Name: Lauren Knudsen
Name: Lauren Knudsen_
Children’s Book Lesson
Contact Information: 248-891-9602____
Lesson Title: __A Day in the Desert____Grade Level: 3rd Grade______
Materials: “A Desert Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk in the Sonaran Desert” written by Virginia Wright-Frierson. Paper plates (2 per student), brass brads, markers, KWL worksheets, Venn diagram worksheets, desert sandboxes, two cactus plants, and computer access.
References: www.readingquest.org , www.Michigan.gov , book “A Desert Scrapbook”.
Key Question: What does the desert look like?
Common Misconceptions: There is a small amount of living organisms in the desert. -Take home activity: A Desert Mobile
Set up Prior to Lesson: Classroom will be set up in groups correctly prior to activities to be done. Materials will be set and ready for use at overhead projector. There will be ten sandbox exploration shoeboxes ready for use in front. Time was scheduled in the afternoon for library computer lab use. Have fun learning!
Task / Description / Theories/Methods
Engage Activity
-KWL worksheet
-Read book
-Desert picture group work
-Finish KWL worksheet / -Introduce the new desert habitat lesson beginning with KWL pre-reading exercise to help enhance student’s comprehension of book to be read to them.
-Have students fill out sections labeled what they already know and what they would like to learn or what they think they will be learning.
-Read Book “A Desert Scrapbook”.
-Have a class discussion of what surprised them about the desert, what they learned. Encourage questions! / -Guided Inquiry
-Interpersonal
Intelligence
(Gardner’s)
-Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge Application
Exploring Activity
-Plate
Activity
-Desert
Sandbox / -Give each student 2 paper plates (One full, one with the slice cut out) and a brad
-Have students write “Characteristics of the Desert” on the front of the plate. Students will then put plate’s together and put brad through middle to hold.
-Teacher will then handout the desert sandboxes. There will be one box for every four children--Share!!
-Student will explore through sand and find desert like items such as cactus, mice, snakes, spiders, rocks, etc. to see what they can find. On plate wheel they made, they can write what they found with a picture in each of the windows. / Constructivism
-Interpersonal
Intelligence
-Naturalistic
-Tactile
Processing Activity
-Venn Diagram of desert vs. Mt. Pleasant
-Group Discussion of ideas found / -Hand out Venn diagram worksheet to each individual student. Working in pairs of two, have students label one side “Desert” and the other “Mt. Pleasant”.
-Have students compare and contrast the two areas. They should be picking out key characteristics of the two and have the ability to justify the similarities they decided on.
-Come together as a class and on visualizer go through some of the characteristics the class found for each habitat and the similarities that can be found in each.
-Have students turn in finished Venn diagram / -Inquiry
-Interpersonal
-
Further Investigation
-Cactus research project / Think First: Have students start thinking scientifically. If plants need water on a regular basis, why is it that cactus living in the desert survive with little rain?
Question: How do cacti survive in the harsh desert climate?
Procedure: Give each table of 4 a sponge and have them cut it into two equal sized pieces. Place toothpicks into the sides of each sponge. These should cast shadows on the sponge. How might these shadows help the cactus thrive? Remove toothpicks and weigh each sponge and record on worksheet. Place each piece of sponge into separate containers with 2 ounces of water. Observe what happens and carefully weigh each sponge again. Did it become heavier? Set each sponge aside, one uncovered and the other with a piece of wax paper covering it. Students will check these daily and record weights of each sponge. What happened? Was there a difference? How does the wax-like flesh of cacti help it survive such dry climates?
Data: Students will collect and write data on TQPDAC provided
Analysis: What happened to the sponges? Did one dry up faster than the other?
Conclusion: Why did this happen? / -Tactile
-Inquiry
Constructivism
Applications
-Take home
Activity: A
Desert
Shoebox
-Computer
Lab / -Allow students to choose which desert they would prefer to do an at-home activity on (Sahara, Sonoran, Mojave, etc.)
-Take students down to library computer lab to do some research on their particular desert. Guide them with questions such as “What kind of people inhabit this desert?” and “How much precipitation does your desert receive each year?” A great website that hosts information on several deserts is http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/deserts.php
-Hand out take-home activity guidelines worksheet. Answer any questions students may have regarding activity. / -Visual/
Spatial
-Discrepant
Events
-Web-based
Inquiry
Assessment / -Collect all handouts
-Venn diagram: Judge work by how well they were able to find important characteristics of deserts and whether or not they are ably to rationalize the similarities they have found between the two.
-KWL-There is no right or wrong answers. This activity helps students get their thinking hats on to think about what it is they still need to know about deserts. Grading is based upon participation.
-Desert Shoebox: Looking for investigation of information and those students met the given guidelines.
Handouts and Visuals / -Book: “A Desert Scrapbook”
-KWL Worksheet/visualizer
-Venn Diagram/visualizer
-Shoebox guidelines
Think First: If plants need to be watered regularly, what makes it so that a cactus can survive in the desert without water for such long periods of time?
Question: How do cacti survive in the harsh and dry desert climate
Procedure: You will need the following:
1. One sponge cut in half
2. Two glass cylinders with 2 ounces of water in each
3. Toothpicks
4. Piece of wax paper
Give each table of 4 a sponge and have them cut it into two equal sized pieces. Place toothpicks into the sides of each sponge. These should cast shadows on the sponge. How might these shadows help the cactus thrive? Remove toothpicks and weigh each sponge and record on worksheet. Place each piece of sponge into separate containers with 2 ounces of water. Observe what happens and carefully weigh each sponge again. Did it become heavier?
Set each sponge aside, one uncovered and the other with a piece of wax paper covering it. Students will check these daily and record weights of each sponge. What happened? Was there a difference? How does the wax-like flesh of cacti help it survive such dry climates?
Data: Record your findings below for both sponges:
Appearance Weight What’s Happening?
Analysis: What was the difference between leaving the sponge uncovered versus placing wax paper over the sponge?
Conclusion: How does having a waxy flesh benefit the cactus plant?
A Mini Desert
As an activity at home, you are to create a desert out of a shoebox! This should be fun and use your imagination for what you use to put in it. Choose a desert that you would prefer. We have gone over several (Sahara, Sonoran, Mojave, etc.) that you can choose from. With the information you have found, create a scene within the boarders of a shoebox that would be a representation of what your desert may look like. You are to turn in an explanation of your shoebox as well. You will need to address (but not limited to) the following:
1. What kind of people in habit this desert?
2. How much precipitation does your desert receive each year?
3. What is the most prominent feature of your desert?
4. Explanations of items you chose to put into your shoebox and their importance.
Name: Lauren Knudsen
Technology Lesson
Contact Information: 248-891-9602
Lesson Title: Wild in the Desert! Grade Level: Third Grade
Materials: Large animal/plant cutouts for whiteboard, tape, textbooks, library computer lab, classroom computers, Venn diagram worksheets, aquarium pets
References: www.Michigan.gov, http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_ intelligences.htm, http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/YLP/Units/Curriculum_ Units/9596/ Desert_Ocean_TMoore/animal_plant_plan.html, Books: “Little Lords of the Desert
(Arachnids and Insects)” by Conrad J. Storad and “Desert Voices” by Byrd Baylor.
Key Question: “How do plants, animals, and insects use each other in the desert?”
Common Misconceptions: A species high on the food web is a predator to everything below it.
Set Up Prior to Lesson: Table groups are set up and ready for activities in groups of four. Materials will be set up at overhead projector ready for use. Sign-up for library computer lab time was pre-arranged so librarians are aware that class will be coming. The tarantula from another class has already been brought over for classroom observation.
Task / Description / Theories/Methods
Engage Activity
-Classroom discussion of desert organism knowledge
-Desert organism pictures
-Read books / -Begin with class discussion. Ask questions to get student’s thinking hats on. “Who can tell me some desert animals that they already know of? How are desert animals different from the animals that live here in Mt. Pleasant?”
-Introduce the classroom pets to students. Enter class discussion for what they think the Bloched Lizard and the Tarantula offer the desert? How do they think these two animals affect desert life?
-On overhead, place pictures of strange looking desert organisms up. Ask if any students know what these are (scorpions, tarantulas, desert dandelion, etc).
-Read aloud to class “Little Lords of the Desert
(Arachnids and Insects)” by Conrad J. Storad and “Desert Voices” by Byrd Baylor.
-Engage in class discussion about what they were surprised to see living in the desert and what they learned. Encourage questions! / -Guided Inquiry
-Bloom’s Taxonomy: Comprehension
Exploring Activity
-TQPDAC packet
-Animal Information Cards (one for each student)
-Large picture cutouts of desert species (for whiteboard)
-Group web of life activity / -Think First: Have student’s begin to think scientifically. How important is it to protect species of plants and animals from dying out (becoming endangered)?
-Procedure: On whiteboard in front, tape large pictures of desert life animals in the shape of a circle. Hand out student paper with questions that go along with given species card. Give students time to read through cards and find the information to fill out the question sheet. When finished, begin by calling up a student and have them read off their information card. If student names off an animal or plant you have, raise your hand. When finished reading, have related plants/animals go to board and draw lines connecting their species to the readers. Continue to do this until all students have read their information cards and all lines are drawn accordingly.
-Data: Have students draw the “web” in their packet.
-Take away a plant species and ask students how they think this will affect the rest of the species in the web.
-Analysis: Have students give explanations for the results they received. Allow time for students to explain how the data supports their explanations.
-Conclusion: Have students write what they feel is the most important information they learned during the activity. What did they notice about the connections between each of the species? What happened to other species when specific species disappeared?
-To give students a physical example, have class stand by their desk with information card. Each student will represent a different species. Beginning with a plant species, take a seat because you will no longer exist in the desert. Everyone in the class who uses this plant as a major source of nutrition can also take a seat. This will continue until all students are seated. / -TQPDAC
-Bloom’s Taxonomy
-Spatial, Kinesthetic Intelligence (Gardner’s)
Processing Activity
-Venn Diagram of carnivores and herbivores
-Student information search
-Group Discussion / -Give Venn Diagram worksheet to each individual student. Working in pairs of two, have students label sections of Venn diagram “carnivores: meat eaters” and “herbivores: plant eaters”. The overlapping area should be titled “Omnivores”
-Have students compare and contrast the two areas. Make sure they are finding key characteristics of the two and are able to give explanations to the similarities they found.
-Students will then use materials found in room (encyclopedia, classroom computers, science textbook, etc) to find animals within the desert habitat that are classified in these groups. This activity can be done in groups of two, or individually.
-As a class, come together and discuss your findings.
-Have students turn in finished Venn diagram / -Inquiry
Interpersonal
Comprehension, Analysis (Bloom’s Taxonomy)
Further Investigation
-Find desert animal
-Computer Lab
-Animal Report and drawing / -Have students pick an animal, insect, or plant that can be found within a desert to explore.
-Take class to computer lab in library to use computers for exploring websites they can find information on their animals (http://www.desertusa.com/animal.html, http://www. enature.com/home/, http://www.stmary.pvt.k12. de.us/Lib_Animal.html).
-Students should answer questions regarding their specific specie. Worksheet provided to help guide students toward necessary information.
-Using computer program (Microsoft Word), students will type out description of their organism and print it out. Students will also create a drawing of the organism in its habitat. / -Inquiry
-Linguistic and Spatial Intelligence
(Gardner’s)
Comprehension/Analysis (Bloom’s)
-Technology (computer)
Applications
-Take home activity: Web of Life poster
-Poster guidelines/
expectations / -Have students begin research on animal prey and predators in the desert.
-Hand out guidelines worksheet for web of life poster board activity.
-Answer questions students may have regarding this activity. / Comprehension Application
(Bloom’s taxonomy)
-Inquiry
-Visual/Spatial
Assessment / -Collect all work completed
-TQPDAC: Did students find a connection between individual organism importances or the connection between plants and animals? Did students participate?
-Were students able to compose detailed descriptions of specific species?
-Did students use computer time well? Did they do a thorough job in their drawing?
-Venn diagram completion. Were the students able to accurately research and find desert animals and insects that were carnivorous and herbivorous?
-Did students accurately portray the web of life cycle on poster? / -Bloom’s Taxonomy
Handouts and Visuals / -TQPDAC
-Large picture cutouts for front of room whiteboard
-Animal/Plant information cards (one/student)
-Venn diagram worksheet
-Web of Life poster guidelines worksheet
-Books: “Little Lords of the Desert
(Arachnids and Insects)” by Conrad J. Storad and “Desert Voices” by Byrd Baylor.
Think First: An ant is a very small insect. Do you think that if ants were to become extinct the environment would change in any way? How do you think it would or would not change?