Lesson Plan Guide

Teacher Candidate:

Megan Marcum__

Date: 10/13/15__

Grade and Topic:

3rd Grade Science

Length of Lesson: 60 min

Mentor Teacher:

Peggy Murdock

School: University of Memphis- IDT 7061

UNIT/CHAPTER OBJECTIVE/GENERALIZATION/BIG IDEA:

Animal Adaptations

LESSON OBJECTIVES:

Using data gathered from student animal reports, draw conclusions about the most common and
successful adaptations for each biome with 80% accuracy using Google Sheets.

STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
NGSS 3-LS4-3 Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular
habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and
some cannot survive at all.

ISTE Standard 2a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers,

experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and
media

ISTE Standard 3d. Process data and report results

ISTE Standard 4c. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or

make informed decisions

MATERIALS:
Think Sheet

Google Sheets

Access to animal reports (previous lesson)

PROBLEM STATEMENT (for previous and current lesson):
The animal kingdom changes all the time. Animals sometimes must physically change in order to
survive. What causes these adaptations to happen? Which adaptations are the most common?
Which adaptations are the most successful? Why?

LESSON DESCRIPTION
Students have completed individual reports on a chosen animal from their assigned biome. To do
this report, students researched animal adaptations for their animal. Students will now enter their
animals main adaptations and its environment into separate columns in a shared Google Sheet,
accessible to every student in the class. Once all data is entered, students will work through their
Think Sheet to analyze it. They will look for patterns by sorting by adaptation, environment, and
role in the food chain. They will find which adaptations are the most common for each
environment and across environments, as well as among food chain roles. This will help them
draw conclusions not only about the most common, but also about the most successful
adaptations that animals develop.
ASSESSMENT:
Students Think Sheets will be collected and scored for accuracy, depth of thinking, and logical
conclusions.
Students Think Sheets will be scored according to the rubric.
Rubric for Assessment
Distinguished:
95-100%
Proficient:
80-94%
Apprentice:
60%-79%
Novice:
0-59%

Think Sheet has correct answers. Conclusions drawn show higher order
thinking, and are logical based on the data. Data is cited to support the
conclusions.
Think Sheet has correct answers. Conclusions drawn show thinking,
and are logical based on the data.
Think Sheet has some correct answers. Conclusions drawn show some
thinking, but may not be completely logical or based on the data.
Think Sheet may have some correct answers. Conclusions drawn may
show some thinking, but are not logical or based on the data at all.

Student Think Sheet

1. Find your student number to find the row youll be filling in.
2. Fill in your animal, 3 adaptations, biome, and place on the food chain
using your report.
3. Why does your animal need each of those adaptations?
a.
______________________________________________________________________
b.
______________________________________________________________________
c.
______________________________________________________________________
4. Look at the data everyone has entered into the Google Sheet. Look for
similarities/patterns.
Remember, click custom sort to look at the data based on different
columns.
5. What is the most common adaptation overall?___________ How many
animals have it? ____
Why do you think that is the most common?
_________________________________________
6. What is the most common adaptation for primary consumers?
________________________
Why do you think that is?
________________________________________________________

7. What is the most common adaptation for top consumers?

____________________________
Why do you think that is?
________________________________________________________
8. Choose a biome. Which is the most common adaptation there?
_______________________
Why do you think that is?
________________________________________________________
9. Choose another biome. Which is the most common there?
__________________
Why do you think that is?
________________________________________________________
10. List 1 more conclusion you can draw about animal adaptations, using the
data to explain.
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
COMPLETED SAMPLE Student Think Sheet
1. Find your student number to find the row youll be filling in.
2. Fill in your animal, 3 adaptations, biome, and place on the food chain
using your report.
3. Why does your animal need each of those adaptations?
a. __The cougar needs fur to keep it warm. It can live in cold
conditions.__

b. _The cougar needs claws so it can climb and catch prey._

c. __The cougar needs good vision to see prey from long distances.__
4. Look at the data everyone has entered into the Google Sheet. Look for
similarities/patterns.
Remember, click custom sort to look at the data based on different
columns.
5. What is the most common adaptation overall?_claws/fur_ How many
animals have it? _10
Why do you think that is the most common? _Animals use claws for many
different things, like hunting, climbing, gripping, and protecting themselves,
so all different kinds of animals have them. Many animals have fur (or
blubber, etc.) to keep themselves warm because they cant put on extra
clothes and jackets like we do when it gets chilly._
6. What is the most common adaptation for primary consumers? _Fur_
Why do you think that is? _They need to keep warm. They have to consume
a lot of food so they need to keep warm while looking for all of it._
7. What is the most common adaptation for top consumers? _Claws_
Why do you think that is? _They eat other animals, so they need a way to
catch and hold on to them, and to rip them apart to eat._
8. Choose a biome. Which is the most common adaptation there? _Tundrafur/blubber__
Why do you think that is? _It is the coldest biome. Every animal needs a way
to keep warm._

9. Choose another biome. Which is the most common there? __Grasslandsgood vision
Why do you think that is? In the grasslands, there arent things to protect or
get in the way of you seeing things. So, prey have to be able to see
predators coming, and predators need to be able to see prey far away so
they wont be seen right away.____
10. List 1 more conclusion you can draw about animal adaptations, using the
data to explain.
__I was surprised that so many primary and top consumers had the same
adaptations. I noticed, according to the data, that 4 animals listed speed as
a top adaptation. 100% of these 4 were primary consumers, which to me
says that they need this adaptation to get away from their predators
because they dont need it to hunt__.