Life Cycle Unit Plans

This week, our task was to plan a unit lesson on the topic of our choice. We set up a google calendar account which would be used to communicate daily lesson activities to parents. We also integrated technology into the unit following the MET (Michigan Education Technology) Standards for students. Since I am an integrated science major and feel that science is the most interesting, I chose to plan my lesson around a life science topic. Specifically, I chose the topic of life cycles. This was planned for first graders since that is who I hope to teach one day.

The GLCE's (Grade Level Content Expectations) that I used were the following:

L.OL.E.1 Life Requirements- Organisms have basic needs.
Animals and plants need air, water, and food. Plants also
require light. Plants and animals use food as a source
of energy and as a source of building material for growth
and repair.
L.OL.01.13 Identify the needs of animals.

L.OL.E.2 Life Cycles- Plants and animals have life cycles. Both
plants and animals begin life and develop into adults, reproduce,
and eventually die. The details of this life cycle are different for
different organisms.
L.OL.01.21 Describe the life cycle of animals including the following
stages: egg, young, adult; egg, larva, pupa, adult.

The MET standards are:
Use a variety of age-appropriate technologies for sharing information (e.g., drawing a picture, writing a story)
Be aware of how to work with others when using technology tools (e.g., word processors, drawing tools, presentation software) to convey ideas or illustrate simple concepts relating to a specifi ed project

Weeklong Plans:
Monday: Students will be introduced to the basic needs of an organism. Air, water, and food are needed for an organism to grow and survive. Students will be asked to first brainstorm the basic needs and also some things different organisms need to survive (for example, plants also need light). These ideas will be recorded onto an online concept map. This map can be then printed and distributed to individual students.

Tuesday: Students will be working on a teacher guided interactive website discussing the life cycle of a seed. The students will be thinking critically in groups to determine the cycle of a seed to become a plant.

Wednesday: A video off the youtube website gives the students an introduction to the life cycle of a butterfly. This video is upbeat and designed for a young audience. The purpose is to help students relate the concept of a life cycle to a real life experience. Butterflies are something that most students will be able to relate to.

Thursday: Integrating a fun art activity with the life cycle unit, students will be able to illustrate the last two parts of the butterfly life cycle. This is the pupa and the adult butterfly. The activity is described in the Where do butterflies come from? website.

Friday: As the last day spent on the unit, student will use interactive websites to solidify their learning and understanding of the life cycles of animals. They will work in pairs to complete online activities and games regarding the life cycle. All web activity will be monitored and assisted by teachers.

All of the resources used throughout this unit have been saved to a del.icio.us account that I have set up. These particular resources have been tagged with the label: lifescience.

After completing this weeks unit, I can definitely see how social bookmarking can be shared throughout a community of people. Especially as a teacher, using an account such as del.icio.us enables me to share useful links with parent, colleagues, and students for them to access at home. Social bookmarking also is very useful is allowing me to search resources that have been found by others who use the site. Because I can see the popularity of the website, I have a way of assessing how beneficial it may be for myself. I can see myself using social bookmarking in my classroom as a way to collect and share resources.