EDR 318

Classification with Dichotomous Keys

Teacher-Candidate Name Lauren McDade____________ Date_3/29/17________
Grade Level/Content Area 7th Grade Science__________
# of Students_25_______________ Length of Lesson_38 minutes________

1.1 Integration of Learning Outcomes

1. Students will be able to classify items using a Dichotomous Key.

2. Students will be able to differentiate between common mammals and objects based off their physical
traits.
3. Students will be able to name an example of when to use a Dichotomous Key.

1.2 Standards

3.1.A. Organisms and Cells:

3.1.7. A1. Describe the similarities and differences of physical characteristics in diverse organisms.
3.1.7. A8. MODELS Apply the appropriate models to show interactions among organisms in an environment.

3.5 Reading Informational Text:

CC.3.5.6-8. C. Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or
performing technical tasks.

1.3 Formative and Summative Assessment

1. Students will be able to classify items using a Dichotomous Key.

Formative: The students will complete two handouts and the teacher will observe and question the
students to check for understanding.

2. Students will be able to differentiate between common mammals and objects based off their physical
traits.

Formative: The students will differentiate between six common mammals and the teacher will observe
and question the students during their activity. The class will review their answers and the teacher will
check for understanding. The teacher will observe the students completing the candy activity, and review
the answers.

3. Students will be able to name an example of when to use a Dichotomous Key.

Formative: The teacher will utilize the Randomly application and ask individual students to provide an
example of when he or she utilizes the key.

1.4 Materials

Key to Six Flesh-Eating Mammals Handout

PowerPoint
Dichotomous Key Candy Activity Handout
IPad
Candy:
Starburst
 Hersheys Kiss
Dum Dums
Jolly Rancher
Butterscotch
Striped Mints
Atomic Fire Ball Candy
Tootsie Rolls
Gummy Bears
Jaw Breaker
Salt Water Taffy
Silver trays

1.5 Anticipatory Set

Good morning, everyone! You have been working on taxonomy and classification. Today, we are going
to use a tool that scientists use for classification, and we use every day without realizing.
Please raise your hand if you have ever played the game, Guess Who? The game that two people play
and ask, Does your person have a hat on or have glasses?. Each player must ask yes or no questions, to their
opponent, and guess who their opponent is. I need your help with figuring out the name of a teacher whose
name I cant remember. We are going to play similarly to Guess Who. We are going to go around and I need you
to ask descriptive questions to help me visualize the teacher.
I will have students guess who I am talking about until they determine the person is Dr. Souders. Once the
students guess his name, I will explain the yes/ no descriptive questions are what scientists use to classify
objects, animals, rocks, plants, anything, with a dichotomous key.

1.6 Procedures

Dichotomous keys are used to determine any item in our daily lives and in nature. There are a series of choices
that lead us to the correct name of an item. What does the prefix Di mean? Two, so dichotomous means
divided into two parts (Oregon State University). Today, we are going to practice using this tool. Please get into
groups of three students please. There should be no more than six people at each lab table.

1. The teacher distributes a Candy dichotomous key handout. The students write the definition of a
Dichotomous Key.
Please write the definition of a Dichotomous Key in the space below the candy key. This will be
beneficial for you to reference later.
2. The teacher explains the handout.
Lets look at the two handouts. Notice the chart, please fill in all the columns, you can sketch the picture
once you are finished finding the pathways, common name, and Latin name for each candy. On your
tables, you will see a bag with candy inside. Please empty the contents on the table. Please do not eat
any of the candy. You will need the candy to view and classify.
3. The teacher models a problem for the class.
We are going to do an example together so you understand what the pathways column is asking. Please
follow along as I model the first problem for you. Lets choose a candy, Jolly Ranchers. We start at 1
and follow each pathway until we get to the candy.
The teacher models how to follow the pathway.
We see Jolly rancheria listed at 9B, but the pathways allow us to see each step that was taken in
classifying the candy. You would list: 1B, 7B, and 9B as your pathways for Jolly Ranchers. Does anyone
have questions about this activity? I will be walking around if you do have questions.
4. The students will have ten minutes to complete this activity and then we will review it as a whole.
We are going to review your answers using my Randomly app which will choose the volunteers. We
 will go through each candys Latin name and pathway.
5. The teacher will distribute the second handout, Key to Six Flesh-Eating Mammals.
6. The teacher gives the students instructions for the second handout.
Now that we practiced using the Dichotomous Key for candy, we are going to complete a handout called
Key to Six Flesh-Eating Mammals. These are mammals that you have all probably heard of before,
but we are going to classify them today. Please take the next five minutes to work in your groups and
classify these animals.
7. Students practice using a second, dichotomous key with their partners.
8. Once the five minutes are complete, the class will review their answers.
Lets review your answers on the Flesh-eating mammal handout.
The teacher uses the Randomly App to choose volunteers to answer the questions.

1.7 Differentiation

The students will work in small groups which promotes collaboration and discussion. The students will also
discuss ideas as a class.
Tactile items are included at each lab table to strengthen the connection between abstract and concrete ideas.
The use of tactile items will be beneficial for students with Attention Deficit Disorder, the student who is an
English Language Learner, and the students with Autism.
Rather than including the definition of Dichotomous Keys on the handout, I decided to have students write
the definition to help them remember it better. I will focus on the prefix of di to make a connection.
The PowerPoint is an added visual to help students focus on the lesson and follow along.
The closing questions are on the PowerPoint to help students remember the questions they are being asked.
The closing questions promote higher-order thinking.

1.8 Closure

Before you leave, I would like to know what you classify each day and how the key is helpful for us as
scientists and students. Think about the pathways and the mammal activity. What would happen if we just
assumed and did not follow the pathways? I am going to randomly ask, so everyone has an opportunity to
share.

The teacher will use the app, Randomly, to prevent the same students from volunteering and allowing all
students to share ideas. The class will wrap up the period with the students ideas for why the key is helpful and
what they classify each day.

1.9 Technology
https://oregonstate.edu/trees/dichotomous_key.html was utilized as background knowledge for the teacher.
Retrieved the candy activity: http://reinsteinwoods.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/candy-classification.pdf
Randonmly Application
IPad
PowerPoint and projector

2.0 Reflection on Planning

While planning this lesson, I had to familiarize myself with Dichotomous Keys and classification. I

reviewed the handouts that my cooperating teacher provided for me, and then completed additional research. I
found the definition and more elaboration for the Dichotomous Key on Oregon State Universitys webpage.

Once I was familiarized with the content, I began looking through the activities and brainstorming ideas. I first

chose to use the six, mammal activity because it was straight-forward and included common animals that the

students would recognize. I was given handouts that would classify aliens and made-up creations, but I chose to

focus on animals that would be familiar to the students. Once I knew the animal activity would be my modeled

activity, I began searching for another activity for the students to complete in their groups. I found a lot of pre-

made candy activities, and I liked that idea for tactile learners. I finally found a plan that was grade-level

appropriate and included enough steps to challenge the students. I accessed the candy activity from

Reinstenwoods.org. I think the candy activity will be extremely beneficial since Dichotomous Keys are new to

the students and candy is something that all students can recognize. Once I shared my lesson with my

cooperating teacher, she decided to switch my activities. We agreed that the pathways portion of the candy

activity will provide students with the understanding of how to navigate the Dichotomous Key. The candy will

engage the learners and then the students will move on to classifying the mammals. I think this change will be

extremely beneficial once I teach the lesson.

The anticipatory set was developed after I came across an idea of playing Twenty Questions or Guess

Who to introduce Dichotomous Keys. I decided to connect the anticipatory set to their own lives and use a

staff member from the middle school. I chose their principal because he is someone that the students are

familiar with and he has easily distinguished features. I am hoping this activity will provide a smooth transition

into using Dichotomous Keys and their purpose. I am using the closure to hear the students connections of

utilizing Dichotomous Keys in their lives and why the keys are beneficial. I chose to have the students work in

groups because of the different ability levels in the class. I feel the collaboration is more beneficial than having

students either fly through the assignment of struggle. I am excited to use Randomly and allow the students to

have an equal opportunity of sharing their ideas. We always have the same people volunteering, and I would

like to use the App and see who gets chosen. The App will allow me to pick on students and not have them feel

targeted if their hand was not raised. The goal is also to have everyones undivided attention since they could be

chosen at any time. I received the idea to use Randomly after observing the sixth-grade Social Studies teachers.
 Overall, I think this lesson will be successful because of the collaboration and use of tactile objects. This

should be a fun and engaging lesson for all students. I am excited to incorporate new technology and if it

malfunctions, I can act as if I am using the App but randomly call on students.

2.1 Reflection on Instruction

The lesson on Dichotomous Keys went much better than I had envisioned. I was not sure how the students

would react to my Guess Who activity or classifying the candy. I was skeptical of how much of the lesson I

would accomplish because of the shortened class periods. Luckily, I taught the entire lesson with four out of the

five sections. First period was not able to have the closing discussion, therefore I adjusted for the rest of the

periods. Overall, the students responded very positively to the lesson and were active learners.

The students were engaged throughout the lesson and enjoyed classifying the candy. The Dichotomous Key

handouts were challenging enough that students needed to take their time and follow the steps, rather than

assume the correct answer. I incorporated many real-life examples, throughout the lesson, and I feel that

benefited the students and highlighted the importance of the scientific tool. Each class, excluding first period,

ended with an engaging discussion on Dichotomous Keys and I could tell that learning had occurred. The

students were volunteering even though I was using the iPad application to choose volunteers. The level of

engagement throughout the lesson allowed me to see who was grasping the concept, and those who were not

asked for help. One of my favorite moments occurred while a student was writing her answer for the candy

classification on the board. She wrote the incorrect pathway, steps, needed to classify the candy. The students

were paying close enough attention to catch the mistake and then have a discussion on the correct pathway. The

class was very respectful and wanted her to see why that answer could not work. There were enough formative

assessment opportunities throughout the lesson for me to note who needed extra guidance. The discussion at the

end of the lesson allowed the students to provide feedback on what they learned. I feel comfortable that the

students accomplished my objectives and goals for the lesson.

 Science and literacy are sometimes hard to connect. Since reading Why Kids Cant Read and articles

such as, Recurrent Prefixes, Roots, and Suffix, I find the connection very natural. I am constantly including

vocabulary into my lessons. It is natural for me to point out the roots or prefixes in many of our terms.

During my introduction to the definition of Dichotomous Keys, I pointed out the prefix and asked students

what Di meant. I asked the students to name other words that began with the same prefix and one student

mentioned divide which was a great transition into the definition. The students needed to read a lot of

clues in the Dichotomous Keys to complete the handouts and then write their answers. We reviewed how to

write genus and species names with the appropriate capitalization which is essential in science. The students

were incorporating literacy throughout the lesson. However, literacy also includes turn and talks and

speaking activities. This lesson included ample opportunities for students to work with one partner, in small

groups, and whole-class discussion. Beers writes about the importance of think aloud and group discussions

in chapter seven, and I feel it is crucial for students to hear their peers thoughts. The students make great

connections by listening to each other. The partner, small group, and whole-group discussion is beneficial

for every type of learner. I adjusted from first to second period to allow the students to split the partner work

and allow the struggling students to work with their stronger peers. Overall, I feel that I was able to

incorporate more literacy than I had even imagined.

Although I felt this lesson went very well, there is always room for improvement. I would want to keep

the activities the same with a few adjustments. I would like to be clearer with my directions and instructions

when transitioning between activities. If I were to use the candy classifying activity again, I would choose

candy that the students are unfamiliar with so they do not have the option to guess the answers. I would

modify the Dichotomous Keys for the students with reading disabilities, so they have an easier time reading

the keys and less distractions while completing the handouts. I would love to learn more about modifying

whole-class activities to benefit the gifted and students with learning disabilities, rather than one group

feeling unaccounted for. The lesson was challenging for all students but I am sure there is a way to make

sure every student is challenged in an appropriate way.

I feel my lesson planning and teaching abilities have greatly improved during this semester and I

am excited to see how they continue to blossom. I am constantly learning, from period to period, and using
every opportunity to improve and tweak each lesson. It is interesting that by the third time a lesson is taught,

we can anticipate the questions and confusion that will arise and proactively address it. I am thankful for a

cooperating teacher that is so intune with her students and their abilities because that allows me to know the

students needs as well.

 References

Beers, G. K. (2003). When Kids Cant Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12. Pearson.

Education Canada. Chapter 9. Print.

Mountain, L. (2015). Recurrent Prefixes, Roots, and Suffix International Literacy Association. Journal of

Adolescent & Adult Literacy 58(7). (pp. 561567).

Oregon State University. Dichotomous Key. Common Trees of the Pacific Northwest. Retrieved from:

https://oregonstate.edu/trees/dichotomous_key.html.

http://reinsteinwoods.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/candy-classification.pdf