I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Neighborhood Habitats

Essential Question:

How is your neighborhood a habitat?

Bridge:

Habitat Collage

Content:

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: After hearing the story, Where In The World Is Walter?, students will be able to name different places in the neighborhood.

Activity: Teacher reads story, "Where In The World Is Walter?" aloud to class. Class brainstorms the question, "Where are you?" (school, room, desk, etc.). On a 4" x 6" piece of paper, students draw their answer to the question.

Assessment: Students' drawings will show an understanding of what is in a neighborhood habitat by including at least two details of their neighborhood (chair and desk; house and tree; slide and swing).

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: Students will participate in a discussion and demonstrate understanding of the frame sentences: "Here I am. I am in ________."

Activity: Teacher will encourage discussion and oral responses from the students by pointing to different answers of the brainstorm. Students respond to the prompt by answering as completely as possible, "Here I am. I am in my classroom." Students with limited or no English proficiency will be able to point to the correct picture card for their answer. Children with more language facility will create more complex descriptions, pictures, etc.

Assessment: Students are attentive and demonstrate their understanding of the frame sentence.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: Students will show an understanding that there are several places (i.e., home, class, etc.) which make up their habitat in the neighborhood.

Activity: Create a poster board classification chart listing the places which make up their habitat (neighborhood). Have each student place their 4" x 6" drawing from the activity in quadrant 1R under the correct heading. Discuss placement of pictures on chart.

Assessment: Students will correctly place their drawing on the chart.

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: After viewing a slide presentation, students will share at least one thing about the school and neighborhood.

Activity: Teacher will present slides of typical things found around the school and neighborhood. Discussion and vocabulary will be introduced and expanded upon. After slides, students will be put into mixed ability language pairs and share one thing they remembered. Students will use sentences if possible or may point to visuals around the classroom.

Assessment: Students' ability to share one thing they saw during the slide show. Teacher observation of dialogue and student participation.

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: By participating in an activity, students will express knowledge of neighborhood and school vocabulary.

Activity: Depending on language proficiency, students will take part in one of the following activities: 1. Pocket chart exercises - Pass out picture cards of school and neighborhood objects. Who has the "desk"? Student brings "desk" picture up to pocket chart.
2. Frame Sentences - Students recite, "I have the desk. The desk is in the classroom."
3. Matching picture to word - Using the pocket chart or making a matching game (concentration), students will match the picture to the word.
4. Power writing - Students will write about the following: "Name two places that you like to play." Example answer: I like to play in two places. I like to play at school. I like to play in my backyard.

Assessment: Accurate completion of pocket chart, frame sentences or power writing.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: Using previous language experiences from 3L, students will retell by pantomime specific places of the neighborhood habitat.

Activity: Using the individual power writings (from 3L) students will pantomime the places they wrote about. Students who did other exercises will choose a place and do a pantomime. Other students in the class will guess where the pantomime is.

Assessment: Class will correctly identify location of pantomime based on students' performances.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: Using three drawings, students will complete a book about the neighborhood as a habitat.

Activity: Students will choose three different school and/or neighborhood locations and illustrate them. Students will write independently or through dictation the locations represented. An idea for the book is, "Here I am. I am _______." by Room 6. Example: "Here I am. I am sitting in my chair . . . sleeping in my bed . . . etc. One paper (12" x 18") could be folded into thirds for each student to draw the three pictures.

Assessment: Students complete book showing three different locations.

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: Using their book, students will retell what they have written.

Activity: Students will share their completed page of the book with a partner. Next students will share what their partner has written to the class-example: “The three places Maria wrote about were her bedroom, the playground and the principal’s office.”

Assessment: Teacher observation of pair share. Students’ ability to express the ideas of their partner.

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: