How Protists and Fungi Obtain Energy and Explore Their Environment

1. Bellringer - Remind the students that all organisms must be able to obtain resources in order to survive. The teacher will share the document, “Protists and Fungi Structure Brainstorming Activity.” (If the teacher is not in a 1:1 environment, this activity can be printed out and distributed or the students can complete in their science journal.) The students will brainstorm and record all the possible ways that humans obtain resources like food. They will also brainstorm how plants get food (hopefully they will remember that most plants make their own food through photosynthesis). The students will share with the class either digitally or orally. The teacher should facilitate the discussion towards humans must move to get their resources or rely upon someone or something else.
2. The teacher will explain to the class that this lesson will be dealing with some of the simplest forms of organisms called protists and fungi. Since they are organisms, they must be able to obtain resources and they are structured to do so in order to survive. 
3. The teacher will introduce the standard, performance indicator, and essential question so the students will know what they should know by the conclusion of this lesson. 
4. There are certain scientific terms that the students must understand prior to the lesson in order to comprehend this lesson. Share the resource “Protists and Fungi Background Vocabulary List” with the students (some of these vocabulary terms might be a review for the students. Also, please note that there is another vocabulary list in the resources, but these terms deal specifically with protists and fungi and will be used near the conclusion of the lesson.) The teacher will introduce the background vocabulary list (see the list in resources) to the class by using the Marzano method of teaching vocabulary words (Teaching Basic and Advanced Vocabulary: A Framework for Direct Instruction). The teacher introduces the word by using the student's background knowledge, students write the vocabulary words and definitions in their journal or digital device using their own definitions, students draw a picture of each word in their journal or locate an image online, and students pair-share the vocabulary words with a partner. 
5. The teacher needs to tell the class that the class will first study protists (also known as unicellular organisms), and the following activities will be focusing on protists.
6. The students will watch the video “Single-Celled Organisms” - https://scetv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.stru.singlecell/single-celled-organisms/.  Then they will complete the discussion question activity, “Single-Celled Organisms Video Discussion Questions Activity” (I would recommend sharing this digitally if possible with the students prior to watching and also reviewing it so the students know what to expect. If you are unable to share digitally, the students can complete a printed version or answer in their journal). The teacher will use the “Single-Celled Organisms VIdeo Discussion Questions Activity Answer Key” to check for understanding. The students can share their responses with the class. This can be done individually or in groups.  
7. Students will watch the video “Protists | UNC-TV Science” - https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/19820854-32cd-41de-8ab9-6d90dd1b459d/protists-unctv-science/. Then they will complete the discussion question activity, “Protists Video Discussion Question Activity” either using their digital device, science journal, or printed copy depending upon the teacher’s digital capability (I would recommend providing the students with the activity and reviewing it prior to watching so that the students know what to expect digitally. If you are unable to share digitally, the students can complete a printed version or answer in their journal). The students will complete the activity and submit their answers to the teacher.  The teacher will use “Protists Video Discussion Question Activity Answer Key” to assess the students’ understanding and to provide feedback.
8. Tell the students the next part of the lesson is about Fungi. 
9. The teacher will share the document, “Fungi: Death Becomes Them Video Activity” (found in the resources) with the class (if possible, this can be done digitally, if not the teacher can print it out and hand it out) to be completed while watching the video. The students are going to watch the following Crash Course Video “Fungi: Death Becomes Them” - https://scetv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/eb86d456-f334-462d-b3f4-f3ebc8f4c3f4/fungi-death-becomes-them-crash-course-biology-39/ (I would recommend starting the video at 3:55 and ending at 7:06 because there are some parts that discuss alcohol, which might not be best for sixth-grade students. If you are sharing this with your class digitally, I would recommend sharing this via a video conferencing program. I would recommend watching this video with students as the speaker talks quickly and provides information that is not essential for this indicator).  The students can complete this activity individually or in groups. The teacher will use the “Fungi: Death Becomes Them Video Activity Answer Key” (found in resources) to check for understanding and provide feedback.
10. Students will complete the following vocabulary review activity to gain mastery of the new key terms: The teacher will share the document (digitally or printed), “Protists and Fungi Vocabulary Review” found in the resources tab  (Terms and definitions are from the SC Support Guide located https://ed.sc.gov/index.cfm?LinkServID=5D51D664-CD1D-1DCA-F671A13E61317755).The teacher will review the vocabulary list to the class by using the Marzano method of teaching vocabulary words (Teaching Basic and Advanced Vocabulary: A Framework for Direct Instruction). The teacher reviews the word by using the student's recall, students write the vocabulary words and definitions in their journal or digital device using their own definitions, students draw a picture of each word in their journal or locate an image online, and students pair-share the vocabulary words with a partner. 
11. Culminating activity - The students will write an explanatory essay about protists or fungi.  See the resource “Protist or Fungi Essay” in the assessment tab to get more details about essay expectations and rubric. Share this document with the students so they know their expectations for their final product. The students can submit digitally or in-person. Use the rubric on the document to grade the essay. 
12. The teacher will review the essential question with the class and instruct the students that most fungi are not mobile thus protists explore their environment more than fungi. 

If you are using a cloud file storage system (Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or iCloud), I would recommend having the students create a digital folder for this lesson to save their notes and student work. It will help with organization.

“Protist or Fungi Essay” - https://docs.google.com/document/d/11NOYiOfEjoJdtblING_eJkNYNpAbDCIp1XRGgfR64bE/edit?usp=sharing