Lesson Plan 4: The Life Cycle of Plants (continued)

Student Name: Shawna Shipe

I. General Information:
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Discipline: Science
Unit Topic: Life Cycles
Time Frame: 45 minutes during literacy, center time
Texts: The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle (picture book, big book, and audio book may be
used), Plant Life Cycle Lesson and Game, Life Cycle of a Plant Flow Chart, Plant Secrets
by Emily Goodman (picture book)
Other Materials: plant life cycle flow chart for each student, technology equipment
ready to access the online lesson and game, SMARTboard and or classroom computers,
plant poem Life of a Plant by Risa Jordan (see downloadable file below lesson plan).
II. Standards/Indicators
Life Science
3.C.1. Genetics: Observe, describe and compare the life cycles of different kinds of animals and plants.
3.C.1.a. Identify and draw pictures that show what an animal (egg to frog) and a plant (seed to tree)
looks like at each stage of its life cycle.
Reading Informational Text
RI1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. With prompting and
support, demonstrate understanding orally or in developmentally appropriate writing after reading, viewing, or
listening to a text:
confirm predictions using details from the text
RI2 With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
With prompting and support, listen to a wide variety of complex informational texts.
RI3 With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of
information in a text.
With prompting and support, demonstrate an understanding of sequential order
Writing
W2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/ explanatory texts in which
they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.
W2 With prompting and support, express orally or via developmentally appropriate writing several
sentences using the facts that are all related to the topic.

III. Lesson Objectives

1. Students will listen to a variety of complex informational texts throughout the unit. This
lesson includes the fourth text. (RI2)

2. Students will activate prior knowledge and experiences to determine the meaning of
unknown words. (RI4)
3. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the sequence of a plant life cycle. (3.C.1.a, RI3,
W2)
4. Students will discuss similarities and differences between Plant Secrets and The Tiny
Seed. (RI9)
5. Students will complete a flow chart of the life cycle of a plant using drawing and writing
to show what a plant looks like at each stage of its life cycle. (3.C.1.a, RI3, W2)
IV. Procedures:
IntroductionThe teacher will engage students and introduce the lesson by reminding students that
yesterday we learned about the life cycle of plants and by reading a plant poem entitled
Life of a Plant by Risa Jordan.
Teaching/Activities1. Introduce The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. Explain that we will read about four life
cycle stages of plants. Tell students that before we read the story, we will play a
vocabulary game using science words that we heard yesterday and will hear again
during today's story.
2. The teacher will lead a Beach Ball Vocabulary game (Altieri, 2011) to help
students practice the words seed, plant, flower, fruit, roots, stems, and leaves. The
teacher will toss or roll the ball to a student and call out a word. The student who
catches the ball will repeat the word, then use it in a sentence about the plant life
cycle. If a student is unable to use the word in a sentence, he/she may choose a
classmate to help.
3. Read the The Tiny Seed. After the story, ask the following text-dependent
questions. Model how to return to the text to find information.
What does a seed need in order to grow?
Describe what happens to a seed as it changes into a flower.
How does the plant life cycle start over again?
4. Next, the teacher will divide students into small groups. The groups will be asked
to discuss the smiliarities and differences between Plant Secrets and The Tiny Seed
and then share with the whole group.
5. Students will then participate in a short SMARTboard review lesson and whole
group game Plant Life Cycle Lesson and Game. This activity may be used by
small groups, partners, or individuals during center time.
6. As a final activity, students will be asked to complete a flow chart that includes
drawings and writing and shows what a plant looks like at each stage of its life cycle.
Closure- The teacher will remind students that they read The Tiny Seed and
learned about the life cycle of a plant. Students will share completed plant life cycle
flow charts with the class at the end of the lesson.

VI. Evaluation/Assessment:
Assessment of Objectives- The teacher will observe and record students' ability to demonstrate
listening skills during the lesson on an anecdotal note page or checklist. The teacher will
observe and record students' ability to activate prior knowledge and experiences to determine
the meaning of unknown words during and after the Beach Ball Vocabulary activity. The
teacher will observe and record students' participation in a discussion about similarities and
differences between the two plant life cycle texts. Students will also be assessed on their ability
to demonstrate knowledge of the sequence of a plant life cycle through the completion of a flow
chart that includes pictures and writing.
Sources:
Carle, E. (1987). The tiny seed. Natick, MA: Picture Book Studio. (picture book, big book, and audio

book may be used)

Goodman, E. (2009). Plant secrets. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.
Plant Life Cycle. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2015, from http://www.turtlediary.com/kindergarten-games/sciencegames/plant-life-cycle.html
Plants Tree Map Flow Map.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxUN8jkeh450bjM1OWlDNGQySGc/edit
Jordan, R. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2015, from https://ssewell1.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/life-of-a-plantpoem.doc
Altieri, J. (2011). Meeting the Reading Comprehension Demands of Each Content Area. In S. Fortner (Ed.),
Content counts!: Developing disciplinary literacy skills, K-6 (pp. 115). Newark, DE: International Reading
Association.
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2014). Addressing CCSS Anchor Standard 10: Text Complexity, 91 (4). Retrieved from
http://www.literacyinlearningexchange.org/sites/default/files/la0914addressing.pdf