Artifact 3.3

THEMATIC UNIT – LEAVES AND TREES

 Overall Big Idea: Students will understand that leaves are essential for a tree’s survival because the leaves make food for the tree, so that they will better understand the natural world around them

 Lesson Plan #1

Stage 1 – Desired Results

Learning Goals: Students will be able to identify what is living and non-living in the world around them. Students will understand that a tree is a living thing and needs certain things to survive.
Understanding / Goals Students will understand: That trees as examples of growing, living, organisms, require certain things to survive. Students will know: That trees need air, water, and sunlight to survive.	Essential Questions: What things in the world around us are living things? Non-living? Are trees living things? If they are, what do they need in order to survive?
Student Objectives (Outcomes) Students will be able to: Identify what it means to be “alive”. Come up with questions they still have about trees and think of ways to find the answers.
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Informal: Group discussion using checklist to record and make sure everyone shared ideas. Incorporates new vocabulary in discussion.
Stage 3 – Learning Plan We will all gather for morning meeting and I will ask the students to put a finger on their nose if they think they know what it means to be alive? Students will share their ideas and I will document what they think on chart paper. I will then ask them to name some living things. After we have generated a list of living things, I will ask them to identify some non-living things. I will write these on the white board. Once we have reviewed our lists I will ask them, How do we know whether something is living or non-living? Students will then do a Think Pair Share and talk with their neighbor about their ideas. Each pair will then share and we will create a web with pictures on the white board. I will remind the students that we are living things as well, if they have not already mentioned that and then ask, “What do living things need to survive? We will then generate a list of ideas. We will then see what questions the students have and make plans about ways in which we can find out the answers. We have previously generated a list of things we know about leaves and trees and will now make a list of things we want to know on chart paper.

 

 

 

Vocabulary:

Living things

Non-living things

Activate Prior Knowledge: Students’ awareness of prior knowledge will be activated by asking the essential questions at the beginning of the meeting. A lot of their knowledge will come from prior experiences and encounters with living and non-living things. A great deal of their knowledge will be revealed through discussion.

ELLs and IEPs / differentiated instruction: Significant wait time will be given to those students who may need extra time to process questions and information. ELL students will also receive modeling from fellow classmates in the way that they form statements and questions. Participating in Think Pair Share will also provide students thinking time and peer language models. Graphic organizer will be used with pictures to show what living things need to survive.

Integration of content areas: This lesson incorporates English Language Arts because students will be using communication skills to share their ideas.  I will tell them I expect to hear from everyone. I will scaffold this by asking prompting questions. If a child cannot come up with something to share with the group I will ask more direct questions like, “Is a ________ alive?”

Standards:

• Recognize that plants and animals have life cycles, and that life cycles vary for different living things.
• Recognize that animals (including humans) and plants are living things that grow, reproduce, and need food, air, and water.

Rationale: This lesson was designed as a discussion and record of knowledge because I have noticed that my class works really well when they can share ideas and interact with each other. Some of our most thought provoking questions have come from one student questioning something said by another student during a meeting like this. I thought it would be a good way to introduce the unit in this way because a lot of the children probably can give examples of living and non-living things but cannot fully explain what makes something living. I feel it is important for the students to understand this concept for having them discover what important role leaves play in a tree’s life. Doing this activity will help the students achieve the learning goals because hearing other students around them asking questions and sharing ideas will get their own minds thinking. From the observations of my focus children, I have planned this lesson as a discussion because they are both very confident in their thinking skills and are not afraid to share their ideas. This would be an opportunity for them to shine and also to realize the importance of listening to other people’s ideas, which one sometimes forgets to do.

 

Lesson Plan # 2 Stage 1 – Desired Results Learning Goals: Students will understand the different parts of a tree so that they can make connections and begin to understand the important role that leaves play in a tree’s survival. Understanding / Goals Students will understand: That trees have different parts that do certain things to help the tree live.   Essential Questions: How do the parts of a tree help it to live? Student Objectives (Outcomes) Students will be able to: Name and identify the parts of a tree. Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence Performance Tasks: Create a life size tree around the pole in the classroom. Put together “Parts of the Tree” books. Other Evidence: Share with the class their expert knowledge on one particular part of the tree. Stage 3 – Learning Plan I will begin by asking the students what they notice about trees. Now that we know that trees are living things and need certain things to survive, what specific parts of the tree can we observe? I will list these on the white board. Children will figure out where these parts are during their research. We will then sing the “Growth of A Tree” song. I will then explain that we are going to make our very own Maple tree in the classroom, but first we need to find out what the bark of a Maple tree is like, what roots look like, and branches, etc. I will ask them where we can find out this information. During project time students can choose to work in groups to begin researching and creating that part of the tree. Create life size tree around pole in classroom. One resource available to the students will be several books that talk about the parts of the tree: Outside and Inside Trees, Be A Friend to Trees, I Wonder Why Trees Have Leaves, Tell Me Tree. Before the students start creating the part of the tree they are working on, they will need to write or draw to explain where that part is on a tree and how it helps a tree. Bark group Roots group Leaves group Another choice the students can make during project time is putting together and matching tree part cards in both English and Spanish. We have 3 native Spanish speakers in our classroom. The parts of the tree book shows pictures of trees and on each picture a different part of the tree is shaded. They have empty boxes under the pictures in which the students are expected to match and glue the correct term with the picture. During Project Time Share, groups can share what they discovered about certain parts of a Maple tree and why they chose to design the tree in that way. Students will add the leaves of the tree, when they write something that they have learned on a leaf they can tape it onto a branch. – The Maple Leaves’ Tree of Knowledge. When the tree is done we will label the parts of our tree with index cards.

 

Vocabulary:

Tree                                     Arbol

Roots                                    Raices

Trunk                                    Tronco

Branches                        Ramas

Leaves                                    Hojas

 

Materials to be used:

Picture and word cards for tree part books

Paper, tape, string, cardboard, tissue paper, etc. for making tree

Activate Prior Knowledge: Talking about what the students already know and have observed about trees will get their minds thinking about the different parts of the tree.

ELLs and IEPs / differentiated instruction: ELL students will become familiarized with the Spanish words for parts of the tree by completing the book.  When doing research for the classroom tree each group will have a least one strong reader in the group to support non-readers. Also, for differentiated instruction, students always have the option to draw, write, or dictate their ideas.  The pictures and diagrams in the books will give ELL students a visual for the new concepts.

Integration of content areas: This lesson incorporates art because the students will be using different materials to create a tree. This will be supported by having them look closely at real bark, leaves, and branches, so that they can begin to begin to learn how to use different materials to represent something else. For example, we can crumple up paper bags to make the rough texture of bark. This lesson also incorporates English Language Arts because the students will be doing research and gathering information from non-fiction texts. I will support the students in this process by asking questions to get them thinking as they read. For example, the group that is reading about the bark I would ask, “what might happen if a tree did not have bark?” “How is a tree’s bark like your jacket?” I will be working with a small group at this station and will support their reading by having them use decoding strategies and clues from the pictures. 

Standards:

• Recognize that plants and animals have life cycles, and that life cycles vary for different living things.
• Recognize that animals (including humans) and plants are living things that grow, reproduce, and need food, air, and water.

Rationale: This lesson was designed with a large art focus in mind because that is one of the major strengths of one of my focus children. Both of my focus children also thrive in group situations, therefore, this lesson has been designed for small groups to work together.  I also incorporated a more standardized form of assessment by having students complete booklets about the parts of a tree to recognize different types of learners. The class has been talking about making a life-size model of a Maple Tree for a long time now, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity as we were learning about the parts of a tree. Doing this activity will benefit the students because they will work together to create a somewhat permanent structure in their classroom that serves as a self-reflection and as a learning tool. Students will also learn to use resources such as books to find out information.

 Lesson Plan #3

 

Stage 1 – Desired Results   Learning Goals: Students will begin to understand the parts of a leaf and how they help to make food for the tree so that they can realize the importance of parts of wholes working together.
Understanding / Goals Students will know: That leaves have different parts. That trees make their own food. Leaves are important for making food for the tree.	Essential Questions: What are the parts of leaves? How do leaves help trees? How do trees make their own food?
Student Objectives (Outcomes) Students will be able to: Identify the parts of a leaf. Draw a detailed picture of a leaf. Explain how leaves make food for trees.
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks: Drawing their own leaf and identifying the parts that they see.	Other Evidence: Communicates observations of parts of a leaf orally and through drawing. Class created rubric for scientific observational drawings.
Stage 3 – Learning Plan This lesson will begin by taking a survey and asking the students. “Do you know what photosynthesis is?” Students will come up and write their name under the ‘yes’ column or ‘no’ column. We will then look to see how many people think they know what it is. If there are students who think they know they can share their ideas. Then I will ask students for evidence.  I will expect some of this to be familiar to a few students because they do know a lot about plants and the environment and because they will come across it in their research from the previous lesson. Next I will mention the things that the students listed that trees need for survival and I will say, “Gee, I don’t ever see a plant eat food, how do you think they get their food?” Students will then pose ideas and we will brainstorm together ways that they can find evidence for their ideas or answers for their questions.  I will then explain that tomorrow we are going to come back to this question, because first we need to talk a little but about leaves.  Today we are going to look closely at a leaf to see what we can notice. Students will            draw detailed drawing of their leaves and describe what they see. (I looked at ______,           This is a picture of what I saw, I noticed _____. Worksheet) Students will then look at an example of a labeled leaf and compare their drawing with this one.

 

Vocabulary:

Vein

Tip

Blade

Petiole

 

Materials Needed:

Leaf diagrams

Scientific drawing worksheet

Magnifying lenses

Activate Prior Knowledge: We will talk about the things we have been noticing about leaves for the past couple of months and see if we can look for new things to observe.

ELLs and IEPs / differentiated instruction: There is a lot of room in this lesson for differentiated instruction because there are many methods and approaches to finding out what photosynthesis is and each child could bring a new piece of information to the group depending on the type of source they got their information from. For example in the past when students have wondered or had a question about something, they have had a teacher write a survey question on a piece of paper and they went around the school talking to students and teachers; they have called someone that they knew might know the answer to their question; they have talked with another student in the class who may be an expert in that area, they have listened to information on the internet, etc. ELL students and students on IEPs can benefit from this type of learning.

Integration of content areas: This lesson incorporates art because students will be drawing leaves. It also incorporates English Language Arts because the students will be doing research in various ways to find out what photosynthesis is and sharing it with the class. I will support the students with this part by helping formulate questions if they decide to call or talk with people in the school. I will also encourage and support all forms of communication.

Standards:

• Recognize that plants and animals have life cycles, and that life cycles vary for different living things.
• Recognize that animals (including humans) and plants are living things that grow, reproduce, and need food, air, and water.

Rationale: The passion and drive for science by one of my focus children helped in designing this lesson. In a previous lesson in which the students were asked to sort leaves my focus child and his partner looked so closely at the leaves they started to count the veins in each one and sort them that way. I feel confident that he will excel during this activity as well. This lesson supports the overall learning goal because children will need to understand the structure of a leaf in order to understand how the leaf makes food for the tree. It also supports the strength of my other focus child who loves to draw. She will most likely put a lot of detail into her leaf drawing. My school really reaffirmed my belief in inquiry based learning and allowing the students’ questions and insights guide the learning. I have seen so many positive things from this way of learning. Therefore, that is why I have chosen to pose such large questions and have the children come up with ways to find the answers.

 Lesson Plan #4

Stage 1 – Desired Results   Learning Goals: Students will begin to understand how a leaf makes food for the tree through the process of photosynthesis so that they will better understand the natural world around them.
Understanding / Goals Students will understand: How trees make their own food. Students will know: That leaves are important for making food for the tree.	Essential Questions: How do leaves make food for trees? What happens in the winter when some trees lose their leaves?
Student Objectives (Outcomes) Students will be able to: Explain how leaves make food for trees.
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks: Participation in photosynthesis simulation. Photosynthesis picture books will provide a way for students to show what they retained from the simulation.	Other Evidence: Questions still left unanswered will offer assessment of what the students got out of the simulation and if anything is still confusing that needs to be addressed in a different way. Self-reflection: How did you feel about this activity? Would you do this activity again?
Stage 3 – Learning Plan   I will begin the lesson by reminding the students of the list we generated about the things that all living things need to survive. I will then explain that we are all going to become trees today and pretend that we are making food. “Let’s all stand up tall like a tree. What is one of the parts of a tree that we talked about?” Depending on what the students say, I will ask them which part of our body could be that part on the tree. For example, if they mention the roots, I will ask them which part on our body should be the roots. Once we have our full tree we will begin the simulation. Everyone will be a tree except for two students who will be sun and carbon dioxide. I will ask the students how they think the tree gets water; once roots are suggested we will pretend to be sucking up water from the ground. The students will know to suggest these things because when they made the classroom tree different groups of students researched the parts of the tree and shared their findings with the class. “The water is traveling up your trunk through your branches and into the veins in your leaves.” Next I will ask them what else the tree needs to make food. Once either CO2 or sunlight is suggested that students will come around and tap each tree with their sun wand or CO2 wand. “Once you receive carbon dioxide and sunlight you can begin making food in your leaves. Do you know what leaves release as they are making their food?” If students are not sure I will ask them how they can find out, but if they come up with oxygen we will then pretend to emit oxygen from our leaves. We will then review the process that we just did and create a step-by-step list on the board. They will then fill out a self-reflection about the activity. The students will then make illustration photosynthesis books. The students will get pre-made empty books. They will then draw or write about photosynthesis and how leaves make food for the tree.

 

Vocabulary:

Photosynthesis

Chlorophyll

Glucose

Materials Needed:

Sun wand

Carbon dioxide wand

Oxygen wand

Activate Prior Knowledge: Students will build off of knowledge from previous lessons we will refer to a list we created in a previous lesson.

ELLs and IEPs / differentiated instruction: When creating the books, those students that do not quite have the fine motor skills yet will be given pre-cut pictures to glue in the order that photosynthesis occurs. ELLs will be supported during this lesson because I will also mention the tree parts in Spanish, which will connect to lesson two when they made the tree part books in Spanish.

Integration of content areas: This lesson incorporates English Language Arts because students will be using listening skills while following directions. It also incorporates art because the students will be illustrating books about photosynthesis.

Standards:

• Recognize that plants and animals have life cycles, and that life cycles vary for different living things.
• Recognize that animals (including humans) and plants are living things that grow, reproduce, and need food, air, and water.

Rationale: This lesson was designed with multiple modes for children to grasp photosynthesis: bodily kinesthetic, oral, and drawn. I thought that by having everybody sort of simulate what happens to plants as they make food would help them remember it, and having them do several different activities would make an even stronger lasting impression. I wanted to have them experience this process because it is a difficult process for people to understand, however, I felt it was necessary for this class of Maple Leaves to at least walk away with something about photosynthesis. These activities support the learning goals because by the end of all three activities every student should be able to give a general idea about photosynthesis. This will be a way to support my focus students’ needs because one of them has difficulty coming up with what to write and the other has difficulty writing independently, so the opportunity for them to explain it orally and through illustration will be beneficial for them. 

 Lesson Plan #5

Stage 1 – Desired Results   Learning Goals: Students will understand the importance of leaves for trees and how the life cycle of trees affects them so that they will better understand the natural world around them.
Understanding / Goals Students will understand: That leaves are important for a tree’s survival. That there is an appropriate time for trees not to have leaves and that is part of its life cycle.	Essential Questions: What happens if you pull a leaf off of a tree? Why do leaves fall off of trees?
Student Objectives (Outcomes) Students will be able to: Predict what has happened to a fig tree that boy has been picking the leaves off of. Explain the importance of leaves for trees.
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks: Prediction page (creating an end to the story)
Stage 3 – Learning Plan   “Now that we know how leaves make food for trees, let’s think about what would happen if a tree did not have leaves.” Students will generate some ideas. We will also talk about how we have been noticing that the leaves are falling off the trees right now and students will begin to talk about why they think that is happening and if it is healthy for the tree. I will tell the students that I have a story about a boy who discovered what happens when a tree does not have leaves. Next I will read the chapter called Because of Figs from the book The Stories Julian Tells. I will stop on page 40, just after Julian ate two of the leaves off his fig tree. We will pause here because I will have the students work on creating an end to the story. Now that we know why trees have leaves, what do we think would happen if they did not? Students will write, draw, or dictate how they think the story will end and why. What scientific evidence do they have to back that up with? Students will meet back on the rug and some students will share their predictions. We will read the rest of the chapter to see what really happened. Then we will discuss if our predictions were correct or not.

 

Vocabulary

Prediction

Fig

Fertilizer

Materials Needed:

The Stories Julian Tells

Activate Prior Knowledge: Students will use their prior knowledge from the previous four lessons to help in this lesson. Prior knowledge will be activated by discussing the things that we have already been noticing about the leaves on the trees.

ELLs and IEPs / differentiated instruction: Students will have the option to write, draw, or dictate how they think the story will end and why. I will also preteach the words ‘fig’ and ‘fertilizer’. Students that require letter strips while writing will be allowed to use them.

Integration of content areas: This lesson incorporates English Language Arts because students will be using prediction with a fiction text, as well as communication skills and writing skills. To support this communication I will ask high-order thinking questions as well as follow-up questions to make sure the students are sharing all that they know. To support the writing skills I will encourage children to spell words how they sound to them or to look for familiar words around the classroom.

Standards:

• Recognize that plants and animals have life cycles, and that life cycles vary for different living things.
• Recognize that animals (including humans) and plants are living things that grow, reproduce, and need food, air, and water.

Rationale: This lesson was designed in a way to pull everything we have learned in the previous four lessons together. This chapter is an excellent example of how what we have been learning about leaves and trees this past week is essential for a trees survival. Having the students predict what will happen will provide one assessment to see if the children understand the vital role that leaves play in a tree’s life. This lesson was also designed this way to help one of my focus children get over his writer’s block.. Because I know that he is really strong in science having him write about a science prediction will benefit him because he will already have ideas of what to write in his head. This lesson will support the overall big idea because students will need to think back about what they have learned about leaves to be able to understand what would happen if someone picked leaves off a tree.