Lesson Plan : Characteristics of Mussel Species
Teacher Name: | Mr Welter |
Grade: | Grade 9-10 |
Subject: | Science |
Topic: | Mussel Identification |
Content: | This lesson is an in-class, hands-on, and an online interactive activity created in Flash technology that allows users to identify species of mussels by choosing sets of characteristics of the mussels in question through a series of choices. |
Goals: | Students will be able to identify 5 species of various mussels, by sets of physical characteristics as they use a dichotomous key. |
Objectives: | Students will be able to identify species of animals, such as various mussels, by sets of physical characteristics as they use a key. |
Materials: | Instructor to introduce concepts of mussel shell anatomy using actual mussel shells or digital images of mussels shells of five different species identification guide sheet printout or interactive game. |
Introduction: | 1. Instructor will introduce the activity by presenting a short discussion of sets of characteristics that can be used to identify things, using an example the students are familiar with (dogs: size, color, shape, hair type, ear shape, etc.) and tell students that they are going to use sets of characteristics presented by the interactive game to choose which characteristics a mussel has as it goes through the steps of identification. |
Development: | The instructor or leader will help students read about mussels in the Illinois River and look at mussel species in the online database. The instructor will place the identification guide poster on a table and line up five mussel shells of different species (or color cut-outs of the specified mussel species from the online collection printouts) across the top. |
Practice: | Students will read aloud and define each set of key characteristics that will help them to identify each species. Students will move one species of mussel through the sets of identifying characteristics of the chart. |
Accommodations: | |
Checking For Understanding: | Students will realize that they have successfully identified their mussel at the end of the activity, or they will be allowed to back up and try again to correct an error. Students will list the characteristics their mussel(s) exhibit. They can check it against the descriptions of the mussel on the Harvesting the River Web site and in the online database. Students should be able to explain what they did, how sets of characteristics are used to identify living things or species, and how a key helps them. |
Closure: | The instructor will point out that there are many hundreds of species, some of which may have other sets of identifying characteristics, but the principles still apply to them and to other animals. |
Evaluation: | Students will move one species of mussel through the sets of identifying characteristics of the chart. When the mussel reaches a characteristic at the bottom of the chart, the mussel has been identified. |
Teacher Reflections: |
| Create New Lesson Plan | Lesson Plan Center |