Agenda | Teaching Notes |
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Total Time: 1.5 hours of instruction Section 1 1. Opening A. Reviewing Learning Target and Focusing Question (10 minutes) 2. Constructing Explanations A. Variation and Camouflage in Bullfrogs (35 minutes) Section 2 1. Constructing Explanations A. Flower Variation and Pollination in Water Lilies (25 minutes) Optional Extension: Additional Pollinator Study Optional Extension: Water Lily Coffee Filter B. Constructing an Explanation: Beetles and Water Lilies (10 minutes) 2. Evaluating and Communicating Information A. Scientists Meeting: Building Understanding (10 minutes) |
Purpose of lesson sequence and alignment with NGSS standards:
How it builds on previous work in the Life Science Module:
How it connects to the CCSS Standards and EL Education's Language Arts Grade 3 Module 2:
Possible student misconceptions:
Possible broader connections:
Areas where students may need additional support:
Down the road:
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Lesson Sequence 5: Overview
Total Time: 1.5 hours of instruction (divided into two sections)
In this lesson sequence, students begin to answer the second half of the Unit 1 guiding question--why does how an organism looks matter? They explore how variation of traits in bullfrogs and water lilies can provide advantages in surviving (camouflage in bullfrogs) and reproducing (water lily pollination).
Long-Term Target Addressed (Based on NGSS)
Construct an explanation of the observed relationships between variations in characteristics among animals or plants of the same species and the relative advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing. (Based on NGSS 3-LS4-2)
This lesson sequence explicitly addresses:
Science and Engineering Practices:
- Constructing Explanations: Use evidence (e.g., measurements, observations, patterns) to construct or support an explanation or design a solution to a problem. Students identify evidence that supports the explanation that "There is a cause and effect relationship between variation and surviving and reproducing."
Crosscutting Concepts:
- Cause and Effect: Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change. Students identify the cause and effect relationship of an organism having a preferential trait and surviving better.
Disciplinary Core Ideas:
- LS4.B: Natural Selection: Sometimes the differences in characteristics between individuals of the same species provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing. Students look at variation of traits of both bullfrogs and water lilies to construct an explanation for why some bullfrogs or some water lilies may be more likely to survive or reproduce than others in the same species.
Lesson Sequence Learning Target
- I can support an explanation about how the variation of traits in organisms might provide an advantage in surviving, finding a mate, and reproducing.
Ongoing Assessment
- Student science notebook: Variation and Survival entry
- Water Lily Preference Explanation
- Scientists Meeting: Building Understanding
Agenda
In Advance
- Read each section and complete the Preparing to Teach: Self-Coaching Guide.
- Prepare technology necessary to display two photos of frogs:
- Prepare technology necessary to play the bullfrog slideshow.
- Print out the image of two water lilies in color (see supporting materials). Alternatively, you could prepare technology necessary to display the image of two water lilies:
- Make copies of "Pollination: Bugs and Flowers Work Together."
- Post: Unit 1 guiding question, lesson sequence focusing question, lesson sequence learning target, Concepts Scientists Think About anchor chart, Scientists Do These Things anchor chart, Plant Life Cycle models, and Norms of a Scientists Meeting anchor chart.
Optional extensions:
- Additional Pollinator Study: Research the preferences of other pollinators.
- Water Lily Coffee Filter: Make coffee filter water lilies and construct an argument about which flower is likely to be pollinated by which bug. Directions included in supporting materials.
Vocabulary
survival = to continue to live; to not die
trait = a characteristic or an organism
cause and effect = when something happens and then results in something else happening
reproduce = when a male and female parent produce offspring
camouflage = coloration that matches surroundings
pollination = when pollen mixes between flowers, which allows for seeds to be made
Materials
General Materials
- Student science notebook (from Lesson Sequence 1; one per student)
- Variation and Survival entry (page 20 of student science notebook)
- Concepts Scientist Think About anchor chart (begun in Lesson Sequence 2; added to in Section 1; see supporting materials)
- Two pictures of frogs (one each to display; see Teaching Notes)
- Scientists Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Lesson Sequence 2; added to in Section 1; see supporting materials)
- Bullfrog slideshow (play in entirety; see Teaching Notes)
- Image of two water lilies (one to display; see Teaching Notes)
- "Pollination: Bugs and Flowers Work Together" (one per student)
- Norms of a Scientists Meeting anchor chart (begun in Lesson Sequence 1)
- Unit 1 guiding question (from Lesson Sequence 1)
- Constructing Paper Water Lilies (optional)
Science-Specific Materials (gathered by the teacher)
- N/A
Opening
Section 1: Opening | Preparing to Teach: Self-Coaching Guide |
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A. Reviewing Learning Target and Focusing Question (10 minutes)
"Do you think these differences could have any effect on organisms' survival?"
"Events have causes. Cause and effect relationships are identified, tested, and used in explanations."
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(1) How well are my students using their student science notebooks? (2) Would a picture of siblings from a previous lesson sequence be useful here? (3) What experience do my students have with looking for cause and effect? (4) What examples can I give to make these concepts clearer? |
Work Time
Work Time | Preparing to Teach: Self-Coaching Guide |
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Section 1: Constructing ExplanationsA. Variation and Camouflage in Bullfrogs (35 minutes)
"Where have you heard the word camouflage before? (Scaffold: Emphasize the word camo in camouflage.)" (Responses will vary.) "What does it mean?" (to blend into the environment)
"Which one of these frogs is camouflaged?" (the one that is harder to see) "If you were a snake who liked to eat frogs, which one do you think you would eat? Why?" (the one that doesn't blend into the environment, because you could see it more easily) "If you were a moth flying by, which one might you accidentally land close by?" (the one that is harder to see) "How does camouflage help an organism survive? (It helps the organism hide more easily from predators. It also helps an organism hunt its prey.) "What do you think are the benefits of matching, or being camouflaged to, your environment?" (You can hide from predators better if you are camouflaged. You can hunt things more easily.) "What is the cause-and-effect relationship between being camouflaged and survival?" (Because frogs look like their surroundings [cause], they are less likely to be seen by predators and more likely to survive [effect]. If they eat other bugs, they are more likely to be able to catch them [effect].)
"My claim is: There is a cause and effect relationship between how a frog looks and how well it survives. A bullfrog's traits help it survive well in its environment." "My evidence is: I saw five frogs who matched their environment. One had skin that was dark brown, and the mud that it was sitting in is a similar dark brown." "My reasoning is: So the traits of a bullfrog can camouflage it and make it hard for predators to see the bullfrog, and it will survive."
"If we switched the bullfrogs in photos 20 and 24 and placed them in each other's environment, do you think they would have as good of a chance of surviving? Why or why not?" (No, because they don't match the environment as well. They would have to find a new place to hide.) |
(1) What experience do my students have with the concept of camouflage? (2) What additional questions can I ask if my students aren't making the connection between camouflaged and survival? (3) Will I make an evidence table on the white board? Will I show the students my teacher science notebook? How/where will I model collecting evidence? (4) Based on the explanations the students wrote in Lesson Sequence 4, how much time will my students need to write this explanation? |
Section 2: Constructing ExplanationsA. Flower Variation and Pollination in Water Lilies (25 minutes)
"How might the frog call variation, which you learned about in Lesson Sequence 4, help that organism survive and reproduce in a specific environment?" (Having a louder frog call, or particular sounding call, might help a frog find a mate and thus be able to reproduce and help its species survive.) "How might plants be different from one another, and how might that help them survive?" (Responses will vary.)
"What is different about these two water lilies?" (Responses will vary but students will likely note color and size) "Does it look like one of them is being visited by a bug?" (Yes, it appears there is a beetle on the white one.) "Why might the beetle go to the white water lily and not the pink one? Is there a relationship here?" (Responses will vary but may include a cause and effect relationship)
"Why do plants want to attract bugs?" (Plants are pollinated by bees and other insects.)
"What characteristics did you write down? What similarities and differences are there between our notes?"
"Based on your reading, what characteristics do beetles prefer in flowers?" (strong smell, a dull color, and big bowl-like flowers) "How did you show this information in your notebook?" (Responses will vary.) |
(1) If my students aren't coming up with any ideas about plants, what specific traits can I ask about? (fragrance, color, height of flower) (2) How can I leverage the learning from Lesson Sequence 3? (3) After previewing the text, how much time will my students need with this text? (4) Some students may benefit from having a basic flower shape to tape into their notebook. Then they can provide the labels based on the reading. How can I provide that for them? (5) In Unit 2, students will draw a pond explanatory model. Based on the flower model I see here, what kind of support will my students need? |
B. Constructing an Explanation: Beetles and Water Lilies (10 minutes)
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(1) According to the text, beetles seem to have a preference for white or dull colored flowers. Thus, the white flower may be more attractive. How can I be sure my students understand that a "preference" doesn't mean that a beetle will visit only the white flower, but that being white may provide a slight advantage to the flower? (2) How can I have students add this to the posted life cycle? |
Section 2: Evaluating and Communicating InformationA. Scientists Meeting: Building Understanding (10 minutes)
"What are the norms of a Scientists Meeting?" (take turns talking, build on one another's ideas, disagree respectfully, ask questions to clarify information)
"What have you learned that will help you answer the second half of the question?" (How an organism looks, or its physical traits, can affect its survival and reproduction.)
"What information or evidence have we collected to support this claim?" (the evidence about the bullfrog and water lily)
"Can someone paraphrase what Student A said?" "Who thinks something similar to Student A? "Who thinks something different from Student A?" "Can you add to what Student A said?"
"We know that organisms in the same species don't look exactly like each other. How do we know that?" (Students observed this pattern in the bullfrog slideshow and collected evidence for it in Lesson Sequence 2.) "If bullfrogs look slightly different and one is more camouflaged than the other, which one is more likely to complete its life cycle and reproduce?" (the more camouflaged one) "What about flowers? We know that flowers can be different heights and different sizes. What if one flower is bigger and more bowl-shaped, and another is smaller and lower in the water. Which one is more likely to get pollinated and reproduce? Why?" (the bigger one) "Why is it important for an organism to reproduce?" (This allows for more organisms of the species to be born.)
"Why do you think you have different conclusions from Student A's?" "With what in Student A's argument do you disagree? On what points do you agree? What evidence do you have to support those ideas?"
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(1) What probing questions can I ask if they are not getting it? Note: The purpose of this meeting is to provide students with a chance to verbally organize the explanations that they will write during the Summative Assessment in Lesson Sequence 6. Encourage full-group participation in both listening and speaking. |
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