Angela Pfohl Standard #8: Instructional Strategies. The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways. Standard 8 Evidence #2 Plants Lessons For standard eight, my second piece of evidence were lessons I wrote on the topic of plants. It covered different ranges of information about plants including what plants need to live and grow, how all plants begin, and the plant parts and their functions. The lessons cover 3 days of instructions. I include a variety of activities the students could participate in and to further strengthen the concept that they are learning. I have included literature to be read to the students to cover some of the information that we learn. Also included are activities for the students where they will actually get to plant their own flowers to be able to watch why it is that plants need what they need. I also included a video for the students to see what it is at the plant parts do and how they work together. Standard 8 Reflection #2 These lessons are great to show the different strategies that can be implemented to get students to develop a deeper understanding about plants. The students will get to take care of the flowers and give them what they need. By making sure that their flowers are taken care of the students have a strong understanding of making sure that plants need water, sunlight and air to ensure its survival. We also cover the different plant parts by viewing actual plants and looking at pictures. Students also label a picture of a flower to color afterwards. The video talks more about the different functions and actually shows the students how these different parts work together. There's also an experiment where the students will actually get to see how parts of the plants work with the use of food coloring and white carnations. They get to see the process of a flower s parts perform its functions. These activities apply knowledge in meaningful ways and deeper understanding for students to remember. It is something that requires hands-on learning, visual learning, and to connect with the real world experience. Students will be able to see the connections to the plants and not just a simple lecture inside the classroom.
Understanding by Design (UbD) Lesson Plan Template Classroom Teacher: Kristen Liuzzo Grade (K-12)/Developmental Level: Kindergarten Date Lesson Will Be Taught: April Lesson Subject Area: Science Lesson Topic: Introduction to Plants Preservice Teacher: Angela Pfohl Stage 1- Desired Results Established Goals/Big Ideas (Include): What are the big picture concepts, conceptual anchors, and connections? After learning that plants are living things, we will focus on the characteristics of plants. Plants begin as seeds. Seeds need air, water, and sunlight to grow into plants. Without those things the seeds will not grow. Standards/Benchmarks: Benchmark SC.K.3.1 Identify similarities and differences between plants and animals The student: Identifies ways that plants and animals are similar and different and records observations as a group. Understandings: Students will understand that.. Plants begin life as seeds. Essential Questions: What questions highlight the big ideas? What do plants need to grow?
Plants need water, air, and sunlight to be able to grow. What would happen if we do not provide the needs for the seeds? Content Acquisition (Objectives): Student will know. Plants begin as seeds. Plants grow seeds to reproduce. How to record data as a group and observations in their journals. Skill Acquisition (Objectives): Student will be able to Explain what a plant needs to grow. Plant their own seed and give what it needs to grow. (air, water, sunlight) Record observations of plant growth in their own journals. Stage 2- Assessment Evidence Performance Tasks: What tasks will students be able to do to demonstrate understanding? Students will plant their own marigold seeds and provide what is needed for the plant to grow. Student will make illustrated predictions on what their seed will grow to look like. Other Evidence: What other things can students do to show what they know? Students will T-P-S their thoughts and ideas on what plants need and different types of plants. Predict what will happen if we do not water a seed. Self-Assessments: What ways can students check understandings to set future goals? Through class discussions, students will gain an understanding on the needs of plants and how they begin life. They will be able to contribute to discussions and gain knowledge from their peers' contributions and make adjustments of their own if needed. Reflections: What did you identify during self-evaluation? In the previous lesson, students were able to realize that living things included plants and animals. Knowing that plants are alive, I wanted students to also know that plants have needs in order to survive. We will discuss and read about different types of plants which will include some vegetables that we eat as well as trees. I also thought having students plant their own seeds would be
Stage 3 Learning Plan fun for them and give them ownership, since we will need to take care of the plants. Learning Activity *In a previous class, we categorized several pictures into living and non-living things. We found that our living things contained all plants and animals. I will explain to the students that we will be learning more about plants. Review that we found that plants are a living thing because they meet all of the requirements. Ask students to think of a type of plant. T-P-S examples of plants. I will then ask students how these plants begin life. What do they all start as? I will allow time for any students that volunteer to answer. If majority of students want to share, I will pull a popsicle stick with a student s name. Plants start their life as seeds. I will introduce the book, Seeds Grow by Colin Walker. As we read through the story, we will stop at various pages to do T-P-S and Whole Group Response. Pg 5 T-P-S What are the seeds waiting for? (Water, air, sunlight) Pg 7 T-P-S It says the seeds need to be warm. How will they get warm? (sunlight) Pg 10 WGR What plant is in this picture? (carrot) Pg 13 WGR What types of big plants are these? (trees) Pg 15 It says Plants grow seeds to make more plants. What is that word that living things do to make more of themselves? (Reproduce)
Explain that we are going to grow our own plants. I will explain that each student will plant a marigold. They will write their name on a cup and we will plant the marigold seeds. We will give the seeds water and place them in a sunny spot in the classroom. I will also explain to students that we will plant one extra seed, but we will not give it water or sunlight. I will move it to a dark spot. In their journals, students will draw a picture prediction of the plant that they watered and put in a sunny spot. They will also draw a picture prediction of the marigold seed we planted that will not get water or sun. While students are working on their journals, I will call a few students at a time to start planting their marigolds. When students are with me to plant their seeds, I will ask them what they predict will happen to the seed that does not get water or sunlight. Once everyone has planted their seeds, I will give the 1-2-3 signal for students to clean up and come to the carpet. I will then explain to students that we will need to continue to take care of our plants. I will incorporate a daily gardener job into the classroom that will be chosen by popsicle sticks. This student will lightly water all of our plants for the classroom. Materials Seeds Grow by Colin Walker Student Journals and crayons 27 cups Soil Marigold seeds Acknowledged: Date: Grade (if applicable): _ Kindergarten (Course instructor, university supervisor, and/or cooperating teacher)
Understanding by Design (UbD) Lesson Plan Template Classroom Teacher: Kristen Liuzzo Grade (K-12)/Developmental Level: Kindergarten Date Lesson Will Be Taught: April Lesson Subject Area: Science Lesson Topic: Plant Parts and Their Functions Preservice Teacher: Angela Pfohl Established Goals/Big Ideas (Include): What are the big picture concepts, conceptual anchors, and connections? Stage 1- Desired Results We will learn about the 4 major parts of a plant roots, stem, leaves, and flower. We will learn a song to help remember the 4 parts. We will label these 4 parts on a picture of a flower. We will watch a video on the functions of plant parts. We will follow with a discussion. Roots absorbs water and nutrients from soil Stem transports water and nutrients throughout plant Leaves Helps create food for the plant Flower Produces seeds for the plant to reproduce Standards/Benchmarks: Benchmark SC.K.3.1 Identify similarities and differences between plants and animals The student: Identifies ways that plants and animals are similar and different and records observations as a group.
Understandings: Students will understand that.. Plants have 4 major parts roots, stem, leaves, and flower. Each plant part has a specific function to help the plant survive. Essential Questions: What questions highlight the big ideas? What are the parts of a plant? How does each part of a plant help it grow? How does a plant get food? Content Acquisition (Objectives): Student will know. Plant parts and their functions Skill Acquisition (Objectives): Student will be able to Label the 4 parts of a plant. Roots absorbs water and nutrients from soil Stem transports water and nutrients throughout plant Leaves Helps create food for the plant Flower Produces seeds for the plant to reproduce Record observations and make predictions based on the data collected on plant characteristics Make predictions related to the plant part functions Stage 2- Assessment Evidence Performance Tasks: What tasks will students be able to do to demonstrate understanding? Students will complete a worksheet where they label the parts of a plant roots, stem, leaves, and flower. Students will make predictions on what will occur in our carnation experiment based on what they learned about the parts functions. Self-Assessments: Other Evidence: What other things can students do to show what they know? Students will T-P-S their thoughts and ideas on parts of a plant Students will participate in discussions on the functions of the plant parts Reflections:
What ways can students check understandings to set future goals? Through class discussions, students will gain an understanding on the parts of plants. They will be able to contribute to discussions and gain knowledge from their peers' contributions and make adjustments of their own if needed. What did you identify during self-evaluation? In the previous lesson, students began growing their own flowers and we will see if there is any progress, but I do not expect there to be enough to use them for this particular lesson. The focus is on the different parts roots, stem, leaves, and flower. I will use T-P-S when labelling the parts because I believe some students will already know the parts and this will allow them to share with students who not be familiar. We will also label the picture together, so students will see how we use them which is part of their Writing unit for this quarter (non-fiction text features). I wanted the song to help the students move around a little before starting the worksheet. We then will go over the functions of those parts on the next day. The video shows how the process works for plants making food and the roles each part plays. Stage 3 Learning Plan Learning Activity *In a previous class, we talked about seeds needing air, water, and sunlight to grow into plants. We also planted marigolds to take care of as a class. Day 1 Revisit our individual plants (marigolds) that we are growing and review the things they need to grow. I will explain to students that we will be learning about the main parts of a plant. We are also going to label these parts on a picture. I will show a large picture of a flower with spaces to write labels. There will be lines pointing to a specific part that leads to the labels we will fill in. I will point to a part and ask students to T-P-S what that part is. I will listen to responses and choose 1-2 students to share and then label that part. We will do this for the four parts of the flower. We will start with the roots.
Then the stem. Then the leaves. Then the flower. We will label our plant picture as a class - roots, stem, leaves, and flower. (R) I will have students stand up so we can listen to a song that names the parts of the plants. (H) It is to the tune of Heads, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. As the song is playing I will model moves where I can point to my feet for the roots; my body as the stem; wiggle my arms for the leaves; and point to my head as the flower. After the song, we will revisit the flower picture and review what each part is called. I will show the students a black and white worksheet of a flower with spaces for labelling. I will explain to students that they will be labelling a picture of a flower. They will need to label each part of the flower on a sheet by writing in the correct term. They will be encouraged to sound out the words they are writing. I will also leave up the flower picture, so if students would like to check spelling, they can refer to this picture. I give a reminder to students to always check if the word is displayed in the room or on a paper before writing it - When in sight, spell it right. Students will complete the sheet and then color the flower after they are done labelling. Teacher or EA will go around to check correct labelling and assist students as needed. If students are unsure of the name of the part, they will be encouraged to check the flower picture that we did as a class. We can go through each part together if further assistance is needed. Students must check with the teacher or EA before turning in work to the classwork basket. At the end of the lesson, I will use the 1-2-3 signal to ask students to clean up and come sit quietly at the carpet. Day 2 The previous lesson we discussed the parts of a flower and labelled those parts. We will refer to our labelled plant diagram and review the parts of the plant.
I will explain that we will now learn more about what each part does to help the plant stay alive. I will excuse students to go their desks to watch a video. Introduce Magic School Bus video, Magic School Bus Gets Planted. The video shows the process of how a plant gets what it needs (air, water, sunlight) to create food to help it grow. Each part of the plant has a specific role in that process. When the video is finished, I will use the 1-2-3 signal for students to come back to the carpet. As a class, we will review what we saw the different plant parts do. The roots absorbed the water and the stem transported it to the leaves and throughout the plant. The transportation allowed the leaves to make food. I will explain that the roots and stem are like straws sucking up the water to the rest of the plant. I will also add that the flower part of a plant produces seeds. Seeds allow the plants to (pause to allow students the chance to answer) reproduce. I will make the rocking motion as I say the word. To show this process, I will explain that we will do a small experiment. I will show the students 4 jars of water with a different color in each glass red, blue, green, and yellow. I will then put 4 white carnations each into the jars. Students will make predictions on what will happen using T-P-S based on the information we learned about the functions of the parts. Students will also be recording their predictions in their journals. (The color of each glass will spread through the flower in it. The white allows us to see the color transformation easier.) I will explain to students that we will see our results the following school day. Materials Plant Parts Song played on the computer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxrnhff2kjc 27 Flower parts worksheets Large Flower Picture with space for labelling Computer to play video - http://vimeo.com/48658598
Screen for projection 4 mason jars 4 different colors of food coloring 4 white carnations Acknowledged: Date: Grade (if applicable): _ Kindergarten (Course instructor, university supervisor, and/or cooperating teacher)