KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

PROFESSIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAM
LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate: Quentin Shaffer Date: September 4th, 2018

Cooperating Teacher: Samantha Moyer Coop. Initials: _________
Group Size: 24 Allotted Time: 30 minutes Grade Level: 3rd
Subject or Topic: Origins of a Seed – Seed Search Section: EEU 596

STANDARD: (PA Common Core):

- 3-LS1: Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life
cycles, but all have common birth, growth, reproduction, and death
I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes)

- The third grade student will be able to observe and compare characteristics of seeds and
fruits

II. Instructional Materials

- Composition Notebook
- Notebook Sheet 1: Comparing Seeds
- FOSS Science Resource: Structures of Life; The Reason for Fruit
- Plastic knives
- 3-5 bean/pea pods
- 4-6 different fruits
o 2 oranges
o 2 pears
o 2 apples
- Paper/plastic plates
- Paper towels

III. Subject Matter/ Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea, new content)

- Prerequisite Skills
o One to one correspondence
o Counting
o Estimating
- Key Vocabulary
o Seeds reproduce
o Survive
o Fruit
o Structure
o Embryo
o Protection
o Dispersal
 - Big Idea
o Seeds develop in the plant part called a fruit.
o Different kinds of fruits have different kinds of and numbers of seeds
o Seeds have a variety of characteristics

- New Content
o Pose the question: “What is a fruit?”
 Ask students for responses
 State that a fruit is the part or structure of a plant that contains seeds
o Pose the question: “How are seeds alike and different?”

IV. Implementation

A. Introduction (5 – 10 minutes)–
a. “Good morning ladies and gentlemen, throughout the next month and a half
we will be exploring different kinds of plants and animals; afterwards, we
hope to answer where organisms come from and how they survive. Today;
however, we are going to be starting with the smallest organism that we can
hold in our hand…. a seed.”
i. Show seeds to students
ii. Pose the question. “Do seeds have life cycles.... why or why not?”
1. Ask students to discuss with their group for one minute
2. Come back to whole group and discuss answers
a. One volunteer from each group
b. Pose the question: “What is a fruit?”
i. Ask students for responses
ii. State that a fruit is the part or structure of a plant that contains seeds
B. Development ( 17 - 20 minutes) –

o Create Venn diagram on smartboard for comparison between fruit and bean pods
o Show whole class a fruit: Orange
 Pose the question: “This is a fruit, right?”
 Students respond with yes or no
 Pose the question: “Why is or why isn’t an orange a fruit?”
 Ask students to answer the question
 Ask whole class to describe the orange
 Preferred answers include: size, shape, color, texture, smell, etc.
o Show whole class a fruit: Bean pod
 Pose the question: “This is a fruit, right?”
 Students respond with yes or no
 Pose the question: “Why is or why isn’t a bean pod a fruit?”
 Ask students to answer the question
 Ask whole class to describe the orange
 Preferred answers include: size, shape, color, texture, smell, etc.
o Distribute plastic knives to each group as well as Notebook Sheet 1: Comparing
Seeds
 “With the knives that have just been passed out to you, CAREFULLY
open the fruit/bean or pea pod you have been given”
  As the students are “seed searching”, tell them that each seed contains a
dormant plant and explain that things such as squash, tomatoes, beans are
considered vegetables; however, since they have seeds then they are
considered fruits
 Have students from each group count how many seeds each fruit or pod
has as well as describing the seeds in terms of small or big, round or flat,
rough or smooth, hard or soft
 Graph the amount of seeds
 Write down characteristics of the seeds

C. Closure ( 5 minutes) –

o Review what a fruit is

 things such as squash, tomatoes, beans are considered vegetables;
however, since they have seeds then they are considered fruits
o Pose the question: “How are seeds alike and different?”
 Have students write down their answers and turn it in for an “exit slip”
o What did you enjoy about today’s activity?

D. Accommodations / Differentiation -

- 1st Class:
o Chris E
o Evan Gish
o Sam G
o Sarabeth M

- 2nd Class:
o Riley D
o Ivan F
o Cassidy H
o Sully H
o Jordan R
o Rachel SJ

E. Assessment/Evaluation plan
1. Informal: Exit slip
2. Formative: Notebook responses, survey of seeds
3. Summative: None until Part 5 of Unit

V. Reflective Response

A. Report of Students’ Performance in Terms of States Objectives (Reflection on

students’ performance written after lesson is taught, includes remediation for students
who failed to meet acceptable level of achievement)

B. Personal Reflection
Were my directions clear and understandable?
Did I have good time management?
VI. Resources
- Investigation 1 - Origin of Seeds. (2015). In Structures of Life: Investigations Guide (pp.
81-144). Nashua, NH: Delta Education.

- Structures of Life: FOSS Science Resources. The reason for Fruit. (2015). Nashua, NH:
Delta Education.