Well written and informative

Although I teach Kindergarten and not first grade, I was drawn to this article because I thought it might provide me with ideas that I could modify to be appropriate for my class. I was not... See More

Although I teach Kindergarten and not first grade, I was drawn to this article because I thought it might provide me with ideas that I could modify to be appropriate for my class. I was not disappointed. I love how the investigation began because the students noticed something interesting and curious to them during their free time. I like how the teacher modeled observing the lizard with her students. In the article, the investigation then became teacher led. This is one area where I would modify for my class. I would want to facilitate the students in the investigation through inquiry, rather than just leading them through activities. I do like how the activities are varied and used a combination of group and individual work. If I were to teach the lesson, I would differentiate more by adding other modes of assessment. I think a great added bonus for the article was the inclusion of a story to read aloud to the students.

Great Resource!

I loved this lesson plan and resource as well! It was really informative and very detail oriented when in came to explaining what the students did in their groups. I also thought the final g... See More

I loved this lesson plan and resource as well! It was really informative and very detail oriented when in came to explaining what the students did in their groups. I also thought the final goal of how the children knew how some animals were born with these abilities and what camouflage was and could apply it to situations was very good! The only thing I did not like was that there were no differentiation for students who may not be able to do this and how the final assessment was just writing. I think maybe adding some options to draw or color would be very helpful and maybe working together to make their own animal maybe!

Sydnee Carroll's Review

I really loved this lesson plan. I would most certainly use this in my future classroom. I loved how the lesson starts out with a basic understanding of how camouflage works, and then slowly... See More

I really loved this lesson plan. I would most certainly use this in my future classroom. I loved how the lesson starts out with a basic understanding of how camouflage works, and then slowly transfers into how animals use it to survive in the wild. The activities that were used in this lesson plan were extremely thorough, and helped explain camouflage so well. The only issue I had was with the responses required by the students. Studnets have different writing levels, and there was no accomodations for those who aren't quite as skilled in writing as the other students. Overall, I thought this lesson plan was great, and I would use this in my future classroom.

Animals In Disguise

I am currently a student teacher in a first grade classroom. My first major project is to design a science-learning segment on animal defenses. I searched NSTA for a good resource to find id... See More

I am currently a student teacher in a first grade classroom. My first major project is to design a science-learning segment on animal defenses. I searched NSTA for a good resource to find ideas on how to teach camouflage to a first grader. This article could not have been more perfect. It gave many examples of activities on how to teach this idea as well as detailed explanations of what the students responses were to the activities. Burke also included a title of a book she used and I could not help but purchase it for my students. The only idea that was not helpful for me was how she had her students write responses to some of her questions. My first graders are not very good at writing their ideas down so I am going to have to figure out another way for my students to tell/show me what they learned. Overall this article was extremely helpful because it gave me wonderful ideas to start creating my lessons for my students.