LESSON PLAN

Grade Level: Pre-K

Subject/Content Area: Science/ELA
Lesson Title: Why are plants important?
Learning Context
Number of students in class:18 students
Class structure: (Whole class and small group)
Learning Goal: How do plants grow and why are they important?
Academic Standard/Alternate Standard/Early Childhood Standard
PK.CKW.5 (Science): Observes and describes characteristics of living things.
PK.CLL.6 (Speaking and Listening): Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: Demonstrate an emergent
ability to express thoughts, feelings and ideas.
ONE Measurable Learning Objective:
Given vegetables samples, students will independently decide which part of the plant is edible with
80% accuracy.
Communication Skill – Expressive Or Receptive
Student will be able to activate prior knowledge and use unit vocabulary to describe plants.
Teacher Actions
• Activate prior knowledge: Remember the book about tops and bottoms? Ask students: What
does tops mean? The parts of the plant that grow above the ground. What does bottom mean?
The parts of the plant that grow below the ground. Review the parts of the plants.
• Today in the science center, we will be sampling vegetables. You will be looking at the
vegetable and deciding which part of the plant is edible. What does edible mean? Answer:
Edible means the parts of the plant that you can eat.
• Read: The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons
• Book is too wordy. Show all the different types of vegetables. Tell students a secret:
Vegetables are sorted based on their edible parts. Concentrate on the vegetables pictures that
students will be tasting.
• Point out carrots. What part of the plant is edible? (Roots)
• Point out lettuce. What part of the plant is edible? (Leaf)
• Point out broccoli. What part of the plant is edible? (Flower)
• Point out edamame. What part of the plant is edible? (Seed)
• Point out tomatoes. What part of the plant is edible? (Fruit)
• Point out celery. What part of the plant is edible? (Stem)
• Today we will be rotating into the science center while you play in other centers.
• Send students to centers.
• Dramatic Play: Sort the vegetables based on edible parts.
• Art Center: Create edible plant parts
• Writing Center: Draw and label edible plant parts.
• Blocks: Use plant pictures to create a structure or building.
• Sand Table: Find plant pictures and sort them based on edible parts.
• Manipulatives Center: Create an edible plant or a place where you can find edible plants.
• After center time, gather back on the carpet, close the lesson by having students share out their
work.

Guided Practice
During whole group, the teacher will focus on the vegetables that are to be sampled. The teacher will
explain in detail the edible parts.

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 LESSON PLAN

During the vegetable tasting, the first vegetable sample round will be done together. Take a look at
your vegetable. Decide which part of the vegetable is edible. Have the students taste the vegetable and
then write their name under the part of the plant that is edible. Next to their name they need to draw a
face to show whether they like it or not.

Independent Practice
Students will sample vegetables and decide which parts of the plant is edible. Students will write their
name under the edible part of the plant. Next to their name, they will draw a face to let us know if they
liked the vegetables.
List Student Assessments:
 Formative Assessments:
Ask students to describe the parts of the plants.
During the Read Aloud, have students identify the edible parts of the plant.
 Summative Assessments:
Science Center: Students will write their name under the edible parts of the plants.
Art and Writing Center: Student will create edible parts of the plant.
Emerging In-Progress Mastered
Students can describe Students can describe Students can describe Students can describe
edible parts of the 0-2 edible parts of the 3 edible parts of the 4 or more edible parts
plant. plant. plant. of the plant.
Closure
Ask the students why is it important to know the parts of the plant? Explain to the students how
important it is to know the parts of the plant. Vegetables are sorted based on their edible parts.
Tomorrow we will talk about another reason why plants are important.
List of Planned Supports
Repetition: Repeating the vocabulary: Edible, stem, roots, stem, fruit, flower, and leaves.
Visual Aid: A sample of the whole vegetable will be placed in front of the cut vegetables. This way
students can see what the vegetable looks like before it was prepared. It can also help them decide
what parts are edible.
Multi-modal learning: students will use 5 senses to learn about edible parts of a plant.
Summative Assessment: Checklist of different parts of the plants.
Small group: Science center small group, children learn most effectively in small groups.
Checklist has visuals labeled with parts.
Name practice: Children practice writing their names when they respond to the checklist
Smiley faces: Children can express their feelings about tasting vegetables.
Tasting vegetables:
List of Instructional Materials
The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons
Whole vegetables of carrots, lettuce, broccoli, edamame, tomato, and celery.
Cut vegetables of carrots, lettuce, broccoli, edamame, tomato, and celery for tasting.
Pencils at each tasting station.

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