Instructional (Lesson) Plan Format

Instructional (Lesson) Plan Format

Central Washington University

Department of Education

1. Lesson Title/Focus: FISH IN A BOTTLE

2. Instructional Materials Needed:

A one-gallon bottle (plastic or glass of any shape, like a pickle, cherry, or olive jar from a restaurant)

Gravel – about 1 ½ pounds

1 adult guppy

I very small snail

Fish food

Aquatic plants – sagittaria, eelgrass, anacharis

Computers with internet access

Digital camera (at least one for the classroom, more would be better)

Data table made by students for observations

Poster Project (includes hypothesis, data collected, pictures taken, conclusion, and any other information seen as necessary)

3. Lesson Objective (Learning Targets)

a. For Facilitators:

The objective of this lesson for the facilitator is to engage the students, and then let the students do the exploring themselves. It is important for students to be able to do the research because it will have more meaning for them.

b. For Students:

The objective of this lesson for the students is to experience technology. By the end of the lesson students should be able to operate a digital camera (the basics) and be able to navigate the Web.

c. Standards

NETS

                            1.   Creativity and Innovation
                            Students will use their creativity to develop a creative and original poster project with the use of the digital photos and the internet                                                 research to demonstrate their knowledge of the experiment. Part of the poster grade will be based on creativity and originality.
                            2.   Communication and Collaboration
                            Students will use their digital photos to communicate their experiment to their audience looking at the posters. Part of the poster                                                     grade will be based on the students use of their photos. They need to benefit the poster not just add color and flare to them.
                            3.    Research and Information Fluency
                                   Students will use the class computers and the internet to research the topic at hand. They will need this basis of knowledge to start their                                       whole project. If they don't find the appropriate information on the internet, they could end up not following the experiment.

4. Grouping Students for Instruction:

The students will work in partners to research what a fish needs to live (due to the number of computers available). Each student will bring in their own supplies and create their own fish in a bottle.

5. LEARNING EXPERIENCES:

Prior to this day the teacher will inform the students what supplies they will need to bring before this class period. The teacher will also have some extras in case a student forgets or wasn't able to get them. Part of the lesson will be done today, but the majority will be done over the next month.

5 Es

Engage The teacher will begin the lesson by asking the following questions to the students to get them excited about the lesson.

How many of you have had a pet fish?

What kinds of fish have you had?

What did you have to do to keep it alive?

Have you ever thought of what fish actually need to live?

Do you think you can raise a small fish in a closed system in a gallon bottle?

Well today's activity will help us learn what fish need to stay alive.

Explore Next the students will break into partners and use the computers to research what kinds of things fish need to stay alive. I will give them at least one site to start with that will be helpful to them. www.peteducation.com

Explain Once the students have found the information they need, the students will go back to their seats, and we will discuss the things they found as a class. Making sure that every student understands what is needed to keep a small fish alive.

Elaborate At this point, each student will start to build his or her fish in a bottle system. They will use the following procedure:
1.   Wash the jar well
2.   Fill three-quarters full with room-temperature water. Let stand for at least two days, uncovered.
3.   To clean the gravel, place it in a strainer and rinse with water. Do not use soap.
4.   Transfer the gravel to the bottom of the jar. You should have a 2-inch layer.
5.   Put the aquarium in a spot where it will get sunlight, but not direct sunlight, it is too hot.
6.   Add plants and fish to the aquarium. Even if the plants do not have roots, push the stems into the gravel.
7.   Observe your aquarium for 28 days. Make careful observations each day. Many days you may only observe that there was no change. Along with recording what you observe each day, take pictures with one of the digital cameras. Try to take pictures from similar angles and distances. Your pictures will be used later.
8.   Enrichment: Get a male and a female guppy for your aquarium instead of only one guppy. Feeder guppies are very inexpensive and will work well for this experiment.
9.   Enrichment: Be sure the jar you get has a lid. After about one week seal the jar with the lid, and do not open it for the remaining 21 days of your experiment.

Evaluate Once the students have finished observing for 28 days or along the way, they will develop a poster to display their project. The poster project should include their hypothesis, things they found while researching, recorded data, pictures, conclusion, and any other relevant information.

Checking for Understanding/Questions: Question the students along the way. Make sure that they are taking appropriate notes on their observations.

Closure: The students will write up a conclusion that will be included in their poster project. We will also discuss what was learned from the process and what they liked and disliked about the experiment.

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