Gwynedd Mercy University

School of Education

Seeking Truth, Mercy, and Justice

Krystal Coupe

9/22/16

Grade/Topic: Pre-K-Age 4 & 5/ Life Cycle of a Pumpkin

STANDARD:

PDE Early Learning Standards

3.1 Biological Sciences/Life Cycles

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATION/STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVE:

Students will describe the life cycle of a pumpkin and recognize a pattern in nature by
having the teacher record students answers using a KWL chart and a pumpkin life cycle
mobile.

I.

PLANNING AND PREPARATION:

1. Briefly describe the students in your class, including those with special needs,
explain how you will meet the needs of all learners.

This is a pre-kindergarten class with 18 students 11 boys and 7 girls. None of the
students in this kindergarten class identified as having special needs nor do any have
individual education plans. This lesson will accommodate all types of learners; visual
learners through the use of graphics, classification cards, and demonstrations,
auditory learners through oral instruction and explanation, and kinesthetic learners
through a hands-on experience.

2. What are your expectations for this lesson? What do you want students to learn
and be able to do with the knowledge?

After completing the lesson, students will be able to describe the life cycle of a
pumpkin. Students will recognize that similar patterns exist in most plants and
recognize that plants provide a large quantity of their food.
3. Why are these expectations suitable for this group of students?

These expectations are suitable for this group of students because they are
developmentally appropriate for the pre-kindergarten level. The activity does not
require use of any skills or knowledge they have not been exposed to in some
capacity in the classroom. They will be assessed by their comprehension of the
activity through their participation in answering questions individually and while
working in groups, and their ability to correctly sequence images of plant growth
creating a pumpkin mobile.

4. How do these expectations support the school districts curriculum, state

standards, and content standards?

The following Pennsylvania Learning Standards for Early Childhood support this
lesson on the life cycle of a plant:

3.1.K.A.3 Observe, compare, and describe stages of life cycles for plants
and/or animals.

5. Explain the psychological principles/theories you used in constructing this lesson.

This lesson is based on constructivist learning theory, an approach that stresses

how people learn by using past experiences and existing knowledge to discover
facts and relationships. Developed by Jerome Bruner, this teaching modality
suggests students interact with the world by exploring and manipulating objects,
wrestling with questions and controversies and performing experiments. In
essence, a student may be more likely to remember concepts and knowledge if
discovered on their own. Students will be exploring with their senses, making
observations about pumpkins, and discover why plants play an important role in
the world.

II.

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT:

6. Describe the effective classroom routines and procedures resulting in little or

no loss of instructional time.

Prior to the lesson, I will have materials organized on the table as well as the
blackboard. I will also have visual examples and directions displayed for the
students in the classroom. I will introduce the lesson, providing clear directions
and model the lesson for the students. Having materials prepared along with other
strategies including songs, and visual aids will help capture the students
attention, maximizing effectiveness and minimizing instructional time.

7. Identify what you will do to set clear standards of conduct and behavior
management of student behavior.

I will review classroom rules previously implemented throughout the school year
including respect for teachers, other students and their work, classroom materials
and their importance. I will use a visual activity schedule and visual rules chart
that is a researched based strategy, which improves the learning capabilities of
students. This will help students during transitions during the activity, promoting
appropriate behaviors, and increases on-task behavior.

8. Identify what you will do to establish expectations for student achievement.

I will consistently give clear, specific directions at different times throughout

the lesson. I will reinforce to my students my expectation that they follow
directions and expect them to be able to correctly identify the life cycle of a
pumpkin. I will encourage students to work together and ask questions.

III.

INSTRUCTION:

9. I will motivate my students by passing a pumpkin around for the students to

explore with during circle time. I will make a connection with students by asking
them what they know about pumpkins and record their thoughts. Next, I will use a
book to discuss and investigate the life cycle of a pumpkin. After students will get

into groups and ask them if they learned any other facts about pumpkins and add
them to the list.

10. What will you do to activate prior knowledge?

To activate prior knowledge during this lesson students will sit together in a
circle, pass around a pumpkin, and ask the students questions about pumpkins.
Students will already have learned that a pumpkin is a plant that grows in the
ground and what plants need to grow. Students will already have a basic
understanding of how another plant life cycle forms. This lesson will be focused
on identifying the life cycle of a pumpkin. I will use the following questions to
activate this prior knowledge:

Identify this plant?

Discuss how we use pumpkins?

Tell me what can we do with pumpkins?

Explain the word life cycle?

11. How do you plan to engage students in the content? What will you do? What will
students do?
Materials

Book: Pumpkin (Rookie Read-About Science) by Fay Robinson

Classification Cards: Pictures of the life cycle and vocabulary words that
identify the different parts of the pumpkin.

Life cycle lab sheet (Assessment)

Crayons

Pre-cut the different parts of the life cycle

Orange paper plates cut out like a pumpkin

Green yarn

After the materials are set up throughout the classroom I will begin the lesson.

First we will go over rules and expectations before we being the lesson.

Students will remain siting in their seats for the lesson while reviewing the
rules of the classroom.

I will begin my lesson by having students sit in a circle.

Next I will pass around a pumpkin, and ask them What do they know
about pumpkins?

I will use questioning to activate prior knowledge. (See number 10)

I will record students answers on a KWL chart. Starting with what they
know about pumpkins than asking students what they would like to know.

Next I will read

The students will discuss what other things they learned and record
answers on the chart.

The teacher will ask students to go back to their desks and break students
into groups.

The teacher will give clear directions and have the students repeat the
directions asking them what their task is.

Students will work together into groups to put the life cycle of a pumpkin
together using classification cards.

The teacher will model first by showing the students a picture of a seed
and properly labeling it on the blackboard, then offering the students to
work together as a group to put the cycle together.

Next the students will work together on their individual project by

coloring and creating a pumpkin life cycle mobile as an assessment.

Last the teacher will have students stay in groups and ask if they learned
anything and record answers on the KWL chart.

12. Describe the use of questioning and discussion strategies that will encourage
students to participate in class.

I will use the different levels of Blooms Taxonomy to prepare questions for the
students that will encourage them to participate during the lesson. The questions
that will be asked during the lesson will be to identify the plant, discuss how
pumpkins are used, tell me what we can do with pumpkins, and explain what a
life cycle is. The questions I ask throughout the lesson will help the students apply
their new and prior knowledge about what plants need to grow and the introduced
topic. The questions will require the students to use their knowledge about life
cycles. The students will be engaged in answering questions about pumpkins and
their life cycle.

13. What difficulties do students typically experience in this area, and how do you
plan to adapt/modify to meet their needs?

Some difficulties that students typically experience in this area would be their
focus. The activity where students get into groups to discuss the classification
cards and the order of the life cycle they go into may create a distraction and a
lack of focus. It is important that the teacher knows her students and groups them
accordingly to reduce additional distractions. The teacher will need to consistently
help the students stay focused on the task. Some students may have allergies to
specific foods, which should be identified prior to the lesson, and the lesson can
be modified for these children to help them identify potentially harmful foods.

14. Identify what informal and/or formal assessments you will use to monitor student
learning.

The students will be informally assessed during this lesson. The teacher will use
the KWL chart and the group project, categorizing the life cycle of a pumpkin to
determine if students were able to comprehend the lesson and apply prior and new
knowledge that was learnt. I will use this information for my own personal
records of the students development. I will also have a further assessment that
will require students to make their own life cycle mobile which will be as a form
of informal assessment for this lesson.

15. What will you do to bring closure to the lesson?

To bring closure to this lesson I will say the following to the class:
Today we have discussed why the life cycle of a pumpkin is important because it
teaches us how a plant grows and what it needs to grow and survive. I will ask
students what plants need and record what they have learned using the KWL
chart. Tomorrow we will plant our pumpkin seeds and watch them grow.