. then locate a genuine image of
the same animal. Identify similarities and differences amongst them, then compare them.

3. Look for an animal photo in a magazine or newspaper. Examine the image, then sketch a replica of it in
your diary. Does the image contain the items an animal would require surviving? Please identify each of
the people in the image.

And

1. Create a matching activity where students must match a picture of an animal's requirement with the
name of the thing.

2. Predict what would happen if an animal lacked the vital elements to its survival.
Plan for differentiation: (Be sure to specifically address the following learners)
 Students with high-incidence disabilities (e.g., autism, ADHD, mild learning disorders)
Have students draw the habitat they would live in if they were to turn into their favorite animal
 ELL
Create a matching game with pictures of animals and their homes
 Gifted learners
Give students pictures of different animals and have them find pictures in magazines
that are of the needs of each of the animals.

Elaborate Further / Reflect: Enrichment:

 How will you evaluate your practice?
 K-W-L about animal habitats
 Where might/did learners struggle in the lesson?
Following the steps when splitting the paper plate into different sections
 How can the lesson be strengthened for improved student learning?
Read a book to the students as an introduction to the lesson and activity, this is a great way to start
a conversation about what they know already
 Did the lesson reflect culturally sustaining pedagogies? If not, how can this be enhanced?
This lesson was about animals, and I tried to incorporate animals from all over the world and not
just everyday animals we see in the United States.

The humans that students added to the paper bag came in many different colors and they got to
decorate them in a way that felt like a representation of themselves.
 Materials Required for This Lesson/Activity
Quantity Description Potential Supplier (item #) Estimated Price
10  Online Animal pictures Find online $0

1  A brown paper bag with a AJM Brown Paper Lunch Bags $6.87
variety of the following 40 Count on amazon
inside
1 pack  Toy animals Assorted Wild Animal Figurines, $1.25
6x3.5 in. from dollar tree

Or Calico critters from home

5  Stuffed animals Greenbrier Kennel Club Plush $1.25

Animal Dog Toys, 6x3.75x2-in.

10  Magazine Pictures of animals Animal planet or highlight $0

magazine
5  A doll or pictures of a human Fisher price figures from home $0

1  White paper plates with two AME D'ESSENCE (100 PACK- $3.25
lines drawn across the plate, 9") Disposable Paper Plates 9"
dividing the plate into four Uncoated White Bulk Paper
equal sections (like a pie) – Plate Large
one plate for each student

16  Crayons Crayola 120ct Crayon Set with $7.99

Crayon Sharpener from Target

3  Markers Crayola 20ct Super Tips Washable $4.99 x 3

Markers

16  Colored pencils Crayola 50ct Colored Pencils 7.99 x2

Assorted Colors from target