Lesson Plan Template for 4881 Elementary Field Experience

Header: Plant Survival and Planting Kidney Beans

Student Name: Yarden Batson
Grade Level: 4th Grade
Date of Lesson Enactment: February 27th, 2014
Topic: Plant Survival and Planting Kidney Beans
Enduring Understandings: (What big idea(s) will students understand as a result of this
lesson?)

Students will understand what plants need in order to thrive

Students will understand how to plant a kidney bean so that they can watch it grow
Students will understand how a plant grows from a kidney bean

Essential Questions: (What question(s) will students grapple with as they learn through this
lesson?)

What can I do to help my kidney bean grow?

How will I plant my kidney bean so that I can watch it grow?
What do plants need in order to survive?
Will my plant that has the sunlight and the water be the only plant that grows?

Primary Content Objectives:

Students will know: (facts/information)

What plants need in order to survive: CO2, Water, dirt, temperature, and the sun (lightchlorophyll)
How to plant a kidney bean

Students will be able to do: (skills and behaviors)

Plant two beans with water, one without, and place one bean in the dark while the rest
need to be in the windowsill.
Talk/write about what plants need in order to survive
Make a prediction for which plant will flourish

Related state or national standards: (Examples include State Standards of Learning, Common
Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards or National Curriculum Standards for
Social Studies)
4.4 The student will investigate and understand basic plant anatomy and life processes.
Key concepts include
a) The structures of typical plants and the function of each structure;
Assessment: (How (and when) will students be assessed? What evidence will you collect to
determine whether students have met the lesson objectives? Will the assessment(s) be a preassessment (diagnostic), formative (ongoing feedback) or summative?)

I will use the predictions the students make on the punnett square as an informal and
formative assessment to see if students understand what plants need in order to survive. If
they do have an understanding of this concept then they may write that the plant with
water and sunlight will grow strong and tall. The exit slip about chlorophyll will also
serve as a formative assessment to see if students understood this tough vocabulary word.
If most of the students are having a tough time explaining why then I will take the time in
my next lesson to discuss plants needs even more.

Materials and Resources: (List here all materials that you will need in order to successfully
teach this lesson. Include technology and website links, texts, graphic organizers, student
handouts, physical manipulatives, etc.)

24 clear cups for planting kidney beans (with wholes on the bottom)
A bag of kidney beans
Unfertilized soil
Water
Tan tape
Markers
Dark place such as a box
Whiteboard and dry erase marker
30 copies of the rubric for the unit
Picture of leaf under water
Punnett Square
Exit Slips

Key Vocabulary and Definitions:

Plant needs-What a plant needs to grow

CO2- a gas that we cannot see or smell that is in the air and plants take it in. take a leaf
and put it in water.
Predictions- Making an educated guess
Chlorophyll makes plants green- important, like that plants blood. When the sun shines
on it the chlorophyll takes stuff from the light and CO2, and water to make food for the
plant-which is the starch and it helps the plant grow. Do plants make sugar? Sugarcane
and maple trees, some are more concentrated than others.

Lesson Procedures:
1. Introduction and goal orientation:
Students will be sitting at the meeting time area
I will begin the lesson by asking students what are some needs that we have in
order to survive. Answers can be water, clothing, food, shelter,
Students will then examine and make a list of what their pets need in order to
survive.
I will then tell students that in order for this kidney bean to grow it needs a few
things.
Students will raise their hands and contribute ideas as to what helps a bean grow.
I will discuss how temperature, sunlight, CO2, and water directly contribute to the
plants growth.
I will then show the students a picture of how plants get CO2. I will ask them
questions such as what do you see? Why do you think there are bubbles there?
Students may think that the bubbles are air bubbles-this will help illustrate that
plants breathe through their stomata which is located on the back of a leaf, near
the veins.
I will explain chlorophyll last. I will tell the students that chlorophyll takes the
water, CO2, and the sunlight in order to make the food for the plant. The food for
the plant is sugar. Can students think of a plant that has a lot of sugar? Syrup
comes from trees and sugar comes from the sugarcane.
2. Connecting to prior knowledge and experiences: (Questions or activities that help
students make links)

I will then ask the students, Have you even wondered what happens to plants that
do not get sunlight or water?

I will tell the students that we are going to plant our own plants. 4 plants per table
group. 1 plant that will not get water, 1 plant that will not get sunlight, 1 plant that
will get both, and 1 plant that will not get both
I will draw a diagram of what the students are going to do when they plant their
plants as well as list all of the steps. I will ask students why it is important that I
put certain things in the cup when I am planting.
I will also ask students why it is important that they label their cups? Have them
come up with an idea of how to keep track of plants.

3. Tasks and activities: (What challenging tasks and activities will students engage in as
they construct knowledge, learn new skills or behaviors and develop understandings?).
Students will go to the table and begin to plant their three beans.
They will first put soil into all three of their cups, and then they will plant a bean
near the edge of the cup and water two of their cups with beans.
They will label all 4 of their cups with their groups initials on a piece of tape so
that they can keep track of which cup has their bean inside.
They will place an un-watered plant and a watered plant by the window with their
group names, and they will place their watered and unwatered plant in the dark
(under the cardboard box).
I will then address the class and ask them how often they think they should water
the plants that are getting watered? Typically, plants need to be watered every two
days. If they are watered too much then their plant could drown. If their plant is
not watered enough it could become dehydrated.
Students will pick how often they will water their watered plants as a class
I will also ask Mr. Drago if they could be reminded to water their plants.
4. Closure: (How will you wrap up the lesson and reinforce key ideas? Closure may include
some form of assessment or exit slip)
Once all of the beans are planted and put into their proper places. I will then have
the students write down/draw their predictions for what will happen to the 4
different plants given what they already know about what plants need as a group.
They will complete a punnett square that will ask them to make their predictions
for how they think the plant will look in 1 week.
Students will add their punnett squares to their plant binders.
Accommodations for individual differences: (How will the lesson be differentiated to support
diverse learners? Describe additional supports that can be used for re-teaching if needed, and a
challenging extension for students for demonstrate mastery quickly or show evidence of a lot of
prior knowledge.)

Students have a choice to draw, act, or tell a story when talking about their plant
needs. This gives students a chance to do what is the most comfortable and
enjoyable to them.
We will be planting the beans and making predictions about the outcome.
Students who have trouble with the physical aspects of planting the beans can ask
their group members as well as teachers for support. Students who have trouble
writing their predictions will have a sentence chart that can help them with the
sentence frames used to write their predictions:
I think that the plant with sunlight and water will ______________. I think that
the plant without water will _______________. I think that the plant without
sunlight will _____________. I think that the plant without sunlight and water
will__________.

Behavioral and organizational strategies: (What behaviors will you model or discuss with
students? What do you want to remember about organizing the lesson and materials? Use this
section for reminders to yourself about behavioral and organizational strategies. For example, do
you want to explicitly model how to work with partners in this lesson? Or demonstrate how to
use mathematical tools?)

I will model for the students how to plant the beans by showing them the procedures on
the white board before they begin
I will use the timer so that they know that they must use their time wisely during the
various activities.
I will also monitor all group work by walking around the classroom and making sure that
all of the students understand
I will give the students directions before the activity of planting their kidney beans as
well as have a written version of the directions on the whiteboard for them to look at
throughout the lesson.
For students that want to be challenged even more I will ask them to make predictions
about the best time of the year to plant a kidney bean and why.

Punnett Square