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Thematic Unit Plan

LIfe Processes- Photosynthesis
Grade: 4
Unit Title: Life Processes- Photosynthesis
Course/Subject: Science
Approximate Time Required: 1 Week
Main Purpose:
The main purpose of this unit is the investigate and understand basic plant anatomy and life
processes of plants. In this, the students will observe the structures of typical plants and the
function of each of these structures in the role of the plants life cycle. The students will learn the
process of photosynthesis and its role in our environment. It is important for students to be
exposed to the basic biology and structure of plants and to understand important life cycles.

Behavior Objectives:
I.
Science
A. At the end of the unit, the student will be able to identify the structures of typical
plants and explain the function of each structure.
B. At the end of the unit, the student will be able to explain the steps of
photosynthesis and the role that photosynthesis plays in our environment.

Content Outline:

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I.

Plant Structure

A. For many typical green plants, there are anatomical structures that perform certain basic
functions.
1. Roots anchor the plants and take water and nutrients from the soil. -also anchor plant into
the ground (biology4kids.com).
2. Plant stems provide support and allow
movement of water and nutrients.
3. Leaves capture sunlight that allows the
plant to make food for itself.
a.
When you see a color, it is actually the
color that is not absorbed by an object. Plants
absorb mainly blue and red wavelengths. Green
is not absorbed by the plant. Therefore, plants
look green because the green range wavelength
is reflected back into the atmosphere.
(biology4kids.com).

4. Flowers: included on some plants,Function is reproduction (seeds and spores

typically are located on/in the flower)

*Have students fill out chart during lesson

B.
Plants can be divided into two general groups: those that produce seeds and those
that produce spores.
1.

Some plants reproduce with spores. These include ferns and mosses.

2. Many plants reproduce with seeds.

a.

Seeds vary considerably in size.

1. Orchids, for example, produce seeds as small as dust particles.
2. The coconut is one of the largest seeds in the plant kingdom.
b. In many seeds, the protective outer seed coat is resistant to physical damage
and may also contain waxes and oils that help prevent water loss.

c. The embryo within the seed begins as a single cell, the zygote. The basic
organs of the plant body can be found in the embryo.
1. In some seeds the embryonic leaves are quite large, filling most
of the volume of the seed. The embryonic leaves are a major source of
stored food for the embryo.
i.
Beans are an example of plants with
large embryonic leaves.
2. In many other plants ,the embryonic leaves are relatively small,
and the embryo is nourished by a tissue called endosperm.
C.

Pollination is part of the reproductive process of flowering plants. Pollination is the

process by which pollen is transferred from the stamens to the stigma.

1. The stamen and pistil are reproductive parts of the flower. The sepals are the small
leaves that form the housing of the developing flower. (VDOE website)

II.

Photosynthesis

A. Green plants produce their own food through the process of photosynthesis (since plants
dont actually eat anything) - From Greek words that translate to Light Putting together - uses
light to put things together (Photosynthesisforkids.com)
B. Green plants use chlorophyll to produce food (sugar) (glucose), using
- carbon dioxide
- water
- enzymes and other chemicals
- and sunlight.
1. Leaves are the primary food-producing part of these plants.
2. Chlorophyll is a pigment in the chloroplast (an organelle) that absorbs the blue and red
light wavelengths (responsible for plants green color)

C. Sugar and Oxygen are released during photosynthesis.

D. Formula:
Carbon Dioxide + Water + Light ----> Sugar + Oxygen

Diagram for board Day 4

Worksheet to do on Day 5

Worksheet/ Diagram for Day 4

Crossword for ADHD or students who finish computer activities

Coloring page for students who finish early

E. Humans and animals do the exact opposite of photosynthesis: Plants produce the
oxygen humans and animals need to breathe----- We breathe out carbon dioxide that the plants
use However, there is enough carbon dioxide without people/animals in the atmosphere that
plants could still exist without us (Photosynthesisforkids.com)

Direct Instruction
Guided Instruction
Guided Lecture with Structured Overview
Didactic Questioning
Indirect Instruction
Inquiry Discovery Learning
Networking/Concept Maps
Independent Study

Instructional Aids and Resources:

- felt board
- craft supplies
- plant structure video
- computer/internet activities

Assessment:
Formal:

Informal:

Diagram with labels

Listen to verbal explanations

Lab (creditable work)*

Participation in lab group work

Vocab Quiz

Homework

Test

computer activity

Explanation of Process List/Worksheet

Discussion

Vocab Sheets*

Game

Homework*

Interactive Board Activity (Felt Plant

Structure)

Art project- plant (day 2)*

Art project- 3D plant
*low stakes

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Lesson Map
Day 1:
Introduce plants in familiar context- coloring and checklist of What is special
about plants
Introduction video to plant structure https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=AfTp1ObzNHM
Coloring page of flower (which they will bring back the following day to discuss
what they actually were coloring)

Day 2:
Plant structure diagram and lecture
accompany with board felt interactive diagram
- Have students do the online activity concerning plant structure:
http://www.phschool.com/science/biology_place/biocoach/plants/basic.html
- assign vocabulary study for homework
Have students do first art project- Make basic flower
Introduce spores/seeds

Day 3:
Review worksheet
Vocabulary quiz- will give function and will ask students to write in the words
(word bank provided for select)
Allow 10 minutes for both
Begin plant structure art project- students will make the plant structure using
various materials with labels and brief function description, including roots, leaves,
flowers, stems, and seeds.

Finish the spores/seeds section

Spores/seeds lab

Begin Photosynthesis process

Continue photosynthesis
Photosynthesis video
If time, allow time for students to finish up art project (5-10 minutes)

Day 4:

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Day 5:
Finish photosynthesis section
-chlorophyll activity= effect of light on color of leaves
Have students write the formula for photosynthesis as a summarization
(Emphasize that this is a major part of the test)
If time, have students do art leaf coloring activity (roll wax paper over leaves)

Day 6:
-Quick Review of basic vocabulary from both sections
* Assessment

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Day 2 Lesson Plan Photosynthesis/Plant Structure Unit

Subject/Topic: Plant Structure

Grade 4; Class ______
Time/Period
Lesson Date
Science

SOL: See unit plan

Rationale: See unit plan
Objective(s) of the lesson:
Given instruction of basic plant structure, SWBAT list the four basic parts of a plant and the
functions of each of those parts on a given diagram with at least 80% accuracy.
Given instruction of basic plant structure, SWBAT complete the online activity concerning the
basic components of plant structure within ten minutes with 85% accuracy.
Given instruction of basic plant structure and materials, SWBAT create/construct a threedimensional plant of his or her choosing, containing the four basic components (Flower, Stem,
Roots, Leaves) and a written description of the components basic functions, to be graded on
completion and understanding.
Given instruction of basic plant structure, SWBAT list the two basic types of reproduction of
plants (spores and seeds) and give one example of each accurately within two minutes.

Lesson Opening: Switching from math, I will have the students put away their math-related
materials and get out their science notebook/folder. Alright everyone, get your science
folders out, along with color pencils. I will have set small plants around the room earlier that
morning. Let me ask you this, who can tell me what looks different about the classroom?
Allow a few answers, with some probing and cueing (walking over to one) if they dont see the
plants. Yes. I have some new friends for us to keep in our class for a little while. For the
next week or so, we will be studying plants.
Can anyone tell me something they know about plants? I can accept responses until there
arent anymore. Thats great. This week we are going to learn a whole lot about plants. We
will learn the basic parts of a plant and the basic steps in a plants life process.

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Connection: Who can tell me what we learned a whole lot about last week? Allow
responses to come through about electricity and the conduction of energy. Great. Im glad you
guys remember that. Electricity was all about how energy gets from one place to another.
Well, this lesson is a little different because we arent talking about inanimate objects,
but about living things-plants. Who knew plants were alive? Raise your hands. Be
honest. Its totally fine if you didnt.
Lets see. What makes something alive?
Start a list on the board using the answers provide. Probe for breathing and consuming food.
These are great. Two that stick out at me are that living things breathe and taking in
food/water. Do you guys think that plants need food and water? Air? Allow a common
consensus to form. Yeah. So plants do need water. Thats why we water plants right? Does
anything know how the plant usually absorbs the water we or the rain gives it? If a
student says roots move on. If not, provide the answer. So plants have roots that help it
absorb the water it needs to survive. This week, we are going to talk about roots and
some of the other basic structures plants have to help it survive. With that, we are going
to talk about how plants get food, because we said that living things usually have to eat
something to keep living, right?

Script for Remainder of Lesson: Pass out the plant diagram for them to fill out as we go over
plant structure together. As we go over the worksheet, I will have a felt board with velcro plant
pieces up on the board. So, who would like to help me put together this plant? I will first
have the students volunteer to come up and put the pieces where they belong. Thats a good
looking plant. Does everyone agree that this is how this plant should look? Wait just a
second. Alright. Fantastic. So, you guys seem to understand what the basic parts of a
plant are. So now we are going to go over what these parts are called and their basic
functions. Now, I want you guys to remember that plants are like people. There are many
different kinds and exceptions to the usual things a plant may have. If you have
questions, please raise your hand and ask about anything that confuses you or interests
you.
Alright.
Who can tell me what this is? Point to the roots. Yep. Thats a roots. So on your worksheet,
find the roots and write ROOTS on the label. It is going to look very similar to these up
here. Good. Alright. So lets talk about the roots. Roots have two main jobs. We just
talked about how roots help the plant get water. So what happens is the roots are usually
in the ground, at least partially (show picture on smartboard of regular plant with roots
completely underground.) What happens is the water in the ground is absorbed by the
plants roots. Who can tell me some ways the ground may get water? Allow about five
answers. Good. So rain is what we usually think of when we think of the ground getting
water. So lets just keep it simple and say it rains. The ground soaks in the rain water.
From here, the plants can use their roots to absorb the water to use. The roots also

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absorb other stuff like minerals and nutrients the plants need to survive, just like we
need Vitamins and nutrients from our food to keep us healthy. So for roots I want you to
put a tab that says #1. On this tab, write ABSORBS WATER AND MINERALS.
Wait about one minute while students select a color pencil to write on this tab. On the next tab,
write #2. For this one we will write SUPPORTS PLANT. Have students write this. Lets talk
about this. We know the roots are good for bringing water into the plant. They also have
this really important job. Who remembers that really nasty thunderstorm last summer?
Raise hands. Remember the rain came down really hard and the winds were pretty strong.
Yeah, tore up roofs. And trees. Yeah, so when the trees came up, what did you see at the
bottom of the trees? ROOTS! Those roots are there to anchor the tree to the ground.
Sometimes, the weather is stronger than the roots and trees and other plants do come up
out of the ground. However, during normal circumstance, the roots hold the plant in the
ground. Without the roots, the plants would fall over and die. Take one of the plants out of
the dirt and cut the roots off of it. Place it back into the dirt. Alright, in the next week or so, we
will check on our rootless friend here and see how he is doing without his roots.
Next, we are going to talk about this part here. Point to the stem. Who can tell me what this
is called? Very good. A stem. Can anyone tell me what the stem of a plant may be good
for? Accept about two answers. So the stem of a plant is useful for a couple of things. Both
uses are similar to the uses of the roots. The stem takes the water and nutrients the roots
absorb and transport them to the other parts of the plant to keep those cells healthy and
nourished. The stem also provides support for the plant. What does a flower look like
with a wilty stem? Have students describe this. Yeah so its floppy. This causes problems
for the plant. Just like we have a backbone and a throat, the plant has a stem. Take out a
sheet of paper from your science folder. I want you to draw me two different stems. One
that is healthy and one that is sick/wilty. Allow about two minute for students to draw with
their colored pencils a straight stem and one that is wilted over. Walk around to see their
progress. That is great. So, What does the stem do? Yeah. It supports the plant. What
else? Good. Water transportation. Take another plant and cut out the stem and put it back on
the flower pot. So, Im thinking this one wont do so well. What do you guys think?
Next, We will look at the job of these. Point to leaves on board. What are these called?
Leaves. Yep. So the leaves have a really important job in plants. Not every plant has
leaves, but for those who do, they are vital to the survival of plants. Leaves capture the
sunlight that a plant needs to make food for itself. Yeah, I know that this sounds a little
strange-making food out of sunlight? What do you guys think about that? Allow students
to make any comment they want.
So later this week, we are going to talk about this whole making food out of sunlight
thing. The process is called Photosynthesis. Its pretty complicated, but we will cover
some of the basic aspects of Photosynthesis and how it works. For now, I want you all to
know that the leaves are the part of the plant designed to capture the sunlight that will be
needed for the plant to make food. So, on that tab, I want you to write CAPTURES
SUNLIGHT for the leaves. I will take another plant and cut off the leaves. Lets see how well
our little plant does without its leaves at the end of the week.

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Finally, lets talk about the most familiar part of the plant. The Flower. Who can come up
here and point to the flower? Allow a student to walk up and point. Then sit back down.
Great. Now, flowers are important parts of the plant- not just because they are pretty.
Remember, plants are like people. Not all of them have the same pieces necessarily-Not
all plants have flowers. However, the flower has an important job for the plants that do
have them. Who has any ideas of what the flower may do? Allow three (or so) answers.
Alright, so the flowers look pretty. That can be a good thing for the plant. The flower
looks pretty and that attracts animals, like bees, to the flower. What do bees do with
flowers? Allow answers and probe for pollination. Pollination. Who knows what pollination
is or can tell me something about it?
Yeah, so pollination part of the process of a plants reproduction. The flower is typically
the place where the seeds are located. Seeds are the tiny little plant eggs so to speak
that need to be fertilized in order to become a plant and grow. Plants have the male
genetics and female parts. The seeds are the female parts and the pollen is their male
counterparts. (like people)
I wont necessarily test you on how pollination works, but I want you to understand why
the flowers are important on plants. Flowers house the seeds that get spread around to
different areas by various animals and the wind. The flower has pollen that is spread to
other plants with flower to fertilize their seeds.
Plants dont have babies like people and animals do. But, the pollen on one plant will
be transferred by animals like bees to other plants with flowers. This is necessary for
plants to spread their genetics around to other plants. So flowers are meant for
reproduction purposes.
On that tab, I want you to write REPRODUCTION.
Fantastic. So now you all have a study sheet. It should have ROOTS that are there for
support and to absorb water/ nutrients. It should have the STEM, which is there for
structure support and the transportation of water/nutrients. You should have labeled
LEAVES as the capturers of sunlight. Finally, your papers should have the FLOWER on
the top, that is responsible for reproduction.

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This is the chart they will fill out during the lesson.

Pass out the computers. Alright, In just a few minutes we will be doing a practice sheet. First, I
want you guys to do some practice here on the computer. This is the link (write on board)
http://www.phschool.com/science/biology_place/biocoach/plants/basic.html Take about ten minutes
and do this. Raise your hand and I will help you if you need it. As you are doing this activity, think
about ways you can remember the details and descriptions. See if you can come up with creative
ways to remember the descriptions. Maybe a rhyme or a story that will help you. Alright. ten
minutes or so. Go ahead.

We will do a sheet from memory with you all labeling the parts and offering a couple word
description if you can. This is a practice. I will take it up and look over them tonight. If you do well
on it, I may use it as bonus points on this test.
Walk around and help the students if they are struggling with coming up with memory tricks. Then, pass
out the worksheet. Allow the students 5-10 minutes to do the worksheet.

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This is the worksheet they will fill out as practice.

I will collect the worksheet and pass out materials to do the next art project they will take home
at the end of the day. Fantastic. I will look at these tonight and let you know tomorrow how
you did on the practice. Some of you may get some bonus on your tests next week.
Now, I want you guys to make a project here for the majority of the rest of the class. Put
up this picture on the smartboard. I want you guys to make something like this. Be creative.
Its your artwork. Show me what you see when you see a plant. I will walk around for the
next 20 minutes and help students with questions.

This is something similar to what I would want the students to

create. It will show me that they understand where the parts go
and I will ask them to include a three or four word description on
a colorful tab that can be unfolded under the label, just like their
notes.

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Tonight, I want you guys to look over your notes sheet. Think about the practice sheet:
what you felt you did well on and what you struggled with. Tomorrow, we will have a
matching type vocabulary quiz on these words. I will give you the words in a word bank
and the definitions/descriptions of the functions.
For the rest of the class, we are going to elaborate on something we briefly discussed
with flowers.
Pull up a picture of apple trees, helicopter trees, and dandelions. So, did you guys see a
flower on the helicopter tree? Not really. But these are plants right? They would have to
have seeds or spores of some sort to reproduce. Guess where the seeds are? Talk about
it in your pods. Allow about 3 minutes of discussion. Allow student groups to share with the
class. So tomorrow, we are going to talk about seeds and spores: what they are in a little
more detail and why they are important to a plants.

Products:
-

The student will complete a worksheet with labels and descriptions

The student will create a basic plant art project

Assessment:
Asking questions
Having students participate on the board
Practice sheet
Checking to see if notes sheet is filled in
For homework, they are to study the vocabulary and will be assessed the
following day

Closure: After the seeds and spores introduction, I will ask the students to put away their
computers and go get out the items needed for the next section. I will remind them that they will
have a vocabulary quiz tomorrow- to review their notes.

Homework: The students will be asked to take home their plant structure sheet in their folders
to study for a vocabulary quiz the following day. They will also be asked to write down at least
one creative idea they have for their art project if they have not started the project in class.

Differentiation: See 3 forms

Materials/ Equipment:

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Student computers
Felt for board
Smart board

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Differentiation of Instruction

Tier 1 Analysis
Lesson Clarity

-scripting
-asking questions
-probing
-writing 3 part objectives
-having resources available
-precise directions
-assessments
-structuring
-using students ideas/ contributions
-instructional variety
-student engagement
-making the lesson detailed

Instructional Variety

-visual/spatial intelligence
-verbal/linguistic intelligence
-math/logical intelligence
-artistic
-nature intelligence
-interpersonal intelligence
-intrapersonal intelligence

Student Engagement

-questioning/probing
-blank page to fill out during lesson
-writing on the board
-group participation
- student participation in felt activity

Student Success Rate

80% or higher on practice sheet

85% on internet activity (they can use notes)
Completion of art project- 100%

Using Student Ideas/ Contributions

-asking students to survey what they might have

already know about plants
-questions
-individual ideas are given in the group

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Questioning/ Probing

-Introduction
-Connecting to prior learning (about ancient
electricity)
-informal assessments
-during group work
- during lecture

Signaling/ Structuring

Signaling:-Students will be switching from math to

science
- signals to work in groups back to
whole class lecture
- signal when to work individually on
art projects
- signal to work individually on
computer activity
*The signal to switch the last two activities will be
keyed by key questions and statements.
Structuring:
-Bridge the previous material (electricity) to the
new material
-bridge to what they already know about plants
-

Tier 2 Analysis

connection to human biology

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Modifications for a Slow Learner

Content Change
Process Changes

Product Changes

No modification
-Break down directions
-repetition
-ask comprehension questions
-check for understanding each step
-direct questioning
-summarize
-physical engagement (going to the
board to point out plant parts)
- *Heterogeneous grouping
-pair with advanced student if needed
for computer activity
-include print out of an overview of plant
structure filled out
- require student to write
the name of the parts of the plant;
without the description will be
acceptable
- the in class art project
may be incompleted or less
creative

Tier 2 Analysis

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Modifications for a student with ADHD

Content Changes

No Change

Process Changes

-more active involvement

-cover more important material during
the beginning of the day/class
-allow breaks
-increase teacher attention
-increase questioning
-allow doodling/drawing as a focus
technique
-reduce distractors
-proximity control
-print directions
-check for understanding
-use bring colors/paper
-increase student responsibility
-use a rewards system based on
student contract/behavior
management plan
-repetition
-breaking down activities
-shorter duration activities

Product Changes
-ask student fill out the labeling
practice and to color it in if they finish
early
-have student do more on their art
project as they finish their work
-provide a vocabulary crossword
puzzle for the child to do if they finish
the computer activity early