Teacher Education Program

Elementary Lesson Plan Template – ABRIDGED

Name: Natalia Ornburn

Key Content Standards and CA ELD Standards (Integrated ELD): List the relevant parts of each content and ELD standard. (TPE 3.1)
RI.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RI.K.2 With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
W.K.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing
about and support some information about the topic.
K-LS1-1 Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.

Lesson Objective: What do you want students to know and be able to do? (TPE 3.1, 3.3)
SWBAT name the parts of a sunflower
SWBAT label the parts of a sunflower
SWBAT name the phases of the life cycle of a sunflower
SWBAT create their own graphic organizer that will label the phases of the life cycle of a sunflower
Prerequisite Skills: What do students need to know and be able to do in order to engage in the lesson? (TPE 3.2, 4.2, 4.4)
Students will have already learned about what needs are and what the specific needs of a sunflower are. Students will also need to know how
to use resources that have been created together to be able to complete tasks. Students will need to be able to distinguish between the
different phases of growth of a sunflower. Students will need to be able to identify the various parts of the sunflower, using the resources that
they have been exposed to.
Backward Planning (Summative Assessment): What evidence will the students produce to show they have met the learning objective by the
end of the lesson or learning segment? (TPE 1.5, 3.3, 3.4, 5.1)
Students will show that they have met the learning objective by participating in whole class discussions about the parts of a sunflower and the
life cycle of a sunflower. Students will participate in the creation of whole class graphic organizers that label the parts of a sunflower and the
stages of the life cycle of a sunflower. Students will also show they have met the learning objective by independently creating a diagram and
labeling the parts of a sunflower and by creating a graphic organizer that labels the stages of the life cycle of a sunflower.
Modifications: What modification of the above assessment will you use for language learners and/or students with special needs? (TPE 4.4)
Product - Students will be able to verbalize, write, or draw images to show their understanding of the content
Checking for Understanding (Formative Assessments): How will you monitor student learning to make modifications during the lesson(s)?
(TPE 1.5, 1.8, 3.3, 3.4, 4.7, 5.1)
During the lesson, I will ask students for feedback (thumbs up/down) and I will monitor their participation during the lesson to evaluate
whether more support is needed during instruction.
Connections (TPE 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.4)
· Connections to Students’ Lives - experiences, interests, development, and social emotional learning needs:
- Students have been interested in learning facts about animals, so this unit will transition into comparing the life cycle of sunflowers
and butterflies, while still allowing them to learn facts about living organisms.
· Connections to Real Life Contexts & Culturally Responsive Practices:
Not culturally responsive
Differentiation (TPE 1.4, 3.2, 3.6, 4.4, 5.8):
Describe your differentiated instructional strategies for…
· Varying Academic Abilities:
- visuals/charts to refer to
- individualized writing support (ex: tracing over yellow highlighter)
- movement
- repetition
- modeling (sounding out words, how to use resources around the classroom)
· Language Levels:
 - visuals
- gestures
- definitions
- repetition
- movement
Academic Language (Integrated ELD): What CA ELD Standards, content-specific vocabulary, skill-specific vocabulary, text structures, and
stylistic or grammatical features will be explicitly taught? (TPE 1.6, 3.1, 3.5, 4.1, 5.7)
- sunflower
- roots
- sprout
- stem
- leaves
- water
- air
- sunlight
- soil/ground
- needs
- flower
- seeds
- life cycle
- parts of a sunflower
- fact
- label
- What is a fact you learned about sunflowers?
- What are the parts of a sunflower?
- What is the life cycle of a sunflower?
Name: Natalia Ornburn

Instructional Learning Strategies to Support Student Learning:

How will you 1) engage/motivate students by connecting the lesson to experiential backgrounds, interests and prior learning, 2) identify
learning outcomes 3) present material, guide practice, and build independent learning, 4) monitor student learning during instruction, 5)
build metacognitive understanding, and 6) maintain a positive learning environment that is culturally responsive?

List what the teacher will be doing and what the students will be doing.
DAY _1_ of _4_
Time Teacher Student Resources / Materials
T: Alright everyone, since we have been
learning about sunflowers, let’s review what
sunflowers need to grow and live.

T: Take a moment to think about it, and when

Ss: thinking, raise hands
you have an idea, go ahead and raise your
hand.

T: Let’s hear a few ideas about what sunflowers Ss: share ideas of what sunflowers
need to live. (call on students) need to survive

T: Awesome! So, we know that sunflowers

need sunlight, water, and air to survive.

T: Today, we are going to be learning about the

different parts of a sunflower. So, first we are Ss: answering questions about the
going to read a book all about sunflowers. parts of the book and what the
(go over front cover, back cover, spine, title, author and illustrator does
author, and illustrator) “A Sunflower’s Life Cycle”
(would use actual book for the
lesson, but here is a video of
T: The title of this book is “A Sunflower’s Life Ss: following along, answering the book)
Cycle.” questions about the parts of a https://www.youtube.com/watc
(read the book, ask questions focusing on the sunflower h?v=bYNOZH-3azk&t=4s
parts of a sunflower)

T: (after read-aloud) What are some of the Ss: volunteers share different parts
parts of the sunflower that we learned about? of the sunflower

T: Now, we are going to watch a video that

goes over the different parts of a sunflower. Go
ahead and stand up, so that you can follow Ss: standing up, dancing along with
https://www.youtube.com/watc
along with the movements of the song. the video
h?v=9bFU_wJgvBI
(play video)

T: Great job, everyone! Let’s go over the parts

of the sunflower that we just reviewed in the
video. Ss: standing up, following along
(using the movements from the video) with the movements and repeating
 The sunflower has roots (show roots), stem the names of the different parts
(show stem), leaves (show leaves), and flower
(show flower).

Ss: sitting down, taking 3 deep

T: Awesome, everyone! Go ahead and take a breaths
seat, and let’s take 3 deep breaths together.

Ss: talking to their partners about

T: Now, go ahead and tell your partner one fact sunflower facts
that you learned about sunflowers today.

T: Wow, I heard so many new facts about

sunflowers that we learned today! I heard that
(repeat sunflower facts that students were
sharing with their partners)!

T: So, for your journals today, you are going to

write a fact that you learned about sunflowers!
You can write the fact that you shared with your
partner, or another fact that you learned today.
So, first you are going to draw your picture that
relates to the fact you are writing about
sunflowers. And then you are going to write
your sentence.

T: If you are not sure how to write a word, make

sure you check the word wall, look around the
room, or stretch it out.

T: Does everyone know what you’re writing

about in your journals today? Give me a
thumbs up if you do or a thumbs down if you Ss: giving a thumbs up or down
are not so sure.
(clarify if needed based on student feedback)

T: (provide support as needed) Ss: (writing/drawing sunflower facts

in their journals)

DAY _2_ of _4_

Time Teacher Student Resources / Materials

T: Alright everyone, let’s take 3 deep Ss: taking 3 deep breaths blank poster paper
breaths before we start our lesson. markers

T: Great job. So, yesterday we learned

about sunflowers. We read a book that
gave us so many facts about
sunflowers. What’s one fact you
remember about sunflowers? Go
ahead and think in your head for a
moment and give me a thumbs up
when you have a fact.
Ss: showing thumbs up when ready

T: It seems like you’re all ready, so

now you are going to share the fact
you thought about with your partner.
Ss: sharing sunflower facts with their
Ready, and share!
partners

T: Oooo I heard you all sharing so

many interesting facts that we learned
about sunflowers! Would anyone like
to share the fact you remember about
sunflowers? Ss: volunteers sharing

T: Wow! We learned that (repeat facts

that students shared about
sunflowers)!

T: Great job everyone! Now, we are

going to create a drawing of a
sunflower and label the different parts
that we just learned. First, let’s write
the word sunflower. Can you help me
stretch out the word “sunflower?” Say
Ss: (repeat) Sunflower
“sunflower.”

T: What’s the first sound you hear in

the word “sunflower?” What letter is
that? Ss: /s/, “S”
(write the letter “s”)

T: Take out your bubblegum, and let’s

stretch it out to find out the next
sound. Sunflower, /s/ /ǔ/
Ss: /ǔ/, That’s the “u”
(write the letter “u”)

T: Let’s keep going! Sunflower, /s/ /ǔ/

/n/ Ss: /n/, The “n!”

(write the letter “n”)

T: Awesome! Let’s look at what we’ve

written so far. /s/ /ǔ/ /n/ Ss: sun!

T: So, now we need to write flower,

because the word is sunflower. /s/ /ǔ/
/n/ /f/
Ss: F!
(write the letter “f”)
T: Good job! Sunflower, /s/ /ǔ/ /n/ /f/ /l/
(write the letter “l”) Ss: /l/, the ‘l!’

T: Sunflower, /s/ /ǔ/ /n/ /f/ /l/ /ow/, /ow/,

/ow/, /ow/
Ss: /ow/, /ow/, /ow/! Like the dog! Actual sunflowers
T: How do we spell that?
(write “o,” “w”) Ss: “o,” “w”

T: Let’s go over what we’ve written so

far. /s/ /ǔ/ /n/ /f/ /l/ /ow/. So, let’s listen
for the last sound in “sunflowER”
Ss: /er/, /er/, /er/, like the tiger!

T: How do we spell that?

Ss: “er,” “ir,” “ur”

T: Yes, for this word, we are going to
use the “er” spelling. Let’s check our
words together. (read together) /s/ /ǔ/
/n/ /f/ /l/ /ow/ /er/ Ss: /s/ /ǔ/ /n/ /f/ /l/ /ow/ /er/

T: Great job stretching that out

everyone!

T: So, now I am going to draw the

sunflower and we will talk about the
different parts. First, I am going to
draw the ground, with the soil,
because the sunflower grows from the
ground.
Then, I am going to draw
the…(roots)...what are these?
Ss: The roots!
T: Yes! And the roots are in the soil.
How do the roots help the sunflower?
Ss: They help the sunflower get water Actual sunflowers placed
T: Can you help me stretch out the around the room
word “roots?” Ss: help to stretch out the word using
the same strategies detailed above

T: (after the roots, show students an

actual sunflower to use as a visual and
point to the different parts: stem,
leaves, seeds, and flower) (repeat this
process with the stem, leaves, flower,
and seeds → ask questions about the Ss: answering questions, stretching
different parts and ask the students to out the words
help stretch out some of the words to
label the parts)

BRAIN BREAK!

T: Great job everybody! Now, you are BRAIN BREAK!

going to get to make your own
sunflower. You are each going to get a
green paper that has the stem and the
leaves of the sunflower and a brown
paper for the soil. You are also going
to draw the roots in the soil for the
sunflower and you are going to get a (students will be creating
yellow paper with the flower and the something like this)
petals. So you are going to cut out the
different parts of the sunflower and put
it together and glue it onto a bigger
piece of paper. When you are done
cutting and gluing the parts of your
sunflower together, you are going to
get some actual sunflower seeds to
put in the flower. Then, you will get this
paper with the labels of the parts of
the sunflower and put them next to Ss: Giving feedback, asking questions
each part of the sunflower. Can you
give me a thumbs up if you know what
you’re going to do or a thumbs down if
you have some questions?

T: If you are not sure how the

sunflower looks, like where the stem
or the seeds or the flower goes, you
can look at this drawing that we just
made together, or you can look at the
sunflowers that are around the room!
And when you are labeling the parts of
the sunflower, you can use the words
we stretched out together to match it Ss: working on creating their sunflower
to the words you are going to use to
label the sunflower!

T: (hand out papers, direct students to

get a pencil, scissors, and glue)

T: (support students as needed)

DAY _3_ of _4_
Time Teacher Student Resources / Materials
T: Okay everyone, remember how yesterday
we learned about the different parts of the Ss: following along while reviewing
sunflower. Let’s go over the drawing with the the parts of the sunflower;
different parts of a sunflower. answering questions about how
(review the labeled drawing, ask how each part each part helps the sunflower
helps the sunflower)

T: Today, we are going to learn about the life

cycle of the sunflower. The life cycle describes
how the sunflower grows and how new
sunflowers are planted. It is a cycle because it
continues to happen over and over again.

T: During our read aloud about sunflowers, we “A Sunflower’s Life Cycle”

heard a little bit about the life cycle of a (would use actual book for the
sunflower. So, we are actually going to read lesson, but here is a video of
about the book, but this time we are going to the book)
focus on the life cycle of the sunflower, how the Ss: listening/following along and https://www.youtube.com/watc
sunflower grows from a seed into a flower. answering questions about the life h?v=bYNOZH-3azk&t=4s
(re-read the book, ask questions focusing on cycle of a sunflower
the life cycle of a sunflower)

T: Wow! We just learned so many facts about

the life cycle of a sunflower. Think about a fact
that you learned about the life cycle of a
Ss: thinking, giving a thumbs up
sunflower and give me a thumbs up once you
have thought of a fact.
(say some facts out loud to help students think
of something to share)

T: It looks like everyone is ready to share a Ss: sharing facts about the life cycle
fact, so go ahead and share a fact about the of a sunflower
life cycle with your partner.

T: I heard you discussing so many facts about

the life cycle of a sunflower! I heard some of
you say…(list some of the facts the students
were sharing)

T: Now, let’s all stand up. We are going to Ss: standing up

pretend we are sunflower seeds and we are
going to grow into a sunflower.

T: Pretend you a little seed. Where are the

Ss: In the soil
seeds planted?

T: So let’s crouch down low because we are

seeds that were just planted in the soil. And Ss: Water
what does a seed need to grow?

T: It’s raining, shhhhhh (raining sounds). What Ss: The roots

is growing out of the seed?

T:After the roots, the sunflower starts to shoot Ss: slowly pretending to shoot up
up above the soil. So, let’s slowly shoot up above the soil
above the soil.

Ss: Sunlight
T: We need water to keep growing, but what
else do sunflowers need?

Ss: Stem
T: Yes! So, we’re getting more water and some
sun and we are going to keep growing taller,
and now we have a….

T: Yes! So, we are the stem of the sunflower, Ss: The leaves
and what grows out from the stem?

Ss: moving arms out to represent

T: Let’s see your leaves growing (arms). the leaves

T: So we have our roots, our stem, and our Ss: The flower
leaves. We’re still growing and what else
comes out at the top of the stem?

Ss: The seeds!

T: The flower! Our head is the flower and what
is in the middle of the flower?

T: Awesome everyone! Let’s do it again, but

faster since we know the life cycle of the
sunflower.

T: So, we start off as a seed in the soil and we Ss: following along with the
get some water and we grow roots that go movements of starting as a seed
deeper into the soil. Now, we start sprouting by and growing into a sunflower
shooting up out of the soil. We get some more
water and sunlight and our stem grows taller
and we start to grow leaves. Then, the flower
grows out of the stem and there are seeds in
the middle of the flower.

T: Great job everyone! Let’s go ahead and do Ss: volunteer will lead stretches
some stretches while we are standing up. with the class and everyone will
follow along
DAY _4_ of _4_
Time Teacher Student Resources / Materials

T: Now, we are going to work together Ss: A seed!

to create a graphic organizer that
shows the life cycle of the sunflower.

T: What does the sunflower start off as

before it grows?
(draw the seed, students will help
stretch out the word)

T: The seed is planted in the soil and

what comes out of the seed after the
seed gets water? Ss: The roots
(draw an arrow and a seed with the
roots)

(continue with the plant shooting out of

the soil and sprouting, then the stem Ss: following along, answering
and leaves growing, then the flower questions, stretching out words
growing)

BRAIN BREAK! BRAIN BREAK!

T: Now, you are going to create your

own graphic organizer showing the life
cycle of a sunflower. You are going to
get a worksheet that shows all the
stages of the life cycle of a sunflower
that we just talked about and drew and
labeled. First, you are going to color in
the pictures, then you are going to cut
out the pictures, and then you are
going to sort and glue them in the
order that the sunflower grows from a Ss: the poster
seed into a flower. What can we use to (will look something like this,
help us figure out the life cycle of a but more specific to a
sunflower? sunflower and will include all
of the parts of the life cycle
T: Can you all give me a thumbs up if that were discussed and
you know what you are going to do or included on the poster)
a thumbs down if you have some Ss: show thumbs up or thumbs down
questions?
(Answer any questions, go over
instructions, model, etc. - as needed)
T: (pass out paper, instruct students to Ss: working on sorting the life cycle of a
get a pencil, crayons, scissors, and sunflower
glue / support as needed)