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Animals, Tame & Wild

Participants: Beth Channell, Laura Buck

Overview/Purpose:
The students will know that people and animals are important to each other. This concept will be established by providing the students with books, media clips, and personal experiences that explain and explore the many kinds of animals (some tame and some wild), the idea that people and animals live near each other, and people and animals need each other.

Length of Instructional time: Six Weeks

Age/grade level: Grade One

NYS Standards Addressed:
Science:

• The students will describe how plants and animals, including humans, depend on each other and the nonliving environment.

Language Arts:

• The students will locate and use classroom and library media center resources to acquire information, with assistance.
• The students will copy words, phrases, and sentences from books, magazines, signs, charts, and own dictation.
• The students will write to respond to text.
• The students will share what they know, want to know, and have learned about a theme or topic.

Reading:

• The students will distinguish between text with stories and texts with information.
• The students will select books to meet informational needs, with assistance.

PCSD Standards

• Critical Thinker
• Effective Communicator
• Responsible Citizen
• Life Long Learner

Essential Question:
How are people and animals important to one another?

Content Knowledge

Declarative
The students will understand…

• How people take care of their pets.
• How people can help animals.
• How animals can help people.
• How we can learn about animals by watching them.
• Which wild animals we can find in our neighborhood.
• How we can help animals around the world.

Procedural
The students will be able to…

• Distinguish between animals that are friendly and those that are wild and do not live with people.
• Describe reason why people and animals need each other.
• Identify ways in which animals care for other animals.
• Recognize ways in which animals care for people.
• Share what they know, want to know, and have learned about how animals and people depend on each other.
• Write or illustrate to respond to text about the topic.
• Copy words, phrases, and sentences from books, signs, charts, and own dictation about the topic.
• Locate and use classroom and library media center resources to acquire information about how animals and people depend on each other, with assistance.

Assessment Evidence
Performance Task: To assess prior knowledge, the students will view a poster that represents each intention (6 posters/6 weeks). The teacher will record information shared about the poster on chart paper. At the end of each week, the teacher will ask the students again what they see in the poster and record the information.

Key Criteria: The description at the end of the week should include key vocabulary from the Amazing Words List (i.e.. Needs, responsibility, shelter, cuddle, tickle, faithful, fetch, and heel) and should include more descriptive and accurate information related the intended focus question.

Note: Due to the timing of this unit the assessments will be primarily observations during targeted activities, and interviews with the children throughout each week. The purpose for conducting a large group assessment is to model using language to describe a topic and to increase vocabulary about a specific theme. As the year progresses, similar assessments will occur; however, the students may demonstrate their knowledge through independent writing tasks.