The document outlines a curriculum unit focused on teaching fourth-grade students about biomes through a collaborative approach using the Understanding by Design framework. It details the three stages of unit design: identifying desired results, determining evidence of understanding, and planning learning experiences, along with essential questions and key skills students will learn. The unit includes performance tasks, assessments, and specific lessons aimed at promoting higher-level thinking and collaboration among students.

1. Wipe Out Worksheets:
creating collaborative reference
skills units that require higher
level thinking skills
Susan L. Garvin
(susanlgarvin@cox.net)
Annie Weissman
(annieweissman@aol.com)
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2. Understanding by Design
The units were planned using the templates found in Understanding by
Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTigue (ASCD, 2005.) They have
updated their ideas in the books The Understanding by Design Guide
to Creating High-Quality Units (2011) and The Understanding by
Design Guide to Advanced Concepts in Creating and Reviewing Units
(2012).
The book opens by analyzing the logic of backward design as
an alternative to coverage and activity-oriented plans. The book
proposes a multifaceted approach, with the six “facets” of
understanding. The facets combine with backward design to provide a
powerful, expanded array of practical tools and strategies for designing
curriculum, instruction, and assessments that lead students at all grade
levels to genuine understanding.
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3. Three Stages of Designing a Unit
Stage One – Identify Desired Results
Established Goals
Essential Questions
Understandings
Key Knowledge and Skills
Stage Two – Evidence
Performance Tasks
Assessment and Reflection
Stage Three – Plan Learning Experiences
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4. Stage One: Established Goal
In the first step of the first stage, the
planner identifies the desired results by first
basing the unit on established goals. These
are either national, state, or district content
standards.
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5. Fourth Grade Biome Unit
First Step – Established goal.
National Science Education Content
Standard C: Life Science
Organisms and their environments: An
organism‟s patterns of behavior are related
to the nature of that organism‟s environment
including the kinds and numbers of other
organisms present, the availability of food
and resources and the physical
characteristics of the environment.
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6. Second Step: Essential Questions
The next step in the first stage is that the
planner decides on the essential questions:
What is it that makes this unit worth
studying? These questions are broad in
nature but have specific answers. This is
where the words of Bloom‟s Taxonomy,
especially why and how, are used.
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7. Essential Questions for Biome Unit
1. What is a biome and what are its
characteristics?
2. Where are the biomes on the earth?
3. What are humans doing to change or
influence the condition and future of the
biomes?
4. Which biome do you live in?
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8. Third Step: Understandings
The third step in Stage One is to
write down what understandings
the students will learn. These are
also broad statements.
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9. Understandings for the Biome Unit
1. Students identify the characteristics of a
biome.
2. Students identify the seven biomes, their
characteristics, and where they are located.
3. Students understand that the plants and
animals that live in each biome are
interdependent.
4. Students understand that plants and animals
have adapted to the biome in which they live.
5. Students understand that human activity affects
the basic underlying conditions and future of
biomes.
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10. Key Knowledge and Skills
The final step of Stage One
is to break down the
understandings into key
knowledge and skills the
students will learn from the unit.
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11. Key Knowledge and Skills of Biome Unit
1. Students define the key vocabulary of the
unit: biome, taiga, tundra, grassland,
deciduous, forest, desert, tropical, rainforest,
savannah, climate, adaptation, annual, arid,
atmosphere, basin, community, competition,
conserve, drought, evergreen, humid,
habitat, landforms, organism, perennial,
prairie, species, steppe, symbiosis, and
vegetation.
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12. Key knowledge and skills of Biome Unit
2. Students use the encyclopedia,
Internet, dictionary, online catalog, and
nonfiction books to research: location,
climate, dominant plants, common
animals and impact of humans.
3. Using Microsoft Publisher, students
create a brochure on their assigned
biome.
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13. Stage Two: Evidence
The second stage is to decide on
what evidence will show that the
students have acquired the
understandings, key knowledge and
skills, performance tasks.
The performance tasks should
mirror the understandings, knowledge,
and skills that have been targeted for
the unit.
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14. Stage Two: Determine Acceptable
Evidence of Biome Unit
• Performance Tasks:
• Students make a brochure describing the
characteristics of their assigned biome.
• Using the cooperative learning jigsaw
strategy, students present and teach their
biome brochures to a small group.
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15. Assessment and Reflection
Part of the second stage is student self-
assessment and reflection. Rubrics can
either be used by the instructor to assess
performance tasks or by the students to
assess their performance tasks. The rubric
in this unit was created on Rubistar,
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php . This
is a free website at which all kinds of rubrics
can be designed.
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16. CATEGORY 4 3 2 1
Writing - Grammar There are no There are no There are 1-2 There are several
grammatical grammatical grammatical grammatical
mistakes in the mistakes in the mistakes in the mistakes in the
brochure. brochure after brochure even after brochure even after
feedback from an feedback from an feedback from an
adult. adult. adult.
Content - Accuracy All facts in the 99-90% of the facts 89-80% of the facts Fewer than 80% of
brochure are in the brochure are in the brochure are the facts in the
accurate. accurate. accurate. brochure are
accurate.
Attractiveness & The brochure has The brochure has The brochure has The brochure's
Organization exceptionally attractive formatting well-organized formatting and
attractive formatting and well-organized information. organization of
and well-organized information. material are
information. confusing to the
reader.
Sources Careful and Careful and Careful and Sources are not
accurate records are accurate records are accurate records are documented
kept to document kept to document kept to document accurately or are not
the source of 95- the source of 94- the source of 84- kept on many facts
100% of the facts 85% of the facts and 75% of the facts and and graphics.
and graphics in the graphics in the graphics in the
brochure. brochure. brochure.
Graphics/Pictures Graphics go well Graphics go well Graphics go well Graphics do not go
with the text and with the text, but with the text, but with the
there is a good mix there are so many there are too few accompanying text
of text and graphics. that they distract and the brochure or appear to be
from the text. seems "text-heavy". randomly chosen.
Knowledge Gained All students in the All students in the Most students in the Several students in
group can group can group can the group appear to
accurately answer accurately answer accurately answer have little
all questions related most questions most questions knowledge about
to facts in the related to facts in related to facts in the facts or technical
brochure and to the brochure and to the brochure and to processes used in
technical processes technical processes technical processes the brochure.
used to create the used to create the used to create the
brochure. brochure. brochure.
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17. Stage Three: Plan Learning
Experiences
The third and last stage is planning
the learning experiences. They are
made specific with the lesson plans
for the unit. The dictionary lesson is
to build background information,
not for a particular product.
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18. Stage Three: Learning Experiences
for Biome Unit
• The instructor reads a book and discusses the
characteristics of a biome: location, climate, plants,
animals, conditions, and future. S/he brainstorms
identifying the seven biomes and introduces the
performance tasks and rubric for the unit.
• Using a dictionary, students research key biome
vocabulary words.
• Each group is assigned a biome [tundra, taiga (boreal
forest), deciduous temperate forest, grasslands,
savanna, desert, and tropical rainforest] to research
using the encyclopedia, nonfiction books, and Internet
websites. Using an Internet website, students create a
map of the location of their assigned biome.
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19. Stage Three: Learning Experiences
for Biome Unit
• Each group makes a brochure about their
assigned biome. The brochure must
contain information about the location,
climate, dominant plants, common
animals, conditions, and future of the
biome.
• After the first draft, students use the rubric
to rate and revise their biome brochure.
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20. Stage Three: Learning Experiences
for Biome Unit
• Using the cooperative learning
jigsaw strategy, students present
and teach their biome brochure to
a small group.
• The instructor leads a class
discussion using key and
concluding questions.
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21. Fourth Grade Biome Unit: Lesson
One “Brainstorming”
Standards:
National Science Education Content Standard
C: Life Science
Organisms and their environments: An
organism‟s patterns of behavior are related to
the nature of that organism‟s environment
including the kinds and numbers of other
organisms present, the availability of food and
resources and the physical characteristics of
the environment.
21

22. Objectives: Lesson One
“Brainstorming”
Students identify the
characteristics of a biome: location,
climate, dominant plants, common
animals, conditions, and future.
Students understand the
performance tasks and rubric required
for the unit.
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23. Materials: Lesson One
“Brainstorming”
Chart or empty board ready paper
One of the following books:
Burnie, David. Scrublands. Steck-Vaugh, 2003. 64 pp.
Kalman, Bobbie. What is a Biome? Crabtree Publishing
Company, 2005. 32pp.
Tocci, Salvatore. The Chaparral Life on the Scrubby Coast.
Franklin Watts, 2004. 65 pp.
Worhol, Tom. Chaparral and Scrubs. Marshall Cavendish,
2007. 80 pp.
Thirty copies of the biome brochure rubric
Visual of tundra
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24. Lesson One “Brainstorming”
Set: The instructor says, “There is a
part of the world where it is very cold
and dark in the winter, polar bears
roam, and the land is flat and frozen.
What one word could you use to
describe this region of the world?” The
instructor gives the answer, “tundra,” if
no one guesses it correctly.
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25. Lesson One “Brainstorming”
Input: Before the instructor reads sections of
the book, s/he tells the students to notice the
following characteristics: location, climate,
dominant plants, and common animals.
After the reading the instructor uses
think-pair-share and asks the students to name
or describe the biome mentioned in the book.
The instructor records their descriptions.
Using think-pair-share, the instructor asks the
students to brainstorm other biomes they know.
S/he records the biomes that match the
ones that will be covered in the unit. The
instructor adds any biomes that are missing.
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26. Input: Part Two
S/he explains the unit and the performance tasks.
The instructor projects the board ready biome brochure
rubric. S/he hands out a copy of the rubric to the
students. The instructor goes over the categories and
the rating system from four to one, making sure that the
students understand the rubric.
S/he then arranges the students into seven groups
and assigns each group a biome: [tundra, taiga (boreal
forest), deciduous temperate forest, grassland,
savanna, desert, and tropical rainforest].
The instructor gives each group a folder and tells the
students to write on the front of the folder their assigned
biome, their names, and their room number. Students
are then to number themselves from one to four.
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27. Lesson One “Brainstorming”
Guided Practice: The students meet
with their groups, write their biome and
room number on the folder, as well as
their names next to the numbers one
through four.
They put copies of the biome
brochure rubric in their folder. The
instructor collects the group folders.
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28. Lesson One “Brainstorming”
Assessment: The instructor
informally observes if the students
can describe the characteristics of
biomes and if they understand the
performance tasks and rubric as
explained.
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29. Closure: Lesson One
“Brainstorming”
Closure: Using think-pair-share,
the instructor asks, “What are
some characteristics of
biomes?”
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30. Additional Lessons for Biome Unit
• Lesson Two “Using the Dictionary to
Understand the Vocabulary of Biomes”
• Lesson Three “Researching Biomes Using
the Encyclopedia”
• Lesson Four “Using Nonfiction Books to
Research Biomes”
• Lesson Five “Information and a Biome
Map from the Internet”
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31. Additional Lessons for Biome Unit
• Lesson Six “Writing a Biome
Brochure”
• Lesson Seven “Designing a Biome
Brochure Using a Story Board”
• Lesson Eight “Making a Biome
Brochure using Microsoft Publisher”
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32. Additional Lessons for Biome Unit
• Lesson Nine “Reading, Rating,
and Changing the Biome
Brochures”
• Lesson Ten „Presentation of the
Biome Brochures”
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