MultiMedia Tools

Lesson Idea Name: Parts of a Plant

Content Area: Science

Grade Level(s): 1st grade

Content Standard Addressed:

S1L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the basic needs of plants and animals.
a. Develop models to identify the parts of a plant—root, stem, leaf, and flower.

Technology Standard Addressed: 3-Knowledge Constructor

Selected Technology Tool:

☒ Movie (list application): iMovie
☐ Audio (list application):
☐ Other: (list)
URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☒ Evaluating ☒ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☒ Level 4: Integration
☐ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

Engagement: My lesson idea is student centered and student directed because the students are the
ones who start the lesson off by saying what they already know about plants. During this part of the
lesson, the teacher isn’t teaching the students anything about plants, the students are just sharing
personal experiences and the teacher is recording their responses onto the interactive whiteboard.
As well as this, the students are collaborating with one another when they are interacting on the
Padlet discussion. Additionally, the students are given the freedom to collaborate as they work on
their drawings of their plants. Lastly, students are given a voice throughout my lesson idea when
they have multiple chances to discuss what they know, what they want to know, as well as what
they have learned. The students also have a voice during their presentations.
Representation: Within my lesson idea, the students are given voice and choice because they decide
what kind of activities they want to complete on the website about parts of a plant. To continue, the
students chose what kind of plant they want to draw, which is based on the standard. Graphics and
animation are used throughout the lesson idea during the iMovie and on the website about parts of
a plant. Moving on, the teacher highlights critical information mostly during the discussion after the
Padlet entries. As well as this, critical information is highlighted in the iMovie and on the website.
The teacher activates background knowledge at the beginning of the lesson when they ask the
students what they know about parts of a plant. The teacher then records this information onto the
interactive whiteboard. Finally, vocabulary is supported throughout the whole lesson; during the
iMovie, during the discussion based off of the students’ Padlet entries, on the What I Know, What I

Spring 2018_SJB
 MultiMedia Tools
Want to Know, and What I Learned columns, on the website, during the presentations, and after the
presentations when the students explain what they learned from their peers’ projects.
Action and Expression: The students are given options to express and demonstrate what they know
when they are initially asked what they know about plants, when they use Padlet to explain what
they learned from the iMovie, on the website when they played games and completed mini quizzes,
and when they presented their pictures of a plant and its’ parts. The project of this lesson moves to a
high Bloom’s level because the students are designing their own plant and having to analyze the
content they have learned, in order to label their plants as well as explain the functions. This also
extends creativity because the students are drawing their plants with tools available on the drawing
app, in whichever way they want to. Formative assessments are taken by the teacher through the
use of the What I Know, What I Want to Know, and What I Learned columns on the whiteboard, the
Padlet entries, and the results from the website. The students receive feedback through discussion
from the columns on the whiteboard and the Padlet entries, and the website automatically gave
students feedback from the quizzes and games they played. The summative assessment of the
lesson was the drawings and presentations of the students’ plants, which were graded by a rubric.
The students received feedback on their rubrics.

Lesson idea implementation:

At the beginning of my lesson idea, the teacher is first going to ask the students to share with the
class what they know about parts of a plant. The teacher will write on the interactive whiteboard at
the front of the class what the students say. On the interactive whiteboard, the teacher will draw
three columns. The columns will be titled What I Know, What I Want to Know, and What I Learned.
As the students raise their hands and tell the students what they know about parts of a plant, the
teacher will record their answers into the column. The teacher will then ask the students to raise
their hands and say what they want to know about parts of a plant. The teacher will then record this
information into the corresponding column. These columns will be left on the interactive whiteboard
for students to refer to throughout the lesson. After this, the teacher will show the iMovie
presentation made about parts of a plant. The iMovie is about two minutes and thirty seconds long
and explains the functions of each part of a plant. Before the iMovie starts, the teacher will tell the
students to pay special attention because they are going to need to report back three new things
they learned from the iMovie. Once the iMovie has finished playing, the teacher will direct the
students to take out their iPads and go to Padlet for an online discussion. The students will then type
out the three new things they learned from the iMovie. The teacher will then discuss the importance
of stems, leaves, roots, and flowers, which some of students would have mentioned on their Padlet
entries. After this, the students will be directed to go to a website that contains games and mini
assessments all about parts of plants. Some games include students matching parts on a plant,
explaining the function of each part of a plant, such as the leaves, stems, and roots. This website will
also provide the students with instant feedback from mini quizzes or games.

After the students are given some time to play and explore on the website, the project of the lesson
will be introduced. The teacher will explain that the students are required to draw a picture of a
plant with all of its parts labeled. For example, the plants’ roots, stems, and leaves. The students will
draw their plants on a drawing app on their iPads. Once the students are finished creating their
plants, and labeling the plants’ parts, they will present them to the class and briefly explain the
function of each of the parts they have labeled. As the students present, the teacher will record each
presentation and later post them onto the classroom blog. This lesson will take around 40 minutes,

Spring 2018_SJB
 MultiMedia Tools
and the students will be given about 15 minutes to create and label their plants. The students will be
assessed by a rubric. The students will be given a simple rubric about what should be on their
drawings, and what they need to cover on their presentations. The students will give their rubrics to
the teacher before they present. This way, the students know exactly what is expected of them.
Their drawings and labeling will be used to inform/differentiate learning because the students will
be given the freedom to create their plant in whatever way they wish. For instance, some students
may draw a tree while others may draw a sunflower. For English language learners, they will be
given sentence stems so that they can successfully share their information during their
presentations. There will also be teacher assisting for students who struggle. For gifted students,
they will be encouraged by their teacher to extend their explanations during their presentations
about why certain parts do certain things for the plant, and how this may relate to the life of a plant
cycle. In order to extend the students learning to a higher learning level, after each student presents,
the other students in the classroom will raise their hands and say something they learned from each
presentation and how it relates to something else they may have learned earlier in the lesson. This
way, the new knowledge that students acquire build on upon each other and the students are
thinking more critically about the content. The conclusion of the lesson will be the presentations
given by the students and the students sharing about what they learned from the whole lesson,
which the teacher will record onto the columns on the interactive whiteboard. Lastly, the teacher
will provide feedback to students about their work on the rubric that they will hand back to the
students once they are done presenting. On the rubric will be a section where the teacher can leave
comments and clarify any misconceptions.

Importance of technology:
A multimedia authoring tool, such as iMovie, is critical to the project because iMovie gives students
a simple, yet necessary introduction into the topic. The iMovie also provides students with pictures
of variety of plants, roots, stems, and leaves therefore students wouldn’t just be thinking about a
typical flower as they went into the lesson. The project also wouldn’t be completed without this
technology because the students wouldn’t have enough information to draw their pictures, label
them, and explain the function. Additionally, the students probably would have all drawn a similar
picture because they wouldn’t have been exposed to the pictures that the iMovie provided. Without
the iMovie, critical information and images would be lost. The other types of technology that are
used in the learning experience are iPads for every student and an interactive whiteboard.

Inspiration (optional):

Internet Safety and Student Privacy:

Some possible issues surrounding internet safety and student privacy that could arise while
implementing this learning experience would be the safety of the website that the students are
using and who gets to have access to the watch the students’ presentations that are going to be
posted onto the classroom blog. In order to minimize risks for students and myself I will first read
the terms of use for any tool that I use. As well as this, I will make sure that the classroom blog is
password protected, so that students’ identity would be protected. In order to minimize risks to
students and myself, alleviate any fears by parents and administrators, and follow common Internet
Safety/Acceptable Use Policies I will make sure to know and follow the district policies about posting
student working, and videos with students in them. I will also pay special attention to the age
requirement and consider all safety concerns for the tools used. The safety concerns that I will

Spring 2018_SJB
 MultiMedia Tools
consider includes who can see the student work and if students are identifiable. I will also make sure
to know the tools that are already approved by my tool district as well as what the conditions are. To
continue, as a teacher, I will make sure that students never put personal contact information or
pictures on the internet, through email, or any online communication tool. Lastly, I will be sure to
enable public comments, chat rooms, and message boards. Although, moderated discussion and
moderated comments are allowed in most school districts.

Reflective Practice:
After designing this lesson idea, I feel that the activities I created could impact student learning
greatly. I think the students are exposed to the content in many different ways that are fun and
engaging for the students. I also think that the final project of the students drawing and presenting
their plants would impact student learning because the students are the ones who are designing and
creating their plant, and then presenting the information about the functions of each part of the
plant they design. This is a high Bloom’s level because the students are required to firstly remember
and understand the content, then analyze and evaluate it in order to verbally explain and create
their drawings. In order to further extend this lesson, I could have invited a plant expert to come into
the classroom and teach the class all about the different parts of plant and how critical they are. I
also think this lesson could have been further extended by the students going outside and
discovering plants and their parts in the “real world.” Finally, the lesson could be further extended if
the videos of the students were posted or shared with another classroom at another school to use
as they study parts of a plant as well. Another technology tool that could further enhance this
project would be a cool live microscopic camera where students can see what parts of a plant up
close.

Spring 2018_SJB