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Emily Strupp
Term III Lesson Plan
Science Methods
To be taught: Monday, 11/24/2014
What:
This lesson is designed for whole group instruction. The third grade students at
our school participate each fall in a unit focused on exploring the ideas of community and
cultural diversity through rice. Prior to this lesson, students will have been learning about
rice through various lenses for about two weeks. As the rest of the unit leans strongly
toward social studies and is considered part of the social studies curriculum, we have
decided to add another dimension this year by teaching about the science of rice as well.
In a previous lesson, students will have built understanding of the procedures through
which rice goes from field or paddy to bowls on our tables. For this science lesson, we
will focus in on the fully-grown rice plant, breaking down both the life cycle of the rice
plant and the physical parts of the just before it is harvested. Students will first practice
scientific exploration by examining rice husks, and they will extend this practice by
developing their own hypotheses, questions, and connections to what they have learned in
the past. Our intention is to teach our students about the life cycle of a plant by using rice
as an example and to develop their understanding of the progression of the plant from
seed to fully grown plant and the way in which the seed remains a part of the plant
through its life cycle. Students will have the opportunity to physically explore several
parts of the rice seed in order to deepen understanding.
How:
We have decided to teach this lesson based upon the Biological Sciences
Curriculum Study 5E Instructional Model. The five phases of this model are:
engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation (Bybee et al., 2006).
Engagement and exploration will occur first through allowing students time to examine
the rice husks, developing and writing their own hypotheses and questions about their
place in our learning about rice. Only after students have had these opportunities will we
offer a verbal and visual explanation of the growth stages of a rice plant and the layers
that make up the rice itself. Once we have shared this information, students will have a
chance to elaborate on and deepen their understanding by returning to exploration of
physical materials. This time, however, students will already have the answers and will
use rice grains and sandpaper in order to interact with a tangible representation of what
they have learned. Evaluation will come in the form of open-ended questions posed to
students before, during and following the lesson and, to a lesser degree, students ability
to label the parts of a rice plant diagram. This piece will primarily evaluate beginning
note-taking skills scaffolded by teacher modeling.
In the Chche Konnen approach described by Bransford, Brown and Cocking
(2000), students explore their own questions (p. 183). Though we have limited time to
have significant influence on students scientific thinking, and though we are unable at
this time to have students design their own studies based on self-developed questions, we
believe it is important across all subjects to begin with questions. Through this inquiry
approach, we can engage students by allowing them to formulate their own wonderings

about a topic so that they are more motivated to learn more (and feel more included in
their own learning) than if the teacher were simply to lecture at them.
Why:
We have chosen a whole group lesson for our particular students because all third
graders participate in the rice unit, and we prefer to include the entire class in each piece
of this thematic unit. When the unit culminates with a rice celebration in December,
therefore, students will have all had the same opportunities to expand their knowledge
and deepen their understanding of the subject matter through various academic lenses.
Within the rice unit, the purpose of this lesson is to build upon and enrich the
previous lessons by introducing a new dimension through which we can learn and think
about rice. We intend to enrich learning done in the social studies lesson, taught a week
prior to the science lesson, by delving more deeply and more scientifically into one piece
of the history of a bowl of rice.
Within the BSCS framework, each piece of our particular lesson has a specific
purpose for teaching our group of students. Because they are accustomed to group
discussions and investigations in which they build understanding by asking and
answering questions, we anticipate that our students will become more invested in the
learning tasks if they are allowed to formulate thoughts individually and within table
groups before turning their attention toward the board for a presentation. Within the
presentation itself, though the primary focus of our inquiry piece is the rice seed and its
parts (including husk and bran layer), we will introduce the stages of plant growth in
order to bridge this lesson to the previous one. A week prior, students will have seen a
time-lapse video of rice growing out of the ground. We will access prior knowledge by
showing this video again, followed by diagrams of plant growth, and we will zoom in
ultimately on the rice grain itself. We have chosen to teach this lesson through varied
modalities in order to engage different types of learners. Information will be presented
both visually (on the SmartBoard) and verbally, and we will engage interpersonal skills
by asking students to use one another as resources for discussion and/or assistance with
activities. Students will be asked to draw upon information learned in the previous
weeks lesson and to build on it by gathering information from physical materials and a
digital and verbal presentation. The practice of taking notes will be heavily scaffolded, as
our students have not yet developed note-taking skills. A worksheet will provide spaces
for organizing information gathered.
We will begin and end the lesson with tasks intended to activate kinesthetic
learning, as students will handle and examine rice husks and will later use magnifying
glasses to study both the husks and the brown and white rice grains a bit more closely.
This will enable students to gain both visual and tactile evidence of the layers that make
up the seed of a rice plant.
Goals and Objectives
Students will increase understanding of the basic life cycle of a rice plant from seed to
harvest.
Students will pose questions in the beginning of the lesson and reference them later,
engaging in a process of scientific inquiry.

Students will be able to label a diagram of the major parts of a full-grown rice plant.
Students will physically interact with rice grains and husks, supporting their
understanding of the layers of the grain and relating back to the processes of husking,
threshing, and polishing that they learned about last week.
Standards
K-12 Framework:
Dimension 1: Scientific and Engineering Practices
Asking questions: Students will write questions on sticky notes at the
beginning of the lesson while examining rice husks. They will be
encouraged to access prior knowledge in order to formulate questions
about things they would like to learn through this lesson or in the future.
Observation: Students will make observations about the rice husks
without being given any information about them beforehand. They will be
asked to write down observations about these objects, and we will
emphasize the importance of keeping records in scientific practice.
Dimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts
Structure and function. We will teach the structure of both the rice plant as
a whole and of an individual seed. We will ask open-ended questions
about the functions of the different parts of the plant, enabling students to
learn about the relationship between structure and function.
Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation: We will incorporate
the life cycle of a rice plant into our lesson, using this as a bridge for
zooming in from the entire rice production process (taught last week) to
the specific parts and layers of a single grain of rice.
Dimension 3: Life Sciences
In ways described above, we will address the following core ideas in the life
sciences:
LS1.A: Structure and Function
LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms
Common Core:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.8: Recall information from experiences or
gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on
sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
Materials

1 lb. of rice husks

18 plastic bowls
1 lb. of brown rice
1 lb. of white rice
Plant structure worksheets
SmartBoard

Learning Environment and Management Issues

Students will sit in their table groups for the entirety of this lesson. Working in
these groups is a normal part of their classroom routine and we anticipate appropriate
cooperation and collaboration. We will remind students in the beginning of the lesson
that we expect them to be responsible when listening to and talking with their groups, that
we are going to do some fun interactive things today, but when we ask for their attention
up front they are expected to stop what they are doing or saying and listen. Students will
begin with their own pencils and sticky notes. Then, one member from each table will be
asked to take the team folders and organizers from the center of each table group and
place them on the ground under their desks. This way, the center of the table will be clear
for the bowls containing the husks and later the bowls containing the brown rice. During
the social studies lesson last week, some students lost focus and began playing with the
materials on their tables during a part of the lesson when they were asked not to touch
them. This week, I will specifically ask them to complete a different physical activity in
order to occupy their hands during the lesson. Students will be asked to have pencils in
their hands so that they can take notes along with me. I will ask two students whose job is
listed as teachers helpers to help distribute worksheets at the appropriate time. This is
a common practice to which students are accustomed. I will ask my classroom teacher to
help pass out bowls of rice grains and husks in order to minimize risk of spilling.
Before and during the lesson we will draw attention to students who are meeting
our expectations and participating in constructive ways by using language such as, I
really like the way Joey is showing me he is listening by giving me his eyes, looking
forward, and not talking. Additionally, if students are excited by the materials and are
interacting with them at inappropriate times we will say things to the effect of, Id like
to see everyone with a pencil in their hand ready to take notes and looking up here,
instead of Joey, put the rice down and look up here! This way, we will not give extra
attention to students who are being disruptive or are distracted. If students continue to
ignore instructions, I will use wait time, saying Ill wait until I have all eyes and ears up
here. Statements such as this are generally successful in getting the attention of the
entire class.
We will remind students that they can earn stars (individual incentives) or marbles
(group incentives) during the lesson. If appropriate, we will also remind students that we
would not like to have to remove marbles or move color cards due to disruptions or
distractions.
Plan
Introduction (10 minutes)
Students will be in their table groups.
Ask teachers helpers to help pass out worksheets to each student, and ask each student to
take out one pencil.
We will use the top half of the worksheet now and the bottom half at the
end of the lesson, so lets fold our worksheets on the dotted line for now
with the part where it says Name facing up.
Tell students that we will be bringing something to each table from them to observe and
think about.

I want you to think about the different things we learned last week in
social studies, about the different processes rice goes through before it
gets to our table.
Use one of the groups rice timelines as a visual aid to recall the planting, harvesting, and
production steps.
Instruct students to write down one question and two observations on their worksheets.
Id like you to write down a question you have about what I bring around
and, two observations. Remember, observations are anything you observe
or take in about the object so it can be using any of your senses except for
taste. How does it look? Smell? Feel? Sound?
Pass out the husks and give students seven minutes to observe, interact with, write about
them.
After seven minutes, we will ask students to put the husks back in the bowl in the center
of the table and direct their attention forward.
Ask students to report out on different questions and observations.
We will keep these in mind as we go through the science lesson today and
I want you to be thinking about your questions and observations while we
learn more about the rice plant because at the end of the lesson, hopefully,
we will have some answers.
During the lesson today, I want you to think about your questions but hold onto them
until the end. If you listen, you might hear the answer to your question, and its much
easier to learn if you dont have your hand up in the air. Ok? By the end of the lesson, we
will hopefully have lots of answers.
Body of the lesson (25 minutes)
Now that we have learned a lot about rice dishes in different cultures and the
ways rice is made, we are going to do some zooming in in order to get into the
science of the rice plant. We are going to first zoom in on one step of the rice
sequence from your timelines: the rice grows for 112 days.
Show the time-lapse video from last week of rice growing in the field over 112 days.
Were going to break down the process we just watched into four different stages of
growth. Just like there is a sequence for rice production, including planting, harvesting,
threshing, husking, polishing, packaging and shipping, there is a distinct sequence that
we can follow and understand for the rice plant life cycle.
The first phase is called the Nursery phase. First, the rice seed is planted in the
small planting bed, and then the first shoots start to come out and form roots and
small green leaves. [Fun fact: if the rice is planted in a field that is flooded, the
leaves actually come out before the roots. But if the field is not flooded, the roots
come first.]
Like we learned in the social studies lesson, these small plants are usually taken
out of the ground and transplanted into the big rice field either by hand or by
machine. Does anyone remember why rice farmers do this? This phase takes
about 2 weeks.
Next is the Vegetative stage, when the plant starts to get more stalks on it. Each
stalk will later have lots of grains on the end of it in a big cluster. Also in the

Vegetative stage the plant gets taller, the roots get deeper, and the leaves develop.
This stage takes between about 60 days.
Last, in the Late Season stage, the rice continues to mature for about 30 days
until it is ready to be harvested, the panicles droop under the weight of the many,
many grains.
Now, given what you know about the different growth stages of rice, what
stage do you think the material you were working with came from?
After gathering student responses, discuss that we are going to zoom in again on the
last stage of development, the Late Season Stage, where rice is ready to be harvested and
processed for eating.
In this last stage, the rice plant looks like this (show blank rice diagram
worksheet on the board). We are going to talk through the different parts
of the plant. In doing so, I think we will answer some of your questions.
Pass out the blank rice diagram worksheets to each student.
As we talk through the different parts of the plant I would like you to take
notes at your desk. So, as I fill my diagram up here on the SmartBoard Id
like you to fill yours in as well. I want everyone to make sure to get down
the actual names of the parts as I write them, but if you want to add extra
notes about the plant to your diagram that will help you remember what it
is or what it does, you may. But I dont want to see people drawing
doodles or pictures on the side.
Discuss each part of the rice plant: roots, stem, leaves, panicle, and tiller, while giving
students adequate time to follow along, fill in their diagrams, and ask questions. During
this time, frame questions around the roles of each part:
Can anyone tell me what they think the job of the roots are? the leaves?
the panicle?
Use these questions to discuss how the plant gets nutrients and works as a system.
We are now going to zoom in one last time, this time even closer, to just the seed
of the rice plant.
Then, discuss parts of the rice seed: husk, bran, white rice, and germ, while giving
students time to follow along, fill in their diagrams, and ask questions. During this time,
anticipate that students realizing that the materials from before were rice husks - the outer
layer of the grain.
Why does the husk have to be removed before we eat the rice?
What purpose do you think the husk layer serves?
Talk through the different layers of the rice grain and remind students about the social
studies lesson where we learned about the difference between white rice and brown rice.
Does anyone remember the difference we learned between white rice and
brown rice last week?
Collect responses and support where needed to help kids understand that white rice is rice
with the bran layer removed, and brown rice is rice with the bran layer still intact.
Go back to students questions and observations about the husks and relate them to the
lesson.
Now Id like you to look back at the question you wrote down at the beginning of
the lesson. Did anyone learn the answer to their question during the lesson?
Would anyone like to share what they think those are called? (If this has been

stated already, ask another student to tell what it is in order to gauge

understanding.)
Have a few students share if so, making sure it is established that the materials from the
first investigation are rice husks.
Introduce the second hands-on activity.
Now that youve had a chance to investigate the outer layer of the rice
grain, the husk, I am going to give you a chance to see how it goes
together with the rice grain itself. Im going to give each table their bowl
of brown rice and white rice from last week. You will have five minutes to
investigate the materials in all three bowls with your hands, eyes, and
magnifying glasses
While youre working with you rice I would like to you keep your diagram
out and be looking at the different layers weve identified. Keep in your
mind how you can see the different layers both on the paper and in real
life.
Pass out brown rice and white rice.
Give students five minutes to explore.
Conclusion (5 minutes)
Ask students to put all materials back in the center of their tables and direct their attention
to the front. Ask students what they observed while investigating all three bowls.
Lets look now at the bottom half of your worksheet. If you folded it in half, you
can flip it over so you can see the rest of the questions. I am going to give you a
few minutes to write a new piece of information you learned. Maybe this is the
answer to your question from before. You should also write something that you
still wonder, because there are always more things we can learn in science.
Conclude by recounting what we have learned, the rice plant life cycle, the parts
of the rice plant and the layers of the rice grain. Complement students for being great
scientists today by making observations, recording questions and wonderings, gathering
information, and then reflecting on their questions.
Assessment of goals
Emphasis will be placed on paying close attention to discussions, questions, and
comments in order to assess students understanding and progression from wondering to
knowing. With less emphasis, we will assess students rice diagrams for accuracy, noting
any misrepresentations or misunderstandings. Further, we will analyze students sets of
sticky notes to access their thinking before and after the lesson and get an idea of their
scientific thinking and process of inquiry.
During the Introduction:
Do they understand the idea of scientific observations?
What kind of activities are they engaging in to explore the rice?
What questions to do they write down?

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What follow up questions are asked about the husks, observations, or
questioning?
During the Body:
What stage do they think the husks come from?
What do they identify as the roles of the roots? leaves? panicle?
What purpose do they think the husk serves?
Why do they think the husk needs to be removed before eating?
How do they reflect on their questions? Do they use new information as well as
prior knowledge? What connection do they make between the lesson and their
wonderings?
What further observation do they offer post-lesson?
How do they explain the use of sandpaper for the bran removal activity?
During the Conclusion:
What observations do they report after investigating all three materials side by
side? Do they reference parts of the grain or plant?
Post-lesson
Are their diagrams accurate?
What are similarities and differences between their beginning and end questions?

Anticipating Student Responses

Management Issues
We will make clear that our expectations are the same as the classroom teachers
and thus reinforce already established classroom routines and norms. Rewards and
consequences that are normally in place in both of our classes will be mentioned if
needed, namely star cards for individual incentives and a marble jar for whole class
incentives.
For Emilys class specifically: Students will be reminded that if I need to remind them
several times to follow classroom rules, I will have to move their individual cards from
green to yellow or from yellow to orange.
Response to content of the lesson
We expect to hear the buzz of interest and exploration in the classroom during the
opening activity. A few students may realize what the husks are when reminded to think
about the processes we learned last week, and this will likely be reinforced by showing a
groups rice sequence poster as a visual reminder
During the presentation, we anticipate that some students may need significant
prompting to draw connections between last weeks lesson and this new information, and
we will therefore give explicit reminders and verbalize the relationships we aim to
demonstrate. In many cases, we will ask questions prior to giving a full explanation, as
we anticipate that some students will benefit from the chance to make these connections
independently.
When students are asked to record on sticky notes while exploring rice husks, we
anticipate observations such as, they are light brown, dry and fragile, they are very

light, and they are shaped like rice, and questions such as, Is this part of the rice
plant? Do these go around the pieces of rice? and Can you eat these? We will
encourage students to keep their questions in mind during the lesson, as we expect
several of them will be answered.
When we ask open-ended questions during the lesson, we anticipate most students
will understand the prompts and formulate responses. We believe it is possible that a few
students will raise their hands and questions about rice to which we do not yet have the
answers. In this case, we will thank them for asking great questions, and we ask them to
remember them for the end of the lesson. We will then collect these on sticky notes and
include answers to their questions in a subsequent lesson during the unit on rice.
During the sanding activity, we anticipate that students will be energized by
another hands-on opportunity and will be excited to find the white rice hiding inside.
Accommodations
For students who may find the material too challenging
Students who are struggling to form questions, record observations, follow the
diagram, or perform physical activities during the hands-on experiences will be
encouraged to use their table group as a resource. We will remind students that science is
a collaborative field of study so discussing questions, thoughts, and observations are
encouraged, as well as asking for help and clarification from the group and working on
physical tasks together.
For students who may need further challenge
Students who need greater challenge beyond responding to our questioning are
free to offer more in-depth or complex connections or questions. By posing open-ended
questions, it is our intention that even students more advanced in their scientific thinking
will not find the discussion or lesson uninteresting.
Works Cited
Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind,
experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Bybee, R., Taylor, J. A., Gardner, A., Van Scotter, P., Carlson, J., Westbrook, A.,
Landes, N. (2006). The BSCS 5E Instructional Model: Origins and Effectiveness.
Colorado Springs, CO: BSCS.
Image sources:
http://ricepedia.org/rice-as-a-plant/growth-phases
http://www.somastruct.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ricegrain-283x300.jpg
http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/Images/Issues/2013/October/Rice.jpg
http://www.fao.org/docrep/t7202e/t7202e0e.jpg

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Appendix
Rice diagramming worksheet key. Labels will be blank for students.

Images retrieved from:

http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/Images/Issues/2013/October/Rice.jpg and
http://www.somastruct.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ricegrain-283x300.jpg

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PowerPoint slide and accompanying notes for rice life cycle.

The$rst$phase$is$called$the$Nursery'phase.'First,$the$rice$seed$is$planted$in$the$small$
plan3ng$bed,$and$then$the$rst$shoots$start$to$come$out$and$form$roots$and$small$
green$leaves.$[Fun$fact:$if$the$rice$is$planted$in$a$eld$that$is$ooded,$the$leaves$
actually$come$out$before$the$roots.$But$if$the$eld$is$not$ooded,$the$roots$come$
rst.]$$
Like$we$learned$in$the$social$studies$lesson,$these$small$plants$are$usually$taken$out$
of$the$ground$and$transplanted$into$the$big$rice$eld$either$by$hand$or$by$machine.$
Does$anyone$remember$why$rice$farmers$do$this?$This$phase$takes$about$2$weeks.$
Next$is$the$Vegeta/ve'stage,'when'the$plant$starts$to$get$more$stalks$on$it.$Each$stalk$
will$later$have$lots$of$grains$on$the$end$of$it$in$a$big$cluster.$Also$in$the$Vegeta3ve$
stage$the$plant$gets$taller,$the$roots$get$deeper,$and$the$leaves$develop.$This$stage$
takes$between$about$60$days.$
Last,$in$the$Late'Season'stage,'the$rice$con3nues$to$mature$for$about$30$days$un3l$it$
is$ready$to$be$harvested,$the$panicles$droop$under$the$weight$of$the$many,$many$
grains.$

2$