Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Template

Teachers:
Ms. Luongo

Subject:
Biological Sciences

Common Core State Standards:

Concept 2: Scientific Testing (Investigating and Modeling)

Participate in planning and conducting investigations, and recording data.

PO 1. Demonstrate safe behavior and appropriate procedures (e.g., use and care of technology,
materials, organisms) in all science inquiry.
PO 2. Plan a simple investigation that identifies the variables to be controlled.
PO 3. Conduct controlled investigations (e.g., related to erosion, plant life cycles, weather,
magnetism) in life, physical, and Earth and space sciences.

Concept 4: Communication
Communicate results of investigations
PO 1. Communicate verbally or in writing the results of an inquiry. (See W04-S3C3-01)

Objective (Explicit):

Students will understand the process of which food is grown.

Students will be able to recognize the parts of a plant and its role.
Students will understand how soil plays a part in the process of growing a plant.
Students will be able to form a hypothesis and explain their reasoning.

Evidence of Mastery (Measurable):

Students will be able to fill out the Life-Cycle of a Plant chart, being able to have all parts of the
cycle labeled and explained in the chart
Students will be able to create an educated hypothesis about the components of the soil outside
their classroom based on what they learned in the lesson.
Students will know all of the parts of a plant, and label them in the chart given.

Sub-objectives, SWBAT (Sequenced from basic to complex):

How will you review past learning and make connections to previous lessons?
What skills and content are needed to ultimately master this lesson objective?
How is this objective relevant to students, their lives, and/or the real world?

Students should demonstrate their note taking skills while learning about the parts of a plant. The
students should take complete, and detailed notes about the life-cycle of a plant, the parts of a
plant, and the role of the soil

Students will demonstrate their ability to follow directions and follow the scientific process involved in a
science experiment
Key vocabulary:
Materials:
Seeds
Videos in website
Germination
Clear jar
1

Stems
Roots
Leaves
Pollination
Photosynthesis
Sediments

How will you activate student interest?

How will you connect to past learning?
How will you present the objective in an engaging and student-friendly way?
How will you communicate its importance and make the content relevant to your students?

Soil
Shovel
Water
Life Cycle Worksheet
Notebook
Pencil
Seeds
Plants (if possible, at different stages of
growth)
Opening (state objectives, connect to previous learning, and make relevant to real life)

Students will watch the Peep Plants a Seed video

The teacher will ask the students about how they think a plant grows to access their prior
knowledge
The teacher can bring in some plants and pass them around the class to have them look
at the different parts
Teacher Will:

Instructional Input

How will you model/explain/demonstrate all

knowledge/skills required of the objective?
What types of visuals will you use?
How will you address misunderstandings or
common student errors?
How will you check for understanding?
How will you explain and model behavioral
expectations?
Is there enough detail in this section so that
another person could teach it?

show the videos about the different

parts of a plant
pass around plants to have the
students look at the different parts
pass around seeds to have them
look at the different parts

Student Will:

What will students be doing to actively capture and

process the new material?
How will students be engaged?

make observations about the different

parts
take short notes about what they see,
describing the plant
draw pictures of the different parts in
their notes, thinking about what they
are and what they do for the plant

Co-Teaching Strategy

The co-teacher will walk about and make sure that the students are being respectful to the
materials, are not making a mess, and are noticing the different parts
The co-teacher will ask the students questions about what they are looking at to spark
curiosity, and that will encourage a deeper level of thinking
Differentiation Strategy

The teacher can give a worksheet of the different parts of the plant, and give it to the
students who need help with note-taking. The worksheet should have a word bank with all of
the parts so the students know the vocabulary. The students will just fill out the names of the
parts and make observations.
2

Guided Practice

Teacher Will:

How will you ensure that all students have multiple

opportunities to practice new content and skills?
What types of questions can you ask students as
you are observing them practice?
How/when will you check for understanding?
How will you provide guidance to all students as
they practice?
How will you explain and model behavioral
expectations?
Is there enough detail in this section so that
another person could facilitate this practice?

Part One (Plant Parts Information and Note

Taking):
The teacher will
Give the lesson about the different parts of
the plant
Talk about the different parts, important
vocabulary, and the roles of the different
parts
Ask students to refer back to the
observations that they made and see how
close they were to what they guessed
about the parts of the plant.
Give the students the worksheet about the
parts of the plant, and complete it as a
class.
Once the worksheet is finished, and is
correct (check to make sure everyone has
the right answers), move on to the
information about the dirt.
Show the videos when appropriate.
Part Two (Dirt Information and beginning of the
Experiment):
Show the video about dirt
Explain the role that dirt has in plantgrowing process
Talk about the different types of dirt, and
how that can effect how a plant is grown.
Go over the process of the experiment:
Taking the students outside, gathering the
dirt, making observations, etc.
Ask the students to make an observation
about the dirt at school, how they think it
will look, and whether it would be good soil
for growing plants.
Demonstrate an example of a hypothesis

Student Will:

How will students practice all knowledge/skills required

of the objective, with your support, such that they
continue to internalize the sub-objectives?
How will students be engaged?
How will you elicit student-to-student interaction?
How are students practicing in ways that align to
independent practice?

Part One:
Students will
Use the notes they took while observing the
plants to make connections to what they saw
vs. what they are now learning
Take notes on the vocabulary, writing down the
name of the part of the plant, and its use
Complete the worksheet with the class to
ensure that they know what the part of the part
looks like, using it for further study.
Check their worksheet to make sure it is
correct
Quietly watch the videos
Part Two:
Take notes about the different types of dirt, the
role it plays in growing the plant, and the types
of sediments.
Create a hypothesis about the soil at their
school, what they think it looks like (the types
of sediments and other things mixed in like
rocks, etc.), and whether it would be good for
growing plants.
Write their hypothesis on the top of a sheet of
paper individually

Co-Teaching Strategy

Which co-teaching approach will you use to maximize student achievement?

Help the students who have a hard time taking notes

Walk about the class to make sure everyone is focused

Help make connections about the parts of the plant by selecting students who he/she helped with
Help students write their hypothesis

Differentiation Strategy

Independent Practice

Have a fill-in-the-plant version of the lesson being given so the students will just need to fill
in key vocabulary
Have students buddy-up when going outside
Teacher Will:

How will you plan to coach and correct during this

practice?
How will you provide opportunities for remediation and
extension?
How will you clearly state and model academic and
behavioral expectations?
Did you provide enough detail so that another person
could facilitate the practice?

Student Will:

How will students independently practice the knowledge and

skills required by the objective?
How will students be engaged?
How are students practicing in ways that align to
assessment?
How are students using self-assessment to guide their own
learning?
How are you supporting students giving feedback to one
another?

As a class, the teacher/students will go

outside to the playground or any patch of
grass/dirt available.
The teacher will pass out jars and little
shovels (or spoons, any means of getting
dirt into the jar)
Instruct the students to go and fill up their
jar halfway with dirt.
Give the student time to explore their
school yard, looking at plants that growing,
where they are (in relation to the amount
of sunlight and the type of soil)
One the students have their dirt, bring
them all inside.
Instruct the students to look at the
contents of their jar, and to think about
what will happen when it is filled with water
Have the students fill the jar with water,
screw on the cap, and shake.
After the dirt has settled, have the students
watch what has happened, and what is
inside and compare to their hypothesis.
Have the students write down all of their
observations for the experiment and the
steps that they took.
Have the students fill out the Life-Cycle
work sheet and turn it in with the
experiment worksheet together for exit
tickets.
Co-Teaching Strategy

Students will go outside and observe the area

around them.
They will not only get dirt samples, but they will
take note of the plants at their school, what the
dirt looks like, how much sunlight is there, and
where it is located.
Students will take note of the things they see
and what they are doing while outside.
After getting a sample of the dirt and looking at
the plants outside, students will go inside to
look more closely at the dirt in their jar.
The students will then fill the jar with water,
shake it up, watch how the dirt separates, and
take note of what they are seeing, drawing
pictures for reference (if needed).
The students will then use their notes to write a
summary of their scientific process (the
hypothesis, the variables, the information
gathered, what they found, etc.) and turn it in to
check for understanding.
For the exit ticket, the students will fill out the
Life-Cycle worksheet to check for
understanding.

The co-teacher will continue to use the one teach-one assist method listed above.
Help the students with writing their scientific method summary and other worksheets or with cleanup.

Differentiation Strategy
The teacher will provide a written list of steps for the scientific process and a worksheet for the
students to fill out to help organize thinking
The teacher can have the students work in groups when going outside and doing their experiments
Closing/Student Reflection/Real-life connections:

How will students summarize and state the significance of what they learned?
Why will students be engaged?

By turning in the scientific process summary and the Life Cycle worksheet, the students would
demonstrate their learning in first a written way.
Have a discussion on what the students learned how their hypotheses and their end-results compared to
each other.
Have a discussion on the soil, and what happens when it is damaged, and how that effects what were
growing to relate to sustainability. (How to keep soil healthy, what humans do that effects the soil, how
students can help).