1. Topic-
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2. Content-
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1. Parts of a plant.
2. Purpose of a stalk or stem.
3. How plants absorb and transport water. |
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3. Goals: Aims/Outcomes-
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1. Students will engage in an experiment using celery stalks and
carnations to observe and discuss how plants absorb water through
their stalk, or stem.
2. Students will record their observations by drawing and writing
about what happened "first, next, and last."�
3. Students will make connections between this learning activity and
previous course content. |
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4. Objectives-
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1. SWBAT identify the stem of a plant and explain that plants absorb
and transport water through their stalk or stem.
2. SWBAT record their observations by drawing and writing about what
happened "first, next, and last."� |
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5. Materials and Aids-
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| For a class of 26 you will need 26 cups, 13 white carnations, (clipped
short), 13 celery stalks (with leaves), water (2 inches per cup),
paper towels, food coloring, 26 "first, next, last"� worksheets,
colored pencils, writing pencils, magnifying glasses, plastic butter
knives, white board markers, a laptop and a projector. |
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6. Procedures/Methods-
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A. Introduction-
1. Engage students by connecting to prior knowledge and experience.
Project a photo of a child watering a plant on a sunny day and give
students one minute of silence to observe the picture and think about
what they see.
2. Have students discuss what they see in the picture with their neighbor,
including what the child is doing, why, what the plant is doing, why,
etc. Encourage them to make connections with prior lessons from this
unit (i.e. plants as living things, what plants need to survive, parts
of a plant, etc.).
3. Have students share what they discussed in a short review, labeling
parts of the picture using a whiteboard marker (water, sun, pot, roots,
stem, leaves, flower, soil, air, etc.). |
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B. Development-
1. Unlock lesson vocabulary by introducing the words "stalk,
stem, absorb, and transport."� Discuss what these words mean and explain
that today students will learn how to use these words to identify
and describe the purpose of the stems and stalks of plants.
2. Have students gather around the U-table for a demonstration. Introduce
the materials that each student will find at their desk: two cups
with two inches of water, a celery stalk, a white carnation, two pencils,
and two "first, next, and last"� worksheets (which students are
already familiar with).
3. Explain that students will be given partners and that they will
be performing an experiment to learn about the purpose of the stems
and stalks of plants. Model for students how to place the celery and
carnation into individual cups.
4. Model how to fill in the "First"� section of the worksheet
by drawing a detailed sketch of everything on the desk. Have students
help with suggestions and the labeling of the drawing. Model how to
write observations by writing "We put the celery and the flower
in the cups. We put their stems in 2 inches of water. The water is
clear."� |
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C. Practice-
1. Have students return to their desk, write their names on their
cups, and complete this step with their partners (which have been
chosen by the teacher according to student needs and abilities).
2. When student have finished, model putting food coloring in the
bottom of each cup. Allow students to put 5 drops of food coloring
in the water at the bottom of each cup.
3. Have students work together with their partner to complete the
"Next"� section of their worksheet. Circulate, conferencing with
each group about what they think will happen and checking their work
to make sure they are completing detailed and labeled drawings and
writing relevant and detailed notes.
4. When finished, have students place their cups along the windowsill
and return to the carpet. Invite students to share their hypothesis
about what they think will happen in their experiment. |
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D. Independent Practice-
1. After an hour or more has passed, invite students to take out
their worksheets again, and pass out two paper towels, one butter
knife, and one magnifying glass to each group.
2. Quickly discuss safety procedures with regard to handling the knife,
plants, and cups full of water. Explain that the food coloring can
stain and that children should keep plants and cups on the paper towel
at all times. Have students model correct handling of a knife and
have them explain why we do not drink liquids used in science experiments.
3. Have students collect their cups and bring them back to the tables.
Have students observe their plants while still in the water. Have
them turn and discuss with their partner what happened to the colored
water, how the celery changed, and how the carnation changed.
4. Review the vocabulary words with the class and post them on the
board.
5. Allow students to take the plants out of the water and "dissect"�
them, studying them with a magnifying glass for more information.
Have each pair turn to another pair and compare their findings. Encourage
students to use the vocabulary in their descriptions, for example
"The colored water moved up the stem,"� "the stalk of celery
turned the same color as the water,"� "the white petals absorbed
the colored water,"� etc. Help students to come to the conclusion
that the stem, or stalk, is responsible for transporting water and
minerals from the roots in the soil to the leaves and flower at the
top of the plant.
6. Have students complete the "Last"� section of their worksheet
independently, drawing and writing about what they saw when observing
the plants in the cups and when cutting them open. Circulate and support
students who need assistance, encouraging them to include labels,
details, etc. |
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E. Accommodations (Differentiated Instruction)-
1. Students with IEP's, difficulty concentrating, or behavioral
needs should sit at the U-table with the assistant or teacher. They
should discuss what they will write and draw as a group and the teacher
can model this on chart paper, allowing students to use this as a
visual aid while they work.
2. Students should be paired thoughtfully. Some lower students should
be paired with higher students, while some quieter students should
be paired with students that are more extroverted.
3. ELL's should be provided with sentence starters and a word bank,
and may be allowed to describe what they see orally or dictate what
they see.
4. For those students that finish early, a science center should be
set up where they can read leveled books about how plants grow and
color pictures of different plants, identifying and labeling their
parts. |
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F. Checking for understanding-
1. As students are working, circulate and inquire about what they
learned, what surprised them, and how they would describe the purpose
of a plant's stem or stalk.
2. Observe student drawings to see if they are in chronological order,
and if it is clear that they see the colored water traveling up the
stalk or stem.
3. Read student written work to ensure that they have concluded that
the water traveled through the stem to reach the other parts of the
plant.
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G. Closure-
1. When all students have finished, have everyone return to the
carpet with their worksheet to discuss what they learned today about
the stem or stalk of a plant. Have students use observations from
the experiment as evidence to support their conclusions, turning and
showing their work to the people around them as proof.
2. Have students make connections with the prior lesson on roots.
Invite them to help write a sentence using the lesson vocabulary to
establish this connection, for example, "The stem or stalk of
a plant absorbs and transports water and minerals from the roots the
rest of the plant."�
3. Announce that the next day we will be studying the purpose of leaves. |
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7. Evaluation-
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1. The objectives for this lesson will be assessed in the summative
unit test, where students will be presented with a drawing of a flower
and required to label each part and write a short sentence or two
describing its purpose.
2. Students will also have to answer multiple-choice questions about
what plants need to survive.
3. Finally, students will have to put in order several pictures of
the life cycle of a plant. |
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8. Teacher Reflection-
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I used a version of this lesson with my Kindergartners last year,
and by reflecting on that lesson I was able to make some adjustments
to improve the lesson and make it appropriate for second grade.
1. Last year I only used carnations, which left some students confused
about the coloring and flowers, and they were unable to connect the
experiment with all plants. The celery stalk allows students to dissect
the plant and get a better visual of the water traveling up the stalks
"veins"� and being stored in the phloem structures in the form
of tiny dots.
2. I also included the "first, next, last,"� worksheet, which
allows for students to better distinguish between the stages of the
experiment.
3. I also chose not to focus on the scientific method during this
lesson, though many of its components are present and considered,
because it is not one of the lesson objectives and can sometimes distract
from the lesson itself.
4. I included lots of partner work and discussion because I found
that students were better prepared to write about their work once
they have verbalized their thoughts orally first.
However, I am sure that after executing this lesson with second graders
I would be able to reflect and improve it even more.
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