Fifth Grade Lesson PlanBy: Kris Baxter

Imprinting! What Could Possibly Go Wrong?Explore the possibilities in this 5th grade multi-approach lesson plan.

Writing/Art/Science/Performing Arts

AbstractThis is a multi-subject activity that will allow students to participate in a

science/art/writing/performing arts experience as they discuss possibilities and outcomes when one species of animal imprints on a different species of animal that is not of their own kind. (An example would be: a goose imprinting on a human instead of its own mother goose.) Students will work in small groups to write an outline for their own story by choosing one kind of animal that imprints on another kind of animal. Their story outline will include one disadvantage and one advantage their animal of choice has because it imprinted on the wrong species. Students will go through the writing process and performing arts as they write plays and perform their plays using stick puppets. Students will design their own play scenery, puppets, and perform their plays for the other groups in the class. Students will also take turns writing a critique of one of the plays in the class. (It is not necessary to memorize plays. Students will read their lines from behind the play scenery.)

Grade LevelFifth

Intended Learning OutcomesStudents will learn about animal imprinting in science and go through the writing process

to write and perform a classroom play about imprinting. Students will use stick puppets and scenery that they create themselves during art time. Through performing arts, students will discover how performing is different than simply reading a story out loud. Through writing, students will critique the play performances of other students by providing written positive reinforcement and thought-provoking questions. Through discussion and writing, students will also critique their own performance as a group.

Approximate Class Time Needed45 minutes – 1 ½ hours a day, over a period of 2 or more weeks. (Learning and writing can

occur at different times during the school day, during writing workshop, science, and art center.)

Group Size3 students per group (4 students if there are uneven numbers of students in the class)

Life Skill OutcomesCollaboration, effective communication, complex thinking

Teaching/Learning StylesDiscussion, inquiry, social interaction, written

Subject/concept wordsImprinting, animal species, advantage, disadvantage, play writing, puppets, performing

arts, positive critiquing

Background to be Used Before Teachers Begin the Lesson PlanThrough this activity, students will discover what it means for an animal of a certain

species to imprint on the first thing it sees when it is born. Students will explore through class

discussion, the possibilities and problems that can occur when an animal imprints on the wrong species at birth. Students will then separate into groups of 3 or 4 and choose one animal for their group (from a list of animals that imprint at birth—see List of Materials for this list). Students will be asked to brainstorm ideas for a story that must include: the species of the main animal and the species of the animal it imprints on at birth (humans can be used too). The story must include one disadvantage that the imprinted animal faces and one advantage it faces because it thinks that it is the wrong animal species.

For example, if a zebra imprinted on a cat, it might want to climb trees. This would be a disadvantage because the zebra would spend all its time trying to do something it cannot (climbing trees) instead of taking the time to eat and graze in the grass. It may become very hungry and weak.

An advantage of being a zebra that thinks it’s a cat is that when it tries to sneak up on things, like cats do, the zebra’s stripes provide even more camouflage than the cats have and it will end up being the sneakiest zebra who-thinks-it’s-a-cat around!

Students will write an outline for their story and later write it into a play format, with each student representing only one character in the play. (Plays will only have as many characters as there are students. No student will represent more than one character.)

During science, students will study more about imprinting. Animals that imprint are the kinds of animals that can walk and are completely independent in only a few hours. Imprinting occurs so that these animals don’t just stand up and walk away from their mothers, never to return. They imprint and recognize their own mothers as soon as they are born for their own protection. When an animal is exposed to a different animal, other than its own species at birth, it actually thinks it IS that new animal. Often times these animals will imprint on humans too! Some animals can adapt back into their own kind of species later on in life, but many animals NEVER will. For example, the sheep that won’t stand with other sheep because the farmer raised it from birth and now it thinks it’s a human! Or the goose that thinks it a dog because it stayed next to the farm dog when it was a gosling, and now it thinks it’s a dog and won’t go near other geese! Both are examples of an animal that imprinted at birth.

Students will also use art time to create stick puppets and scenery for their plays. Students may read their plays as they perform with their puppets.

List of Materials: Rulers or yard sticks to use for the stick part of their stick puppets Paper or paper bags to make puppets out ofPoster board for backdrop scenery (each play will only have one)Glue for puppets or sceneryYarn for puppets or sceneryConstruction paper to add accessories to puppets and scenery Markers, crayons, colored pencils, or paint for puppets/sceneryWriting paper*Drawing paper if option for special education students is used (see “adaptations” section

below)PencilsTable (to be tipped on its side to hide students as they perform plays),

- or 2 Chairs with sheet or butcher paper taped across them (to be used to hide students as they perform plays)

Tape (if chairs and sheet/butcher paper are used, and for putting up poster board scenery)Poster with list of animals that imprint can include:

o Ducks, geese, guinea pigs, antelopes, camels, cows, deer, goats, pigs, sheep, horses, zebras, rhinoceroses, chickens, turkeys (there are more animals that teachers can research and include)

Picture of an African gooseOne folder for each group

Introduction

(Told in first person, but other teachers can adapt the story to 3rd person and still relay the same message. Have a hidden picture ready to project on smart board of Albert, my goose who imprinted on my 12 year old daughter when he was born.) I will start by telling the class that I am going to show them a picture of a member of our family (but hold the picture until the end). This individual has had a lot of problems because, even though he was born into our family, because of his terrible hygiene habits and extreme noise level, we had to move him out of the house when he was only a baby, and finally out into the barnyard (saying “barnyard” is a hint to the students that Albert is not human). Even though Albert is much bigger than all the birds in the barnyard, like the chickens and ducks, he is afraid of them! He runs from them whenever he sees them! You’d think as a member of our family, and with such a loud voice, he’d be able to stand up to them, but he is too afraid of them and all other waterfowl birds.

Ask class to describe what they think Albert looks like. Then show picture of Albert—a male African Goose! Explain to the class that when Albert was born/hatched, something happened called imprinting.

Ask the class if anyone knows what that means. (Answer: Imprinting means that when certain types of animals are born, they imprint or bond with the first thing they see.) So when Albert hatched from an egg and saw my 12 year old daughter, he not only thought she was his mother, but he thought he was human too! No matter where he is now, even out in the barnyard, he will ALWAYS think he is a human, instead of thinking that he is the biggest, baddest bird in the barnyard. He will always be afraid of other birds, even our small little ducks, because he thinks they are not like him--remember he thinks he is human!

Procedures: 1. Introduce topic according to Introduction.2. Ask students if they can think of any other disadvantages for a goose who thinks he is

a human, besides being afraid of birds in the barnyard. Examples of answers might be: He might try to live in a house, go to school on the bus--he did try this with my 12 year old daughter once!--, drive a car (humorous), eat with a fork (humorous).

3. Ask students what some advantages might be if a goose thought he was human. Examples of answers might be: He would be the best swimmer on the swim team (humorous), the best at catching small fish in a river, the best and only flyer around, always ready to take a bath when mother says to!

4. Ask students if they have ever had experiences with animals imprinting on them or other pets that they have, or if they have heard of other stories of animals imprinting on humans. (Students from rural communities might have lots of examples and experiences. Students from urbanized areas may only have heard of stories or seen movies where this takes place.)

5. Show the list of other animals that imprint when they are born or hatched and tell students that these are all animals that imprint on the first thing they see when they are born.

6. Explain that imprinting actually occurs because these types of animals, unlike dogs and cats, are completely independent within a few hours after birth and might wander off if it weren’t for imprinting. Lambs born in a sheep herd with hundreds of sheep can recognize their very own mother, instead of wandering off and getting confused and lost among hundreds of other sheep. Geese recognize their own mother too, as do other animals on the list.

7. Ask students to choose what animals they would like to imprint on them (as a human). Have a few students tell which animal they would choose and why.

8. Tell the students that any time you interfere with the natural order of things, there can be disadvantages. For example, Albert will never have a goose family of his own because he doesn’t think he is a goose, so he does not hang around other geese or even other birds. Albert never learned to fly because he never saw his human family doing it. Albert can get lonely when people don’t give him as much attention as he wants. Normal geese interact with each other, but Albert only wants to be with humans. Geese can get so lonely they can actually die, so keeping Albert company takes a lot of time and hard work. Albert also cannot protect himself from other birds because he is afraid of them, even though they are much smaller than him.

9. Let the students know there are advantages too. For example, Albert will always stay with us, his human family, wherever we go (when we allow him to come with us). He does not need a leash or a pen, except for his own protection from other animals. He can also be a lot of fun. We even took him camping with us where he played in the river all afternoon with us, but he got out immediately and followed us as soon as we started to leave. We will never have to chase him, because he doesn’t run away like a dog does.

10.Next divide the students into groups of 3 (or 4 if there are not even numbers of 3 for each group). Each group will have its own identifying number, beginning with number 1 and so forth, and receive a folder for their group with their number on the front.

11.Tell the students that as a group they need to discuss (brainstorm) and write down the following, each student on their own sheet of paper:

a. As a group, choose one animal from the poster list as their main character. Write this on their own papers on the first line as “Main Character: list animal”.

b. As a group, choose a second animal, (any animal, it does not have to be from the list and can also be human) that will be the new mother that their Main Character imprints on. Write this on the second line as “Mother: list mother animal.” [Optional fun fact: The first thing that an animal imprints on is considered its “mother.” But a boy can be the animal’s “mother,” or even a male animal, if that is the first thing the baby animal sees. This can add some humor to some of the plays.]

c. As a group, think of one disadvantage the main character may have in its life because it imprinted on the wrong animal (its new mother). List this on the 3rd line of the paper as, “Disadvantage: list disadvantage.”

d. As a group, think of one advantage the main character may have in its life because it imprinted on its new mother. List this on the 4th line of the paper as, “Advantage: list advantage.”

e. As a group, come up with an outline of a story telling about the disadvantage first and then the advantage that they listed. Each student will write the outline on their own paper, underneath the first four lines that they have already filled out on their own papers. These papers will go in their group folder when they are done and after each time that they work on them if they do not finish in one setting.

12.As a group, students then write their story in play format, using their group outline as a guideline for their story. (This can all happen over a series of days, depending on how much time the teacher chooses to give the students each day.) Up till now the students each had their own copy of their outline and first four lines. This time, students can alternate writing the group play or choose a scribe for the group and only need to write

one copy of the play on one sheet of paper. Put the copy of the play in the group folder behind their outline papers.

o The students should each represent one character in their play. No student should represent more than one character in the play. For example, if there are three students in the group, the play will have only 3 characters.

13.During these activities, the teacher should include mini lessons on how to write a play. Mini lessons can include:

a. Write the title of the play at the top center of the page.b. Write the words “The Cast” a few spaces below the title.c. List characters in the play under “The Cast.” See example/s from a play written

in their classroom reading textbook. d. Under “The Cast” section where the characters are listed, write the word: Scene

1. Demonstrate the use of the words: “Scene 1” and “Scene 2.” [Students should label Scene 1 and later Scene 2 on their play paper before the start of each scene. Most plays might only have one scene. Use “Scene 2” and “Scene 3” etc., if the play shows that time has passed or if the character goes to a place different from the original scene.] See example/s from a play written in their classroom textbook.

e. Under the words “Scene 1,” write in brackets or italics the word Setting followed by a colon. Then write a sentence describing the setting (or scenery). This setting will be shown on the poster board that the students make. (An example of this would be—Setting: A barnyard and lots of trees.)

f. Begin the dialogue of the play on a new line, after the Setting has been described. For dialogue in a play, use a colon after the name of the character that is speaking, followed by what the character actually says. Do not use quotation marks. For example, when writing what Albert says in the play, write it this way with his name first and then what he says: Albert the Goose: I do not eat cracked corn, I eat spaghetti!

g. Use parenthesis to describe actions of characters that are not spoken out loud. For example: (Albert suddenly flaps his wings and flies over the top of his human friends.)

14.Students will each design and create one stick puppet to represent their character in the play by drawing and gluing parts on sack lunch sized paper bags or on shapes of animals cut out of construction paper. The puppets will be taped at the top of a ruler or yard stick (that is held vertically), so that students can hold onto the lower end of the ruler to move their puppets on the top of the ruler around.

15.The teacher will create a stage for the plays by tipping a table on its side or hanging a sheet or butcher paper across two chairs. With either method, students need to be able to hide behind the tipped table or chairs while they hold their stick puppets up high for the audience to see.

16.Students will work together in their groups to create the scenery for their play on one sheet of poster board per group. The students may use both sides of the poster board if they would like to show two different scenes. They may paint, color, draw, paste shapes or create their scenery however they would like on their poster board. When the students perform, the teacher can put their poster board on the wall behind them or on front of the tipped down table.

17.Students will practice performing their play one or more times behind the table or chairs, so that only the stick puppets can be seen (with students hidden behind table or chairs)

18.Using the identifying number of the groups, begin with Group 1 as the first play that will be performed.

19.Students in the audience will act as play critics. Students will take a paper and pencil with them when they watch the plays so they can make notes about the play they are assigned to critique. Each group will critique only the group that performs right before their own group performs (with the first group to perform, critiquing the last group to

perform. See examples below.). In this way, students will only need to write one review/critique about one play, instead of all the plays.

a. For example, if there are 4 groups: Group 2 will critique Group 1 Group 3 will critique Group 2 Group 4 will critique Group 3Group 1 will critique Group 4

20.These critiques/reviews will be placed at the end of the group folder for the play that the critique is about. A mini lesson on critiquing the plays before the plays are performed could go as follows:

a. Students will write 3 things they like about the playb. Students will write one question they have about the play, for example: “What

would have happened if Albert had shown his human friends how to fly?” or “Why did Albert like Spaghetti so much?”

21.Students will perform their play in front of the class, behind the tipped down table, using their poster board scenery, their stick puppets, and their play script. Students may read their script from behind the table or chairs. No need to memorize unless memorizing is part of the unit for language arts.

22.Students will meet back in their groups after the plays are over and the critiques have been written, to discuss what the critics have said about their play and how they feel about their own group performance. The teacher should list on the board these ideas for students to discuss with their group:

a. How they would answer some of the questions their critics asked.b. How they felt they did on the play.c. Things they might have changed if they had to write or perform the play over.d. What they learned about writing a play compared to writing a regular story.

23. Students will write their own reflection on the whole unit experience and can include the things they talked about in the group discussion after their play was over, or write their own new comments. These papers will go at the end of the folder, behind the written critiques from their peers.

24.Finally, the teacher will write one review/critique for each play. The teacher can focus on

a. positive outcomes of the playb. how well the group worked togetherc. humorous parts of the story that the teacher like or that the audience likedd. other things the teacher feels like including

Assessment SuggestionThe teacher will observe students’ ability to correctly write the script of the play. Other

students will pretend they are play critics and write a review of one of the plays that they see performed. Students will write their own critique of their own play. The teacher will write a final review of the play for the group.

Extensions/Adaptations Recommended for Teachers and/or Students with Special Needs or Special Interest in the Topic

Students who have difficulty with reading, writing, or spelling may be chosen by the teacher to provide illustrations for their group folder instead of writing down their own copy of the outline. They should still contribute to the group discussion of the story. If the teacher agrees, these students can draw while they are discussing the story with their group during the beginning brainstorming part of the story/play. These students do not need to take a turn as the group scribe during the play writing part, as long as they still verbally participate. They can use the time when the play is actually being written to illustrate the cover of the folder instead or continue working on illustrations (while still participating in the discussion).

Students who have difficulty with reading, writing, or spelling can be chosen by the teacher to use a word processor instead of writing down their outline on paper. The same

assignments will apply to them as other students, but they may print up their work instead of providing a pencil-written copy.

Students with attention deficit disabilities and attention deficit hyper disabilities may be chosen by the teacher to provide illustrations for their group folder while also writing down their own copy of the outline. They should still contribute to the group discussion of the story, but can draw illustrations during the time that writing is not actually occurring. They should still take a turn as group scribe when the actual play is being written. For attention deficit hyper disabilities, students should especially be encouraged to continue to draw anytime their hands are free from writing.

Gifted students, above average students, and students who have an added interest in this activity can come up with their own extra projects or research or can be encouraged to do one or more of the following:

Look up and read stories or watch a movie about animals that imprinted on or bonded with people. (Examples: “Fly Away Home” and Charlotte’s Web.)

Look up additional animals that imprint when born. Make a list to show the class. (These animals should be different than those listed on the class list.)

Create a list of ungulates. Ungulates are hoofed animals. Ungulates imprint when they are born.

Create a list of domesticated fowl. Domesticated fowl imprint when they are born. Write and illustrate an original story about an animal that imprints on the wrong

species when born. Go through the writing process and publish the story with writing paper and a construction paper cover. Word processing can also be used with pages printed out. These stories can be read to the class or put on the class library shelf for other students to read during reading time or free time.

With a new perspective on imprinting, write a brief report describing why the loyal lamb in the popular nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb” takes on new meaning.

BibliographyTownsend, Nancy (2001). Duck! There’s a Goose in the House! How to Enjoy Waterfowl as

Pets. [Spiral bound, published by author.]

Mackintosh, Nicholas John. “Animal Learning: Imprinting.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2013. 16 Oct. 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1349539/animal-learning/13127/Imprinting

“Ungulates: Artiodactyls and Perissodactyls.” Enchanted Learning. 1996-2012. 16 Oct. 2013. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/classification/Ungulates.shtml