Plant Presentation

Madyson Whiteman
3rd Grade / Science / Life Science

Common Core Standards:

Domain: Science
Strand: Life Science
Content Statement: Plants and animals have life cycles that are part of their adaptations for survival in their
natural environments.
Concepts:
 Organisms have different structures and behaviors that serve different functions. Some plants have
leaves, stems and roots; each part serves a different function for the plant. Some animals have wings,
feathers, beaks; each part serves a different function for the animals. The observation of body parts
should be limited to gross morphology and not microscopic or chemical features. Comparison across
species is not appropriate at this grade level; only observation of variation within the same species is
expected. This content statement can be combined with the observation of the life cycles of
organisms and/or the observation of the similarity between offspring and parents.

 There may be variations in the traits that are passed down that increase the ability of organisms to
thrive and reproduce. Some variations in traits that are passed down may reduce the ability of
organisms to survive and reproduce. Some variations in traits that are passed down may have no
appreciable effect on the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce. Variations in physical
features among animals and plants can help them survive in different environmental conditions.
Variations in color, size, weight, etc., can be observed as the organism develops.

 Plants and animals that survive and reproduce pass successful features on to future generations. Some
grade-appropriate organisms to study are plants (e.g., radishes, beans) and insects (e.g., butterflies,
moths, beetles, brine shrimp). Comparisons can be made in nature or virtually. Venn diagrams can be
used to illustrate the similarities and differences between individuals of the same type.

Lesson Summary:

Kids in the classroom will learn more about different plants, trees, and flowers. Kids will be in groups and
get to go outside and explore plants around the school. There will be QR codes at each plant, so they can
look them up and learn more about them. Once finished with the scavenger hunt, each group will choose one
plant to make a short presentation about to share with the class. It can be a plant that was on the scavenger
hunt list, or one that wasn’t.

Estimated Duration:

This lesson will take a total of three hours. I plan on dividing the lesson into three days, with each class
lasting from 55 to 60 minutes.
Commentary: I want to have kids work in groups, so they have others to collaborate, share ideas, and split
the workload. I want kids to get hooked onto this lesson by getting to work in groups, go out on a nature
walk, use tablets, and getting to see plants they aren’t used to. I also think another good hook for this lesson
would be after this assignment possibly having a field trip to the Franklin Park Conservatory as an extension.
I think the biggest challenge would just be keeping all the kids on schedule when outside, maybe reading the
plant descriptions, and typing words for the presentation. Another challenge could be children not wanting
to share the tablet and may require teacher interference.

Instructional Procedures:

Day 1: As a class, for the first ten minutes, the teacher will start a brief discussion about what students
already know about plants. The teacher will use the SmartBoard to list everything students know about
plants. For example, students might say things like plants are green, have leaves, are flowers, are trees, are
living, etc. After the class has finished the quick summary of what they know about plants the teacher will
then introduce an activity the class will do together.
For the next five to ten minutes, the teacher will explain that kids in the class will be divided into groups of
three or four and each group will be given a tablet. Next, the teacher will explain how after being divided
into groups and given tablets and the class will take a trip outside to the school garden. There, they will see
many different kinds of plants and the plants will have QR codes. They will use an app on the tablet and the
camera to scan QR codes to learn more about the plants. The teacher will explain what a QR code is and
what its purpose is. Then, the teacher will demonstrate with a tablet and a printed QR code how to scan the
QR code with the app on the tablet and then read some of the information it pulls up. After finishing the
demonstration, the teacher will then mention that by the end of the trip to the garden that groups will end up
choosing on plant they saw, or research one they didn’t see, to later do a presentation about on a different
day.
Then the teacher will divide the students into groups and provide each group a tablet. At this point the
teacher will remind students that if more than one person wishes to use the tablet during the activity, to make
sure to switch users after each QR code scan so that everyone may have a chance to use it. Students will also
be able to take pictures of the different plants and have notebooks to write down plant names or other details.
The students will line up to go outside to the garden and around the school. The last forty to forty-five
minutes of class students will be spending outside looking at the different plants. During this time students
will be seen walking around the garden in their groups, using the tablets to scan codes, reading about
different plants, and looking at different plants. Students might also be seen asking each other or the teacher
more in-depth question about the plants and wanting to find out more. When finished everyone will line up
and return to class and return the tablets to the teacher.

Day 2: As class begins the teacher will begin recapping the lesson from yesterday on different plants for
around five minutes. The teacher will ask students about the kids of plants that they saw, what one their
group is choosing to research, what they though of using iPads to scan codes. The teacher will then divide
students back into their original groups and then will demonstrate how to research their plants on the
computer on the smart board and how to use Google Slides. This will take around fifteen minutes.
The teacher will demonstrate how to research their plants by showing them how to find it by using the
website https://www.dkfindout.com/us/animals-and-nature/plants/ which is a kid-friendly website that is all
about different kinds of plants. This makes it easier for kids to research information without getting lost in
everything google has in its search bar. Another way to research these plants will be
https://www.safesearchkids.com/google-kids/#.XMSmu-hKguV which is a kid-safe search bar that is
powered by google and provides more limited information. This application can help kids also find and save
the photos for their Google slides presentation. Then the teacher after showing them how to use the search
bar or navigate the websites will then show kids how to create a short slideshow on Google slides with the
information they just found. This includes things such as copy and pasting, inserting photos (from web or
computer, changing designs, adding and deleting slides, having multiple tabs/windows open, creating bullet
points, adding text, and saving their presentations.
During this time the teacher will also explain the presentation is just short (around 3 to 5 slides), must
include at least one photo of their plant, the name of their plant, where their plant grows (on bush, tree, in
ground, etc.), and three interesting facts about their plant. The teacher will also explain other things they
could include in their presentation for inspiration such as where the plant is native, colors the plant comes in,
what kind of bugs it attracts, etc. For the last thirty to forty minutes kids will be assigned a computer with
their groups and begin using the two websites to research their plants and begin making a short presentation
on Google slides. The teacher will be walking around to help students who might need it or have trouble
navigating the websites.

Day 3: During the last day, the teacher will spend the first five minutes explaining that each group will be
called up to the front of the class and will take turns presenting their plants. The teacher will explain that
each student will pull up their presentation on the smart board through Google Slides, and that the teacher
will change it to the next slide when they say to. The teacher will also explain that each member of the group
should share one thing from the slide to the class. Then the teacher will give the students fifteen minutes to
finish anything that wasn’t finished on their slides, if needed, and to decide who is going to say what during
the presentation.
The next twenty-five minutes will be spent having each group come up and give their short presentations on
their plants. Each group will be called in order by the teacher, and each person in the group will take turns
sharing information. The very last five minutes of the day will be spent with the teacher asking students what
plant interested them the most from the presentations, or if there were any new facts they learned from the
presentations.

Pre-Assessment:
My preassessment of plants and scanning of QR codes is informal before the beginning of the lesson plan. I
ask students to tell me what they know about plants and write it down on the smart board. I also ask them if
they have used QR codes before, and any other technology, and then still provide a demonstration.

Scoring Guidelines:
The scoring of this pre-assessment is based off observation. I will call on each student to provide
something they already know about plants. Answers I will be looking for is that they grow out of the
ground, are trees, shrubs, flowers, don’t have flowers. That they need sunlight and water. That they
provide oxygen (more advanced answer). That they are green, have leaves, come from seeds, etc.
That they can produce fruits and vegetables. That insects, bees, and worms are attracted to them or
 found in the dirt near them. I will assess everything students know and list and if they don’t list many
things, or one student doesn’t contribute to the list, then I would adjust this plan to add a day to
include more background information on plants.

I have planned to observe students in the garden exploring the plants, observe students during the pre-
assessment, and observe students when they are researching their plants on the computer.
Post-Assessment:
The post assessment of this lesson plan in the presentation. It is the work that students completed in their
groups together and presented together in the front of the class. It is what they have learned or shared about
their individual plant they decided to research.
Scoring Guidelines:
I will grade student presentations based off whether the criteria were met. That they include an accurate
photo of their plant, that they provided the name of their plant, that they met the minimal amount of
PowerPoint slides, that they included where / on what their plant grows, and three interesting facts about
their plant. They will also be graded off of group participation and scores may vary depending on if each
student help present and speak during the presentation and based off how much they were observed
contributing during the garden phase and research phase of the assignment. Points will be removed, added,
or vary depending on the criteria met. For example, for three facts provided students might only receive
partial points if they only provided 2 instead of 3 facts. Or, students might not get any points for 3 interesting
facts if the facts were a given or not useful (ex. My plant has roots, my plant flowers, my plant has leaves,
etc.).

Differentiated Instructional Support

Describe how instruction can be differentiated (changed or altered) to meet the needs of gifted or accelerated
students: For students who are more advanced with technology I might have them help their peers and show
them how to accomplish certain tasks on their computers if they are struggling (inserting pictures, deleting
slides, etc.). Or for students who may know more about plants then one challenge is to add more
information to their PowerPoint slides such as where is your plant native? What kind of bugs are attracted to
your plant? What climate does your plant thrive in?

Discuss additional activities you could do to meet the needs of students who might be struggling with the
material: Additional activities that could be done to meet the needs of students who are struggling is to
provide more information and lessons on plants. The provide paper pre-assessments such as fill in the
blanks. To spend a day, not on the assignment, but just on the computers exploring the different websites and
applications more for more exposure.

Extension
https://www.dkfindout.com/us/animals-and-nature/plants/flowering-plants/ This is a website provided for
students to conduct research of their plants but can be used on their own. It is a kid friendly website that
teaches kids exclusively about different plants. It explains everything from how they grow, what kinds of
plants there are, the structure and parts of plants, what a plant is, how trees change through the seasons, plant
defenses, and more. It is a great website for kids to continue to learn more in depth about plants, flowers, and
trees.

Homework Options and Home Connections

I might suggest parents use their smart-phones at home to download the Audubon bird guide app so that they
can look up different plant, animal, bird, and other species on their phone while in nature. It helps them to
spend time with their children outdoors in nature, and it also helps to continue the lesson plan and to learn
about different species. An informal “assignment” might be over the weekend to identify two new plant
species.

Interdisciplinary Connections
I might connect this idea of plants, animals, and nature to a lesson on how civilization and advancement of
technology over time destroying the ecosystem and how we should (and can) preserve it (history). Or how if
the current trends continue that we will see many species of plants and animals go extinct (science). Or types
of resources we currently use in society and what ones are environmentally friendly and what ones are
hurting the environment (social studies).

Materials and Resources:

For teachers

SmartBoard (to write what students already know about plants), QR code labels (for
plants), printer (to print QR codes), computer (to create QR codes for plants), tablets
(to demonstrate how to use app)

For students Kid friendly tablets (to scan QR codes), Computers (for research and making
presentation), SmartBoard (for presenting), DKFindOut website (for research),
SafeSearchKids website (for research), Google Slides (for presenting)

Key Vocabulary
QR code- QR stands for quick response. It is a square image that consists of dots and pixels, and it looks like
similar to barcodes that students might see on products at grocery stores. Just like a barcode, a QR code
holds information in it and is meant to be scanned by cell phones, tablets, or other technology. Once
scanned, it can pull up videos, files, websites, apps, and more.

Additional Notes