Why are students learning about Science SOL 2.4? Because….

Young children are observant and curious about the world and the living things in this world.
Children know that they were once a baby → toddler → child (current) and that they will
continue to grow older → teenager → young adult → adult. How much do they know about
plant and animal life cycles? Do they understand the processes that butterflies, tadpoles, and
plants go through? When they see a butterfly do they realize that it was once a caterpillar that
has undergone metamorphosis? It is important that students learn SOL 2.4 because the life
cycles of plants and animals are constantly recurring. Students have most likely witnessed
animal and plant life cycle changes on a daily basis without realizing it. Through learning about
plant and animal life cycles, students become more aware of the world around them.

Unit Planning Template with Design Questions

Title Of Unit: Plant and Animal Life Cycles Subject/Course/Grade: 2nd Grade, Life
Cycles

Dates of Unit: 10 Days Designer(s): Rebekah Whittaker

Stage 1- Desired Results

Standards:
The student will investigate and understand that plants and animals undergo a series of orderly changes as
they grow and develop. Key concepts include

a) animals have life cycles; and

b) plants have life cycles.

Big Idea or Concept: Essential Questions:

● Plants and animals undergo a series of orderly ● How do plants change throughout their life cycles?
changes in their life cycles. ● How do animals change throughout their life
cycles?
● All living things go through changes as they grow ● How are some life cycles similar and different?
and develop. Although individual organisms die,
new ones replace them, ensuring the survival of
the species. During its life cycle, an organism
goes through physical changes that allow it to
reach adulthood and produce new organisms.
Since these changes are common within a
species, they can be grouped into stages of
development.
Students will understand/know… Students will be able to …

● Life Cycles ● Explain how animals and plants change as they

o Plants grow.
▪ Mature to adults ● Analyze a model of the life cycle of an insect
▪ Distinct Stages and describe the changes that occur within the
o Animals life cycle.
▪ Mature to adults ● Analyze a model of the life cycle of a mammal
▪ Distinct and non-distinct and describe the changes that occur with the
● Life Cycles life cycle.
o Distinct Stages → Plants ● Compare life cycles of an insect and a
▪ Seed mammal.
▪ Germination of Seed ● Investigate the question, “What is the life cycle
▪ Growth of stem/roots of a flowering plant?” and record observations
▪ Growth of leaves using a table and/or graph; explain the results
▪ Growth of flowers of the investigation.
▪ Pollination ● Compare life cycles of a plant and an animal.
o No Distinct Stages Develop models to describe the concept that
o Birth → Growth → Reproduction → Death organisms have unique and diverse life cycles
but they all have in common birth, growth,
reproduction, and death.

Stage 2- Assessment Evidence

Monitoring and Feedback: Other Evidence:

● How will students demonstrate desired Students will be assessed through formative and
understanding throughout the unit? summative assessments throughout this unit.
● How will feedback of progress be given to Students will also be assessed through this rubric.
students to assist them in their learning?
Formative Assessment

● Teacher observation over zoom /anecdotal

Prior Knowledge
To assess and activate prior knowledge, we will do
the following activities of guided imagery,
brainstorming and anticipation guides.
Link to activating prior knowledge lesson.
Students should have prior knowledge of the following
ideas:
Summative Assessment
● Living versus nonliving organisms
records of students engaged in cooperative
learning investigations.
● KWL
● Science notebook (questions, predictions,
observations, summaries, charts, drawings)
● Conduct simple experiments using appropriate
tools
● Record data on scientific investigations
performed
● Virtual Venn diagram (compare life cycles)
 ● Basic needs and life processes of animals
● Basic life cycle of frog and butterfly
● Life needs, functional parts, and classification
of plants
● Basic life cycle of plants
● Test/assessment
● Virtual Models/diagrams of living things
● Animal research project
● Double entry journal writing activity
● Vocabulary list-group-label activity
● Compare/contrast life cycles of two different
animals or plants

Students will reflect and self-assess their

learning through
● Feedback given throughout the unit.
● Checks for understanding throughout the unit.
● Given chances to resubmit their work.
Stage 3- Learning Plan

This will be a hybrid unit plan. Students will be coming into the school every other day. On the days they are
not in school they will have online lessons for them.
A Days (Tuesday/Thursday in person) (Wednesday/Friday online)

B Days (Wednesday/Friday in person) (Tuesday/Thursday online)

Week 1: Plant Life Cycles

Monday (Online for all students)

Day 1: Activating Prior Knowledge (Online Version)
● Students will listen to a read aloud on the book Plant The Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson on youtube
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYMgUvqs-D4 ) using a video where the author is presenting the
book.
● Through using the camera on zoom, I will plant a class seed. I will explain to the students that this is
the class plant and we will observe its growth throughout the unit. Students will have a notebook
● where they can write down their observations, notes, drawings, and thoughts about the plant's
growth.
● Students will also complete a guided imagery task over zoom so that the teacher can lead the
discussion. Students will also complete some brainstorming to activate their prior knowledge on this
topic of plant life cycles.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Day 2 and 3: Anticipation Guide / Worksheet

Tuesday: A Day (In Person). Wednesday: B Day (In Person).

● Students will begin the day by observing the class plant and record their observations in their science
journal.
● Students will complete an anticipation guide on the book We are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines. As a
class, students will go over statements created for the book. Students will say if they think each
statement is likely or unlikely to occur. The teacher will call on students to share their response to why
 they think it is likely or unlikely. After completing the anticipation guide, the class will begin reading We
Are the Gardeners.
● After students complete the anticipation guide and whole class reading, students will receive a handout
that has the different stages of the plant life cycle. We will complete this worksheet as a class to
discuss each different stage in a plant life cycle and answer any questions.

Tuesday: B Day (Online). Wednesday: A Day (Online)

● During the morning meeting on zoom, students will begin the day by observing the class plant
presented on zoom and they will record their observations in their science journal.
● Students will view the stages of a plant life cycle on a different google doc link in google classroom.
After going over these stages on their own, students will play a virtual game where they can learn
about and visualize the stages of a plant life cycle.
(https://www.turtlediary.com/game/understanding-of-plants-and-their-life-cycle.html).

Worksheet for in person Tuesday and Wednesday.

Thursday and Friday

Day 4 and 5: Jigsaw Groups and Video

Thursday: A Day (In Person). Friday: B Day (In Person).

● As a warmup, students will be given a worksheet. The worksheet will have students cut out each
square. They will put the squares in order and will paste in their science notebook. We will look
 through students notebooks as an informal assessment to see if they are understanding plant
life cycles.
● Students will be placed into reading groups. They will be based on above, below and at-level reading
abilities. Each group will have time to read their assigned books.
○ For above readers they will read A Seed is Sleepy by Diana Hutts-Atson.
○ For below readers they will read The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle.
○ For at-level readers they will read The Life and Times of the Peanut by Charles Micucci.
● After they read their book, they will be responsible for teaching their assigned book to other students
with a different book. Students will get to pick how they want to present their information either
through drawings, coloring, slides, etc. Students will present their book on day 6. Through this reading
jigsaw group, students will have an opportunity to hear about other plant life cycles from their
classmates.
● Students will also observe the class plant and record their observations in their science journal.

Thursday: B Day (Online). Friday: A Day (Online)

● During the morning meeting on zoom, students will begin the day by observing the class plant
presented on zoom and they will record their observations in their science journal.
● Students will watch a BrainPop video on seeds and life cycles. They will record in their science journal.

Week 2: Plant Life Cycles Continued

Monday (Online for all students)

Day 6: Jigsaw Presentations
● During the morning meeting on zoom, students will begin the day by observing the class plant
presented on zoom and they will record their observations in their science journal.
● Students will teach the whole class about what they have read on zoom. They will submit their
presentation through taking a photo on the laptop, submitting on google classroom or in an
email. The teacher will then share the screen to show each of the three groups presentations
and allow the students to share.
● After all three jigsaw groups have presented, we will have a whole class discussion on what
we have learned about the plant life cycle using zoom.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Day 7 and 8: Flipgrid / PowerPoint

Tuesday AND Wednesday: A Day (In Person). Wednesday: B Day (In Person).
● Students will begin the day by observing the class plant and record their observations in their science
journal.
● Through zoom and in person, we will explain that students will be working in a flipgrid or slides
presentation the next two days. This will be done in person and online.
● Students will show their understanding of the plant life cycle by creating either a video on
flipgrid OR a powerpoint presentation. In the flipgrid video, students will describe each part of
the plant life cycle and show a drawing of the plant life cycle that they have created at home
with paper and crayons provided by the school. In the powerpoint, students will type out and
describe the different parts of the plant life cycle. Instead of drawing their own images,
students will use clipart to find images of each stage. This gives students the option to create
 something completely virtually, or use provided materials if they want to create something by
hand.
● Students will then complete part one of their double entry journal writing activity about the life
cycle of a plant. They will look at various images and write comments, observations, and
questions that they have about each image. This activity is attached here.
(https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1lzJr4KrwAq7Gqa1dFdfe9FyTStZ1VYd16JTBNvRbC
ps/edit?ts=5fac35a5#slide=id.ga99bdd5f21_0_0).
● After assessing students throughout this week after day 8, students who need extra practice
can visit websites (listed under resources).

Animal Life Cycles

Thursday and Friday

Days 9 and 10: Activating Prior Knowledge

Thursday: A Day (In Person). Friday: B Day (In Person).

● To activate students' prior knowledge about animals' life cycle, we will guide a whole class guided
discussion. We will ask students to: Think about humans. Think about yourself as a toddler or when
you look at baby photos of yourself. That was once you but now you have grown and developed since
then. How is this possible? How do other organisms grow and develop? Have students reflect on
instances where an animal or plant has changed. Students will have time to work on reflections with
notes, drawings, comments, observations to share with the whole class. After students have thought
and reflected on their own experiences of life cycle changes, pose questions for students: How does a
caterpillar become a butterfly?
● After activating prior knowledge, a read-aloud will be done on The Amazing Life Cycle of Butterflies.
This book will be the hook to get students interested and engaged about learning plant life cycles.
● Students will also observe the class plant and record their observations in their science journal.

Thursday: B Day (Online). Friday: A Day (Online)

● During the morning meeting on zoom, students will begin the day by observing the class plant
presented on zoom and they will record their observations in their science journal.
● Students will use their online time to finish unfinished work from the animal life cycle (for example, the
double entry journal).

Week 3: Animal Life Cycles

Monday (Online for all students):

Day 11: KWL / Worksheet
● During the morning meeting on zoom, students will begin the day by observing the class plant
presented on zoom and they will record their observations in their science journal.
● Students will begin their day with a KWL. They will be given a short reading about butterflies and their
life cycle. We will demonstrate and explain to students on how to fill out a KWL using the video link
below that will be attached on canvas. The KWL chart will be a link to a google doc that students can
access on google classroom. After the students read and fill out their KWL chart, we will discuss
responses as a whole class over zoom.
● The KWL introduction and activity should look like this:
https://www.loom.com/share/3c443d49e10f417f9707ef6204b1ac01
 ● The KWL Google Slides Classroom Link:
● https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12JdEkkHgaznX9L84EpN14hUBl81qrm0uGeNPQlqTp0o/edit?us
p=sharing

*KWL Reading.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Days 12 and 13: Reciprocal Teaching / Worksheet

Tuesday: A Day (In Person). Wednesday: B Day (In Person).

● Students will begin the day by observing the class plant and record their observations in their science
journal.
● Students will get into three separate reading groups to read different books about various animal life
cycles. In these groups, students will learn about reciprocal teaching and complete the four stages of
asking questions, clarifying the meaning of unfamiliar words, summarizing and finding the main idea,
and finally making predictions.
○ The above level readers will be reading Life Cycles: Chickens by Julie Lundgren.
○ Students who are below level readers will be reading The Life Cycle of a Chicken by Lisa
Trumbauer OR How Does A Frog Grow?
○ Students who are at grade level readers will be reading a book of their choice from The Life
Cycle Series.
● The reciprocal teaching activity should look like this:
https://www.loom.com/share/3e9faf7d2922436c87acac369fc541de

Tuesday: B Day (Online). Wednesday: A Day (Online)

● During the morning meeting on zoom, students will begin the day by observing the class plant
presented on zoom and they will record their observations in their science journal.
 ● Students will be given a life cycle of a butterfly worksheet where they will cut/paste the correct stages.
This worksheet will be used as a form of assessment to see what students are understanding and not
understanding.
● Link to online butterfly worksheet students will do.
○ https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1intn7e3JC21aAM-dgePjSDSBkKa0WEKkHtaAY_JPULE/
edit?usp=sharing

*Google Classroom of Worksheet

Thursday and Friday

Days 14 and 15: Frog Life cycle

Thursday: A Day (In Person). Friday: B Day (In Person).

● Students will begin the day by observing the class plant and record their observations in their science
journal.
● I will combine in person and online students on this day. I will open up a zoom call for the online
students. We will have a whole class reading using the book A Frog’s Life by Irene Kelly. After this
reading, we will discuss as a class the different stages of a frog life cycle and the similarities and
differences between this life cycle and the other animal life cycles they have read about (the butterfly
and the chicken).
● After going through the frog life cycle as a whole class, students will complete part two of their double
entry journal writing activity. This should help students to better understand each stage in the frog life
cycle. This activity is attached here
(https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1lzJr4KrwAq7Gqa1dFdfe9FyTStZ1VYd16JTBNvRbCps/edit?ts=
5fac35a5#slide=id.ga99bdd5f21_0_0)

Thursday: B Day (Online). Friday: A Day (Online)

● During the morning meeting on zoom, students will begin the day by observing the class plant
presented on zoom and they will record their observations in their science journal.
● Students will work on their double entry journal.
Homework for the weekend
● Students will compare and contrast animal and plant life cycles through a venn diagram. The diagram
will be created on a google doc and have a key of the words/phrases so students just have to figure
out where to place them on the diagram. Students will be able to drag and drop each word typed in a
textbox. This way, students can easily move the words around their venn diagram virtually. Students
should turn in their venn diagrams on google classroom so that the teacher can assess whether they
could compare and contrast plant and animal life cycles successfully.

Week 4: Wrap Up of Unit

Monday (Online for all students):

Day 16: Compare and Contrast / Final Observation of Class Plant
● Students will record their last observation of the class plant in their science journal. By day 16, the
seed planted should have grown leaves/stems and have noticeable growth. Each student should
submit their completed science journal the following day they meet in person. We will have a whole
class discussion on zoom about the observations of the growth of the class plant. Students will have an
opportunity to share their notes with the class over zoom.
● Go over the Venn Diagram as a class and have a class discussion about the venn diagram.
● Students will do an online vocabulary activity called list-group-label. A worksheet will be provided on
google classroom where students can type words as well as drag and drop pictures. An example of this
is attached here
(https://docs.google.com/document/d/16AVBGgbzPkTNj34VzjUG1VZz4F18ilKehkSkcmiHKUc/edit?ts=5f
a56657). This vocabulary assignment will further help students to compare and contrast animal and
plant life cycles.

After assessing students of their knowledge of plant and animal life cycles, students who need extra practice
can visit websites (listed under resources).

At the end, we will assess the students’ knowledge on the unit as a whole using this rubric.

Resources
Books

Text Set Presentation Link

Anonymous. (2020). How Does a Frog Grow? London, UK: DK Children Publishing.

Aston, D. H., & Long, S. (2011). A Butterfly is Patient. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Aston, D. H., & Long, S. (2007). A Seed is Sleepy. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Barnham, K., & Frost, M. (2018). The Amazing Life Cycle of Butterflies. Hauppauge, NY:

Barron's Educational Series, Inc.

Barnham, K., & Frost, M. (2018). The Amazing Life Cycle of Plants. Hauppauge, NY:

Barron's Educational Series, Inc.

Brown, M., & Ward, A. (2007). Houston, TX: Butterflies on Carmen Street. Pinata Books.

Carle, E. (1987). The Tiny Seed. Natick, MA: Picture Book Studio.

Castro, E., & Flores, B., & Hernandez, E. (1994). The Tadpole. New York, NY: Lee and Low.

Charlesworth, L. (2007). Life Cycles Series. New York, NY: Scholastic Publishing.

DiSalvo-Ryan, D. (1994). City Green. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Falconer, S. (2020). Life Cycles: Everything From Start to Finish. London, UK: DK Publishing.

Gaines, J., & Swaney, J. (2019). We are the Gardeners. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

Kelly, I., & Borin, M. (2018). A Frog’s Life. New York, NY: Holiday House.

Krishnaswami, U., & Barnum, W. (2002). Hello Flower. New York, NY: Lee and Low.

Louie, T., & Wang, S. (2002). Raymond’s Perfect Present. New York, NY: Lee and Low.

Lundgren, J. (2010). Chickens (Life Cycles). Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Educational Media.

Matheson, C. (2018). Plant the Tiny Seed. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

Micucci, C. (1997). Life and Times of the Peanut. Boston, Mass: Houghton Mifflin.
Rice, D. (2011). A Bee’s Life. Huntington Beach, CA: Teacher Created Materials.

Trumbauer, L. (2002). The Life Cycle of a Chicken. Oxford, UK: Capstone Press

Websites/Videos
● https://sites.google.com/a/solteacher.com/olteacher-com/home/second-grade-virginia-sol-resources/2n
d-grade-science/2-4-a-frog-life-cycle
● https://jr.brainpop.com/science/plants/plantlifecycle/
● https://vpm.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/evscps.sci.life.seedint/from-seed-to-fruit-interactive/suppor
t-materials/
● https://vpm.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nat36-int-butterflylifecycle/butterfly-life-cycle/
● https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/monarch-butterfly-metamorphosis-in-hd-the-monarch-manifesto-
narch-manifesto