KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate: Lindsey Sinton and Jess Sheidy Date:

Cooperating Teacher:

2/13/15

Coop. Initials

Group Size: Whole ClassAllotted Time 45 minutes Grade Level Third Grade
Subject or Topic: Wetlands Introduction Section

STANDARD:
4.2.3.A
Define the term watershed.
Identify the watersheds in which you reside.
I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes):
Third grade students will be able to match wetland characteristic and terms by correctly
matching terms and characteristics in a wetlands memory game.
II. Instructional Materials
A. Safari hat
B. Safari clothes
C. Students journals
D. 1 set of Wetlands memory cards per 2 or 3 students
E. PowerPoint of information
F. Guided notes sheet for PowerPoint
G. SMART board
H. Corner multiple choice questions PowerPoint
I. Wetlands book packet
III. Subject Matter/Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea, outline of
additional content)
A. Prerequisite skills
1. General knowledge of local environment
B. Key Vocabulary
1. Wetland: land that has marshes and swamps

2. Ecosystem: community of living organism and their

environment
3. Habitat: the natural home of a living organism.
4. Community: a group of different species living together in the
same ecosystem.
5. Population: All living things in an ecosystem.
6. Biome: a community of plant life that occurs in a major habitat.
C. Big Idea
1. Terms pertaining to all biomes and characteristics of wetlands.
D. Additional content
1. Watersheds: an area of land that water flows across or through
2. Characteristics of a wetland
IV. Implementation
A. Introduction
1. Gather students attention to the teacher, who is wearing safari
clothes.
2. Tell the class that over the next two weeks we will be going on
a safari.
3. The teacher will have the class play 20 questions to figure out
where they are going. They will ask yes or no questions until
they hit 20 questions or until they figure out where we are
going. (We are going to a wetland.)
4. If students are having trouble asking questions, give them hints
by telling them to ask about different kinds of animals,
different plants, if people live there, etc.
5. Once the class reaches 20 questions or figures out that we are
going to a wetland, have the students draw and color in their
journals what they think a wetland looks like and things that
are found in a wetland.
6. Discuss with students some of the things that they included in
their wetland drawings.
B. Development
1. Pass out the fill-in sheet for the PowerPoint on wetlands and
watersheds. (See attached)
2. Pull up PowerPoint and begin the slideshow to go through
information. (See attached)
3. As the presentation goes, have students volunteer to fill-in
answers on the SMART board.
4. Discuss with students what a biome is. Give one example of a
biome and see if students know of any other biomes.

5. Explain to children what a community is. Discuss different

communities with the examples that are started on the
PowerPoint.
6. Talk about ecosystems and what they are
7. Discuss habitats and figure out what habitats the example
animals would be found in.
8. Explain what a population is and what the populations are
found in our ecosystem.
9. Discuss what wetlands are and that it is the biome that we are
found in.
10. Talk about the different characteristics and qualities of
wetlands.
11. Discuss with students what a watershed is and talk about the
watershed picture on the PowerPoint.
12. Explain to students what watersheds we are found in and where
they are on the map.
13. Once PowerPoint is over, ask students if they have any
questions on the material that was presented.
14. Pull up question PowerPoint
15. Have students stand up at their desks.
16. Explain to children that the teacher is going to ask a question
and give four options. Each of the four options is a multiple
choice type of question. Each corner of the room represents
one of the multiple choice answers. Students are then to
proceed to whatever corner the feel is the correct lettered
answer.
17. Teacher will continue to ask questions with multiple choice
answers until the last question is asked. (see attached)
18. While students are putting away materials, put students in
groups of two or three.
19. Pass out a pack of memory cards to each group. (see attached)
20. Have students play the memory game by matching the
definition of a term to the term.
21. Teacher will walk around and check students learning by
seeing if students are correctly matching the terms.
22. Once students are done matching terms and the teacher has had
a chance to visit with each group, students will gather up cards
and hand the cards in to the teacher.
23. The wetlands book project will be introduced.
24. Each student will receive a blank wetlands book packet. (See
attached)
25. Teacher will explain that the students are going to add a page to
their wetlands book each day during the wetlands and
watersheds unit. The teacher will also explain that the book
will be handed in at the end of the unit to track their progress
on what they learned about wetlands.

26. Students will do the first wetlands page in their book. The first
page consists of students picking a population, a community or
a habitat and defining the term in their own words and drawing
the term.
C. Closure
1. Students will talk about their first page in their wetlands book
with their small table group. They will read their definition and
show their picture to the group.
2. After they are done discussing their first page in their book,
students will hand in books to teacher and put away other
supplies to get ready for the next lesson.
D. Accommodations/Differentiation
1. For Danny who is visually impaired, all hand outs and memory
cards will be provided in Braille.
2. For Danny who is visually impaired, tactile materials will be
provided to help understand and explain term concepts such as
watershed, habitat, ecosystem, community etc.
3. For students who may have trouble writing, provide them with
notes that are already filled in.
4. For students who have trouble with fine motor skills, flashcards
will be printed on a heavier piece of paper, laminated, or
attached to a piece of cardboard.
E. Assessment/Evaluation Plan
1. Formative-Students will placed in groups of two or three students and they
will have to play a Wetlands and Watersheds memory game. All of the cards
will be laid face down in front of the students. Students will then have to
correctly match a question or term to its answer or definition by remembering
where different cards are located and flipping over cards that match. Once
student gets a match, they get to hold onto the match. The teacher will walk
around and progress monitor the students learning. If students are collecting
matches and knowing what terms match, their name will be checked off on a
checklist of names. If they are still struggling with concepts, they will not
receive a checkmark and the topic will be revisited with these specific
students at a later date.
2. Summative-A book (which is being introduced in this lesson) will be made
to chronicle the students journey through a wetland. Each day, the students
will add a new page to their book, talking about information discussed that
day in class and drawing a picture. Each day there will be a different prompt
and information to include on that particular page. At the end of each day, the
teacher will collect the books, read the responses and check for understanding.

Also, at the end of Unit, the books will be collected, graded according to a
rubric, and returned to students to take home.

V. Reflective Response
A. Report of Student Performance in Terms of Stated Objectives (Reflection on
student performance written after lesson is taught, includes remediation for
students who fail to meet acceptable level of achievement)

Remediation Plan

B. Personal Reflection (Questions written before lesson is taught. Reflective

answers to question recorded after lesson is taught)
1. Was the PowerPoint easy to understand?

2. Was the content in the lesson explained thoroughly enough?

3. Were the fill-ins and handouts easy for the students to

understand?

4. How could this lesson be improved?

VI. Resources (in APA format)

Exploring Environments. (2013). Fresno, CA: AIMS Education
Foundation.