Hodge Ty Hodge November 30, 2012 Science Lesson Professor Bergey What(Re-written on the website.

): )During this lesson students will be planting and growing their own plants. At the beginning of the lesson students will be shown all the materials. They will be asked to identify the items and asked to talk about what they think we are going to do with these items. Students will be able to touch and explore the items. This will be a new experience for the students as they rarely get to work directly with materials. In fact, they are so often given materials that are already cut out for them or close to being finished. Now they will get the opportunity to be responsible for creating something from start to finish. Hopefully this exploration will also spark fruitful discussions about what the students already know about parts of a plant and how to grow seeds and tap into funds of knowledge they might already possess on this topic; perhaps one of my students tends to a garden regularly with a member of their family or they have visited a farm before where they have witnessed several methods of growing things. As they share their responses I will copy down their responses on the blackboard as a visual way to keep track of our ideas and as an assessment for later. Any deficits in thinking will be filled in with my suggestions and guided questions such as, what (else) do seeds need to grow? Next, students will be introduced to the purpose of our lesson which is indeed planting our own seeds. I will show the students and model what I expect during this activity with my own cup, rocks, soil and seeds; however students will be responsible for retrieving and measuring their own supplies. Usually in first grade students would focus on the mechanism of growth and growing seeds without soil, however since this will be the students first time growing seeds at all in school it would be beneficial to them to show them all the components necessary to grow a seed and show them what is happening to the seed under the soil by growing seeds in napkins as well. This lesson will work together nicely with the literacy unit on fall the students have been doing, where they studied the change of the leaves for fall and the change of seasons. However since science seems to be solely introduced through a literacy lens I hope this experience will give students a more in depth look at plants and their life cycle. (This has all been moved to the pre-plnning part of my website as suggested. TVH) How: (Re-written on the website)(This too has been moved to the pre-planning part of my website TVH)During the school day the students rarely get on opportunity to move around their classroom. Students are frequently required to work for long periods of time at their desk, quietly with no talking. There seems to be very limited movement that is deemed okay in the classroom. Frequently worksheets and handouts are handed to each student by the teacher while they the student stays seated at their desk. In direct response to what I have witness in the classroom, much more movement will be allowed and expected during as the students gather materials to start their science project. Because this is counterintuitive to what students expect to take place during a lesson, it will be stated that it is okay to get up, and walk about to gather your supplies. This will be one of the first times students get to use something other than a pencil, crayon or piece of paper in class. Students will be getting their hands dirty with soil and exploring for themselves what a seed needs by directly giving it all the nutrients it needs. The dirt they play with outside will actually have meaningful purpose in school. There will be a reallife connection to what they experience outside and within the confines of school. Additionally 1

Comment [NRB1]: OK this is great, but most of it is not needed in this section. The discussion of how you came to decide on this lesson (and you can discuss the constellation possibility as well) should be in the lead in to the W, H, Why section. Here I just want two sentences about what will happen.

Hodge the students will be given a rare opportunity to investigate and explore the tasks for themselves and develop their own knowledge or solutions. If theyre off base I will guide their conversation to gardening, planting. Science naturally lends itself to investigation and collection of data, but it is applicable in other subject areas where people are developing critical thinking and investigation skills. Why: Ideally students would be introduced to an enriching hands on and materials based science curriculum from kindergarten however that is not the case at many schools including my site placement. My students have had very little interaction with science and getting their hands dirty during class time. I thought that this science lesson would be a great opportunity for a hands-on lesson. Much of the science curriculum they have seen so farchange and characteristics of the seasonshas been fully integrated into their literacy lessons; becoming very writing focused. Additionally many of the science lesson given have been very teacher centered while this science lesson lends itself to the teacher becoming more of a facilitator rather than the main possessor and communicator of instruction. Hopefully this lesson will show students how fun and interactive science can be. Goals/Objectives: SWBAT identify the major parts of a plant such as root, stem, leaf and petal (when applicable) (I kept this in because I wanted students to be able to see and name what the plant will eventually look like. I knew that I would be changing schools soon and as a result might not be able to follow up with these same kids. TVH) SWBAT explain the life cycle of plants and discuss conditions suitable for the germination of a seed (light, water and soil (when applicable)) With proper adult supervision, SWBAT replicate this planting experience experiment (I wasnt sure what to call it! So I reverted to experiment even though I doubted that it was supposed to be labeled that.) TVH on their own SWBAT discuss conditions suitable for the growth of plants. SWBAT plant seeds and care for the growing seedlings.

Comment [NRB2]: Again, much of this belongs in the pre-lesson section. These sections can be quite short what and how.

Comment [NRB3]: It seems to me that your major goals here are about planting a seed and understanding what will be necessary to raise the plant that is what should show up most in your objectives. Otherwise we are back to literacy, right? They are not going to have experience with the major parts of the plant or the whole life cycle here. Comment [NRB4]: This is not an experiment. (I dont expect that you should do an experiment, but lets not call it an experiment when it is not. It is a planting experience.

Materials and preparation: Styrofoam Cups Napkins Soil Lima bean seeds Rocks (Did not use rocks) Water Tape Markers (they get to write their name on the tape and room number) Classroom Arrangement and Potential Management Issues: Students will be in an unfamiliar environment as this science lesson will not be taking place in their regularly scheduled classroom. In addition to an unfamiliar classroom, typical first grade behavioural issues will be expected: sitting too close to one another, touching one another, conversations that are off topic 2

Hodge and shouting out without raising ones hand. Behavioural rules and expectations will be reviewed at the beginning of the lessonthe same consequences (clothes pin chart) that apply in the classroom will be applicable here during this lesson. When possible distracting behaviour will be immediately addressed otherwise students will be spoken to directly after the lesson. Plan: Vocabulary: Observe, Germinate, Nutrients, Seed, Roots, Stem, Petals, Leaves 1. Use small Styrofoam cups. Punch small holes at the bottom of the containers. Tell the students that when the seeds grow and the roots get larger, they need air. Water is important, but too much water sitting in the container can "rot" the roots. The rocks are used to prevent the roots from touching the bottom and getting water soaked. Instruct students to place a few small rocks on the bottom of the Styrofoam cup, (thought this was an excellent idea and demonstrated this to my kids during the lesson! )just enough to make one layer. Instruct students to fill the Styrofoam cup 3/4 full of soil. 2. Place the seed about 1 centimeter into the soil. (Interesting fact to relay to students: the depth the seed is placed in the soil will vary depending on the type of seed). When the students water their seeds, first have them use a spray bottle to water, so that they make the "home" for the seed ready because pouring water will unsettle the seed. 3. Move the seed to a warm area, but not into direct sunlight. The seed provides food for the plant until the leaves are formed, which will then let the plant produce its own food. 4. Remind students the importance of not over watering their seeds. It is OK for the soil to dry a little; a soaking wet soil is not the best environment. Anticipated Responses: Due to the monotonous nature of their daily school routine, students might be overexcited when introduced to the science materials and might be preoccupied with exploring the newly introduced items. However, I expect this will be beneficial to their learning experience as the overexcitement can be used as a hook to pushing the students to think critically about the task before them; possibly connecting it to previous lessons or experiences or making inferences for future applications for this activity. Assessment: Observation will be a main form of assessment during this lesson. Students will be constantly observed during the lesson. Video will be taken of the charts and webs generated during classroom discussions. Students final product of a planted seed will also be assessed, for example whether students followed the procedure demonstrated and placed all the items in the cup in sequential orderpebbles, soil, seed, water. Accommodations: The balancing act of students who finish early or students who do not finish early is an accommodation I always prepare for. In this lesson however, I do not anticipate students finishing at different times as the lesson will be paced so that everyone moves forward at similar times. This will be students first time working with soil and growing something within a school context, as a result students will be monitored closely and working together will be an essential part of this lesson. (explained above) 3

Comment [NRB5]: You could demonstrate the water running though in one before putting the soil in. You could also show what happens when there is no hole and no rocks and water just soaks the soil and makes mud.

Comment [NRB6]: OK Comment [NRB7]: Yes. What a sad world where we try to keep kids from being excited about learning.

Comment [NRB8]: Right I do not see stem, leaves, etc. in this lesson, which is totally fine. Please take those things out of the goals.

Hodge

Appendix A-Checklist: Student Participate at least once in class discussion Identify main parts of a flower Be able to identify what seeds need to grow Have a final plant seed pot fully labeled and watered Other

Marcqueil Hannah Evelyn Cidoney-Eryn