Name: Rachel Noel

Class: ELED 3221

Date: 3/16/16
edTPA Indirect Instruction Lesson Plan Template
Plants and Soil
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Central Focus/Big Idea: Plants
Subject of this lesson: Introduction about plants and soil
Grade Level: 3rd
NC Essential Standard(s): Remember the function of the following structures as it relates to the
survival of plants in their environments:

Roots- absorb nutrients

Stems- provide support
Leaves- synthesize food
Flowers- attract pollinators and produce seeds for reproduction

Next Generation Science Standard(s): 3-LS4-3 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
Adaptation: For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive
less well, and some cannot survive at all.
21st Century Skills: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: This will be used during the lesson
because students will be asking questions based upon what they have started to learn about plants
and investigating what will happen when the plant is in certain environments.
Academic Language Demand
Language Function: I chose question because the students will be asking and answering a
lot of questions. Since this is the beginning of a new lesson, the students may have a lot
of questions to ask about plants and soil as well as what is important for a plant. I will
also be asking the students a lot of questions to make sure they understand the topic.
Analyze

Argue

Categorize

Interpret

Predict

Question

Compare/contras
t
Retell

Describe

Explain

Summarize

Scientific Vocabulary: roots, stem, sunlight, water, leaf, flower, soil, nutrients

Instructional Objective: Students will be able to write create a foldable about plants describing
what the important parts of a plan are and what they do for the plant. The students will be
learning the important parts of a plant and what helps a plant grow. I will know what they
understand by collecting their foldable to see what they understood and what they did not
understand. The students will need to be able to label at least parts of a plant important and
have at least 2/3 factors that help a plant grow.

Prior Knowledge (student): The students should have a good idea of what a plant is and what
they have to do in order to help it live (such as watering it and putting it in the sun). The students
should also know what soil is.
Content Knowledge (teacher): The teacher needs to know all of the parts of a plant and soil.
They need to know that the soil provides nutrients for the plants to grow. They need to know that
the leaves create food for the plant by using water, air, and sunlight. They need to know that the
stem is what holds up the leaf and is what carries the water and nutrients throughout the flower.
Accommodations for special needs (individual and/or small group): For the students who
struggle with English, I will pair them up with someone who really understands what we are
doing. I will also make sure that for any writing assignment there is, they will have some sort of
guide to help them write what they need to write.
Materials and Technology requirements:

Chart for KWL

Sticky notes (2 to start with, then one at the end)
White paper/construction paper
Colored pencils/ markers/ crayons
Science notebooks
Small plants from home depot

Total Estimated Time: 45-60 minutes

Source of lesson: Power Point by Denise Carroll
Safety considerations: I will make sure that the students walk around the classroom and if they
need scissors at all for their foldable, I will make sure they hold their scissors down and do not
use them towards their classmates. Also, I will tell the students that no one is allowed to touch
the plants. If there is a student with allergies, they will not be around the plants.

Content and Strategies (Procedure)

In your procedure, be sure to include all of the following 5 Es. Your procedure should be
detailed enough for a colleague to follow. If you will be relying on technology (e.g., a YouTube
video), describe your back up plan thoroughly. Imagine your most novice colleague needing to
teach from your plan. Dont just answer the questions. Additionally, I expect you to include
possible questions you could ask for each section. This needs to include higher-order questions.
Engage: I will have a KWL chart up on a big sheet of paper. I will then hand out 3 sticky notes
to each student. I will tell the students to write down at least one thing that they already know
about plants, as well as something that they want to know. Once they have written them, they
will be able to come place them up on the KWL chart. I will then read a good amount of what the
sticky notes say out loud so students can hear what the other students have to say.
Explore: Place a small plant or two at each desk. Tell each student to get out his or her writers
notebook. They may talk within their groups to discuss qualities of the plants using their senses.
They will jot down points in their notebook that they observe and all of the parts of the plants
that they see by looking at the plant. Ask the students How many different things did you notice
about the plant? Was there anything that surprised you? What do you think would help these
plants grow? Is there any part of a plant that we dont visibly see right now but we know is
there?
Explanation: I will present the PowerPoint on Parts of a Plant to guide what the students
already know about plants and what they noticed when observing the plants. We will go through
the whole PowerPoint and at the end of it, there are questions to facilitate their learning. During
this PowerPoint, we will be able to refer back to the sticky notes that the students wrote based
upon what they want to learn about plants if at any time we answer those questions.
Elaborate: After the PowerPoint presentation, the students will make a foldable. In the foldable
they will include a picture of a plant with labels, the parts of a plant, what it needs to survive,
what each part of a plant is used for, and any other additional ideas or pictures they would like to
add that is related to plants. They will be given colored pencils, crayons, or markers so that they
can draw the picture true to life.
Evaluate: Informal- I will collect the students foldables to see what basic information they have
learned from todays lesson.
Summative: Exit ticket (writing on a sticky note what they have learned)