Indiana Wesleyan University

Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template

CAEP 2018 K-6 Elementary Teacher Preparation Standards

LESSON RATIONALE
This lesson develops students’ understanding of symbiotic relationships, what they mean and how they
work in various ways in the realm of animals. Understanding these types of relationships will help
students develop a more advanced view of the world around them, as well as how they contribute to that
world. This lesson will also influence their appreciation of relationships as each symbiotic example was
either beneficial, harmful, or neither, but nevertheless, always had an effect.
(CAEP K-6 1.a)

READINESS
I. Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal(s)— Student will understand the three different types of symbiotic relationships.
B. Objective(s)—
 After participating in the game, students will be able to describe the different types of
symbiotic relationships.
 By the end of this lesson, students will explain how different factors affect the way animals
live together.
C. Standard(s): SEPS.8 Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information (CAEP K-6
3.c)
II. Management Plan-
 Time:
o Ant. Set: 7 min.
o Lesson Input: 15 min
o Lesson Output: 30 min
o Closure: 5 min
 Materials: Symbiotic relationship cards, white board, markers
 Space:
o Students in their seats/in front of class for anticipatory set.
o Students in desks for lesson input.
o Students in groups around the room for lesson output and game.
o Students back in seats for closure.
 Management:
o Dojo points for behavior management.
o Song sage for smooth transitions and to gain attention.
o Candy reward for exceptional behavior.
III. Anticipatory Set
 Can I have two volunteers to come up to the front please? Call on two students. Now can both of
you tie each other’s shoes. Give time to do so. Thank you, you can go sit down.
 Now can I have two more volunteers? Call on two different students. Now ____, (Student’s
Name) you have this dollar, but ____ is going to take it from you. I would provide the dollar and
student would give it back to me at the end. Thank you, you can go back to your seats.
 And I need just two more volunteers. Call on two more students. So, you will take this umbrella,
and imagine it is raining outside and ___ is getting all wet, so will you help them out by sharing
your umbrella with ____. Allow students to do so. Thank you! I’ll take the umbrella and you can
take a seat now.

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IV. Purpose: Today we are going to be learning about various types of relationships between animals and
how they benefit or harm one another in the process. This is important to understand as we
explore animals in their habitats as well as how even humans partake in similar types of
relationships in everyday life.

PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION

V. Adaptation to Individual Differences and Diverse Learners—
 Struggling students may be given one-on-one time assistance.
 I will give oral and written instruction to every group for added support.
 I will collaborate with other teachers/peers to make the best of this experiment time and providing
students with extra support when needed.
(CAEP K-6 1.b)

VI. Lesson Presentation (Input/Output)

Input
 We are going to be learning about symbiotic relationships today, does anyone know what
symbiosis means? Call on a student if their hand is raised. Yeah, so symbiosis means a
relationship between two different species. Before we jump into the different types of symbiotic
relationships, let’s take a look back at the examples our friends participated in a few minutes ago.
In the first example, what did they do? Yeah, they tied each other’s shoes, so who benefited in
that situation? Allow student response. Yeah, both were benefited. Were either of them harmed?
No. This is what we call a mutualism symbiotic relationship, where both are benefited. Alright,
and in our second example, what happened? Right, ____ stole a dollar from ____. So, who
benefited in that situation? Allow response. And was anybody harmed? Allow response. Yeah,
____ was harmed because they lost their money and no longer have that dollar. This type of
symbiotic relationship is what we call parasitism because one organism is harmed in the process
of benefitting the other. And lastly, what happened between ____ and _____? Allow student
response. Right, ____ was getting all wet and ____ was nice enough to share their umbrella for
shelter. So, in this example who benefited? Allow students to answer. Yeah, ____ benefited from
____’s umbrella. And was anyone harmed in this situation? No, so ____ was neither benefited
nor harmed, they were just there to help ____ benefit. This is what we a commensalism symbiotic
relationship in which one organism benefits and there is no effect on the other. I would have a
chart on the board to provide more visual support on these types of relationships as I explain.
 Now that you know the three different kinds of symbiotic relationships, I want you to think about
examples for each type, then pair up with the person sitting next to you and share what you wrote
down and see if you have any similar examples. Allow time for Think-Pair-Share. I will also be
walking around in this time to hear some of the examples they came up with. Now that you have
compiled some examples together, who wants to share what they came up with, so we can write
some examples on the board. Anyone like to share what they had for mutualism? Call on a student
tor two and write their examples on the board if they are correct. And now an example or two for
parasitism? Call on more students for this relationship. And lastly, commensalism? Call on
students to share.
Output
 I want you to be thinking about this posing question: What factors into making the best type of
relationship between two organisms? Do the way animals interact with one another have effect
on how each organism lives? Hypothesize your answer and observe how symbiotic relationships
relate to certain animal throughout the rest of our activities.
 Now that you know what symbiotic relationships are, the different types of these kinds of
relationships, and have a few examples of each, we are going to be working on an activity to
explore even more as to what organisms participate in the different kinds of relationships. You

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 are all going to be split into three groups, each group is going to represent a different type of
symbiotic relationship. Within each of your groups, each of you will be given a card with an
organism and description, and what you need to do is go around to your fellow group members to
determine which other organism you have a symbiotic relationship based upon the type you are a
part of. So, every one of your organism cards has another friend in which they are using you in
order to feed, survive, and reproduce. Once you have found your relationship match, I want you
to come to me so I can check for correction and if you aren’t then I will send you back and you
will have to try again, but if you are correct then you will write your two organisms on the board
with this blue marker and put a circle around your pair.
 Allow students to split into groups, assign symbiotic relationships and hand out cards to each
student in each group and allow 10 minutes for students to find their match and write on the
board.
 Once all students have found their match then have the students gather back together and with
every pair written on the board for all students to see, based on what the class knows about the
different types of symbiotic relationships, the class will work in their groups to figure out which
type of symbiotic relationship each of the pairs have and write their answers in their notebooks to
compile a list for each type of relationship. I will be reading through the cards and you will be
working with your symbiotic relationship partner to correctly guess the type of symbiotic
relationship, mutualism, parasitism, or commensalism, and you will have to explain why. If you
can guess and explain correctly then you will receive a point for your group. An incorrect answer
will just be turned over to the rest of the class to try and guess what the correct relationship is for
no points. So, the points system for this is important to remember, if anyone correctly guesses a
mutualism pair then their group will receive 3 points and the other groups will receive one. An
anyone guess why with a mutualism relationship the points would work that way? Allow student
response and see if they can figure out why. Yeah, so mutualism benefits everyone so everyone
gets points. Now if someone correctly guesses a commensalism relationship then their group
receives 2 points and the other groups get none. Why do you think? Yeah in commensalism
relationships one benefits and the other neither benefits nor is harmed. Okay, and lastly, if you
correctly guess a parasitism pair then your group will receive one point and the other groups will
lose a point, and why do you think that is? Right, in a parasitism relationship one organism
benefits and the other is harmed. So now let’s play. Each group should come up with their own
“buzzer” noise. So, decide one quickly and share with the class and whichever I hear first will be
called upon, but you will not be chosen for the pair you were a part of and wrote on the boar, so
please be respectful of that and make this fair for everyone. Allow 15-20 minutes to play and for
students to write answers in their notebooks. As students answer, ask them the points system,
such as how many points their group will get for answering correctly and how many points the
other groups will receive, and why.
 Now that we have thoroughly discussed each of these symbiotic relationships, what they are what
they mean, and examples of each, who can share with the class their hypothesis and whether or
not it was answered and how you knew. Allow a few students to come up and share.
VII. Check for understanding.
 The students’ participation and response will give me insight into how well they are engaging
with the content and understanding the material.
 The symbiotic relationship answers they wrote in their notebooks will provide me with how
much they understood and are interacting with the game as well as how much they know.
 I will be continually checking for the students’ understanding by asking questions, observing
their engagement and interaction with the experiment. I will also be walking around to initiate
more understanding and questioning, as well as to gain more comprehension of the subject. I
will also be checking for how well they collaborate and work with the relationship game as
well as the group game. If at any point any student does not understand elements of the

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 lesson, then I will stop and explain it again, trying to figure what they are confusing and
answering any questions they may have.

VIII. Review learning outcomes / Closure

 What was your favorite part of what you learned today?
 What was one new thing you learned today?
 Who can give me a new example of each symbiotic relationship? Call on a different student for
each type.
 Now I want you to write a letter to someone in a different class and explain to them what
symbiotic means and explain to them your favorite type of relationship and provide an example
for them. If you have time, even add a picture of the organisms.

PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT

 The inquiry questions will tell me how well they understand mutualism, commensalism, and
parasitism.
 The students think-pair-share will show me how much they know and need to learn in the lesson.
 The examples students provide at the end of the lesson will show how well they understood each
relationship, as well as how much they payed attention throughout the lesson.
 The letters to a friend will also show me how much information the students got from the content
provided.
(CAEP K-6 3.a)

REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS

(CAEP K-6 3.b)
1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
7. Were the instructions for the experiment clear enough for students to perform on their own?
8. Was there enough support?
9. How were the students actively engaged throughout the lesson?
10. How well did the students collaborate?
11. Was the grouping acceptable?
12. Were the students able to identify mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism in relationships.