Indiana Wesleyan University

Elementary Education Lesson Plan Template

CAEP 2018 K-6 Elementary Teacher Preparation Standards
Name: Sarah Jackson

LESSON RATIONALE
It is important for students to recognize the various parts of a plant and know its functions
because plants are an essential part of the environment. By dissecting and making observations,
students will classify the parts of a plant and better understand how we depend on the plants all
around us in every-day life.

READINESS
Goals/Objectives/Standard
 Goal: Students will be able to identify the different parts of a plant
 Objectives:
o After completing this lesson, students will be able to identify the different
parts of a plant by labeling and drawing
o At the end of this lesson, students will know the importance and the functions
of each part of a plant.
 Standards:
o 2.I.S.2 Compare and contrast details of body plans and structures within the life
cycles of plants and animals
o 2.I.S.3 Classify living organisms according to variation in specific features and
describe how those features may provide an advantage for survival in different
environments.
o SEPS.2 Developing and using models and tools
Management Plan-
o Time: 60 minutes
 Anticipatory set: 10 minutes
 Minilesson: 10 minutes
 Exploration & experiment: 30minutes
 Closure: 10 minutes
o Use of space
 Students will be sitting in the front on the carpet for the anticipatory set and
minilesson. They will be utilizing the space by getting up, moving around and making
prediction in groups, as well as sitting and listening to instruction during the
minilesson. During the experiment and exploration, the students will be at their desks
in groups contributing with the role they are given. After the exploration the students
will clean up and be given an exit slip to finish at their desk.
o List of materials
1. 5 mystery boxes
2. Big post-it note to record

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 3. Flower petals
4. Pieces of mulch
5. Almonds
6. Pieces of spinach
7. Brown and green pipe cleaners
8. 5 tulips
9. 5 trays with labels
10. 5 sets of dissection tools (scissors, tweezers, tape)
11. Worksheet organizer
12. Worksheet to label the parts of a flower

Anticipatory Set
 I will have 5 mystery boxes laid out across the front of the room. The students will line
up behind the boxes (4 in each line) and take turns reaching their hands inside, taking
guesses at what they think it is. The first box will have pieces of mulch, to resemble dirt
and the roots on a plant. The second box will have almonds to resemble the seeds of a
plant. Inside the third box will be brown and green pipe cleaners to resemble the stem of
the plant. In the fourth box there will be pieces of spinach to resemble the leaves on the
stem. And inside the fifth box there will be flower petals. All of these resemble or are
parts of a plant that students can have a chance to feel and think about before the lesson.
 Please come to the carpet and I need four students to line up behind each box. You will
take turns putting your hand inside without looking and making a prediction. When you
have made your guess come up to me and I will write down your guess on the poster in
whatever box you were at. When you are done please sit off to the side of your group so
that I know you are done, and do not help the students who are guessing, let them make
their own predictions.
 I will have the boxes and students facing away from me so that they will not see the other
predictions on the board and think about that before feeling the certain objects.
 When every student is done guessing and making their predictions, I will have them face
towards me as I reveal what was inside the box and discuss their predictions.
 Now that everyone has made their predictions, we can reveal the big mystery! In box one
we had pieces of mulch, what were your predictions and why did you think that? In box
two we had almonds, were some of you close? Box three had pipe cleaners, what were
some of your guesses? In box four we had pieces of spinach, what made you guys guess
something different? And in box 5 we had flower petals, were some of you close, and if
you weren’t, what did you think when you felt them? (give time to answer and discuss
each prediction and object).

Purpose statement: Today we will be learning about the different parts of plants. We learn
about this because it is important to know how plants work to help out our environment. Plants
give us the oxygen we need to breath, so by understanding their different parts, we can help them
continue to grow.

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PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION
I. Adaptation to Individual Differences and Diverse Learners
 By putting the students into specific groups during the investigation where they will
be able to work together will help them get the experiment done properly and have a
better understanding of the different parts of plants.
 There are students with IEP’s who will be able to do this dissection with their aid
their to guide them and make sure they are on task.
 By taking the instruction and investigation step by step the whole class will be able to
slow down and take each step at the right pace. If I let the students dissect it at their
own pace, certain groups would be done before others and it would cause uncertainty
in other groups.
 For ELL students, they would be placed in groups with peers who could help them
understand the directions. Pointing and being able to draw pictures will help them
have a better understanding as well and be lesson confusing then having to write
description words.

II. Lesson Presentation (Input/Output)

 Please go back to your seats and take this worksheet with you while we talk more
about the different parts of plants (the flower worksheet).
 After the anticipatory set I will be going over each item in the box and explain how
they resemble the various parts of a plant.
 Do you think that these five items have anything in common? (give time to answer)
Each of these items resembles the parts of a plant in some way. Could someone tell
me what they think the almonds resemble? (go through each of the items and give
them time to talk and discuss about what each one is supposed to resemble).
 The seeds are important because they start new growth for plants and produce more
in order to create the same plant. Roots are important because they sick up the water
and nutrients from the ground to help the plant grow. The stem is important because
they support the leaves and transfer more nutrients into the rest of the plant. The
leaves are important because they catch the sun’s rays in order to make food for the
plant. And lastly, the petals are important because they attract insects to pollinate
and grow more flowers.
 I will tape each of the items onto a diagram while we go through each one and label
them as seed, root, stem, leaf, and flower, so that they can see how these items make
up the whole plant and flower. They will label their worksheet while I do this on the
board with them as an example.
 As we are going through each item, I will let them discuss with each other and ask
questions before labeling them.
 Each part of a plant helps each other and is essential to its growth. The seed is how it
starts to grow and with water and soil it builds roots into the ground and the stem
begins to grow. As the stem grows the leaves appear and depending on the plant, if it
is a flower, a bud will grow and develop into a flower. Each part of the plant gives it
the nutrients and food it needs in order to become strong in the various types of
weather it grows in.
 Now that we have an understanding of the different parts of plants, I am going to give
you guys time to explore these parts with real flowers! Each group of five will have

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 their own flower and each person will have a certain job. When I come around with
your flower, I will assign you your jobs and the description for your job will be on the
board. When I come around, I will be giving you this tray and this worksheet as well.
On the tray there will be your flower, keep it on the tray. There is also tape, tweezers
and scissors. Do not touch these until I tell you to. We will be going over each step
together and I will be doing it with you in the front on the projector, so no one should
be working ahead. Each of you will get the opportunity to touch and dissect the
flower as we move along as well.
 I will pass out the trays, on each tray is the flower and the materials with paper towels
for clean-up. Each group will get one worksheet to organize and place the parts of the
plant in the correct place. Along with that worksheet each group member will get one
as well and be able to write down their observations and draw what they see during
the dissection.
 The students will be in four groups of five, and each students job will be based on the
part of the plant they have. So, each student will either be the seed, root, stem, leaf, or
flower petal.
 Now that everything is passed out, I want everyone to watch me do it first and then
when I tell you to go, the person with the job of the part of the plant I have dissected
will go ahead and follow exactly what I have done up here.
 I will start by cutting off the roots with the scissors and then placing them on the tray
away from the rest of the flower. I will then take the tweezers and start moving them
around to make observations. After this I will say, Now I will walk around while the
person with the job of the roots cuts them off and starts to dissect them a little more.
Make sure while the person is cutting the flower to discuss what it looks like, feels
like, and even smells like. For the group members without a job at this time, make
observations and ask questions. Observing is just as important as dissecting because
you get to view the experiment from a different point of view. Draw what you see
while the person is dissecting on the observation worksheet in the ROOT box.
 I will visit each group as they make their observations and make sure they are
following the rules, taking the correct precautions and allowing for good discussion
about how plants work.
 I will ask questions such as, What do you think this part of the plant does? Why do
you think it is important? What types of things do you see? Why do you think it looks
like this? How is this part of the plant helping the rest of the parts?
 The people with the job of the root did a great job listening to directions and the
observers took great notes! Now turn your attention back to the screen as we will
start the dissection of the next part of the flower.
 We will then repeat this step for each part of the plant. I will stop the students before
they move on to the next part so that I will be able to show them on the projector
what to do next. This will help them know exactly what to do instead of going back
and forth between certain directions and asking questions about what to do next.
 After the students have finished each observation and dissection of the parts, they
should have a group worksheet with the parts of the flower tapped down onto it, as
well as their own worksheet with their drawings and observations on it. On their own
worksheet there should be one box empty from whatever their job was.

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  As you guys finish up, I want you to put your group worksheet with the flower parts
on it, off to the side on the tray. Take your own observation worksheet and fill in your
observation and drawing for the job that you had. Make sure it is something you can
understand and see clearly because you can use these notes and drawings again to
help you remember what each part of a plant is.
 Once the students are all done with their observation worksheets, they will keep them
on their desk and then clean up the rest of the tools and dissection.
 You guys did a great job following directions and dissecting the flower, please come
to the front of the carpet with your observation worksheet so we can talk about what
you guys learned and observed.

III. Check for understanding.

 While they are on the carpet at the end, I will ask them about what type of
observations they made and how they know that part of the plant is important.
 What do the roots do for the plant? What did you see in each part that helps each
other? Why are the roots in the ground and not the petals? What if the parts where in
different places, would the plant survive?
 I will check for understanding through these questions and through the types of
observations they made throughout the experiment. Making sure they have a better
understanding of what each part of the plant does is important, so their observations
need to be correct.
 They will be able to share some of the observations they made and show the class
their drawings or comments on certain parts of the plants.
 I will then ask the students to go back to the seat to finish the lesson with an exit slip.
 Please go back to your seats and fill out an exit slip with the answer to this question.
What is one thing you learned today? And why do you think it is important to know
this information?
 Another way I will check for understanding is during the experiment, while I will be
walking around, I will be asking questions about what they see and making sure they
have the correct understanding of each part.
 If students do not have the right understanding I will conference with them at another
time and ask them what was confusing them and work with them on a better
understanding.
 If the students do have the right understanding, I will know that it is time to move on
to the next lesson.

IV. Review learning outcomes / Closure

 Turn your exit slips into me when you are done and make sure your desks are cleaned
off from any of the experiment. You guys did a great job today listening and
interacting with the dissection of the flower!
 Now turn your attention to Ms. Hensley as she tells you what to do next.

PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT

 The students will be assessed throughout the lesson based on their understanding and
how they interact with the experiment. While I walk around and discuss with them about

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 the topic of the different parts of the plant, I will be performing a formative assessment
on them by asking thought provoking questions.
 By introducing new questions this will get them thinking about what makes plants the
way that they are and why.
 A summative assessment will be performed at the end of this plant unit and will test them
on their knowledge of the plant life cycle and the parts of a plant.

REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS

1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
7. How did the students respond to working in groups on one flower?
8. Did the skills they learned during the lesson transfer to the closure?
9. Where students able to effectively classify the various parts of the plants?

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Petals Stem

Leaves Seed

Roots

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