Cross-Curricular Science and ELA Lesson Plan: Animal Habitats and Adaptations

The ability to plan cross-curricular lessons and utilize teaching strategies and assessments that can meet the diverse needs of learners in the inclusive classroom is an important skill for special education teachers. Additionally, knowledge of how to utilize assistive technology to assist language development and communication skills and support he varied needs of students as part of instruction and assessment can also help them reach their full potential as they move toward achieving mastery of specific learning objectives and goals.
Scenario:
Imagine you are the classroom teacher for the following students:
Three students with specific learning disabilities in the area of reading
One student who has been diagnosed with ASD
Two students who have emotional and behavioral disorders that affect their academics in all areas
Two students with mild intellectual disabilities
One student who is speech and language impaired and is struggling with reading
One student who was retained and is repeating fifth grade
One new student whose records have not yet arrived, but who reports that this year is his second time in fifth grade
All of your students are decoding and comprehending at a second to third grade reading level. All attend general education classes for at least part of the day. Ten of the 11 students show an interest in science and nonfiction texts, while one female student adores princesses and detests all the topics the other students enjoy.
Review Appendix B of the Common Core Standards and select a fifth grade exemplar informational text focused on science.
Using the “COE Lesson Plan Template,” create a cross-curricular science and ELA lesson plan designed to meet the diverse needs of the students in your class. The lesson should align to fifth grade science and ELA standards. When designing the lesson, formulate an outcome that encompasses both of the selected standards and identify how you will assess the outcome. On the lesson plan, the following should be clearly identified:
Fifth grade exemplar informational text that is focused on science and is the subject of the lesson
Common Core Standard or other state standards specific to science and ELA
High and/or low-tech assistive technology that can be utilized during instruction or as part of the lesson’s summative assessment to enhance language development and communication skills
In the “Rationale/Reflections” section of the “COE Lesson Plan Template,” write a 250-500 word rationale that addresses the following:
Explain how you selected the standards and brought them together to formulate the lesson outcome.
Explain your instructional choices by discussing how the lesson helps students develop skills in both science and ELA and helps them work on mastering the identified standards.
Justify the formative and summative assessments you will use in the lesson by explaining how they assess the lesson outcome.
Explain how you will provide students with disabilities feedback on their formative assessments to help them prepare for summative assessments related to the lesson.