Elementary School Lesson Plan 1 Title: Classification Content: Science Grade Level: Third grade Learning Outcomes: Distinguish between vertebrates and invertebrates ESL vocabulary: Vertebrate Invertebrate Materials: Pictures of sea animals of both categories Bordered paper for drawing of animal of choice Procedure: Look at different animals that live in ocean and decide which ones have backbones and which don’t. Discuss animals that have backbones and what makes them different from invertebrates. Draw a new animal and label it correctly as vertebrate or invertebrate.   Imagine an animal. Decide if it will be a vertebrate or an invertebrate. Draw a picture. Use the whole page. Show where the animal will live and what it will eat. Elementary School Lesson Plan 2 Title: Tide Pool Content: Science Grade Level: Third grade Learning Outcomes: Learn what a tide pool is Name what animals live in tide pools Name what plants live in tide pools Vocabulary: tide pool, tides, salinity, anemone, barnacles, urchins, mussels Materials: The Tidal Pool explanation sheet Tidal Pool Creatures page one and two Procedure: Explain what a tide pool is and how it is formed twice a day along the shore. Pass out copies of The Tidal Pool. Read it aloud while students read silently. Review any vocabulary words that are unfamiliar. Explain low tide and high tide and ask how many students have been to the shore (beach). Pass out copies of Tidal Pool Creatures, Page one and two, read and discuss each animal and plant and classify the two different living things. Compare the different animals and group together. Cut and color the different plants and animals and recognize each one for what it is. Decide how to classify with a partner and group according to decision. The animals and plants will be displayed in the classroom according to how they were grouped by pairs.   The Tidal Pool A tidal pool is a rocky area that is covered with water at high tide and exposed at low tide. Tidal pools may be a crevice no larger than the palm of your hand or an area bigger than a baseball diamond. They are harsh environments; the animals that live there must withstand fast changes in temperature and salinity, crashing waves, and a continual ebb and flow of wet and dry conditions. Tidal pool animals are easy prey for seabirds and larger fish.   Small Worlds Despite all these obstacles, tidal pools are teeming with living creatures, from fish and other vertebrates (animals with backbones) to invertebrates such as sea urchins and oysters. Sea lettuce, rockweed, Irish moss and other seaweeds are plentiful, too. Tiny But Tough Each tidal pool-residing creature has its own way of getting by. Some animals, like crabs, follow the tide to stay wet. Others, like mussels and snails, survive low tide by holding water inside their shells. Still others, like sea anemones, live below the low tide line. Rockweed uses its holdfasts, or anchor-like structures which allow it to cling to rocks and corals. Many tide pool animals are difficult to see, as they live in cracks and crevices and come out only to search for food. Other animals are hard to spot because of their camouflage; they look just the rocks and pebbles of the tidal pool floor.   Tidal Pool Creatures (page 1) Mussels Mussels have soft bodies protected by hard, blue-black shells. Mussels attach themselves to rocks so they won’t wash away in the waves. Mussels are a favorite food of sea stars. Sea Anemones A sea anemone looks like a flower — or an upside-down jelly! These animals cling to rocks and use their tentacles to poison their prey. Sea Star These star-shaped animals have hundreds of tiny suckers on their feet, which they use to pry open mussels, oysters, and scallops for food. Sea stars need to be wet, so they hang out on the bottom of tidal pools. Barnacles At low tide, barnacles hide from predators by drawing their appendages into their shells. When the tide comes in, the barnacles open up. They use their legs to gather in food. Barnacles attach themselves to rocks and even to whales. Sea Urchins Much like a porcupine, a sea urchin uses its sharp spikes to keep enemies away. Some sea urchins even have poison tips on their spines. Sea urchins use their tube-shaped feet to hang onto rocks and to crawl on the sea bottom.   Tidal Pool Creatures (Page 2) Crabs Crabs are hard-shelled animals that have jointed legs. There are 4,500 kinds of them! Crabs that live in tidal pools hang out at the pool bottom. Fish Many kinds of tiny fish swim in and around tidal pools. Most of these fish have coloring that help them blend with the rocks and sand. Hermit Crabs Hermit crabs live in empty snail shells or other animal’s shells. They move to bigger shells as they grow. Hermit crabs have soft bodies, so the shells they climb into protect them from predators. Seaweeds Seaweeds are non-flowering plants. They are also called algae. They cling to rocks when the tide goes out. Most seaweeds in shallow water are brown or green. Sea Mouse The sea mouse is a worm covered with silky, brightly colored bristles. It burrows in the sand to hide from its enemies. Elementary School Lesson Plan 3 Title: Previewing and Predicting Content: Reading Grade Level: Grade three Learning Outcomes: Preview and predict a reading selection Use a K-W-L chart Listen to and read a poem Materials: KWL charts, copies of poem, overhead projector Procedure: Discuss what students know about sleeping and dreaming. Record knowledge on worksheets while teacher models writing of ideas on overhead of KWL chart. Questions will be recorded individually on W portion of worksheets while teacher models questions on overhead. Poem will be read by teacher and reread by students for fluency of oral language. After students are comfortable with poem (which uses many vocabulary words from selection) and chart, selection will be read and L portion of KWL chart will be completed with teacher modeling while students write their ideas on their own charts.   When day turns to night, My mind needs to rest. My body needs sleep To feel its best. There is a pattern To my sleep. Sometimes it’s light, And sometimes it’s deep. I always dream When my sleep is light. Then I wake up to remember The dream I had that night. K W L What we know about sleeping and dreaming. What we want to learn about sleeping and dreaming. What we learned about sleeping and dreaming.       Click here for last year's lessons ...   This program is supported in part by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

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