Name: Taylor Shropshire

Class: ELED 3221-001

Date: Taught lesson on 3/19
edTPA Indirect Instruction Lesson Plan Template
Biomes, Ecosystems and Habitats
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Central Focus/Big Idea: The central focus of my lesson was for the students to understand the
six biomes as well as some key animals that live there, and how they are able to live there.
Subject of this lesson: Biomes, ecosystems and habitats
Grade Level: 4th
NC Essential Standard(s): 4.L.1- Understand that effects of environmental changes, adaptations
and behaviors that enable animals (include humans) to survive in changing habitats.
Next Generation Science Standard(s): 4-ESS2-2. Analyze and interpret data from maps to
describe patterns of Earths features.
21st Century Skills: Communication is a 21st century skill the class will be using.
Communication will be used a lot throughout the lesson, each group will have to work together
to create a poster of their given biomes. They will need to use communication to exchange ideas
in order to complete their poster. The communication will need to be done in a positive and
encouraging way. Students will also use collaboration throughout the lesson, as they will
collaborate with their table mates about their given biome.
Academic Language Demand
Language Function: Describe, as the students will be describing each biome, and
describing the animals that live there and how they are able to survive in the specific
biome.
Analyze

Argue

Categorize

Interpret

Predict

Question

Compare/contras
t
Retell

Describe

Explain

Summarize

Scientific Vocabulary: biomes, ecosystems, habitats.

Instructional Objective: Based on the information that will be given about each of the six
biomes, ecosystems, and habitats, student will be able to describe each biome as well as the
animals that live there and how they are able to survive in the biome based on their ecosystem
and habitat. I will know that the students have mastered my objective when they present their
posters to the class and explain each biome.

Prior Knowledge (student): Students should know from 3rd grade that ecosystems could be
characterized by living and nonliving elements.
Content Knowledge (teacher): Prior to teaching this lesson the teacher should know that there
are in total six biomes. The six biomes include the desert, tundra, temperate forest, grassland,
taiga and rain forest. The teacher should know how to define a biome; a biome is a large
geographical area with a certain climate. For example, a desert biome has very little rain and a
rain forest has a lot of rain accumulation. The fact that plants and animals have adapted to the
conditions in the biome in order to live there should be known. An ecosystem is all the living and
nonliving things in a particular area. The ecosystem also includes how the living and nonliving
things interact within their biome. Numerous ecosystems are within a biome. Then the definition
of habitat should be known and a habitat supplies each living organism with everything it may
need to survive, each living organism has its own habitat that will supply food, water, and a
home. The habitat is part of the ecosystem.
Accommodations for special needs (individual and/or small group): For the students that have
reading disabilities, I read out the main facts to them so they could understand more clearly
about the biome they were assigned to, I also was available for any questions they had. I was
able to use my iPad to look up pictures if they were confused about any of the plants or animals.
Materials and Technology requirements:
3 big poster boards (cut in half to make 6)
Crayons and colored pencils to complete posters (enough for each group)
Introduction video for Biomes (https://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/landbiomes/)
Worksheet to complete from video: (24)
(https://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/landbiomes/activity/)
Information on each of the 6 biomes (I printed these out)
2 pieces of notebook paper for each student
This website for the elaboration portion of the lesson:
(http://schools.bcsd.com/fremont/4th_sci_life_ecosystems.htm)
Websites used for each of the six biomes:
Tundra: http://www.bioexpedition.com/tundra-biome/
Taiga: http://www.bioexpedition.com/taiga-biome/
Desert: http://www.bioexpedition.com/desert-biome/
Savanna: http://www.bioexpedition.com/savanna-biome/
Temperate forest: http://www.ducksters.com/science/ecosystems/temperate_forest_biome.php
Tropical rainforest: http://www.tropical-rainforest-facts.com http://www.tropical-rainforestfacts.com/Tropical-Rainforest-Animal-Facts/Tropical-Rainforest-Animal-Facts.shtml
Total Estimated Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes (teacher approved this time)
Source of lesson: Brain Pop, Pinterest (for the poster idea)
Safety considerations: Students will remain at their desk for the majority of this lesson but they
will be interacting with their classmates however safety should not be hindered. The internet will
be used however the students will not be allowed to use the internet themselves, as I will print
out all the information they need beforehand. For the making of their poster no dangerous
materials will be used, only crayons and colored pencils.

Content and Strategies (Procedure)

Engage: Begin by asking students: Does anyone have an idea of what they think an ecosystem
is? What about a habitat is? Does anyone have an idea of what they think a biome might be?
(These were briefly discussed in a mini lesson the day before to prepare for this lesson)
Anything along the lines of the following definitions will suffice, provided help if need be.
Ecosystem: An ecosystem includes all of the living things (plants, animals and organisms) in a
given area, interacting with each other, and also with their non-living environments (weather,
earth, sun, soil, climate, atmosphere).
Habitat: The place or environment where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows.
Biome: A biome is a large region of Earth that has a certain climate and certain types of living
things. (Note: that biome has not yet been discussed so more guidance might be required for
them to get this definition)
*Asking them about ecosystems and habitat will identify their prior conceptions.
After discussion and answers to the questions begin the BrainPop video that talks about what a
biome is and goes into brief detail about the six main biomes.
(https://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/landbiomes/)
*If the video will not pull up just simply read the facts from each biome that is shown on the
handouts.
Also give them the worksheet that follows along with the video
(https://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/landbiomes/activity/)
Tell them they are to complete this worksheet throughout the video, the worksheet requires them
to jot down information that pertains to each given biome. (Walk around throughout video and
stop the video as need be just in case the video goes too fast and doesnt allow them to write
down the information.)
After the video is complete take a few minutes and allow the students to discuss with their table
groups what they wrote down for each biome on the worksheet. Walk around and make sure the
students are staying on task.
Explore: Now each table group will be assigned a biome to read more about. (If there is more or
less than six table groups assign students to make six groups) Before the students begin to read
and just simply know the name of their biomes, have the students jot down some animals/plants
they think might live in their biome and have them support the answer. Think about the foods the
animal needs, where do places in the world have that food? Do we see that animal around here?
Have you ever seen that animal before? If so, where? (Say: For example, animals that live in
cold climates have thick fur, and animals that live in warm places have bodies designed to help
keep them keep cool. Animals are also adapted to finding food in certain climates, and not
others. For instance, a snake that lives in the desert and eats small mammals would probably
have a hard time staying warm and finding food in a snowy arctic environment.) Allow a couple
minutes for the discussion. When the animals and plant listing is completed, tell the students to
begin reading the handouts provided. Have the students discuss the animals that actually live
there, how close were the guesses they each made? Talk about the animal with your table. Then
collect more information on your biome. What is the climate? Perception level? Where is it
located? Anything else the groups finds important. (Allow a reasonable amount of time for data
collection, as they will have to draw out the information.)

Explanation: Say: Now that you have collected data I want each of the groups to make a biome
poster. Include name of the biome in large letters, description of the climate, description of
precipitation level, pictures of plants, animals, and any other interesting facts. Say: Fill up poster
as much as possible! Also, each student should have an animal or plant to discuss, why can the
animal live there? How can the plant survive? (This information will come from explore stage)
Write the poster requirements on the board. This should take 25 to 30 minutes. When the posters
are complete they are to come up by groups and share their poster and discuss the individual
plant/animal they had. As each group is sharing the remaining students should have out a piece
of paper writing down two new pieces of information they learned from the groups discussion, as
well as two animals that live in the biome being shared. How are they able to survive in this
biome?
Elaborate: Now have the class go around and discus with their classmates the two new facts
they learned and the two animals they picked based on the sharing. (Each person should talk to 3
people that are not at their table group) Then have them come back to their seats and write a
couple sentences summarizing each biome in their own words. Write the six biomes on the board
for reference. Walk around and make sure the students are not struggling and provide help if you
see the need to. Ask them questions to get back on track. (What did you learn about this biome?
What was the climate? What were the animals that lived there? Location?)
Evaluate: I will collect the worksheet we did at the beginning of the lesson that coordinated
with the Brain Pop Video. I will photograph the posters and listen to their sharing to check for
understanding. I will collect the 2 new things they learned as well as the summaries. (Informal,
formative)
To be complete after the lesson is taught as appropriate
Assessment Results of all objectives/skills: I took pictures of the posters and read over the 2
new pieces of information they were able to lean as well as the summaries they submitted to me
to check for understanding on the material.
Reflection on lesson:
I really enjoyed teaching this lesson to the fourth graders. Since First Ward is an arts school I was
happy that I was able to incorporate art into the lesson. The students were very excited when I
told them they were going to be able to draw their own biomes, which made me feel more
comfortable throughout the lesson. From this lesson the students were able to find out key
information on the six main biomes of the earth. The students loved learning about the animals
that lived in these biomes. Some of the animals they had never heard of and didnt even know
what they looked like. I was able to use my iPad to pull up some images and facts on any
animals they were unsure of, so this was a good use of technology for the students. I originally
wanted the students to use the computer and find the facts themselves on the given biomes
however the classroom only had access to two computers so I was not able to do so, in the future
I would hope to be able to use the technology and make this lesson a web quest type. I loved
being able to use technology to kick the lesson off. I showed a video to get the students engaged,
and since students are familiar with brain Pop they were more inclined to pay attention to the
video. The students were really respectful of me, and their classmates. This activity required a

lot of communication and at first I did not know how that would work out or if I would be able to
keep control of the classroom but it worked well. The students worked well together and were
able to feed ideas off of each other throughout the entire lesson. Overall, the collaboration was
nothing but beneficial. With each group working on a different biome and creating their very
own poster the activity was very open-ended and I believe that allowed the students to use their
imagination and creativity. I was also able to provided assistance for any struggling students by
asking them questions to get them back on track, and that allowed full participation by all. What
I remember most and enjoyed the most from the lesson is when the students were creating their
lesson, and when they shared. During the creation of the poster the students took pride in their
posters and were very serious about the overall look of the poster before presenting, and while
presenting you could tell each group was proud of their work. The students also took their
animals guesses seriously, and I loved seeing how much thought they put behind the guess. The
teacher hung up the posters around the room when the lesson was finished, and that really made
the students excited and wrapped the whole lesson up. I would definitely use this lesson again
due to the success of it, however I would probably make this a two-day lesson in the future. Even
though I was given two hours for this lesson, I had to introduce the six biomes, discuss the
adaptations, environment, and behaviors. If I was able to have two-days to teach the lesson I
think the students would understand more thoroughly and not have so much information to take
in in one day. At first, I was nervous about the amount of time she allowed me but at the end of
the lesson it didnt feel like I had been giving the lesson for that long at all, and that is what I
enjoy about teaching. I was able to take away from this lesson that I can handle a class on my
own for an ample amount of time, and I can handle activities well, but that I need to focus more
on teaching the content of the lesson as my teacher mentioned in my feedback. This lesson was
very helpful to me as a future teacher and the students were also able to learn useful information
about biomes!
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