UDL Lesson Plan Template
Teacher Candidate’s Name: Amanda Bailey
Date Created: November 9, 2019
Content Area: Math
School: Madison Elementary School
Grade Level: 3rd Grade
Lesson Title: Bird Beak and Feet… What Do They Tell Us?
Michigan Academic Standards: (include code and standard)
Inheritance and Variation of Traits- 3-LS4-2: Use evidence to construct an explanation for
how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide
advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
Production and Distribution of Writing- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.4: With guidance
and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are
appropriate to task and purpose. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in
standards 1-3 above.)
Performance Based Learning Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
Collect evidence on different types of birds involving the variation of beaks and feet.
Understand that these variations and adaptations are needed for the bird to survive in
their environment.
Write in clear and complete sentences that describe the evidence they have collected.
Performance-based expectations:
Learners will write evidence on five different birds regarding the type of beaks and feet
variations they possess. Students will state the variation type and what it is used for in
each category. They will score no less than a 75% on their chart evidence.
Materials: (Low Tech, including number needed)
Teacher: Bird information chart cards x9, blank information charts x25, bird fossil kit
Students: Clip boards, writing utensils
Technology: (High Tech)
o Teacher laptop o Digital camera
o SMART Board o Document camera
o LCD projector o Digital microscope
o SMART Senteos (class set) o Video camera
o Computers o Scanner
o iPad or tablet o Color printer
o iPod or mp3 player(s) o Calculators
o Early childhood learning technologies o FM system
o Webcam o Other______________
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Bibliography/Resources:
Tranquil Birdsong, 11 hours- Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMWeQWGla0Y
Prior Learning Connections (Background Knowledge Support):
We will be studying birds as a mini-unit this week. I will be touching on different
aspects of birds such as their ability to fly, their connection to vertebrae, their beaks,
feet, ability to migrate, and their life cycles. Cyndee will be doing a fuller, more
comprehensive unit on animal adaptations after this mini-unit concludes.
As of Wednesday, students will have learned that birds are vertebrae, how they
maintain flight, and what type of diet birds have. We have not touched on bird beaks or
feet yet.
Differentiation/accommodations:
D and A are best friends and may distract others due to their talking. I will make sure
they are not sitting together on the carpet or moving around the stations together should
they cause problems.
J has a tendency to shut down and disengage from work and group lessons. I will keep
a mindful eye on him during this lesson to assure that he is participating and
completing his work.
Special Concerns:
A, W and K need their assignments read out loud to them. I will be directing the lesson
verbally as well as visually for the before and during, and I will keep an eye on them
during station rotations in case they are struggling to read the chart cards.
M has ADHD and anxiety. She has really blossomed these past couple of weeks with
us and she has been a thoughtful, insightful, and kind student to have. She tends to be a
little sensitive, so if she is incorrect I make sure that my tone is still light and
encouraging.
I will be smiling more and projecting a more positive demeanor during this lesson, as
this lesson is very different from what we usually do and I want to ensure the students
that I am excited to work with them and learn something new along the way.
Assessment:
Formative: Participation, bird and beaks chart
Summative:
During Lesson: (45 minutes)
Engagement: (15 minutes)
I will call students to the carpet to sit in a circle. I will have a bird bone and fossil kit
sitting in front of me. I will pull out the fake bird skull and talk about how birds have
different kinds of beaks based on where they live and what food they eat. I will talk
about this particular bird’s beak, and what it most likely ate judging from the bones.
I will pass the skull around for students to look at. When I receive it back, I will ask
students what they observed about the skull. We will have a quick discussion on their
observations.
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I will take out the fossil print of the feet and talk about what kind of feet the bird had
and why their feet were designed that way. I will then pass the fossil around the circle.
We will have another conversation about their observations on the fossil.
I will say that the students made observations on fossils and bones just like scientists
do. Scientists make observations and write them down to learn about the animals they
are studying and compare them. Students will be doing that exact thing today.
After the engagement, students should be asking themselves:
What could I tell about this bird based on its beak and feet?
How can I learn information about other birds’ characteristics?
How can I record information like a scientist?
Transition: “I want you to think about what you just learned about how birds use their
beaks and feet and head back to your seats. Go ahead and get your clipboards out. I will
call you back group by group.”
Instruction/Exploration: (10 minutes)
When students are at their seats, I will pass out bird and feet packets. I will call on
students to read the information in each individual box, and I will stand behind them
and point along with their reading pace as students follow along with their fingers.
If students are confused, I may ask:
What animal is this category talking about?
What does the category say about this type of beak/foot? What is it used for?
How can you use the process of elimination to figure out which beak matches with
which foot?
Students will develop a more sophisticated understanding of birds through reading
about different types of beaks and feet and how these physical traits help birds survive
in their environments.
This process of collecting information is a valuable skill. Being able to make accurate
observations and connect pieces of information together is a skill that students can use
in multiple subjects and real-life scenarios.
Transition: “I want you to keep in mind how we connected information about
birds together to paint a bigger picture. Now, we are going to walk around and
collect more information like scientists.”
After Lesson: (25 minutes)
I will talk about the bird information chart cards at their table along with the blank
chart sheets (FA) at their table. I will say that students are going to put the blank sheets
on their clipboards and walk around each table of cards to collect information.
Each table has different beak and feet cards at them. The cards state what type of beak
or foot it is, what animal has it, and what it is used for. Students will look at their
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chart (FA) and write the information down where it belongs. They will need to write
what type it is, and what it is used for in the correct bird category using complete
sentences.
As I am talking about what I expect from them, I will be doing an example on the
board. I will write the type of beak and foot the bird has, and I will talk about what
they use it for in complete sentences. We will go over classroom expectations while
students are moving around collecting data.
Before students are let go on their own to work on collecting data, we will go over
behavioral expectations. Students are to work independently, but if they have a
question they are welcome to discuss with their classmates. I will ask them how they
think scientists collect information, and what they can do to act like scientists
themselves during this lesson.
I will be playing nature sounds of birds chirping during these station rotations.
If students are confused, I may ask:
What animal is this card talking about?
What does the card say about this type of beak/foot? What is it used for?
How can you write down your information clearly without having to copy it word-for-
word?
Closure: I will call students back to their original seats. I will ask a few questions about what
kinds of beaks and feet they learned about today, and what they thought about the observation
process. I will end the discussion by telling them that we are going to be making more
observations about birds throughout the rest of the week.
Notes/Reflections:
There is ample evidence on reflection of instructional effectiveness
At least two pieces of evidence relative to reflection on instructional effectiveness are present and accurately
articulated
Strengths of the Lesson:
Areas for Growth:
Focus for next lesson: