Indiana Wesleyan University

Elementary Education Lesson Plan

Science
2007 ACEI Standards
How Does a Plant Grow? A Lesson on Plant Growth Cycle
Kayla Larsen Kindergarten
READINESS:
I.
Goals/Objectives/Standards
a. Goal: Students will learn how a plant grows.
b. Objective: After discussing a plants growth cycle, students will create a paper
plate model illustrating the four steps of a plants growth cycle.
c. Standards
i. K.LS.1 Describe and compare the growth and development of common
living plants and animals.
II.
Materials and Management
a. Materials: Paper plates, crayons, pencils, The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle, sun picture,
water picture, soil picture, brown paper, blue confetti, light bulb, giant paper
flower, brass fasteners, seed, small pot with soil, water bottle, stages of plant
growth cycle worksheet
b. Time: 35 minutes
c. Space: Students will begin at the rug during whole group instruction and will then
move to their desks for the plant model.
d. Behavior: Students will be held accountable to their already implemented
behavior plan in the classroom. There is a clip system: students will clip up for
good behavior and clip down for poor behavior. In addition to the implemented
management system, I will be looking for good volunteers to help illustrate the
plants growth cycle.
e. Technology: I will use the smartboard to display the images of the plant cycle
III.
Anticipatory Set:
a. What is your favorite season? I will allows some students to answer. Well, my
favorite season is actually the season we are in right now: Fall. I absolutely love
all of the beautiful leaves that are on the trees. Who else loves fall? I will have
students raise their hands. In the fall, my favorite thing to do is to walk through a
forest or a park that has a whole bunch of different trees so that I can look at all
of the colors. Have any of you walked through a park like that with someone? I
will let a few students share their stories. Have you ever wondered to yourself
though, where do all of these trees and plants come from? How did they grow?
What do some of you think? I will see what students know about plant growth by
allowing a few students to share.
IV.
Purpose: Today we are going to answer just that question! How do plants grow? How
exactly does a seed change from being just a seed to being a beautiful plant? We
will learn about when they first start as a little seed all the way to when they are full
grown with big flowers or leaves.
PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION:

V.

Adaptation to Diverse Students

a. Remediation: Due to the discussion nature of this lesson, students should be able
to learn at their own pace and are not forced to answer if they are unsure of an
answer to the question. I believe having the responses written on the board while
we are discussing will add visuals to the learning and thus help them learn more.
b. Enrichment: I will always be giving students a chance to brainstorm before I give
them suggestions, so this will give higher students a chance to share their
knowledge and think critically throughout the lesson. I can also leave out more
information on the high students worksheets that they must fill in about plant
cycles before cutting out the images for their spinners.
c. ELL: There are no ELL students in my classroom
d. Exceptional Needs: No children have been identified as exceptional needs.
VI.
Lesson Presentation
To help us learn about how exactly plants grow, I brought in a book for us to read. This
book is called The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. While I read, pay special attention to how the
plant looks as it grows from a seed into a beautiful flower. I will read the students The Tiny
Seed, which explains how seeds travel by the wind to new locations, plant themselves, grow,
spread their own seeds, and then eventually die. So, what did you all think of that story? Did
the plant just magically appear? No thats silly! Who can raise their hand and tell me how
the plant grew in the story. A student will explain that the seed went into the ground, and then
was first small, but eventually grew up into a flower. Great! But, as we read our story, not all
of our seeds survived long enough to become a flower. The seed had to land in the perfect
spot or else it would just stay a seed forever. In order for a seed to change from a seed into a
plant, it has to have a good place to grow. Does anyone know what a flower needs to grow? I
will see if students can come up with sun, water, and soil. If they cannot, I will assist them
while putting picture of each element on the whiteboard. Right! A seed first needs sunlight,
but not too much! In the story, our first seed was too close to the sun so it burnt up. Next, a
seed needs water, but again not too much! Our second seed drowned in the water. Finally,
our seed needs nice dirt, or soil. Another one of our seeds ended up on the top of a frozen
mountain, so it could not grow either. If we want our seed to grow and change into a plant,
we need just the right amount of sun, water, and soil. So, on our board we have just the right
amount of sun, water, and soil. That means our seed is ready to change and grow.
So, when a plant grows it starts as a seed. I will put a picture of a seed on the board. I
will then call on a well-behaved student to come to the front to be our pretend seed. So,
[Johnny] is going to be our seed! [Johnny] I want you to get sit on the floor in a ball just like
a little seed. For our seed to grow, we first need to plant it in dirt. I will take the brown
butcher paper and cover [Johnny] up with it. Then, we need to water our seed. I will sprinkle
some blue confetti over the brown paper. Last, our seed needs sunlight! I will finally turn a
light bulb on over the paper to represent the sun. Next, our seed becomes a sprout. A sprout is
when just a little bit of green pops out of the ground. I will put a picture of a sprout next to
the seed. I will then tear a head sized hole in the butcher paper and have the student stick his
or her head through the hole to represent the sprout. Just like our seed, the sprout still needs
water and sunlight! I will sprinkle the blue confetti on the student and turn on the light bulb
as before. Next, a plant becomes a seedling. A seedling is almost full-grown, but does not
have a flower yet. I will put the seedling image next to the sprout image. I will then tear the
brown paper further so the paper goes around the students waist. Again, a seedling still

needs water and sunlight! Lets give it some water! I will sprinkle the blue confetti and turn
on the light bulb again. Finally, our plant will become full-grown and grow a flower. I will
put the last picture of a full-grown flower on the board. I will also slide the brown paper so
that it is all of the way on the ground and give the student a giant paper flower to hold. Our
full-grown flower still needs water and sunlight, so for the last time we are going to water it.
I will sprinkle blue confetti one last time. Thank you [Johnny], you can go ahead and sit
down. So, if we look at the board, our flower has how many stages in its life cycle? Four!
Right! First, we have our seed. But, in order for our seed to change, we need to plant it in
good soil, or dirt, and give it plenty of water and sunlight. Then, our seed changes into a
sprout, then a seedling, and finally it is a full-grown flower! At our seats, we are going to
make a project showing the four different stages of a flowers growth cycle. Students will
move back to their seats for the craft.
What we are going to make is a paper spinner that shows each of the four stages of a
flowers growth cycle. To start, I am going to give you two paper plates. One paper plate is
split into four different sections and one paper plate as one section. I want you to cut out the
section on the paper plate that only has one section and then raise your hand when you are
done. I will attach the two paper plates together with a brass fastener as the students finish.
When I connect your two plates, I am going to give you a piece of paper that has each of the
four stages. I want you to carefully color all four pictures. When you finish, you will cut out
each of the four pictures. I will be walking around monitoring each of the students as they are
completing the project, assisting as needed. When you have cut out the four stages, I want
you to arrange them in order on your desk. When you think you have the correct order, raise
your hand and I will check it. Then, when I say that you are right, you will glue the picture in
order, 1-4, on the spinner. I will again be wandering the classroom checking student work
and approving the stages when students have put them in order. Once everyone has glued
their pictures on the plate, we will move on. On the front of our spinner, we are all going to
write Plant Growth Cycle. I will write it on the board so that students know how to spell it.
When you finish writing, draw a sun and rain on the front because our plant needed both in
every single stage. As we finish our project, I want you to turn to those at your table and
share your spinner with them. As you share, try and explain each stage to them in your own
words.
VI.
Check for Understanding
During the anticipatory set, I will be able to gauge how much students know about plant
growth before even starting the lesson. This may bring to light any misconceptions the
students already have that I can correct throughout the presentation. Also, I will be
monitoring student response throughout the whole group presentation. Finally, I will
summatively assess the students understanding when I check the order of their stages during
the project portion of the lesson.
VII.
Review Learning Outcomes/Closure
You all did such a great job on creating your plant cycle spinners.. Now that we all know
how a plant grows, I would like for us to actually watch a plant change from a seed to a fullgrown plant. When we have a seed and we want it to grow into a plant, do we just look at
it? No! Thats silly! If we really want our seed to change, we have to act! We have to plant
the seed, water it, and help it grow. Change does not happen unless we do something to
make it change So, I have brought in a seed that I will plant. Since I want it to grow, or
change, we are going to give it everything it needs to grow big and tall. Then, every day

during calendar we will take a moment to look at our plant to see how it grows. So, we will
keep our spinners in our baskets so we can compare our plant to our spinner to see if we can
figure out which stage it may be in each day.
PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT:
Formative: I will assess the students answers during the whole group instruction to see if
they understand the various stages of a plants growth cycle. If students are not understanding,
then I will try mixing up the stage pictures on the board a few times and see if as a class the
students can put the stages in the correct order.
Summative: When the students are asked to put the plant stages in order independently
during the project, I will have a clip board where I will mark the order the students have
displayed for me. This will allow me to understand which students understand the plant cycle
and those who do not and will require re-teaching.
REFLECTION AND POST LESSON ANALYSIS
1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
a. Blooms Taxonomy
b. Gardners Multiple Intelligences
7. Were students able to correctly order the stages of plant growth?
8. Was the interactive whole group activity distracting or beneficial?
9. Were students able to complete the project relatively independently?

Inspiration for Craft: