LESSON CONTENT

Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan

Learning Objectives: What will students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?

Students will be able to describe the characteristics that define the vertebrate classes.

Given a description, students will be able to determine the class of a vertebrate.

Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?

Organisms are classified based on shared characteristics.

Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?

How can you differentiate vertebrates from invertebrates?

What are the shared characteristics of vertebrates?

What is the advantage to having a backbone?

Which characteristics are found in only one class?

Engage: What object, event, or questions will the teacher use to trigger the students’ curiosity and
engage them in the concepts?

In groups, students will be given pictures of vertebrates and asked to sort them into categories. A brief
discussion will follow, asking students to explain how they sorted the pictures and why.

Explore: What will the students do to explore the concepts and skills being developed through the
lesson?

Students will be divided into five groups. Each group will be assigned one of the vertebrate classes: fish,
amphibians, reptiles, birds, or mammals. Each group will receive handouts with photos and descriptions
of animals in their class. The students will examine the photos and read the text. Together they will
compile a list of characteristics that are common to the animals in their class and develop criteria to
determine if an animal belongs to their class or not.

Explain: What will the students and teacher do so students have opportunities to clarify their ideas,
reach a conclusion or generalization, and communicate what they know to others?

The students will be rearranged into new groups. Each new group should have one representative from
each of the five original groups (i.e., each new group should have a member from the mammal group,
the bird group, etc.) Each member of the new group will share what they have learned in their previous
group.
Elaborate: What will the students do to apply their conceptual understanding and skills to solve a
problem, make a decision, perform a task, or make sense of new knowledge?

Each group will be presented with a unique and novel vertebrate description or photo (either an animal
likely to be unfamiliar to them, such as a pangolin, or a fictional one, such as a dragon). The students will
determine to which class it belongs, and explain how they made this determination.

Summative Assessment

Students will review and revise their anticipation guides that were completed prior to beginning the
lesson.

Formative Assessment

Students will complete an anticipation guide prior to the lesson.

Groups will be assessed informally by the teacher with probing questions during group observations.

Feedback to Students

Students will revisit their anticipation guide at the end of the lesson.

Misconceptions will be addressed prior to the elaborate portion of the lesson.

ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

Accommodations:

Organism characteristics can be emphasized in the text, the photos, or both.

Students can be provided with a list of suggested characteristics that they can apply to their classes.

The names of the species could be included or excluded from the cards.
Extensions:

Students can research the basal groups of each class and describe which characteristics in those groups
are atypical of their classes. Alternately, groups can be given photos and descriptions of examples of
basal groups in addition to their other handouts.

A similar exercise could be done using other Phyla.

Suggested Technology: Document Camera, LCD Projector

Special Materials Needed:

Each attachment will need to be printed:

Anticipation guide – one for each student

Engage Section Vertebrate Cards – one for each group of 3-4

One each of Amphibian, Reptiles, Fish, Birds, and Mammals

Elaborate Section Mystery Animals – one for each group of 5

If color copies of the handouts are not available, photos can be projected using a document camera or
LCD projector.

The teacher will likely want to delete the image source citation from the handouts before printing
(increases difficulty without the name of the organism).

Further Recommendations:

Preserved or live specimens, if available, will increase the interest of the students.

SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION

Contributed by: Jon Allen

Name of Author/Source: Jon Allen

District/Organization of Contributor(s): Duval

Access Privileges: Public

License: CPALMS License – no distribution – non commercial