Overview and Context

Your name(s):

Allie Trillet

Grade level and school:

Burns Park; 1st Grade

Title of lesson/activity:

Investigating Fruits and Seeds

Teaching date(s) and time(s):

December 3rd, 2015; 2:30

Estimated time for lesson/activity:

45 min

Overview of lesson:

Children observe and compare various familiar fruits and their seeds. They
learn the scientific definition of a fruit and consider the functions of fruits
and seeds, a topic which is explored further in the following lesson.

Context of lesson:

The lesson is part of a unit on plants and sets the students up for the
following two lessons which will, in greater depth, cover the functions of
fruits and their seeds.

Sources:

Collecting and Examining Life

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goals (1-2 in each)

Connection to Standards
(Michigan GLCEs and/or
Next Generation Science
Standards)

Type of Assessment

Connection to Activities

SCIENCE CONTENT /
DISCIPLINARY CORE
IDEAS

LS1.A: Structure and

Function
All organisms have
external parts. Different
animals use their body
parts in different ways to
see, hear, grasp objects,
protect themselves, move
from place to place, and
seek, find, and take in food,
water and air. Plants also
have different parts (roots,
stems, leaves, flowers,
fruits) that help them
survive and grow. (1-LS11)

Students will be
assessed based on their
ability to answer the
investigation question.

Students will be able to

answer this question
following their work
dissecting the fruits during
the investigation.

Students will be able to

develop their understanding
that each plant or animal has
structures that serve different
functions in growth, survival
and reproduction.

Structure and Function

The shape and stability of
structures of natural and
designed objects are related
to their function(s). (1LS1-1)

SCIENTIFIC PRACTICES
Students will be able to
discuss the scientific
definition of a fruit
Find seeds in edible fruits
Consider the functions of
fruits and seeds

LS1.A: Structure and

Function
All organisms have
external parts. Different
animals use their body
parts in different ways to
see, hear, grasp objects,
protect themselves, move
from place to place, and
seek, find, and take in food,
water and air. Plants also
have different parts (roots,
stems, leaves, flowers,
fruits) that help them
survive and grow. (1-LS11)
Structure and Function
The shape and stability of
structures of natural and
designed objects are related
to their function(s). (1LS1-1)
K-7 Standard S.IP:
Develop an understanding
that scientific inquiry and
reasoning involves
observing, questioning,
investigating, recording,
and developing solutions to
problems.
S.IP.01.11
S.IP.01.13
S.IA.01.12

IF APPLICABLE:
CROSSCUTTING
CONCEPTS
Students will be able to
IF PREFERRED: You may
integrate your learning goal
statement (disciplinary core
idea x scientific practice x
crosscutting concept)

Students will show

progress towards
proficiency in these
areas through their
work with the material
and their work done in
the science notebooks

Students will work with the

material while dissecting
their fruits and will
complete the work in their
notebooks following the
investigation of the fruit.

EEE Connection
Investigation question students will
answer:

What is the function of the outside of the fruit?

Claim with evidence and reasoning

you hope students will generate:

I think that the function of the fruit is to protect the seeds. I think this
because I know that the function of the seeds is to grow new plants and I
noticed that in all of the plants, the seeds are surrounded by the tough outer
layer of the fruit. The scientific principle that helps me to support this claim
is that if the fruit is tough, it will be able to protect the seeds until the seeds
reach an area in which they can create a new plant.

Attending to the Learners

Anticipating student ideas, including
alternative ideas, misconceptions, and
prior knowledge:

Students may initially believe that the only function of the fruit is to eat
because this is what students are used to doing with fruit. To combat this
idea, I will explicitly state that not all fruits are edible. Some students
likely already know that the function of the seed is to create new plants, so
students may be able to quickly build off this knowledge to know that the
fruit, then, is what carries the seeds to be planted. Students have worked in
the school garden and likely have some knowledge of how fruit grows.

Making the content accessible to all

To make the content accessible to all students, I will do the following:
students, including using specific
- create posters which outline the important concepts to remember, display
leverage points for promoting equitable
these posters in a public space
science instruction from class:
- Circulate the room during the students work time
- ask probing questions which encourage students to come to the correct
conclusion concerning the function of the fruit
- show all students how to correctly direct the fruit
- explicitly explain the workbook pages

Instructional Sequence
Materials:

Plastic knives
Magnifying lenses
Chart paper
Drawing materials
Edible fruits
Paper plates
Markers
Rulers
Science Notebooks - 16-17

Instructional Sequence: Engage Element

Steps for Engage Element

Time

The teacher will:

The students will:

- Display a poster on chart paper which

has the stem and the leaves of the plant
on it

- Sit on the carpet, listen to the

explanation

- Tell students that they will be learning

about two more plant parts: the fruit and
the seed. Point out the fruit and the seed
on the drawing, Label these parts.
- Ask the students if they have ever seen
fruits grown on plants before (consider
the garden).
- The scientific definition of a fruit is - any
part of a plant that contains seeds. Show
the definition on the board.
- Give the function of the seeds on the
board - to create new plants
- Tell students that we will be focusing on
fruits and seeds for the lesson today.
present the investigation question on the
board - What is the function of the
outside of the fruit?
- Explain to students that all parts of a
plant have a function, although we eat
fruit, fruit also have another function
which is beneficial to the plant itself.
Explain to students that we will be
investigating what the function of the
fruit is by dissecting a few different
kinds of fruits
- Turn and talk to one another about what
they think the function may be.
- Remind students to consider the
investigation question as they conduct
the experiment
- Show students how to safely dissect their
fruits on ladybug
- Explain that the students need to fill out
pages 16 and 17 in their science
notebooks by choosing one fruit and its
seed to draw and write about in their
notebooks.
- On page 16, students will draw one of
their fruits and label the seeds, skin and
stem. They will then write what a fruit is

- Discuss their predictions with one

another.

any part of a plant that has seeds

- On page 17, students will draw a seed
from the fruit they choose, then measure
the seed and write the measurements.

Management Considerations for Engage Element:

- Students should sit on the carpet to promote engagement
- Present information on the board so that it is accessible to all students
- Make posters large enough for everyone to see
- Allow for turn and talks for students to discuss information

Instructional Sequence: Experience Element

Steps for Experience Element

Time

The teacher will:

The students will:

- Divide the students into groups

- Investigate and dissect different parts of

the seeds.

- Have students collect pre-made paper

plate full of materials for lesson - each
plate contains 2 magnifying glasses a
ruler and a few different kinds of fruit
- Circulate throughout the room helping
students
- Help students notice the hard outer
layer, help them notice all the seeds
inside the plant, protected

- Keep in mind that they are attempting to

- Students will choose one fruit and its
seeds to draw and write about on pages
16 and 17. They need to draw the fruit
so that the seeds can be seen. They need
to label the seeds, skin and stem. Write
the name of the fruit under the drawing.
- Measure the seed and write the
measurements on their science notebook
page.

- Remind students of the investigation

problem.
- Explain that the students need to fill out
pages 16 and 17 in their science
notebooks by choosing one fruit and its
seed to draw and write about in their
notebooks.
- On page 16, students will draw one of
their fruits and label the seeds, skin and
stem. They will then write what a fruit
is any part of a plant that has seeds
- On page 17, students will draw a seed
from the fruit they choose, then measure
the seed and write the measurements. explicitly show how to measure

Management Considerations for Experience Element:

- Split students up into appropriately sized groups
- Have materials ready for students
- pre-prepare students to work with the materials

Instructional Sequence: Explain Element

Steps for Explain Element

Time

The teacher will:

The students will:

- Bring students back to the carpet after

clean-up

- sit on the carpet

- turn and talk
- discuss and consider the function of the
fruit
- make connections
- make a claim
- use evidence to support their claim

- Go over the function of the seed

- Go over the investigation problem for
the exploration
- Get data observations - Where were the
seeds located, how did the outside of the
fruit feel, was it easy to get the seeds out
- Remind students that we will be talking
generally about the seeds and fruits, so
we will make observations that hold true
across all of the fruits
- Why are seeds important?
- If they are that important, why might
they be on the inside of the fruit?
- Why would the outside of the fruit be so
hard?
- Emphasize that all fruits have seeds
- Consider what these have to do with the
function of the fruit
- Ask students to turn and talk to discuss
what they think the function of the fruit
is based off of what they know about the
importance and function of the seeds
and what they saw in each of their fruits
- Write a class claim - define claim
- Discuss three pieces of evidence that
support our claim
- Discuss as a class - does this make
sense?
- Relate to the garden outside

Management Considerations for Explain Element:

- Bring students back to the carpet to provide equitable access to the material
- Present new and old information in a public space
- Allow students to lead the discussion
- Allow for many turn and talks to get the students thinking about the information

Reflection on Planning
Learning goal for self:

My learning goal for myself for this lesson is to effectively consider student
interaction with the materials and to manage my students accordingly. That is, I
wish to consider how my students will work with the material and use
management techniques to keep students on task and working productively
towards answering their investigation problem.

Preparing to teach this lesson:

In preparing to teach this lesson, I did the following:

- Considered timing
- Did the experiment myself
- Considered scaffolding needed in order to guide students to answer the
investigation question
- Prepared materials and posters
- Created prepared material sets for the students