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Dragana Custic
Dr. Ries
ED 449E
2 November 2015
Parts of a Plant, Science Lesson Reflection
On October 10, 2015, I observed a first grade science lesson on the parts of a plant. The
lesson took approximately ten to fifteen minutes until it was complete. The cognitive level of this
lesson was application. The students were applying what they learned and using their previous
and newly formed knowledge before and after the lesson took place. The learning objective of
this lesson was for the students to identify the parts of a plant. The behavior they needed to
identify these parts is through observation of a plant and the condition is after describing how a
plant uses its parts to survive. The parts including: roots, stem, leaves, flower, and seed. The
standards that were a part of this lesson are the characteristics of organisms: each plant or animal
has different structures that serve different functions and life cycles of organisms: plants and
animals have life cycles, the details of this life cycle are different for different organisms. The
materials that were used were a flower plant, hand lens, the Houghton Mifflin Science Book, and
two worksheets.
In the opening of the lesson, the teacher reminded the students that yesterday they
observed a flower plant. She explained to them that the plant did not have a flower because the
flower did not bloom yet. The teacher went on to say that todays lesson was going to be on roots
and stems. The students were asked to open their science books and follow along, while the
teacher read about the roots and stems of a carrot plant.

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When presenting the science lesson to the students, the teacher started off by reading the
title of the next section of the science book, Roots and Stems. She explained the picture of the
carrot plant next to the words. She told the students that they are allowed to eat the root of the
plant. The teacher read: Roots and stems help plants get what they need to grow. Roots take in
water from the ground. They hold the plant in the ground. The teacher then repeated that the
water is in the ground and that the roots are in charge of soaking up the water. She continued by
reading the next paragraph about stems: A stem connects the roots to other plant parts. Stems
carry water from the roots to the leaves and other plant parts. Stems also help hold a plant up.
The teacher asked the class, How does a stem help a plant? She used Popsicle sticks with the
students names on them to call on students to answer the question. Some responses from the
students were the stem holds the plant and water comes into the root and into the stem. The
teacher responded by saying that they are correct and that the stem carries water from the roots to
other plant parts. The teacher went on to read about the next section titled Leaves. The teacher
told the students that the leaves are the part of the plant that make the food. The teacher
proceeded to give the students an example of a leaf. She said that spinach is a leaf you can eat, as
well as lettuce. The teacher reminded the students that some plants are poisonous and that they
should not eat them. The teacher moved on to next section which was all about flowers and
seeds. She asked the students where the seeds were located in a plant and they responded that the
seeds were located in the flower. The teacher then raised another question. She asked what a
plant needs to grow. The students gave the answers of sunlight and water. The teacher said that

plants are opposite from us. She had the students breathe in and out and told them that when we
breathe carbon dioxide, the

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plant takes the carbon dioxide and gives us oxygen. She went on to explain that plants and
humans need each other. She also stated that we need trees for things such as paper. Once the
teacher was finished reading from the book, she called the students by table to put their books
away. Then, she pulled up a video on the Smartboard on the life cycle of a lima bean. The video
showed the students how a plant grows and that a life cycle is different parts of a living things
life.
For the guided practice portion, the teacher passed out two worksheets to each student. The
first worksheet was titled Drawing Conclusions. The teacher explained that they will use the
vocabulary words about plants that they have learned to fill in the missing blanks for each
sentence fact. For example, the first sentence, The ___________ hold the plant in the ground,
the teacher told the students that the answer is a root. The teacher explained that once they were
finished filling in the correct terms, they had to write their own conclusion about plants in the
box labeled Conclusion. The teacher modeled her example on the document camera: Plants
have parts. Each part helps the plant in a different way. Once the students finished the Drawing
Conclusions worksheet, the teacher used the Popsicle sticks to call on students to give her the
answers. If the answer they give was wrong, she pulled out another Popsicle stick and called on a
different student. The teacher went over the directions and told the students that they had to draw
a line from each definition to a part of the plant. The teacher modeled the first definition and its

matching part on the plant using the document camera. The teacher drew a line from takes in
water from the ground to the root of the plant picture. Underneath that, there was another section
the students needed to complete. The teacher explained those direction as well.

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The teacher said that they had to underline the word that makes the sentence true. For
example, the first sentence was (Stems, Leaves) carry water from the roots to other plant
parts. The teacher underlined the word Stems and told the students that this word made the
sentence true because that is the function of the stem. The teacher collected both worksheets
and recorded them in her grade book. The teacher ended the lesson by saying that their next
science lesson is going to be about grouping plants and describing how plants are alike and
different.
For formative assessment, the teacher asked what five parts made up a plant. She
assessed the students based on their participation in class discussion. The worksheets were
collected and reviewed to ensure the students understood what was being taught. For
individual measurability, the teacher called on individual students using Popsicle sticks to
answer the questions on the worksheets and from the reading. For summative assessment, the
teacher told the class they were going to have a chapter test on labeling the parts of a plant.
In terms of varying content for differentiation, the teacher presented the parts of a plant
through both auditory and visual means. To vary her process, she had the students observe a
plant and others observe the picture of the plant in the science book. She varied the product
of her lesson by having the students come up with their own conclusions about the purposes

of plant parts. Technology wise, the teacher made sure to use clear visuals on the document
camera of the science book and the worksheets.
I believe that reviewing a previous lesson is always a great way to get students back on
track. Some students may forget what they learned about the day before, so it is always
important to test their background knowledge multiple times and assess it through different
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means, such as visually observing a plant and calling on the students to describe each part of
the part. Another great way to start off a lesson is to bring up focus questions about the
reading. The students should keep these questions in the back of their minds as they are
reading and find the answers to them. Also, a picture walk followed by the prediction
strategy is a good way for students to gain a better understanding of the material that is to
come in the book. The teacher should always go over the headings with them because they
are the main ideas of the sections they are reading. I thought the teachers repetition of the
definitions of the words is a big help to the students. The more you repeat something to them,
the more that they will remember it. I also thought it was very helpful that she gave the
students an example of two different leaves: spinach and lettuce, so that they can have a
better visual of that part of a plant and its function. Her activity where she asked the students
to breathe in and out was a great comparison and contrast of plants and humans. The teacher
has really inspired me with her Popsicle stick technique. I think that is such a wonderful way
to test the individual measurability of each student. I believe that filling in the blank is a great
way to build vocabulary. The students must use the rest of the sentence as a clue to find what
word fits in the blank. Teaching would not be the same without modeling. This is such an
important concept that must always be carried out. The students would be lost and confused

all the time if a teacher did not model worksheets or other materials pertinent to the lesson
he/she is teaching. Modeling gives students the benefit of different learning approaches, such
as visual and auditory. I think that closing a science lesson by hinting at the next lesson keeps
students interested and wondering what they will be exploring next. It makes them excited to
learn and they just want to know as much as possible. Not only will they be able to use their
previous
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knowledge, but they will have the opportunity to obtain new knowledge on top of the old
knowledge. This is what makes learning so fun. The more knowledge a student gains, the
more eager they are to learn.

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