Nicole Willis

Towson University
SCED 460 Using Reading and Writing in the Secondary School
Directed Reading Lesson Plan Ecology
!ntrod"ctory #aterial
Class Descri$tion
This is a tenth grade biology classroom that contains 2 independent readers, 10
instructional readers, and 5 frustrational readers. This unit in the course is taught
during the fourth quarter of the year. Therefore, the class has already been given
the information on cells and heredity, bacteria to plants, animals, and human
biology. Now they will be eploring !cology and the different dependencies
throughout the biosphere.
Unit Title !cology" #opulation and $ommunities
To$ic o% this Lesson The !nvironment
Ty$e o% Lesson
%nitiatory& This lesson is the beginning of a series of lessons on the environment.
%t gives the students bac'ground 'nowledge and basic concepts regarding the
environment so that in later lessons they can apply this 'nowledge to other
scenarios.
Co##on Core Learning &oal's()State C"rric"l"#*
%N(%$)T*+ ,.5.1 The student will analy-e the relationships between biotic
diversity and abiotic factors in environments and the resulting influence on
ecosystems.
Unit &oal
The unit goal that % will wor' toward in this lesson is for student understanding
that in order to survive. organisms must interact with both living and non&living
things in their environment.
Lesson +,-ectives&
1. /tudents will be able to define an ecosystem and what is meant by biotic and
abiotic factors.
2. /tudents will be able to list and define all parts that ma'e up an ecosystem.
,. /tudents will be able illustrate how the terminology of an ecosystem come
through their own 0ma'e&believe1 ecosystem.
.ssess#ent&&
1. 2etter to 3ome 4collected and graded5
2. 6raphic *rgani-er 4chec'ed for accuracy5
,. 6roup #resentations of their own !cosystems 47erbal5
/acrostr"ct"re Thin0ing S0ill's(& (efinition
/aterials&
8otivational #icture" http"99alas'a.fws.gov9fire9role9unit,9ecosystem.cfm
:hiteboard98ar'ers
7ideo of !cosystems" http"99www.youtube.com9watch;v<!d=h>73c,)o
(iagram which % will draw on the board
+eading 02iving Things and the !nvironment1
(uring +eading *rgani-er 1" ?or /truggling +eaders
(uring +eading *rgani-er 2" ?or /tandard +eaders
(uring +eading *rgani-er ," ?or )dvanced +eaders
(uring +eading *rgani-er @" $ompleted *rgani-er
+ubric for letter"
https"99mrsbeeA.wi'ispaces.com9file9view9?riendlyB2etterB+ubric.Apg9@22,5C0D9?
riendlyB2etterB+ubric.Apg
#oster Eoard
8ar'ers
$onstruction #aper
/cissors
6lue
:or'sheet" 0!cosystem at /chool1" http"99science&class.net9
8agnifying glass
/tring
#lastic Eag
+uler
Lesson Proced"re
/otivation&

% am going to start by pulling a picture up onto the proAector. %t is a cartoon
of an ecosystem, but the students do not 'now what we are 0loo'ing at yet1. The
only information they have is the picture. % am going to as' them to tell me
everything that they see in the picture, and we will do a whip&around. This is
when % start with one student and he9she will start by naming one obAect he9she
sees in the picture, and then we will circulate around the room 4each student
saying a different word then what was previously said5.
:hen we finish, % am going to eplain how everything that they named is
a part of an ecosystem. )ll of the living and non&living things in a particular area
ma'e up an ecosystem" from the soil all the way to the animals. This will
hopefully motivate my students because instead of a bul' of information, % am
presenting the information to them with a fun and inviting cartoon animation of
an ecosystem.
1ac0gro"nd o% E2$erience&
0Now that you have seen what an ecosystem is li'e, and 'now the
definition of an ecosystem, who can give me an eample of a specific ecosystems
that they have visited before;1
Expected Student Responses: A dessert, marsh, wetland, forest, etc.
0*' great AobF /o from the ecosystems we have listed we are Aust going to
choose one to illustrate. 3ow about the desert;1 % will then write desert up on the
board. 0Now % would li'e every student to come up and name one thing, either
living or non&living that you would find in a desert ecosystem.1 /tudents will
come up by table and write their responses on the board. % will re&iterate the point
that ecosystems are Aust a specific area where living and non&living things interact
with one another. % will give eamples li'e, the cactus relies on the sun, or the
haw' relies on the mouse, and so on.
Transition: *'ay so 'now that we have an idea of what an ecosystem is, and
some eamples of an ecosystem, we need to delve into some further terminology
before we begin the reading.
Conce$t Develo$#ent&
% am going to build on the concept of !cology through an introductory
video of ecosystems. This video is very basic, slow&paced, and simple to get the
basic concepts and terminology across to the students. The lin' to the video is"
http"99www.youtube.com9watch;v<!d=h>73c,)o
)fter the video % will as' if students have any questions, and ta'e a poll
4thumbs&up as in they are getting the hang of ecosystems, and thumbs&down if
they are still unsure5. Net % am going to reinforce these concepts through a
diagram on the whiteboard of ecosystems and all of the words surrounding it. %
will draw a diagram on the board with clouds, rain, an umbrella, and the stal' of
the umbrella cut into three sections. % will then list the words, ecosystem, habitat,
population, biotic, abiotic, community, and ecology on the board. % will then have
a discussion with the students of where they thin' each term should fit into the
diagram.
Expected Student Responses: Cloud (Ecology, Rain (!iotic and A"iotic,
#m"rella (Ecosystem, Stal$ (ha"itat, community, population.
0% would li'e everyone to copy this diagram in their noteboo's. :e can
see that ecology is the overall study of ecosystems. :e can then see that the rain
4or abiotic and biotic factors5 is affecting the ecosystems. 2astly, we can see that
within ecosystems we have habitats which are made up of communities, which
are made up of populations of organisms.1
Transition: Now that we have some foundation of ecosystems and what they are
composed of, we are going to begin our reading of 02iving Things in the
!nvironment1.
P"r$ose*%or*Reading&
0Today you will be reading to be informed. :hile reading, you are going
to ta'e in depth and detailed notes of new vocabulary terms, especially ones that
we have already covered. Eefore you read, loo' over the graphic organi-er. Gou
can see that it contains three columns" terminology, definitions, and eamples.1
% have three different organi-ers for each level of students. *ne with more
boes filled in for the frustrated readers, an organi-er with Aust terms for the
standard reader, and a completely blan' organi-er for the more advanced reader.
0/o as you read, pay close attention to important terminology and note
definitions and eamples of these terms.1
Silent Reading&
/tudents will begin to read silently and fill out their graphic organi-ers. %
will give them about twenty minutes to read the article and fill out their graphic
organi-ers. % will circulate the room and help struggling students.
Disc"ssion&
Eefore discussing the graphic organi-ers, % will go around and chec' to
ma'e sure all students have made an effort and attempt to fill out the organi-er.
Eecause the organi-er is direct information from the reading, % will then place a
filled out graphic organi-er on the proAector. % will as' the students to chec' their
organi-ers and ma'e sure their responses are correct. % will wal' around the room
and ma'e sure each student is correcting his9her wor'. )fter all students have
corrected their organi-ers, we will discuss what we have learned through
eamples of each of the terms they identified in the readings. % will say one of the
terms out loud and call on four or five students to give their own eamples of
these terms. Terms will include" habitat, abiotic9biotic factors, and population.
Expected Student Responses: %a"itat (tree, swamp, hi&e, ant hill, forest
floor, A"iotic factors (water, sun, wind, !iotic 'actors (animals, grass,
plants, (opulation (pigeons in )*C
Transition: Now that we have read to be informed, and have gathered the bul' of
the information from this passage, we are going to re&read the tet in order to
apply the information.
Re*reading&
% will have students count off by numbers 1&H. They will then get into their
groups and % will eplain the assignment. 0Gou will s'im over the reading for a
second time to help you with the following assignment. Gou are going to ta'e a
second loo' at all of the components that ma'e up an ecosystem, and then using
the reading and the graphic organi-ers that you have filled out, your group will
create their own ecosystem. Gou can have real or imaginary animals. They can
live off of the moon instead of the sun, or eat tootsie rolls for food. Ee very
creativeF Gou Aust need to ma'e sure that at least 5 of the D terms from your
graphic organi-er are in this depiction of your ecosystem. :rite a paragraph
eplaining your ecosystem and then come up with some visual representation of
the ecosystem.1
% will give students about ,0 minutes to re&read, plan, outline, write, and
draw their ecosystems. :hen finished, % will have each group give a quic'
presentation of the ecosystem they created and how they used the terminology.
3ollow*"$&
To reinforce the concept of ecosystems, students will then apply what
they have learned and observe their own ecosystem. They will be given a
wor'sheet and loo' over the procedures before we begin.
02adies and 6entlemen, now that you 'now about ecosystems and what
they are, we are going to observe our own ecosystems. !veryone come and get a
magnifying glass, piece of string, baggie, and wor'sheet from the front of the
room1. % will then give them time to review the wor'sheet before we head outside.
0*nce we get to the field, you are going to ta'e your string and place it in a circle.
This will be your ecosystem. Then you will use your magnifying glass to observe
and record data, observations, and a picture of your ecosystem. :hen we come
bac' we will discuss what we have seen.1 :e will then go outside and complete
the activity. *nce we come bac' we will fill out the second half of the wor'sheet
and discuss what we have observed.
S"##ary&
/tudents will use thin'&pair&share to discuss what they have learned through
this lesson. )fter discussing with a partner, they will write a letter to home
discussing what they have learned. ) rubric for the letter is contained in this
lesson.
Di%%erentiation&
% have differentiated this lesson to accommodate for struggling, standard
and advanced readers. % have done this through the multiple organi-ers that % have
provided for the different levels of readers. % made a completely blan' organi-er
for advanced readers, an organi-er with Aust terms for standard readers, and a
more detailed organi-er for struggling readers. 3opefully through this
differentiation of organi-ers % can accommodate to all of my students and they
will be able to read and comprehend this passage.
)long with differentiating the reading instruction, % have also
differentiated activities throughout the lesson to assist all types of learners. % use a
lot of visuals throughout the lesson and then have students use drawings to
represent their own ecosystem. ?or visual learners, my instruction is both lecture
and then % use a diagram on the white&board to support my lecture and a video to
also re&iterate what % am teaching. Then for students who li'e to write, they will
be writing a letter to home describing what they have learned. 2astly, to get
students up and moving, they get to observe their own ecosystem outside. 8y
hopes with this lesson are to sufficiently differentiate the information so that all
students can have access to and learn the information.
/aterials
Besides the worksheets and diagrams provided in
this folder, these are the other materials I will need
to obtain before giving this lesson:
Whiteboard/Markers
Video of Ecosystems:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=EdKhQVHc3Ao
PosterBoard
Markers
Construction Paper
Scissors
Glue
Magnifying Glass
String
Plastic Baggies
Rulers
Name"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB (ate"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
DRL W+R4S5EET +NE
+irections: ,hile reading, pay close attention to the following terminology. )ote the
definition and examples that they gi&e in the reading and record them in the second and
third columns.
Ter# De%inition E2a#$le
Ecosysyte#
5a,itat
1iotic 3actors
.,iotic 3actors
Po$"lation
Co##"nity
Ecology
Name"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB (ate"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
DRL W+R4S5EET TW+
+irections:
,hile reading, record terminology that you find to "e important and include the
definiitons and examples of this term in the preceding columns.
Ter# De%inition E2a#$le
Name"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB (ate"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
DRL W+R4S5EET T5REE
+irections:
,hile reading, pay close attention to the following terminology. )ote the definition and
examples that they gi&e in the reading and record them in the second and third columns.
Ter# De%inition E2a#$le
Ecosysyte#
All of the li&ing and non-li&ing that
interact in a particular area.
5a,itat
+amp soil, 'orest floor, 'allen tree
trun$s
1iotic 3actors
.,iotic 3actors
,ater, Sunlight, .xygen,
Temperature, Soil
Po$"lation
Co##"nity
All of the different populations that
li&e together in one area.
Ecology
The study of how li&ing things
interact with one another and with
their en&ironment.
Name"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB (ate"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
DRL W+R4S5EET 3+UR
+irections:
,hile reading, pay close attention to the following terminology. )ote the definition and
examples that they gi&e in the reading and record them in the second and third columns.
Ter# De%inition E2a#$le
Ecosyste#
All of the li&ing and non-li&ing that
interact in a particular area.
(rairie, /ountain Streams, +eep
.ceans, 'orests, +eserts
5a,itat
The place where an organism li&es
and that pro&ides the things that the
organism needs
+amp soil, 'orest floor, 'allen tree
trun$s
1iotic 3actors
0i&ing parts of the ecosystem
1rass, plants, animals, worms,
fungi, "acteria
.,iotic 3actors
)on-li&ing parts of an ecosystem ,ater, Sunlight, .xygen,
Temperature, Soil
Po$"lation
All of the mem"ers of one species in a
particular area.
(rairie dogs in Texas town, (igeons
in )ew *or$ City, daises in a field,
pine trees in the forest
Co##"nity
All of the different populations that
li&e together in one area.
(rairie dogs along with haw$s,
grasses, "adgers, and sna$e ma$e up
a community.
Ecology
The study of how li&ing things
interact with one another and with
their en&ironment.
Scientists study Ecology