Chris Clarke

EDCI 448
Assignment #2

UNIT: Grade 6 Life Science/ELL LESSON # 4

Materials: Handouts/Transparencies:
 Pencil, Highlighter, Translator  Image of tadpoles
 Copies of “A Frog’s Life Cycle”
 Separate images of each life cycle stage

Reserve (A/V, field trips, etc.): HWK:

 Document camera or projector  Jumbled life cycle assignment

What are students to learn?

 Life cycle of a frog and related vocabulary.

 Experience listening to and following a written passage, comprehension of passage
through listening, reading, and discussion, and practice expressing ideas developed from
passage.

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

 analyse how different organisms adapt to their environments

 distinguish between life forms as single or multi-celled organisms and belonging to one of
five kingdoms: Plantae, Animalia, Monera, Protista, Fungi

Achievement Indicators:

 identify two or more specific adaptations of various life forms (e.g., colouration or other
physical characteristics, mimicry or other behaviour)
 suggest a plausible explanation of how particular adaptations help life forms interact in
their environments
 accurately list the characteristics that define all living things, including ability to reproduce,
grow, respire, use energy, respond to stimuli

Intermediate Reading Standards:

 Strategies – phonics, predict and confirm meaning, letter and word recognition, print
conventions, word skills, comprehension strategies
 Comprehension – retelling, predicting, main ideas and details, drawing inferences,
organizing information, knowledge of genres
 Response and Analysis – connecting to other information (e.g., prior knowledge, personal
experience), articulating and supporting personal opinions, evaluation

Intermediate Oral Language Standards

 Content – word choice and use, definitions, categorization & associations (e.g.,
synonyms, imagery, metaphor)
  Form – grammar (e.g., plurals, possessives, verb tense endings), sentence structure,
intonation, pronunciation, fluency
 Use – functions of language (e.g., academic: describe, explain, question; social: asking
for permission, assistance, directions), social conventions (e.g., turn-taking)

Lesson:

0-5min
 Present large image of tadpoles to class (Prediction from Illustration).
o Have them guess what they are, habitat, and/or how they develop. This can
evaluate students’ background knowledge on subject.
 Most parts of the world have frogs, so they may know at least some of the
subject.
5-15min
 Read “A Frog’s Life Cycle” to class. If document camera or projector is available, point to
each word to help with identification while reading aloud (Modelled Reading)
o Teacher can hand out copy of passage to each student after first read through.
Teacher can read through a second time and have students attempt to follow
along on their own page. Have students highlight/underline new and/or difficult
words e.g. gills, hatches, tadpole, lungs, froglet, breathe
o Create a list of vocabulary that the students identify as needing definitions.
15-30min
 Have students read through the passage on their own.
o More words can be added to new/difficult word list is necessary after this reading.
 In partners (or small groups), have them discuss what they think happened in the
passage and any thoughts they had after reading it. (Summarizing)
o Provide an opportunity to compare/discuss amphibians they may be familiar with.
 Have each partner read the aloud to the other. (Reading Aloud)
30-40min
 Provide a series of images of a frog’s life cycle. Have students present them in their
proper order in the cycle and label them. (Time Line/Picture Matching)
o Students can also make notes of the important aspect of each phase (e.g. Eggs
are in water, tadpoles have tails and gills, and frogs have lungs)
 This should help with determining comprehension and in some ways act as
a summary of the passage.

Assessment:

 Teacher will have a list of new words and definitions created by the students.
 Students reading aloud to partners will provide an opportunity to listen for pace, syntax,
self-correction, confidence.
 Organising images, labelling, and listing important aspects of each phase can be
collected for assessment purposes and to determine the level of comprehension of the
passage achieved.

Reflections (what worked): Reflections (improvement/replacement):

 To be filled out after the lesson.  To be filled out after the lesson.
Rationale:

This is a short passage titled “A Frog’s Life Cycle”. It was selected for Intermediate Grade ELL

students. The passage was chosen due to its length and subject matter, as ecosystems and

adaptations are looked at in grade seven science. The short length allows for easier repetition within

a single lesson, and it reduces the potential to intimidate students the way longer passages might.

Frogs are found in most parts of the world. This means there is a greater chance that students who

have immigrated will have some background knowledge of a frog’s life cycle, even if it’s in their first

language. In fact, it would be beneficial for them to be able to relate the information presented in this

passage to words in their first language. This would help build connections and reinforce ideas that

should help with word recall and comprehension.

Students will be introduced to the day’s lesson by asking them to predict the topic based on a

key illustration. A picture of tadpoles is planned, though a picture of frogs can be held in reserve if

there is no recognition of the tadpoles. This should help gage background knowledge and vocabulary.

The main body of the lesson will be started through the use of modelled reading. The teacher

will read the passage aloud to the entire class so they can hear the tone, vocabulary, and cadence of

the writing. This technique also emphasises appropriate pausing and expression. To further

encourage connections across the senses, the teacher can point to each word spoken through the

use of a document camera or projector if available.

After the initial reading, the teacher will handout a personal copy of the passage to each

student. The teacher will re-read the passage aloud, but this time the students will attempt to follow

along on their own page. If they identify words that are new or difficult, they can underline or highlight

them. At the end of the reading, these words can be discussed as a class before further work is

completed. This ensures all students hear definitions for words that may be difficult for some of them.

Some students may wish to help provide definitions for some of their peers’ words. This should be
encouraged as teaching others is a great way of reinforcing comprehension and peer tutoring

provides excellent opportunity for social interactions.

At this point the students should read through the passage individually. This will be the third

time they’ve looked at it, but their first individual attempt. The expectation is the groundwork laid

through the first two read-throughs and vocabulary discussion should assist in greater comprehension

on their first individual read-through. After this read-through, it is possible to add to the word wall if

necessary.

Students will break into partners and discuss the passage together. Small groups can be used

if class composition or size recommends it. This is a combination of summarizing the passage and

sharing their thoughts orally. An added aspect to the discussion can involve telling their partner about

amphibians in their original country. Due to this component, it might be more beneficial if the partners

are created using students from different backgrounds when possible. To practice their oral reading

skills and to add one more layer of repetition, students will read aloud to their partner at the end of the

discussion.

As a culminating exercise, provide each student with a jumbled series of images of the life

cycle of a frog (egg, tadpole, froglet, and frog). Have them place them in the proper order, label each

stage, and make comments (one or two) on important aspects of each stage. This is a good way of

assessing their level of comprehension and allows for them to go back to the text to find the

appropriate information needed to complete the assignment. This exercise can be collected at the

end of class or assigned as homework, if time is limited.

Based on timing/level of experience, a follow-up lesson could include discussion on limiting

factors of development, habitat degradation, or another topic based on student interest. This would be

dependent upon student abilities and prior knowledge.

 All times used in this lesson plan are estimated and can be easily adjusted as necessary. All

Intermediate ELL reading and oral language standards have been included in the lesson plan due to

the varying needs of the different students in the class. Their level of importance will vary. They

should be used as the main categories to observe when formulating an assessment of each student’s

progress. Proscribed Learning Outcomes and Achievement Indicators for grade six science that are

applicable to this lesson have also been provide. When possible, it would be advantageous to run this

lesson concurrently with the life sciences unit for added comprehension and retention.

Works Cited
Education, M. o. (2001). English as a Second Language standards. British Columbia, Canada.
Retrieved from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/ell//standards.pdf

Education, M. o. (2005). Intergrated Resource Package: Science Grade 6. British Columbia, Canada.
Retrieved from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/sciences/2005scik7_6.pdf

Gibbons, P. (2002). Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning: Teaching Second Language

Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann.

Kreisman, R. (2014). Retrieved from ReadWorks:

http://www.readworks.org/sites/default/files/lessons/a_frog_s_life_cycle_340_passage_and_qu
estions.pdf