FOSS New Plants
K-1
Content Standards
Science
K-1 LS1B All plants and animals have various external parts. SWBT identify the external parts of
different plants and animals (flowers, stems, and roots on many plants)
K-1 LS1F Most plants have roots to get water and leaves to gather sunlight. SWBT explain that
most plants get water from the soil through their roots and that they gather light
through their leaves.
K-1 INQD Scientists report on their investigations to other scientists using pictures and words.
K-1 APPA Common tools can be used to solve problems.
K-1 APPC A problem may have more than one acceptable solution.
Communication
2.2. Uses interpersonal skills and strategies in a multicultural context to work collaboratively, solve problems, and perform tasks.
Big Ideas
1. Organisms have basic needs. Plants require water, nutrients, light, and air
2. Each plant has different structures that function with growth, survival, and reproduction
3. The world has many different environments, and distinct environments support the life of different types of plants
As a result of this unit, all students will know
- The names of plant parts: root, stem, leaf, flower, and seed
- Plant needs: light, water, air, soil, and food
As a result of this unit, some students will know
- The names and functions of plant parts: root, stem, leaf, flower, and seed
- Plant needs and how they get those needs filled: light, water, air, soil, and food
As a result of this unit, a few students will know
- The names and functions of plant parts and how they relate to one another and the parts related to reproduction: root, stem, leaf, flower, seed, style, stigma, etc.
- Analyze how interchangeable plant needs are with the earth’s need: light, water, air, soil, and food
As a result of this unit, the students will understand that
- Plants have needs that must be met in order for them to grow and survive (ALL)
- Each plant part has a specific job that helps the plant (SOME)
- If one plant part cannot do its job, then the whole plant suffers (ALL)
- A plant and its parts change as the plant grows (ALL)
- Plants are important to people in many ways ( A FEW)
- Scientists use specific skills in their work (ALL)
As a result of this unit, the students will be able to
- identify and describe plant parts ALL
- explain the role of each plant part SOME
- explain what plants need ALL
- ask questions ALL
- make observations ALL
- describe, compare, and contrast SOME
- carry out simple experiments ALL
- record changes in the life cycle of a plant SOME
- work independently A FEW
- work cooperatively MOST
- show appreciation for plants SOME
Essential Questions
What do plants need?
How do plants help themselves, mammals and our planet?
How can we help take care of them?
Instruction Strategies Used
- Gardner’s multiple intelligences (choice of product in plant part groups)
- Interest survey’s (index card of which plant part they would be)
- Jigsaw groups (sprouting scientists collecting data)
- Learning Stations (parts of plants mini-lessons)
- Pre-Assessment (index card “find someone”)
- Small-group investigations (growing from missing parts)
- Tiered assignments
Unit Overview
Week 1
| Lesson | Whole Class | Differentiated |
| Lesson 1 Pre-Assessment and intro | Scavenger hunt………15-20 minutes Class semantic mapping of unit (p. 435 chapter 16) | Struggling students may work in mixed-readiness pairs Buddies draw plant ideas |
| Lesson 2 Working like a scientist (seed sort) | Intro to science skills…………10 minutes Science skill rotations in mixed-ability groups (32 minutes) | Parent volunteer or resident expert to help with writing the questions Put science terms up in English and Spanish with a picture depicting activity (p. 278) |
| Lesson 3 and 4 Plant Life Cycles | Fruit seed examination activity…….. 10 min Word splash and sequencing activity…5 min Seed to flower video (7 min) T chart of life cycle comparisons (individual) Post assessment with modifications | Pre assessment: in Spanish & verbal output 10 min Pair-share discussion of video and T chart Interest groups based on germination/ wind blown activity |
| Lesson 5 Plant Anatomy Book and Sprouting Scientist groups/planting | Pre Assessment will be adapted for LD; they will have a word bank to draw from (pg. 75) Whole class will be making a field guide plant part book……………….25 minutes KWL chart for metacognitive impact | Students will be put in interest groups/ each group will have a resident expert reader (gifted p. 310) Product choice in recording plant data |
Week 2
| Lesson 1 Broken Circles | · Week 1 review/transition · Read and discuss People Need Plants by Mary Dodson Wade · Broken circles · Broken circles debrief | · Teacher-led mini-workshop on recycled materials · Children are in mixed readiness and learning profile table groups for broken circles |
| Lesson 2 Research and Planning | · Intro-being a good team member · Introduce rubric · Research · Planning | · student groups have the autonomy to choose what recycled materials to use and how they will design the container garden · Groups will have access to three stations and may choose which station(s) to work in based on interest and learning profile · Children to decide within their group who draws the blueprint, who writes to the pen pal, and who draws a picture of the process for the pen pal based on individual strengths. |
| Lesson 3 Cuttings and Care | · Pre-assessment for cuttings and cutting care. · Introduce guest speaker. · Guest Speaker presentation and demonstration: Cuttings and Care. · Debrief. · Post assessment- revise using another color. · Group journaling | · Down’s pre-assessment modification: yes/no questions asked verbally. · Based on pre-assessment readiness, some students will research why water, drainage, nutrients, and sunlight are important while others listen to presentation. · Provide information in advance about the guest speaker to help children who depend on a set routine. · Each group will have the freedom to choose how they convey how to care for cuttings to their pen pal |
| Lesson 4 Class Speaker (Local nursery) | · Opening reflection-is using recycled material important? · Guided reading of Common Ground: The earth, water and air we share by Molly Bang · Group discussion · Post reflection | · Provide an overhead and use wait time during discussion. |
| Lesson 5 Construction and Transplanting | · Introduce the community volunteers joining us today, introduce/review portions of the rubric students are working toward today, and review group norms. · Mini-lesson on cutting handling and planting · Construction and planting | · Individual interests amongst groups will guide the materials used and design of the container gardens. Each group’s container garden will be unique. · Mixed readiness pairs · Teacher-led mini workshop |
Week 3
| Lesson | Whole Class | Differentiated |
| Lesson 1 Interest survey/plant part group experiments | Pansy dissection. Each group will be responsible for four products. One each day. | Groups plant pansy with a missing plant part that coordinates with their group name. Each group views a different interactive website. Each group has their own plant part books to read. Each group has a different envelope of pictures for product. Groups get to choose which product to work on each day. |
| Lesson 2 Leaf group: how do plants make seeds | | All groups except leaf group will be choosing a product and a process to work on with the help of an adult volunteer. Leaf group will get a mini-lesson and experiment with me and will have a leaf product to complete. |
| Lesson 3 Stem group: celery stem experiment | | All groups except stem group will be choosing from the remaining products and processes. Root group will get a mini-lesson and activity with me and will have a stem product to complete. |
| Lesson 4 Root group: root stamps and cuts | | All groups except root group will be choosing from the remaining products and processes. Root group will get a mini-lesson and activity with me and will have a root product to complete. |
| Lesson 5 Seed group: labeling of a bean seed | | All groups except seed group will be choosing the last product and process to complete. Seed group will get a mini-lesson and activity with me and will have a seed product to complete. |
Week 4
| Lesson | Whole Class | Differentiated |
| Lesson 1 Class product presentations from groups | Each group will present to the class their products and findings on the plant they were observing. | Each group will argue for why or why not they think their plant part is the most important to the plant as a whole. |
| Lesson 2 “How are plants important to the world?” | The whole class will listen to the teacher read “A leaf in Time” by David Walker (1st 12 pages) Pre Assessment: graphic organizer-parts Guided-How do plants meet their needs? Guided-How do plants produce food? Post Assessment-Plant Parts Whole group will come together to sing entire song. | For highly capable readers or gifted: copies of whole book will be available for them to read independently. Students will be divided into groups based on readiness and given a verse from the song to memorize. |
| Lesson 3 Activities of Plants Video | Pre-test as a group activity Vocabulary as a group activity Video Review sheet/ stop video to fill in blanks Photosynthesis/ stop video to fill in graphic organizer | Gifted or capable students able to read independently will take pre-test on their own Post test: independent with modification of verbal reading of test for students with reading/writing disabilities |
| Lesson 4 Make up Missing Work Day | For students who are not missing any work—they will watch The Magic School Bus Goes to Seed video (35 minutes) and if time listen to the volunteer read the book for compare and contrast analysis discussion | For students who were absent or were unable to finish work during the science period, they will now have time with my help to complete any missing assignments |
| Lesson 5 Work on portfolio | All students will be given all of their work back from the plant unit, teacher will give suggestions for which items will satisfy certain parts of the portfolio | |
Lesson 1 Pre-Assessment and Introduction 45-55 minutes
Part 1
“Find Someone Who….” plant information scavenger hunt. Begin the unit by giving each student a pencil and four different-colored index cards with the following instructions on the card:
- Card 1: Find someone who knows two things that plants need
- Card 2: Find someone who has a garden
- Card 3: Find someone who can name three parts of a plant
- Card 4: Find someone who can name a type of plant
Tell the students that they are to walk quietly around the room to find classmates who fit the instructions on each card. When they find a classmate who fits a card description, they must have that person write their name on your card. Each student must collect two names on each card and all the names on all four cards must be different.
Circulate among the students, helping those who need assistance with finding and talking to classmates, with reading the cards, or with writing the names. In some cases, such as with ESL students or other students who might seriously struggle with the reading and writing involved in this activity, it might be needed to pair students so that they can help one another find classmates and write names.
When the students have found two classmates for each of the cards (or when the noise level escalates), bring the class together to discuss what the students discovered about one another, asking questions such as, “How many of you found out that some has a garden?” “What types of plants did people know?” “Who can name at least three parts of a plant?” Note the students’ responses and collect the index cards.
Part 2
Creation of class plant web, working in pairs, then as a whole group. Next, tell the students that they are going to create a class web about plants and that they will need to share what they already know about plants. Students will pair up with buddy, each student will have a piece a paper with a circle on it. Ask the pairs to work together to write (or draw, if writing it too difficult) one thing about plants on each circle.
When each pair has completed its circles, bring the whole group together to share and discuss the ideas while creating the class web. Place a larger circle in the middle of a piece of butcher paper, and write “plants” in this circle. Ask students to share their ideas one at a time so that you can add their idea to the webbing. As ideas are shared, note when they are similar to other ideas, and place them together around the larger circle, asking, “Does this idea go with any other ideas? How?”
When all of the pairs’ ideas have been shared and placed on the web, invite the students to name the categories: What might they call a group of ideas? Why? Label the categories. This is an example of discussing cognitive strategy with the use of instructional conversations: verbally recognizing thought patterns of how the big ideas connect together for a child with a learning disability (p. 75). When the class web is complete, post it on a wall at student level so that students can add to the web throughout the unit. Place an envelope of circles with the poster so that students can record on circles and add them to the web. Collect individual circles to use along with index cards as pre-assessment.
Lesson 2
One class period of 45-55 minutes
Working Like a Scientist with Seed Sort Activity
Introduction to science skills. Invite the students to share their ideas about ‘doing science’ and highlight some skills that they already have (writing their name and counting to 20).
Ask: What skills do you think scientists need to have? (Observing or seeing carefully, keeping records of what they see, etc. ) Record the students’ ideas on chart paper so that the class can refer to them during the next lesson.
Science skill station rotations in mixed –ability groups. Tell the students that they will be working at four different stations to practice the skills of science. Then place the students in four mixed-readiness groups based on pre-assessment information and reading proficiency. Remember to put one resident expert in each group (one student you have groomed for this assignment and reads well; gifted acceleration pg. 310).
Explain the stations and their locations. The groups will spend about 8 minutes in each station.
Station 1: Observing
Each student will pick a sunflower seed out of a basket and look at it closely. The students will put their seeds back in the basket and mix them up so that they don’t know where their seed is. Then they will try to find their seed. What do they have to do to find their seed? On their four-square passport, they will draw their rendition of their seed coat.
Station 2: Classifying
Given a collection of different seeds, the students will put them into group. How can they put shells that are alike together? How are the groups different from one another? Write the number of groups you made on your passport.
Station 3: Comparing and Contrasting
Given a collection of different seeds, the students will select pairs of seeds and will tell how they are the same and how they are different. Can they find two seeds that are very similar? Can they find two that are very different? Draw their comparisons on their passport.
Station 4: Asking Questions
The students will ask questions about anything they are interested pertaining to plants or seeds. The assistant or parent volunteer will write down the group’s questions on chart paper and will assist if needed in writing individual questions on student passports.
Discussion of science skills. Bring the students back together for a large-group discussion to wrap up the lesson. Ask them to explain what they did at each station. Explain the terms observe, classify, compare, contrast, and question so that they know what we call the skills they were working on. These words will be written in English and Spanish and they will have an icon that presents the activity under the word to aide in Spanish speaking students (p. 278).
Post-Assessment: ask students to respond to the following question either verbally or in written form depending on readiness—When do you think you will need to use these skills as we study plants? Adaptation for Dysgraphia students: can give verbal assessment (p. 390).
| Beginning | Almost There | Meeting | Exceeding |
| Writes no ideas or states has no connection | Can relate 2 of the 4 skills in everyday life or unit | Connects all 3 out of 4 skills in everyday life or unit | Connects all four skills and analyzes uses for unit or everyday life |
Lessons 3 and 4
Two class periods of 45-55 minutes
Plant Life Cycles
In this lesson, students learn about the life cycle of plants by watching time-lapse videos. This activity provides students with further evidence that all living things grow and change as they progress through their life cycle. Two optional video segments show students how to set up a germination experiment and how to grow seeds they collect on their socks.
Objectives of this lesson are:
- understand that plants have a life cycle that includes sprouting; developing roots, stems, leaves, and flowers; reproducing; and eventually dying
- observe the changes that occur during plant growth and development
- compare and contrast the life cycle of plants to that of mammals
- sequence the stages of plant life (sequencing card activity)
Multimedia Resources (Internet)
- From Seed to Flower (Nova or Utube)
- Germinator (Utube)
- Sock Seeds Video (ZoomSci Video)
Whole Class Materials
- one flowering potted plant
- a variety of fruits cut opened
- white construction paper
- crayons or markers
Differentiated Group Materials
| Germinator Group | Sock Seed Group |
| Plastic bag, bean seeds, paper towel, water | Old socks, soil, box, water |
Day 3 lesson
- Show students a flowering potted plant, and pass out pre assessment sheet; ask them to draw a line from the words to the parts of the plant: roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. Ask: Which part of the plant develops into the fruit? Accommodate for ELL student and give pre assessment in Spanish words (pg. 278). Accommodate for any student not knowing the terms by repeating the terms several times during the assessment. Stimulate for growth by challenging students to draw or write what each plant part does.
- To help students understand that seeds develop inside fruits, have them examine a variety of fruits that have been cut open to expose their seeds. Discuss the different seed shapes they observe.
- Make a word or picture splash (randomly scattered words or pictures) on the board that includes the following words or pictures: seed, root, stem, leaves, and fruit. Tell students that they are going to watch a video showing a seed sprouting (germinating) and growing. Ask them to predict which part of the plant starts to grow first, which part grows second, and so on. Put the words/pictures in the order they suggest.
- Show students the From Seed to Flower video and the Seedling Time Lapse Video both can be seen from UTube. After watching, have them suggest correlations to the order of the words/pictures on the board. Ask them to describe how plants change as they grow. What happens to their size? Their shape? Their parts?
- Discuss how the life cycle’s of plants and mammals are similar and different. Draw a T chart poster to illicit ideas. Have pairs share information before reporting out to whole group.
- Remind students of the stages of human development discussed from the previous unit: newborn, toddler, child, teenager, young adult, middle-aged adult, and elderly. Have pictures of each stage in magnetic form and attach to front board.
- (Visual) Give each student a piece of paper (contains a T chart with seven boxes on each side) and have them cut out and match pictures of plants that they think correspond to each of the stages of human development. Pod groups (groups of four) can work together on this helping each other out. Teacher will walk around to scaffold activity (8 minutes).
- Come back together as a whole group and call on groups to come up and match the pictures of the plant cycle to pictures of the human cycle. Ask the class how many are correct when group is done—if not all correct keep calling up groups until all are correct or time has ran out.
Post Assessment—How Do Plants Change As They Grow?
Day 4 Lesson
Divide the class up into two groups (random numbering). One group will be with the teacher during the stages-in-the-life-of-a-tree-hunt while the other group will be inside with the assistant watching a short video and doing the experiment associated with this activity. Groups will switch. The groups will be called the sock group and the invisible group. During the scavenger hunt all students will be looking for evidence of the plant cycle and will have a check off box for each cycle: seedling, seed with newly sprouted roots, a tall tree with many branches, a sapling, a young adult tree, a very mature tree and a dead tree. Students will draw their discoveries. Collect two or three different type of plants or flowers for the next day’s plant anatomy book.
Invisible Group:
Have students conduct the germination experiment demonstrated in the Germinator video (UTube). Have students document with drawings the changes they predict that they will see when observing the seeds. Students will place bean seeds between paper towels, wet the paper towels, seal them in a plastic baggy and hang baggy in front of the window in the class. This is called the invisible group because the container is see-through (invisible). These T chart predication will be collected for further observation early the next week.
Sock Group:
Students will have brought or teacher supplied a pair of old socks. Have students conduct the sock-seeds experiment demonstrated in the Sock Seeds video (ZoomsSci or UTube). Have students make a T chart to record predictions on one side to coordinate with results on the other. During the nature hike, students will have taken their shoes off and walked in their old socks. When coming back into school, the old socks will be taken off over original socks so that they can be planted into a shoe box containing fast grow fertilizer. Students will water their boxes and place on window box. If given time later in the unit, this experiment will lend nicely to the new plants section of how plants reproduce (wind blown or seed transportation systems).
Each group will be responsible to reporting out to the whole class—their predictions, their outcomes, and explanations of experiments. Each student has a science journal and in which they have kept notes all year. I will scaffold students in labeling this new unit in journal where they will keep their observations of either germinator experiment or Invisible experiment.
Post Assessment: students will draw three days of predictions according to their experiment—this will give me an idea of their connection with the plant cycle and this activity
| Beginning | Almost There | Meeting | Exceeding |
| Three pictures of the same item | Three pictures with only one development | Three pictures showing three developments | Three pictures with three very detailed and accurate developments |
Lesson 5 Sprouting Scientists! 45-55 minutes
For this activity, group students in two different ways. They should be grouped into teams of four to five students (these will be an interest survey grouping but scaffold the groups so that each group has one good reader in the group). Prior to today, students filled out an index card with their names on it and two plant parts that they want to learn more about. Teams will be developed and named with this data for this project and for week three’s project. Groups will be seeds, leaves, stems, and roots. Alternately employ the jigsaw grouping strategy as well. This requires you to assign each member of each team a letter. Subsequently, in the Seed Group, you will have a Student A, Student B, Student C, Student D and possibly a Student E. To form the jigsaw groups, instead of the teams, ask students to group by their assigned letter, instead of team names. So, all “A’s” would become a group, and so on.
Pre Assessment: All Living things need………….. answers: air, water, food, reproduce
Instructional Procedures
PART 1
Students will individually make their own plant books from plant collections of previous lesson. Model to students what a completed book would look like. Show students how to take each part of the plant apart. Refer to pages of books from the class’s collection under the docucam to show stem, stigma, style, petals, and filaments. Each pod will have enough index cards and sandwich baggies to complete their books along with their collected specimens. Provide check off lists of cards and steps to this activity for attention deficit children so they can mark off each step as they go (p.85).
· Have students label each part (pass out a vocabulary sheet to each student so that they can cut the words out and glue the label under the specimen.
· Glue each specimen to an index card with the word label.
· Place index card into baggie.
· Staple baggies together to create specimen field guide.
Plant Part Guide Rubric
| B | A | M | E |
| Their book has at least two correct pages. | Their book has 5 of the required pages with coordinating labels. | The book is complete with the following plant parts and coordinating labels: seed, stem, leaf, root, stigma, style, petal, filament, bud, and fruit. | The book is complete, orderly and neat. Students wrote a few descriptive sentences on each page. |
PART 2
- “What will happen if I take one of these seeds and plant it in some soil?” Use the K-W-L chart to record claims of knowledge and questions about what will happen. Be sure to use follow-up questions in response to student statements in order to better understand what they know and have already experienced this week. Urge students to think of questions they might have about how seeds grow into plants, specifically the lima bean seeds (e.g., How long will it take to sprout? How tall will it grow to be? How many leaves will it have? etc). It is critical for students to establish that they would like to plant the seeds and “see what happens” in order to validate their predictions and answer their question. Add row for metacognitive questions: why is this important to know? What prior activity can I connect today’s activity to? How close do I think my predictions will be and why? What learning style am I using in this activity?
- Plant seeds in the cups provided from the FOSS kit (temporary germinator until transplanted in plant boxes for pen pals—senior citizens who will eventually be awarded these plants).
- Explain to the students that you would like to support them in their predictions of what will happen to the seeds. You are also eager to help them answer the questions they posed about the future of the seeds. Talk about how scientists often have questions about nature and what happens with living things in our world. Tell them that one strategy scientists use to help them test their predictions and answer their questions is the strategy of collecting data/information. Pose the question: “As we start to watch these little seeds, what are some ways we could record what we are seeing and experiencing?” Students may mention sketches, journaling, pictures, etc.
- Facilitate the collection of data by assigning students to their teams. Group students in cooperative teams (by tables) and prepare them for jigsaw groups. Explain that every student will have the same job of observing the plants and recording data. Team members take turns gathering data daily. For example, Member “A” from each team will collaboratively gather data on Monday. Each Member “B” gathers data on Tuesday, and so forth.
- Assign each team a folder and a box containing supplies (disposable camera, drawing supplies, and card to video camera). Each member is crucial to the team shout out so be prepared to have substitute data collectors for absent students. Student’s jigsaw groups, collect data and share their findings with their teams each day. Student’s may use any form of data collection they would like (write a paragraph or sentence, draw a picture, take a picture, interview the plant, film the plant, act out the data, etc.—Gardner’s Intelligences.
- As the teacher, you decide how long this procedure continues. You may choose to have the students collect data from two to three weeks. For this unit, it will be three weeks long because of our pen pals.
- At the conclusion of this investigation, invite student teams to review their data collection and present it in some fashion (e.g., a book that shows the progressive growth of the plants, a graph that depicts the number of leaves/height of plants, or the number of days it took the seeds to sprout, etc. Data can be organized per the group’s decision of how they want to present—they will have a choice from Garner’s intelligence to choose from: skit, book talk, reader’s theatre, etc.) In this project both individual process and group product are differentiated by student’s strengths.
- Revisit the K-W-L chart at the end of the three weeks and discuss newfound knowledge and validated concepts.
- Have the students complete daily graphs by answering questions/collecting data on the topic of seeds and plant growth
- As jigsaw groups meet to collect data, interview individual students to assess gaps in understanding or misconceptions. These interviews also provide an opportunity to encourage deeper ideas and expanded knowledge for advanced learners
- This lesson has built-in adaptations. It provides students the opportunity to work collaboratively and express their thoughts orally, as well as through pictures and writing
- Provide scaffolding for emergent writers by posting the Seed/Plant Word Wall that you created during the Seed Sort Activity. Accommodate for ESL learners by providing pictures/illustrations next to the words
- Give students (especially ESL and disabilities with communication) their own individual “plant dictionaries.” Provide them with vocabulary and pictures to paste into their dictionaries as the unit progresses.
Family Connections: students identify a plant around or near their home. Challenge them to record as much data as they can about the plant (e.g., length, number of leaves, color, texture, fruit, seeds, bugs around plant, etc.)
Plant Library (students have access to these books during science and free time to supplement learning/ and for filler during completed work time). Below is a list of 21 books geared to a Pre-4 level. Make sure there are enough books so that each child could have one at their desk and make sure enough reading-level readiness gauges are on hand. Plenty of these books are picture books to support dyslexia and students whose IQ is below average (p. 178)
- Parts of a Plant by Wiley Blevins (Compass Point Books, 2003: Phonics reader)
- From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
- A Tree is a Plant by Clyde Robert Bulla
- Ten Seeds by Ruth Brown
- How a Seed Grows by Helene Jordan
- The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
- The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds by Joanna Cole
- Jack and the Beanstalk
- What’s inside plants? by Herbert Zim
- Lois Elhert books: Growing Vegetable Soup and Planting a Rainbow
- Green and Growing: A Book About Plants by Susan Blockaby
- David Schwartz books: Sunflower, Maple Tree, Plant Leaves, Plant Blossoms, and Plant stems and Roots
- Foss Science Stories: What Do Plants Need?, How Seeds Travel, The Story of Wheat, Plants around the World
Students with ADHD
I Will Remember To:
This graphic organizer will be taped to desks of students who need these reminders, this allows me to quietly come around to the desk and tap on the skill the student need reminded on. (pg. 87)
Students on the ASD
Friendly, Nice, Helper Words
This graphic organizer can be used to two ways: (a) students can record words they perceive as friendly, nice, helper words to cue them to students who could be their friends or (b) for the student on the ASD to record when they use friendly, nice, helper words to promote social skills (176)
Students with EBD
Daily Goal Report
This graphic organizer can be used for academic goals and/or behavior goals, it reminds the students of the goal, chunks up the day for immediate feedback and can be tied into a reward system at the end of day (time with interested material). (157)
Week 2 Theme
Students will work in mixed ability groups to construct container gardens out of recycled materials, plant mint cuttings, and report on the process to their pen pal.
Guided Reading Strategies
o Logic Puzzles day 1
o Think/pair/share day 1
o Learning logs day 2 and 3
o Anticipation guide day 4
Week 2 Content Standards
K-1 INQD: Scientists report on their investigations to other scientists using pictures and words.
K-1 APPA: Common tools can be used to solve problems.
K-1 APPC: A problem may have more than one acceptable solution.
Communication 2.2. Uses interpersonal skills and strategies in a multicultural context to work collaboratively, solve problems, and perform tasks.
Positive Impact on Learning
Integrating several different assessment tools during the course of this week’s lessons helps insure that I will be able to assess whether my teaching had a positive impact on student’s learning. I use the following to assess growth in student understanding:
· Pre-thinking/revised thinking-
o Lesson 3: Children write about how to take a cutting and care for one then go back and revise in another color. This assessment is differentiated for children with Down’s- see lesson plan for specific details.
o Lesson 5: thumbs up pre-assessment then discussion and thumbs up question again as a formative assessment.
· Rubric-
o I introduce a piece of the rubric each day to help familiarize students with how I am assessing them. During writing each day (not included as part of this unit), students will self assess based on the rubric.
o The rubric as a summative assessment will help me see if I’ve had a positive impact on student learning when used in conjunction with informal observation notes I take on student’s readiness throughout the lessons. How students assess themselves on the rubric will also provide an indicator of impact because it will show me whether students took away what I intended for them to take away.
o The rubric is general enough that it can accommodate all learners without specific differentiations.
· Observation Checklist-
o I use an observation checklist in lesson 5 to formatively assess student’s ability to demonstrate safe handling practices and proper planting practices when working with cuttings. See checklist for appropriate differentiations.
Lesson Sequence
45-55min lessons
1. Broken Circles
Standards:
· Science K-1 APPC: A problem may have more than one acceptable solution.
· Communication 2.2. Uses interpersonal skills and strategies in a multicultural context to work collaboratively, solve problems, and perform tasks.
Objective: SWBAT work together in groups of four to solve a puzzle that requires cooperation and interdependence of group members.
2. Research and Planning
Standard:
· K-1 INQD: Scientists report on their investigations to other scientists using pictures and words.
Objective: SWBAT research independently, create a blueprint of their group container garden using recycled materials, and report on their investigations to their pen pal.
· Differentiated product based on learning profile and interest:
o Students may choose to report on their investigations by building models with clay or blocks and taking photographs of them rather than using the traditional words and pictures format.
3. Cuttings and Care
Standard:
· K-1 INQD: Scientists report on their investigations to other scientists using pictures and words.
Objective: SWBAT explain to their pen pal how to care for the mint cuttings.
· Differentiated readiness objective for children with Down’s Syndrome:
o SWBAT Identify how to care for cuttings given a series of yes/no questions or picture cards.
· Differentiated readiness objective for gifted learners:
o SWBAT explain to their pen pal why watering, drainage, and sunlight are important to cuttings
· Differentiated product learning profile/readiness objective for students who participate in the teacher-led mini-lesson prior to the speaker’s presentation:
o SWBAT apply the skills of being a respectful listener and audience member during the presentation.
4. Earth Stewardship
Standards:
· K-1 APPA: Common tools can be used to solve problems
· Communication 2.2: Uses interpersonal skills and strategies in a multicultural context to work collaboratively, solve problems, and perform tasks.
Objective: SWBAT articulate the importance of using recycled materials.
· Differentiated content based on learning profile:
o To accommodate students with language disorders, I will provide a categorizing worksheet for them to fill in with ideas about how using recycled materials is important during the reading and group discussion. SWBAT categorize ways that recycling helps the environment.
· Differentiated process based on readiness:
o I will help students who are able to explain how recycling helps the environment in the pre-assessment stretch their thinking by having them listen for ideas in the read aloud about how kids can help the environment. SWBAT share the ideas they think of during the whole group discussion and will write about it in their post reflection using words or pictures.
5. Construct Container Gardens and transplant mint
Standards:
· Communication 2.2: Uses interpersonal skills and strategies in a multicultural context to work collaboratively, solve problems, and perform tasks.
Objective: SWBAT cooperatively construct a functional planter box using recycled materials and transplant mint cuttings into their container garden. SWBAT demonstrate safe handling practices by not touching the developing roots. SWBAT demonstrate how to dig an appropriate sized hole for the cutting.
· Differentiated product based on interest:
o Individual interests amongst groups will guide the materials used and design of the container gardens. Each group’s container garden will be unique.
· Differentiated process based on learning profile:
o Students whose fine motor skills are not developed enough to demonstrate safe handling practices by not touching the developing roots or digging an appropriate sized hole will explain to a peer and the peer will perform the transplant as directed
Lesson 1
45-55 minutes
Broken Circles
Standards:
K-1 APPC: A problem may have more than one acceptable solution.
Communication 2.2. Uses interpersonal skills and strategies in a multicultural context to work collaboratively, solve problems, and perform tasks.
Objective: SWBAT work together in groups of four to solve a puzzle that requires cooperation and interdependence of group members.
Review/Transition: Remind the children of last week by asking them what we learned about plants (seed sort, plant life cycles, plant parts, ect.). Tell them that people and animals really need plants because they keep our air clean.
Read and Discuss: Read children a book that helps them see why plants are so important such as Plants and Humans by Claire Llewellyn, People Need Plants by Mary Dodson Wade, or A Leaf in Time by David Walker. Use the book to initiate a short discussion about the importance of valuing plants and taking care of them. Focus the discussion on things the children can do to help take care of plants. Use wait time as a way to scaffold children with language disorders. After the children have a couple minutes of brainstorming in the large group tell them that we are going to use recycled materials to make planter boxes and grow plants for our pen pals in them. Ask what the children think, get them excited. Formatively assess by asking why we should use recycled materials to build when we can and what recycled materials are.
· Conduct a teacher-led mini-workshop for children who do not know what recycled materials are during free work time later in the day.
Explain Task: Explain that creating container gardens is a lot of work- you need research to get ideas, you need to plan what it will look like, you need to gather materials, you need to build it. That a lot of steps, so it’s a good thing we have our friends here to help us! Ask if anyone is good at everything. Ask what will happen if we each try to do it our own way and we don’t listen to other people’s ideas.
Broken Circles: Tell children that we are going to play a game to get practice working together with the people in our table groups before we start working on planning our planter boxes. Tell them that each person will have some of the pieces of the puzzle and it is their job to work as a team to put all the puzzles together. Pass out envelopes of pieces to each table group, put on quiet music, invite them to get started. Children are in mixed readiness and learning profile table groups.
Debrief & Think/Pair/Share: Initiate Broken Circles debrief with a think/pair/share by asking pairs what was challenging. Ask the whole group what happened when people wouldn’t share their pieces and what they learned about working in a group. Is sharing pieces like sharing ideas, why?
Lesson 2
45-55 minutes
Research and Planning
Standard:
· K-1 INQD: Scientists report on their investigations to other scientists using pictures and words.
Objective: SWBAT research independently, create a blueprint of their group container garden using recycled materials, and report on their investigations to their pen pal.
· Differentiated product based on learning profile and interest:
o Students may choose to report on their investigations by building models with clay or blocks and taking photographs of them rather than using the traditional words and pictures format. (Vp.450 alternative assessments)
Intro: Remind the children that yesterday we practiced being a team with the other people in our groups. Ask why we did that (to learn how to work in groups, to get ready to build planter boxes, ect.). Explain that before we can start building, we need to do some research to get ideas and share our ideas with the other people in our group. Ask if it is okay when we’re sharing ideas if not everyone shares an idea as scaffolding to get the children to see that everyone needs to share. Ask what would happen if only two people shared. (Vp.433 setting a purpose)
Introduce the flowering portion of the following rubric for “Team Member”. Students will self assess and I will assess based on this:
| Team Member Communication 2.2 | I… · Shared Ideas · Listened to each other · Planned as a team |
Tell the children that today, their job is to create a blueprint for their planter box/container garden. They will research recycled planter boxes online, look at pictures of planter boxes, look at the materials we have to work with, share ideas with group members, plan their container garden, share information with their pen pal using words, and pictures or a model. The product is differentiated by interest in this task because student groups have the autonomy to choose what recycled materials to use and how they will design the container garden.
As a Total Physical Response advance organizer to scaffold children with ADHD and English language learners, have students briefly act out each step while I post the following abbreviations of the steps on the board (Vp.87 integrating movement & Vp.284 make use of all senses):
1. Research
2. Share ideas with group
3. Share ideas with pen pal using a words and a picture or model
Phase 1- Research: Groups will have access to three stations and may choose which station(s) to work in based on interest and learning profile (Differentiated content based on interest/learning profile).
Online Research-
· My First Garden: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/firstgarden/planning/index.html
o The gardening in unusual places tab provides lots of examples of planter boxes made from recycled materials.
o The site provides images of each planter box along with the text to scaffold the reading. To further differentiate process according to reading readiness, I will record a reading of the text and set up a listening station so children can follow along with the text without actually having the readiness to read it. (Tomlinson calls this providing audiotaped materials). (Vp.445 recording text content)
o Text can be displayed in both Spanish and English to differentiate content for English language learners (Vp.284 encourage students to use first language)
o To accommodate Gifted learners, I will differentiate product by inviting some children to use Google Images to search for pictures independently using the search term “recycled container garden” or “recycled planter”. I will lead this group of students in a teacher-led mini workshop on cutting and pasting images to Microsoft Word. Students will then compile documents of the pictures they find to share with their group members. (Vp.319-320 tiered activities)
Recycled Materials-
· Recycled goods will be available for students to manipulate and begin designing their planter boxes.
o Potential materials include, milk crates, plastic milk jugs, pop bottles, flattened cans, cut tires, old buckets, dishpans, old coffee cans, ect.
o If groups think of a material they would like to use that is not provided, we will brainstorm ideas together about how to obtain it if we can.
o It is difficult to state general accommodations for Down’s because of the wide range of cognitive ability levels, but depending on a child’s augmentative and alternative communication needs, I may differentiate content by including tangible models of container gardens using recycled materials to help give them ideas. (Vp.164 Down’s)
Pictures-
· I will provide pictures of container gardens made from recycled materials for children to look at and get ideas from.
o Providing pictures helps differentiate content for children with Down ’s Syndrome who tend to process information more easily when it is presented pictorially. Depending on visual-perceptual discrimination skills of my students, I may differentiate content by including some line drawings rather than only providing detailed color photograph-type images. (Vp.164)
Phase 2- Planning and Learning Logs: Students meet with the others in their group to
1. Share ideas about how to create the container garden and what to write to their pen pal.
2. Draw a blueprint of the plan or create a model using clay or blocks (two children)
3. Journal to their pen pal about how they are going to create their container garden using words and a picture or clay model (two children)
· I differentiate process by learning profile by allowing children to decide within their group who draws the blueprint, who writes to the pen pal, and who draws a picture of the process for the pen pal based on individual strengths.
· Children with dysgraphia may benefit from creating a clay or block model because they have trouble conveying their thoughts in writing. Since they often struggle with fine motor skills in general, simply providing the opportunity for them to draw instead of write is not necessarily enough. (Vp.390)
· Children with ADHD may benefit from creating a clay or block model because it engages their bodies more than simply using a pencil and paper. (Vp.87)
Lesson 3
45-55 minutes
-Guest Speaker:
Cuttings and Care
Standard: K-1 INQD: Scientists report on their investigations to other scientists using pictures and words.
Objective: SWBAT explain to their pen pal how to care for the mint cuttings.
· Differentiated readiness objective for children with Down’s Syndrome:
o SWBAT Identify how to care for cuttings given a series of yes/no questions or picture cards. (Vp.164)
· Differentiated readiness objective for gifted learners:
o SWBAT explain to their pen pal why watering, drainage, and sunlight are important to cuttings (Vp.310)
· Differentiated content learning profile/readiness objective for students who participate in the teacher-led mini-lesson prior to the speaker’s presentation:
o SWBAT apply the skills of being a respectful listener and audience member during the presentation.
Pre-Lesson Prep:
Before this lesson, I will need to line up a guest speaker from a local nursery (or a knowledgeable community member) to explain how to care for container gardens. I will call local nurseries and explain that my first graders are in the middle of a unit on new plants and are in the process of building container gardens from recycled materials. I will explain that the children love when members of the community come visit and that they need to learn about how to care for container gardens so they can explain to their pen pal how to tend to the garden. I will invite the person from the nursery to come teach the children how to take and care for cuttings through an interactive presentation that lasts approximately 20 minutes.
Pre-Assessment:
Use words or pictures (with pencil and crayons) to show what a cutting is and how to care for it.
· I will differentiate content and process by learning profile (Tomlinson calls this presenting auditory modes and allowing multiple options for how students express learning) for children with Down’s by verbally asking them the following yes/no questions about cutting care and container gardening (Vp.164):
o cuttings need friends. (N)
o Container gardens need water. (Y)
o Container gardens need drainage holes to get rid of extra water. (Y)
o Cuttings grow from seeds. (N)
o Cuttings need sunlight. (Y)
o Container gardens favorite place is the zoo. (N)
o Cuttings are new plants. (Y)
o Container gardens need to have plants in them. (Y)
o A cutting is a small plant cut from a bigger plant. (Y)
· I will differentiate content for children who indicate on the pre-assessment that they already how to take cuttings and know that cuttings need water, sunlight, and drainage by having them research why those things are important using the following books and internet sources while the other students are listening the speaker’s presentation (Vp.310).
o How a Seed Grows by Helene Jordan
o The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
o The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds by Joanna Cole
- Green and Growing: A Book About Plants by Susan Blockaby
o http://www.ngf.-cymru.org.uk/vtc/factors_plant_grow
o http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/
o www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/plantsgrow.html
Introduce Speaker:
Remind children that a guest is going to come and teach us how to care for container gardens. Show them the picture of the individual and remind students of the speaker’s name.
Before the speaker enters, have students practice what good listeners do. Begin with a short role play where a student volunteer plays the part of the teacher and I play the part of the student. First I will model being a poor listener and will ask the students for tips on what I could do differently. Then, I will try again integrating the students’ tips. Next, I will have students model poor listening and good listening. This activity will remind students what good listening looks like and will model social norms which is particularly important for children on the autism spectrum or with Aspergers (Vp.150 & 154).
· Having a guest speaker come in upsets the usual routine of the classroom which is sometimes difficult for children with emotional or behavioral disorders to navigate. I will scaffold the experience by letting the children know who is coming and why several days in advance and reminding them each day. I will provide a little bit of information each day such as introducing a picture of the person, where they work, what they are going to talk about, how long they will be in the classroom ect (Vp.131).
· Listening to a guest speaker requires students to sit and listen for longer than they are accustomed to, interact with an unfamiliar adult, and be on their best listening behavior. Students on the Autism spectrum and with Aspergers often have trouble with the code switching this requires. I will differentiate content based on learning profile and readiness for such students by workshoping with them ahead in a small group of six or less on social stories about behavior norms when listening to a guest. Tomlinson’s best practices indicate that teacher-led mini-workshops with small groups is an effective strategy because it increases process readiness (Vp.154).
Rubric: Introduce the flowing portion of the “Explaining Process” portion of the rubric shown below:
| Reporting Science K-1 INQD K-1 APPD K-1 APPC | · We explained how we created our container garden and how to take care of it using pictures and words. · We checked to make sure our instructions make sense |
Speaker:
Teaches children about how to care for cuttings (watering, drainage, sunlight) and works with children in small groups to take cuttings from a spearmint plant.
· To differentiate content for children with Down’s Syndrome and provide visual cues for children with ADHD and English language learners, I will collaborate with the speaker ahead of time and create poster images or bring in props to provide visual cues of key concepts. There will be one poster depicting sunlight. The poster will have a picture of the sun as shown at the end of this lesson plan. I will bring in some planters to show drainage holes. I will bring a watering can and hose attachment to represent watering . {See the end of this lesson for poster printout} (Vp.164 Down’s; Vp.283 ELL; Vp.83 ADHD)
Debrief:
Once the speaker leaves, the children and I will review how to care for their cuttings and I will provide space for children to ask questions or add information they know about container gardening. This will provide students with the opportunity to verbalize confusing points and provides me with an opportunity to monitor their developing understanding. (Vp.438)
Post assessment:
Children will use words or pictures and a colored marker to revisit their pre-assessments
Group Learning Log Journaling:
Children will work with their group members to explain to their pen pal how to care for cuttings. Children who completed independent research will contribute their findings to the group discussion and pen pal letter. As a means of differentiating product based on interest, each group will have the freedom to choose how they convey how to care for cuttings to their pen pal. I will provide materials for the following options: paint a picture or series of pictures, make clay models and take a photograph of them, words and pictures, or role play and take photographs. If groups do not finish in the remaining time, they may finish during free work time or before they begin construction in day four.
Day 4
45-55 minutes
Earth Stewardship
Standards:
· K-1 APPA: Common tools can be used to solve problems
· Communication 2.2: Uses interpersonal skills and strategies in a multicultural context to work collaboratively, solve problems, and perform tasks.
Objective: SWBAT articulate the importance of using recycled materials.
· Differentiated content based on learning profile:
o To accommodate students with language disorders, I will provide a categorizing worksheet for them to fill in with ideas about how using recycled materials is important during the reading and group discussion. SWBAT categorize ways that recycling helps the environment. (Vp.101)
· Differentiated process/product based on readiness:
o I will help students who are able to explain how recycling helps the environment in the pre-assessment stretch their thinking by having them listen for ideas in the read aloud about how kids can help the environment. SWBAT share the ideas they think of during the whole group discussion and will write about it in their post reflection using words or pictures. (Vp.316; Vp.322)
Pre-Lesson prep:
Contact community members to volunteer to help students with the construction process through the weekly classroom newsletter.
Opening reflection:
Use words or pictures (pencils/crayons) to explain whether using recycled materials is important. (Walk around the room during reflection time and note who seems to already be able to explain how recycling helps the environment)
Anticipation Guide:
Complete following anticipation guide as a class to help structure what students listen for:
| | YES | NOT SURE | NO |
| Recycling helps take care of new plants | | | |
| Plants clean the air | | | |
| What I pour on the grass goes into plant’s roots | | | |
| Putting my paper in the garbage is recyling | | | |
Guided Reading:
Read Common Ground: The earth, water and air we share by Molly Bang. Invite children to think about how using recycled materials might be important as I read the story.
Group Discussion:
Discuss ways in which we depend on the earth and ways in which kids can make a difference using the read-aloud as a springboard for discussion. Help scaffold children to seeing that the planter boxes they are constructing is helping the environment.
- Provide an overhead of the story for student viewing while I read to provide students with another mode to take in the information. This is particularly important for students with language disorders. (Vp.99)
· Use wait time. This is particularly useful for children who have difficulties w/word retrieval and provides space for children to construct responses. (Vp.100)
Post Reflection (formative assessment):
Group 1- Use a marker to add the ideas you got from the story and our discussion about whether using recycled materials is important.
Group 2- Use a marker to add ideas about how kids can help the environment.
| Function Science K-1 APPA | · Our container garden is constructed using recycled materials. · We can explain how using recycled materials helps the environment. |
Day 5
45-55 minutes
Construct Container Gardens and transplant mint
Standards:
· Communication 2.2: Uses interpersonal skills and strategies in a multicultural context to work collaboratively, solve problems, and perform tasks.
Objective: SWBAT cooperatively construct a functional planter box using recycled materials and transplant mint cuttings into their container garden. SWBAT demonstrate safe handling practices by not touching the developing roots. SWBAT demonstrate how to dig an appropriate sized hole for the cutting.
· Differentiated product based on interest:
o Individual interests amongst groups will guide the materials used and design of the container gardens. Each group’s container garden will be unique.
· Differentiated process based on learning profile:
o Students whose fine motor skills are not developed enough to demonstrate safe handling practices by not touching the developing roots or digging an appropriate sized hole will explain to a peer and the peer will perform the transplant as directed
Advance Prep:
Try to bring in some spearmint ice tea for students to sip on during the mini lesson to help them develop an interest in and connection to the mint plants they are growing. Sipping on the tea while learning about proper handling and planting techniques may help some children develop the intrinsic motivation to want to take good care of their mint. (Also, check home ahead to make sure there are no mint allergies)
Introduction
Introduce the community volunteers joining us today, introduce/review the portions of the rubric students are working toward today, and review group norms.
| Function Science K-1 APPA | · Our container garden is constructed using recycled materials. · We can explain how using recycled materials helps the environment. |
| Team Member Communication 2.2 | I… · Shared Ideas · Listened to each other · Planned as a team |
Mini-Lesson on Cutting Handling and Planting:
Have community volunteers help pass out mint tea to children in circle. To pre-assess students’ knowledge of safe handling practices, I will ask students to give me a thumbs up if they believe it’s good for plants if we touch their roots and then a thumbs up if they think it is bad for plants if we touch their roots. I will invite children from each side to explain their reasoning before explaining just like we can give colds to each other by sneezing on our hands and not washing them, we can pass germs onto plants by touching their roots. If you touch a plant’s roots, the plant might get sick. I’ll then ask students the initial thumbs up questions to formatively assess whether the discussion provided enough scaffolding.
We will then have the same type of discussion about planting/digging. I show students a cutting and will model digging two holes for it. I will ask students to point to the hole that is a better fit for the plant. I will invite students from each position to explain their reasoning. Students and I will then discuss the components of a appropriate sized planting hole and I will have students point again to formatively assess whether the discussion provided enough scaffolding to convey the understanding that the hole should be a little bigger that what the plant was originally planted in. (Model preparing a really large roomy hole for planting and one that is about 1 ½ times the size of the root ball of the cutting)
Construction and Planting:
Student groups will construct their container gardens with the assistance of a community volunteer. Have the materials all set up and divided by group ahead of time to expedite passing them out to the groups.
Once the planter boxes are complete, groups will work with their community volunteer to fill them with soil and each child will transplant spearmint cutting.
Interdisciplinary Link:
Students will be corresponding with their pen pals during writing time today. To differentiate content based on readiness, I will conduct small teacher-led mini-workshops for groups who finish early to get them started on sharing their experience planting and building today with their pen pal.
Summative Rubric:
| | Flowering | Sprouting | Seed |
| Team Member Communication 2.2 | I… · Shared Ideas · Listened to others · Planned as a team | I sometimes… · Shared Ideas · Listened to others · Planned as a team | I need to practice… · Sharing ideas · Listening to each others · Planning as a team |
| Reporting Science K-1 INQD K-1 APPD K-1 APPC | · We explained how we created our container garden and how to take care of the cuttings · We checked to make sure our instructions make sense | · We explained how we created our container garden or how to take care of it, but not both. OR We forgot to check to make sure our instructions make sense | · We do not explain how to take care of the container garden or how we created it. |
| Function Science K-1 APPA | · Our container garden is constructed using recycled materials. · We can explain how using recycled materials helps the environment. | We have one of these… · Our container garden is constructed using recycled materials. · We can explain how using recycled materials helps the environment. | On our way… · Our container garden is not constructed using recycled materials. · We did not explain how using recycled materials helps the environment. |
| Day Five Observation Checklist | |||
| Child’s Name | Demonstrated safe handling Y/N | Demonstrated Appropriate digging/planting Y/N | Comments: |
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| | Fine Motor Differentiation: Explained safe handing and appropriate digging/planting to a peer? | | |
FOSS Conversion New Plants Unit
1st or 2nd grades
Week 3
Lesson 1 45-55 minutes
Review of plant needs. Open with a review-focused discussion: What parts of a plant help it meet its needs? What plant parts are most important to plants? Why do you think so?
Lesson introduction and plant part interest survey. Explain to the students that the class is going to begin an experiment to look at plant parts and their importance. Tell them that the experiment will continue over several class periods.
Explain that at the same time, they will be working in groups to research a specific plant part that they are interest in. Pass out index cards and ask students to take one, write their name on it, and write down two plant parts that they want to learn more about. List the following options on the board so that students can copy them: stems, roots, leaves, and seeds. Explain that you’ll be announcing their research group assignment once you’ve had a chance to take a look at their preferences.
Plant part experiment setup. Kick off the experiment by leading a whole-class examination of the parts of pansies. Give small, random groups of four students one pansy and ask them to find the stem, the leaves, and the roots.
Now take back each of the pansies and tell the students that you are going to remove one part from each pansy, leaving one pansy whole. Pause to ask them why they think you’re leaving one pansy whole: What will we learn by doing this? (whole to part connection) What do you think will happen if I remove all of the leaves on a pansy? What if I remove the roots? How is the work we are doing like the work a scientist does?
Carefully cut away parts (roots, stem, leaves, flowers) and replant and water each pansy, asking students to suggest reasons why you’re watering the plants. Be sure to label each pansy to show what part is missing.
Ask: Will all of the plants live and grow? Why do you think so? Which plants will live the longest? Why?
The students will observe a pansy that coordinates with the name of the group they are in: seeds, stems, roots, or leaves. They will record what they notice on the Plant Part Experiment Observation Sheet.
Tell the students that sometimes, scientists must be detectives. For the upcoming activity, they will be detectives seeking information about plant parts. Their job will be to teach their classmates what they learn.
Each group will be given a book, an interactive internet site, an envelope of pictures of their plant part, and a video day to research their plant part. In addition to this, I will be doing a mini-lesson, one each day of the week, to each of the plant groups. On days that they are not engaged in a mini-lesson, students will be using their other resources to accomplish their products. I will enlist family members to assign to the other three groups that are not receiving a mini-lesson in helping them stay on task and to help them with their products.
Product 1
Make a small poster of different examples of your plant part. You may either draw pictures yourself or use the examples cut from magazines and catalogs.
Product 2
Create a list of the great things about your plant part. Include at least three ideas on your list that you got from your assigned reading book.
Product 3
How does your plant part help the plant meet its needs? List two ways that it works to help the plant. Use the interactive web site activity to help you with this list.
Product 4
As a group, write a thank-you letter from a plant to your plant part. What would a plant say to your plant part to show it is glad to have it?
www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/plantsgrow.html
Stem Group Activity
Learn about how plants grow by experimenting with different conditions in this great, interactive science activity. Using heat & water, see if you can make the plant grow to a healthy size. Too much sun & moisture can have a negative effect on the plant though so be careful when giving it nutrients. Keep the amounts in balance and see how long you can keep the plant growing healthily. Experiment with different conditions, what does closing the blinds and removing the sunlight do? What happens if you forget to water the plant or add too much water? How about if the conditions become too hot or too cold? Can you take care of the plant for 4 weeks? Take up the challenge and give it a try. This fun, educational game is perfect for kids.
http://funschool.kaboose.com/formula-fusion/games/game_incredible-edibles
Root Group Activity
Learn about tasty plants with the Incredible Edibles. This fun food game is a good way for kids to learn about seeds, nuts, leaves, roots, fruits and grains.
http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/plant/parts.html
Leaf Group Activity
Working from Plant Explorer, click on the "Parts of a plant" icon to view a simple flowering plant. Encourage children to explore the plant with the mouse and name the different parts. Children can click for more information.
http://www.ngf/-cymru.org.uk/vtc/factors_plant_grow
Seed Group Activity
Josh and Kate grew some cress seeds. They decided to test whether water, light, and temperature affected whether the seeds grew into healthy plants. Click Play to watch the animations on each screen and answer the questions that follows.
http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/forkids/vegquiz/plantparts.html
Filler Group Activity
Meet the plant parts! Leaves, stems, flowers, fruits and roots. We eat them all. Build a salad. Match the drawings with the names and make a salad.
Literature Immersion Books
Stem Group—David Schwartz, Look Once, Look Again: Plant Stems & Roots
Leaf Group—David Schwartz, Look Once, Look Again: Plant Leaves
Root Group—Ruth Krauss, The Carrot Seed
Seed Group—Richard Walker & Niamh Sharky, Jack and The Beanstalk book and CD
Week 3 Lesson 2 Mini-lesson Leaf Group 45-55 minutes
Objective: Without enough sunlight, plants cannot use the process of photosynthesis to produce foods.
Materials:
· small shrub, tree or house plant
· cardboard or aluminum foil
· scissors
· paper clips
· Louise & Richard Spilsbury, Green Plants, From Roots to Leaves book
Procedures
1. Read to the leaf group the green plants book which will introduce the vocabulary chlorophyll, photosynthesis, and chloroplast. (32 pages)
2. Pick a shrub, tree or houseplant that you can use for an experiment.
3. Using the cardboard or aluminum foil, cut out some geometrical shapes like a circle, square or triangle. Make sure your shapes are big enough to make a patch that will cover nearly half of the plant leaf.
4. Paper clip each shape on a different leaf.
5. If you use a house plant, place it near a south, west or east window ere it will get plenty of sunlight. Make notes about the weather each day and add them to your observations.
6. After four days, remove the shapes from the leaves and observe each of the leaves that had a shape covering it.
7. Compare the areas on the leaf that were covered with the shape to other parts of the leaf.
Product: Leaves Activity Book handout
Week 3 Lesson 3 Stem Group Mini-lesson 45-55 minutes
Objective: stems carry minerals up from the roots in the soil to the leaves on top.
Materials:
· food color
· 2 large stalks of celery
· bowl, about 5 to 6 inches across and at least 4 inches deep
Procedures:
Activity 1:
· Leave the leaves and cut the stalk at an angle at the base. Put it in a glass with at least several inches of dark colored water and ask students to predict what will happen in writing with a short simple sentence. You might start noticing the colored water rising in an hour or two.
· When all the students agree that the water is going up the stem, have the students write descriptions of what happened. Have the students draw pictures of plants that label the roots, stems and leaves. Stems carry minerals up from the roots in the soil to the leaves on top. Show students how to make a flow chart with their drawings.
Activity 2
· While waiting on the stalk to change color in the above activity and after students written predictions: have students cut the top two-thirds off the other celery stalk and discard.
· Pour 2 inches of water into the bowl
· Stand bottom of the celery in the bowl so that the water goes about halfway up the bulb,
· Add fresh water every other day. In about 5 days, new leaves will start to grow on the inside of the trunk. Pull off outer stalks as they brown, and watch inside leaves flourish.
Stems
Stems hold up the rest of the plant. They support the leaves and flowers or cones. Because the cells of a plant are very stiff and strong, they can support a great deal of weight. Stems can be very thin, or they can be as thick as the trunk of a giant sequoia tree.
All plant stems, whether they are tree trunks or daisy stems, have a system of tubes which carry water and food to the rest of the plant. The tubes which carry water are called xylem (ZY-lem), and the tubes which carry food are called phloem (FLOW-em).
There are two main types of stem. One type is the green stem, which is thin, green, bends easily, and does not get thicker as the plant grows older. The other type of stem is the woody stem, which is stiff, does not bend easily, and grows taller and thicker every year.
In green stems, the tubes are arranged in bundles. In woody stems, the tubes are arranged in rings, with the food tubes in an outer ring and the water tubes nearer to the center.
Let the celery sit overnight—the group will be responsible for answering these questions in the morning.
- What happened to your celery stalk overnight?
- How do you know that the water reached the top of the plant (celery stalk)?
- Remove the celery stalk from the cup and cut another centimeter off the bottom.
- Look for small circles at the bottom of the stalk that are the color of the food coloring you used. (These circles are xylem, the tubes that carry water up the plant.)
- Continue cutting the celery stalk at one cm intervals. Try to follow the path of the colored water all the way up the stalk of the celery to the leaves
Product: to answer questions/ make predictions
Week 3 Lesson 4 Root Group Mini-lesson 45-55 minutes
Materials:
· various roots cut in halves (turnips, radish, sweet potato, and carrots)
· bright stamp pads
· tan construction paper
Objective: learn the function of roots—that they collect nutrients from the soil and send them up the stem. Learn different types of roots we can eat.
Procedures:
Activity 1
1. Discuss how a carrot is a root. Show students a picture of a carrot in the ground and explain the section we eat is actually the root.
2. Display types of roots students may not be familiar with
3. Ask students if they would like to taste the different types of roots
4. Have students make a taste observation chart and describe how each root tasted, have students rate the taste of good being a 5 and bad being a 1.
5. Pass out the FOSS cutting roots handout and have students color the radish and carrot. Have students draw a mouth with teeth under the edible parts of the plant.
Activity 2
1. Use the cut up roots as stamps.
2. Dip roots in stamp pads and apply to construction paper. Discuss the observations of the stamps.
Product: Use cutting roots page and have students write about an experiment where they planted different sections of a root and predict which section would grow the best and why
Week 3 Lesson 5 Seed Group Mini-lesson 45-55 minutes
Objective: students will identify the three main parts of a seed after the bean/seeds have been soaked in water overnight.
Materials:
· lima beans, butter beans, pinto and corn beans
· paper and pencil
· Sprouting Bean Sequencing Cards
· three cups with water
· two-by-five-inch cards
· tape
· science journal to record observations
· Seeds Grow by Colin Walker
·
Procedure:
Activity one
· the day before the mini-lesson, have students in the seed group, set up their experiment
· each student will put one or two beans inside a cup with water and draw a line where the water level is
· Ask students to predict if/how they think their beans will change overnight in the water, then mark a line on their cup representing their prediction. On their card they are to write the type of beans they have and tape it to their cup.
· In their journal they are to record the date, the title of the experiment, the problem, the procedure, their prediction, and a picture of their cup with the beans in it
Activity two (mini-lesson)
· Let students observe how their beans have swollen, noting their prediction and where they drew their line on the cup the day before.
· Give each student a paper towel and one of each of the wet beans/seeds. After they have observed their wet seeds, hand out dry ones and make comparisons, noting color, texture, firmness, etc.
· With the soaked beans, observe the seed coat and carefully remove it. Carefully split the seed into two parts. Observe both parts and identify the embryo and the food storage area. Follow the same procedure with the other two seeds.
· While observing, ask these questions:
· Do all seeds look alike inside?
· Are the food storage areas alike?
· What and where is the embryo?
· What does the embryo look like?
· Where are the future leaves?
In their journal, they will write their conclusion, noting the differences of the wet and dry seeds. Also, they need to draw a picture of how the seeds looked inside, labeling the three parts.
Product: Sprouting Bean Sequencing Cards Activity
