College of Education

Lesson Plan Template-5E Design

Teacher Candidate:
Savannah Taylor
Grade Level:
Second
Emily Craft
Heather Calliham
Description of Lesson: Students will go outside to the school playground and
make observations and collect clues of animals being in and living in the school
yard.

Lesson Title or Essential Question that guides the lesson: Schoolyard

Safari
Curriculum Standards Addressed:

SC Curriculum Standard(s): 2.L.5: The student will demonstrate an

understanding of how the structures of animals help them survive and grown
in their environment.

SC Academic Indicator(s): 2.L.5B.1: Obtain and communicate information

to describe and compare how animals interact with other animals and plants
in the environment.
EEDA: Cooperative Learning- Students interact collaboratively to complete a
task.

Lesson Objective(s):

Assessment(s) of the
Objectives:

After exploring different animals that live on the

playground, the students will communicate how
animals interact in their environment and be
able to describe at least 3 different animals.

Before: The students will be

introduced to the lesson and
asked probing questions like,
what type of animals do you
think live outside our school? Big
or small animals? Have you ever
looked for animals in your own
yard or have you even seen
evidence that animals were in
your yard? This will help as the
lesson is conducted.
During: During the lesson,
students will have a sheet to
write down observations and
evidence of animals in the
school yard. Questions and
guidance will also be offered
during this stage.
After: After the lesson, the
sheets will be taken up to make
sure that students have correctly
made observations and
connections between the

Revised 9/15/14

environment and the animals

Materials/Resources: Pencil and observation paper

Prerequisites (Prior Knowledge): Students should have a prior knowledge of
knowing that plants and animals interact in the environment and should know what
to look for when trying to see what types of animals should live in their schoolyard.
They should also know the types of animals that would be there (ants, bees,
squirrels, rabbits) and what animals shouldnt (tigers, horses, cows, elephants).

Procedures
Engagement: Introducing the lesson, probing questions will be used to have

the children really become interested in exploring the outdoors to find out
what type of animals live in the environment outside of their school.
Exploration: Students will go outside into the school yard to make
observations to see what type of animals, if any live there. We will tell them
things to look for such as: animals homes, paw prints, outer shells, and even
droppings (but they will be directed not to touch any of the things they find).
Explanation: After the exploration outside is complete, the students will
then write 3-4 sentences describing what they found, why this is evidence of
animals living there, and what type of animal they believe they collected
evidence for.
Elaboration: After students have written their discoveries, they will be
paired up with another student from their class to discuss what they found.
Evaluation (Assessment): The assessment will consist of looking to see if
the students made correct observations and expressed what they found, in
writing, correctly.

Differentiation/Accommodations/Modifications/Increases in Rigor
Some accommodations that might be made would be to give students more time to
explore in case they do not collect any evidence. Since we are leaving nature to
nature, it might take more than the time allowed for students to get the
observations that they need. I do not have any ELL, Special Needs, or Gifted
Students in my class, therefore, no accommodations for students such as these
needs to be made.

References:

Project learning tree: Environmental education activity guide: Pre K-8. (3rd ed.).
(1995). Washington, DC: American Forest Foundation.

Revised 9/15/14