Download Time Line evolution LAP

Hannah Moriarty
Teaching and Learning
Evolution Time-Line LAP
Dr. Letina Jeranyama
3/19/14
LAP: Evolution Time-Line LAP:
I.
Content: Describe what it is you will teach. What is the content?
In this lesson students will be exposed to how our world has evolved as a whole. They
will be asked to examine different occurrences in the world throughout history and
identify where they think they have fallen over the last 4.5 billion years. Students will
learn different monumental events that have occurred to transform our planet into the
place it is today as well as observe that evolution is a gradual process that happens over a
great period of time. This lesson also aims to shock student about how old the Earth is
and how many events have taken place to shape the world in which we live today.
II.
Learning Goal(s): Describe what specifically students will know and be able to do
after the experience of this class.
After this class students should be able to explain what evolution is in their own words as
well as identify how old the Earth is. Students should have a general idea as to what
evolutionary events have taken place to help shape the world in which we live and what
sort of chronological order these events have taken place in. Students will work as a class
to identify a chronological order they feel events in the world have taken place and
during what time frame these events have occurred as well. At the end of this exploration
period I will provide students with the correct answers to shock them and the way in
which they view the world around them. Students will then record the actual
chronological order.
III.
Rationale: Explain how the content and learning goal(s) relate to your Curriculum
Unit Plan learning goals.
This lesson will be the second lesson in our evolution unit. Prior to this lesson students
will read articles about evolution and take student guided notes about what evolution is
and how it has influenced the world in which we live. After this lesson students will
further investigate elements of evolution such as natural selection and how natural
selection influences evolution. Students will investigate the process of natural selection
and the effects it has on particular populations. This lesson is a way to introduce to
students that evolution is a long gradual process that has changed many times throughout
the history of the Earth.
IV.
Assessment: Describe how you and your students will know they have reached your
learning goals.
I will assess if my students have met our learning goals in various ways throughout this
lesson. First I will require each student to answer a warm-up question to get them
thinking about evolution and how it has influenced the world in which we live. Next
students will be asked to estimate where certain evolutionary events took place in what
order and during what time frame. I will assess students based on their abilities to
participate in the class and take notes on the correct answer. Students will get credit for
attempting to correctly identify the most accurate sequential order and for being involved
in class discussion. Students will then fill out an exit ticket that will help me to assess
who was paying attention and grasped the concept at hand and who needs more
individualized attention.
V.
Personalization and equity: Describe how you will provide for individual student
strengths and needs. How will you and your lesson consider the needs of each
student and scaffold learning? How specifically will ELL students and students with
learning disabilities gain access and be supported?
I.E.P:
My students with I.E.Ps will receive similar accommodations as my students who are
E.L.Ls as well as the rest of the class. All students will receive written and oral
instructions as well as view a video on evolution to help strengthen their knowledge on
this topic. The students will also work in groups to understand the chronological order of
evolution and what events must occur in order to initiate this prolonged process. Finally
all students will be required to fill out an exit ticket that will help me as a teacher
decipher who has truly grasped the concepts at hand and who needs more individualized
attention.
E.L.L:
I will offer my students who are E.L.Ls similar accommodations to as my students who
have I.E.Ps as well as the rest of the class. Each student will be required to answer a
warm-up question that will get them thinking like a scientist and introduce them to
evolution. Students will be able to view a video on evolution to strengthen their
knowledge on the topic. The students will also work in groups to understand the
chronological order of evolution and what events must occur in order to initiate this
prolonged process. Finally all students will be required to fill out an exit ticket that will
help me as a teacher decipher who has truly grasped the concepts at hand and who needs
more individualized attention.
VI.
Activity description and agenda
a. Describe the activities that will help your students understand the content of
your class lesson by creating an agenda with time frames for your class. Be
prepared to explain why you think each activity will help students on the path
toward understanding.
i. Warm-Up:
 How old is the Earth? How many animals do you think have gone
extinct?
 This question will help students to think in an evolutionary context
ii. Video
 Students will view a short video-clip that is an introduction to timeline
of evolution
iii. Activity
 Students will put evolutionary events in a chronological order they
believe in which they occurred in groups
 The group that is the closest will receive a prize
iv. Class Re-cap/Notes
 We will go over the actual answers as a class
v. Exit Ticket
 What was one event you guessed correctly or were close to? What was
one event you were surprised about? Why?
b. What particular challenges, in terms of student learning or implementing
planned activity, do you anticipate and how will you address them?
I could see students giving up and not being invested in finding the correct
chronological order of these evolutionary events. I hope to avoid this issue by
offering the group that is the most accurate a prize. This way I hope to motivate the
students to become more invested in the activity at hand.
VII.
5.1
List the Massachusetts Learning Standards this lesson addresses.
Explain how evolution is demonstrated by evidence from the fossil record, comparative
anatomy, genetics, molecular biology, and examples of natural selection.
VIII. Reflection
a. In light of all areas of planning, but especially in terms of your stated purpose and
learning goals, in what ways was the activity(ies) successful? How do you know? In
what ways was it not successful? How might the activity be planned differently
another time?
This activity went extremely well with my third period class. The students were engaged
and enjoyed this particular activity and viewed it almost as a puzzle or a mystery they
needed to figure out. With my second period class who is less academically motivated
this activity didn’t go over as well and the students were less invested in the lesson. This
lesson has taught me to either find a better hook to motivated less academically motivated
students or to simply not do a lesson such as this with a class that isn’t academically
invested in learning. I will make sure to cater my lessons better the personalities of my
classes.
b. What did you learn from the experience of this lesson that will inform your next
LAP?
For my next lesson I will make sure to find a better hook to draw my students in who are
less academically motivated. I will also make sure to better tailor my lessons to meet the
needs of my students as a whole. There is no point to attempt to make a lesson work that
isn’t appealing to a particular class. I as a teacher need to engage them and best meet
there needs, not the other way around.