Blended Learning Lesson Plan

Lesson Title: The Life of Plants

Objectives:
Students will be able to identify what plants need to grow.
Students will be able to illustrate the life cycle of a plant.
State Standards:

Standard K.L.2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of organisms found in the
environment and how these organisms depend on the environment to meet those needs.

 K.L.2A.2 Conduct structured investigations to determine what plants need to live and
grow (including water and light).

Context: I am teaching this lesson because it is in Standard K.L.2 of Kindergarten Life Science,
which requires that students learn about organisms found in the environment and how they
depend on the environment. I also find it important that kids know about the environment and its
importance. Before this lesson, the students learned about all of the organisms found in the
environment, such as plants, animals, and fungi. This basic knowledge of the organisms and
being able to identify them will help them further discuss the specifics, such as how they survive
and help the environment. After this lesson, the students will move on to learning about how
animals use their body parts to obtain food, protect themselves, and move from place to place.
The lessons and diagrams used in this lesson about plants will prepare the students for the use of
similar diagrams and such in the next lesson.
Data: The students will be put into three groups with there being a mixture of high level, middle
level, and low-level students in each group. I am hoping that this way of grouping will allow the
students to help and encourage one another since they each have different strengths. The
groupings are based off of the pretest that was taken before this unit. I graded the students on the
whole unit and the different sections in the unit. Therefore, they are grouped based off of their
performance in this particular section about the growth of plants. I will still base my future
groupings off of the pretest along with exit slips that will be given at the end of class. The exit
slips will test the knowledge of what was learned in class that day and have a few questions
about the next lesson. This way I will know if I need to go over the previous lesson again and if
the students are starting to make connections between the lessons.
Materials:
Introduction: Smart Board and computer to play YouTube video, pencil, paper, group list, timer
Teacher Directed: Science textbook, science notebook, pencil
Collaborative: Worksheets, scissors, glue, construction paper, pencil, answer key
Independent Digital: iPad, internet access, Gizmo account, Happy Little Farmer app
Closure: Pencil, exit slip
Procedures:
Introduction (10 minutes): The science lesson will occur after the math lesson is finished
because science is the second subject we cover in the day. The students will be asked to clear
their desks of all of their math work and take out a pencil, a sheet of paper, and nothing else. I
will explain to them that today we will be learning about the life of a plant and what it needs to
grow. I will pull up a video on the Smart Board called “What Do Plants Need to Grow?” The
video is very short and is a song talking about the different things that plants need to grow. The
students will be asked to list the things that plants need to grow on their paper as they watch the
video. I will play it twice to make sure that they have retained the information. Afterwards, they
will discuss with their group the importance of plant growth and what all a plant need. They will
then talk about why they think a plant needs all of these things. I will give about five to six
minutes for discussion. We will come back together as a whole group and I will explain each
rotation to the students and accept questions about the activities for the day. The instructions will
remain written on the board throughout the rotations along with how long will be spent at each
rotation. The students will be split up into their appropriate groups and I will set the timer as
students make their way to their assigned rotation.

Teacher Directed (15 minutes): Students will be asked to take out their science textbook
along with their science notebook and a pencil. For this lesson, the students will popcorn read out
loud until we finish the chapter on plants. I will pick a student to start and assign each student a
portion of the chapter that is neither too large nor too small. I will make sure that each child gets
an even amount to read. We will read the entire chapter together then hold a short discussion
about what we learned from it and how it relates to the video we watched during the
introduction. The students will be asked to find the vocabulary words in the chapter that are in
bold and alongside the margins and write them with their definition in their notebooks. Once the
timer signals that it is time to clean up, the students will clean up and move to the next rotation
when the timer goes off again.

Collaborative (15 minutes): Students will work in their groups to try to complete two
worksheets. One will be the life cycle of a plant and the other one involves labeling the different
parts of a plant. The first worksheet will involve cutting out pictures that involves the growth of a
plant, then the students will work together to put the steps in order. Each student will be required
to cut out their own pictures, but they will be able to work together to put them in order. The
steps will be glued on the available construction paper and the students will put their names on it
when they finish. The next worksheet involves labeling the different parts of a plant. The
students will do their best to label the plant using the word bank on the bottom of the page. After
they finish, they will compare their work to a partners’ then check it on the answer key. A screen
shot of the worksheets are provided below.

Independent Digital (15 minutes): Students will go on their iPad and log into their Gizmo
accounts. They will complete the Gizmo assignment called “Growing Plants.” This assignment
will be easy to find once they log into their accounts because I will have assigned it to them. The
Gizmo will allow the students to drag seeds, fertilizer, and compost to the pots. They can also
change the number of lights and water that the plant gets. They are able to play the simulation
and observe the growth of the plants as the days pass. The simulation will allow the students to
observe and actually see a plant grow. When finished with Gizmo, the students will use their
iPad to go on an app called Happy Little Farmer. The app allows students to rake, dig, water, and
do other things to grow plants. The kids are able to grow their very own garden, which helps
them better understand plant growth and what it takes to take care of multiple plants instead of
just one.

Closure (5 minutes): The students will clean their stations and return to their seats. They
will clear their desks of everything but a pencil. I will pass out their exit slips that will include 3-
5 questions from today’s lesson and 1-2 for tomorrow’s lesson. This is meant to track their
progress and group them for tomorrow’s lesson. It will also tell me if I need to make adjustments
to tomorrow’s lesson. After turning in their exit slips, they will be asked to listen carefully. I will
ask if they enjoyed today’s activities and they will be instructed to give a thumbs up, thumb
sideways, or thumbs down. This is meant to see if the students are engaged in their learning and
enjoying it. Students will then be dismissed to music class.
Rationale:
Happy Little Farmer: I used this piece of multimedia because it allows the students to
interact with it. It is a way for them to see and do the steps required to grow a plant. The
entire purpose of the lesson is to inform students about what plants need to grow and this
app does just that in a fun, interactive way. The app had great ratings and there were great
comments made about its quality and effectiveness. It is highly recommended by
professionals and parents. It complies with the standard and allows for intense interaction
to take care of the different plants. I think it is very educational and useful for this lesson.
The app appeals to visual and hands-on learners because you are able to see the plants
grow and give it what it needs by dragging, touching, or even tilting the screen. It may
also appeal to those who learn best by listening because there is a sound option and music
that plays.

Gizmo: I chose this piece of multimedia because it is a simulation. It shows the growth
of the plant over a span of days and how the different elements like water effect it. It ties
into the lesson about plant growth because the students are able to see it grow and
manipulate different variables to see how it affects it. I have used Gizmo many times
before, so I have first-hand experience with the website and its impact. It really is
interesting to actually see the plant grow. It is of high quality and even offers feedback
and suggestions to help the students get different outcomes. This website also appeals to
the hands-on learners because of its interactive components, but also the visual learners
because you are able to see its growth in picture form and on a data chart. The data chart
also makes it more interesting for those who enjoy mathematical data.