Plant Pantomime Ms.

Walls Third Grade Class 24 students seed scape portion done with 12 students at a time 1 IEP student 1 504 Plan student 1 ELL student Subject: Science Topic: Plants Total Lesson Length: 80 minutes Standards: MA: Science and Technology/Engineering, MA: Grades 3 - 5 , Life Science (Biology)
Plant Structures and Functions 2. Identify the structures in plants (leaves, roots, flowers, stem, bark, wood) that are responsible for food production, support, water transport, reproduction, growth, and protection. 3. Recognize that plants and animals go through predictable life cycles that include birth, growth, development, reproduction, and death.

Objectives: 1. To use imagination and creativity 2. To use auditory skills to participate in a narrative pantomime that the teacher tells 3. To use physicality to showcase actions and emotions to aid in remembering the plant life cycle 4. To actively participate in the plant life cycle and speak about their experience Understandings: 1. Students will be able to physically participate in the life cycle of a plant by using their bodies and fully commit to pantomiming an environment from their imaginations. 2. Students will be able to describe different moments they experienced while participating in the story and verbally reflect upon their experiences. 3. Students will be able to identify and discuss the plant life cycle after the experience. Assessment: Written reflection in Plant Journal Verbal reflection when gather as a group

Instruction: 1. Read the students the book The Seed by Ann Cameron, stopping to ask the students questions about what is happening to the seed to check if they are comprehending. Ask if the students have any questions throughout. 15 minutes

2. Say to students, Today, in two groups, you will get to experience the life cycle of a seed yourselves. Half of us will go with me, while the other half will stay in here with Mrs. Wall to work on your plant projects. 3. Begin with having the students engage in a quick warm-up so their bodies are comfortable with moving. Warm-Ups include Freeze Dance, Watermelon TaiChi, Making a Pizza, or Going Fishing. 4. Have each student massage their face and make silly faces so they are ready to participate. 5. Teacher demonstrates what having your own space means while standing and while lying on the floor. Discuss having your own personal space bubble for when standing or kneeling and to have snow angel room. Explain to students that they should not interact, talk, or touch one another. The teacher should be the only person talking. Steps 3-5 should take about 10 minutes 6. Have each student find their own space in the room. 7. Play out the story that follows with the students, modifying where necessary. Feel free to add, cut, or change things in the moment to make sure the students are understanding the full life cycle of plants and that they are calm and able to go through the entire pantomime. Encourage students to play with all their senses while engaging in the exercise. 10 minutes 8. When the pantomime is over, replay moments where the students could have been more committed or ones they liked the most. 9. Have students write about the experience in their plant journals. Have them answer the questions: What was your favorite part about going through the plants life cycle? Did you learn anything new about plants by experiencing their life cycle? After your experience, do you have any questions or anything you would like to know more about? 5 minutes 10. Repeat steps 3-9 with the other half of the class. 25 mins 11. Call the students to the rug and have some students share their answers to the questions. Address any questions that came up for students during their experience. 5 minutes Materials: The Seed by Ann Cameron Students need lots of space to move so going outside or finding an empty space in the building would be best.

Sponge Activity: When students have completed the activity, they can choose to add more to their plant journals about the exercise or work on their plant unit projects.

SEED SCAPE Say to students: We will participate in a narrative pantomime in which I tell a story and you will all act it out. You will do this activity on your own and in your own space bubble. We can start once you have found this space. STORY (adapted from The Seed by Ann Cameron) You are cuddled up tightly in a little ball. The soil you are laying in feels comfortable around you, like resting on a pillow that surrounds you from all sides. Your hard outer shell is like a warm blanket hugging you close. You are at peace. You know that you have everything you need inside of you. With your back pressed against the ground, move just your legs to the right, while looking to the left. Then, again with your back pressed, move your legs to the left, while looking to the right. This movement is you as a seed settling nice into the ground. To further settle, lift your chest up and rest your body on your elbows with your head tilted back. You are lifting your heart to the sky in order to more easily settle into the soil. Suddenly you feel something tickle your face. It is slowly dripping onto you at a steady rate. This drip is quite refreshing and you realize that it is rainwater dripping from above. You stick out your tongue to taste the rain. It tastes sweet and refreshing. Because of the rain, you feel very cozy and stretch out one leg. This one leg is you beginning to send out a root into the earth. Though you have broken through your outer shell, you are still quite pleased to be nestled under the ground. Hug your other knee tight to your chest. As you lay in the soil, more rainwater begins to seep into your coat from your root. The soil around you smells fresh and clean. You take a big whiff of it to take it all in. Your root also brings you minerals to help you grow. You extend out your other leg to further root you into the ground. Something begins to warm your face. It feels soft and you just want to rub your face in it. It suddenly becomes warmer and warmer, but this simply makes your stretch out one arm toward the grounds surface. The heat you feel is the sun giving you further minerals you need to grow larger. The arm you reached up is your stem beginning to grow taller. As you lay in what is left of your shell, you reach your other arm up and give your entire body a stretch. You then try to make yourself as long as possible due to the growth spurt that is happening in your stems and your roots. You close your eyes to get some rest because you are exhausted from all your growing. You begin to drift off into slumber when suddenly you feel something slide next to you. You look over and you see a long pink circular creature gliding past you. You realize that it is an earthworm wiggling past you to aerate the soil around you and to help you grow better. He is very slimy and some of this slime gets on you as he moves past. Some of it gets in your mouth and you stick out your tongue to taste it. It is very sour and leaves a funny taste in your mouth. You shake it off quickly, trying to prevent it from

further entering your coat. You soak in some water to get rid of the sour taste from the slime. As you move your body, you realize you are slowly but surely continuing to grow. You hear a loud roll of thunder above you. It has begun to storm. Suddenly, water is pouring down from all around you. You are very thirsty though and enjoy drinking it all up. This water tastes sweeter than before because it came from a storm. As you do, you smell the freshness of the soil around you. It tickles your nose because it is so fresh. You feel incredibly rejuvenated, and in this moment, you decide it is time to break up to the surface. You ever so slowly get up so you are sitting up, with your knees against your chest. Slowly lift both arms above your head and stretch out your legs. You are finally above the surface of the earth. You feel a slowly breeze moving your arms about. Your arms are your stems. Your stems can also feel sunlight upon them and the grass surrounding you. You hear the sweet sound of birds chirping. As you close your eyes again, you can feel time pass. As this happens, move to standing with your upper body bent forward. Your arms should be reaching toward the ground. You are a flower beginning to bloom. When you stick your head up, it is the blossom of the flower, simply waiting to grow into a larger flower. Slowly, roll your back straight until you are standing all the way up. Stretch out your arms and wave your body around in the breeze. You are a beautiful flower and nothing can bring you down. You slowly bring your left foot up your right leg. You can either let it rest below your knee or above your knee. This represents your flowers leaf. It helps you gather sunlight you need to help in your process to make food for yourself. However, the seasons begin to change and it is no longer warm. The sun is not out as much and the air makes you feel bitter inside. You hug yourself to keep warm, closing up your flower. Due to the weather growing even colder, you begin to fold in upon yourself. You slowly bring yourself into a little ball, sitting upright on the floor. The first frost occurs. This makes you so cold that you can no longer keep yourself up. You slowly bring yourself to the ground and spread open your body as wide as it will go. You came from the earth and now you are returning to it, so a new seed like yourself can grow to become a beautiful flower like you were. You smile to yourself. You are at peace with the earth because you are truly connected to it.