Lesson Plan Supplemental Materials

In my lesson plan, Conservation Around the World, I am addressing the common core standard for Earth's Resources which discusses the "availability of Earth’s resources, extraction of the resources, contamination problems, remediation techniques and the storage/disposal of the resources or byproducts and the topic of conservation, protection and sustainability of Earth’s resources.” By the end of the lesson, students will be able to identify various conservation organizations and what species they protect along with their prominent figures. Students will also recognize various endangered species discussed in class and their success or failed attempts to reestablish populations.

To begin, I will review previous lessons topics which link directly to the topics of endangered species and wildlife conservation by giving my students a Kahoot! on the Five Major threats to Wildlife (HIPPO acronym).

To assess students prior knowledge on the topic, they will complete one square in the first two columns of this KWL chart. At the end of the lesson, students will return to the chart to complete one square in the final column.

 Halfway through the lesson, students will be creating an informational .PDF to provide a quick insight into some of the most endangered species around the world, and the main threats to the populations. Students will then link their .PDF's to a QR code and submit on a Google Doc.

My Technology Lesson Plan

Conservation Around the World by Claire Sinard on Scribd

My Views on Technology in the Classroom

If I were to enter the field of education, I envision myself in a biology lab setting in a smaller private school. I really like being able to connect with the students individually as well as enjoy the variety of grades in one class and the numerous opportunities allotted by the smaller class sizes. I hope to have a projector in the classroom for presentation purposes, but would prefer students to take hand written notes, rather than electronic ones. The school itself would have computer labs for students to work on online assignments as well as laptops which students could take home so they have access to technology. These computers would all have the necessary applications, such as Google Drive, downloaded onto them so the students could still access documents and files while working offline. I hope to only have the students using their computers in class when working on projects or researching. I choose to do this because by having the students actively writing and participating in class they are more engaged and more likely to get the information into their muscle memory. Additionally, it makes it easier for students to move around to engage in kinesthetic activities whereas using a laptop makes the transitions longer and more complicated.

Ideally, I would be working with High School students, however I would also be happy to work with Middle Schoolers and be a guest teacher for Elementary School. With High School students, one of the biggest issues would be using the computer for the correct reasons and not accessing other sites such as Facebook, youtube, and other social media, recreational, and non-class related websites. Another issue is making sure the students are actually learning the information. Having access to an infinite amount of information at ones fingertips can be a dangerous tool for students because they can simply search the answer and record the information without having to really understand why it is the correct response to the question. The ever present mobile devices with internet access also poses a challenge because most students cannot go more than ten minutes without feeling the need to check their phone for any update on social media or notifications on their phones. Therefor, I would incorporate technology time into my classes and give the students a set two or three minutes to check their phones while I was gathering materials or changing topics. The return from this break would also give me the opportunity to do some formative assessments to see what information they retained from the lesson we previously were discussing two to three minutes prior. I think denying students access to their phones can be just as dangerous as allowing them to use it the full time. However, by giving them a set time during the class where they can use their phones, they are more likely to pay attention, knowing that they will be able to check for notifications after a certain time.

One of the biggest concerns I have for using technology in the classroom is really ensuring that all students have the same access. I like the idea of offering students both a hard cover textbook as well as access to an online book with online worksheets for two main reasons: the first is that by having two books they can leave the textbook at school so they always have a copy of the book at school, and the second so that while they are at home, or school, students can have the material read to them and they can use the online worksheets to quickly identify which areas they are having trouble picking up the material and what topics they are confused about. However, during the classroom time and setting, I am a firm believer in using paper and pens or pencils to take notes rather than typing. I want my students to feel comfortable using technology and to understand how to use it for the science courses I would be teaching, however I do not want them to become reliant upon its presence in order to succeed. Technology offers students with different learning preferences to be able to learn the material in whichever way works best for them. It also allows students to gain more information about topics which are very interesting to them. Additionally, technology gives students the opportunity to see people who like them who have succeeded in their dream careers. The most important thing I think we can teach students is how to use technology the correct way, and how to live without it.

Classroom Design

My classroom is a high school biology/zoology classroom. The school in which this classroom would be placed is a small, private school. The various classes I would teach in this room would be Freshman Biology, AP biology and labs, Zoology, Anatomy and Physiology, Animal Nutrition, as well as independent study classes for students with particular biology based interests. The desk formation is set up in a semi-circle allowing easy manipulation of the desks to create learning groups, as well as promote more classroom discussions. The long tables are necessary for various laboratory experiments. Additionally, because of the chemicals and various fluids that are used in biology labs and classrooms, there are not carpets or "comfortable" chairs to prevent contamination from spills.

The walls would be a shade of light blue since studies have shown that students who studied in a classroom with light blue walls showed an increase in overall health and attentiveness, and a decrease in fidgeting and aggressive behavior. The blue walls would also be decorated with the student’s projects, to encourage them to push themselves to do their best (since it would be on display), and offer visual reminders of the students success to increase confidence levels. The bookshelves behind my desk would be filled with books the students could checkout at any time, for their own personal use, or for homework purposes, thus offering them the resources to initiate their own learning. Finally, the other pictures on the walls would be of teachers who guest lectured in on the classes. These would be video-chat classes where students had the opportunity to learn from other teachers who do not look, or teach, like I do, but might reflect more of what the students benefit from. By combining the wall color and decorations, as well as resources available to the students, I hope to increase student’s health, confidence levels, and overall learning experience.

In my classroom I have numerous opportunities for students to explore their interests. Attached to the classroom is a greenhouse. This greenhouse allows students, who have an interest in horticulture or plant based science can participate in hands on experience starting in their eighth grade freshman biology classes. For the same reason, there are also numerous animal enclosures so students with an interest in pursuing a career in the field can have basic experience caring for birds, mammals(rat), fish, and reptiles (snake, amphibian, turtle, and bearded dragon). These animals would also be used for the Animal Nutrition class; students would be able to prepare/create diets for certain animals and compare the various animal diets to each other, as well as their own diets. 

The animals, mainly the rat would also be able to be used as test subjects in science fair projects, assuming the experiments were humane and the students could provide multiple test subjects, mainly the rats. The use of these animals, as well as the greenhouse, create a vast number of possible experiments students could perform, and with an increased accuracy. This would not only offer students with the means to have higher quality results, and presentation, but also increased chances of higher ranking in competitions, which open the door for scholarship opportunities, as well as resume builders for college and career applications.


My hopes for my classroom is to provide a safe, healthy, and beneficial learning environment for students. I want them to be able to enter into the classroom and feel welcome, and be excited for the day. I hope that the opportunities my classroom would allow them, would be the first stepping stones into allowing those students to actualize their dreams, and to instill in them lessons that will carry on with them through all aspects of their lives.

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Tech Tool Review

PINTEREST in the Classroom

Let me start off by saying that I love PINTEREST. I think it's a fantastic way to share ideas, photos, recipes, etc. easily and efficiently. I love being able to sort the pins when saving them, as well as being able to describe them when initially finding and pinning them, so you can leave a reminder for yourself about why you liked it or when you wanted to use it for; definitely a strength of the website. As a teacher, I would use PINTEREST to find different Lesson Plans as well as innovative and creative ways to display or teach materials. Some of the challenges that people who are new to the website face might be becoming familiar with navigating the site and figuring out the best way to type in what they're looking for. I have been using PINTEREST for myself for the past several years and I love it. When looking at a pin, some of them have a "Try It" button which allows you to read what people who have tried it have thought about it, and any alterations they would recommend (great for recipes and crafts). I, myself,  am a personal fan of PINTEREST.