Appendix 1

LESSON PLAN
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Year Level: 3 Time: 9am-10am Date: 19th October 2018 Students’ Prior Knowledge:

Learning Area:  Students have worked with the concept of living

Design and Technologies & Science
Strand/Topic from the Australia Curriculum
1. Ways products, services and environments are designed
to meet community needs (ACTDEK010)
2. Living things can be grouped on the basis of observable
features and can be distinguished from non-living things
(ACSSU044)
things and how they change and grow
 Students have been taught the actual process of a
plants life cycle (planting a seed in soil, the seed
takes roots, water and sunlight are the plant’s
food)
 Students have experience making observations
and comparing those with other students
 Students understand the process of patterns
within living things, such as plants, in order to
make predictions about their growth

General Capabilities (that may potentially be covered in the lesson)

Literacy Numeracy ICT Critical and Ethical Personal and Intercultural
Students competence creative behaviour Social understanding
practice literacy thinking competence
throughout this Students are Students take
lesson by using critical responsibility
formulating and creative for their own
their own thinking as they learning within
ideas; sharing inquire about this lesson and
them verbally the process of project by
and on paper designing a taking initiative
terrarium, in their designs
considering all and making
variables that informed
will produce a choices about
successful how they will
terrarium design their
terrarium
Cross-curriculum priorities (may be addressed in the lesson)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Asia and Australia’s engagement with Sustainability
histories and cultures Asia Biodiversity (the life of plants)
Nutrient cycling (the process of recycling
water for the plant to keep itself alive)
Lesson Objectives (i.e. anticipated outcomes of this lesson, in point form beginning with an action verb)

As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Inquire about terrariums (during introductory activity)
2. Compare the system within a terrarium with that of planet earth
3. Create an initial design for a plant terrarium

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Teacher’s Prior Preparation/Organisation: Provision for students at educational risk:
 Inquiry questions prepared 1. Student with learning difficulty will be given a step-
 Post-it notes by-step instructional guide to making a terrarium
 Poster paper to avoid withdrawal from activity during initial
 Video loaded designs. They can also draw their thoughts during
 Labelled areas of the room: see, think, wonder the introductory activity rather than write.
 QR code and Weebly prepared for student use 2. Stronger students will be able to label their initial
designs with detailed explanations to extend from
simple pictorial designs.
3. During the viewing of the video ensure that
captions/subtitles are on the screen for student
with hearing impairment

LESSON EVALUATION (to be completed AFTER the lesson)

Assessment of Lesson Objective and Suggestions for Improvement:

Teacher self-reflection and self-evaluation:

[OFFICIAL USE ONLY] Comments by classroom teacher, HOPP, supervisor:

LESSON DELIVERY (attach worksheets, examples, marking key, etc, as relevant)

Resources/References
Time Motivation and Introduction:
 So that the students are aware of the outcome of the lesson, start by
9am
introducing the WALT (We Are Learning To) for this lesson.

Today, we are learning to “understand environments that sustain small plant

life”.

 In order to get students inquiring about their own learning, we will begin the
lesson by activating their prior knowledge of plant life cycles and then go into a
student-led “see, think, wonder” about the design brief.

In our first lesson in this topic we went into the details of distinguishing living
things from non-living things and identifying the life cycle of a living plant.
While students are on the mat, give them the opportunity to recap this
knowledge by doing a think, pair, share on the following prompting questions:
o What do plants need to survive and thrive?
o What is the difference between living and non-living things?
o What happens if we neglect our plants?

Students will be given time to think about their answers then have a short
discussion with their partner. Then bring students attention back to the

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 class and give each pair a chance to share one of their answers with the
class.
 The next activity will begin to introduce the design brief project idea to the
students which is focused around plant terrariums. This project is very inquiry-
based and student led so the following will help the teacher to gauge what
9:05am
students already know about plants and terrariums and how much guidance
will be needed.
Post-it notes
Pull up a photo of a round terrarium and have students ponder this
photograph for a few moments. Meanwhile, around the room there are three
sections:
o See
o Think
o Wonder

After giving them a moment to look at the photograph on the interactive

whiteboard, first ask students,

“What do you see?”

Model the activity by pointing out something you can see about the terrarium.

“I see a glass jar with living plants inside it!”

Photograph of terrarium
Then send students away to write down something they see. Once all students
have something written down on their post-it note they can all stick it to the
“See” section of the classroom.

Bring them back to the front mat and repeat the process asking students what
they think about the picture. Model this by saying aloud,

“I think that this would be a cool project to do in the classroom!”

Allow students to write on their post-it note then stick it on the think section
of the room.

Finally, ask students what they might be wondering about the image. Model
this by saying aloud,

“I wonder how long these plants would survive!”

 As a class, read through the different ideas on each area of the room so that
students are building upon one another’s knowledge with what they already
see, think and wonder.

Lesson Steps (Lesson content, structure, strategies & Key Questions):

1. Bring students attention back to the front and explain that the photograph
they have just seen, thought and wondered about is a picture of a terrarium.

9:15am Ask students: Does anyone know what a terrarium is?

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 Allow for students to share with you what they know, if anything, about
terrariums. Reiterate this by telling students that a terrarium is a clear
container that contains a group of small plants growing like a small garden.

The terrarium works just like our ecosystem. Inside the terrarium, the water
that we add in the beginning is constantly recycled. The water vapour touches
the container walls and forms little water droplets, which then drop back down
the plant to feed it and keep it alive. This continues over and over again.

2. Tell students that it is actually possible for us to make our own terrarium in the
classroom! Ask students how they might go about making a terrarium?

3. With the information that they have shared with one another and what they
9:20am
already know, students will be sent off with a partner (teacher will choose
pairs) to consider how they might go about making a terrarium. This will be the
first design based only on their ‘beginners mind’ knowledge of plant
terrariums. With each design, their knowledge will increase and be refined.

The purpose of this initial design is to allow students to think critically and Poster paper, coloured
creatively about the task before they begin to research different types of pencils and pens
terrariums.

4. After giving students time to complete (or at least begin) their first design of
their terrarium, call them back to the mat.

Students will watch the video explaining the process of making a terrarium.
9:35am This will allow them to compare for they thought they knew about terrariums
with the new, more structured information which will help them for the next
step.

As they watch the video, have the following questions written on the Video: https://www.youtube
whiteboard to focus their understanding while they watch: .com/watch?v=YLkUNXG8vqE
o What materials go inside the terrarium?
o What kind of containers are used?
o How often do you need to water the terrarium?
o Where should the terrariums be kept in the classroom?

5. After viewing the video, ask students what they saw that was different to how
they imagined their terrarium in their first design. Send students back to their
desks for a few minutes to add anything new to the design based on the video.

6. To reiterate the video so all students are clear, give students a quick recap of
9:45am the science behind these terrariums. (Students will use their prior knowledge
from the previous lesson on plant life-cycles to link their understanding to this
project.)

Just like on planet earth, the terrarium has its own climate and water cycle that
is balanced in order to sustain life. If we make changes to the environment
within the terrarium, similar to Earth, it will respond. If the correct amount of
light and water is not given to the plant, it may die.

7. Tell students that over the next few weeks, we will be working closely with
plants, so we need to be experts on their life cycles and what they need in

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 order to thrive, particularly within the confines of a terrarium!

8. Before the end of the lesson, give students the following QR code to access the
design brief which outlines everything they will need to know about this
9:50am
project we have introduced in this lesson. Go through it as a class.

Ipads, QR Code/weebly
access

Lesson Closure:
To close the lesson and recap the focus of the lesson, students will complete an
exit ticket so that feedback can be given about what the students are competent
with and what needs further clarification.
The questions students will answer include:
o What is a terrarium?
o How is a terrarium like a small version of our ecosystem?
9:55am o One inquiry question you have about this assignment that you want to
research.
Exit ticket index cards, pencils
 Students exit tickets will be used to fill out the check list to gauge where each
student is at in regard to preparation for the design brief. The checklist can be
viewed under the assessment section of this plan.
 Tell students that once we have designed our terrariums, we will bring them to
life and present them during science week where all of our other work from
our ‘plants’ unit of work will complement our creations!

Transition:
 Students will be given time to stick their first design into their visual diaries
then will hand them in at the front of the room open to their first design page
to be checked.

 Students will go back to the desks and prepare for the next lesson.
10am
Assessment: Student visual diaries
This checklist will be filled out based on the following criteria:
1 = Very competent and ready to go onto the next step in the design brief
2 = At target
3 = Needs support/help in the next lesson

Observations throughout the lesson, work samples (designs) and exit tickets will be
used to gauge student understanding as a formative assessment.
Student Name Obj. 1: Inquire Obj. 2: Compare Obj. 3: Create
about terrariums terrarium to earth an initial design Checklist