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Unit Title

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Parts of Plants

Discipline and Topic

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Science

Target Population

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Grade Level:
2nd and 3rd

These children are between the ages of seven and nine.  Children at this age level respond well to visual, audio, and tactile activities.  Therefore, throughout the unit they will be using multimedia tools such as Microsoft Photostory and image maps.  In  addition, students will be participating in  expreiments that will enable them to grasp the concepts being represented.

Lesson Groupings:
Students will be working individually and in groups. 

Curriculum Links

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In the last unit students learned about ocean life.  During that unit they learned about the plants that live in the ocean.  This unit will connect to the prior unit by exploring plants, their different parts, and how those parts aid in the survival of the plant.

Objectives

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By the end of this unit students will be able to:

• List the roots, stem, leaves, and flowers as parts of plants.

• Label the different parts of a plant.

• Explain the role of the roots, stem, leaves and flowers in helping the plant to survive.

Media Literacy Objectives

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Standard 4. In a collaborative work group, use a variety of technologies to produce a digital                    presentation or product in a curriculum area.

Standard 7. Demonstrate the safe and cooperative use of technology.

Standard 8. Independently apply digital tools and resources to address a variety of tasks and problems.

Materials

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Timing

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45 minutes/day

Scope and Sequence

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Day 1:

• In groups, students will explore the characteristics of plants displayed by the teacher.

• Each group will discuss the commonalities amongst the different plants they observed.

Day 2:

• Read the minilecture on roots.


• Find the roots on theInteractivePlantMap.                                                                                      
• Students will find the roots on the Roots Coloring Page, and color them brown.  Then they will write 2-3 sentences about what they roots do.
  

Day 3:

• Watch the digital story about stems.


• Begin the celery experiment, putting the celery into a cup of water with red food coloring.
  

• Visit the Interactive Plant Map and locate the stem on the map.

• Return to the celery and make observations about what happened to the food coloring.


• Explain the job of a stem based on their noticings.
  

Day 4:

• View the powerpoint on leaves.

• Find the leaves on the Interactive Plant Map.

• Divide students into pairs.  Each pair will classify the leaf images into leaves that make food and leaves that do not make food.  They will group the photos into two collages using Adobe Photoshop.  One will be called "Leaves That Make Food."  The other will be called "Leaves that Don't Make Food."
  

Day 5:

• Watch the lecture on flowers and seeds.

• Locate the flower on the Interactive Plant Map.

• Students will record podcasts explaining how the flower helps the plant.

Day 6:

• Divide students into pairs.  Each pair will make a digital story that explains the different parts of the plant and the role they play in the plant's survival.
  

• Review the plant parts on the Interactive Plant Map.
  

• Take the Parts of Plants Quiz.
  

Evaluation of Students

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Students will be evaluated based on the rubric below.  It measures their ability to meet the individual goals of the unit.

Objectives	Beginning	Developing	Secure	Score
List the roots, stem, leaves, and flowers as parts of plants.	The students can either only identify one plant part correctly, or cannot identify any.	The student can identify two to three of the plant parts correctly, making an error on one or two.	The student is easily able to identify the roots, stems, leaves and flowers as plant parts.
Label the different parts of a plant.	The student can either correctly label only one plant part, or cannot label any correctly.	The student labels two to three of the plant parts correctly, making an error on one or two.	The student can label the roots, stems, leaves and flowers correctly.
Explain the role of the roots, stem, leaves and flowers in helping the plant to survive.	The student can either only explain how one plant part helps the plant to live, or can not explain the role of any of the plant's parts.	The student makes one or two errors, only correctly explaining how two or three of the plant parts help the plant to live.	The student can properly explain how the roots, stem, leaves and flowers aid in the survival of plants.

Evaluation of the Unit

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This evaluation is a direct result of how the students perform on the quiz and  the  digital stories they create.  If most of the students score a developing or secure understanding level, then the unit requires minor changes.  However, if most of the students scored a beginning or developing level of understanding, the lesson must be revised to enhance student understanding.