Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETS•S—Template I
(More Directed Learning Activities)

Template with guiding questions

Teacher(s)
Name Jennifer Dunlap
Position 7th Grade Life Science Teacher
School/District JC Booth Middle School
E-mail Dunlap.jennifer@mail.fcboe.org
Phone 770-597-8342
Grade Level(s) 7th
Content Area Life Science
Time line 2 Weeks (50 minute class periods)

Standards (What do you want students to know and be able to do? What knowledge, skills, and strategies do you
expect students to gain? Are there connections to other curriculum areas and subject area benchmarks? ) Please
put a summary of the standards you will be addressing rather than abbreviations and numbers that indicate which
standards were addressed.
Students are to obtain, evaluate, and communicate information from multiple
sources to explain the theory of evolution. (S7L5). Students will be able to analyze
data and conduct research of how natural selection leads to changes in specific
traits of a population over many generations. Students will also construct an
explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations and
environmental factors influence the probability of survival and reproduction of a
species. Students will understand the evidence for evolution that is found in
Content Standards comparison to modern organisms.

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 Students will gain skills of creativity and innovation as they demonstrate creative
thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes with
technology by applying existing knowledge to generate new products and by
creating original works to express ideas. Students will also communicate and
collaborate as they use digital media and environments to interact, collaborate, or
publish with peers to support individual learning and the learning of others.
Students will also utilize digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information as
they plan strategies to guide inquiry and collect a variety of sources and media.
Students will use critical thinking skills to conduct research, solve problems, and
manage projects about the use of digital tools and resources by identifying authentic
NETS*S Standards: problems and developing a solution.

Overview (a short summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)

The lesson consists of skills and standards that pertain to the evolution unit of life science. It is a two week long
performance assessment that can be completed individually, in partners, or in small groups. The lesson is
designed to be differentiated based on learning abilities and styles. Therefore, it allows choice in the final products
that are created to demonstrate the mastery of the skills and knowledge gained. All of the activities for the lesson
are located on one website. The website represents a restaurant in the Galapagos Island. At the restaurant,
students are to enjoy a three-course meal. For the appetizer activity, all students will investigate an evolution
digital breakout, which includes various web links, resources, and activities that they must complete in order to
solve the codes for the breakout. Students will need to have prior knowledge on the main vocabulary terms from
the evolution unit and will need to have a brief understanding of Charles Darwin’s contributions to the theory of
evolution. Once a student breaks out, they will have to choose from one of the “dinner” activities on the menu.
This portion of the lesson requires the highest levels of thinking and therefore, require more time, skills, and
knowledge on the topic. For the dinner activity, students can choose to either create to broadcast the evidence for
evolution after conducting thorough research on it, write a blog on the four factors of natural selection, or
investigate a natural selection online simulation in which they must analyze and interpret data. Students also have
to choose two “side” activities to complete, which are smaller activities that support the main activity. There are six
side options including designing and detailing a movie poster on fossils as evidence for evolution, building a
graphic organizer on animal’s behavioral or physical adaptations, constructing a word cloud on the keywords,
ideas, and phrases that represent evolution or that relate to evolution, organize thoughts and ideas into a to-do list
of Charles Darwin’s voyage, create a small presentation on an extinct species and one organism that is still alive
today that it relates too, or create an animal-like version of yourself with new adaptations and how these
adaptations help you survive in different environments. Once students have mastered the skills from the products
they created above, they will need to put their knowledge and skills to test with a “dessert” activity. Students will
choose one activity to complete that involves either playing an adaptation game or relating evolution over time to
something in the real world that the student has seen evolve. Students should have between 8 class periods to
complete these activities before they share their products with the class. Teachers should encourage students to
publish their work to the internet for further communication and evaluation of the products.

Lesson Website – Lava Lizards Café (Evolution Menu Choice Board)

www.lavalizardscafe.weebly.com

Teacher Page - Lava Lizards Café Menu Choice Board Teacher Document

Essential Questions (What essential question or learning are you addressing? What would students care or

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want to know about the topic? What are some questions to get students thinking about the topic or generate
interest about the topic? Additionally, what questions can you ask students to help them focus on important
aspects of the topic? (Guiding questions) What background or prior knowledge will you expect students to bring
to this topic and build on?) Remember, essential questions are meant to guide the lesson by provoking inquiry.
They should not be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” and should have many acceptable answers.

Students will be asked the following essential questions throughout the two week lesson to guide their
thinking:

 How do physical characteristics of organisms demonstrate/support the theory of evolution?

 How does natural selection affect the evolution of species on earth?
 How does the fossil record provide evidence of evolution?
 Who is Charles Darwin and why is he called the Father of Evolution?
 What are some ways that you have seen evolution occur in your lifetime?

Students will need to have a general understanding in the following topics prior to beginning the lesson:
 General understanding of using online tools to conduct research and create products.
 How to safely locate and identify quality resources online.
 Basic understanding of evolution vocabulary terms and ideas.
 Application of the skills and knowledge within the genetic standards.
 Ability to apply characteristics of science including analyzing data, drawing conclusions,
organizing information, identifying relationships, and writing for scientific purposes.

Assessment (What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning? What can students do to generate new
knowledge? How will you assess how students are progressing (formative assessment)? How will you assess
what they produce or do? How will you differentiate products?) You must attach copies of your assessment and/or
rubrics. Include these in your presentation as well.

Students will have to create or complete at least four activities out of a total of eleven choices. Each
activity has a certain amount of point values ranging from 20 to 40 points each for a total of 100 points.
Students will be producing anything from a digital graphic organizer or word cloud to a podcast or a
blog. This lesson will take place over a two week time period, therefore, I will be checking in regularly
with students to guide and assess their activities. At the end of the lesson, students will get a grade for
the complete activities completed or products created and will present these activities/products to the
class. The lesson is differentiated by student’s choice based on their learning preference, ability, and use
of technology. ELL students will be provided with tools such as Google Translate, Text to Speech, and
Read and Write. Students with disabilities will be provided with tools such as Kami, Read and Write,
and fewer chunking of assignments. There are two rubrics available for students to direct their
understanding of expectations. One rubric is a self-assessment for the students and the other rubric is the
grading rubric.

Evolution Menu Choice Board Rubric

Resources (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resources—online student

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tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etc—help elucidate or
explain the content or allow students to interact with the content? What previous technology skills should students
have to complete this project?)

All students have access to their own device and internet during school hours. Therefore, this project
will be mostly completed in class. Students will need to have basic understanding of how to use web 2.0
tools, but does not need to understand specific ones. For example, if a student decides to create a podcast
but has never attempted one before, then the lesson provides tips and directions on how to do make a
podcast. Due to students having their own Chromebooks, most students are very familiar with how to
produce assignments through Web 2.0 tools and resources. Students who need guidance during the two
week process will receive it from the teacher or other tech-savvy students. The entire lesson is
technology-based starting with the “hook” activity, which is a digital breakout. The digital breakout
utilizes digital tools such as Google Sites and Forms, Crossword Labs, Mystery Piano, and Tour Builder.
Students are then asked to complete multiple activities from a menu board. On the menu board, students
have options such as using PodOmatic to create a podcast, Blogger or Wix to write a blog, Piktochart to
design a poster, or Padlet to formulate a response.

Instructional Plan
Preparation (What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a foundation for this lesson? How can
you find out if students have this foundation? What difficulties might students have?)

The lesson has a variety of choices, therefore allowing students to operate their interests and personal
learning styles throughout the lesson. Prior to beginning the lesson, students will need to have a basic
understanding in applying general characteristics of science, such as analyzing data, drawing
conclusions, and organizing information. Also, students need to have a background understanding of the
genetics standards, including how genes are passed down from one generation to the next and how
mutations occur during cell division. Students will need to be introduced to the evolution unit with
vocabulary, understanding of Charles Darwin’s discoveries and theory of evolution, and the evidence for
evolution. Students will also need to have general technology skills and familiarity with producing
material through digital tools. To determine whether students have these foundations, a pre-assessment
on these topics could be evaluated. However, through teacher observation and summative assessments of
the previous genetics unit will provide a more detailed picture of students who might struggle to
complete the activities in this lesson. Students might have difficulties staying organized while fulfilling
the requirements of the lesson, therefore, students will have a folder established through their Google
drive. Students who might struggle with either the content or with technology will be guided through the
lesson by the teacher or student specialist.

Management Describe the classroom management strategies will you use to manage your students and the use
of digital tools and resources. How and where will your students work? (Small groups, whole group, individuals,
classroom, lab, etc.) What strategies will you use to achieve equitable access to the Internet while completing this
lesson? Describe what technical issues might arise during the Internet lesson and explain how you will resolve or
trouble-shoot them? Please note: Trouble-shooting should occur prior to implementing the lesson as well as
throughout the process. Be sure to indicate how you prepared for problems and work through the issues that
occurred as you implemented and even after the lesson was completed.

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 Students will be able to collaborate with peers for resources and ideas. For the appetizer in which
students are investigating a digital breakout, students will be placed into groups of 3 to 4 students. Then
as students begin the dinner activity, they will collaborate with a partner. Students will work either
individually or with their partner based on the learning needs of students for the side option activities.
The dessert menu is meant to be filled with review activities, so students will be completing this
assignment individually. There will be daily checklists and time requirements for students to keep on
track for the lesson. The lesson will take place in the classroom, ensuring that all students have their
device, materials, and internet while they are researching and creating products. Technical issues that
might arise during the lesson include a website not working or being blocked. A student Chromebook
will be used to check all of the digital links, tools, and resources prior to the lesson being assigned to
ensure that these technical issues will be eliminated. If a website becomes blocked or goes down during
the lesson, then I will first trouble-shoot the problem with the student by attempting a new browser or

Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities – Describe the research-based instructional strategies you will
use with this lesson. How will your learning environment support these activities? What is your role? What are the
students' roles in the lesson? How can you ensure higher order thinking at the analysis, evaluation, or
creativity levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy? How can the technology support your teaching? What authentic,
relevant, and meaningful learning activities and tasks will your students complete? How will they build knowledge
and skills? How will students use digital tools and resources to communicate and collaborate with each other
and others? How will you facilitate the collaboration?

The activities within the lesson are based on higher-order thinking skills in which students are analyzing,
creating, or evaluating the content and the process in which they are creating a product. Students will be
highly engaged in the activities as they work individually or in pairs. They will take responsibility of
their learning as they self-monitor their work and time. The teacher’s role will be to monitor and support
the students as a facilitator of learning. The lesson will be student-centered with a focus on what the
students are thinking and doing to apply their knowledge of the concepts. The entire lesson is based on
choices for the students based on their learning style and technology preference. Students will also be
guided towards specific assignments based on ability levels. The lesson is geared towards learning with
relevant and meaningful learning activities as the activities address the state standards and technology
standards. The lesson is authentic in that the lesson contains activities in which students are exploring,
forming relationships between concepts, solving real world problems, or constructing genuine material.
Many of the activities encourage students to insert their personal design and expression into their
product. Students are utilizing the skills of communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking
as they either investigate a topic or create a product. There is also an opportunity for flexible grouping
within the lesson. For some activities, students will be working together to problem-solve, research, or
construct an item. One example of collaboration is with the “dinner” menu items in which students are
creating a podcast, writing a blog, or examining data from a virtual lab. This will be facilitated through
classroom observations, student meetings and discussions, and the sharing of documents through Google
Drive and Email. Students will also share their material with their peers as they present the lesson. Most
activities required students to share their materials with the world as they publish them online.

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Differentiation (How will you differentiate content and process to accommodate various learning styles and
abilities? How will you help students learn independently and with others? How will you provide extensions and
opportunities for enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)

The lesson is differentiated by process, product, and content. Each product that a student creates from
the menu board will be personalized based on the student’s knowledge of the topic and their skills with
digital tools. The menu choice board has a total of 11 assignments for them to choose from. The
students also have an option to complete up to three additional assignments. Each assignment requires
students to conduct research and access their prior knowledge to develop a product. This wide
arrangement of performance assessments will determine how students have designed a product around an
essential learning goal. In some areas of the lesson, the students will be collaborating to finalize their
products. In other parts of the lesson, students will work individually to show their mastery of a concept.
Due to activities being organized through a choice board, students can decide which activities they would
like to complete based on their learning styles. For example, one student who is very visual and artistic
might enjoy creating a movie poster on fossils as evidence for evolution while another student who is a
verbal learner may enjoy creating a world cloud on the vocabulary terms related to evolution. The lesson
is also differentiated by process through their learning profile and readiness. Students with lower
learning abilities may be guided by the teacher to complete a specific task on the menu board, asked to
complete an alternative form of an assignment from what they picked on the menu board, or may be
given modifications to an activity. Students of higher learning abilities may be asked to complete the
extended activities, help their peers, or given a modified activity in which students are asked to provide
more details. The lesson is differentiated by content as students are choosing which topics within the
evolution unit that they want to focus on. One student might complete an activity on natural selection
while another student might focus on an activity involving Charles Darwin’s journey. Also, once
students pick an item on the board, they can decide which digital tool they will use to accomplish the
goal of the activity. Students with disabilities and ELL will also receive additional digital supports
throughout the lesson, such as Google Translate or Read and Write extensions.

Reflection (Will there be a closing event? Will students be asked to reflect upon their work? Will students be
asked to provide feedback on the assignment itself? What will be your process for answering the following
questions?
• Did students find the lesson meaningful and worth completing?
• In what ways was this lesson effective?
• What went well and why?
• What did not go well and why?
• How would you teach this lesson differently?)

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The summarizing activities within the lesson are addressed in the “dessert” portion of the menu choice
board. In this portion, students were reviewing the information they explored and comparing the
information they learned to something in the real world. I continued to make changes to the lesson as
students provided their personal feedback over the two week lesson. The rubric included a graded
assessment and a self-assessment for students to reflect on their work individually. Students were also
given a few days to reflect on their peer’s work as they presented their activities to the class. After the
lesson, students had the option to give suggestions on the menu lesson for next year through a Google
Form. My process for determining whether students found the lesson meaningful and worth completing
was based on my observations as students were conducting research and creating material. The students
seemed to be engaged in the activities and willing to investigate the products without hesitation. Overall,
the classroom management was excellent during the two weeks we were working on the assignment
because students were really invested in their digital learning. Towards the end of the lesson, I
specifically asked students what went well and what they struggled with while completing the
assignment. I also asked students to complete a survey about their thoughts and opinions on the
assignment. Once I analyze the data from the survey, student commentary feedback, and achievement
levels from the assessments of the lesson, then I will conduct further research on effective teaching
strategies and digital resources to determine what changes need to be made to the lesson for future
students.

Survey for Students – Students will take this survey at the end of the two week lesson to provide more
feedback from the lesson.

Closure: Anything else you would like to reflect upon regarding lessons learned and/or your experience
with implementing this lesson. What advice would you give others if they were to implement the lesson?
Please provide a quality reflection on your experience with this lesson and its implementation.

Although the overall feedback from the lesson was positive, some students felt a little overwhelmed with
all of the menu options. It may have helped to create a smaller menu, maybe a “kids menu” of activities
for students who feel overwhelmed or need accommodations for the assignment. Also, the assignment
may take more or less time depending on the learning abilities of the students in your class and whether
or not you are using the entire class period. For example, I usually have students complete a warm up
and summarizing activity every day, but during this lesson, it was impossible to assign students a warm
up, a summarizer, and time to work on the menu lesson while staying within the two week time frame
that I originally scheduled. Also, an important tip for teachers would be to utilize the students within
your classroom to help their peers. Students that have mastered the evolution unit already were used to
help struggling students think of ideas. Students who are very technology efficient were partnered with
students who are not as knowledgeable about technology resources. These student leadership roles were
very useful as students encountered problems with technology or had questions about the content. It
would have been much more difficult to assist students and monitor student progress throughout the two
week lesson.

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