Performance Objective: Given written and oral assessment methods, students will correctly choose 4 out of the 4 steps in the process of natural selection by the 2nd time they are assessed. Working in small and large group settings, when given 5 options for what "survival of the fittest" might mean, students will choose the 1 correct meaning for “survival of the fittest”, explain their choice, defend their answer, and then correctly answer 3 out of 4 follow-up assessment questions.
Content: Journal Prompt:
“Natural selection is sometimes described as "survival of the fittest." Four friends were arguing about what the phrase "survival of the fittest" means. This is what they said:
Dora: "I think 'fit' means bigger and stronger."
Lance: "I think 'fit' means more apt to reproduce."
Felix: "I think 'fit' means able to run faster."
Paz: "I think 'fit' means more intelligent."
1. Which person do you agree with the most? _____________
2. Explain what you think "survival of the fittest" means.”
Steps
Students do science probe responses independently in journals, engage in small group discussion with other students in which students share individual responses, participate in large group discussion with students debating ideas and evidence presented by the prompt and other students, write the definition and steps for natural selection in journals, and a complete a written or verbal summary of the lesson.
(For teacher reference: see video of lesson here.)
Follow-Through Activities:
The teacher summarized the lesson goals and has students either share out verbally or write in their journals their own summary of the lesson.
Lesson Plan Summary:
The lesson includes an independent journal prompt response, large and small group discussions with students sharing individual and group responses, large group discussion with students debating ideas and evidence presented by the prompt and other students, and a verbal summary of lesson goals by the students and teacher. Because there is one correct sequence of steps here, behaviorism is present. Because students are engaging in discussion and potentially changing their opinions and written notes, which involves higher-level thinking than simple recall, cognitivism is present.