Fluent Essays

For this benchmark, you will complete and revise the “Science Unit Plan” template, integrated with health and activity, (fitness, body, physical, emotional, motor skills) and aligned to state content standards, based on feedback from your instructor. The “Science Unit Plan” template includes developed lesson titles, summary and rationale, learning objectives, standards, instructional strategies, differentiation, materials, resources, and technology for five lessons that includes a minimum of two of the following content disciplines:  Scientific Method Health (Human Movement, Activity, Fitness, Emotional Health, Motor Skills)  Physical Science Life Science Earth Science Space Science Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science Part 1: Assessments The final part of the “Science Unit Plan” is to include formative evidence-based assessment strategies to gauge student learning for each individual lesson. Using the “Class Profile,” develop an end-of-unit summative assessment and List how you will formatively assess the learning for each lesson. Description of the summative assessment for the entire unit. The completion of your “Science Unit Plan” should fulfill all requirements of the unit plan and considerations for the successful instruction of each lesson. Ensure that your unit plan includes: Age-appropriate lessons that incorporate the fundamental concepts of multiple areas of science, based on your state standards, integrated to build student understanding for personal and social application in science. Integrate major concepts in health education by creating opportunities for development and practice of skills that contribute to positive understanding of physical activity and health education.  Instructional strategies that promote understanding and skills of physical activity that foster active, healthy lifestyles and enhanced quality of life for students.  Part 2: Reflection In 250-500 words, summarize and reflect on the process of creating a cohesive, weeklong unit plan that successfully incorporates multiple areas of science integrated with health. What strategies can you use to create opportunities to promote health education that positively contributes to a good quality of life for students? Why is this important? How can this be incorporated into your future classroom? Support your findings with a minimum of three scholarly resources. Science Unit Plan Grade: Grade 2 Unit Theme: <Plants and Animals in habitats Topic 1> Week 1 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Lesson Title, Brief Summary, and Rationale (fill in during Topic 1) Life Science: Plants and Animals in habitats Overlapping concepts include environment, region, adaptation, interdependence Students will explore various habitats i.e., deserts, forests, mountains, etc Life Science: Plants and Animals in habitats The teacher will introduce the concept of non-living and living things in the environment Life Science: Plants and Animals in habitats The teacher will challenge students to create connections about animals and their environment and how human beings interact with other organisms in the environment Physical Science/Life Science Overlapping concepts include life, physical Students will explore different forces Physical Science Students will explore how different forces impact objects State-Specific Standards (fill in during Topic 1) Observe the patterns plants and animals use to survive Use media and read the text to identify patterns of behavior of offspring and parents. Plants need water and light to survive while animals obtain their food from other animals and plants Pulls and pushes may have different directions and strengths and can alter the direction or speed of an object A bigger pull or push makes objects slow down or speed up more quickly Learning Objectives (fill in during Topic 1) Students will understand that organisms survival depends on their habitat, environment, habits, choices Students will understand that the function and structure of body systems rely on organism behavior, water, and food consumption Students will understand that the consumption of various foods impact an organisms overall health and energy Students will comprehend that push and pull are forces that make objects move Students will understand that forces are applied to alter the location and direction an object is moving in Vocabulary (fill in during Topic 1) Habitat, organism, behavior Living components, non-living components, basic need Survive, population, resources, energy Force, gravity, wind Motion, magnet Instructional Strategy (fill in during Topic 2) The teacher will use models i.e., drawings and illustrations to organize concepts The teacher will provide selections and illustrations to students The teacher will instruct students to work in pairs and develop their artistic representations in pairs The teacher may incorporate different modifications i.e., oral presentation, extended time, and user of dictionaries The teacher may use one-on-one presentations with groups of students Summary of Instruction and Activities for the Lesson (fill in during Topic 2) The teacher will use the model to show students the environmental surroundings of organisms and their habitats The teacher will use the selections and illustrations to show students the non-living and living features of different organisms The teacher will use the model to show students the food choices that enable humans and other organisms to survive The teacher will introduce terminologies and vocabulary Assess students on prior knowledge about forces. The teacher will read and discuss forces with students in small groups Students will write summaries of what they have learned Differentiation and Accommodations (fill in during Topic 3) Students with learning disabilities may write a single sentence about an organism’s habitat. Gifted Students can create a menu to illustrate multiple environments Emotionally disabled students and students with learning disabilities will work in groups and in partners to discuss living and non-living organisms Gifted Students will develop a presentation to reflect on their discussion Students with learning disabilities and ELL will communicate verbally the food and beverage choices of different organisms Gifted Students will create an artistic representation of the discussion The teacher will utilize progressive tasks to help all students understand force, gravity, and motion The teacher will use ongoing assessments during the lesson on different students The teacher will use flexible-pace learning and collaborative learning to help the students discuss. The teacher will provide verbal support during student discussions Materials, Resources, and Technology (fill in during Topic 4) Graphic organizers; Food and Energy: Striking a healthy balance, (Kristin Petrie, Lexile 750) www.kidsdiscover.com/ ; Play with your Food, (David Derrick, Lexile 80); teacher’s guide www.choosemyplate.gov/kids; chart paper; textbook; brain pop 3D illustrations; smartboard; objects for pushing and pulling Storyboard; PowerPoint; dictionaries Formative Assessment (fill in during Topic 5) Summative Assessment (fill in during Topic 5) Reflection Topic 1: The process of developing the science unit plan was guided by the purpose and objectives of this course. The purpose of this science unit plan is to develop concepts, skills, and terminology that will be used to teach grade 2, science students. This unit plan helps the teacher in linking one lesson plan to the next. Developing a unit plan helps to support the key concepts of the course under a carefully mapped structure of the unit. This science unit plan for grade 2 students will contribute to optimized learning which will expose the students to key learning goals and concepts. The key components of the science unit plan are the state-specific standards i.e., Wisconsin science standards. The state-specific science standards outlay the desired content of the science curriculum for grade 2 students. Wisconsin science standards-Life Science allows students to understand phenomena and provide solutions to problems. State-specific standards are a key component in the science unit plan. These standards emphasize student curriculum through their Kindergarten through to grade 12. The state-specific science standards are further outlined into performance indicators and learning priorities. This increases the efficiency of the science unit plan by providing a learning progression for grade 2 science students. The process of developing unit plans is fundamental in future professional practice. It allows the teacher to set out the learning goals for the course into a coherent array of lessons. During future professional practice, unit plans will provide a sense of organization and direction that will help the teacher and students achieve the objectives of the course and achieve significant academic progress. Reflection Topic 2: The development of instructional strategies to be used in this lesson will allow the teacher to ask and answer questions like what, who, when, why, where, and how. This will improve content delivery and help the students to understand the details in the text. Students will understand that force involves a push or a pull that makes objects move and how forces alter the direction of objects. These instructional strategies will allow for student motivation and keep the students engaged during the lesson. Additionally, the instructional strategies applied will allow the teacher to link the life science and physical science content to prior student knowledge (Ford, 2018). These instructional strategies aim to help the students to become strategic learners, critical thinkers, and independent. This unit plan is effective in helping students to meet lesson goals and accomplish activities and tasks during the lesson. In this unit plan, the use of group discussions and partner collaboration during the lesson will improve student comprehension and engagement in the classroom. The instructional strategies that best complement the teacher’s standards are oral presentation, use of models, drawings, and illustrations to help organize lesson content. The instructional strategies included in this unit plan will encourage creativity, student engagement through asking and answering questions, and encourage decision-making (Rehmat, et al., 2020). Students will brainstorm in groups which will improve critical thinking, inspire creativity, and help them connect ideas. In future professional practice, I will utilize these instructional strategies to help check for understanding, engage students, help the students understand and solve real-world problems. These instructional strategies will also help me provide explicit and clear instruction to students. This will improve student thinking skills and also their overall performance in assessments. Reflection Topic 3: The differentiation and accommodation process for this science unit plan involved the identification of the best accommodation and differentiation strategies for students who are, learning disabled, emotionally disabled, gifted students, students who use English as a Learning Language. For the science lesson, the instructional strategies used in the lesson were differentiated to fit the students in the science class. The differentiation options for the gifted students include the creation of menus, developing artistic solutions during the lesson, and developing presentations for reflection during the lesson. The teacher will accommodate students with learning disabilities and emotional disabilities by utilizing assessments, using progressive tasks, aiding students during discussions, utilizing flexible-pace learning to allow students with learning disabilities to catch up, and provide verbal support during student discussions. The differentiation and accommodation for this lesson will help the teacher to manage what the students learn during the science lesson. The life science and physical science unit plan contain lessons that will provide a foundational basis for the students which they can apply in future science lessons. The teacher can easily identify what the students understand and the difficulties they face during student discussions and presentations. This will help the teacher understand what topics to focus on. Student assessment will be differentiated for students with disabilities and students with gifted capabilities. During the assessment, gifted students will be assessed incrementally and challenged with more complex assessments and instructional strategies. Assessment for students with learning disabilities will be student-centered. Differentiation and accommodation for this unit plan will ensure students are exposed to growth in the course content. Reflection Topic 4: Student motivation during lesson instruction is fundamental to their concentration levels and class engagement. Increasing their class engagement can be achieved through the use of technology i.e., videos in between instruction. Using technology during class and outside activities can also help achieve student comprehension and motivation to learn what is being taught (Erbaggio, et al., 2012). Student motivation using technology can be achieved through motivating students using different software and technological devices. This is impactful to students with special needs because it helps them overcome their challenges and special needs. Informational resources can be utilized and modified to facilitate the special needs of the grade 2 students. This can be achieved through including and collaborating engaging activities in between lesson content to help engage students. Integrating group discussions and presentations can also help the students overcome their fears once they see their classmates contributing to group discussions and presentations in class. Student confidence can also be increased through utilizing student’s fascinations and interests during lesson instruction, connecting lesson content to real-life situations, and hooking student’s concentration with fun transitions, and teaching the students self-monitoring skills (Schneider, et al., 2002). Evaluating student curriculum materials can be achieved by requesting student feedback to help understand whether the content is too much or impactful to the students. This will be done through formative and summative assessments. Additionally focusing on the curriculum program and comparing it to other curriculum programs that are under review, and utilizing a recognized methodology in the field of science, mathematics, etc. will help identify whether the materials and district resources are relevant to the students being taught. Reflection Topic 5: References Erbaggio, P., Gopalakrishnan, S., Hobbs, S., & Liu, H. (2012). Enhancing student engagement through online authentic materials. IALLT Journal of Language Learning Technologies, 42(2), 27-51. Ford, C. (2018). Effective practice instructional strategies: Design of an instrument to assess teachers’ perception of implementation. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 56, 154-163. Rehmat, A. P., Ehsan, H., & Cardella, M. E. (2020). Instructional strategies to promote computational thinking for young learners. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 36(1), 46-62. Schneider, R. M., & Krajcik, J. (2002). Supporting science teacher learning: The role of educative curriculum materials. Journal of science teacher education, 13(3), 221-245. © 2018 Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. Class Profile Student Name English Language Learner Socio-economic Status Ethnicity Gender IEP/504 Other Age Reading Performance Level Math Performance Level Parental Involvement Internet Available at Home Arturo Yes Low SES Hispanic Male No Tier 2 RTI for Reading Grade level One year below grade level At grade level Med No Bertie No Low SES Asian Female No None Grade level One year above grade level At grade level Low Yes Beryl No Mid SES White Female No NOTE: School does not have gifted program Grade level Two years above grade level At grade level Med Yes Brandie No Low SES White Female No Tier 2 RTI for Math Grade level At grade level One year below grade level Low No Dessie No Mid SES White Female No Tier 2 RTI for Math Grade level Grade level One year below grade level Med Yes Diana Yes Low SES White Female No Tier 2 RTI for Reading Grade level One year below grade level At grade level Low No Donnie No Mid SES African American Female No Hearing Aids Grade level At grade level At grade level Med Yes Eduardo Yes Low SES Hispanic Male No Tier 2 RTI for Reading Grade level One year below grade level At grade level Low No Emma No Mid SES White Female No None Grade level At grade level At grade level Low Yes Enrique No Low SES Hispanic Male No Tier 2 RTI for Reading One year above grade level One year below grade level At grade level Low No Fatma Yes Low SES White Female No Tier 2 RTI for Reading Grade level One year below grade level One year above grade level Low Yes Frances No Mid SES White Female No Diabetic Grade level At grade level At grade level Med Yes Francesca No Low SES White Female No None Grade level At grade level At grade level High No Fredrick No Low SES White Male Learning Disabled Tier 3 RTI for Reading and Math One year above grade level Two years below grade level Two years below grade level Very High No Ines No Low SES Hispanic Female Learning Disabled Tier 2 RTI for Math Grade level One year below grade level One year below grade level Low No Jade No Mid SES African American Female No None Grade level At grade level One year above grade level High Yes Kent No High SES White Male Emotion-ally Disabled None Grade level At grade level One year above grade level Med Yes Lolita No Mid SES Native American/ Pacific Islander Female No None Grade level At grade level At grade level Med Yes Maria No Mid SES Hispanic Female No NOTE: School does not have gifted program Grade level At grade level Two years above grade level Low Yes Mason No Low SES White Male No None Grade level At grade level At grade level Med Yes Nick No Low SES White Male No None Grade level One year above grade level At grade level Med No Noah No Low SES White Male No None Grade level At grade level At grade level Med Yes Sharlene No Mid SES White Female No None Grade level One year above grade level At grade level Med Med Sophia No Mid SES White Female No None Grade level At grade level At grade level Med Yes Stuart No Mid SES White Male No Allergic to peanuts Grade level One year above grade level At grade level Med Yes Terrence No Mid SES White Male No None Grade level At grade level At grade level Med Yes Wade No Mid SES White Male No None Grade level At grade level One year above grade level Med Yes Wayne No High SES White Male Learning Disabled Tier 3 RTI for Math Grade level One year below grade level Two years below grade level High Yes Wendell No Mid SES African American Male Learning Disabled Tier 3 RTI for Math Grade level One year below grade level Two years below grade level Med Yes Yung No Mid SES Asian Male No NOTE: School does not have gifted program One year below grade level Two years above grade level Two years above grade level Low Yes © 2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.