Teaching First Step Nonfiction Kinds of Plants Interest Level: Grades Pre-K 1 Reading Level: K Titles in this series: Kinds of Flowers Kinds of Fruits Kinds of Grains Kinds of Vegetables Standards National Science Education Science as inquiry: abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry Science as inquiry: understanding about scientific inquiry Life science: characteristics of organisms Life science: life cycles of organisms AAAS Benchmarks for Science Literacy The Nature of Science Scientific Inquiry: Know that people can often learn about things around them by just observing those things carefully, but sometimes they can learn more by doing something to the things and noting what happens. The Living Environment Diversity of Life: Know that plants and animals have features that help them live in different environments. Cells: Know that most living things need water, food, and air. Common Themes Constancy and Change: Know that things can change in different ways, such as in size, weight, color, and movement. Common Core Reading (Informational Text) Key Ideas and Details Integration of Knowledge and Ideas Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity Common Core Math Measurement and Data Multiple Intelligences Utilized Verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal, intrapersonal
2 TEACHING KINDS OF PLANTS Lesson 1 Reading First Step Nonfiction for Kindergarten Purpose Students will become familiar with written text and reading strategies. Materials Kinds of Plants series Reading Lesson Checklist p. 6 drawing paper crayons Prepare Copy one Reading Lesson Checklist p. 6 for the class. Preview and select a Kinds of Plants book to use for this lesson. Pretest Think of your favorite book. Why do you like it? Model Look at the title on the cover of the Kinds of Plants book. Ask students what letter it starts with. Look at the pictures inside the book. Ask students what they think the title might be. As a class, go through the book page by page, and discuss the pictures. Ask students what they think the book is about. Read Read the previewed Kinds of Plants book aloud, pointing at each word as you read it. Read the book a second time, and invite students to point to the words in their own books as you read. Discuss How did the book s pictures help you understand the words? Practice Have students read a page of their Kinds of Plants books to the teacher or to a friend. Have students draw a picture to show what the book is about. Evaluate Does the drawing show what the book is about? What was the main idea? Use the Reading Lesson Checklist p. 6 to evaluate student understanding.
3 TEACHING KINDS OF PLANTS Lesson 2 Classroom Gardeners Purpose Students will plant seeds and record growth as the seeds become plants. Materials Kinds of Plants series clear plastic cups potting soil beans or alfalfa sprout seeds water newspaper rulers How Tall? p. 7 pencils masking tape Prepare Gather planting materials. Spread out newspapers in a corner of your classroom for planting. Pretest What happens to a seed that is planted in the ground? Read Read Kinds of Plants series. Model Demonstrate seed planting and labeling. Use masking tape to label a cup with the seed names and your name. Fill the cup 2 3 full of potting soil. Plant two or three seeds along the edges of the soil, to be visible through the cup. Water the seeds. Practice Assign or allow students to choose partners. Invite students to plant their seeds, one cup per pair. Water seeds lightly two or three times each week. Once a week, ask students to record their plants height on How Tall? p. 7. Discuss Did your plants grow more during certain weeks? Did each seed grow at the same rate? Evaluate Assess each pair s How Tall? p. 7 for completeness.
4 TEACHING KINDS OF PLANTS Lesson 3 Classroom Garden Mural Purpose Students will make a mural of different kinds of plants. Materials Kinds of Plants series colored construction paper scissors crayons or colored pencils glue tape Prepare Make room on a classroom wall for the garden mural. Label four areas on the wall with the four kinds of plants in the series: flowers, fruits, grains, and vegetables. Pretest What are plants? What are some examples of plants? What do plants produce? Read Read Kinds of Plants books. Model Explain that students will create a wall garden. They will make flowers, fruits, grains (or grain products), and vegetables out of construction paper. Practice Each student will make a plant out of construction paper. The plant should fit into one of the four categories described in the Kinds of Plants books. Invite students to tape their plants on the correct section of the wall. Discuss Which plants in the wall garden have you seen before? Which ones were new to you? Evaluate Evaluate students participation and understanding of different kinds of plants.
5 TEACHING KINDS OF PLANTS Lesson 4 Alike and Different Purpose Students will look for similarities and differences among different kinds of plants. Materials Kinds of Plants series Venn Diagram p. 8 pencils Prepare Prepare to show Venn Diagram p. 8 electronically. Pretest What does alike mean? What does different mean? Name two things that are alike. What about them is alike? How are those two things different? Read Read books from the Kinds of Plants series. Model Show students Venn Diagram p. 8. Explain that similarities go in the overlapping section, and differences go in the outer sections. Practice As a class, choose two kinds of plants to compare. Ask students how the plants are alike and different. Collect their answers in Venn Diagram p. 8. Evaluate Evaluate students participation in the class discussion. Discuss What other kinds of things could you compare?
6 Teaching Kinds of Plants Reading Lesson Checklist Name Skill Identifies the first letter of the book title. Uses pictures to understand the book content. Uses pictures to help determine the title. Reads words from left to right. Understands that each print word represents one word heard.
7 Teaching Kinds of Plants Name Plant (Record plant letter here) How Tall? Directions: Measure how tall your plant is. Use a ruler that shows inches. Record the height of your plant each week. Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 My plant grew the most during week.
8 Teaching Kinds of Plants Venn Diagram Both