Stage 1- Desired Results
Standards :
K-7 Standard L.OL: Develop an understanding that plants and animals
(including humans) have basic requirements for maintaining life which
include the need for air, water, and a source of energy. Understand that
all life forms can be classified as producers, consumers, or decomposers
as they are all part of a global food chain where food/energy is supplied
by plants which need light to produce food/energy. Develop an
understanding that plants and animals can be classified by observable
traits and physical characteristics. Understand that all living
organisms are composed of cells and they exhibit cell growth and
division. Understand that all plants and animals have a definite life cycle,
body parts, and systems to perform specific life functions. / Reference content standards to be taught in this unit.
Goals:
  1. The students will understand that all animals and plants need air, water and food.
  2. Students will identify needs of specific animals.
  3. The students will understand that plants and animals use food as a source of energy.
  4. The students will recognize that all plants and animals have a life cycle and this cycle is different for different organisms.
  5. The students will identify the stages of life for different animals using terms such as birth, egg, young, larva, adult and pupa.
/ Restate the standards in terms of long-term accomplishments – transfer goals- rather than discrete content or skill objectives.
Big Ideas/Understandings:
The student will understand that…
-Survival is dependent on the environment surrounding a living organism.
-Food comes in different forms but serves as energy for all living organisms.
-All living things have a beginning and an end. / Based on your goals
identify the over-arching ‘big ideas’
– abstract and
transferable
concepts,
theories,
strategies, etc.-
that are worthunderstanding.
Essential Questions:
-What factors contribute to an organism’s survival or demise?
-Where does an organism’s energy originate from?
-Describe different sources of energy and how an organism uses that energy?
-In what ways can an organism be born?
-What happens to a plant or animal after it dies? / Essential Questions are
open-ended. They foster
inquiry, understanding,
and transfer of learning.
The Essential Questions
should lead students
to the Big Ideas on their own.
Knowledge:
Students will know…
-students will know the basic needs of food, air and water for all organisms
-students will know that food and light are sources of energy
-students will use different terms to identify the stages of life / Skills:
Students will be able to…
-Students will draw and correctly label the life cycle of a living organism
-Student will locate organisms in their natural environment as well as organisms that are displaced.
-Students will match the appropriate food to the organism that uses it. / Identify key knowledge
needed to meet the
standards and enable
the desired understandings
and transfer for
deeper understanding.
Only knowledge and skills
that will be directly
taught and assessed are listed.
Misconceptions:
-All organisms can eat all types of “food” for energy
-The life cycle will always completely transform the organism
-The life cycle includes reproduction not re-cycling
-All organisms get recycled (humans usually don’t) / Determine predictable misunderstandings.
How can misconceptions be used as learning opportunities?