Lesson 1

Name of Teacher Candidate: Nicole Casper Date: April 13, 2021

Grade Level:
Kindergarten
Lesson Title:
Intro to Living and Nonliving Things
Curriculum Areas Addressed:
Science
Time Required: Instructional Groupings: Are you using whole group, small group,
25-30 minutes partners, quads, homogeneous, heterogeneous? NAEYC 4a
Whole Group, Partners (Turn & Talk)
Standards: List the GPS/CCGPS that are the target of student learning and are key to this lesson. Include the number and the text of each of the
GPS/CCGPS that is being addressed. If only a portion of a standard is addressed, include only the part or parts that are relevant. NAEYC 5c
SKL1 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how organisms (alive and not alive) and non-living objects are
grouped.
As a result of this lesson students will…
Essential Question: (Essential questions should be used to guide instruction.) NAEYC 5c
How do we determine if something is living or nonliving?
Learning Objectives: (Objectives are stated in measurable/observable terms. These should reflect the thinking skills, skills of the discipline. These
represent the skills that will be assessed.) NAEYC 5c
The students will be able to compare and contrast living and non-living things.
Support for Academic Language
Vocabulary: (What Academic Language will be taught or developed? Identify the key vocabulary and/or symbols specific to the content area. These
may be derived from the standards.) NAEYC 5b
Living
Nonliving
Language Demands: (Language demands is defined as the specific ways that academic language (vocabulary, functions, discourse, syntax) is used by
students to participate in learning tasks through reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking to demonstrate their disciplinary understanding. Identify the
following way/ways that students will participate in learning tasks to demonstrate disciplinary understanding: reading, writing, listening, or oral language.)
NAEYC 5b
Oral language – students will have to share their thoughts and ideas aloud in a discussion format
Listening – students will listen to the teacher and other students
Syntax: (Syntax is defined as the set of conventions for organizing symbols, words, and phrases together into structures, such as sentences, tables, or
graphs. Identify the supports that will be provided for students to organize the information – charts, graphs, diagrams. These must relate to the Language
Function.) NAEYC 5b
Assessment (Each learning objective must be assessed. How will students demonstrate their understanding of the lesson’s objectives? How will you
provide feedback for the students? What type of assessment will be used? What evidence will be collected to demonstrate students’ understanding/mastery of
the lesson’s objective? What constitutes success for the students?)
Assessment Strategy: (Identify the assessment strategy/strategies to be used for assessment of the learning objectives listed above. Each learning
objective should be assessed. DO NOT restate the learning objective.) NAEYC 3b
Focused observation on student responses – 1) PowerPoint photos: living or nonliving; 2) types of characteristics that living
things have in common

Evaluation Criteria: (Indicate the qualities by which levels of performance can be differentiated and that anchor judgments about the learner’s degree
of success on an assessment.) NAEYC 3b
 student correctly identifies living or non-living things through entire lesson / actively engaged
 student correctly identifies living or non-living things occasionally through lesson / sometimes engaged
 student does not correctly identify living or non-living things through lesson / not engaged
Steps in the Lesson (Include the attention getter or the hook for the lesson; the introduction; the lesson procedures including
strategies/planned supports for whole‐class, small group, and individual instructions; and differentiated activities.)
Attention Getter or Hook: (State how the attention of the students will be piqued at the start of the lesson.) NAEYC 4c
Fill a pillowcase with different items (rock, pencil, toy phone, picture of a dog, picture of a frog, flower, etc.), enough for each
student to have one item each. Allow for each student to come to the carpet and pick one item from the pillowcase to take back to
their seat. Have each student share what they pulled from the pillowcase.
Introduction: (State how the lesson will be introduced. This should communicate the purpose of the lesson, be directly related to the goals and objectives
of the lesson, tap into prior knowledge/experiences, and develop student interest.) NAEYC 5c
What do you think we are going to be learning about with these different objects that we have? (allow students to share) We are
going to be learning about different types of things: living things and nonliving things. There are both living and non-living things
everywhere around us. What are some things that you think of that may be living? Turn to a neighbor and share what you think.
(Have a few students share what they think). Now, we are going to begin learning about these types of things (living and nonliving)
and we will come back to your objects at the end of the lesson. As we watch this video, look at the different things that are
considered living and things that are considered not living. Listen closely to the different characteristics that makes something
living.
Instructional Strategies: (Use a bulleted or numbered format to communicate the procedures for the lesson – what the teacher will do as well as what
the student will do. Describe the strategies which will be used to support students’ learning. Knowledge of students’ cognitive, social, emotional, and physical
development along with their cultural backgrounds should be evident.) NAEYC 4c and NAEYC 5c
1. Play the video “Living and Nonliving Things” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p51FiPO2_kQ
 What do you think were some of the living things in the video?
  What do you think were some of the non-living things in the video?
2. Go through the PowerPoint with the students.
 For each slide/picture, give the students time to look at the picture and then ask them to share whether they think it is
living or non-living.
 Do not correct students or provide them with the correct answer at this point.
3. After going through each slide, begin a discussion by asking the students what they believe living things have in common
(things that are the same).
 Have a large piece of lined sticky paper on the board to write down what the students say.
 Make a list.
4. When the students are done sharing, ask the students to think of one living thing (this should be something they are familiar
with, such as a dog).
 Go through the list of things that you wrote down and put a check by it if the living thing has the characteristic and
cross it off if it does not. (This should be based off of the thoughts of the students, not from your own knowledge.)
5. Choose another living thing that will receive more misconceptions, such as a butterfly.
 Follow the same check/cross-off procedure as before but use a different color marker.
6. Point out the commonalities between the two living things as your focus for the discussion to follow.
7. Discuss the main characteristics of living things (focus on the ones from the list if there are any):
 Grow
 Reproduce (making more things just like themselves)
 Move
 Breathe
 Need food and water
8. Provide familiar examples of living things:
 Humans
 Animals: chickens, dogs, cats, cows, birds
 Bugs: ladybugs, spiders, worms, flies
 Plants: flowers, trees, grass
9. Discuss the main characteristics of non-living things:
 Does not grow
 Does not reproduce
 Cannot move alone
 Does not need food and water
  Does not breathe
10. Provide familiar examples of non-living things:
 Cars
 Rocks
 Stuffed animals
 Toys
 Pencils and crayons
11. Discuss the difference between living things and non-living things.
12. After discussion, tell the students we are going to be looking at the items they pulled from the pillowcase.
 Have the students raise their hands if they believe their item is a living thing. Call on a few students and allow for
them to share.
 Have the students raise their hands if they believe their item, is a non-living thing. Call on a few students and allow
for them to share.
13. As the students share, encourage the students to explain why they feel their item is either living or non-living.
Closure/Wrap up: (Describe how the CONTENT of the lesson will be summarized.)
We focused on two different types of things today: living and non-living. Living things are things that can move, grow, breathe,
reproduce, and need food and water. Living things include humans, dogs, flowers, and bugs. Non-living things cannot move, grow,
breathe or reproduce. Nonliving things include are things like chairs, rocks and pencils. There are both living and non-living things
everywhere around us. There is even a park right down the road form you all, called the Butterfly Park, in which you can visit this
park to find both living things and non-living things. Of course, you do not need to visit the park alone. In our next lesson, we will
continue learning about and identifying these types of things.
Instructional Supports
Resources and Materials Used to Engage Students in Learning (Provide citations for all resources that you did not create. Attach key
instructional material needed to understand what you and the students will be doing. Examples: class handouts, assignments, slides, and interactive white
board images.) NAEYC 5c
 YouTube Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p51FiPO2_kQ
 “Is it Living?” PowerPoint - https://www.kindergartenkindergarten.com/2012/03/a-science-mini-unit-living-and-non-
living.html
 Large sticky paper and markers
Additional Resources and Materials Used to Increase Teacher’s Background Knowledge of the Content: (List any websites and
sources of materials and background information that you will need or use as the teacher to engage the students.) NAEYC 5a
 Website to support the teaching of this topic - https://www.kindergartenkindergarten.com/2012/03/a-science-mini-unit-
living-and-non-living.html
Other Relevant Information
Clear Links to Learning Theories, Educational Research, and Principles of Development: NAEYC 4b
Vygotsky – Vygotsky believes that we learn best through social interactions with others. In this introductory lesson, students are
interacting with one another in a discussion type class and are also interacting with a ‘more knowledgeable other,’ such as myself,
which Vygotsky believed is beneficial in student learning.
Connections to Technology and/or the Arts: NAEYC 4b
Technology - Use of Promethean Board – YouTube video, PowerPoint
Description of Collaboration with Others: (These might include the inclusion teacher, media specialist, counselor, guest speaker, grade level
coordinator, community experts, families, etc.) NAEYC 5a
Collaboration with partner teacher

Lesson 2
Name of Teacher Candidate: Nicole Casper Date: April 15, 2021
Grade Level:
Kindergarten
Lesson Title:
Living and Nonliving Things
Curriculum Areas Addressed:
Science
Time Required: Instructional Groupings: Are you using whole group, small group,
30 minutes partners, quads, homogeneous, heterogeneous? NAEYC 4a
Whole Group, Partners (Think-Pair-Share)
Standards: List the GPS/CCGPS that are the target of student learning and are key to this lesson. Include the number and the text of each of the
GPS/CCGPS that is being addressed. If only a portion of a standard is addressed, include only the part or parts that are relevant. NAEYC 5c
SKL1 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how organisms (alive and not alive) and non-living objects are
grouped.
As a result of this lesson students will…
Essential Question: (Essential questions should be used to guide instruction.) NAEYC 5c
How do we analyze and classify things as living and nonliving?
Learning Objectives: (Objectives are stated in measurable/observable terms. These should reflect the thinking skills, skills of the discipline. These
represent the skills that will be assessed.) NAEYC 5c
The students will be able to arrange objects into living and nonliving categories.
Support for Academic Language
Vocabulary: (What Academic Language will be taught or developed? Identify the key vocabulary and/or symbols specific to the content area. These may
be derived from the standards.) NAEYC 5b
Living
Nonliving
Language Demands: (Language demands is defined as the specific ways that academic language (vocabulary, functions, discourse, syntax) is used by
students to participate in learning tasks through reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking to demonstrate their disciplinary understanding. Identify the
following way/ways that students will participate in learning tasks to demonstrate disciplinary understanding: reading, writing, listening, or oral language.)
NAEYC 5b
Listening – listening to others’ responses and information provided by teacher
Oral Language – sharing thoughts and ideas
Syntax: (Syntax is defined as the set of conventions for organizing symbols, words, and phrases together into structures, such as sentences, tables, or
graphs. Identify the supports that will be provided for students to organize the information – charts, graphs, diagrams. These must relate to the Language
Function.) NAEYC 5b
Graphic organizer / t-chart to divide living and nonliving things
Assessment (Each learning objective must be assessed. How will students demonstrate their understanding of the lesson’s objectives? How will you
provide feedback for the students? What type of assessment will be used? What evidence will be collected to demonstrate students’ understanding/mastery of
the lesson’s objective? What constitutes success for the students?)
Assessment Strategy: (Identify the assessment strategy/strategies to be used for assessment of the learning objectives listed above. Each learning
objective should be assessed. DO NOT restate the learning objective.) NAEYC 3b
Checklist - Use the graphic organizer that all students will complete to assess students’ understanding (number correct out of 24)

Evaluation Criteria: (Indicate the qualities by which levels of performance can be differentiated and that anchor judgments about
the learner’s degree of success on an assessment.) NAEYC 3b
 “+” for 18 or more images in the correct category
 “√” for 10-18 in the correct category
 “—” for less than 10 images in the correct category
Steps in the Lesson (Include the attention getter or the hook for the lesson; the introduction; the lesson procedures including
strategies/planned supports for whole‐class, small group, and individual instructions; and differentiated activities.)
Attention Getter or Hook: (State how the attention of the students will be piqued at the start of the lesson.) NAEYC 4c
Have an assortment of objects at the front of the room for the students to see, e.g., book, rock, marker, chair, student, teacher,
butterfly net (with caterpillars). Ask these students to look at the different things at the front of the room and think to themselves
about whether they feel each object is living or non-living and why.
Introduction: (State how the lesson will be introduced. This should communicate the purpose of the lesson, be directly related to the goals and objectives
of the lesson, tap into prior knowledge/experiences, and develop student interest.) NAEYC 5c
Today we are going to continue learning about living and non-living things. In the last lesson we discussed the characteristics that
make living things, living, and what makes non-living things, non-living. Can anyone tell me what these characteristics are? (grow,
reproduce, need food and water, move, breathe) As we go determine which items at the front of the room are living, and which ones
are nonliving, pay close attention to the chart that we are going to be filling in.
Instructional Strategies: (Use a bulleted or numbered format to communicate the procedures for the lesson – what the teacher will do as well as what
the student will do. Describe the strategies which will be used to support students’ learning. Knowledge of students’ cognitive, social, emotional, and physical
development along with their cultural backgrounds should be evident.) NAEYC 4c and NAEYC 5c
1. Begin by having the students talk to the people at their table about the different objects that were at the front of the room,
and which objects they believe are living.
2. Ask a few of the students to share.
3. As the students share, use the t-chart on the interactive white board to fill in the objects as the students respond.
a. Allow students who share, to come up to the board and move the images to the correct category (living/non-living),
 as they are identified.
b. If the students are correct, ask them to tell you how they know the object is living.
c. If the student is incorrect, do not tell them they are wrong, but elaborate on their response to help them understand
the correct category in which the object belongs.
4. Think-Pair-Share
a. Take a moment to think of something (either living or non-living) that you have seen either in school, or outside of
school.
b. Turn to a neighbor and share the ‘thing’ you have thought of.
c. Share one thing you and your neighbor discussed.
5. After your students have shared, explain that the students will be completing their own graphic organizer, similar to the one
on the board.
a. Give each student a living/non-living picture sort and graphic organizer.
b. Allow time for the students to complete their activity.
c. Encourage the students to reference the graphic organizer on the board, and to ask questions if needed.
d. Play subtle music in the background while students work.
6. If the students have time, allow for them to color the pictures of objects, and then have them turn in their picture sort.
Closure/Wrap up: (Describe how the CONTENT of the lesson will be summarized.)
Today we continued learning about living and non-living things. Some living things from your picture sort included a bug, tree,
shark, and dog. All of these things breathe, move, grow, reproduce, and need food and water. Some non-living things from your sort
included a crayon, ball, teddy bear, and bus. In our next lesson, we will read a book about living and non-living things and then go
on a picture walk outside.
Instructional Supports
Resources and Materials Used to Engage Students in Learning: (Provide citations for all resources that you did not create. Attach key
instructional material needed to understand what you and the students will be doing. Examples: class handouts, assignments, slides, and interactive white
board images.) NAEYC 5c
 Paper graphic organizer (t-chart) for students to separate between living and nonliving things
o Living/Non-living sort - https://crisscrossapplesauce.typepad.com/files/living_non-living-sort.pdf
 Promethean Board interactive graphic organizer
 YouTube video for music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ymcPin-4h0)
Additional Resources and Materials Used to Increase Teacher’s Background Knowledge of the Content: (List any websites and
sources of materials and background information that you will need or use as the teacher to engage the students.) NAEYC 5a
 Website to support the teaching of this topic - https://www.kindergartenkindergarten.com/2012/03/a-science-mini-unit-
living-and-non-living.html
Other Relevant Information
Clear Links to Learning Theories, Educational Research, and Principles of Development: NAEYC 4b
Patti Smith Hill is a theorist who encourages and supports student-centered learning. In this lesson, students are able to share their
thoughts on the different objects they believe are living and non-living. They are also responsible in completing their own
living/non-living picture sort in which they are engaged and able to demonstrate their understanding.
Fine motor skills – cutting, pasting, and coloring supports physical development in children at this age.
Connections to Technology and/or the Arts: NAEYC 4b
Graphic organizer – separating living and non-living objects using a t-chart
Technology – use of interactive graphic organizer (t-chart) on Promethean Board
Description of Collaboration with Others: (These might include the inclusion teacher, media specialist, counselor, guest speaker, grade level
coordinator, community experts, families, etc.) NAEYC 5a
Collaboration with partner teacher

Lesson 3
Name of Teacher Candidate: Nicole Casper Date: April 20, 2021
Grade Level: Kindergarten

Lesson Title:
“Living or Nonliving?”
Curriculum Areas Addressed: Language Arts, Science

Time Required: 30 minutes Instructional Groupings: Are you using whole group, small group,
partners, quads, homogeneous, heterogeneous? NAEYC 4a
Whole Group
Standards: List the GPS/CCGPS that are the target of student learning and are key to this lesson. Include the number and the text of each of the
GPS/CCGPS that is being addressed. If only a portion of a standard is addressed, include only the part or parts that are relevant. NAEYC 5c
ELAGSEKRI2 With prompting and support, identify the main topic (main idea) and retell key details of a text (supporting details).
SKL1 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how organisms (alive and not alive) and non-living objects are
grouped.
As a result of this lesson students will…
Essential Question: (Essential questions should be used to guide instruction.) NAEYC 5c
How can we use the definition of a living thing to find them in the world around us?
Learning Objectives: (Objectives are stated in measurable/observable terms. These should reflect the thinking skills, skills of the discipline. These
represent the skills that will be assessed.) NAEYC 5c
The students will be able to determine the main idea and key details of the story “Living or Nonliving.”
The students will be able to create a living/non-living photo walk using photos they have taken.
Support for Academic Language
Vocabulary: (What Academic Language will be taught or developed? Identify the key vocabulary and/or symbols specific to the content area. These may
be derived from the standards.) NAEYC 5b
Key details
Main idea
Living and non-living
Language Demands: (Language demands is defined as the specific ways that academic language (vocabulary, functions, discourse, syntax) is used by
students to participate in learning tasks through reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking to demonstrate their disciplinary understanding. Identify the
following way/ways that students will participate in learning tasks to demonstrate disciplinary understanding: reading, writing, listening, or oral language.)
NAEYC 5b
Listening – students will listen to the book being read aloud
Language – responding to questions, sharing
Syntax: (Syntax is defined as the set of conventions for organizing symbols, words, and phrases together into structures, such as sentences, tables, or
graphs. Identify the supports that will be provided for students to organize the information – charts, graphs, diagrams. These must relate to the Language
Function.) NAEYC 5b
Assessment (Each learning objective must be assessed. How will students demonstrate their understanding of the lesson’s objectives? How will you
provide feedback for the students? What type of assessment will be used? What evidence will be collected to demonstrate students’ understanding/mastery of
the lesson’s objective? What constitutes success for the students?)
Assessment Strategy: (Identify the assessment strategy/strategies to be used for assessment of the learning objectives listed above. Each learning
objective should be assessed. DO NOT restate the learning objective.) NAEYC 3b
Focused observation – students sharing of main ideas and key details from story
Checklist – results from student’s photo walk

Evaluation Criteria: (Indicate the qualities by which levels of performance can be differentiated and that anchor judgments about the learner’s degree
of success on an assessment.) NAEYC 3b
Focused Observation
 student is actively engaged/correctly identifying main idea and key details
 student is somewhat engaged/correctly identifying main idea OR key details
 student is not engaged/does not identify main idea and key details
Checklist
 “√+” students have at least 2 photos of living things and 2 photos of non-living things
 “√” students have at least 1 photo of a living thing and 1 photo of a non-living thing
 “—” students have no photos; students have only 1 photo of a living or non-living, no photos of each type of thing

Steps in the Lesson (Include the attention getter or the hook for the lesson; the introduction; the lesson procedures including strategies/planned supports
for whole‐class, small group, and individual instructions; and differentiated activities.)
Attention Getter or Hook: (State how the attention of the students will be piqued at the start of the lesson.) NAEYC 4c
Play the video “Living Things” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzN299RpJHA)
Introduction: (State how the lesson will be introduced. This should communicate the purpose of the lesson, be directly related to the goals and objectives
of the lesson, tap into prior knowledge/experiences, and develop student interest.) NAEYC 5c
The song we just listened to told us about living things and what makes something living. The book that we are about to read is
about both living and nonliving things, and what makes these things different. As we read, listen for the different characteristics that
make something living or nonliving and what different examples are for each of these.
Instructional Strategies: (Use a bulleted or numbered format to communicate the procedures for the lesson – what the teacher will do as well as what
the student will do. Describe the strategies which will be used to support students’ learning. Knowledge of students’ cognitive, social, emotional, and physical
development along with their cultural backgrounds should be evident.) NAEYC 4c and NAEYC 5c
1. Introduce the book – “Living or Nonliving?” by Kelli L. Hicks
2. Read the book.
3. Ask the students the questions at the end of the book. Allow students to share.
- Can you name two things that are alive?
- Is a toy robot living? How do you know?
- How do you know if something is living or nonliving?
4. Talk about the main idea of the story.
- Main idea: what is the important message about the book?
i. Living and nonliving things
- Key details: what supports the main idea about what is living and what is non-living?
i. Characteristics of what makes things living and what makes them non-living
ii. Examples of both kinds of things
5. Now we are going on a short field trip to find some different living and non-living things outside.
- Students will “Go on a Photo Walk” (30 Activities for Kids)
- Explain that they will take pictures of things that are living and things that are not living
- Tell them to take pictures of at least 2 things that are living and 2 of things that are nonliving
6. Give the students an iPad, have the camera app already pulled up for the students for easy access.
- Make sure the students know how to take the photos, demonstrate how to do this before going outside.
7. Take the students outside in small groups
- 3 groups, with 4 students in each group
8. After all students have taken their photos, have them share their photos and whether they are living or nonliving things.
Closure/Wrap up: (Describe how the CONTENT of the lesson will be summarized.)
Today we read a book about living and non-living things and the different characteristics that they obtain. Living things need food,
water, and air to survive, whereas non-living things do not need any of these things. We even went outside and found different
living and non-living things and took pictures of them. In our next lesson we are going to read about a caterpillar, who is very
hungry and needs food to live.
Instructional Supports
Resources and Materials Used to Engage Students in Learning (Provide citations for all resources that you did not create. Attach key
instructional material needed to understand what you and the students will be doing. Examples: class handouts, assignments, slides, and interactive white
board images.) NAEYC 5c
 “Living or Nonliving” by Kelli L. Hicks
 iPad (1 per student)
 30 Creative Activities for Kids - https://education-static.apple.com/creativity-for-kids/activities.pdf (Activity #5 - Go on a
 Photo Walk)
Additional Resources and Materials Used to Increase Teacher’s Background Knowledge of the Content: (List any websites and
sources of materials and background information that you will need or use as the teacher to engage the students.) NAEYC 5a
 Teaching Main Idea and Details (https://tejedastots.com/teaching-main-idea-and-details/)
Other Relevant Information
Clear Links to Learning Theories, Educational Research, and Principles of Development: NAEYC 4b
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence – This lesson’s experiences provide opportunities for students to synthesize,
analyze, and practice the information they have been learning in regard to living and non-living things. Students are able to share
their thoughts on the topic at hand, be engaged in the lesson in order to expand on their knowledge, elaborate on what living and
non-living things are, and can practice what they have learned during their photo walk.
Physical Development – students will be using their gross motor skills to find living and non-living things outside, as well as their
arms to carry the iPads, which promotes their overall physical development.
Connections to Technology and/or the Arts: NAEYC 4b
Technology – iPads used to recreate the story from the book

Description of Collaboration with Others: (These might include the inclusion teacher, media specialist, counselor, guest speaker, grade level
coordinator, community experts, families, etc.) NAEYC 5a
Collaboration with partner teacher and media specialist

Lesson 4

Name of Teacher Candidate: Nicole Casper Date: April 22, 2021

Grade Level:
Kindergarten
Lesson Title:
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar”
Curriculum Areas Addressed:
Language Arts, Science
Time Required: Instructional Groupings: Are you using whole group, small group,
30 minutes partners, quads, homogeneous, heterogeneous? NAEYC 4a
Whole Group
Standards: List the GPS/CCGPS that are the target of student learning and are key to this lesson. Include the number and the text of each of the
GPS/CCGPS that is being addressed. If only a portion of a standard is addressed, include only the part or parts that are relevant. NAEYC 5c
ELAGSEKRI2 With prompting and support, identify the main topic (main idea) and retell key details of a text (supporting details).
SKL1 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how organisms (alive and not alive) and non-living objects are
grouped.
As a result of this lesson students will…
Essential Question: (Essential questions should be used to guide instruction.) NAEYC 5c
How can we understand the purpose of a story from identifying the main idea?
Learning Objectives: (Objectives are stated in measurable/observable terms. These should reflect the thinking skills, skills of the discipline. These
represent the skills that will be assessed.) NAEYC 5c
The students will be able to analyze a story to determine the main idea and key details.
Support for Academic Language
Vocabulary: (What Academic Language will be taught or developed? Identify the key vocabulary and/or symbols specific to the content area. These may
be derived from the standards.) NAEYC 5b
Main idea
Key details/supporting details
Living things
Language Demands: (Language demands is defined as the specific ways that academic language (vocabulary, functions, discourse, syntax) is used by
students to participate in learning tasks through reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking to demonstrate their disciplinary understanding. Identify the
following way/ways that students will participate in learning tasks to demonstrate disciplinary understanding: reading, writing, listening, or oral language.)
NAEYC 5b
Listening – the book is read aloud
Writing –writing what they would eat if they were a hungry caterpillar
Language – responding to questions, sharing
Syntax: (Syntax is defined as the set of conventions for organizing symbols, words, and phrases together into structures, such as sentences, tables, or
graphs. Identify the supports that will be provided for students to organize the information – charts, graphs, diagrams. These must relate to the Language
Function.) NAEYC 5b
Sentence stem – “If I were a very hungry caterpillar, I would eat…”
Assessment (Each learning objective must be assessed. How will students demonstrate their understanding of the lesson’s objectives? How will you
provide feedback for the students? What type of assessment will be used? What evidence will be collected to demonstrate students’ understanding/mastery of
the lesson’s objective? What constitutes success for the students?)
Assessment Strategy: (Identify the assessment strategy/strategies to be used for assessment of the learning objectives listed above. Each learning
objective should be assessed. DO NOT restate the learning objective.) NAEYC 3b
Focused observation – student responses to what the main idea and key details are in the story

Evaluation Criteria: (Indicate the qualities by which levels of performance can be differentiated and that anchor judgments about the learner’s degree
of success on an assessment.) NAEYC 3b
 student is actively engaged/correctly identifying main idea and key details
 student is somewhat engaged/correctly identifying main idea OR key details
 student is not engaged/does not identify main idea and key details

Steps in the Lesson (Include the attention getter or the hook for the lesson; the introduction; the lesson procedures including strategies/planned supports
for whole‐class, small group, and individual instructions; and differentiated activities.)
Attention Getter or Hook: (State how the attention of the students will be piqued at the start of the lesson.) NAEYC 4c
Show the students the cover of the book. Have them think about what the book is going to be about.
Introduction: (State how the lesson will be introduced. This should communicate the purpose of the lesson, be directly related to the goals and objectives
of the lesson, tap into prior knowledge/experiences, and develop student interest.) NAEYC 5c
Today we are going to read a book about a caterpillar. This caterpillar is very hungry and eats a lot of food, which helps him grow,
just like you do. At the end of the book, the caterpillar turns into something beautiful. As we read, watch how the caterpillar changes
and listen for key details in the story that may support the main idea.
Instructional Strategies: (Use a bulleted or numbered format to communicate the procedures for the lesson – what the teacher will do as well as what
the student will do. Describe the strategies which will be used to support students’ learning. Knowledge of students’ cognitive, social, emotional, and physical
development along with their cultural backgrounds should be evident.) NAEYC 4c and NAEYC 5c
1. Introduce the book by stating the title and author, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” by Eric Carle.
2. Read the book.
 Define cocoon, this may be a term student are unfamiliar with.
3. After reading, ask the students what the main idea (main theme/purpose) of the story is.
 Discuss this with the class.
 Main idea: living things, such as a caterpillar, grow and change
4. As a class, discuss what the key details are from the story.
  What supports the main idea?
 Key details: caterpillar hatches from egg, grows into a large caterpillar after eating, cocoons itself and turns into a
butterfly – these all support the main idea in which living things grow and change
5. From reading, we can see that caterpillars eat, move, and grow. This means that caterpillars are what types of things? Living
or non-living? (living)
6. How did the caterpillar change and develop throughout the book? (give the students the chance to stand up, move, and act
out the different phases of change that the caterpillar undergoes)
i. The caterpillar started as an egg: have the students squat down, hold onto their ankles, and round their body
into the shape of an egg.
ii. After hatching from the egg, the caterpillar is now a larva: have the students “squirm like a worm.”
iii. Once the caterpillar is in the cocoon, it is known as a pupa: have the students wrap their arms around
themselves and close their eyes as if they are resting in the cocoon.
iv. After coming out of the cocoon, the caterpillar is now a butterfly: have the students unwrap their arms and fly
like a butterfly.
7. After the students act out each phase, have the students return to their seats to complete the next activity.
8. Give the students a handout in which they will be able to write: “If I were a very hungry caterpillar, I would eat…”
 Finish the sentence with at least one food that you would eat if you were a hungry caterpillar.
i. Help the students spell out the food names if they are unsure how to spell them.
 You can write more than one food if you would like.
 Use the boxes on your paper to draw a picture(s) of this food.
 Color the drawing(s).
9. Allow time for students to share what kinds of food they would eat.
Closure/Wrap up: (Describe how the CONTENT of the lesson will be summarized.)
Today we focused on the main idea and key details of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” The main idea is the purpose and point of the
story, or what the story is all about. The main idea of this story is that living things, such as caterpillars, grow and change. Key
details are ideas that support the main idea. Supporting details in this story include when the caterpillar hatches from an egg, the
caterpillar growing as it eats, and the caterpillar turning into a butterfly. All of these details support the idea that things grow and
change in time, and also show us that a caterpillar is a living thing. Each story that we read has a main idea with key details. When
you read, think about this in order to determine the purpose behind what you are reading.
Instructional Supports
Resources and Materials Used to Engage Students in Learning (Provide citations for all resources that you did not create. Attach key
instructional material needed to understand what you and the students will be doing. Examples: class handouts, assignments, slides, and interactive white
board images.) NAEYC 5c
  “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle
 Writing Activity – (https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Very-Hungry-Caterpillar-Writing-and-Worksheet-
Activity-1127809?st=eeb2fba766693a93ae966614acc5f62f)
Additional Resources and Materials Used to Increase Teacher’s Background Knowledge of the Content: (List any websites and
sources of materials and background information that you will need or use as the teacher to engage the students.) NAEYC 5a
 How to Teach Main Idea and Key Details (https://babblingabby.net/2018/03/teaching-key-details-main-idea/)
 The Very Hungry Caterpillar Lesson Plans – (https://www.woojr.com/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-activities-and-lesson-
plan/)
Other Relevant Information
Clear Links to Learning Theories, Educational Research, and Principles of Development: NAEYC 4b
Patty Smith Hill built her theory off of Dewey’s work and research. She believed that students learn best through student-centered
activity and learning. In this lesson, students are able to demonstrate their learning through writing and drawing and sharing their
thoughts. This closely correlates with John Dewey’s theory in which he supports active learning and meaningful experiences.
Students are actively engaged with this lesson and are able to extend their learning through these experiences.
Physical Development - Students are able to use their gross motor muscles as they enact the different growth phases of the
caterpillar. Students are also able to use their fine motors as they write. Both of these movements promote physical development in
the students.
Connections to Technology and/or the Arts: NAEYC 4b
Drama – Moving and acting out the different growth stages of the caterpillar
Arts – drawing/coloring pictures of different food
Description of Collaboration with Others: (These might include the inclusion teacher, media specialist, counselor, guest speaker, grade level
coordinator, community experts, families, etc.) NAEYC 5a
Collaboration with partner teacher

Lesson 5
Name of Teacher Candidate: Nicole Casper Date: April 22, 2021
Grade Level:
Kindergarten
Lesson Title:
Living and Nonliving Things in Action
Curriculum Areas Addressed:
Science
Time Required: Instructional Groupings: Are you using whole group, small group,
30 minutes partners, quads, homogeneous, heterogeneous? NAEYC 4a
Whole Group (review), Small Group (game)
Standards: List the GPS/CCGPS that are the target of student learning and are key to this lesson. Include the number and the text of each of the
GPS/CCGPS that is being addressed. If only a portion of a standard is addressed, include only the part or parts that are relevant. NAEYC 5c
SKL1 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how organisms (alive and not alive) and non-living objects are
grouped.
As a result of this lesson students will…
Essential Question: (Essential questions should be used to guide instruction.) NAEYC 5c
How can we utilize what we have learned about living and non-living things?
Learning Objectives: (Objectives are stated in measurable/observable terms. These should reflect the thinking skills, skills of the discipline. These
represent the skills that will be assessed.) NAEYC 5c
The students will be able to show what they have learned about living and nonliving things through an interactive game.
Support for Academic Language
Vocabulary: (What Academic Language will be taught or developed? Identify the key vocabulary and/or symbols specific to the content area. These may
be derived from the standards.) NAEYC 5b
Living
Nonliving
Language Demands: (Language demands is defined as the specific ways that academic language (vocabulary, functions, discourse, syntax) is used by
students to participate in learning tasks through reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking to demonstrate their disciplinary understanding. Identify the
following way/ways that students will participate in learning tasks to demonstrate disciplinary understanding: reading, writing, listening, or oral language.)
NAEYC 5b
Language – sharing thoughts
Listening – review, hearing others’ responses
Syntax: (Syntax is defined as the set of conventions for organizing symbols, words, and phrases together into structures, such as sentences, tables, or
graphs. Identify the supports that will be provided for students to organize the information – charts, graphs, diagrams. These must relate to the Language
Function.) NAEYC 5b
Assessment (Each learning objective must be assessed. How will students demonstrate their understanding of the lesson’s objectives? How will you
provide feedback for the students? What type of assessment will be used? What evidence will be collected to demonstrate students’ understanding/mastery of
the lesson’s objective? What constitutes success for the students?)
Assessment Strategy: (Identify the assessment strategy/strategies to be used for assessment of the learning objectives listed above. Each learning
objective should be assessed. DO NOT restate the learning objective.) NAEYC 3b
Focused observation – 1) students playing the Living or Nonliving game; 2) student responses to questions

Evaluation Criteria: (Indicate the qualities by which levels of performance can be differentiated and that anchor judgments about the learner’s degree
of success on an assessment.) NAEYC 3b
- “√+” students are actively engaged, able to correctly identify living and nonliving things
- “+” students are engaged, able to correctly identify living and nonliving things sometimes
- “—” students are not engaged, unable to correctly identify living and nonliving things
Steps in the Lesson (Include the attention getter or the hook for the lesson; the introduction; the lesson procedures including strategies/planned supports
for whole‐class, small group, and individual instructions; and differentiated activities.)
Attention Getter or Hook: (State how the attention of the students will be piqued at the start of the lesson.) NAEYC 4c
Show the students a caterpillar that you have created (representing what they will be doing in class).
Introduction: (State how the lesson will be introduced. This should communicate the purpose of the lesson, be directly related to the goals and objectives
of the lesson, tap into prior knowledge/experiences, and develop student interest.) NAEYC 5c
In our last class, we read a book about this type of animal. Can anyone tell me what this animal is called? (caterpillar). Caterpillars
are living things, which means they grow, move, reproduce, and need food and water to survive. Today, we are going to play a
review game about living and non-living things. After our review, we are going to create our very own caterpillars!
Instructional Strategies: (Use a bulleted or numbered format to communicate the procedures for the lesson – what the teacher will do as well as what
the student will do. Describe the strategies which will be used to support students’ learning. Knowledge of students’ cognitive, social, emotional, and physical
development along with their cultural backgrounds should be evident.) NAEYC 4c and NAEYC 5c
1. Divide the students into 4 separate groups.
- These groups will be based off of the tables the students sit at.
2. Give each group of students the materials needed for the game
- Gameboard
- Game cards
- Game pieces for each student
3. Provide directions on how to play the game.
- Take turns drawing a card from the stack.
- Read the card and answer the question on the card (look at the picture and answer it as a. living, or b. nonliving).
- If you answer right, move two spaces on the board.
 - If you answer wrong, place the card back to the side.
4. After each group has time to play, do a review with the class.
- What were some of the living things from the game? (frog, dog, monkey, elephant, etc.)
- What do all of these things have in common?
- What were some of the nonliving things from the game? (cupcake, ice cream, kite, candy, etc.)
- What do all of these things have in common?
5. Allow time for the students to ask questions or share their thoughts related to living and non-living things.
6. Transition into time for students to make caterpillars.
7. Begin handing students supplies to create their caterpillars.
- Place supplies on the tables of students, explain that they should not touch these until directed.
i. Pipe cleaners
ii. Googly eyes
iii. Egg carton (already painted/colored prior to lesson)
iv. Markers
v. Cotton balls
vi. Glue
8. Provide step by step instructions for the students on how to create their own caterpillar (make one with them as a visual
representation on what to do)
- Play subtle music in the background while the students work
- Encourage the students to be creative and the caterpillar their own, be creative
- Tell the students to give their best work, that their caterpillars will potentially be placed at the public library for people to
see.
- Lay your caterpillar’s body (egg carton) with the holes (egg slots) down.
- Give your caterpillar antennas (pipe cleaners).
- Give your caterpillar eyes (googly eyes).
- If you want your caterpillar to have a mouth, draw one on.
- If there is anything else you want to add to your caterpillar, do that now.
9. Begin cleaning up and then wrap up the lesson.
Closure/Wrap up: (Describe how the CONTENT of the lesson will be summarized.)
Throughout this unit, we have learned all about living and nonliving things and the different characteristics that we can use to
determine whether something is living or not. Today we played a game to review this information we have learned, and we created
our very own caterpillars! As you are out in the world, look for things that may be living and things that may be non-living, and
continue to expand your knowledge on this topic.
Instructional Supports
Resources and Materials Used to Engage Students in Learning (Provide citations for all resources that you did not create. Attach key
instructional material needed to understand what you and the students will be doing. Examples: class handouts, assignments, slides, and interactive white
board images.) NAEYC 5c
 Egg cartons, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, markers, cotton balls (to make caterpillars)
 YouTube video for music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ymcPin-4h0)
 Living or Nonliving Game (https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Living-Nonliving-Game-1480108)
Additional Resources and Materials Used to Increase Teacher’s Background Knowledge of the Content: (List any websites and
sources of materials and background information that you will need or use as the teacher to engage the students.) NAEYC 5a
 Egg Carton Very Hungry Caterpillar (https://www.kidspot.com.au/things-to-do/activity-articles/egg-carton-very-hungry-
caterpillar/news-story/103a982533502e5f01af9b4420e62371)
Other Relevant Information
Clear Links to Learning Theories, Educational Research, and Principles of Development: NAEYC 4b
Lev Vygotsky believes it is beneficial for students to learn through hands-on learning. In this lesson, students are hands-on in both
playing the review game, and making their caterpillars. The review game, in particular, is a beneficial hands-on learning experience,
as the students are practicing the information that they have been learning.
This lesson also incorporates aspects from John Piaget’s theory. Piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory examines play as a mirror
of children’s developing mental abilities. He proposes that children create their own knowledge about the world with interactions
between people and materials. As the students participate in the game, students are using materials to expand on their knowledge of
living and non-living things. This game provides many examples of both living and non-living things and allows for the students to
know what kinds of things can be identified as living or non-living in the world around them.
Physical Development – Students are using their fine motor skills to manipulate game pieces and create their caterpillars. The use
of fine motor skills promotes their physical development.
Connections to Technology and/or the Arts: NAEYC 4b
Art – creating caterpillars
Description of Collaboration with Others: (These might include the inclusion teacher, media specialist, counselor, guest speaker, grade level
coordinator, community experts, families, etc.) NAEYC 5a
Collaboration with partner teacher