KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

PROFESSIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAM
LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate: KristiJoy Fedorowicz Date: 2/19/19

Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Harr Coop. Initials: _________
Group Size: 24 Allotted Time: 30 minutes Grade Level: K
Subject or Topic: Polar Bears- Habitat Section: Dr. Sychterz

STANDARD: (PA Common Core):

Standard - CC.1.2.K.L
Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.

Standard - 3.1.K.A5
Observe and describe structures and behaviors of a variety of common animals.

I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes)

 Students will be able to identify where polar bears live.
 Students will be able to describe characteristics of where polar bears live (the Arctic).

II. Instructional Materials

 Computer
 Whiteboard
 Red, Black, & Blue Dry Erase Markers
 Exit Ticket
 Pencils
 Polar Bears Close-up by Melissa Keil
 https://www.pebblego.com/modules/1/articles/148
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTq7HkixZGc

III. Subject Matter/ Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea)
 Prerequisite Skills
o Previous read aloud of Polar Bear Night
o Previous read aloud of Polar Bears by Mark Newman
 Key Vocabulary
o Polar Bears- Large Mammals with clear fur, black skin, black noses, small ears, and big
paws
o Arctic- a place in the north that is cold, icy, and snowy
 Big Idea
o It is important for students to be able to locate where polar bears live (the Arctic).
 Subject Matter
o Polar bears can swim fast
o Polar bears are big animals who live in the arctic
o The arctic is in the north at the top of the world
o It is cold, snowy, and icy
o Fish, walruses, and seals also live in the arctic and are what polar bears eat

IV. Implementation

A. Introduction –
 Call students to the carpet
 Play the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTq7HkixZGc starting at 2:15
 Ask the students "What did you notice about where polar bears live?"
 Call on 2 students to share

B. Development –
 Explain that yesterday we read the story "Polar Bears" by Mark Newman
 Ask a student to raise their hand to tell you if this was a fiction (fake) or a non-fiction (real) story
and why
 Tell the students to turn and tell their shoulder partner 1 fact that they remember about polar bears
 Call on 3 students to share
 Tell the students that today we will be discovering where polar bears live and what it is like where
they live
 Project a picture of a map on the whiteboard, place a dot on the northeast side of the United
States to indicate "We are here" with a black marker
 Call on a student to raise their hand to predict where polar bears live on the map and circle that
area red
 Ask the students to stand up if they agree with that student
 If a student disagrees, call on that student to predict where they think polar bears live and circle
that area red as well
 Tell the students that today we will be reading another story called "Polar Bears Close Up" by
Melissa Keil
 Instruct the students to turn and tell a partner if they think this story will be fiction (fake) or non-
fiction (real)
 Call on 1 student who is raising their hand to share
 Begin reading
 Stop on page 1, emphasize that polar bears live in the Arctic which is a region around the North
Pole
 Explain to the students that as you read, you would like them to be looking and listening to
determine what it is like and what other animals live in the Arctic
 Stop on page 3, ask the students that since the polar bear is called a sea bear, to stand up if they
think that there is a sea or water in the Arctic.
 Say "Yes, as we can see In the picture and based off their name, there is a sea in the arctic"
 Stop on page 4, ask the students to raise their hand if they can tell you what makes polar bear
such great swimmers (make a paw with your hand to give students a hint, If needed)
 On page 5, emphasize the sentence "…cold, wet conditions where they live."
 Stop on page 7, ask the students to turn and tell their should partner why polar bears need pads on
the paws in order to live in the Arctic
 Call on a student to share (Expected Answer: So they do not slip on the snow and ice)
 Stop on the last page, ask the students to raise their hand if they can tell you what the Arctic is
like? Use prompts to compare it to where we live.
 Ask the students what can we add to our Polar Bear Chart now that we know that polar bears live
in the Arctic? (With expected answers you should be able to add "Polar bears can live in the
Arctic (water, cold, ice, snow)
 Tell the students that you would like them to stand up and act like they are going on a vacation to
the Arctic. Act like what you would do. (Model by shivering, pretending to put on a jacket, or
moving to stay warm)
 Instruct the students to sit back down
 Display the map back onto the whiteboard
 Ask the students to make a new prediction based on what we just learned about the Arctic
 Call on a student who to tell you if we were right with our first prediction or if you now believe
that it is somewhere else (If the student is correct ask them to circle the area with a blue dry erase
marker)
 Emphasize that polar bears live in the Arctic, which is a very cold, icy, snowy region on the top of
the world near the north pole)
 C. Closure –
 Based on what animals live in the North Pole, ask the students to turn and tell their shoulder
partner what they think polar bears eat.
 Call on 2 students to share
 Send students back to their seats by displaying a picture of the arctic, telling specific students
(columns of students who are sitting on the carpet)to walk back to their seats quietly if this is a
picture of the Arctic until everyone is back at their seat
 Explain to students that before you go to recess, they will fill out an exit ticket and raise their
hand when they are done

D. Accommodations / Differentiation -
 Monitor students O. and S.'s behavior throughout the Independent work to ensure they are on task
 Check on student J., C., Z., and S., if needed work with them in a small group at the front table

E. Assessment/Evaluation plan
1. Formative- Exit ticket will be collected and checked for accuracy by using a
checklist
2. Summative

V. Reflective Response

A. Report of Students’ Performance in Terms of States Objectives

 The students excelled in meeting the objectives and it was amazing to see their growth. In
the beginning the students were unsure of the specific name of the place where polar
bears live and where it was on the map. Many students were able to tell me that they live
where it is cold and snowy, but thought the name was Antarctica and about half of the
students did not know where it was on the map. However, on the exit ticket 100% of the
students were able to determine that it is called the Arctic and is located at the top of the
world near the North Pole.

B. Personal Reflection
1. Was I able to explicitly explain a map for students who may have been unfamiliar?
a. Yes, by having a large visual displayed on the board all students were able to see
it. By labeling where we live it gave the students a sense of surrounding and
knowledge that there are many other places in the world. I also believed that it
helped that the students were able to interact with it. When I asked the students
where they think polar bears live, I used our location as a reference. The first
student who came up to the board circled the top of the map and was correct.
Because of this, I asked the students to stand up if they agreed with him or sit
down if they believe it was someplace else. About half of the students agreed and
the other half disagreed. I was surprised by the one student who disagreed
because in the pretest Interview she told me that polar bears live in North Pole
with Santa. I asked her if she would like to come up and circle where she thought
they live and she said yes and circled the bottom part of the world. I used this as
a teaching moment to briefly explain north and south and re read a portion of the
story. Throughout the lesson, we discussed the location of the arctic and all
students were able to circle the top of the world on their own maps.
2. Did I choose an appropriate video to show the students where polar bears live?
a. Yes, I loved this video because we were able to interact with it while we were
watching. There was a 360 rotation so I was able to move the screen to show the
students what we would see all around us if we were actually in the arctic. This
gave students a great visual that the arctic is different from where we live and
what it looks like. It also included 2 polar bears who were moving about the
 snow so they could connect the idea that polar bears live there. I never used a 360
video before, but I hope that I can continue to use them in future lessons!
3. Did I manage the students’ behavior effectively?
a. For the most part, I can see my behavior management improving! I was able to
explicitly tell the students how I wanted them to sit to be able to participate
(quietly, crisscross applesauce, with hands raised). For one student who tends to
have trouble at the carpet, I gave him 2 choices to either sit in his space with his
hands folded (tends to move around and pick things off of the carpet) or go back
to his chair. However, 2 students continued to have small conversations, even
after many reminders. I changed their seats on the carpet so they were not sitting
next to each other, but they still managed to turn around and talk. I need to come
up with a consequence or not be afraid to use the clip chart for these situations.

VI. Resources

Keil, M. (2013). Polar bears closeup. Sydney, Australia: Wild Dog Books.

Capstone. (2019). This is where polar bears can be found [Map]. Retrieved from

https://www.pebblego.com/modules/1/articles/148

Greenspace International. (2016, July 1). A journey to the arctic [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTq7HkixZGc