Basic Lesson Plan Template

Name: Kelly Peters

Grade Level: Second
Lesson # & Title: Discovering Dinosaurs
Function of the Lesson (check all that apply):

Date: 22 March 2016

Subject(s): Science

Introduce New Skill or Content

Practice & Review
Remediation/Re-teaching

Context for Learning: 20 students none are gifted, none have disabilities, 1 student is an ELL.
Content Standards:
Strand: Life Science:
Topic: Interactions within Habitats. Some kinds of individuals that once lived on Earth have completely disappeared,
although they were something like others that are alive today.
Learning Objectives (Aligned to Standards & Assessment Plan):
1. Students will be able to match fossils to the corresponding dinosaur with 75% accuracy.
2. Students will be able to write at least one sentence explaining how fossils can provide scientists with information
about past organisms.
Academic Language (Academic Language Demands and/or Academic Language Objectives):
-Fossils- the remains of plants or
-Dinosaurs- a reptile species that
-T-Rex
animals that lived a long time ago.
has long been extinct.
-Triceratops
-Extinction- when an organism
-Paleontologist- a scientist who
-Pterodactyl
no longer exists.
studies fossils.
-Stegosaurs

EDU234 Interdisciplinary Planning for Diverse Learners & Families - Spring 2016

Assessment Plan (Aligned to Learning Objectives):

Formative Assessment:
1. Have students identify a specific dinosaur by looking at the fossil they are given.
- Students will stand up when they hear the name of a dinosaur that they believe is on their fossil.
Teacher will check for understanding and make note of students who are having difficulty by
writing names down on a sticky note.
2. Students will be given the terms fossil, dinosaurs and extinction on notecards.
- The teacher will provide the definitions of the terms orally to the students.
Upon hearing the definition, students will raise the notecard that they think correlates with the
definition spoken by the teacher. Teacher makes note of students who are having difficulty by writing
names down on a sticky note.
Summative Assessment
1. Students will be given a worksheet that provides pictures of the 4 different types of dinosaurs. Each
dinosaur picture will also have its correct name shown with the picture.
2. The students will be asked to circle each dinosaur fossil in a different color on their worksheet when they
hear the teacher call out a dinosaur name and show the corresponding fossil.
3. Students will use the fossil that the teacher is holding as a visual aid to help them.
- The instructions are as followed:
- (When holding the T-Rex Fossil to show students) Please circle the T-Rex fossil in red on your
worksheet.
- (When holding the Pterodactyl Fossil to show students) Please circle the Pterodactyl fossil in blue
on your worksheet.
- (When holding the Triceratops Fossil to show students) Please circle the Triceratops fossil in
green on your worksheet.
- (When holding the Stegosaurus Fossil to show students) Please circle the Stegosaurus fossil in
orange on your worksheet.
* Teacher makes note of students who are having difficulty by writing names down on a sticky note.
2. Provide students with an Exit Slip that will require them to write at least one sentence explaining how
fossils can provide scientists with information about past organisms. (The sentence(s) must include the
words fossil, dinosaur and extinction).

Procedures - Lesson Introduction: (5 mins) * Before the class starts the salt dough fossils will be hidden around the
room.
1. Say: Good morning students! We (me and Cheyenne) are so excited to be here with you today! We just
got back from a 3 week dig in the deserts of Utah. We met with some very interesting paleontologists who
helped us find some really cool rocks, and inside the rocks there were imprints of dinosaurs! Does anyone
know what these imprints in the rocks are? They are fossils! We brought some back for you guys to look at
because we need help classifying them. Do you guys think you can help us?
2. Activate Prior Knowledge by asking students: What type of organisms can we find in fossils? Are they
living or dead? Allow students to verbally respond to the questions by raising their hands.
3. Students answers to the types of organisms found in fossils should be answers of bones of animals, bugs
and possibly plants. Also, the answer to are they living or dead should be dead.
4. Say: So today our goals include learning about what fossils are and how they relate to extinction. We
will also learn about how once living organisms can become extinct and be found in fossils. So we were
wondering if you all would be our helpers today and help us identify the organisms in our fossils. Can you
help us out?

Procedures - Lesson Body: (35mins)

Presentation/Explicit Instruction (I do):
1. Students will be given the Dinosaur Lesson Worksheet.
2. On the Dinosaur Lesson Worksheet, the terms fossil, dinosaur, extinction and paleontologist will be
defined. (On the sheet, there will be a blank line for the term, and next to the blank line will be the
definition of the term. Students will be provided a word bank to help with spelling).
3. On the board, the teacher will write out the term name and the correct definition. (Terms and definitions
will also be read aloud for the auditory learners).
4. Next the teacher will introduce the second half of the Dinosaur Lesson Worksheet by providing the
students with visual examples of the different dinosaur fossils found on the dig.
5. Teacher will put up a picture of a T-Rex, Pterodactyl, Triceratops and Stegosaurus on the board for
students to see, and the name of the dinosaur will be written next to the picture.
6. The students will be asked to describe the visual examples of the dinosaurs that they see on the board.
(Examples should include descriptors such as big teeth, spikes, wings, etc.)
7. The worksheet will provide the fossil of the dinosaur and a few lines for the descriptions.
8. Students will call out the descriptions for each picture and all descriptions will be written on the board.
9. Students will be instructed to write at least 2 descriptions next to the correlating fossil picture.

Structured and Guided Practice (We do):

1. Students will be given the terms fossil, dinosaurs and extinction and living organisms on notecards.
- The teacher will provide the definitions of the terms orally to the students.
- Upon hearing the definition, students will raise the notecard that they think correlates with the
definition spoken by the teacher. (Quick way to check for understanding)
1. Now, have the students get up and walk around the room to look for the fossils that had been hidden.
(There will be Pterodactyls, T-rexes, Triceratops and Stegosauruses).
2. Once each student has found a fossil have them come back to their seats.
3. The teacher will call out each dinosaur name individually to the students so that they can identify a
specific dinosaur by looking at the fossil they are given.
4. Students will stand up when they hear the name of a dinosaur that they believe is on their fossil. Teacher
will check for understanding and make note of students who are having difficulty by writing names down
on a sticky note.
5. Then have all the students with a T-Rex go to 5 different spots in the room.
6. Then tell the Pterodactyls to go find a T-rex.
7. Then have a Triceratops join each group.
8. Finally have a Stegosaurs join each group.
9. You should end up with 5 groups of 4 so that there is one of each fossil in the group.
10. Allow the students time to pass their fossils around the group and share what type of dinosaur is on their
fossil. Teacher will circulate and check for understanding Make note of students who are having difficulty
by writing names down on a sticky note.

Independent Practice/Application (You do)

1. Students will be given a worksheet that provides pictures of the 4 different types of dinosaurs. Each
dinosaur picture will also have its correct name shown with the picture.
The students will be asked to circle each dinosaur fossil in a different color on their worksheet when they hear
the teacher call out a dinosaur name and show the corresponding fossil.
Students will use the fossil that the teacher is holding as a visual aid to help them.
- The instructions are as followed:

(When holding the T-Rex Fossil to show students) Please circle the T-Rex fossil in red on your
worksheet.
- (When holding the Pterodactyl Fossil to show students) Please circle the Pterodactyl fossil in blue
on your worksheet.
- (When holding the Triceratops Fossil to show students) Please circle the Triceratops fossil in
green on your worksheet.
- (When holding the Stegosaurus Fossil to show students) Please circle the Stegosaurus fossil in
orange on your worksheet.
* Teacher makes note of students who are having difficulty by writing names down on a sticky note.
2. Provide students with an Exit Slip that will require them to write at least one sentence explaining how
fossils can provide scientists with information about past organisms. (The sentence(s) must include the
words fossil, dinosaur and extinction).
Procedures - Lesson Closure: (2 mins)
1. Have students engage in a Turn & Talk to briefly discuss something new they learned from todays lesson.
2. Say: We hope you fellow fossil hunters had fun helping us identify our fossils today. It will make our jobs
way easier later today. We also hope that maybe we gave you guys some ideas for your upcoming
science fair. You can also take your fossils home to show your families!
Instructional Materials and Support:
Dinosaur identification worksheet (20)
28 dinosaur fossils (7 of each type) made from salt dough
Sticky notes for observations
Exit Slips (20)
SALT DOUGH RECIPE
Ingredients:
2 c. flour
1c. salt
1c. Water
Food coloring (optional)
Plastic dinosaurs
Ziploc Bags (30)
Directions: Mix salt and flour in large container. If you want a color add food dye to water. Then slowly add water while
constantly stirring the mixture. You may not need all the water. Keep stirring until the ingredients come to a dough consistency.
Roll out on counter covered in flour. Cover your hands in flour and knead dough on counter slightly. Then roll out dough to inch
or inch thickness. Then cut out the dough with a circle cookie cutter, or free hand cut to make them look like you really dug
them up. Press the plastic dinosaurs into the dough and carefully remove. Then let the dough sit and air dry. For best results bake in
oven at 200F for 2-3 hours. Yields approx. 5 4inch circles.

Differentiation, UDL:
1. Students are intentionally provided a word bank on their worksheet to help accommodate the ELL student and
for the students who struggle with their spelling.
2. In the plan we intentionally instructed the students to use colors to identify their dinosaurs so that the ELL
student would not have to worry about reading or writing for that particular task and give the students more
variety.
3. Pictures of the dinosaurs, with names and description are also intentionally written on the board for the visual
learners and the ELL students who are having a hard time understanding the lesson.

4. The Exit Slip can also be read aloud to students for the ELL student and others who may have trouble reading
the question.
Research and Theory Commentary:
1. Dewey says students learn by doing. We intentionally incorporated multimodalities into the lesson so that the
students could be more active in their learning. The lesson appeals to the auditory, visual, tactile and even kinesthetic
learners. This provides a great variety for all learners and can appeal to many
2. Vygotsky says children learn from social interactions, so having the student engage in group activity and a Turn &
Talk allows for them to learn from one another and have a richer learning experience. The social aspect also allows the
students to be more engaged and focused on the lesson and the tasks at hand.