Halley Green

Tara Twiddy
EDT 317
Dr. Nazan Bautista
3/16/14
School: Babeck Early Childhood Center
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Subject: Science
Date of Lesson: 3/17/14
Title/Source of Lesson: Living Vs. Non-Living (self-created lesson)
Description of Learners: The class is at the kindergarten level in a classroom at Babeck
Early Childhood Center. There is a morning class and an afternoon class. There are 25 students
in each class, 50 total. In the morning class there is one student that is from the Phillipines and
the remainder of the class Caucasian. In the afternoon class there is one student that is African
and the remainder of the students are Caucasian. There are 5 students on IEPs and and 2 RTI
students.
Grade Band Theme: Observations of the Environment
Strand: Life Science
Topic: Physical and Behavioral Traits of Living
Condensed Content Statement: Living things are different from non-living things.
Science Inquiry and Application:
During the years of PreK-4, all students must become proficient in the use of the
following scientific processes, with appropriate laboratory safety techniques, to construct
their knowledge and understanding in all science content areas:
Observe and ask questions about the natural environment;
Plan and conduct simple investigations;
Employ simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses;
Use appropriate mathematics with data to construct reasonable explanations;
Communicate about observations, investigations and explanations; and
Review and ask questions about the observations and explanations of others.
Instructional Objectives:
1. Students will be able to sort objects into the categories of living and non-living.
2. Students will be able to identify and list 3 living objects and 3 non-living objects.
Differentiation:
Pictures of each living and non-living object will be used along with the word that
describes them.
Materials/ Resources Needed:
Dry erase markers
Pictures of living and non-living objects

Adhesive tape
Assessment worksheet (sorting pictures living and non-living objects)
Pencil
Living vs. Non-living Informational Text

Key Academic Vocabulary:

Living
Non-Living
Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks:
Duration of Lesson: 1 day, 40 minutes
1. Pre-assessment:
Students will complete a KWL chart based on what they already know about living and
non-living objects.
Teacher will make a blank KWL chart on the white board.
Teacher will explain that a KWL chart is by saying that the K stands for what they
already know, W stands for what they want to know, and L stands for what they
learned.
Teacher will then ask, What do you already know about objects that are living?
Students will answer individually and teacher will record answers under K
Teacher will then ask, What are some things that you already know about non-living
objects?
Students will answer and teacher will record their ideas under K.
Teacher will then ask, What are some things that you would like to know about living
and non-living objects?
Students will answer individually and teacher will record their ideas under W.
2. Procedure
Teacher will then introduce the book Living and Non-Living and read it to the
class.
After reading the book, teacher will then bring the focus back to the KWL chart.
The teacher will then discuss each idea mentioned under the K section of the chart and
ask if the students still believe it to be true.
After discussing each item under the K section, the teacher will then introduce facts
about living and non-living objects that the students did not mention.
The teacher will put pictures up on the board one at a time and the class will work
together to sort them by living or non-living.

Assessment Plan:
1. Pre-assessment
o K and W sections of KWL chart.
2. Post-assessment

o Formal: Students will come up with themselves and write 3 things that are living
and 3 things that are non-living (samples of assessment attached).
o Informal: Students will discuss what they learned as a class to fill out the L
section of the KWL chart.

Planning Commentary
Task 1: Planning for Instruction and Assessment, you will write a
commentary, responding to the prompts below
1. Central Focus
a. Describe the central focus for the lesson.

The central focus of this lesson is for students to be able to distinguish between living and
non-living things. Students should recognize the difference between something that is
non-living and something that is dead. Students will be able to sort living things from
non-living things based on their attributes as well as come up with examples of living and
non-living things on their own. This lesson is an introduction to a unit on living and nonliving things.
b. Given the central focus, how does your lesson support inquiry-based learning? Explain
all strategies you plan to use to ensure inquiry.
This lesson supports inquiry-based learning because students are being pre-assessed
before any direct instruction is given. The pre-assessment is a KWL chart that is done on
the board during a whole class discussion. During the pre-assessment, only the know
and want to know categories are filled in. Asking the students what they want to know
allows for the lesson to be student-centered. After students establish what they already
know and want to know about living and non-living things, my co-teacher and I gave
direct instruction pertaining to the attributes of living and non-living things. Students
were given the opportunity to come up with their own examples of living and non-living
things in order to make real-life connections. After students come up with their own
examples of living and non-living things, the class reconvened to fill in what they had
learned on the KWL chart.
2. Knowledge of Children to Inform Teaching
a. What do you know about the childrens prior academic learning and prerequisite skills
related to the central focusWhat do children know, what can they do, and
what are they learning to do related to the central focus?
This lesson is an introductory lesson to a unit on living and non-living things, therefore
this is a new concept to the students. By using a KWL chart as a pre-assessment/
introduction to the lesson, students are able to express what they already know about
living and non-living things before receiving direct instruction from the teacher about the
specific characteristics of living and non-living things. This helps the teacher focus the
lesson on what students still need to learn in relation to the central focus rather than
spending time teaching students things that they already know. Students are able to come
up with examples of living and non-living things that they already know of. They are also
able to come up with additional examples of living and non-living things at the end of the
lesson by making connections between the attributes of living and non-living things that
they learned through the lesson and living and non-living things in the real world.
b. Personal/cultural/community assetsWhat do you know about your childrens
everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices, and
interests?

In our class, there is one ESL student in the morning class and one ESL student in the
afternoon class. One ESL student is from Africa, and he speaks very broken English
because broken English is spoken at home. In order to create a lesson that addressed the
needs of this student, we made the lesson visual by using pictures so that the student
could make connections between pictures and written language. By creating a visual
lesson, we also addressed the needs of our ESL student from the Philippines. Our school
is in a rural area in Trenton, Ohio.
3. Supporting Childrens Development and Learning
Use principles from research and/or theory to support your explanations.
a. Explain how your understanding of the childrens development, prior academic learning,
and everyday life experiences guided your choice or adaptation of learning experiences
and materials.
Our lesson involved adaptations of learning experiences and materials in order to meet
the individual needs of each student in the class. We had two ESL students as well as two
RTI students and 5 students on IEPS. We met the needs of these students by creating a
lesson that combined visual and auditory learning. We also used prompting questions
based on the needs of each student to help them come up with examples of living and
non-living things based on their attributes. Our lesson was engaging which helped meet
the needs of students at different levels of learning. Teachers can engage the entire class
by providing visuals, telling stories, and offering activities that explore the curriculum
(Concordia University, 2014). Our lesson incorporated the use of visuals as well as
discussion prompting. The activities provided for pre-assessment and post-assessment
allowed students to express their knowledge using pictures, oral language, and written
language. Because all children learn and develop differently, it is important to adapt
lessons in order to meet many different needs. This means creating lessons that address
many different learning styles.
b. Describe and justify why your instructional strategies and planned supports are
appropriate for the whole class, individuals, and/or groups of children with
specific learning needs.
Our lesson met the needs of ESL students as well as both struggling and advanced
learners. Our whole class instruction involved completing a KWL chart and discussing
the characteristics of living and non-living things. Students were able to express their
knowledge individually by applying what they learned about living and non-living things
during whole group instruction to come up with their own real-world examples of living
and non-living things. By using visuals, differentiating prompting questions, and
allowing students to express their knowledge in both oral and written language allowed
us to address the needs of each individual student. Blooms Taxonomy addresses the idea
of writing out questions to ensure that each individual student is given the opportunity to
contribute to discussions in a whole group setting (Scholastic, 2014). My co-teacher and I
differentiated prompting questions during discussion of living and non-living things so
that students at all levels were able to contribute. When planning whole group instruction,

it is important to differentiate to meet the needs of learners at all developmental levels so

that individuals can benefit in the whole group setting.
c. Describe common preconceptions or misunderstandings (based on prior academic
learning and experiences) within your central focus and how you plan to identify and
address them.
The main misconception that students held in regards to living and non-living things was
that non-living is synonymous with dead. Our central focus was for the lesson was
for students to be able to distinguish between living and non-living things based on
characteristics such as living things move, breathe, grow, and need food and water. We
explained that in order for something to be non-living, that means that it was never living
before. Differentiating between living organisms and nonliving objects is difficult for
students in the elementary grades and beyond. Students tend to use criteria such as
movement, breath, reproduction, and death to decide whether things are alive. Students
may believe that fire, clouds, and the sun are alive, while plants and some animals may
be considered nonliving (Fries-Gaither, 2009). Along with interchanging the concepts of
things that are dead and things that are non-living, students also initially thought that
plants were non-living things. At this level, we explained that plants are living
because they do need some form of energy to grow, and they do breath, but in a
different way than people and animals.
4. Supporting Childrens Language Development
Respond to prompts 4ac below by referring to key vocabulary for the learning segment.
a. Identify the key academic vocabulary (i.e., developmentally appropriate sounds,
words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs) that will support childrens learning in the
planned learning experiences.
The key academic vocabulary for our lesson was living and non-living. Children learned
the meaning of these words through our lesson by becoming familiar with the
characteristics that make something living or non-living.
b. Identify a key learning experience from the lesson plan that provides children with
opportunities to develop, practice, and/or use the vocabulary identified in prompt 4a.
Through the lesson, students were able to develop, practice, and use the vocabulary
through discussion, sorts, and writing. As a whole group, we discussed the attributes of
living and non-living things so that students would be able to come up with examples.
Students practiced using the key vocabulary through the writing assessment at the end of
the lesson where they listed living and non-living things.
c. Language Support - Describe the instructional supports (during and/or prior to the
learning experience) that help children develop and use the vocabulary identified in
prompt 4a.

By writing Living and Non-living as headings for the KWL chart on the board,
students were able to see the key vocabulary written as they heard it said aloud. By
discussing living and non-living things, students were able to use the the vocabulary by
explaining why certain things were living or non-living. Students took their vocabulary
use a step further by examples of living and non-living things for the post-assessment .
To reinforce the meaning of living and non-living, we used visual aids throughout our
lesson by doing a picture sort of living and non-living things during whole group
instruction and also showing picture examples of living and non-living things.
5. Monitoring Childrens Learning
a. Describe how your planned formal and informal assessments will provide direct evidence
of childrens learning of the central focus throughout the learning segment.
The informal assessment of this lesson was a picture sort using pictures of both living and
non-living things. The formal assessment for this lesson was that the students wrote three
examples of living things and three examples of non-living things. This demonstrated
whether or not students were able to distinguish between living and non-living things,
which was the central focus of the lesson. By listing examples that students came up with
on their own, students were able to show that they understood the meaning of living and
non-living and also the characteristics of living and non-living things.
b. Explain how the design or adaptation of your planned assessments allows children with
specific needs to demonstrate their learning.
Using visuals in the picture sort for the informal assessment allowed students to see
examples of living and non-living things. For struggling learners, we allowed students to
first orally give us examples of living and non-living things and then we guided them in
writing their examples for the formal assessment. If they needed additional assistance
coming up with examples of living and non-living things, we provided them with
prompting questions addressing the attributes of living and non-living things in order to
reinforce the concepts.
Instruction Commentary
In Task 2: Instructing and Engaging Children in Learning, you will write a
commentary, responding to the prompts below.
1.

Promoting a Positive Learning Environment

a. How did you demonstrate mutual respect for, rapport with, and responsiveness to
children with varied needs and backgrounds, and challenge children to engage in
learning?
We demonstrated mutual respect and responded to the needs of all students through our
lesson by creating a lesson where students could express their knowledge visually, orally,
and through written language. This allowed students with all learning styles to engage in
our lesson. By differentiating prompting questions during discussion, we allowed
students with various needs to participate in discussion. For example, when students
answered questions incorrectly or said that they didnt know the answer, we provided

more specific prompting questions that emphasized the characteristics of living and nonliving things. Providing additional assistance, prompting, and scaffolding throughout our
lesson demonstrated our responsiveness to different learning needs. Scaffolding during
the assessment allowed all students to come up with examples of living and non-living
things. Differentiated prompting during discussion and whole group instruction also
challenged children at all developmental levels to engage in learning because we created
questions that addressed their developmental level. Some students needed to use the
visuals that we used during the lesson to help them with the assessment, and we allowed
them to do that. We also reinforced the concepts of living and non-living things by
reiterating the characteristics of living and non-living things as often as necessary
throughout both the lesson and the assessment.
2. Engaging Children in Learning
a. Explain how your instruction engaged young children in scientific inquiry or scientific
practices.
Our instruction engaged students in scientific inquiry because it started out with a KWL
chart during whole group instruction as a pre-assessment which allowed students to
demonstrate their prior knowledge of living and non-living things. The KWL chart also
addressed what students wanted to know about living and non-living things, which made
the lesson student-centered. Students received direct instruction of the specific
characteristics of living and non-living things. At the end of the lesson, students came up
with three examples of living things and three examples of non-living things. This
allowed students to apply what they learned about living and non-living things to make
real world connections. Students were not limited to a few examples of living and
nonliving things. Instead, they were able to think outside the box to come up with
anything that had the characteristics of living or non-living things.
b. Describe how your instruction linked childrens development, prior learning, and
personal, cultural, and community assets with new learning.
The KWL chart used as a pre-assessment in our lesson allowed us to grasp an
understanding of what our students already knew about living and non-living things, and
also showed us what they were developmentally ready to learn next. The activities in our
lesson connected their previous learning to their new knowledge of living and non-living
things gained through direct instruction. By sorting the pictures of living things from the
pictures of non-living things, students showed what they previously knew and had
learned about the characteristics of living and non-living things. By coming up with their
own examples of living and non-living things, students were able to connect what they
had learned through our lesson to things in their personal lives and communities.
3. Deepening Childrens Learning during Instruction
a. Explain how you elicited and built on childrens responses to promote thinking and
develop understandings of how to conduct a scientific investigation and how to use
evidence to construct and defend an explanation of a scientific phenomenon.
During whole group discussion, we elicited and built on childrens responses to promote
thinking and develop their understandings by providing follow up questions for advanced

learners and additional prompting questions for struggling learners. This created a
discussion where students at all levels of learning were able to actively participate. When
discussing living and non-living things, some students needed to be redirected with
prompting questions in order to reach the correct answer of why something was living or
non-living. When students provided a correct example of a living or non-living thing, we
provided them with follow up questions which prompted them to state characteristics of
living and non-living things. These questioning techniques helped reinforce the concepts
of the central focus of the lesson.
b. Explain how you made interdisciplinary connections through the learning experience(s)
to promote childrens development of language and literacy.
We integrated literacy into our lesson in order to promote childrens development of
language and literacy by doing a read aloud with an informational text titled Living vs.
Non-living. This allowed students to make connections between the concepts of living
and non-living things and printed text. Also, our assessment involved writing examples of
living and non-living things which allowed students to further develop their written
language skills.
4. Analyzing Teaching
a. How did your instruction support learning for the whole class and children who need
greater support or challenge?
Our lesson supported learning for the whole class as well as children who needed greater
support or greater challenge because we differentiated instruction. Providing visuals of
living and non-living things helped us meet the needs of ESL learners and struggling
learners. The visuals in our lesson were the picture sort and the informational text which
allowed students to make connections between the concepts of living and non-living and
printed text. Additional prompting and scaffolding also helped us meet the needs of
struggling learners because we were able to help them elaborate on what makes
something living or non-living so that they would grasp a better understanding of the
main concepts of the lesson.
b. What changes would you make to your instruction to better support childrens learning of
the central focus (e.g., missed opportunities)?
To make instruction better in order to support childrens learning of the central focus, I
would use a more detailed informational text. I felt that it was beneficial for us to
incorporate an informational text into our lesson as a literary component, but we could
have chosen one that was more specific to the central focus of our lesson. This would
allow students to make deeper connections between the text and the concepts being
learned through our lesson resulting in deeper understanding of the central focus.
c. Why do you think these changes would improve childrens learning? Support your
explanation with evidence of childrens learning and principles from developmental
theory and/or research.

Using a more detailed informational text for the read aloud would have improved
childrens learning because it would have reinforced the concepts of living and non-living
so that students would be able to make more in depth connections between the text and
the concepts and relate those connections to come up with their own examples. Young
children need to be taught to read and use text features (headings, table of contents,
glossaries, electronic menus and icons) to learn new information (Riddell, 2011). The
text that we used in our read aloud did not include many text features or in-depth
information about living and non-living things. Our literacy integration would have been
stronger if we used an informational text that included multiple text features. Also,
students could have used these text features to develop a deeper understanding of living
and non-living things.

Assessment Commentary
In Task 3: Assessing Childrens Learning, you will write a commentary,
responding to the prompts below.
1. Analyzing Childrens Learning
a. Identify the specific standards/objectives from the lesson measured by the assessment you
conducted.
The standard addressed in this lesson is living things are different from non-living
things. This standard is listed under Grade Band Theme: Observations of the
Environment, Strand: Life Science, Topic: Physical and Behavioral Traits of Living
Provide the evaluation criteria you used to analyze the childrens learning. We had two
main objectives for this lesson which were 1) Students will be able to sort objects into the
categories of living and non-living and 2) Students will be able to identify and list 3
living objects and 3 non-living objects.
b. Provide the evaluation criteria you used to analyze the childrens learning.
In order to analyze the childrens learning, we provided a formal and informal
assessment. For our informal assessment, we provided picture cards that had living things
and non-living things on them for students to sort into two categories to demonstrate that
they were able to distinguish between living and non-living things. This informal
assessment addressed our first objective which was students will be able to sort objects
into the categories living and non-living. When students sorted pictures into certain
categories, we asked them why each object was living or non-living in order to reiterate
the characteristics of living and non-living things. For our formal assessment, students
listed three examples of living things and three examples of non-living things
independently. This assessment addressed our second objective which was students will
be able to identify and list 3 living objects and 3 non-living objects. For the formal
assessment, we also asked students why certain things were living or non-living in order
to ensure that they were familiar with the concepts. Reiterating the characteristics of

living and non-living things also helped students who wrote incorrect examples fix their
mistakes.
c. Provide a graphic (table or chart) or narrative that summarizes childrens learning for your
whole class. Be sure to summarize childrens learning for all evaluation criteria described above
(1.b).
Through scaffolding and prompting, all students were able to meet the objectives of the lesson.
By reinforcing the characteristics of living and non-living things, all students were able to sort
the pictures of living things and non-living things based on that criteria, even though some
students required more prompting and scaffolding than others. Also, for the formal assessment,
most students were able to give three examples of living things and three examples of non-living
things, even if they needed to be reminded of the characteristics for distinguishing between the
two. All students were able to give at least one example of a living things and one example of a
non-living thing on their own.
2. Feedback to Guide Further Learning
Refer to specific evidence of submitted feedback to support your explanations.
a. Explain how feedback provided to the children addresses their individual and
developmental strengths and needs relative to standards and objectives measured.
By providing feedback to each student, we were able to ensure that their needs were met
so that each individual was able to meet the objectives for the lesson. Because all students
have different learning needs, some students needed more prompting and scaffolding to
be able to sort the pictures into the categories of living and non-living and come up with
three examples of each on their own. If students wrote an incorrect example of a living or
non-living thing, I prompted them by asking what makes something living so that they
would rethink their response. I would ask the same prompting questions when students
incorrectly sorted the pictures. I gave students feedback and prompting to ensure that they
successfully met the learning objectives for this lesson.
b. How will you support children to apply the feedback to guide improvement, either within
the learning segment or at a later time?
By providing feedback to each student, teachers give students the opportunity to improve.
When students sorted living and non-living pictures incorrectly, we gave feedback by
reinforcing the attributes of living and non-living things so that students would reevaluate
their responses and re-do the sort correctly. When students gave incorrect examples of
living and non-living things, we prompted them by asking what made their example
living or non-living so that they would see their mistake and fix it in order to provide
accurate examples of living and non-living things. Providing feedback throughout this
lesson allowed students to meet the objectives related to the central focus of this lesson.
3. Evidence of Language Understanding and Use
Use the childrens work samples analyzed in Task 3 and cite language use
a. Explain the extent to which children were able to use vocabulary to develop content
understandings.

The vocabulary addressed in our lesson was living and non-living. Students used this
vocabulary by making the KWL chart, discussing characteristics of living and non-living
things, doing a picture sort using pictures of living and non-living things, and coming up
with their own examples of living and non-living things in the post assessment.
Throughout the lesson, the meaning of the key vocabulary was reinforced during
activities to ensure that students understood the concepts that living things breathe,
reproduce, grow, move, and need food and water while non-living things do not. Students
used the vocabulary in both oral and written language throughout the lesson to deepen
their understanding of the concepts related to the central focus of the lesson.
4. Using Assessment to Inform Instruction
a. Based on your analysis of childrens learning presented above (Assessment Commentary,
Task 3), describe next steps for instruction for the whole class.
The next step for instruction on living and non-living things would be to have students
demonstrate their individual knowledge on what they had learned in our lesson. Students
could write in their journals about living and non-living things to show their ability to
distinguish between the two. They could also write about what makes something living or
non-living. This would allow students to show what they have learned about living and
non-living things and would also include literary integration to further develop students
language and literacy skills.
b. Explain how these next steps follow from your analysis of childrens learning. Support
your explanation with principles from research and/or developmental theory.
Having each student do a journal entry would be an effective follow-up to our lesson
because it would allow each individual student to demonstrate what they had previously
learned about living and non-living things and it would show what they had retained from
the previous lesson. It would also provide literacy integration to further develop language
and literacy skills. This type of activity would allow the teacher to track student progress
in both science and writing. This type of performance assessment would allow the teacher
to review student work, determine strengths and weaknesses, and keep track of progress
over time (Utah Education Network, 2003). Having students record their knowledge in
journals would allow teachers to evaluate each individual students depth of
understanding of the concepts of living and non-living things.

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