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Sarah Steed

GSRP Thematic Unit

Thematic Plan Overview


Title: Habitats
Theme: The students will be studying habitats and learning about four
different kinds: savanna, rainforest, ocean, and the woods.
Curriculum: Throughout my thematic unit I used a lot of approaches that
went hand in hand with the Creative Curriculum. One of my biggest
goals for my unit was to have my students be a huge part of the planning
process. They helped contribute to the study and create the unit it turned
out to be. I wanted my students to feel like they had a say in the unit and I
think it made them more interested when they knew they were a part of
the study. My lessons were developed appropriately for my students so
that it fit all of their needs and was relevant to where they are
academically, socially, and mentally. I used a variety of interest areas
that would keep them excited and involved throughout my unit. Not only
did I build relationships with the students, but I also built relationships with
the families as well by communicating with them about the unit and
inviting them in for a habitat show and tell. Another way my unit aligned
with the curriculum is that I spent a lot of time after my teaching reflecting
on my lessons and taking anecdotal notes and entering them into GOLD.
My lessons highlighted many of the areas that are a part of the Creative
Curriculum.
Big Ideas: The big ideas for this thematic unit is to teach the students in my
class what a habitat is and to give them the opportunity to investigate
and become curious learners about different habitats and places animals
call home. Each day I have an overall objective that I am striving for
throughout the entire day.
Objective: My overall objective is thatstudents will learn what a habitat
is and why it is important by studying different habitats and the animals
that live there.
Date: Monday 4/13
Objective: The students will learn about what a habitat is and the
importance behind them
Meeting 1
Materials:
Book: A house is a home, white board, and markers
Question of the day: Where do animals live?
The question will be written on the board when the students walk
into the classroom
The students will share different ideas they have about where
animals live. I will have them keep that in mind because we are
going to read a book and come back to it at our next meeting.
Start reading the book A house is a home. After we will discuss the
book and how different places and be homes for different things.
Objective:
Objective 9 Uses language to express thoughts and needs
a. Uses an expanding expressive vocabulary
b. Speaks clearly
Domain: Language

Small Group
Materials: Journals
In their journals students will draw and label a place where they
think an animal would live.
This gives me a chance to see where the students are at Can
they use their prior knowledge and communicate about what their
picture is and if it accurately represents what they are saying.
The teacher will pay close attention to see if the students can recall
past experiences with the animals and the habitat they drew.

Assessment: Can the student recall information and draw a place where
an animal lives and tell us about it.

Objective:
Objective 12- Remembers and connects experiences
a. Recognize and recalls
b. Makes connections
Objective 7- Demonstrates fine-motor strength and coordination
a. Uses fingers and hands
b. Uses writing and drawing tools
Objective 19- Demonstrates emergent writing skills
a. Writes name
b. Writes to convey meaning
Students are at all different levels with their writing. Some of them can
sound of words and write a few of the letters they hear and some of them
are just now writing their name. The journals offer a lot of differentiation
and give students a wide range of writing skills.

Domains: Social-emotional, physical, and literacy

Meeting 2
Materials: Poster and markers
What is a habitat?
Objective: The students will help brainstorm ideas for where they
think animals live. The students will use their schema to help them
participate and share.
Together we will create a poster on what we believe makes up a
habitat.
- A habitat is a special place where plants and animals live
- Just like you have a place to live, so do animals and plants
- An animal needs 5 things in order to live in a habitat
1. Food
2. Water
3. Air
4. Shelter
5. Place to raise their babies

They live in water


They live with other animals
Some animals live in trees
Some animals live in hot places
Some animals live in cold places
Some animals live in a cave

To help differentiate the lesson I will draw pictures next to their


suggestions so they can make the connection between the picture
and the word.
This will help the students get in the mind set about habitats and
where animals live and give them a chance to use their schema to
tell me what they know.

Animals live in all kinds of habitats. What kind of habitats have you
heard of? The ocean, desert, forest, arctic.where else could
animals live? Jungle, woods, underground, in a tree, ect
Over the next couple of weeks we are going to be learning about
habitats and all different kinds of places where animals live
Objective:
Objective 9: The students will be able to listen to and understand
increasingly complex language
a. Comprehends language
Domain: language

Assessment: I will be assessing the students informally by paying close


attention to the students that are participating and sharing habitats
where animals live. I want to make sure students are using their schema
and things that they know to help contribute in the conversation.

Extra time:
- Going on a bear hunt song

Date: Tuesday 4/14


Objective: The students will learn about the ocean and demonstrate their
knowledge about what its like in the ocean and the animals that live
there.
Meeting 1:
Materials: Commotion in the ocean book
Question: A shark lives in __________
I will read the book commotion in the ocean
In this book the students will learn a basic understanding about the
Ocean and the types of animals they would find there.
My goal is to make the book as interactive as possible by having
them act out certain parts like the animals, or change up the
dialogue to make it more interesting for them to listen to.
Objective:
Objective 9 Uses language to express thoughts and needs
c. Uses an expanding expressive vocabulary
d. Speaks clearly
Objective 11- demonstrates positive approaches to learning. d.)
Shows curiosity
Domain: language and cognitive

Small Group
Materials: Tissue paper, sponges, paint
Tissue Painting
Today the students will get a piece of tissue paper and they will
paint it using different stamps with shapes and objects on them.
As the students are using the stamps they will tell us what shape they
are using. Tomorrow we will be using the tissue paper to cut into
shapes to make different animals that we have been learning about
that live in our habitats.

Objective:
Objective 21: Explores and describes spatial relationships and
shapes. b.) Understands shapes
Domain: Math

Free choice: During free choice today the students can use ocean animal
stamps to create a fun art piece to take home.

Meeting 2
Materials: Hula hoops and animals to sort
In this meeting the students will sort animals into two groups (ocean
living and non ocean living). The students will work together to help
decide which group their animal belongs in.
I will randomly hand out animals to the students sitting in a circle on
the outside of the rug. When its the students turn they will come up
and place the animal in the group where they think the animal
belongs (ocean living or non ocean living) I will be using hula hoops
to help distinguish the two groups.
Once the students have separated the animals into two groups if we
will look to see what animal we have the most of. First I will ask them
what they think has the most and then together we will count to find
out.
Ocean Chart: The students will help me come up with important
things they need to know about the ocean.
o The Ocean is made up of salt water
o Ocean is a big body of water
o Plant and animal life
o Waves and currents
Objective:
Objective 20: Uses number concepts and operations. a.) Counts b.)
Quantifies
Objective 9- Uses language to express thoughts and needs
a.) Uses conventional grammar
Domains: Math and language development

Assessment: The students will be evaluated on their participation


throughout the day learning about ocean animals. The students will also
be evaluated on the information they were able to share with us about
ocean animals and experiences they have seen or heard about with
them.
Date: Wednesday 4/15
Objective: The students will learn about the savanna and recall specific
information about this habitat and be able to identify animals that live
there.
Meeting 1
Question: The Ocean is made up of what kind of water?
Materials: Book- Dedan Saves the day
Question: What do you know about the ocean?
First we will review what we learned yesterday. I will show them a picture
of the ocean and ask them to tell me what they know about it. Can you
name it? Can you give me a fact? What animals live there?
Then we will move into learning about the Savanna
First I will show them pictures of the savanna and ask them to
brainstorm and share with me what they think the savanna might
be like and what kind of animals they might find there.
After that we will read a fun Giraffe book called Dedan Saves the
Day that tells a cute story about how a giraffe lives in the savanna.
At the end students will have time to tell me what they learned from
the story.
Objective:
Objective 9 Uses language to express thoughts and needs
e. Uses an expanding expressive vocabulary
f. Speaks clearly
Domain: language development

Assessment: Can they tell me what the savanna is like and remember and
recall a few facts about giraffes.

Small Group
Materials: tissue paper from yesterday, scissors, glue, construction paper to
tape the animal onto.
The students will use the tissue paper that they decorated yesterday
to create animals (bees, elephants, dolphins, butterflies, ect)
We will help guide students in the process of cutting out specific
shapes for their animal.
For example: I need to make a head for my elephant hmmm what
shape do you think we would need for the head Maybe a circle?
Yes that would be a great shape for the head. What about the
body? Hmmm I think you could use a circle or an oval for that.
Smart thinking Tom.
The teachers will guide the students in deciding what shapes would
be good for specific body parts. Head (circle) legs and arms
(rectangles) body (oval) fin (triangle).
Objective:
Objective 21: Explores and describes spatial relationships and
shapes. b.) Understands shapes
Objective 9: uses language to express thoughts and needs
a.) Uses conventional grammar
Domain: Math and language development

Assessment: The students assessed on the shapes that they choose to


create their animals and their willingness to verbally explain what they are
going to create.

Meeting 2
Materials: Poster, markers, animal pictures, and tape
At the carpet we will talk about the Savannah/desert and create a
chart to hang up in the room.
Similar to Oceans I will have words that we can put up on the board
that resemble things found in the savannah. This helps the students
connect pictures to words
Characteristics about the Savanna
o Dry land with very little water
o Mostly grass and dirt with few trees
o Small crops and plants grow
o Very hot
o Animals that live there (I will give the students clues to the
pictures of animals I have to put on the poster) Zebra,
giraffe, elephant, cheetah, bamboo, lion, ostrich.

Assessment: Students will be evaluated on brainstorming what they know


about a savanna/desert and what kinds of animals would live there. The
students will also be evaluated on helping to guess the clues to the
animals.

Date: Thursday 4/16


Objective: The students will learn about the jungle, make connections,
and determine what kinds of animals live there.
Meeting 1
Question: What habitat is really hot, dry, and gets very little water?
- Animals that live in the rainforest/jungle
- Today during carpet time I will read the book
____________________. Before I read the book I will show them
pictures of the rainforest and ask students to predict what kinds
of animals might live there and what the rainforest might be like.
- As I read the book I will make it interactive by asking the students
to help act out parts of the book and help me fill in the missing
words to the sentences.
- Example: Its great to be a chimpanzee swinging through the
trees. And if we cant find nuts to eat we much each others
fleas! The students will pretend they are eating like the chimps.
Objective: Objective 11- demonstrates positive approaches to learning.
d.) Shows curiosity
Domain: Cognitive

Assessment: What do they know about the rainforest before we read the
book and what can they tell me after we read.

Small Group
Focus Groups
Literacy: The students will go on a scavenger hunt throughout the hallway
looking for letters. Once the students have found a letter they will write it
on their white boards to remember it. After we have found all the letters
the students will work to try and piece the letters together to create a
word. The word they will be making is habitat!
o Objective: Objective 3- participates cooperatively and
constructively in group situations. a.) Balances needs and rights of
self and others
o Objective 8- listens to and understands increasingly complex
language. b.) Follows directions
Another great lesson that you can differentiate based on the students in
your group. For some students they needed more help creating the letters
and I could assist them while the other students wrote the letters on their
own.

Objective:
Objective 3: Participates cooperatively and constructively in group
situations.
a.) Balances needs and rights of self and others
Objective 7- Demonstrates fine-motor strength and coordination.
b.) Uses writing and drawing tools

Assessment: The students will be assessed on their ability to find the letters,
write them on their board, and try to sound out the letters to find the
mystery word.

Meeting 2
Materials: poster, markers, tape, and pictures of rainforest animals.
- During this meeting we will create a rainforest chart.
- What kinds of things could we find in the rainforest?
o Gets a lot of rain
o Very wet
o Hot and humid
o Bright colorful flowers and trees
o Animals that live there: Orangutan, tree frog, toucan, baboons,
tigers ,ect

Assessment: The students will be evaluated based on their participation


and knowledge to help create the rainforest poster.

Date: Monday 4/20


Objective: The students will learn about the woods and draw on their prior
knowledge to help them come up with what the woods are like and what
animals live there.
Today was an odd day because we had the ODC
Meeting 1
Materials: picture of the woods
Question: What habitat is really wet and has a lot of trees and vines?
Read a story with a woodland animal in it. Introduce the topic
woods/forest and have the students brainstorm what animals they
might see there.
Materials: Poster, pictures of animals, tape, and markers
During this meeting I will create the last chart on woods/forest.
I will have the students try and tell me what they think the
woods/forest is like.
- Its earthy (green)
- Lots of really tall trees and plants which makes it shady
- Moderate climate (hot and cold)
- Animals that live there (deer, bears, weasels, owls, ect)
Objective: Objective 11- demonstrates positive approaches to learning.
d.) Shows curiosity

Assessment: What information will the students know previously before


learning about the woods

Meeting 2
Review information about other habitats we have learned.
Show pictures of each habitat. Can they recall the information.
Talk about why animals have certain habitats. Why cant a deer live
in the rainforest? Can the students understand why?
Assessment: Evaluated on how much information can they remember
from our other habitats.

Date: Tuesday 4/21


Objective: The students will be able to recall information about the four
habitats and create a plan for a habitat they would build.
Meeting 1
Question: What habitat does Nigel Night owl live in?
I will read the story Theres no place like home. Once I am done
reading we will talk about the different places weve learned that
animals can live and how those places become their homes. Just
like how humans have homes the animals also have homes.
The last few weeks we have been learning about different places
where animals live Can anyone remember what we have been
calling that? Habitat Yes and what habitats have we been
learning aboutocean, savannah (desert), rainforest, and the
woods. I want you to think why animals live in different habitats.
Why couldnt a zebra live in the rainforest?

Objective:
Objective 9- uses language to express thoughts and needs
a.) Uses an expanding expressive vocabulary.
Domain: Language

Assessment:
The students will be assessed on their ability to remember what weve
been learning and their accuracy when they participate.

Small Group
In small group the students will begin the process of creating a
habitat.
The first step is for the students to think of a plan for their habitat
they would like to build. The teacher at the table will jot down what
they say to keep it as a references as they look for materials and
build the habitat.
Once the students have a habitat in mind that they would like to
build they will be given the opportunity to pick up one large piece
of cardboard, some scraps of cardboard, and an extra piece of
material that they can use to build (plastic cereal bows, toilet paper
rolls, milk cartons, ect... )
Once the students have their materials they will start constructing
the base for their habitat. This will help speed up things for the next
day.
Objective:
Objective 9- Uses language to express thoughts and needs
b.) Uses conventional grammar
Objective 11- Demonstrates positive approaches to learning
a.) Attends and engages
Objective 7: Demonstrates fine-motor strength and coordination
a.) Uses fingers and hands
Domain: Aesthetic development, language, and physical

Assessment:
What habitat they decide to build and their thought process on
how they are going to construct their habitat.

Meeting 2
In this meeting we will review that habitats and the animals that we
have been studying.
To do this I will hand each student a card with an animals name on
it as well as a toy animal. This way the students will be making the
connection between the name of the animal and what it looks like.
The teachers will be holding up signs that say the names of the four
habitats we have been learning (ocean, rainforest, savannah,
woods). The students will look at their cards and the animals and
sort themselves depending on which habitat their animal lives in

Objective:
Objective 8- Listens to and understands increasingly complex
language
b.) Follows directions
Objective 13- Uses Classification skills

Assessment:
The objective of this lesson is to see if the students can sort
themselves into the correct habitats based on their animals. The
teachers will be take anecdotal notes observing the students sort
themselves.

Date: Wednesday 4/22


Objective: The students will recall information, and make connections
about the four different habitats.
Meeting 1:
Materials: Habitat animals and box
Question: I am dry, hot, and I have a few trees. What habitat am I?
Animal charades
After we have done the morning message we will play a fun game
called animal charades.
I will have animals in a basket and a student will come up and I will
show one to them. Once the student sees the animal they will try
and make all the necessary sounds and movements to try and
have their classmates guess what animal they are. If the students
need help acting out I will give them clues or ask if they would like
me to help them or if they would like to give the class a few hints
without having to act it out.
The students will then take a few guesses to try and guess what
animal they are. If they get it right the student performing will tell
them.
When the student guesses the correct animal I will ask them if they
can tell me where that animal lives. Once they tell me the name
of the habitat they will get a chance to come up and have a turn
acting out.

Objective:
Objective 11- Demonstrates positive approaches to learning
c.) Shows curiosity and motivation. E.) Shows flexibility and
inventiveness in thinking
Objective 6- Demonstrates gross-motor manipulative skills
Objective 12- Remembers and connects experiences
a.) Recognizes and recalls
Objective 3- Participates cooperatively and constructively in group
situations
a.) Balances needs and rights of self and others
Domains: Science, Social/emotional, Physical, and cognitive

Assessment: This is a fun activity that gets them up moving around,


involves them having to use their knowledge about the animal, and gives
us an opportunity to review what weve learned about habitats. I will be
informally assessing the students and their ability to recall information and
use what they know about each animal to either act out or to guess.

Small groups
Materials: materials to build the habitats (paper, glue, markers, scissors,
tissue paper, confetti paper, sticks, ect)
During small groups today the students will build, create, and paint
their habitats.
This is when their imagination and creativity really comes into play.
The students will get a chance to create a habitat in their very own
way. They will use a variety of materials that we have set out aside
for them to create their habitats.
Teachers will be around as guides and able to assist when
necessary. However this project is to see what the students can do
and give them the freedom to create something that is their own
hard work.
Objective:
Objective 11- Demonstrates positive approaches to learning
d.) Shows curiosity and motivation. E.) Shows flexibility and
inventiveness in thinking
Objective 7- Demonstrates fine-motor strength and coordination
a.) Uses fingers and hands b.) Uses writing and drawing tools.
Objective 12- Remembers and connects experiences
a.) Recognizes and recalls
Domain: Aesthetic development, cognitive, and physical

Meeting 2
What animal am i?
I will have a handful of animals placed inside a box that the
students cant see through.
I will pick an animal in the box and give the students a few hints as
to what animal I am holding.
The students will try to guess which animal it is and what habitat it
lives in based on the clues that I give them.
The objective of this game is for students to use what they know
about animals to figure out what animal I am holding and what
habitat it belongs in. We have been studying the same animals for a
week so the students should be pretty familiar with the
characteristics I describe about the animal.
Objectives:
Objective 12- Remembers and connects experiences
a.) Recognizes and recalls
Objective 11- Demonstrates positive approaches to learning
b.) Shows curiosity and motivation. E.) Shows flexibility and
inventiveness in thinking
Domain: Cognitive

Assessment: Evaluating if the students can guess what animal is being


described and what habitat they live in.
Date: Thursday 4/23
Objective: The students will demonstrate how much they have learned
about the habitats they were taught.
Meeting 1
Question: What habitat is your favorite that we have learned about?
Today the students were asked to bring in one stuffed animal from
home (ideally from one of the four habitats that we have been
learning).
The students will sit on the outside of the rug. We will go around in a
circle and each student will get a chance to talk about the animal
that they brought and what habitat they think it belongs in. In the
middle of the circle are the pictures and words written for each
habitat. Once the student is done talking about their animal they
brought they will place them in their appropriate habitat.
When all of the students are done we will go over the importance of
habitats and why animals have special places/homes where they
live.

Objective:
Objective 11- Demonstrates positive approaches to learning
c.) Shows curiosity and motivation. E.) Shows flexibility and
inventiveness in thinking
Objective 13- Uses Classification skills
Domain: Cognitive and math

Assessment: Can they tell us where their animal belongs?

Focus groups: Literacy


On white boards the students will practice writing words based off
of the sounds they hear.
Hmm what sounds do you hear in fox?.... get up your hands we are
going to stretch out the word. I hear an f
Once the students have all written the word fox I will ask them if
they can think of another word that sounds like fox.
The students will then write the word box What sound do you
hear in box b bubba bear yeah and what do you think would
come after the b hmm well it sounds like fox so maybe it ends in
ox.
We will keep find rhyming words until the students start recognizing
a pattern.

Objectives:
Objective 16- Demonstrates knowledge of the alphabet
a.) Identifies and names letters
b.) Uses letter sound knowledge
Meeting 2
Students parents were invited to come into school for a habitat
exhibit.
Each student will be placed around the room by their habitat. Their
habitats each have a piece of paper next to it describing what
they made in their own words.
The parents will come into the classroom. Instructions will be given
for them to go see their childs habitat and then walk around and
look at the other childrens habitats and see all of their awesome
creations.
At the end we will come back together and sing our animal song.
The students were asked at the end of our unit to tell us what they have
learned about the four habitats. The students will be evaluated on how
many habitats they can remember and the amount of details they can
give.

Objective: Objective 12- Remembers and connects experiences


Recognizes and recalls
AM Class
Name Can they tell 1-2 Habitats 3-4 Habitats Details
me what a they know they know
habitat is?
Aisly Yes X O, R, and W. listed 2-3 animals
for each habitat and gave
details for each one.
Arya No X She knows information during
large group but when asked
she cant recall any
information.
Brant Yes X O,R, W and S. Gave specific
details and descriptions for
each one.
Dante Yes X O and R. Could give some
details but could share some
animals that live there.
Isabelle Yes X Very hard to receive
information from her but when
prompted was able to.
Jon Yes X O, R, W, S. He knew all four and
was enthused about
explaining what he knew.
Jordan Yes X O, R, W, S. He knew all the
habitats but didnt give a lot of
information past that.
Jordyn Yes X O, S, and R. Somewhat
detailed responses on a few.
Loved the animals in each.
Joshua Yes X O, R, W, S. He could remember
a lot of specific facts about
each habitat and was
enthusiastic.
Lydia NO X Very hard to get information
out of her. After prompting I
got her to say the Ocean.
Mason R. Yes X O,R,W,S. talked a lot about the
different animals that live in
each.
Mason H. Y X W and O. Only knew a few
information but could give me
animals that live there.
Mason C. Y X W,O,R,S He listed them all and
gave an animal for each one.
Riley Y X R and O. Knew about the
trees/water and a couple
animals.
Ryah N X Couldnt get much out of her
except a fact about a giraffe
Skyler Y X O,R,W. Could list 3-4 habitats
but didnt offer up a lot of
information about each one.
Stella Y X O,R,W,S. Gave detailed and
thorough responses for each
habitat.

PM Class
Name Can they tell 1-2 Habitats 3-4 Habitats Details
me what a they know they know
habitat is?
Andrew Berg. Y X R. Knew a lot of information
about the Rainforest but that
was it.
Andrew Boe. Y X O,R,S,W He was very detailed
and through in his responses a
Andrew R. Y X O, R, S, W. Could remember
the names but didnt share a
lot of information.
Arianna Y X O,R,S. Knew some information
but had to be prompted.
Bayla Y X O,R,S,W. Knew the names but
couldnt give me a lot of
details. Only a few animals.
Brandon N X Could not give me any
information. He talked about
sponge bob.
Braxton Y X S,O,R,W. He knew the animals
that live there.
Brennen Y X W. Only could tell me the
name. and that animals live
there.
Camrin Y X R,S,O,W. listed the names and
explained that its where
animals live.
Chelsea N X Could only tell me the word
ocean once prompted.
Isaac Y X O,R, S,W. Gave specific
details about all kinds of
animals that live in each.
Jiaya Y X O, S. Gave a few animals that
live in each one but it was
hard to get a lot out of her.
Julisa Y X O,S,W,R. She could tell me all
the habitats but gave me no
addition information. Very
hard to pull out details.
Lilly Y X R,W Gave me a lot of details
about what its like. Hot, a lot of
rain. W gave me animal
names.
Roland N X O,W. Could list some animals
but gave very minimal
responses.
Thyson N X Could not communicate very
much information at all. Knew
fish live in the ocean.
Vaughn Y X O,R,S. Listed three habitats but
was very hard to get out
details. Gave a few animals.
Zeke Y X O,R,S,O Knew all four habitats
and gave very thorough and
detailed resonses.
Reflection on Thematic Unit

For my Thematic Unit I chose to create lessons that went along the
theme of habitats. During my habitat unit I taught the students what a
habitat is and why its important. To do this I focused on four major
habitats; ocean, savanna, rainforest, and the woods. Throughout my unit I
really wanted my students to become part of the study. Every day I
focused on a different unit and really explained how one habitat was
different from the others.
For each habitat we created a poster where the students would
help me fill in information about each habitat and help name the animals
I had pictures for. For most of my lessons I assessed my students informally
by paying close attention to those who were participating regularly and
becoming engaged and excited about the topic. One thing I noticed
was that all of my students found at least one habitat that they loved
learning about. Even those students that sometimes stay quiet or dont
want to volunteer were raising their hand and becoming and active role
in our thematic unit on habitats.
Every morning I started off by having a question on the board that
had to do with the habitat we learned the previous day. This allowed the
students to remember information and review other habitats before
learning a new one. I found a lot of amazing books that I used to
introduce each habitat. From these books I would create a small
discussion after words and ask students to tell me some information that
they could recall. This allowed me to assess the students who were paying
attention and get a sense of what I needed to go back over the next
day.
At the end of my unit I had the students create their very own
habitat. This was my big assessment piece. Before the students could start
building they had to make a plan. I enjoyed making the plans with the
students because it was a way for me to see what kind of information
each child could remember about specific habitats we learned about. As
I talked to individual students I could hear the students using important
vocabulary to communicate, representing their habitats symbolically and
accurately. I was blown away by the amount of creativity I saw from
each individual. This end of the unit project was a great assessing tool
because it was a way for me to see what students really grasped the
concept of a habitat and which students struggled.
At the end of my unit I had a chance to ask each children
questions about the unit to see how much they learned. I asked them if
they could tell me what we have been learning about (hoping they
would talk about the word habitat). Then I asked them if they could
remember the habitats we learned about. They were scored based on
the amount they could remember. Then I asked if they could tell me any
details they remember about the habitats and they were also scored on
that. I did this assessment at the end because it was a great way for me to
see how much the students actually learned and how much they could
remember after a couple of days had gone by. I was very pleased with
the results. Only a couple of kids (in my morning and afternoon class)
struggled to come up with some habitats and facts. I wasnt surprised with
the students that struggled with this assessment. However, the majority of
my students could come up with 3-4 habitats and tell me some key facts
and animals that they could remember. I was blown away by the
amount of information my four and five year old students could
remember. Some students needed a few prompts to get them in the right
direction but the majority of my students could recall 3-4 habitats and
share specific things about each one.
If I was to do this thematic unit over again I would like to have spent
more days really focusing on the word habitat and habitat as a whole. I
didnt have a lot of time to get everything in that I would have liked. It
would have been nice if I would have taken a few days at the beginning
to really investigate all habitats. I would also like to have taken more time
for each habitat. The kids loved learning about them but I only had one
day for each habitat. That wasnt a lot of time for them to really dig in to
each one. If I did this again I would still keep the habitat exhibit at the
end. I thought this was a great way to involve families in our study and for
the students to find a real purpose for their habitats they built. They were
all so excited to show off their amazing artwork and it brought a huge
smile to my face.
Overall I had a blast teaching my students about habitats. Every
day I was excited to teach them something new and see their eyes light
up with enthusiasm. It really does make a difference when the teacher is
excited about what they are teaching. I was very pleased with how my
thematic unit turned out and I will definitely keep it in my records as
something to teach when I have my own classroom.

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