Brooke Blonquist

3/20/2013
ENG 252
Lesson Plan
Subject: Living and Nonliving things
Grade: 3rd grade
Time: 1 hour (2 different days)
Curriculum: Science and Language Arts
Objectives:
Science:
Objective 1
Classify living and nonliving things in an environment
Objective 2
Describe the interactions between living and nonliving things in a small
environment.
Language Arts:
Objective 1
Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate
facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
Personal Objective: I want the students to be able to identify living and nonliving
things when they may just be interacting outside and be able to compare the two to
each other.
Key Vocabulary: living things, nonliving things.
Essential Questions: Why is it important for students to know the difference
between living and nonliving things?
Before the lesson:
I will explain to the class that we will be learning about living things and nonliving
things today. I will then give a brief summary of what the plan is for today and how
we will better understand our learning of this subject.

Phase 1: Exploration and Explanation

1. I will first assess prior knowledge of what the students know about living
things. In the 2nd grade curriculum they shouldve covered living things but
not necessarily nonliving things.
2. I will then explain to the students what we look for in nonliving and living
things and how they are different from each other.
a. Giving clear definitions of the key vocabulary
3. We will go out as a class to the playground and pick up different objects that
we think would fall into these categories.
4. We will then read a book called, Classification of Living and Nonliving Things,
by Elizabeth Rose.
5. The students will have all of their objects with them and if a specific object
that they have is discussed in the book I will ask them to raise their hand and
explain to the class some of the characteristics they see that they discussed
in the book.
6. On the smart board, start filling out the graphic organizer of the different
characteristics of nonliving and living things for them to be able to refer to
while class goes on.
Phase II: Guided Practice/ Differentiation
1. I will give each student a worksheet that has a T-chart on it where they will
list what objects they found are nonliving and what ones are living. By
themselves at the bottom of the page they will list characteristics of these
items and why they fall into that category.
2. They will be writing why these items are living or nonliving in a short paper
as well.
3. I will be walking around the class scaffolding to see if the students are
understanding what is being taught.
4. If there is a misunderstanding amongst students and their objects we will go
back to Phase 1 and get a better understanding of the classifications.
Phase III: Independent Practice/Assessment
1. The next day we will set up the same chart that we did in phase 2 but instead
of going to the playground to find objects we will go to a park nearby and find
objects to classify. The students will be asked to distinguish if the items they
found are living or nonliving and come up with characteristics on their own as
to why they classified them this way. I will be assessing their knowledge of
living and nonliving things by how they classified their objects they found on
their own on the worksheet.
2. The second step will be to write 2 paragraphs about what they have found
and compare it to the book we had read in class the day before. I will be
assessing not only if their statements are correct but also their writing
continuum, spelling, punctuation, and organization from what we have
learned previously in an earlier class.

3. This will show how the students understand what they are looking for when it
comes to living and nonliving things on an independent viewpoint.
DAP Principles
-Integrated Lesson Plan
- Lesson begins with an assessment of prior knowledge
- Hands-on experiences
- Students from a wide-range of abilities are able to participate successfully
-social, emotional, physical, and cognitive aspects are addressed
Adaptations for Students with Special Needs
1. Give alternative assignments instead of long written assignments
a. Instead of assessing them on their paper in phase 3, assess on how they
grouped the objects on the worksheet and if they understand why which
one is what.
2. Provide an appropriate peer role model
a. If one of their classmates is accelerating after day one (phase 1 & 2) allow
them to work as a group with someone who is struggling.
b. Allow them to work in groups where they feel comfortable and where they
will be accepted, and where they will be challenged to listen, share, and
learn from each other.
Adaptations for ELLs
1. Teachers clearly identify the content objectives and give more of a clear
understanding if needed.
2. During phases 1 and 2 have a consistent use of scaffolding
3. Have an emphasize on the key vocabulary and provide an assessment of
their learning