KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

PROFESSIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAM
LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate: ​Gabrielle Cruz, Kelly Groth, Kaylee Kupiec ​___________ Date: ​November 6, 2018
Cooperating Teacher: ​Dr. Varano​​_______________________________________ Coop. Initials: ________________
Group Size: ​24​​___________________ Allotted Time: ​45-60 minutes​​__________ Grade Level: ​3rd Grade​​________
Subject or Topic: ​Parts of a Tree​​___________________________________________ Section:
Science​​______________

Lesson: 1 Habitat

STANDARD(s)
3.1.3.C1. Recognize that plants survive through adaptations, such as stem growth towards light
and root growth downward in response to gravity. Recognize that many plants and animals can
survive harsh environments because of seasonal behaviors (e.g. hibernation, migration, trees
shedding leaves).

I. Performance Objectives
● ​Students
will be able to identify different types of trees that can or cannot survive harsh
environments because of seasonal behaviors by identifying and observing trees on
campus.
·
II. Assessment/Evaluation plan – This section must include a description of the measurable criteria and the
specific assessment(s) that will be used for evaluating student performance of each objective.
The students will be shown a variety of leaves and seeds from the surrounding area and impressions of the
bark. The teacher will provide them with a dichotomous key. The teacher will have a binder of all of the leaves,
seeds, bark, and location of the trees. The class will go outside, and the teacher will take the students to each of the
trees. The students will observe the tree’s leaves, seeds, and bark. They will use the dichotomous key to identify
which kind of tree it is. The students will document the identity of the first tree on their Leaf ID Inquiry paper, and
they will identify whether the tree’s leaves are falling off and if it is a deciduous tree.

III. Instructional Materials

● Previously collected and pressed leaves (due to weather)
● Previously collected seeds (due to weather)
● Impressions of bark
● Leaf ID Inquiry sheet
● Dichotomous Key
● ipads/phones for LeafSnap App

IV. Subject Matter/ Content [prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea(s), content -- an outline goes here)
A. Prerequisite Skills
 ● The characteristics of the four seasons.
● Leaves fall off of trees in the winter.
● Trees have different leaves, bark, and names.
● Trees need CO2, sunlight, water, and soil to live.
● Students are able to use a dichotomous key.
B. Key Vocabulary
● Deciduous -​ ​falling off or shed seasonally or at a certain stage of development in the life cycle
● Bark ​- ​the tough exterior covering of a woody root or stem
● Leaf -​ ​a lateral outgrowth from a plant stem that is typically a flattened expanded variably shaped
greenish organ, constitutes a unit of the foliage, and functions primarily in food manufacture by
photosynthesis
● Seed -​ ​the grains or ripened ovules of plants used for sowing
● Conifer -​ ​any of an order (Coniferales) of mostly evergreen trees and shrubs having usually
needle-shaped or scalelike leaves and including forms (such as pines) with true cones and others
(such as yews) with an arillate fruit
● Impressions -​ ​an imitation or representation of salient features in an artistic or theatrical medium
C. Big Idea: Which trees can survive the seasonal changes in our environment?
D. Content
● Types of trees (deciduous vs conifers)
● Characteristics of different types of trees
● How weather affects trees

V. Implementation

A. ​Introduction​​ – This sub-section should: (1) establish the purpose or objective of the lesson for the students
(anticipatory set); (2) connect this lesson to prior knowledge; (3) engage the learners and establish relevance i.e.
motivate them.
● Have any of you been to the Pinnacle or Hawk Mountain?
● This it what it looks like during the summer or early fall.

● What do you notice happens to the leaves on the trees when it gets colder outside?
○ They fall off.
 ● Do all of the trees outside lose their leaves?
○ No.
● This is what it looks like in the late fall or early winter.

● When it gets cold outside, these trees lose their leaves to conserve their water and other nutrients. They
have adapted to their temperate habitat in Pennsylvania.
● These trees are deciduous. They are part of Pennsylvania’s deciduous forest!
● These trees can be found in your very own backyard, and they are found on our campus! Let’s get to know
our backyard.
● Today, we are going to find out what trees around us are deciduous and which trees are not!

B. ​Development
● Scientists explore the world around them in search for something that has yet to be discovered. We are
going to see what we can discover in our own backyard that no one in our classroom has done before.
● The teacher will hand out a clipboard, an inquiry sheet and a dichotomous key.
● The teacher will explain each of the materials and how they will be used in the classroom today.
● Present each table group with three different types of leaves, seeds, and bark impressions from nearby trees.
○ The three tree types will be maple trees, cedar, and oak.
● The students will be asked to examine the leaves, bark, and seeds.
● They will attempt to identify each of them based on the dichotomous key.
○ The teacher will tell the students the proper name of each of the leaves, bark, and seeds.
● They will be asked to hypothesize about which trees are deciduous and which trees are not deciduous.
● They will write a hypothesis down on an inquiry sheet.
● The class will go outside and look for the trees that they were shown in the classroom.
● They will walk around and look for the trees with pre-placed, pressed leaves and seeds with bark that looks
similar to the imprints they saw in the classroom.
● The teacher will bring the entire class to each tree. The students will be allowed to feel the tree, take an
imprint of the bark, examine the leaves, and examine the seeds. They will identify the tree based on their
dichotomous key.
● The students will observe and document which trees still have leaves and which trees do not have leaves.
● The teacher will say, “The trees that do not have leaves are deciduous, and they are some of the many trees
native to Pennsylvania’s famous deciduous forest.”
● The students will write on their inquiry sheet their conclusion about which trees are part of the deciduous
forest of Pennsylvania.
● The students will then be able to explore the other trees nearby and collect their own samples of leaves and
 seeds.
● The students will return to the classroom.
● Students will explain to the class which tree they chose and which type of tree it is (deciduous or conifer).
They must back up this answer with reasons as to why they said this.
● Provide students with constructive criticism and sincere compliments on their inquiry and their findings.
● Provide them with the right answers for each of the trees.
● The teacher will introduce the app LeafSnap to the class, and instruct the students on how to use it. The
students will use the app to identify the leaves they have collected.
● Some students may find leaves from trees that are not native to the area. The teacher will explain that plants
that are not indigenous are invasive species. They affect the other plants, animals, and insects, and they
may harm or kill them.

C. ​Closure​​ –
● Now that you are familiar with the trees in our backyard at school, we are going to discover the inner
workings of trees.
● Before our next class, I want you to think about some questions and hypotheses you may have about trees.
○ Examples: How do trees eat if they don’t have mouths? What do they need to live?

D. Accommodations / Differentiation – Make accommodations for different learning styles, multiple intelligences,
and learning readiness levels, disabilities, and/or ESL/ELL. Specify what instructional strategies you incorporated to
differentiate, attach leveled activities, describe how you will support various learning abilities, etc.
The accommodations that will be made for this lesson are to provide an alternate assessment scale,
verbalize all information as it is written on the board or overhead, and to send electronic/ braille communications
when appropriate.

VI. Reflective Response

A. Report of Students’ Performance in Terms of States Objectives ​–

1. This section is to be completed after the lesson is taught.
2. A report of how the students actually performed in assessment process will address the evaluation plan stated in
the Assessment/Evaluation Plan
3. Leave blank space for this handwritten report.

B. Personal Reflection
● How can I engage students more throughout the lesson?
● How can I accommodate for students with behavioral disabilities?
VII. Resources (​APA Reference List​​ (include web addresses, title, author, publisher, dates, etc. for all items
used to create lesson; APA formatting guidelines may be found at:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/​ )

Merriam Webster. (n.d.). Bark. Retrieved November 6, 2018, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bark

Merriam Webster. (n.d.). Conifers.

Retrieved November 6, 2018, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conifers

Merriam Webster. (n.d.). Deciduous.

Retrieved November 6, 2018, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deciduous

Merriam Webster. (n.d.). Impressions.

Retrieved November 6, 2018, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impressions

Merriam Webster. (n.d.). Leaf. Retrieved November 6, 2018, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leaf

Merriam Webster. (n.d.). Seed. Retrieved

November 6, 2018, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seed