UNIT OF STUDY: PLANTS

LESSON #1

Lesson Plan: Learning from The Lorax

Date: Spring 2014 Grade/Subject: Kindergarten/Literature,

Estimated Time of Lesson Plan: 30 minutes/2 Days Social Studies and Science

Organization of Student Learning: Whole Class, Small Group and Individual Learning Objectives and Assessment: Objective 1: TSW Understand the connection between cause and effect I can demonstrate my understanding of the relationship between cause and effect. Standard: K.1.09 Use active comprehension strategies to derive meaning while reading and check for understanding after reading. a. Derive meaning while reading by 1. asking questions about a text. 2. participating in discussions about text. 3. predicting what will happen next as a story is shared. 4. creating mental images of the story (e.g., characters, setting). b. Check for understanding after reading by 1. recalling two to three step sequence of events. 2. retelling story in own words. 3. drawing conclusions based on evidence in the story 4. using pictures to discuss main idea. Standard: GLE 0007.4.1 Observe how plants and animals change as they grow. GLE 0007.10.2 Investigate the effect of the sun on a variety of materials. Assessment: Formative We will list several cause-andeffect examples after reading The Lorax. I will also check for student understanding of causeand-effect as we complete our science experiments together.

Objective 2: TSW learn the parts of a plant and the four things it needs to survive.

I can identify the parts of a plant and what plants need to live.

Assessment: Formative Summative After discussing what plants need to survive, we will hypothesize as a class what we think will happen to the plant when it is not given water and

Lipscomb College of Education, Fall 2012

sunlight. I will be checking for understanding over the next week as students record their observations of the plant while it stays in the science center. They will make one recording in their plant observation booklet daily for five days. They will turn their books into me at the end of the five days. Objective 3: TSW be able to distinguish between a want and a need. Standard: K.2.01 Describe potential costs and benefits of personal economic choices in a market economy. a. Identify basic human needs. b. Explain how basic human needs of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation are met. Assessment: Formative Summative The students will complete and turn in their wants vs. needs project to me at the end of the lesson. They will have pictures representing wants in one column and needs in the other. I will be checking to make sure the appropriate pictures are where they need to be.

I can explain the difference between what I need and what I want and can show examples of this.

Leading Questions: How many of you have heard of Dr. Seuss? Great! Can you name for me some of the Dr. Seuss books you know? (List them on the SmartBoard) Have you all ever heard of this book (hold up a picture of The Lorax)? Today, this book is going to help teach us about how the actions of a small group of people can affect so many more in a good or bad way. Materials and Resources: (Teacher and student needs) The Lorax by Dr. Seuss Smart Board Bubble Map (graphic organizer for each child) Pencils A small plant Soil Food Coloring Water in a cup Magazines Scissors Glue

Technology Use: Lipscomb College of Education, Fall 2012

I will use the SmartBoard to display my flow chart for The Cause-and-Effect Model in this lesson. I could play a clip from the movie The Lorax, which would peak the childrens interest; I could use the clip from the movie where the Lorax gives his speech about speaking for the trees.

Set: So what does it mean when I saw that the actions of a small group can affect many more people? That is called cause-and-effect? Have you ever heard of that? One example could be, If I run a red light, then I could hit someone or get a speeding ticket. Can you think of any other examples of cause and effect? How about If I eat my ice cream too slowly, then it will melt. Lets list some more examples on the SmartBoard together.

Instruction: (Step by step presentation of the lesson) 1. As stated in the Leading Questions Section and Set Section, we will begin the lesson by discussing Dr. Seuss and the books that he has written. 2. I will then introduce the book that will be guiding our lesson, The Lorax. 3. We will then talk about the overarching theme of our lesson, which is cause-and-effect. Before reading The Lorax, we will talk about what cause-and-effect means and list some examples. This way I have formatively checked for initial understanding of the concept. 4. Then, we will read The Lorax on the carpet as a read-aloud. 5. After reading the book, have the students discuss some cause-and-effect scenarios from the book. This will be where we use the chart from figure 9.2 in the textbook Instruction: A Model Approach. I will ask for causes and support for those causes, and will do the same for effects and support for those effects. This is where I will use the SmartBoard and I will write for students as they dictate their answers for me. If I had more time and more iPads for the classroom, I would have students pair up to record their answers through a recording app and have them play it back for us. However, this is not feasible. Some examples of cause- and-effect from the book that the students might give are: The pond was filled with glup, so the humming fish had no place to swim. There were no more truffula trees because the Once-Ler keeps making Thneeds. The factory made lots of smoke and pollution so the Swamme Swans left. 6. After making a list of causes and effects from the book, we are going to continue to look at that theme. I want the students to see how their actions can make a bigger impact on a larger group of people. 7. The students are going to observe this through two science experiments. 8. For the first experiment, the students will be paired with a partner. Each group will have a cup and a bottle of food coloring. One student will pour the cup half way full with water. The other student will put one drop of food coloring into the water. What I want students to see is that by adding just one drop of food coloring, every molecule of water is changed. The action of just one person or thing can affect everyone (in a negative or positive way). 9. The second science experiment that will represent cause-and-effect is through the growth of a plant. As a class, we will talk about the four things that plants need to survive: water, air, soil and sunlight. I want the students to see what the effect is when we take away some of the things that the plant needs. Will it be able to survive? This will be an ongoing investigation and we will set it up in the science center so students can observe it in the days to come. We will plant a seedling in soil, but we will not put any water in it and we will put it in a shady area of the classroom. Lipscomb College of Education, Fall 2012

10. To end our discussion of The Lorax, we are going to talk about the difference between wants and needs and what it means to be greedy. We will first talk as a group about what it means to be greedy and what can happen when people are too greedy. We will look at examples from the book and how the greedy actions of the Once-Ler affected so many others. We will talk about the three basic necessities: food, water, shelter (and clothing). This will be a good time to discuss this with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays coming up. 11. I will assess students on whether they know the difference between a need and a want by having them do an individual project: using magazines, they will find pictures of needs vs. wants. They will glue the pictures that represent needs in one column and the pictures that represent wants in another. They will turn these in to me at the end of the second class period. Closure: We will spend time reviewing the storyline of The Lorax. We will look at the main ideas and review the cause-and-effect examples we gave as a class. I will ask the students to remind me of what science experiments we did together. We will also share our projects we created about wants and needs.

Cross-curriculum Connections: I feel as if this lesson does a great job meeting cross-curricular standards. I am incorporating Reading, Science and Social Studies into this lesson. It would be fun and creative if I made some math centers that were themed around The Lorax to peak student interest. For example, they could put truffula trees into AB, AAB and ABC patterns by color. Differentiated Instruction: This lesson is catered to students will all learning styles. It gives kinesthetic learners the chance to work through the science experiments. It is meeting my visual learners through the use of the SmartBoard during instructional time. It is also meeting my auditory learners because we are spending a lot of time discussing the book and topics as a whole group. ELL Modifications: I could provide this student with an audio copy of The Lorax to listen to over headphones while we are reading the book to the class. Since I am in a private school, I would imagine that a student in this situation would probably have a private assistant that can help them with translations during the lessons. SPED Modifications: I will make sure that a student with an IEP has his/her specific needs met. I will review his/her modifications prior to the lesson and make sure I am meeting those needs directly, whether it be through visual and verbal reminders of the directions, preferred seating, or extra time to complete an assignment. I can also pair these students with appropriate peer-tutors that can assist them. Assignment: The culminating assignment from this lesson is stated in step #11 of my instruction; most activities during this lesson will be done as a whole group. Students will also be completing plant observation booklets for five days prior to the end of the lesson. They will be recording their observations of the plant as it continues to not receive water and sunlight.

Lipscomb College of Education, Fall 2012

LESSON #2

Lesson Plan: From Seed to Plant

Date: Spring 2014

Estimated Time of Lesson Plan: 60 minutes (20 minutes/3 days Grade/Subject: Kindergarten/Science Organization of Student Learning: Whole Class and Cooperative Groups Learning Objectives and Assessment: Objective 1: TSW be able to explain the characteristics that make a plant a living thing. I can tell that a plant is a living thing. I can explain what plant needs to survive. I can label the parts of a plant. Standard: GLE 0007.3.1 Recognize that living things require water, food, and air. Standard: GLE 0007.2.1 Recognize that some things are living and some are not. Assessment: Formative Summative Description I will be listening to students share their learning when we are in whole group (after reading books together). I will be checking to make sure that all students are working to participate. I will also assess students in their cooperative learning groups as they draw a plant, label its parts and show what it needs to survive. Assessment: Formative Summative Description The formative assessment will be done during the Seeds Checklist (by the students). Formative assessment will also be seen as a walk around during cooperative group times. My summative assessment will be as I listen to each student present their project on seeds.

Objective 2: TSW be able to work in a group to draw, label and inform a group.

I can draw a plant, label its parts and what it needs to grow and present my work as part of a group.

Standard: Kindergarten Writing Standard (Common Core) Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic

Leading Questions: How many of you remember the parts of a plant? Is a plant a living or non-living thing? Lipscomb College of Education, Fall 2012

Can you recall the characteristics that make a plant a living thing? Materials and Resources: (Teacher and student needs) From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons Seed Secrets by Tom Arnold Poster Board (1 piece per group) Pencil (1 per group) SmartBoard (for using e-books on Scholastic.com) Class Rubric-Seeds Checklist (student copies)

Technology Use: I will use the SmartBoard to display e-books about seeds and plants. I will also use the computer and the SmartBoard so that we can work on www.popplet.com as a class to create a Popplet about seeds and plants. Popplet will be used during small group instruction time (when I have 7 or 8 students in a group). I will help each group create their own Popplet that best represents everything they have learned during our unit on plants. Popplets will be shared during a whole group time on the SmartBoard. This will be an interesting activity because I am approaching this concept again (this will be taught in the second semester).

Set: Do you remember a while ago when we learned about the parts of a plant and did our science experiment about what they need to survive? What can you tell me about what you remember? (wait for student answers-giving enough time for them to think)

Instruction: (Step by step presentation of the lesson) 1. As stated in the Leading Questions Section and Set Section, we will begin the lesson by reviewing our first lesson on plants. 2. Read Seed Secrets as a class-taking a picture walk, review concepts of print (front cover, back cover, spine, title page, copyright page, author, illustrator) and then read the book aloud. 3. Discuss the parts of plants and the ways seeds travel. 4. As a class, we will then make a list of important vocabulary words from the book. 5. Break students into cooperative learning groups (these groups will have been previously determined by me before we begin the lesson-taking into account skill levels and social dynamics). 6. Give each group a piece of white poster board. 7. Each group is assigned the task of drawing a plant on their paper and then label it. 8. However, each student must take a turn at drawing the plant and labeling. 9. Groups will have just one pencil to pass around. 10. Students will work on this for about ten minutes. 11. Next, we will read From Seed to Plant as a class. We will discuss what plants need to grow and review the parts of a plant. 12. The students will then break up into their cooperative learning groups to add this new information to their posters.

Lipscomb College of Education, Fall 2012

13. On the third day of instruction, students will first break up into cooperative learning groups to finish labeling and adding information to their posters. They will then be given the time to color their posters. 14. I will then pass out the Seeds Checklist (a rubric for our projects). 15. This checklist was to make sure they had done everything that was required. At the bottom of the page, they added up their check marks and colored in the stars to match. 16. Students then presented their posters to the rest of the class. This will be a chance for them to share their pictures and explain their thinking. Closure: The culmination of this lesson was stated in the Instruction Set (Numbers 14-16). Cross-curriculum Connections: This lesson is centered around Science and Language Arts. Differentiated Instruction: The students will be more knowledgeable and will hopefully have a greater ability to express their thought processes in a group. This will lend itself to higher order thinking, which will meet the needs of my more advanced students while also challenging others. This lesson is catered to students will all learning styles. It gives kinesthetic learners the chance to work through the science experiments. It is meeting my visual learners through the use of the SmartBoard during instructional time. It is also meeting my auditory learners because we are spending a lot of time discussing the book and topics as a whole group. ELL Modifications: I could provide this student with an audio copy of each book to listen to over headphones while we are reading the book to the class. Since I am in a private school, I would imagine that a student in this situation would probably have a private assistant that can help them with translations during the lessons. It would also be informative to the rest of the class if this student labeled their own plant in their native language. SPED Modifications: I will make sure that a student with an IEP has his/her specific needs met. I will review his/her modifications prior to the lesson and make sure I am meeting those needs directly, whether it be through visual and verbal reminders of the directions, preferred seating, or extra time to complete an assignment. I can also pair these students with appropriate peer-tutors that can assist them.

Lipscomb College of Education, Fall 2012

LESSON #3

Lesson Plan: Seed Discoveries

Date: Spring 2014 Grade/Subject: Kindergarten/Math

Estimated Time of Lesson Plan: 30 minutes

Organization of Student Learning: Whole Class, Individual Learning Objectives and Assessment: Objective 1: TSW Be able to show one-to-one correspondence as they count out objects in sets I can count seeds in groups between 0-20. Standard: K.CC.309 Write numbers from 0-20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20. Assessment: Formative Summative Description As students work to sort and count their seeds, I will be walking around and watching them at work. I will listen to students count aloud to check for numeracy skills and to make sure that they can display one-to-one correspondence. Assessment: Formative Summative Description

Objective 2: TSW be able to sort objects into groups by their attributes from a scattered configuration. TSW be able to answer questions about their sorting, such as How many more? How many less? Which is greater than ____?

I can sort seeds by their attributes. I can explain why I sorted seeds into groups. I can show which group has more than, less than or is equal to. I can answer questions about my sorting.

Standard: K.CC. 5. Count to answer how many? questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 120, count out that many objects. K.CC.6 Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies. Standard: K.MD.3 Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the

Objective 3: TSW be able to measure and interpret data on a graph. I can interpret data and display

Assessment: Formative Summative Description

Lipscomb College of Education, Fall 2012

it on a bar graph. I can answer questions about my graph.

categories by count.3

Leading Questions: Do you know what a VIP is? A very important person! Each little seed is a very important part of a plants life cycle. Materials and Resources: (Teacher and student needs) Construction Paper (one per student as their sorting mat) Hand lens/magnifying glass (one for each student) Pencil (one for each student) Glue (two per table to share) Two tablespoons full of assorted dry beans (per student) SmartBoard Student copies of Flos Flowers (one per student/graphing exercise from The Mailbox Books)

Technology Use: I will use the SmartBoard during this lesson to show students how to set up their work mats. I will draw out circles for each type of seed they are sorting and help them label each circle based on the seeds name. I will also have my SmartBoard up for students that finish early. I will have the interactive game up on the board that lets students practice their measuring skills; it is a plant measurement game.

Set: Since we now know that seeds are such an important part of a plants life cycle, lets review the lifecycle of a plant. Have students raise their hand to go through the stages of the life cycle. Quickly draw the stages of the life cycle on the SmartBoard for review.

Instruction: (Step by step presentation of the lesson) 1. As stated in the Leading Questions Section and Set Section, we will begin the lesson by observing the beans that are at our table. 2. I will then give each child a piece of construction paper, a hand lens, glue and their own two tablespoons of beans. 3. I will explain that beans are seeds from bean plants. 4. Then, I will have each student sort his or her seeds by type and use his or her hand lens to look closely at each type. 5. Each student will then glue each group of seeds to their paper. 6. I will then have students quietly count each set of seeds on their paper and write the corresponding numeral next to the sets. 7. Then, students will draw a circle around the type having the most seeds and a square around the type having the least seeds. 8. Student work will be displayed on a bulletin board for the remainder of the month. Closure: Lipscomb College of Education, Fall 2012

When students finish their seed sorting activity, they will work independently on Flos Flowers. This is a bar graph activity. There are sixteen different pictures of flowers, four different types. They are to count how many of each type of flower are on their paper. They are to fill in the corresponding amount of boxes on the bar graph. Then, they will answer three questions at the bottom of the graph to check for understanding.

Cross-curriculum Connections: I feel as if this lesson does a great job meeting cross-curricular standards. I am still incorporating Science and reviewing the information about plants that we had learned in previous lessons. Differentiated Instruction: This lesson is catered to students will all learning styles. It gives kinesthetic learners the chance to work hands on with the seeds during the math activity. It is meeting my visual learners through the use of the SmartBoard during instructional time. It is also meeting my auditory learners as they are given the chance to count aloud during their activity. ELL Modifications: I work in a private, Catholic school. We are not set up to accommodate ELL students at our school. If we did, they would work with a private tutor in class to help assist them with lessons, and would also receive assistance from our learning specialist. SPED Modifications: I will make sure that a student with an IEP has his/her specific needs met. I will review his/her modifications prior to the lesson and make sure I am meeting those needs directly, whether it be through visual and verbal reminders of the directions, preferred seating, or extra time to complete an assignment. I can also pair these students with appropriate peer-tutors that can assist them. Assignment: The culminating assignment from this lesson is stated in the Closure section of my lesson.

Lipscomb College of Education, Fall 2012