UNLV/Department of Teaching & Learning

Elementary Lesson Plan Template

UNLV Student:
Lesson Plan Title:

Alexandria Finelli
How Plants Grow

PSMT Name:
Lesson Plan Topic:

Date:
Grade Level:

2/10/14
2nd

Estimated Time:
School Site:

Brittany Boyle
Reading, Writing,
Science
26 minutes
Roundy

1. State Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to
demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.2
Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and
definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
2. Teaching Models:
Direct
Co-teaching models: One Teaching/One Observing and One Teach/One Assist
3. Objectives:
1. The student will ask and answer questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to
demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
2. The student will write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic,
use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
4. Materials and Technology Resources:
Book How Plants Grow by Angela Royston
Video Plant Life Cycle on turtlediary.com
SmartBoard/Elmo Projector
29 Flow Maps
29 Pencils

Will use Lemovs Cold-Call strategy when calling on students.

Will use Lemovs Wait Time strategy when calling on students to answer.
Before lesson begins: (2 minutes)
1. Students will be directed to sit on the area rug.

2. Teacher will go over behavior expectations with students. (Raising hands if have a
question, sitting quietly with eyes on teacher)
3. Teacher will go over quiet signal that will be used for lesson: Peanut butter and jelly.
(Teacher will say: peanut butter and; then students will say: jelly)
4. Teacher will let students know that we will be watching a video on the plant life
cycle
5. Teacher will ask students:
Question: What is a plant life cycle? (Blooms-Knowledge)
6. Teacher will call on several students to answer. Based on student responses, teacher
will develop further questions.
5. Instructional Procedures: (Estimated Time: 24 minutes)
a. Motivation/Engagement: (Estimated Time: 3 minutes)
1. Teacher will show video Plant Life Cycle from Turtlediary.com on the
SmartBoard.
2. During the video, teacher will pause certain parts of the video and ask
questions, such as:
Question: What is the very first stage of the plant life cycle? (BloomsKnowledge) (Seed)
Question: Why is water important for plants? (Blooms-Comprehension) (It
helps them grow well)
3. After the end of the video, teacher will ask:
Question: What can happen when a seed drops on the ground and gets
covered with soil? (Blooms-Comprehension) (A new plant can grow)
4. Teacher will also ask students:
Question: Who can explain the life cycle of a plant? (BloomsComprehension) (Seed-roots-stem-leaves-buds-flowers-fruits-seeds)
5. Teacher will go over the objective of the lesson with students: that we will be
naming the different parts of a plant, we will then be reading a book on how
plants grow, and then writing a flow map on how a plant grows.
b. Developmental Activities or Learning Experiences: (Estimated Time: 19 minutes)
(Steps 1-3: 3 minutes; steps 4-8: 5 minutes; steps 9-24: 4 minutes; steps 25-28: 1
minute; step 29: 5 minutes; steps 30-31: 1 minute)
1. Teacher will display the next slide of the Plant Life Cycle on
turtlediary.com.
2. Teacher will go over with students that we will be naming the different
parts of a plant, and will be calling on students to come up to the board to
click and drop different parts of the plant to label the picture.
3. Teacher will call on students to come up to the SmartBoard to click on a
part of the plant and drop it on the picture to label the plant. Teacher will
begin from the bottom of the plant to the top. Teacher will ask students
questions, such as:
Question: What is the part of the plant that begins to grow first?
(Blooms-Knowledge) (Roots)

4.
5.

6.
7.

8.

Question: What is the part of the plant called that is connected to the
roots? (Blooms-Knowledge) (Stem)
Question: What is part of the plant that is connected to the stem?
(Blooms-Knowledge) (Leaf)
Question: What is part of the plant that a flower starts to grow from?
(Blooms-Knowledge) (Bud)
Question: What is part of the plant that helps the plant get seeds?
(Blooms-Knowledge) (Flower)
Question: What is not part of the plant that helps it grow? (BloomsKnowledge) (Sun)
Teacher will present the book How Plants Grow by Angela Royston to the
class.
Teacher will ask students questions regarding the review of the book
(students were read to book to the day before)
Question: What did you learn from reading this book yesterday?
(Blooms-Comprehension) (Further questions will stem from students
responses)
Teacher will read aloud the book How Plants Grow (pg. 10-15, pg. 5, and
pg. 28-29) by Angela Royston to the class. (Pictures will be shown as
teacher reads)
Teacher will ask questions during the reading of the book, such as:
-After reading pg. 10:
Question: What is inside each seed? (DOK-Level 1) (A plant)
-After reading pg. 11:
Question: From looking at the illustration, what is a shoot? (DOK-Level
2) (The first part of the plant that grows up out of the seed that you will
see growing out of the soil)
-After reading pg. 12:
Question: What helps the plant grow well? (DOK-Level 1) (Water and
sunlight)
-After reading pg. 13:
Question: What do the roots on a plant do? (DOK-Level 1) (Take in
water and nutrients to the plant from the soil)
Question: How does the stem help the plant? (DOK-Level 1) (Holds up
the plant-its flowers and leaves)
-After reading pg. 5:
Question: What are some examples of some plants? (DOK-Level 1)
(Trees, flowers, bushes, etc.)
-After reading pg. 28-29:
Question: Which two bowls would grow the best, and why? (DOK-Level
2) (The two bowls near the window which get water added to because they
are getting water and sunlight which helps them grow well.)
Teacher will ask students:
Question: After reading the book, how would you explain how a plant
grows? (DOK-Level 2) (Answers will vary. Starts out as a seed, shoot

comes up, roots, stems, and leaves start to grow, water and sunlight help
the plant grow, roots take in water for the plant).
9. Teacher will display the flow map on the SmartBoard.
10. Teacher will ask students:
Question: Do you know this? (Yes or no answer) (Students should know
as they have been using the flow maps for some time now for their
writing)
Question: Why do we use this? (Blooms-Comprehension) (To organize
our ideas)
11. Teacher will let students know that we will be writing an informative
text for our flow maps regarding how plants grow.
12. Teacher will ask students:
Question: What is informative text? (Blooms-Comprehension) (Text that
informs the reader or gives the reader information)
13. Teacher will go over the introduction sentence with students. (Sentence
that introduces what we are going to write about or inform the reader of)
14. Teacher will ask students:
Question: What would you write for an introduction sentence? (DOKLevel 1)
15. Teacher will use Think-Pair-Share Kagan strategy for the
introduction sentence. (Students will think for an introduction sentence,
pair with the person next to them, and then share with that person their
ideas).
16. Teacher will ask a pair of students to share their ideas.
17. If teacher believes their ideas can work, then teacher will ask students to
put their thumbs up for which idea they would like to have written for the
intro sentence. If teacher believes ideas need more work, then she can add
to it and ask students if that would work better.
18. Teacher will write out the introduction sentence on the flow map displayed
on the SmartBoard.
19. Teacher will ask students:
Question: Do you know what detail sentences are? (Yes or no question)
Question: What are detail sentences? (DOK-Level 1) (Ideas or facts that
add to what we wrote in our introduction sentence)
Question: What could we write for a detail sentence? (Responses will
vary)
20. Teacher will write out one of a students good responses of a detail
sentence.
21. Teacher will let students know that they will be writing out the rest of the
detail sentences on their own based on what they learned from the video
and the reading.
22. Teacher will ask students:
Question: What is a conclusion sentence? (DOK-Level 1) (A sentence
that concludes what we wrote)

23. Teacher will let students know that they will write out their own
conclusion sentence on their own and that they can even add a ques. to ask
the reader for their concluding sentence.
24. Teacher will briefly go over the flow map instructions again.
25. Teacher will go over with students the time allotted to complete the flow
map. (If maps do not get completed, then they can work on them when
working in small groups or the next day to complete)
26. Teacher will go over the behavior expectations with students again.
(Raising hands if have a question, working quietly and independently)
27. Teacher will ask which student would like to volunteer to hand out the
flow maps and have them hand them out.
28. Teacher will call on table numbers to go back to their seats to get started
on their flow maps.
29. Teacher will walk around the room with the formative assessment sheet to
formally assess students understanding of how a plant grows and writing
an informative text.
30. When there are 3 minutes left in the lesson, teacher will have the paper
passer collect the papers if students have finished their flow maps, and
have the students put their papers in their folders if they need to finish it
later.
31. Teacher will direct students back on the area rug.
c. Closure: (Estimated Time: 2 minutes)
1. Teacher will ask students:
Question: What did you learn today about how plants grow from the video
we watched and the book we read? (Blooms-Comprehension)
2. Teacher will have students share with the person next to them what they
learned.
3. Teacher and students will discuss as a class what they learned.
4. Teacher will let students know that we will be keeping an eye out on their
growing plants activity that they started the day before to watch and observe
how plants grow.
d. Extension:
1. If time remains in the lesson, students will continue finishing up their flow
maps. If certain students finished early, then they can add more details about plants on the
back of the flow map paper.
2. If lesson needs to be cut short, then students will finish what they have written
(will finish later) and share/review as a class what they learned regarding plants.
6. Accommodations, Modifications and Differentiations for Diverse Learners: The whole
class are ELLs.
Accommodations:
Instructions for the flow map will be repeated. Vocabulary and key terms will be taught
through visuals on the video Plant Life Cycle on turtlediary.com.

Modifications: Students will be given more wait-time to answer questions. Students

responses will be repeated. Visuals will be included in the lesson: The video Plant Life
Cycle on turtlediary.com will be shown on the SmartBoard so that all students can see
the video. The illustrations from the book How Plants Grow by Angela Royston will be
shown so that all students can see. Questions that teacher asks will be simplified.
Differentiations: The video will help to address students ability to understand orally
and/or and visually. Vocabulary will also be addressed through the video-orally and
visually. Students will also be able to see visuals and hear orally when the book is read
aloud.

7. Assessment and Evaluation of Learning:

a. Formative: Teacher will observe and check for student understanding during the lesson
when students go over the details/facts in the book read. Teacher will also observe and
check for student understanding when students share their ideas regarding the flow map
gone together during class. Teacher will also observe and check for student understanding
when walking around the room with the formative assessment sheet to formally assess
students understanding of how a plant grows and writing an informative text.
b. Summative: Teacher will check to see what students learned during the closure.
Teacher will also check to see what students learned from checking over their completed
flow maps.
8. Homework Assignment: Not necessary if class objectives are met during class time.
9. Reflection: (Will be completed once lesson is taught)
a. Strengths:
b. Concerns:
c. Insights: