Teacher

Candidate
Age/Grade level
Theme


Name of Lesson
Content area(s)/developmental
domain(s) addressed
Brief description of the lesson

This lesson is:

Heather Kelly
Pre K, 4 years old
Nature in our Community Plants and Gardening

What Do We Find in a Garden?

Content Areas: Language and Literacy, Science and Art
Developmental Domains: Language, Cognitive, Physical (fine motor)

The teacher will read Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert to the class, drawing the
attention of the students to the various components of a garden, especially the tools that
are used when gardening and the stages a plant goes through (seed, sprout, plant and
then plant with vegetables). Through a discussion after reading, vocabulary words will be
added to a word list, joining words learned from a previous read aloud about seeds and
what a seed needs to grow. The teacher will add a small drawing next to each word,
modeling drawing and mark making. After, the students will be asked to make a drawing
in their discovery notebooks predicting what they think the garden theyre going to see
on a field trip to the community garden later that week will look like, taking care to
remember the vocabulary learned during the read aloud and including some of those
elements in their drawings.

A continuation of a previous lesson/activity

This lesson is building off of a previous lesson where the students were read
How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan, and learned about what a seed is, what it
needs to grow and what the process is for planting a seed
In the previous lesson a vocabulary list was started with words related to
seeds, this lesson will add to the same vocabulary list words that pertain to
gardening and the growing process of plants and vegetables

Rationale

Timeframe
Objective(s) of the activity

Connections to standards

This lesson will help children to understand one of the functions of a garden (growing
vegetables that can be eaten and used to cook with) and what can be found in a garden,
including tools used in gardening and vegetable plants in various stages of growth (seeds
to full grown plants with vegetables). Important vocabulary related to gardening, plants
and vegetables will be learned.

15 minutes for read aloud and discussion
10 minutes for drawing in notebooks at tables

Students will be able to recall and use vocabulary related to gardens, gardening
and the growth process of vegetable plants.
Students will recognize that vegetable plants grow from seeds and are vegetable
plants even before the vegetables grow on the plant.
Students will predict what a vegetable garden in their community to be visited
will look like and contain using knowledge gained about gardens and vegetable
plants from the read aloud.
NY State Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core

Domain 4: Communication, Language and Literacy
Part B: English Language Arts and Literacy
Reading Standards for Literature

Craft and Structure
4. Exhibit curiosity and interest in learning new vocabulary.
Responding to Literature
1. With prompting and support, make connections between self, text, and the world
around them.

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Language Objectives

Resources/materials needed:

6. With prompting and support, use words and phrases acquired through
conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts.

Domain 5: Cognition and Knowledge of the World
Science
Scientific Thinking
1.f. Makes predictions based on background knowledge, previous scientific
experiences, and observations of objects and events in the world.
Living Things
5. Observes and describes characteristics of living things.
Physical Properties
6. Acquires knowledge about the physical properties of the world.

This lesson will emphasize acquisition of new vocabulary through reading and
connecting to an overall theme/topic
Students will recognize that spoken words are represented in written language
through vocabulary words being written out onto a vocabulary chart by the
teacher as they are identified and discussed
Students will demonstrate ability to comprehend and attend to a read aloud as
well as answer questions and verbalize thoughts

Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert

How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan (for reference)
Large piece of paper to write vocabulary list on
Markers
Students discovery notebooks (used in class throughout year)
Pencils and crayons for drawing in notebooks

Technology inclusion (if applicable)

N/A

Procedures (step by step)

Anticipatory Set (Connection/Motivation):

The teacher will remind students that they have been learning about nature in their
community and talking about plants and gardening in their community, in preparation
for a class field trip to a community garden. She will reintroduce a book that was read the
day prior, How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan, which was read to learn about what a
seed is, how it grows and what the process is for planting it. A vocabulary list will have
been started for key words related to the topic and this will be reintroduced, with the
words quickly gone over again. The teacher will introduce the book to be read today and
ask the students if they know what happens in a garden, and what we grow there.

Instruction/Mini Lesson:
The teacher will introduce the book Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert to the class,
taking care to point out the title and authors name (making mention that she is also the
illustrator) and telling the students that this book is about a vegetable garden, showing
what different seeds look like as they grow into plants and vegetables and the tools that
are used while gardening. The teacher will also talk about what the title means.

The teacher will tell the students to listen carefully for words they think are important to
know about plants and gardening and that when the book is done the class will discuss
and add some words to the vocabulary list.

The teacher will read the book to the class, throughout asking questions to engage the
students, including if they can identify certain specific items of importance, prompting
and providing support as needed. The teacher will draw attention to how a vegetable
plant is shown changing as it grows starting as a seed, growing into a sprout, then a
small plant with blossoms and finally a full sized vegetable.

When the book is finished the teacher will lead the students in a short discussion about

important words related to gardening and vegetables growing, adding them to the
vocabulary list as they are identified and adding a small drawing next to each word.
Prompting and support will be provide to make sure important words are added, using
the book as a reference.

Words added to the vocabulary list should include: shovel, rake, hoe, seed package,
gardening glove, sprouts, trowel, watering can, stake, net, blossom, bud, weed, basket,
spading fork


Independent Practice:
The students will be told that now they are going to go back to their tables to work in
their discovery notebooks, drawing what they predict the community garden they are
going to go visit will look like.
Theyll be asked to think about while they make their drawings:
What was learned in the two books about seeds, plants and gardens
The vocabulary words learned and discussed
What kinds of tools, seeds, seedlings, plants, vegetables, even flowers they might
see at the garden
What a plant needs to grow

While the students work the teacher will go around and talk to them about their
drawings and what they think will be in the garden tomorrow, scaffolding where needed.
The teacher will ask each child to dictate a sentence related to their garden prediction,
and write in their discovery notebook.

Closure:
When the students are done with their drawings the teacher will remind them of the trip
to be taken to the community garden the next day, and tell them that after the trip the
class will come back to the prediction drawings to discuss what predictions were correct

and what the garden had that maybe the students did or did not expect.


Method of assessing childrens
understanding of
lesson/activity/objective(s)

Pre-assessment



Based on previous
observations and Child
Development Checklists that
have been completed on each
child, each childs level of
development and ability to
attend to a read aloud will be
known. At the beginning of the
week when the Plants and
Gardening unit is introduced
the teacher will lead the
students in a discussion about
gardens to determine what
each childs already held
knowledge about and
experience with the topic is.

Assessment of Student
Learning


The students community
garden prediction drawings
will be used as an authentic
work sample performance
assessment to determine
takeaways from the lesson
(the discovery notebooks will
be added to students
portfolios as the year
progresses). As the children
work the teacher will go
around to each student and
discuss their drawing and
ideas, taking brief notes
about each childs thoughts
and work to be further
examined later. These notes
will be used when viewing
each childs individual
drawing once completed to
determine understanding of
concepts ideas covered as
well as understanding of the

Assessment of
Childrens Language
Learning

Language learning will
be assessed when the
teacher goes around to
each student to discuss
their drawings and
predictions for the
community garden
children who have
adequately learned the
vocabulary taught
should be able to use it
when describing their
drawing and ideas with
minimal prompting and
support. Notes in
regards to vocabulary
learned and used will
be taken.

Plans for differentiated

instruction/instructional
modifications

assignment.



Supporting children with
Supporting English Language Learners
identified delays or

disabilities



Appropriate modifications will For Spanish speaking students, the English/Spanish
be made for any students that book My Garden/Mi Jardin by Rebecca Emberley could
have IEPs dependent on what be used either instead of Growing Vegetable Soup, or in
their needs area.
tandem, to assist with vocabulary acquisition.


Children who have been
Because Growing Vegetable Soup relies heavily on large,
assessed to need extra support brightly colored illustrations to get its concept across,
in regards to language and
this book would be great to use with ELL students.
literacy will have an
While reading with the class the teacher could point to
opportunity to read the book certain images and ask the student to identify in their
again and go over the
home language, repeating the words they say and then
vocabulary list and word
identifying in English. Small drawings could be added to
meanings with the teacher
the word chart next to each vocabulary word to help
either one-on-one or in a small identify what each word is.
group during choice time.
Individual one-on-one reading of the book could be

conducted with these students as needed as well.
Extra support will also be

given to students who need it
while drawing in their
discovery journals with
questions asked and prompts
given to activate and support

Follow up/Extension activities

Any additional information that

would be helpful for the observer to
know

their thinking.

A read aloud of a third book, Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner will
be read. This book is more of a story about gardening compared to the two previously
used books, focusing on all of the creatures that live in a garden, among and around the
plants. This would be a good bridge to the next Nature in Our Community unit, Animals
and Insects.

The students will sprout and plant bean or wheat berry seeds in the classroom, using the
method and directions in How a Seed Grows. As the seeds sprout and grow the students
will track the progress in their discovery journals, making drawings of their observations
at each stage.

As an art activity the students will create vegetable plants at various stages (sprouts,
immature plants, plants with vegetables) out of a wide variety of paper and recyclable
materials. Some of these plants will be placed in the dramatic play center to turn it into a
garden, along with jars of various kinds of seeds, seed packets and gardening tools.

Observer feedback on the lesson plan, including commendations and recommendations for improving aspects of the learning activity