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Georgia Southwestern State University Lesson Plan

Classroom/Lesson Context
__X__ Whole Group ___X__ Small Group _____ One-on-One
___19__ Students with IEPs/504s _____ ELL Students
____ Other (Please specify:
_______________________________________________________________________)
Please specify the number of students:
___6__ Girls ___13__Boys
Learning Central Focus
Lesson Plan Title: ____________Living and Non Living Things/ W and X letter sounds_______
Grade Level: ____K____
Central Focus:
Identify living and nonliving things throughout the lesson. Students will be required to write a 3-5
sentence explanation in their journal about their thoughts, characteristics, and opinions on living
organisms and nonliving materials.
Content Standard:
SKL1a-Students will sort living organisms and non-living materials into groups by observable
physical attributes.
a. Recognize the difference between living organisms and nonliving materials
ELACCKW2- Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose
information/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some
information about the topic..
Student Learning Goal(s)/ Objective(s):
Skills/procedures:
Students will learn the difference in living and nonliving organisms while being able to sort out
characteristics of each. We will provide a journal piece about living and nonliving things.
Concepts and reasoning/problem solving/thinking/strategies:
Compare each animal or organism and relate them by their similarities or differences. Work with
a partner to share their ideas.
Prior Academic Knowledge and Conceptions:

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Students prior academic knowledge is that they will know the meaning of Living and Nonliving.
The students gaps would be the fact that they could be confused on the fact that a plant is living
thing and since it doesnt actually breathe it does need the things listed below to survive.
Common Errors, Developmental Approximations, Misconceptions, Partial
Understandings, or Misunderstandings:
Plants arent technically BREATHING but they are living things because they need nutrients
water and air to survive.
I will explain that a living thing is ANYTHING that needs air, sunlight, food and water to live and
that nonliving things cant change. They will always stay the same.
Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks
Launch: _____5-7_____ Minutes
I will introduce the lesson with an educational video on living and nonliving things. This will allow
the students to become more attentive and excited for the upcoming lesson.
Instruction: ____15-20______ Minutes
Throughout instruction I will read stories, have picture sorts and flash cards, go over important
vocabulary for this lesson, and explain that growth, movement and reproductions are all
characteristics of a living things. This will help the students become more engaged in my lesson.
I will use real life examples of living and nonliving things in the classroom and at their home to
relate to personal/cultural and community assets.
What will you say and do? What questions will you ask?
I will say that a living thing is something that breaths, needs air, water, food, and shelter to
survive. We will then have sharing time when I ask them to tell me some examples in their home
that are living/nonliving. I will then ask what makes that item or animal living or nonliving. We will
then participate in a whole class discussion using our flash cards of living and nonliving things.
The students should be interactive with the flash cards. They will discuss what makes each
thing living or nonliving and then tell stories that relate to each flashcard.
How will you determine if students are meeting the intended learning objectives?
I can determine that students meet the learning objectives by noticing if they are able to point
out which objects are living and nonliving and also by reading their stories from the end of the
lesson.
Structured Practice and Application: ____10______ Minutes
Students will use the flashcards and get into small groups and do the matching game with a
partner.

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They will play a game and discuss the characteristics. Students will draw a picture of living and
nonliving things and then write 3-5 sentences about their picture.
How will you determine if students are meeting the intended learning objectives?
I will see that students meet their learning objectives by discussing the characteristics of each
living and nonliving thing. The students are very interested in discussion so I know they will be
very active in this discussion.
Closure: ____10_____ Minutes
How will you end the lesson?
We will have a summary of what characteristics each living and nonliving things have. We will
make a flow chart of characteristics of living and nonliving things and hang it in the classroom.
This flow chart will be labeled living/nonliving and I will write each characteristic I am given on
the chart. This will also allow me to see if the students comprehend the information that was
taught.
Differentiation/ Planned Support
When we use the flash cards myself and the other teachers in the room will go join a group and
help the students understand the concepts. We will use in depth discussions to explain why
each item is living or nonliving. We will also use our journal time for each student to either write
or draw about what they learned because this allows the students to become more creative in
their thinking.
I will ask lower level questions to those students to make sure they are following along and
grasping the concept. Then I will move on to more high order frequency questions.

Student Interactions
Flash Cards and Flow Charts
I will use the table arrangement of the classroom already because they are grouped in a way
that they have a more advanced student with some lower students so there is always one
student to help the others. Students complete the picture sort attached to the lesson in groups
with the help of myself. They will have to ask themselves questions about the characteristics of
living organisms and nonliving materials to determine where the flash cards belong in the
picture sort.
What Ifs
The flash cards may be a little hard at first to understand the concept of how to use them. I will
make certain to use these flash cards in our instruction as well. If this doesnt work I will use the
flash cards as a whole group activity. Since this whole class is IEP they may not pay attention
like they should so I will use more questions to draw them back in.

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Theoretical Principles and/or Research Based Best Practices
Why are the learning tasks for this lesson appropriate for your students?
Learning tasks are in place so that the lesson has a central meaning and we can focus the
lesson accordingly. This will help the students understand what needs to be learned. This could
also allow them to visualize what they will be learning. We will read the book Living or nonliving
by C.E. Bear to guide our discussion on living and nonliving things.
Materials
Flash Cards
Images of Living/Nonliving things
Living or Nonliving? Author: C.E Bear
What materials do the students need for this lesson?
Writing journal
Flash Cards
Pencil
Listening Ears
Academic Language Demand(s)
Language Demand
Listening/Speaking (Discussion over the book and materials) and Demonstrating/Performing
(Picture Sorts with the flash cards)
Language Function
Demonstrating and Writing. Students will understand the difference between living and nonliving
things. They will be able to list the characteristics of each.
Vocabulary
Characteristic
Survive
Living
Nonliving
Nutrients
Reproduction

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Language Discourse
Students will be involved in a classroom about their flashcards and then when we write in their
March journals their topic will be living and nonliving things. They students will have to draw a
picture of living or nonliving things and write 3-5 sentences.
Students' Use of Language
Students will be able to write 3-5 sentences about living and nonliving things. They will be able
to classify pictures by living and nonliving things.
Students' Abilities
Everyone will be able to orally discuss characteristics of living and nonliving things.
Support
I will support the students with notes on the board and with different labeled pictures. We will
discuss the characteristics that make something living or nonliving. Students will write in their
journals and I will help them as needed.
Assessments
The assessment is a short fill in the blank worksheet over the different characteristics of living
organisms. Students can receive 100 points for this worksheet. The second part of the
assessment is for 30 points and participation. I will be checking to make sure they completed
their journal write.
Evaluation Criteria
Type of
assessment
(Informal or
Formal)

Description of
assessment

Modifications to the
What evidence of student
assessment so that all
learning (related to the
students could
learning objectives and
demonstrate their learning. central focus) does the
assessment provide?

Formal

Informal
Participation

Students will
complete a
worksheet that is fill
in the blank about
characteristics of
living organisms.

Students will be reinforcing

This assessment is made
the characteristics of living
to be independent but I will
organisms by being able to
be available to help if
fill in the blanks of each
necessary.
question correctly.

At this point I will be

3-5 sentences in
walking around the room Classifying living and
their journal about
helping students form their nonliving things with their
living and nonliving
writing.
sentences. I will have a
things and their
group of students in my

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illustration.

small group that are low

level writers making sure
they are on task.

Analyzing Teaching
Worked/Didn't Worked
What worked?
The flash cards helped the students stay involved with the lesson.
What didnt?
Students got off track because it was Dr. Suess day and balloons were released at the
gym. They could see them from the class room so I had to regroup during the lesson.
For whom?
Adjustments
What instructional changes do you need to make as you prepare for the lesson tomorrow?
I need to have better ideas of gaining students attention for the unexpected scenarios. The
students were interested in the lesson they just had a small attention span.
Proposed Changes
If you could teach this lesson again to this group of students what changes would you make to
your instruction?
Whole group:
I would begin with more of an opener. We did a video but the students werent that interested in
this video.
Group of Students:
This part was fine for my instruction. The students were very interested while I was working with
them and enjoyed their lesson.
Individual Students:
The students worked well individually as they were writing in their journals. They were able to
draw pictures and write about their picture. They were able to express their ideas while still
learning the information they needed to learn for the standards.

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Justification
Why will these changes improve student learning?
I feel like these changes would improve their learning and they would be able to focus more on
the information given.

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Resources
Picture Sort Rubric

Name:_______________________________________
Date:___________________________________

Outstanding

Satisfactory

Needs Improvement

Science:
Did the student
correctly fill in the
blanks over each
characteristic of living
organisms given? 60
Points
ELA:
Did the students write
neatly and correctly
spell the works given
in the word blank with
few to no errors? 20
Points
Participation:
Were the students
fully engaged during
the lesson and
actively participating
in class discussions,
independent
assignments?
20Points
Total Number of Points_______________
Outstanding: Matched most of if not all the pictures correctly in the picture sort of living organisms and nonliving
material and wrote a detailed explanation on their opinions, ideas, or thoughts during journal write.
Satisfactory: Matched only a few pictures correctly in the picture sort of living organisms and nonliving materials
and wrote very little about their opinions on living organisms and nonliving materials during journal write.
Needs Improvement: Matched none of the pictures correctly in the picture sort of living organisms and nonliving
materials and did not participate during journal write

Fill in the Blank Worksheet:

Name:_______________________________________
Date:___________________________________

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Outstanding

Satisfactory

Needs Improvement

Science:
Did the student
correctly sort the
pictures during the
picture sort and
explain the
characteristics of
each? 40 Points
ELA:
Did students fully
explain their thoughts,
ideas, and opinions
about living
organisms and
nonliving materials in
their journal write?
Were there few
errors? Did students
use complete thoughts
to explain their
journal piece? 30
Points
Participation:
Were the students
fully engaged during
the lesson and
actively participating
in class discussions,
independent
assignments, and
group work? 30
Points
Total Number of Points_______________
Outstanding: Matched most of if not all the pictures correctly in the picture sort of living organisms and nonliving
material and wrote a detailed explanation on their opinions, ideas, or thoughts during journal write.
Satisfactory: Matched only a few pictures correctly in the picture sort of living organisms and nonliving materials
and wrote very little about their opinions on living organisms and nonliving materials during journal write.
Needs Improvement: Matched none of the pictures correctly in the picture sort of living organisms and nonliving
materials and did not participate during journal write