Plants - Marist College

MARIST COLLEGEStudent Teaching – Lesson PlanW. Panuska, ST SupervisorStudent Teacher: Victoria R. BrienzaDate: April 15th, 2013Subject: ScienceI.Lesson: Plants: Review of Parts and Introduction to FunctionsII.Source: Since my cooperating teacher does not follow a science curriculum, my unitis entirely original. I have taken ideas, material and activities from multiple sources.However, each lesson was created on my own.III.Objectives:a. The students will identify each plant part and basic need with 90% accuracy.b. The students will recall why plants need each of the five basic needs with 80%accuracy.c. The students will make valid predications about the celery experiment andaccurately record their observations with 80% accuracy.IV.Materials:a. Projected Dying Plant Photob. “The Talking Plant” Worksheetsc. Pencilsd. Quize. Celeryf. Clear Cupsg. Waterh. Red Food Coloringi. Prediction Sheetsj. BrainPop Video, “The Parts of a Plant”V.Hook: Last week, the students learned about the different plant parts and a plant’sbasic needs. As a review, I plan to project a photo of a dying plant. I am going to askthe students what happened, prompting them to describe the plant’s lack of basicneeds and its effect on each plant part.Motivation: In order to keep the students motivated to learn and on track throughoutthe lesson, I will tell the students that I plan to show a BrainPop video, which they

love to view, at the end of the period if they behave. I will also remind the students ofthe “watts program” in place.VI.Procedure:a. Reiterate “watts program.”b. Explain that the students will be shown a BrainPop video if they behave.c. Hook: The Dying Planti. “Can anyone tell me what this is?”ii. “What happened?iii. Have the students try and identify the lack of each basic need.1. “So without water, what happened?”d. The Talking Planti. Remind the students of personification, a topic currently being discussedin ELA.1. “What did we first see in the third chapter of Charlotte’s Web?”“What’s it called?” “Can you explain it?”ii. Explain to the students that they will now be asked to personify the dyingplant as a review. In groups, they are to come up with a dialogue. As theplant, they are to describe what they need and why.iii. Provide examples.1. “I am drying up because I am not getting enough water.”iv. Identify a scribe for each group.v. Ask the students if they have any questions.vi. Hand out the worksheets.vii. Remind the students of the Popsicle sticks.e. Quizi. Hand out a short, quick assessment to check for understanding thus far.Quiz covers the parts of a plant and its basic needs.ii. Orally dictate the quiz for those that are struggling readers.f. Explain to the students that this week they are now going to learn about thefunctions of each plant part.i. See if the students can define function, if not, explain it.g. Celery Experimenti. As an introduction to plant part functions, I will conduct an experiment todemonstrate the function of the stem.ii. In groups, students will place a piece of celery (representative of the stem)into a cup filled with water and red food die (representative of water andnutrients)iii. As a wrap, students will make predictions, that I will collect, about whatthey believe is going to happen to either the red water or the celery.

iv. The following day, students will see the celery stalks have turned red. Iwill cut open the celery to show the red die traveling up the stalk.v. I will then ask the students: “Based on the experiments’ results, what doyou think is the function of the stem?”vi. Together, we will explain that the stem’s main purpose is to carry thewater and nutrients from the roots up to the leaves and flower.VII.Assessment:a. To assess if the students have met objectives a and b, I will observe the studentsduring the lesson, specifically during the “Talking Plant” activity and through thequiz.b. To assess if the students have met objective c, I will observe them during thecelery experiment and collect their predication sheets.

MARIST COLLEGEStudent Teaching – Lesson PlanW. Panuska, ST SupervisorStudent Teacher: Victoria R. BrienzaDate: April 30th, 2013Subject: ScienceI.Lesson: Plants: An Introduction to The Life CycleII.Source: Since my cooperating teacher does not follow a science curriculum, my unitis entirely original. I have taken ideas, material and activities from multiple sources.However, each lesson was created on my own.III.Objectives:a. The students will identify and describe each phase of the plant life cycle with 85%accuracy.b. The students will identify the correct sequence of the plant life cycle with 90%accuracy.c. The students will make educated, realistic predictions about the potato experimentwith 90% accuracy.IV.Materials:a. BrainPop JR videob. Life Cycle Chartc. “How Do Plants Grow?” Worksheetsd. Scissorse. Gluef. Potatog. “My Potato Predication” Worksheetsh. Pencili. CrayonsV.Hook: To get the students interested, I will project the “Life Cycle of a Plant” videofound on BrainPop JR. My students love these videos. They are also a quick andinformative way to introduce or reiterate a topic.Motivation: In order to keep the students motivated to learn and on track throughoutthe lesson, I will tell the students that I plan to conduct an experiment, at the end of

the period if they behave. I will also remind the students of the “watts program” inplace.VI.Procedure:a. Reiterate the “watts program.”b. Remind students that if they behave, we will conduct an experiment at the end ofthe lesson.c. Hook: BrainPop JR videoi. I will show the students the informative “Life Cycle of a Plant” videofound on BrainPop.ii. Together, we will complete the corresponding, interactive questions thatfollow.d. Life Cycle Charti. To clarify the information provided by the BrainPop video, I will display aPlant Life Cycle chart.ii. I will have student volunteers come up and explain what happens in eachstep/phase. I will provide corrections and further details when necessary.iii. Further, the class will be able to ask the student volunteer questions aboutthe step/phase they are explaining. I will act as a support if needed.e. Life Cycle Sequencingi. My students have been learning about sequencing in mathematics, so Idecided to incorporate it into science as well. In doing so, I am able toboth reinforce sequencing and the life cycle.ii. In pairs, I will provide my students the two “How do plants grow?”worksheets.iii. Together, they are to cut out each of the eight pictures and correctly placethem in the corresponding order. Once complete, the pairs are to raise theirhand. I will then go over and check the order. If correct, they are to gluethem down. If not, we will work together to fix it.iv. Once each pair is complete, I will have student volunteers explain what ishappening in each picture in sequential order.f. Bud Experimenti. “Do all plants start as seeds?”ii. I will show the students a potato and ask, “What is this?” “What do youknow about it?” “How does it grow?”iii. After a brief discussion, I will ask my students “Do you think this potatocan sprout?”iv. After taking a tally, I will have my students fill out their “PotatoPrediction” worksheet

v. After two weeks, we will return to the potato and see if it had changed andwhy (it will), and we will discuss whether or not students predictions werecorrect.VII.Assessment:a. To assess if the students have met objective a, I will observe the students duringthe lesson, specifically while answering the BrainPop JR quiz and during theirteaching of the “Life Cycle Chart.”b. To assess if the students have met objective b, I will observe them during the lifecycle sequencing activity and collect their completed “How Do Plants Grow?”worksheets.c. To assess if the students have met objective c, I will observe them during thepotato experiment and collect their completed “My Potato Prediction”worksheets.

Formative AssessmentsOver the course of my unit, I administered several formative assessments. With 26students in my class, it proved difficult to decipher whether or not the class understood thematerial based on observation alone. Therefore, I typically created quick, creative assessmentsthat enabled the students to demonstrate their understanding of the material. As previouslystated, I broke down the unit into five subcategories: a plant’s parts, specific functions, basicneeds, photosynthesis, and life cycle. While teaching these topics, I always checked forunderstanding before moving on to the next subcategory.For example, I had the students play the game “memory” in small groups. My version ofmemory included matching each plant part with its corresponding function. Once the smallgroups believed they had found a match, they were to check with me for accuracy. Once theyhad correctly matched each plant part with its function, they were to fill out their individual plantpart flap chart that I collected and evaluated. After teaching about a plant’s basic needs, I had thestudents personify a plant, i.e. I had them write from the plant’s perspective. They were toexplain what they needed for each part and why. Once I believed the students grasped thematerial, I administered a quick, five question quiz on the plant parts and basic needs.Each and every subcategory included activities, much like the ones described above. Itried to make my unit as constructive and hands-on as possible. I often collected the finishedproducts to closely examine who mastered the material and who did not. Following thecompletion of one or two subcategories, a quick quiz was administered. There were three shortquizzes in total. The first quiz covered plant parts & basic needs, the second covered plant partfunctions and photosynthesis, and the third covered the plant life cycle. The quizzes were

typically straightforward, involved pictures, and always had a bonus for extra credit. Below aremy quiz grade averages.3 Quiz Comparison110.00100.0092.0097.5695.58Quiz 2Quiz 390.0080.00Score %70.0060.0050.0040.0030.0020.0010.000.00Quiz 1Given that each of my averages was in the 90s, I moved on to the next subcategory aftereach quiz. Since I incorporated a variety of activities, I was able to check for understanding on aregular basis. This proved especially beneficial when teaching photosynthesis. Out of the fivesubcategories, this proved to be the most difficult for my students, and it was reflected in theformative assessments. As a rendition of an exit card, I had my students create recipe cards forphotosynthesis. The recipe cards had an “ingredients” section and a “final product” section. Thestudents were given the six elements of photosynthesis and asked to place them in the correctsection. I found that less than half were able to do so without error. Therefore, instead of movingon, I found other ways to reiterate photosynthesis. I found a story online entitled “A Tree is Likea Hungry Kid” by Mikki Sadil. The fictional story put photosynthesis in simpler terms and

related it to personal experience. The second time I had the students fill out the recipe card,almost all of them were successful. Several days later, I administered the quiz and decided it wastime to move onto the life cycle of a plant.

Post-Assessment and AnalysisIn order to achieve the most accurate analysis of my teaching, I decided to give the sameexamination for my post-assessment as I did my pre-assessment. In doing so, I was able toclosely compare scores and evaluate student learning. Prior to beginning the unit, my studentsscored a 63 average on the 20 question exam I administered. A month later, I administered thesame exam. Their average increased by 22 points, resulting in an 85 average. Aside from a singlefailure, the lowest score was a 72 and the highest score was a 100. Each and every one mystudents’ scores had increased. However, the correct answers were once again spread relativelyevenly among the plant sub categories; thus, making it difficult to identify a strong and weakarea post-instruction.Pre/Post Assessment Comparison12010060Pre Test40Post ynaelleZekiahYassmineScore %80Student Name

Grade Range:40s50s60s70s80s90s10010051082Overall, I believe my unit was a success. Through class activities and discussion,formative assessments, and the final post-assessment, my students were able to demonstrate amuch deeper understanding of plants than they were prior to instruction.While each of my students showed improvement, several showed significantimprovement while others demonstrated slight improvement. To better clarify, I closelyexamined the progress of three students; one that seemed to learn a great deal, one that seemed tolearn an average amount, and one that continues to struggle. Attached are copies of their pre,formative, and post assessments.To begin, my student Kayden learned a great deal. His pre-assessment score was a 62 andhis post-assessment score was a 98, resulting in a score increase of 36 points. Kayden received aperfect score on each of the three quizzes and was able to successfully complete each activity.While Kayden is not one to participate in class discussions regularly, he effectively demonstratedhis understanding through his work. Kayden’s independent work and standard assessments provethat, with my instruction, Kayden’s knowledge of plants greatly increased. Unlike Kayden, Iwould say Shanasia only learned an average amount. Her pre-assessment score was a 76 and herpost-assessment score was an 82, resulting in a score increase of 6 points. Shanasia’s preassessment score displays a much higher level of prior knowledge than Kayden. However, herpost-assessment score displays less knowledge gained. In simpler terms, it appears that Shanasia

knew an average amount about plants both prior to and after my instruction. Shanasia scored a90 on the first quiz, and 100 on the remaining two. In class, Shanasia was quick to raise her handand participate. She also successfully completed each activity. However, Shanasia’s postassessment score reveals that some of the knowledge gained throughout the unit may not havebeen retained. Unlike Kayden and Shanasia, Cesar still continues to struggle. His pre-assessmentscore was a 43 and his post-assessment score was a 48, resulting in a score increase of 5 points.However, Cesar failed the assessment both times. His scored an 86 on his first quiz, a 110 on hissecond, and a 90 on the third. Cesar was often lost in class and rarely participated. He often hadtrouble completing many of the activities without assistance. After the first quiz, I assigned him apeer tutor, Santiago. Santiago is one of the brightest in the class and consistently demonstratedunderstanding throughout the unit. During independent work, I also allowed Cesar to work as apartner to Santiago. With the help of Santiago, Cesar was able to keep up and temporarily graspthe material, for he scored well on the remaining two quizzes. However, by the time Iadministered the post-assessment most knowledge was lost. From my observation of Cesar’swork in other academic areas, this seems to be quite common.

ReflectionOverall, I believe my unit was a success. As previously stated, only one student failed thepost-assessment, while majority scored in the 80s and 90s. The class average on the unitassessment increased 22 points and the class average for each of the three quizzes was in the 90s.The students were able to successfully complete each of the activities, sometimes with or withoutmy assistance.Over time, I found interactive games/videos worked best for my students. I incorporatedseveral BrainPop videos, interactive games found online, and songs found on YouTube.Presenting the material in fun and creative ways really motivated my students to learn. I alwaysincorporated hands-on activities that included cutting, pasting, coloring, matching, etc. I triedbest to stay away from lecture. For I found providing opportunities for my students to constructtheir own knowledge worked best. When asked to create a final product, my students werealways engaged. I made use of the SmartBoard and incorporated several charts, posters, etc. Themajority of my students proved to be visual learners. Therefore, I always left these charts andposters on the walls. In doing so, my students could refer to them while completing theirindependent or small group practice.Thankfully, the students seemed to grasp each concept. However, photosynthesis provedthe most difficult to teach. While I spent about three full science periods instructing on the othertopics, I needed a whole week to teach photosynthesis. My students understood that plants madetheir own food in their leaves. However, terms such as carbon dioxide, chlorophyll, and evenphotosynthesis confused my students. Understanding what plants needed versus what theyproduced proved difficult. Therefore, I had to find simplified, explicit, and creative ways to

present this material. In the end, I had to reiterate photosynthesis several ways and multipletimes. For repetition proved to be the best method.In completing this unit, I learned that I must include a variety of instructive materials thatmeet the needs of visual, auditory, and tactile learners. I learned that it is beneficial to include anequal amount of independent and small group work. In doing so, students are able to createpersonal final products while also gaining the assistance of their peers. Further, I have learned toprovide my students with several opportunities to demonstrate understanding. I find it bothnecessary and beneficial to include a formative assessment, if not several, for each lesson. With26 students, observation is often not enough to gage understanding. Therefore, I plan to useassessment data to guide instruction. I will always provide a pre-assessment prior to beginning aunit. In this way, I can decipher my students’ prior knowledge and then create a challenging unitappropriate for their grade level. Moreover, I plan to use the data gained from my formativeassessments to alter my unit. If formative assessment data demonstrates some material may betoo easy or too challenging for my students, I will adjust my future lessons accordingly. I mayeven choose to extend or entirely re-teach a topic. Ultimately, my lessons will constantly bemodified based on student understanding as demonstrated through my observation andassessment.

Standard 4: The Living Environment o Key Idea 1: Living things are both similar to and different from each other and from nonliving things. Performance Indicator 1.1: Describe the characteristics of and variations between living and nonliving things. 1.1b Plant Performance