Pre-Observation Plan

1. To which part of your Curriculum does this lesson relate? What do you want the students to
understand? (1a, 1c, 1e)

This lesson is an introduction to Ecology. Ecology is a very large portion of the NYS living
environment regents exam.

2. How does this lesson fit into the sequence of learning for this class? (1a, 1e)

This lesson is the second lesson of the Ecology unit. This is an introduction to food webs and
energy after the students learned some of the terminology and had some preteaching in the first
class period.

3. Briefly describe the students in this class, including those with special needs. (1a, 1b, 1d, 1e)

There are 6 students in this class. All 6 students have an IEP. In this group there are 3 students
with learning disabilities, one with a speech language impairment, one with autism and one with
other health impairment. Because of this diverse group many accommodations must be made to
ensure student success. Below is a list of the students needs which will be accommodated for
during this lesson:

directions repeated preteaching

reteaching frequent checks for
chunking understanding
concrete examples refocusing and redirection
access to class notes
 The students in this class have very few behavioral issues and in general they work well together
and help each other to succeed. My TA and I have also build up a very good relationship of
respect and rapport with this group.

4. What are your learning outcomes for this lesson? (How do your outcomes relate to curriculum, state
standards, common core standards, team goals, grade-level goals, IEP goals, and/or building goals?
(1a, 1b, 1c)

NYS living environment regents standards:

1.1a Populations can be categorized by the function they serve. Food webs identify the
relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers carrying out either autotropic
or heterotropic nutrition.
1.1c In all environments, organisms compete for vital resources. The linked and changing
interactions of populations and the environment compose the total ecosystem.
Extension: 1.1f Every population is linked, directly or indirectly, with many others in an
ecosystem. Disruptions in the numbers and types of species and environmental changes can
upset ecosystem stability.

Learning Objectives associated with the content standards:

Classify organisms as producers or consumers.

Observe a food chain in equilibrium.
Determine how one organism affects others in a food chain.
Extension: Observe how disturbing the equilibrium of an ecosystem can result in long-term
population fluctuations.

Student Friendly Learning Targets: associated with the learning objectives.

I can sort organisms as producers or consumers

Describe equilibrium
List effects organisms have on one another
Extension: Make observations about long term effects on a population

5. How will you engage the students in the learning? What will you do? What will the students do?
Will the students work in groups, or individually, or as a large group? Provide any handouts or other
materials the students will be using. (1b, 1d, 1e)

This lesson used the BSCS 5E instructional model where students learn through inquiry and
exploration. Students will first be engaged in a prelab activity, then explore using a simulation,
then the information will be explained and they will be evaluated oh what they have learned.
The lesson may then be extended based on individual pace. This model has been proven to
improve student success in multiple different studies. During this lesson:

Students will:
be engaged in an online lab simulation where they will learn through inquiry at their
own pace
be able to actively be engaged in verbal discussion and active listening and note taking
Teacher will:
 coach students through their own learning during the simulation
support a student lead discussion
explain population interactions
answer questions that the students have during the notes
Students will work in groups to complete the simulation and are expected to coach each
other and discuss the questions together to come up with the answers.

6. How will you differentiate instruction for different individuals or groups of students in the class? (1a,
1b, 1d, 1e)

All students are given guided notes sheets that follow the PowerPoint exactly, completed notes
are also available in the back of the room. Checks for understanding will be used often for all
students. This is a small classroom environment to better suit student learning. Students in this
class were given preteaching in the previous period and will be retaught this information several
times before being formally evaluated.

7. How and when will you know whether or not the students have learned what you intend? (1f)

For this lesson students will be asked to define producer and consumer, explain equilibrium and
use the information they have gained to make predictions about the interactions between
certain populations in an ecosystem. Extension: students will be required to use the knowledge
they have gained to predict the effects of population collapse on the ecosystem and relate this to
human impact.

To check to see if the students are able to do this students will be informally assessed during the
discussion following the activity in order to see what the students got out of the activity.
Students will also be assessed using a homework worksheet that relates directly to the material
we covered in class. Students will have a quiz covering this material later in the unit and a test at
the end of the unit.

8. Is there anything else that you would like the observer to specifically observe during the lesson?

Group work and student engagement.