Module 1- Lesson Plan One

Here is my first idea for a lesson plan involving the Web 2.0 tool of blogging.

Lesson Title: What Makes a Reptile a Reptile?
Type of Web 2.0 Tool: Weblog
                 
SOL and Secondary Objectives Related to the Lesson: General Science, Biology
Brief Description of Overall Lesson: 

In this lesson, students will first pick a reptile.  The specific animal selected is not important, it is the way the students describe what makes this animal a reptile in their blog post.  Students will include a picture in their post of the reptile they chose, and write out the specific features of this reptile that make it a reptile versus a mammal, bird, fish, or amphibian.  Students must also define each feature.  For example, if a student chooses a Tokay Gecko and says it's a reptile because it has scales, they must define the term scales and then elaborate on reptile scales specifically.  To gain of a further understand of the important role reptiles play in the environment, students must also include in their post where the animal is from, what it eats, what its predators are (if any), and describe a conservation issue related to the specific reptile or its habitat.  At the end of this lesson, students should have a general understanding of what specific features an animal has to have to make it a reptile, and the important role reptiles play in our world.