Life Processes of Plants

Virginia Standards of Learning: 1st grade science 1.4

Samantha Lane, Ingrid Jimenez, Michelle Ridder, Soo Lim, Cassidy Fleming

Describe Classroom Environment:

The classroom environment will allow for collaborative learning and open space for

students to move around in. There will be two large tables used for group work. These can be

places for small groups to collaborate when doing their activities in other subject matter. They

will be on either side of the room, with the desks in the middle of the room. The desks will be in

groups of four to five to allow for more group work and sharing of ideas. The classroom will

have one blackboard on the front wall and one promethean board on the back wall so the teacher

can use online resources in the classroom. The walls will be colorful and decorated with student

work, specifically those related to the current topics they are covering. There will be a window

on one wall of the classroom, and this is where the students will be able to put their plants so that

they can get enough sunlight. In addition to this, there will be a bathroom and sink in the

classroom. This will be an easy way for students to get water to take care of their plants and

wash their hands after working with them.

1. Math: There will be various nonstandard units of measurement at the math station. There
will also be a large piece of paper, where the students can write down their measurements.
The chart of the classrooms measurement will be taped on the wall towards the ground
so that students are able to write without having to stand up on a chair. This station will
be located in the back of the classroom at the teachers half circle table. There will be an
adult at this station to model efficient measuring skills. Students will be encouraged to
talk out loud when counting the nonstandard units of measurement.
2. Social Studies: In preparation for the video that will be watched, make sure that

BrainPOP is pulled up on the SmartBoard or any other form of it. Log in to account and
 pull up video on George Washington Carver to save time. Have unshelled peanuts ready

at the students desks or tables for exploration. You can have magnifying glasses if

desired. Also at the students desks or tables, have sheets of paper for them to create

thinking maps or graphic organizers.

3. Art: In the art station, blank printer paper will be available for student use as will crayons,

colored pencils, erasers, scissors, glue, markers, and rulers. Student work from previous

art projects will be displayed around the art center and a small table for a group of

students to work at will be available. The materials in the art center will all be available

for student use, without the supervision of an adult.

4. Music: The music section will take place on a huge rug that is in a central area of the

classroom. There will be a CD player plugged in by the rug so that the students can press

play and listen/sing along to the Plant Cycle Song. Headphones will be provided for

those who wish to listen to the song by themselves quietly.

5. Science: The science section will be mainly put in the corner of the room with the

window so that the plants can get enough sunlight. There will be pictures showing

different parts of the plant and pictures the students have drawn of their plants so far.

There will be a place set aside to store soil for the cups, and there will be watering

utensils that will be easy for the students to hold and use. The students will be able to

come and take care of their plants during science time.

**The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle will be read to set the stage for our unit on the life processes

of plants.**
Motivation of Literacy:

It is extremely important to get students excited about reading and writing while studying

other subjects. In order to keep students motivated during our reading and writing activities, we

will make sure that our lessons are interactive, engaging, and developmentally appropriate for

each child in the classroom. We will devote an appropriate amount of time to complete each

activity so that we can hold the students attention and keep them active in their learning. We

will incorporate the ideas of concept of print, oral language, comprehension, and phonological

awareness.

To further enforce this lesson, The Tiny Seed by: Eric Carle will be read aloud by the

teacher to the entire class. The teacher will need the read aloud book and approximately 10-15

minutes to complete the entire book. The teacher will read the book to the class, while

incorporating critical thinking questions to keep students engaged in the story. By developing

these critical thinking and open-ended questions, the students will be able listen to the story and

begin to think about how they will create their own book based on Carles story.

Oral Language:

The students will use oral language to recall and discuss with a partner the chronological

order of the life cycle of plants after the completion of The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle read aloud.

The students will also expand understanding and use of new word meanings by listening and

speaking to peers using the new vocabulary from the read aloud. WIth their partners, the students

will be able to adapt or change oral language to fit the situation. They will ask and respond to

questions orally. Through this, the students will demonstrate their comprehension of the read
aloud as well as their comprehension of the life cycle of plants while expanding their oral

language.

Writing:

After listening to the processes of plants read aloud book, students will write their own

mini book about how a plant begins as a seed and, after being planted, watered, and given

sunlight, the seed will grow into a fully developed flower. By doing this, students will not only

develop their writing skills, but will demonstrate knowledge of concept of print. Teachers will

provide blank paper, pencils, crayons, markers, and will hole punch pages of the mini books,

tying them together with string. This project will be completed over the course of the unit, and

different pages of the book will be completed based on the topic for the day (i.e. the page in

which the plants are shown as seeds will be created during the day that the class learns about

seeds. The page in which the plants grow and begin to bloom will be created the day that the

class learns about blossoming.) As they learn about each stage, students will be instructed to

come up with a sentence about each stage of the process and draw a corresponding picture.

Phonological Awareness:

Since the students will be working on their mini-books throughout the entire unit, it is

important for them to share their creations and ideas with their peers to evaluate if theyre

learning from the activity. As previously mentioned, the students will journal in their mini-books

after each new lesson about their plant project. Once they have completed their journal for that

day, they will choose a partner to share their writing and picture with. They will then read their

journal to their partner and will describe their picture to their partner. The teacher will walk
around the room and listen to the students explaining their page. While doing so, they will listen

to evaluate a students ability to decode phonemes and their clarity when reading their sentences.

They will also listen to the students ability to form coherent sentences when they are talking

about their pictures. If they have time, the teacher can ask a few students to present their page to

the whole class as well.

Centers:

Science:

SOL Standards: SOL 1.4: The student will investigate and understand that plants have basic life

needs and functional parts and can be classified according to certain characteristics.

a) plants need nutrients, air, water, light, and a place to grow

b) basic parts of plants

c) plants can be classified based on a variety of characteristics

Objective: The students will observe and discuss the changes that occur in a growing plant and

record them in a journal.

Activity: Since the class will be learning about the life processes of plants and how they grow, it

is only appropriate that they are given the opportunity to see this happen in real life in their

classroom as well. Therefore, the students will be able to grow their own plant in the classroom

to observe its changes over time. This lesson will take place over the course of a month in the

beginning of the school year or at the end of the school year when there is enough sunlight to

sustain growth. The materials needed to do this assignment are: mini pots, soil, seeds, water,

sunlight, markers, paper cups, watering tool, sharpie, and tape. Students will place their plants by

the window, which is located in the back of the classroom. Students will be given a pot and
sharpie to write their names on the pot. Next, the students will be asked to put one scoop of soil

into their pot. Then, the teacher will give one seed to each student and direct the children to use

their hands to bury the seed in the soil. Lastly, the teacher will direct the students to place their

plant by the window in the back of the classroom by the windows. In this area, there will be a

watering tool. The teacher will demonstrate how much water the students should pour when

watering their plants. Students will be advised to add a certain amount of water to the soil from

getting too damp. The children will be given the opportunity to water their plants during the

science block on a daily basis, or however often the plants need to be watered. The process of

setting up the plant projects will take up to an hour; the teacher should leave about 15 minutes

for the cleanup process. The students will be able to observe the growth of these plants over the

course of a month and have a chance to record what they see as their plant grows. It is important

to note that all of the other centers in this thematic unit will be related to this project. This will

serve as the center for all of the other ones to be based on, and the students will use their plants

to learn about math, social studies, and music in the classroom.

Math:

SOL standards: Mathematics

Measurement:

1.12: The student will use nonstandard units to measure length and weight.

Number and Number Sense:

1.1: The student will count objects in a given set containing between 1 and 100 objects and write

the corresponding numeral.

Objective: The students will use oral communication when communicating with their partner

and use their writing skills to record the measurements.

Activity: The students have planted their seeds and labeled their pot. When the students get to

the math station, they will pick up their plant, which has their first and last name written on the

front. The children will use nonstandard units to measure the length of their plant. Students will

be asked to first predict the height of their plant using the following objects: pom-pom, a dice, a

paper clip, and jelly bean. Then, the students will be directed to measure the length of their plant

using the objects described above. Students will work in pairs so that one student can place their

finger on where the object landed in regards to the length of the plant; they will continue this

process until they have finished measuring the plant. The teacher will model how to effectively

measure using nonstandard units so that the students can practice measuring accurately. When all

the students are done measuring how many nonstandard units it took to measure the plant, they

will be asked to write down their answers on the Classroom Plant Measurement Chart attached

below. The left side of the chart should include the names of the students in the class and the top

section of the chart includes the nonstandard units that were used the measure the plants. The

students will write down the number of units it took to measure their plant. For example, if I

counted 3 jelly beans when measuring the length of my plant, I would put 3 next to my name

under Jelly Beans (shown below). A follow up activity that the teacher could do after all the

students have measured using nonstandard units would be to construct a classroom bar chart

using the information we collected.

Pom-poms Dice Paperclip Jelly Beans

Soo 3

Ella

Nicole
James

Mack

Jin

Seth

Objective 2: The students will practice oral communication skills as they compare measurements

with one another.

Activity 2: When the class has recorded every students measurements in regards to the length of

their plant, the class will get together in the front of the classroom to discuss why some students

plants were longer or shorter than others. We will do simple subtraction problems to compare

how much longer or shorter the longest plant was from the shortest plant, etc. We will also

discuss how long we waited to measure the length of the plants in regards to time. The class will

engage in conversation about the factors that contributed to the growth or lack of growth in their

plant. For example, if Soos plant was sitting in the middle by the windows and Ingrids plant

was located at the end of the window, the students could hypothesize that Soos plant grew more

because it received more sunlight and so forth.

Social Studies:

Objective: Students will describe the story of American leader, George Washington Carver, and

his contributions to our country.

Objective: The students will explain the meaning of agriculture and invention

Objective: The students create graphic organizers with at least five uses for the peanut

Activity:

Materials:
 Bag of unshelled peanuts
Blank paper
Computer and projector/TV to watch the BrainPOP Jr. movie
Magnifying glasses (optional)

Vocabulary:

agriculture; crop rotation; nutrients; invention

Preparation:

Check students health records to make sure no students have peanut allergies, as these can be
life-threatening. Preview the George Washington Carver movie on BrainPOP Jr. to familiarize
yourself with the content and set up the computer so students can view it.

Lesson Procedure:

1. Hold up an unshelled peanut and ask if students know what it is. Demonstrate how to
crack open a peanut and explore the contents inside.
2. Give each child a peanut and allow the class to open their shells and examine the peanuts
up close. Provide magnifying glasses if desired to help children make observations and
describe what they see.
3. Tell the class that the peanuts they hold in their hand can be used to make all kinds of
amazing products. Ask students to name items that are made from peanuts.
4. Explain that a man named George Washington Carver discovered hundreds of uses for
peanuts, including paint, laundry soap, shaving cream, lotion, ink, paper, and mayonnaise.
5. Allow children to eat their peanuts and clear away their trash while you introduce the
vocabulary in the BrainPOP movie. Students can sketch or write key words to take notes.
Watch the George Washington Carver movie on BrainPOP. Use closed captioning to
reinforce the concepts. Pause the movie during key concepts and vocabulary to discuss
with students.
6. After the movie, have students independently create thinking maps or graphic organizers
to show possible uses for the peanut. Encourage children to draw or write at least five
uses. Then they will get into small groups and share their uses.

Art:

Objective: The students will recall what they have learned about the life process of plants and

practice fine motor skills while drawing and writing about the stages of plant growth.

Activity: After planting seeds and observing the changes over time as part of a science center,

students will draw pictures to depict the changes they saw in the science project. The students
will be instructed to separate a blank piece of paper into 6 parts, and in each part draw what they

saw in each of the different stages: seeds, seeds planted in dirt, water and sunlight, sprouts, the

first sign of bloom, fully developed blossom. Students will be provided with a piece of paper, a

marker to label each of the stages, and colored pencils to complete their drawings.

Music:

The Plant Cycle Song (to the tune of Call Me Maybe)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a9uQo89c2o
From Chapman School, by Ms. Rosoff

There is a story we learned

About the way plants are formed
We want to share it with you
And plant it in your mind

Picture a tree in your head,

With flowers blooming in beds
Colorful petals abound,
Why are these bees around?

They smell the fragrance

And they see the colors
They are getting hungry.
Where do you think theyre going now?

The pollinator visits the flower

It sucks the nectar and picks up pollen
And then it travels
To the next flower
It drops the pollen
And makes a seed
And fruit develops
Around the seed
And then gets eaten
By you and me.
The seeds will get dispersed
Around the land
Then germinate into a plant

It then grows roots, stems and leaves

And flowers now can you see
The way some plants come to be?
The cycle starts again
Picture a tree in your head
With flowers blooming in beds
Colorful petals abound
Why are there birds around?
They smell the fragrance
And they see the flowers
They are getting hungry.
Where you think their going now?

The pollinator visits the flower

It sucks the nectar and picks up pollen
And then it travels
To the next flower
It drops the pollen
And makes a seed
And fruit develops
Around the seed
And then gets eaten
By you and me.
The seeds will get dispersed
Around the land
Then germinate into a plant
Butterflies, birds, bats, and bees
We need them so bad,
We need them so bad,
We need them so, so bad.
Butterflies, birds, bats and bees
We need them so bad,
And you should know that,
We need them so, so bad.

Bibliography:

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carl http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tiny-seed-eric-

carle/1100185949?ean=9780689842443&st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Core+Shopping+Books_000

00000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP67429

From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons

https://www.walmart.com/ip/25661432?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227018674674&wl

0=&wl1=s&wl2=c&wl3=53082670488&wl4=pla-

75171952248&wl5=9060116&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl

12=25661432&wl13=&veh=sem

Oh Say Can You Seed by Dr. Seuss

http://www.the-best-childrens-books.org/plants-for-kids.html

Hungry Plants by Mary Batten

http://www.the-best-childrens-books.org/Hungry-Plants.html

Food:

The Magic School Bus Plants a Seed by: Joannah Coal (Genre: Informational/Classic/Fantasy)

http://www.the-best-childrens-books.org/The-Magic-School-Bus-Plants-Seeds.html

How Do Plants Grow? By: Louise Spilsbury (Genre: Nonfiction)

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11318680-how-do-plants-grow

Flower Garden by Eve Bunting (Genre: Rhyming Book)

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/flower-garden-eve-

bunting/1100156636/2675503984928?st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Marketplace+Shopping+Profes

sional_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP3644&k_clickid=3x3644

Because of An Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer (Genre: Picture Book / Non-Fiction)

https://www.amazon.com/Because-Acorn-Lola-M-

Schaefer/dp/1452112428/ref=zg_bs_3267_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SGSDAAVW

C84R64785DYW

Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Elhert

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GLA0238/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Ready, Set, Grow!: A Kid's Guide to Gardening

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=N80TyGGRk1wC&source=productsearch&utm_

source=HA_Desktop_US&utm_medium=SEM&utm_campaign=PLA&pcampaignid=MKTAD0

930BO1