Science Life Cycles

Chapter Review
Educational Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of
how living things grow and change by correctly completing a Rally Table
with a collaborative work group.
Grade Level:

1st grade

Illinois Standards:
12A.1: Apply scientific inquiries or technological designs to introduce basic
needs, characteristics and component parts of living things.
Materials Needed:
Teachers Edition Scott Foresman Illinois Science Volume 1
Rally Table (see attachment A)
5 pencils
Anticipatory Set: (5 minutes)
Talk with students about working together soliciting their ideas
for how to work together effectively. Tie in to yesterdays
(11/17/08) story about the ants that work together to survive.
Tell students they are going to be divided into groups in order to
do a fun activity to help study for tomorrows (11/19/08) science
test.
Explain that the activity is called a Rally which means a group
rallies around each other to complete something together
quickly.
Read groups (Attachment B) and have students sit with their
assigned group.
Sequence of Activities: (20 - 25 minutes)
Explain group roles reader, writer, and thinkers. Have each
group decide roles.
Explain Rally Table rules:
Talk quietly so other groups can not hear your answers.
Every member of your group must agree with the answer
before it can be written down.
It is not a race, you want to have correct answers that are
written neatly.
Each answer can only be used once.
Give your sheet to Mrs. Wodrich to check answers.
When your table has been checked and is correct, do the
extra activity at the bottom.
Sit quietly until all groups are finished.
Ask for thumbs up if they understand the rules. If not, explain
again.

Show the Rally Table and show students where to write the
answers.
Distribute Rally Sheets to the reader in each group and the pencil
to the writer in each group.
Circulate to assist groups in working together. Encourage the
quiet students to participate.
Check the tables for accuracy as the groups finish.

Conclusion and Summary: (10 minutes)

(Higher Order Thinking Question = HOT)
When all groups are finished, congratulate them for working well
together.
Say: Lets review a few more things for our science test
tomorrow:
(HOT) Tell me in your own words what a life cycle is? Think about
animals, plants, and people to answer this. (how a living thing
grows and changes, how a living thing starts out and what it
becomes, etc.)
What is the first change that happens to a tadpole? (Its back
legs grow)
Name a baby animal that may look the same or different than its
parent. (kittens, puppies - different color, different size, or may
look the same.)
Name a baby animal that looks different from its parent.
(angelfish, salamander, newt)
Name a flower that comes in different color patterns and
different kinds of petals. (tulip).
When we planted the radish seeds, what was the first thing that
happened? (the seed coat opened)
(HOT) Ask how working together to complete this activity was
like the story we read yesterday about ants working together.
(HOT) If guided reading groups have read their Bee books: Ask
how this relates to bees working together.
Assessment:
Along with assessing the students science content
understanding, I will also be looking for their progress in learning
to work together in groups.
A summative assessment will be done as I review the groups
Rally Tables.
A summative assessment will be done as the questions in the
conclusion are answered.
Formative assessments will be completed as I circulate and
monitor how well the group members are working together.

Attachment A

Attachment B
Heterogeneous groupings:
3 males/1 female, 1 above level reader/3 below level readers:
Collin, Isabella, Michael, Jackson
2 males/1 female, 2 on level readers/1 below level reader:
Zack, Jennifer, Tony
2 males/2 females, 1 above level reader/3 below level readers:
Abby, Parker, Matt, Jim
2 males/2 females, 1 above level reader/2 on level readers/1 below level:
Henrietta, Brandon, Anna F., Luke
2 males/1 female, 2 on level readers/1 below level reader:
Anna M., Steven, Haroun