CreatureFeatures
Explore
Grade:1
ImplementationPractice:WholeClass
SubjectArea:Science
SupportingContent:Writing
Objective(s):Studentswillrecordtheirobservations,includinglabeledillustrations,ofthecreatures
foundonacoralreef.
StandardsAddressed
PerformanceExpectation
1-LS1-1:Usematerialstodesignasolutiontoahumanproblembymimickinghow
plantsand/oranimalsusetheirexternalpartstohelpthemsurvive,grow,andmeet
theirneeds.
NGSS
DisciplinaryCoreIdea(s)
•
CCSS
LS1.A:Structureand
Function
ScienceandEngineering
Practices
• Constructing
Explanationsand
DesigningSolutions
CrosscuttingConcept(s)
•
Structureand
Function
ELA-Literacy
W.1.7Participateinsharedresearchandwritingprojects
VocabularyandSkills
KeyTerms
KeySkills
structure
characteristics
fish
Observation
animal
survive
coral
Inferencing
ocean
thrive
habitat
Recording
EssentialQuestion(s):
Whatcharacteristics(structures/bodyparts)helpanimalssurviveintheirhabitat?
GuidingQuestion(s):
Whataretheneedsofanimals?
Howdoanimalsgetthethingsthattheyneed?
Whatarethegeneralcharacteristicsofanimalsfoundonacoralreef?
Howdothecharacteristicsofanimalsthatliveonacoralreefhelpthemmeettheirneeds?
©2017OceanFirstEducation
www.oceanfirsteducation.com
1
TeacherBackgroundInformation
5EInstructionalModel–Explore
The5Einstructionalmodelorganizeslearningexperiencessothatstudentshavetheopportunityto
developtheirownunderstandingoftheconceptovertimebybuildingwhattheyknow.Therearefive
phasesoflearningincluding:Engage,Explore,Explain,Elaborate,andEvaluate.TheExplorephaseis
anopportunityto“leveltheplayingfield”bycreatingacommonexperienceforallstudentsfrom
whichtheycancompareresultsandideasandcontinuetobuildnewknowledge.
DuringtheExplore,studentsareexpectedto“messaround”orexperimentandinvestigateandare
notexpectedtohavealloftheanswers.Studentsshouldbeinvestigatingnewideasandfiguringout
howtosolveproblemsbasedontheirobservationsandrecordeddata.Studentsshouldbe
encouragedtocarryouttheirideasandtosharetheirideaswithclassmates.Theteacher’sroleisto
encouragestudentstointeractwiththematerialsaswellaswitheachother.Duringthisphase,itis
criticalthattheteacheraskprobingquestionstohelpstudentsmakesenseoftheirexperiences,but
notprovideanswerstoeveryquestion.Itisimportanttolistentostudents’conversationsandtake
noteofmisconceptionsandmisunderstandingsastheyariseforfutureresolutionduringtheExplain
phase.Thisshouldbeatimeforopenexplorationbythestudents.
Asthelessonisintroduced,besuretoletthestudentsknowthatthisisanopportunityfor
explorationandthatnoquestionorobservationistoosmallorunimportant.Encouragestudentsto
usethetoolsattheirdisposal(classroomlibrary,notebooks,eachother,etc.)toengageinthelesson.
ContentBackground–CoralReefs
Inwarmshallowwaters,coralscolonizerockyareasformingoneofthemostproductiveanddiverse
ecosystemsintheworld.Thousandsofdifferentorganismscanbefoundonasinglereef.25%of
marinelifelivestogetheroncoralreefsandcoralreefstakeuplessthan2%oftheseafloor.Withso
manydifferentspeciesandindividuals,therearemanyopportunitiesfororganismstoworktogether
andtocompetewithoneanother.Coralreefsarehometoavarietyofinvertebrateandvertebrate
animalsaswellasplantsandalgae.
©2017OceanFirstEducation
www.oceanfirsteducation.com
2
Theimageprovidedisastillshottakenfromthe360°videoassociatedwiththislesson.Notethe
complexityofthereefitselfandthevarietyoforganismspresentincluding:
• Corals–invertebrateanimalsrelatedtojellyfishandseaanemones
• Fishes–vertebrateanimalssimilartofreshwaterfishinformandfunction
• Seasnake–vertebrateanimalrelatedtoterrestrialsnakes
ContentBackground–ReefFish
Allanimalsdisplayasetofcharacteristicssharedbyalllivingthings.Animalsare:madeupofbody
parts,abletogrowanddevelop,abletorespondtotheirenvironment,abletoreproduce,andableto
breakdownfoodforenergy.Animalslivingintheoceanhavethesamesetofcharacteristics;theyare
justdifferentandmoresuitedforlifeinthewater.
Forexample:Allfishhavemouths,eyes,andnoses(typicallysmallholescallednaresabovetheir
mouths)thatperformthesamefunctionasoursdo,toeat/taste,see,andsmell.Fishhavefins
insteadofarmsandlegs.Insteadoflungs,theyhavegillsforgasexchange.Fisharecoveredinscales
ratherthanfurorfeathersforprotection.Somefishlayeggswhileotherfishgivebirthtoliveyoung.
However,allfishandotherorganismsthatliveintheoceanhaveuniquestructuresthathelpthem
meettheirneeds.
AdvancePreparation
•
•
•
•
Teacherwillneedtopreviewthe360°videoandbefamiliarwiththetechnologyusedtoview
andmanipulatethevideo
Teacherwillensurestudentdevicesarepreloadedorsettowatchthevideo
Teacherwillreviewthebackgroundinformationprovided
Accesstostudents’sciencenotebooks
PotentialMisconceptions
•
•
•
Animalsthatliveintheocean(i.e.fish,coral)arenotactuallyanimals
Fishdonotbreatheair.Insteadtheybreathewater.(Fishandotheranimalswithgillsareableto
absorbtheoxygenmoleculesdissolvedinwater,anddoinfactbreatheair.)
Animalsfoundintheoceandonothavethesamebasicneedsasanimalslivingonland
BeforeViewing
DiscussionQuestion(s):
• Whatareanimals?
• Howareanimalsdifferentfromplants?
• Whataretheneedsofanimals?(air,water,food,shelter)
• Howdoanimalsgetwhattheyneedfromtheirhabitat?(animalstructuresandtheirfunction)
StudentActivity:(Accessstudentpriorknowledgeandbuildbackgroundknowledge.)
Usethediscussionquestionstoreviewtheneedsandcharacteristicsoflivingthings.Then,createa
comprehensiveclasslistof“AnimalNeedsandCharacteristics.”Oncethelistiscomplete,have
studentsrecorditintheirsciencenotebooksforfuturereference.
©2017OceanFirstEducation
www.oceanfirsteducation.com
3
WhileViewing
DiscussionQuestion(s):
Whattypeofanimalsdoyousee?
Whataretheanimalsdoing?
Howaretheanimalsgettingaround?
Dotheanimalsyouseelooklikeanimalsonland?
Whatisdifferentaboutthem(comparedtoanimalsthatliveonland)?
Whatisthesame(comparedtoanimalsthatliveonland)?
Whatdoesthereeflooklike?Isitflatandsmoothorisitbumpywithlotsoflittlehidingplaces?
Whatcharacteristics/structuresdoyouthinkhelptheanimalssurviveonthecoralreef?
StudentActivity:(Howarestudentsengaged?Howarestudentsrecordingtheirobservationsandprocessing
whattheyarelearning?)
Alloweachstudenttheopportunitytoviewthe360°videoatleastonce.However,twice(ormore)will
givethestudentstheopportunitytomakemorethoroughobservations.Whilethestudentsare
watching,askthevariousdiscussionquestionstogetthemthinkingabouttheuniqueadaptationsofthe
animals(primarilyfish)theyareobserving.
Whilestudentsarewatchingthevideo,recordtheircommentaryontheboardforreview.
AfterViewing
DiscussionQuestion(s):
Howisacoralreefdifferentfromanyhabitatonland?
Whatsortofstructuresorcharacteristicshelpanimalssurviveonacoralreef?
StudentActivity:(Howarestudentssynthesizingandanalyzingwhattheylearnedfromtheactivity/video?)
Intheirnotebooks,askstudentstodrawtheirownimageofacoralreef.Theirdrawingshould
includethenooksandcranniesfoundonthereef,thevarietyofcoralshapesandsizes,aswellasa
varietyoffishandotheranimals.
Oncetheirreefdrawingiscomplete,askstudentstodrawandlabel,tothebestoftheirability(Note:
therearenoright/wrongsthisisanExplore),afishanddescribetheattributesithastosurviveona
coralreef.Theseattributescouldinclude,butarenotlimitedto,theirobservationsof:fins,gills,
beingsmallinsize,beingfastmoving,beingbrightlycolored,etc.Studentswithmoreprior
knowledgewillbeabletonaturallyprovidemoredetails;however,allstudentswhowatchedthe
videoshouldbeabletoprovideabasicillustrationofareeffish.
ExtensionIdeas
• Studentscancompareandcontrasttheappearanceofacoralreefhabitatwiththeschoolyard
habitatbyidentifyingthesizes/shapesofthethingsthatmakethemupaswellasthevariousliving
thingsfoundinthem.
• Studentscancompareandcontrast,withillustration,theirfamilypet(orotherterrestrialanimal)
withtheirillustrationanddescriptionofareeffish.
©2017OceanFirstEducation
www.oceanfirsteducation.com
4