Veggie, Plants and Flowers.Oh My!

Nicole Miles
EDU 417
Professor Joanna Savarese- Levine
June 1, 2015

GRADE LEVEL: Pre K-K, 1-2

LESSON OBJECTIVE: Students will:
1) Observe and describe similarities and differences in the appearance
and behavior of plants
2) Identify major structures of plants (seeds, roots, stem leaves)
3) Observe, classify and compare structure of plants
4) Understand the life cycle of plants and trees and what they need to
grow
5) Discover that plants provide resources for clothing, food, and
oxygen
SUGGESTED TIME: 3 lesson plans for this unit, total duration 4 weeks
RESOURCES: Books on seeds, plants, flowers ect.
MATERIALS: Planters (cups), seeds, paper, pencil, crayons,
LESSON: Lesson plans for this unit, 3:
1) Seed sensation: Exploring and sorting seeds
2) Getting to the Root of it: Plant dissection and root systems
3) Youre wearing your plants: Teaching about plant-based products
MODIFICATION/ACCOMOATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS:
Generally none but use discretion.

So this is the lesson plan that I liked the best and found would be fun
to do with children. This is a brain based plan in some regards. It gives the
children concrete experiences. It gives the excitement of change and not
really knowing what to expect next but to keep coming back to check and
see. To achieve the prize of a plant. To expand on the brain base
experience, at the end we could plant these plants, outside, in a garden.
This brings the element of going outdoors and getting oxygenated. Watching
the changes, from start to finish, would bring the element of change to the
plan. The children could be grouped into flowers, vegetables, cotton, and so
on, so that they could each watch how theirs and others are doing at the
same time. This would be a great time to talk about the differences in
planting. Maybe one could set theirs in the sun and one in the shade. One
watered correctly and one not. This would again give concrete experiences
of knowing how to care for other things. The charts they would make, to
report all the changes, would be designed by them allowing for their
creativity to flourish. This plan also brings the outside in. The children would
be able to get their hands, so to speak. Digging in earth to plant their seed,
watering and caring for another living thing and watching it use nature to
grow and flourish, all done indoors, until the end. To bring it all to an end,
after we have planted those outside the groups would present how and what
changes their seeds went through. Diagram the parts of their plant and
teach the rest of the class what their plant does for us. Such as things we

eat, wear, enjoy smelling and so on. This allows the children to become the
teacher. Some children learn better form their peers. Allowing the children
to teach helps them to really investigate their findings and the material is
able to become established in their brains due to the repetiveness of this
plan. We are talking about plants, they are growing plants and documenting
the growth changes and then they are re-presenting the information to the
class. This activity helps instill a knowledge and hopefully a like for the
outside world, allowing them to stop and smell the roses.
For a special needs child there really would not need to be a
modification. It would need to be a case by case example. If the child could
not speak well for the teaching part maybe they could sing a song or play a
tune. Maybe they could team up with another student. If they could not
write well maybe they could draw pictures. Every special needs child is
different so the teacher would just have to look at the child and figure out
how best to work with the child while not making them feel excluded and
make sure they are learning just like the rest. Make sure they are included at
all times and that their IEP is followed. (If there is one).
All children deserve a safe classroom and a safe teacher. Make sure
your classroom is safe and accommodating for all children and all their
needs. Make sure the lights are not too bright and not too dim. Make sure
everyone feels welcome and wanted and comfortable. These elements will
allow the child to absorb all the new information the teacher can give them

and then some. Allow the brain to expand and grow their pathways and
allow the information to travel smoothly for short term to long term.

REFERNCES
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/free-lesson-plans
Steve Hicks : From seed to plant
Jensen, E. (2008). Brain based Learning: The new paradigm of Teaching.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press
Kail, R.V. & Cavanaugh, J.C. (2013). Human Development: A Life-span View.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning
Wolfe, P. (2010). Brian Matters: Translating Research into Classroom
Practice. Alexandria, VA: ASCD