Plants

Synthia Waller Preschool/Science Common Core Standards: Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge Sub-Domain: Science Strand: Science Inquiry and Application Topic: Inquiry Standard Statement: Make careful observations Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge Sub-Domain: Science Strand: Earth and Space Science Topic: Explorations of the Natural World Standard Statement: With modeling and support, recognize familiar elements of the natural environment and understand that these may change over time (e.g., soil, weather, sun and moon). Lesson Summary: This lesson is about plants and how they grow. We will be looking at the life cycle of plants and how there are different types of plants. We will also be growing our own plants and trying to figure out what kind of plant they are. We will also be talking about how you take care of plants. Estimated Duration: The lesson will take about month, but most of the work will be done with in the first week. The reason it will take this long is that the plants need time to grow. The lesson plan will take seven 15 minute sections. Commentary: I will get the children interested in the lesson by showing them all the different plants that are now coming up in the area around the school. As a child when you see something that you have not seen in a long time or may have never seen, you are going to want to learn about it. I want is to very interactive lesson for the children. I want to show them how a plant grows form beginning to end. The hard part for me is making sure that the seeds that I get will grow and grow in time for the children to see them. It also may be hard for the boys to want to learn something like this. Instructional Procedures: Day 1: Introductory activity-The children and I will go on a nature walk and look at the different plants and flowers that are around the school. I will talk about the different plants that we see. I will start the conversation about why flowers come out in spring and what we would have to do to take care of our own plants. (The will take 15 minutes) The first activity that we will do any KWL chart about everything that we know about plants, how they grow, and what we have to do to take care of them. To do this chart we will do this online were we can save it and print it off when we are done. (http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/studentinteractives/creator-30846.html) These will give me any idea what the children already know about plants. I will use a smart board to fill out the chart. The children will tell me what they know. We will also talk about what we want to learn about plants. (This will take 15 minutes) The children will also write or draw everything that they know about plants. I will be walking around talking to the children about what they are doing. (This will take 10 minutes) Day 2: The activity that we will do today is to read the book The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. This book give

a good over view of the cycle of a plant. Even though it is mostly about the seed I will be able to talk about the best place for plants to grow and what happens if you do not take care of them and the plant cycle. The children will learn the plant cycle which is Seeds, Germination, Stems and roots, leaves, flowers, pollination. Since this is just the second day of the lesson plan I want to give an over view of the things we will be talking about. The book will be read online which I will show the children on a smart board. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls6wTeT2cKA) The reason that I will use the smart board so I can stop the story and talk to the children about it. (This will take 15 minutes) Day 3: The activity that we will do today is talk about the plant cycle. I will use a chart to show the children the cycle. (http://www.mpmschoolsupplies.com/p-16890-chart-life-cycle-of-a-plant-k-3.aspx). I like this char because it breaks down the cycle and has picture of each cycle. I will also bring in plants at different stages in the cycle for the children to see. (This will take 10 minutes) We will also plant our own seed that day which we will take care of until they are being enough to go home and be replanted in the ground. The children will pick at pack of seeds that I have covered up the name and picture of what they are and plant them. The children will come back over the next week or so and look at the plants to figure out what they are. (This will take 15 minutes). Day 4: The activity that we will do today is talk about the different types of plants that are out there. Two nights before the children and their parents will go out and take pictures of the different plant that are around their home. The parents will email me the pictures and I will make a slide show of the different flowers that are around there area. As the pictures come up we will talk about if it is a vegetable plant, fruit plant, flower, or a tree. I want the children to see that plants may all start the same but they will all grow into something different. (This will take 20 minutes or two 10 minutes times one in the morning and one in the afternoon) Day 5 and 6: The activity that we will do today is the warp up activity. For this we will make a class prezi about plants. The children will tell me what they how they want it set up and what they want it to say. I will put together the prezi as they tell me what to do. (http://prezi.com/) This is how they will show me if they understand what we have talked about. On day five they will make a sample prezi bluepirnt by drawing and writing what they want it to say. I will be walking around to help them if they need it. On day six we will make the prezi itself. Children will get to look at everyones ideas and come up with what they want to put on the prezi. I will be making the prezi and help with things that they cannot decide on. (This will take 15 minutes on day 5 and 20 minutes on day 6). We will also fill out the learned part of the KWL chart. (This will take 10 minutes) Day 7: (which will be about two weeks later) This is that day where we decide what plant you have and review everything that we have learned. To review we will look at our prezi that we made. I will also make a game that the children will play that will show me if they still remember what we learned. We will play the game together and help each other if we need to. I will also have the children guess what type of plant they think they have to make it easier I will give them clues over the two week to help them. (This will take 20 minutes) Over the whole lesson plan we will be checking in on the plants to make sure that they are ok and if they need anything. (This will take 2-5 minutes each day) Throughout the whole time their plants are growing they first thing they will do when they come in in the morning is to write or draw in the journal which will be stored on ipads in the room. There will be three ipads and I will divide the class into thirds based on your name and they will know what ipad has their journal on it. The journals are something that they will already know how to do because it is something that they will have since the beginning of the year.

Pre-Assessment: For the pre-assessment we will fill out the KWL chart, this will give me an over view of what the children already know. I will be able to see who knows more by who is able to tell me things to put on the chart. I will also know based on the stuff that they write or draw on their paper. Scoring Guidelines: The guidelines that I will use are based on observations. The children that are able to tell me the most things to put on the chart are the ones that know the most. The more they write or draw the more that they know. As I talk to the children I will get a good idea of what they know. Post-Assessment: For my post-assessment we will be doing a prezi as a class together but each child will make a blueprint of what they want on the prezi. We will also fill out the learned part of the KWL chart and have a game that we will play. I will also look at their journals. I will be able to see if they know the plant cycle, types of plants and how to take care of them based on prezi blueprint, game and the KWL chart. To see if they understand observation I will look at their journals. Scoring Guidelines: The guidelines that I will use are based on observation and conversations. The more that they can do the prezi blueprint and the game I will see if they get it. I will also talk to them and look at their journals. Differentiated Instructional Support Describe how instruction can be differentiated (changed or altered) to meet the needs of gifted or accelerated students: For the children that are understanding the lesson fast then other I would give them time to go online and learn about the different types of flowers that are out there. I might even have them look at different flowers and plants from around the world. I would also have them help out the children how are not getting the lesson as fast. Discuss additional activities you could do to meet the needs of students who might be struggling with the material: For the children that are not understand the lesson as fast I would have a child that is ahead help them out with things that they may not get. I would also set with them and I would help them out more. I would also send an activity home for the children to work on with their parents. Extension This first website has a guide that has all of the different types of plants there are. It also talks about things you can do to help your plants grow. It is a little hard for them to use by their sleeves so this a website that I would use with them or have a parent use with them. (http://plants.usda.gov/classification.html) The second website has a good over of the plant cycle and how to take care of plants. It also has videos of the cycle of plants and it has great pictures of the plants. (http://www.mbgnet.net/bioplants/earth.html) Homework Options and Home Connections For the home connection I will have the parents and the children take pictures of different plants that they see around their house. They will send the pictures to me and I will make a slideshow of them to show to the children to teach them about different types of plants. I will also have the parents and the children write and draw about the plants that they found. Interdisciplinary Connections

When I am teaching this lesson I am also teaching them reading and writing skills because of all the reading and writing that they will be doing. I know that they are just in preschool but they will start to write words and I will be there to help them. I will also showing them that art has a meaning because they will draw everything that they see and how they want to use something. Materials and Resources: For teachers Laptop, smartboard, seeds, projector, camera, cups, watering can, internet, prezi account, slideshow app, game app, email, plant cycle chart,

For students

Camera, ipads, internet, parent email, seeds, plants, crayons, pencils, paper,

Key Vocabulary Plant, Vegetable plant, fruit plant, flowers, plant life cycle, Seeds, Germination, Stems and roots, leaves, pollination, tree, water, sun, hot, cold, dirt, I might use the following for children that are ready rose, lily, carrot, apple tree, etc.

Additional Notes