1. Topic-
Simple Plants
 
2. Content-
A plant is a living thing that makes its own food. The four main parts of a plant are roots, stem, flower, and leaves. A plant needs water, sun, air, and soil to grow. Plants provide oxygen for us. Trees are large plants. Seeds travel via air, wind, water, people, and animals. Plants are everywhere including desserts, mountains, and the bottom of the ocean. A kitchen sponge was once a living plant.
 
3. Goals: Aims/Outcomes-
Science
Competency Goal 1: The learner will conduct investigations and make observations to build an understanding of the needs of living organisms.

ELA
Competency Goal 2: The learner will develop and apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
Competency Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
 
4. Objectives-
Science 1.01 Investigate the needs of a variety of different plants:
- Air
- Water
- Light
- Space
ELA 2.08 Discuss and explain responses to how, why, and what if questions in sharing narrative and expository texts.
ELA 4.06 Compose a variety of products (e.g., stories, journal entries, letters, response logs, simple poems, oral retellings) using a writing process.
 
5. Materials and Aids-
Living and intact plant with roots and leaves for introduction, display, and visual understanding. Books: "From Seed to Plant" by Gail Gibbons, "Olivia Plants a Garden" by Emily Sollinger, "The Tiny Seed" by Eric Carle, "Tree Is a Plant" by Clyde Robert Bulla, "Plants Are Living Things" by Bobbie Kalman, and "How Do Plants Get Food?" by Meish Goldish. Student plant journals, pencils, crayons, markers, daisy seeds, potting soil, and planting containers.

 
6. Procedures/Methods-

A. Introduction-

1. KWL Chart - Ask students what they know and what they would like to know about plants.
2. Show students uprooted plant complete with roots and ask them to identify the parts.
 

B. Development-

Read "From Seed to Plant". Students will plant their daisy seeds in small groups outside. Students will view a sample of a plant journal.
 

C. Practice-

Students will design and create cover for plant journal. Teacher will model how to answer question number one from the first book read.
 

D. Independent Practice-

Students will be given the new plant question daily before each book is read in order to recall and record in their journals. Students will identify and graph the parts of a plant.
 

E. Accommodations (Differentiated Instruction)-

1. Teacher will work one-on-one with students having difficulties comprehending and synthesizing the information from the books read to answer their journal questions.
 

F. Checking for understanding-

Students will return their plant journal for inspection daily. Students will observe, provide water, and discuss their developing daisy plants.
 

G. Closure-

Students will complete the KWL chart with what they learned and plant their daisies at the EOY.
 
7. Evaluation-
The teacher will observe the question/answer sessions during read-alouds and the plant journals at the end of the lessons.
 
8. Teacher Reflection-
The lesson went very well. The children were excited to learn about plants and to plant seeds, but not so excited to write about what they were learning from each book. I would do this lesson again including a video. Also, we need to plant earlier than May 10; perhaps the first of April.
 

This Lesson Plan is available at (www.teacherjet.com)