EDUC 2220- Educational Technology Lesson Plan Template

From Seed to Plant

Ashley Hahn
Pre-Kindergarten/ Science

Common Core Standards:

Domain: Social and Emotional Development
Strand: Relationships
Topic: Peer Interactions and Relationships
Standard Statement: Demonstrate socially competent behavior with peers.
Domain: Approaches toward Learning
Strand: Initiative
Topic :Initiative and Curiosity
Standard Statement: Ask questions to seek explanations about phenomena of interest.
Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge (Sub-Domain-Science)
Strand: Science Inquiry and Application
Topic: Inquiry
Standard Statement: Explore objects, materials and events in the environment.
Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge (Sub-Domain-Science)
Strand: Science Inquiry and Application
Topic: Inquiry
Standard Statement: Make careful observations.
Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge (Sub-Domain-Science)
Strand: Science Inquiry and Application
Topic: Inquiry
Standard Statement: Pose questions about the physical and natural environment.
Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge (Sub-Domain-Science)
Strand: Science Inquiry and Application
Topic: Inquiry

Standard Statement: Engage in simple investigations.

Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge (Sub-Domain-Science)
Strand: Science Inquiry and Application
Topic: Inquiry
Standard Statement: Describe, compare, sort, classify, and order.
Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge (Sub-Domain-Science)
Strand: Science Inquiry and Application
Topic: Inquiry
Standard Statement: Record observations using words, pictures, charts, graphs, etc.
Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge (Sub-Domain-Science)
Strand: Science Inquiry and Application
Topic: Inquiry
Standard Statement: Use simple tools to extend investigation.
Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge (Sub-Domain-Science)
Strand: Science Inquiry and Application
Topic: Inquiry
Standard Statement: Make predictions.
Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge (Sub-Domain-Science)
Strand: Science Inquiry and Application
Topic: Inquiry
Standard Statement: Make inferences, generalizations and explanations based on evidence.
Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge (Sub-Domain-Science)
Strand: Science Inquiry and Application
Topic: Inquiry
Standard Statement: Share findings, ideas and explanations (may be correct or incorrect) through a variety of
methods (e.g., pictures, words, dramatization).
Domain: Language and Literacy Development
Strand: Listening and Speaking
Topic: Social Communication
Standard Statement: With modeling and support follow typical patterns when communicating with others (e.g.,
listens to others, takes turns talking and speaks about the topic or text being discussed).

Lesson Summary:

This lesson plan is written to encourage children to use inquiry and investigation skills to explore seeds by
breaking them apart, sorting, comparing and classifying. They will discover where you can find seeds in the
environment. They will engage in their own planting of seeds.
Estimated Duration:
Estimated time is about 5 days breaking sessions up to take place during the morning
Commentary:
Before I introduce the lesson, I will make some changes to the classroom. On the walls inside the classroom I
will be hanging pictures of seeds and plants. I will add books about seeds and plants to the science and library
area. To keep children engaged I would follow what children are really interested about. A challenge I see to
carrying out my plan is when it comes to children planting their seeds and having to wait for evidence of
growth.

Instructional Procedures:
Day 1:
The teacher will call the children for circle time. As a class we will engage in a 5-10 minute conversation. A
Smart Board will be used to collect that information. The discussion will center around what the children know
and what they want to know about plants and seeds. After the discussion has concluded a teacher will read,
How a Seed Grows written by Helene J. Jordan and illustrated by Loretta Krupinski. While reading a teacher
will ask open-ended question and point out important information for the children to acquire. After the book is
finished sing a song titled, I Plant a Seed. Repeat a few times. Then tell the children what activity they will
be doing. Let the children know that they will be exploring seeds. After the children have left the circle time
and are seated at tables in the classroom, show and hand children pinto beans. Ask them what they think they
are looking at. After children have answered, describe to them that they are beans, which are types of seeds.
Ask children questions that range from what they think is inside of the beans to how do you think a seed can
be opened. Give the children time to examine the beans with magnify glasses and child safe scissors. After
attempts to open the seeds prove difficult explain to the children that the seed is asleep and needs water and
soil to open. Then introduce seeds that have been soaked in warm water. Give the children time to examine
these seeds (they should be able to open these seeds and see what is inside). Ask them what they see, get them
to explain the differences between the dry and wet pinto beans. While engaged in this investigation a teacher
will take pictures. After the children have had time to experiment with their seeds bring them back together for
about a five-minute discussion on what they discovered. The children shouldve discovered parts of the seed
such as, the seed had an outer shell, a plant and food. They should be able to articulate that seeds help plants
grow. Total time for Day 1 should be about 30-35 minutes.
Day 2:
Gather the children for circle time. Take time to discuss what had happened the day before. Ask them what
they learned and found out about seeds. Show the children pictures of the three parts of the seeds. Pull up the
chart on the Smart Board and help remind children of what has been recorded. After the discussion show the
children Sid the Seed, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm12JKhNnWY. While playing the video stop at
certain points to ask children questions. Assess what they are learning from the story and need help with
understanding. After the video has finished explain to the children that today they were going to focus on
where seeds are found. Before telling the children where they can be found allow children to share answers.

After children have had a chance to answer, explain that seeds can be found in fruit, vegetables and in plants.
Have a few apples and strawberries to show that seeds can be found inside while seeds can be seen on the
outside of the fruit. Tell the children they are going to be able to explore plants, fruits and vegetables. Dismiss
the children from circle time and allow them to explore fruits, vegetables and plants. Have magnify glasses,
tweezers, child safe scissors and knives to cut open certain pieces of fruit, vegetables and plants. and tweezers
to help aide the children in their exploration. As the children work a teacher will take pictures and ask
questions to find what the children are learning and how they are interpreting the lesson. After all the children
have had a chance to explore, a teacher will collect the seeds that the children have discovered and place them
in containers. Sponges of fruits like apples and oranges, vegetables and plants, paint and the left over seeds
will be provided for the childrens art project. The sponges would be dipped in paint and then transferred to
construction paper. Then children would have the option to glue seeds on their papers. Day 2 should be about
50 minutes.
Day 3:
Gather the children in the circle time area. Ask them questions about what theyve been doing this week. Pull
up the chart that has the collected data. Remind the children of what they have discovered. For example that
seeds have an outer shell. That seeds can be found inside oranges. After the 5-10 minute discussion is over tell
the children that they may go around the room and pick an item. Tell the children that the item has to be
something they can carry. When all the children have returned with their item, explain what the activity is and
how they are going to use their item during the activity. Explain to the children that they are going to fill out a
chart about what is a seed and what is not a seed. Inform them that the item that they chose can be placed on
the table where the seeds and other objects ( rocks, twigs, stuffed animals, coins) are. (If a child picked a
personal item they may keep the item on them). When the children are at the table hand them a sheet of paper
that has a space for items that are seeds and items that are not. A teacher will be there to help children arrange
the objects into the correct spot. Ask children to explain why they think a certain item is a seed or not a seed.
Give attention to the item that the children have brought to the table. For children that would like to draw the
items provide markers and crayons. A teacher will help those children who want to practice writing skills and
assist with writing the names of the items they are sorting. As the children work, pictures will be taken to
document their progress. After the children have had ample time to find items they were seeds and what arent
have them come back to the circle time area. Lead them in a discussion about what the learned. Ask them
about how they determined what is and isnt a seed. Add what the children have discovered to that chart on the
Smart Board. Day 3 should be about 30 minutes.
Day 4:
Gather the children in the circle time area. Lead the children in a discussion about the previous day. Ask them
to tell what they have learned. After a short refresher about 5-10 minutes, begin to explain what the topic of the
day is. Introduce the topic by asking children to think about how a certain plant or flower got to where it was.
Allow them to answers. Hold up transportation items that include a plane, bus and car. Show these items to the
children. Ask them what the items are, who uses them and what is their purpose. After receiving answers such
as those items help us get around. The bus take me home explain to the children that seeds travel too.
Introduce the book called The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. As the book is being read stop to point out important
concepts such as, Wind helped that seed fly all the way up there. What is that, yes the water helped move that
seed After the book is complete tell the children that during outdoor play they can wear these Velcro bracelets
and have pieces of duct tape attached to their pants to see if they can attract any seeds while playing. Apply the
Velcro bracelets and tape to the children. After about 25 minutes of outdoor play, have the children look at the
Velcro and tape to see what has collected on them. Discuss the findings and add that data to the chart on the
Smart Board as the children are back in the circle time area. Day 4 should be about an hour to an hour and a
half (includes outdoor play time).

Day 5:
Gather the children in the circle time area. Lead the children in a discussion on past topics about seeds. Show
them the chart. Review concepts such as seeds can travel. Seeds come in different shapes and sizes. After this
10-minute review, tell children that they are going to grow their own plant. Show the children the steps in
which they will perform, for instances the first thing they need is a plastic bag. Dismiss children from circle
time. Each child will be given a plastic bag. After they have put their name on the bag, children will dunk
cotton balls in water and place enough cotton balls to cover the bottom of the plastic bag. After this step,
children will place lima beans in their plastic bags. Have the children record every couple of days the progress
of their plant. Teachers will be available to take pictures as the childrens plants progress. After the children
have hung their plastic bags on the window bring the children back to the circle time area. Ask them questions
about why we dipped the cotton balls in water. Ask them about why the window was a good place to put the
plants. Get their predications on the lima beans that were placed in the closet. Day 5 should take about 25
minutes.

Pre-Assessment:
The morning that I introduce the lesson I will engage the children in a discussion about plants and seeds. I will
record their thoughts and questions on a Smart Board in our classroom. From there I will make adjusts to the
lesson plan to the needs of the children.
Scoring Guidelines:
Teachers will use their judgment to determine how well the children are doing on concepts of seeds. Each day
while the children are engaged in activities a teacher will ask open-ended question to gage where children are
ate and whether or not they are understanding concepts that have been introduced.
Post-Assessment:
The children will create books. They will have an opportunity to take the lesson as a whole and include all
aspects of the topics that were reviews each day or if they prefer to just create a book that focuses on a certain
day. Their books can include the pictures of them engaged in the activities of that week or information that
they have written down.
Scoring Guidelines:
Children will be assessed on their ability to understand aspects of the lesson. Teachers will work alongside the
children and review their books. Scoring this way will provide the children feedback and extra time to apply
the knowledge that they have learned.

Differentiated Instructional Support

Describe how instruction can be differentiated (changed or altered) to meet the needs of gifted or accelerated
students:

For children that show a mastery of the concepts I will ask them to help their fellow classmates. I will allow
them to help children with activities such as sorting objects that are and are not seeds. Depending on their level
of mastery I will add extra activities for them to do. An example would be if I have children that already aware
that certain items are seeds and some are not, those children could work on labeling the seeds by there name.
They could accomplish this by taking pictures of the seeds with an iPad and with assistance research that seed.
Discuss additional activities you could do to meet the needs of students who might be struggling with the
material:
For children that are struggling with any aspects of the lesson plan, a teacher will offer one-on-one help. For
example, if a child is struggling to understand concepts of how seeds travel those children could be shown how
a fan can move seeds to replicate wind. A teacher could also put water in a bin, place seeds and have children
observe how the seeds move in the water.

Extension
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJjNh2pMSB8
This video explains how a seed turns into a flower.
http://mybuddiesandi.blogspot.ca/2013/07/carrots-in-bottle.html
This website offers an alternative plant growing experiment

Homework Options and Home Connections

Have families take pictures their children discovering seeds at their homes. Take pictures of the children when
they are in the backyard. While children cook alongside their families, capture them discovering seeds that are
used in the familys meal.

Interdisciplinary Connections
Math
Children will compare and contrast seeds and sort them into appropriate categories.
Art
Children will use sponges of fruit and vegetables and glue seeds on construction paper
Fine/Gross Motor
Children will use fine motor skills to explore the seeds with their tweezers. They will use fine motors skills
while using pencils, crayons and markers. Gross motor skills will be utilized as children explore the classroom
and when engaging in outdoor play on their adventures in learning about seeds.

Materials and Resources:

For teachers

Smart Board, glue, camera, fruit, vegetables, plants, basket, iPad, knife, drive to store
photos, lyrics to song, Books, The Tiny Seed and How a Seed Grows, duct tape, Velcro
bracelets, twigs, rocks,

For students

iPads, glue, construction paper, pencils, markers, crayons, child-safe scissors, childsafe knives, magnify glasses, tweezers, cotton balls, plastic bags, beans

Key Vocabulary
Seed, seedling, lima bean, sun, water, wind, flower, strawberry, orange, apple, pepper, cucumber, melon, soil,
flower prediction, experiment

Additional Notes
Here are the lyrics to I Plant a Seed
I plant a little seed in the cold, cold ground
Out comes the yellow sun, big and round
Down come the raindrops soft and slow
Up comes the flower, grow, grow grow
Link to YouTube video that shows the song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaNpiKotxVc