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TAG Strategy Lesson - Decision Making

Stephanie Beckles

Title: Who Would Win?


Subject: Science / ELA
Grade Level: 1st grade
Duration: 2 x 45 minutes or longer as a modification for students that need it.

Type of Lesson: Decision Making

Standards and Elements:


TAG - HO/CTS #3: The student conducts comparisons using criteria.
HO/CTS #4: The student makes and evaluates decisions using criteria.
ELA - Reading Informational 1.RI.7: Use illustrations and details in a text to describe its key
ideas.

Science - S1L1d: Students will investigate the characteristics and basic needs of animals:
Compare and describe various animalsappearance, motion, growth, basic needs.

Summary: Using background knowledge and criteria, students will make a decision about
which animal is better.

Enduring Understanding: At the end of this lesson the students will have used higher order
critical thinking skills to make a decision.

Essential Question: How can decision making be reflected in informational literature and
science?

Evidence of Learning:

What the students should KNOW: Students should be able to compare animals, take
notes, and make a decision based on criteria.

What the students should BE ABLE TO DO: Communicate their decisions and their
justifications in a small group or as part of a whole-class discussion.

Suggested Vocabulary: criteria, diet, appearance, weapon, molting, anatomy

Procedure:

Hook: Lead a discussion in which children relate their own decision-making experiences,
for example, how would you decide who is on your team for a game of soccer.

Background Information: Read the book Who Would Win? Lobster VS. Crab (showing
it on the IWB with the document camera), and complete the T-chart which shows facts
from the book for each animal. Do this with children as you go. They write on their own tchart at the same time. Clarify any questions students may have.

Criteria: With student input, create a list of criteria that the students will use to compare
the two animals. (E.g. size, weaponsclaw type/spikes, eyes, armor). Use the Who has
the advantage? checklist in the back of the book and have children look at their t-chart
and decide which of these things (size, shell, claws, legs, teeth, speed, tail) would make the
best criteria for deciding which animal would win the fight.

Decision Making: Students will use the criteria checklist to make a decision about which
animal they think would win.

Communicating the decision: Allow students to communicate their decision and their
justification in their table small group.

Synthesis Activity: Have students write and draw about their decision in their Science
Journal.

Extension Activity: Provide time for students to reflect and share their personal
thoughts and feelings about the content and their decision-making process.

Assessment: Take pictures of the children as they are working. Use a rubric to grade
children on the various elements of the decision making process.

Technology Integration: Use the document camera to display the picture during the
Background Information section. Use the Interactive Whiteboard to show the t-chart and
criteria chart as a model for children to complete their charts.

Differentiation: Allow children to work in groups of two instead of individually to allow


them to discuss their thoughts during the decision making part of the lesson. Allow extended
time for students that need longer to make their decision or write/draw in their journal.

Resources/Materials: document camera, interactive whiteboard, story Who Would Win?


Lobster VS. Crab, Science journals, Decision Making criteria chart and Lobster vs. Crab tchart ( on IWB and copies for children).

Decision Making
Criteria

Lobster
Crab

Animal

Total
Points

For each criteria, give the solutions a score: 1=bad, 2=great. Then add
up the scores for each solution. The highest score wins!

Assessment: Rubric for Decision Making Strategy


NAME: _____________________________ DATE: __________________

TAGHO/CTS
#3: The student

Below the

Approaching the

Meets the

Exceeds the

Standard

Standard

Standard

Standard

The student does not


use criteria to compare.

The student uses one


criteria to compare.

The student uses two


criteria to compare.

The student uses more


than two criteria to
compare.

No decision made.

Decision made, but it is


not based on criteria

Decision made is
partially based on
criteria.

Decision made is based


on criteria and includes
justification for their
decision.

Not able to describe key


ideas from the text.

Describes 1-2 key ideas


from the text.

Describes 3-4 key ideas


from the text.

Describes multiple key


ideas from the text with
supporting information.

Student does not


participate in
investigation.

Student participates in
investigation and
discussion some of the
time.

Student participates in
investigation and
discussion most of the
time and is able to
compare animals using
one criteria..

Student participates in
investigation and
discussion all of the
time and is able to
compare animals using
different criteria.

conducts
comparisons using
criteria.

TAGHO/CTS
#4: The student
makes and
evaluates decisions
using criteria.

ELA1.RI.7: Use
illustrations and
details in a text to
describe its key
ideas.

ScienceS1L1d:
Students will
investigate the
characteristics and
basic needs of
animals: Compare
and describe
various animals
appearance,
motion, growth,

Total Score: ____________

TAG-Decision Making Lesson

Communicating their decisions

Decision Making Work Samples

These journal
entries show
the synthesis
activity.

Who Would Win? Lobster or Crab


TAG Decision Making Lesson Reflection
During the hook, the children were keen to offer their thoughts about how they make decisions. For the
most part, they said they use strategies like: Rock, paper, scissors, or tossing a coin, or their parents decide
for them after they hear all the ideas. So I was excited to see if this lesson would allow them a new process
to be able to use to make decisions.
For the background information, I put the book on the document camera, and read it to the children page by
page, discussing certain interesting facts as we went along. After a few minutes, I had some children that I
had to redirect throughout the remainder of the 30 minutes it took to read the book. In retrospect, I would
have the children complete the T-chart at the same time as reading the book, in order to keep them engaged
in what was being read, and to allow them to see that there was a purpose for the reading.
When we moved onto the T-chart, I modeled what to write, with help from the children, and they wrote on
their own charts at the same time. Some children needed an additional 20 minutes to complete this writing
activity.
During the Decision Making phase, I modeled the use of the criteria checklist, and showed children how to
choose three criteria to base their decision on. This also worked very well, and they went back to their seats
and completed their own criteria checklist independently. Once their decision was made, using the criteria
they had chosen, they communicated their findings with their table buddies (3-4 children per table), and they
did a great job of justifying their decision using their criteria as well.
They were very excited to begin the synthesis activity, and for the most part, this was completed within the
timeframe given. There were just three children that needed extra time to complete the journal writing and
drawing.

Overall, I really liked this activity, and could see myself using it with first grade students again. They were
engaged, for the most part, and the lesson moved along at a good pace for them. Having done the criteria
activity in the Creative Problem Solving lesson, helped the children to be more comfortable with using criteria
in this lesson. Also, modeling the criteria chart, really helped them work on their own chart independently.
I only had time to have a few students complete the extension activity, and it was very interesting that the
students who are currently in TAG, view this as a new skill that they can use to make decisions, but the other
students (non-TAG) said that it is easier just to do rock-paper-scissors.

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