Learning Features of Creatures Day 5 Concept Sort

I. General Information:
Grade Level: 1st
Discipline: Life Science
Unit Topic: Diversity of Life
Time Frame: 45-50 minutes
Text: Creatures Features by: Steve Jenkins
Other Materials:
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by: Steve Jenkins
Concept Sort template own creation**
Science journal
Sentence starter Give an example of an animal and its feature
(external) you learned today. Describe the animal and what it eats.
Board white/chalk

II. Essential Understanding/Questions:

What external features do animals have that help them live?
Can you compare and contrast different animals internal features?

III. Standards/Indicators

Grade 1 - Life Science - Diversity

Topic A. Diversity of Life
Indicator
- 1. Compare and explain how external features of plants and animals help them survive
different environments.
Objective
2. Compare similar features in some animals and plants and explain how each of these
enables the organism to satisfy basic needs.

RI2: Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text. (SC,1)
-Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and
feelings clearly. (CCSS 1 SL4)

W2: Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some
facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
-Produce complete simple and compound sentences. (CCSS 2 L1.f)

IV. Lesson Objectives

Using the anchor text as a guide, students will compare and contrast external features of
animals and use the companion book for further research.
Students will complete a concept sort of the features learned in this lesson ears, noses,
mouths, and feet.
Once students complete their concept sort, students will write an entry into their science
journal explaining how they know tails help some animals to survive.
Students will write an entry into their science journal describing a new animal they
learned about and describe the feature (tails) it has that helps it survive.

V. Evaluation/Assessment:
Assessment of Objectives
Informal assessment participation of comparing and contrasting anchor
text to companion text
Formal assessment individual completion of concept sort of each feature
learned in this lesson, give examples of each feature
Formal assessment completion of writing piece tail features
Formal assessment completion of journal entry new animal and feature
VI. Procedures:
Introduction
To introduce the lesson, the teacher will have students sit on the reading carpet. The
teacher will read the anchor text, Creatures Features, to the class; only reading the
animals that are reptiles and amphibians.
Teaching/Activities
1. Ask the students what they think theyll be learning about today. Let them
make predictions and come up with possible ideas. Go over what kind of
features theyve learned about so far this week skeletons, hunting skills, and
eyes. Show them the new book and have them make predictions on what the
book is about. Before reading, talk about what you know about tails, what a
tail is, where its located on animals, and why they think it is considered a
feature. Ask them what kind of animals they know for sure have tails
make a list of these on the board.
2. Explain to students that today, they will be learning how tails are features that
help animals survive. Read over the anchor text and find all of the animals
considered a reptile or amphibian. Ask such as questions as: why do you think
most reptiles have tails? Does it have something to do with fending off
predators and protecting themselves? Why dont we look over the birds in this
book too, do they have tails? Why do birds have tails? What job do tails on
birds have?
3. The companion book for this lesson is What Do You Do With a Tail Like
This?, this book goes over why some animals have tails and what it does to
help them survive. It also goes over animal noses, ears, feet, and mouths.
Make a chart on the board 4 columns (1 for each feature) and write an animal
from the book under the appropriate column. This is modeling for the students
the next activity the concept sort. Explain to students that a feature can be
anything that an animal has to help protect itself from predators and survive in
the wild.
4. Have students go back to their seats, and pass out the concept sort sheet. Have
them label the center box features. Each box around the center ears, feet,
tails, and mouths. Have the students write an animal they learned today that
they think would go under that section. The anchor text and companion book
 can be used for this activity. Once students are finished, they can hand it in to
the teacher and work on their journal entries.
5. Once students have completed their concept sorts, have the students return to
their seats to complete their next science journal entry. The sentence starter
should be passed out and each student can glue it into the top of their journal.
It should say Give an example of an animal and it's feature (external) you
learned today. Describe the animal and what it eats. Students can illustrate
this animal and should write 1-2 sentences to describe it.
6. The teacher should model this using the Smartboard as guidance. Tell students
to write 2-3 sentences to answer this question. Explain to students that they
can reference the chart they completed together to help with their journal entry
if needed.
Closure
To close this lesson, students will also write another journal entry about a new animal
they learned about and describe its feature (external) it has. Tell students to write 1-2
sentences about their animal and its feature. They can use an animal from the anchor text
or the companion book. Explain that every day for this unit, they will be writing a new
animal they learned about.

References:

Jenkins, S. & Page, R. (2014). Creatures features. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt.

Jenkins, S. (2003). What do you do with a tail like this. New York, NY: Houghton
Mifflin.

*Concept sort template own creation