Lesson Plan 1
ED505
Armah Reshad Bell
University of West Alabama
November 11, 2011
Lesson Plan Title:
Classification of Living Things
Alabama High School Graduation Exam Objectives:
9. Differentiate between the previous five-kingdom and the current six-kingdom classification systems.
Specific Objectives:
1. The students will be able to list the seven taxons in which all living things are classified in order from highest to lowest.
2. The students will be able to identify the previous five-kingdom system and why it changed into six kingdoms.
3. The student will be able to write scientific names using the rules for binomial nomenclature.
Required Materials:
Modern Biology: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 2006 Edition, Student Edition (for reference).
Pencil/pen
ABC sheet (provided by teacher)
Index cards (provided by teacher)
Internet
Anticipatory Set (Lead-in):
In a grocery store, items are arranged and grouped in a particular order. Think of some things you will find in the same section that you will find a steak. Now, list some things you won’t find in that same section. Why not?
Do you remember when we talked about all the different organisms that make up our universe? Most of these organisms have something in common, something that we can see. However, they also have differences. We will begin by discussing a group of organisms we are most familiar: animals. Animals are placed in a category using their Latin name called Animalia. Animalia is a kingdom, or a group that we use to place all animals in. That excludes Plants, Bacteria (Eubacteria and Archaebacteria), Fungi and Protists. We used to classify organisms into two basic groups: Plants and Animals. We will now practice how scientists classify organisms.
Step-By-Step Procedures for Teaching the Lesson:
Part I. Preparation
Each student will be issued an ABC sheet with alphabets A thru Z. Students will work independently on this portion of the assignment. The students will be asked to name one animal beginning with each letter of the alphabet in 4 minutes. I usually award the student(s) who have the most correct answers filled with a piece of Life Savers candy. X is usually difficult for all students. The example I give students is Xenopus, a group of frogs!
Technology: Students will then be given five additional minutes to use the internet to conduct research to try and fill their ABC sheet with animals. After combining answers, the teacher will assist students who were not able to fill their sheets by asking other students to share their answers.
Part II. Preparation
We, now, need to review several terms for this chapter (students will take out their notebook) and write the definitions that are displayed on the PowerPoints.
Technology: Students will have to submit a blog post using each of the vocabulary words in a sentence.
Vocabulary Review:
Vocabulary words are placed on the word wall:
Heterotroph (Consumer): an organism that cannot make its on food and must consume other organisms for energy.
Autotroph (Producer): an organism that produces its own food from inorganic compounds (H2O and CO2) through the process of photosynthesis.
Unicellular: an organism made of one cell (Bacteria, some Protists, some Fungi).
Multicellular: organism that is composed of many cells that are usually arranged into tissues and organs. Includes animals and plants.
Eukaryotic (Eukaryote): an organism that has a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles.
Prokaryotic (Prokaryote): an organism that lacks a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles.
After reviewing these vocabulary terms students will be given four additional terms:
Vocabulary
Taxonomy: The branch of science that deals with classifying organisms.
Taxon: Any of seven groups in which living organisms are classified (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species).
Species: A species is a group of organisms that are able to interbreed and reproduce fertile offspring.; the smallest taxon in which a living organism is classified.
Binomial Nomenclature: the formal system for naming species of living organisms using their genus name and species name.
Part III. Preparation
Students will revisit the concept of Kingdoms, having discussed the concept in previous chapters. Students are already familiar with the current classification system of six kigndoms (Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, Eubacteria and Archaebacteria). Students will now learn that Archaebacteria is a new kingdom that was discovered less than 40 years ago and are different from the other bacteria that we know to cause us to get sick. These two groups expanded the old Kingdom Monera, which originally was all bacteria, until scientists discovered there were explicit differences between the two categories of bacteria.
The teacher will explain the habitat for Archaebacteria and will include PowerPoint slides of the different environments they live (ocean vents, hot springs, geysers, volcanoes).
Guided Practice/Monitoring:
Students will then be broken into strategic groups and given 10 minutes to place each of the 26 animals that they have chosen into logical categories based on what they have in common (it must include at least 2 categories). Students have to justify the reasons for their classifying organisms into the individual groups. Each group will be given a cut-out sheet of border paper to demonstrate how they have grouped their organisms and will be asked to present to the class.
Input: I will assist students in naming the previous five-kingdoms and current six-kingdoms by placing the names of the kingdoms on the board (Animalia, Plantae, Eubacteria, Archaebacteria, Monera, Protista, Fungi).
Modeling: “I do, we do, you do” to demonstrate writing scientific names in binomial nomenclature.
Check for understanding: 3-2-1 strategy as exit slips. Students will be issued a stick-it note to post on the door 3 things they remember from the lesson, 2 things they found interesting, and 1 thing they still do not understand.
Closure (Reflect Anticipatory Set):
The teacher will ask students to list the pneumonic for the 7 Taxons and to place the taxons in order when given a prompt. Prompt: the words listed on the board out-of-order.
King Philip Came Over For Green Salad
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species
Students will write scientific names in binomial nomenclature using the strategy “I do, we do, you do”:
Names: homo sapiens, homo erectus, acer rubrus
I do, We do, You do,
homo sapiens homo erectus acer rubrus
Homo sapiens Homo erectus Acer rubrus
Assessment Based on Objectives:
Students will be able to list the seven taxons in order from highest to lowest with 100% accuracy.
Students will be able to list the previous five-kingdoms with 80% accuracy (with the help of a word bank).
Students will be able to list the current six-kingdoms with 80% accuracy (with the help of a word bank).
Students will be able to write scientific names in binomial nomenclature with 80% accuracy.
Adaptations (For Students with Special Needs):
Students with Specific Learning Disabilities in Reading. This is an inclusion class that includes a special education resource co-teacher. Students with Specific Learning Disabilities in reading have difficulty spelling, writing and remembering words that they cannot pronounce. These students will be carefully monitored and assisted by the resource teacher. Sections of the assignment that require writing and spelling will be aided by the resource teacher. Students will also be given copies of the vocabulary words and notes. Unless comfortable, students will not present before the class. Students will, however, pair into groups for discussion.
Extensions (For Advanced Students & Differentiated Instruction):
Advanced Students will be given library time to expand their understanding of classification. Each student will be given an organism and will be required to give the scientific name of that organism, writing it in binomial nomenclature.
Technology: Students will present the information using Microsoft PowerPoint or complete a Prezi.
Possible Connections to Other Subjects:
This lesson is not related to any other subjects, but it is related to one life function: shopping. When you visit a store, items are arranged into sections based on the types of items they are. In a grocery store, for instance, you have several aisles which are organized based on their similarities. This is the same logic scientists use to classify living things.
Reflections:
I’ve taught this lesson about seven or eight times with moderate success. The difficulty for most students is remembering how to write scientific names in binomial nomenclature, so the following lesson involves students writing names in binomial nomenclature format. This usually takes me a day of introducing the concept and a day of re-teaching the concept before it becomes a part of my students’ long-term memory; repetition works best with this assignment. It takes some one-on-one work with lower-level students, and I am provided that time because the average and higher-thinking students comprehend the first time.
Regarding the Pneumonic for remembering the taxons, most of my students get it with my pneumonic. I have in the past let students create their own pneumonic, and that proved to be a success when I tutor them the next year (to prepare them for the Alabama High School Graduation Exam).
Lastly, the five-kingdom and six-kingdom concept is only difficult because the students learn it at the same time they are learning that there are seven taxons. I usually can circumvent this problem as I mentioned earlier, by repetition and questioning the students using the Socratic method.