Lesson #3 Title: Spider Research and Terrarium Design

Grade Level:  4-5

National Science Education Standards

Content Standard A: As a result of activities in grades K-5, all students should develop abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry and understand about scientific inquiry.
Content Standard C:  As a result of activities in grades K-5, all students should develop understanding of the characteristics of organisms, life cycles of organisms, and organisms and their environments.
Content Standard G: As a result of activities in grades K-5, all students should develop understanding of science as a human endeavor.

Michigan Curriculum Framework Standards/Benchmarks 

Science:

  • Strand I; Content Standard 1, Benchmark 1, 2

  • Strand III; Content Standard 2, Benchmarks 1, 2, 3


Michigan Technology Education Standards

Technology Standard 1:  Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems and are proficient in the use of technology.
Technology Standard 2:  Students understand the ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to technology. Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software. Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.
Technology Standard 3:  Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity. Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.
Technology Standard 4:  Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences. Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences.
Technology Standard 5: Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources. Students use technology tools to process data and report results. Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness for specific tasks.

Lesson Objective(s):

The students will observe spiders and record what they see.
The students will research spiders and gather information so that what they observe may be explained.

Materials Needed:  

Resources Used:
    NETS - http://cnets.iste.org/currstands/cstands-netss.html
    National Science Education Standards - http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/html/6c.html
    Michigan Curriculum Standards/Benchmarks - www.michigan.gov
    
Engage:

The students are presented with the spiders and the materials.  The teacher asks:

The students will design a semi-natural environment for the spiders in the terrariums.  The teacher poses the following explorable question:

Explore:

For the three-week duration of the unit, the students will observe the spiders and record data in their journals daily.  The students will identify and research the spiders via the Internet; this will aid in the explain portion of the lesson plan.
    
Explain: 

The students will share and compare observations.  The students will make educated guesses about the species of the spiders in the terrariums based on their observations and research.  The students may relate what they have observed to what they have read about Charlotte, a trapdoor spider, one of the main characters of Charlotte's Web.

Extend and Apply (and performance assessment):  Unit Test                                                             

Evaluate/Assess: