Grade 3: Plants and Soils - Lesson 1

Overall:

• assess ways in which plants have an impact on society and the environment, and ways in which human activity has an impact on plants and plant habitats;

Specific:

•  assess ways in which plants are important to humans and other living things, taking different points of view into consideration (e.g., the point of view of home builders, gardeners, nursery owners, vegetarians), and suggest ways in which humans can protect plants Sample prompts: Plants provide oxygen and food that other living things need to survive. Plants use and store carbon dioxide, helping reduce the amount of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Trees reduce humans’ energy use in summer by providing cooling shade. Leaves, twigs, and branches of trees and shrubs block erosion-causing rainfall. Grass and shrubs prevent soil from washing away. Roots, leaves, and trunks provide homes for wildlife. Aboriginal people use plants for many medicines.  

Language-Visual Aids

2.7 use a variety of appropriate visual aids (e.g., overheads, diagrams, graphic organizers, charts, artefacts) to support or enhance oral presentations (e.g., use a large-size labelled diagram to illustrate an explanation of how soil erodes)

Knowledge and Understanding: Students will be able to orally reflect their knowledge of various materials provided for them. (e.g., speaking and listening).  Students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of plants and soil through the written process of a paragraph. (e.g., writing)

Thinking:  Students will be able to explore different uses for the soil. They will use a creative thinking process with considerable effectiveness. (e.g., writing process and oral discourse)

Communication:  Students will be able to discuss with elbow partners and as a whole group member what they know about soil. Students will able be able to communicate through their paragraph about their selected item.                    

Application: Students will make connections within and between various contexts with considerable effectiveness both orally and in a paragraph.  
 

a)   Indicator(s) of Lesson Learning Goals:

Students are able to describe the materials

Students are able to stay on task

Students are able to make connections with materials to the environment, nature, community provided and plants and soil.

Students are able to discuss their thoughts about the item they chose, what the item is, where it can be found and why they chose that item.

Students are able to write down thoughts in a paragraph that explain what the item is, where it can be found, why they chose that item, what can it be and how could you turn that item into something different (not using magic).

b)   Assessment Strategies and Tools:     (Key Question: What will students be doing and what will I use to assess learning?)

• Thumbs up, thumbs in the middle, thumbs down

Diagnostic – class discussion

• Students will have an opportunity to participate in class discussion and share their thoughts/answers to materials and the song lyrics.
• Will assess the paragraph to see if the children answered each question to formulate a minimum 5 sentence paragraph.
• Anecdotal notes
• Check bricks
• Exit cards

Accommodation and/or modification: Allow students to work independently Allow for those that need pair share and small groups to work together. Allow extra time to complete assignment if not completed in time allowed. If less time is needed for some those that finish earlier could assist those that may need assistance Provide children with chart paper to record their responses

Extension: Encourage the students to reflect on items that are not in the bags but also reflect the environment and our need for care Draw your item Children will rotate as a group from table to table and writing about what their item could become Ask the children how their imagining can become a reality What will be their plan of action be to change the item they chose into what they want it to become?

Required teacher preparation/materials needed:

• Pictures of types of plants
• Mini-Paragraph guides
• Chart paper with instructions

Setting the Stage:

As the children enter the classroom, they will be encouraged to have seat on the carpet and prepared for the following instruction. Once they are on the carpet and settled, I will share with them a bowl with a handkerchief over top of it. I will ask the children questions based on what they believe to be under the handkerchief

• Teacher prompt: What do you think I have here? (

Anticipated Student Responses (ASR): Students will share what they believe to be under the handkerchief..e.g., rocks, bowl, cup)

Once students are exploring the different possibilities of what is under the handkerchief, the teacher reveals the item underneath to show that it is an apple.

When they have seen that it is an apple. The teacher will ask for volunteers.

• Teacher prompt: I need two volunteers to help me with an experiment.

Students will offer to take part in the experiment by putting up their hands.

• Teacher prompt: Between the two students I need one student to be our reader and the other person will follow the instructions about the activity.

Once the students have selected their specific roles they will then begin to read and then follow the instructions around the use of the apple.  Once the activity is completed the teacher will begin to ask questions using a KWL chart

• Teacher prompt: After reading about the apple as the earth, what are some things we know about things that grow like fruits such as an apple?

(ASR): They need they feed us; they need sun and water to grow.

What are some things we want to learn about that make plants grow?

ASR: what is it in the soil that makes it grow? Why do we need soil to make food grow?

           

Core Learning Activity:

Students will be directed back to their seats and handed out a sheet of paper. They will then be shown pictures of a variety of different plants. Each one shows us a variety of different uses for plants. 

• Teacher prompt: Overhead there will be a variety of different pictures. Without discussing it with the person next to you, I’d like you to write down what the different uses that plant may have. First write down your name at the top of the page, the date, the title ‘different uses for plants’ beneath that write down the type of plant that it may be. Then write down at least (3) examples of different uses.

After looking at the picture for a while, we recorded ways that we use plants. 

• Teacher prompt: With your elbow partner, share with them the different uses of a plant that you recorded.

The teacher will then ask the students to submit what they’ve written and review what they recorded. The teacher will then hand out a second sheet of paper and provide them with similar instructions to the ones given above.

• Teacher prompt: Overhead there will be a variety of different pictures. Without discussing it with the person next to you, I’d like you to write down what the different uses of soil. First write down your name at the top of the page, the date, the title ‘different uses for soil’ beneath that write down different uses of soil. Then write down at least (3) examples of different uses for the soil.

After looking at the picture for a while, the students recorded the different uses of soil.

• Teacher prompt: With your elbow partner, share with them the different uses of a plant that you recorded.

The teacher will then ask the students to submit what they’ve written and review what they recorded. The teacher will then ask the students to submit what they’ve written and review what they recorded.

Student will then read aloud on the document camera the text provided for them.

• Teacher prompt: Now that we have recorded what we believe the different uses of plants are and the different types of soil.  I need a volunteer to read for us the soil is on the document camera. ASR: Student will read what soil is and how soil is formed.  

Together the teacher and students will add their newly formed knowledge to the list started on the class KWL chart.  From there we merged our list with the lists put together by the other groups.  Once our master list was compiled we took the ideas and made a title page for our new unit.

Lesson Consolidation/Debriefing with Students:

Teacher prompt: (Teacher will record the information on a KWL chart)

1.      What did we learn about soil? ASR: Soil is a thin layer of material on the Earth's surface in which plants have their roots. It is made up of many things, such as weathered rock and decayed plant and animal matter.

Teacher prompt: Teacher will continue to ask the students questions to further their level of comprehension and knowledge.

2.      On our chart in the section where it says what did we learn, what can we add about what we learned about the different uses of soil? ASR: Soil is used to help plants grow healthy, make art, pottery, to build houses, sidewalks, bricks, and soil can also just be a decorative covering flowers or any plant.

3.      What did we learn about plants? ASR: Plants give us air, shelter, food and make our land look pretty.

4.      How is soil made? ASR: Soil Formation takes place when many things interact, such as air, water, plant life, animal life, rocks, and chemicals.

5.      Why do you think we need to have plants and soil? ASR: Students will give us their reason for why they think we need soil. They may include living, to keep warm to eat.

6.      Think back to what we did with the apple earlier. What would happen if we don’t use the soil appropriately? ASR: Our land would not exist anymore. We couldn’t grow fruits and vegetables and won’t have land to grow our plants on.

7.      What do you think we can do to preserve our soil? ASR: We have to continue to grow fruits and vegetables on the land    

8.      After reading the text on the document camera, what were the main ideas about plants and soils? ASR: Plants help to give us homes, food and give us clothing

Students will be told that we will be talking about the similarities and differences between plants and exploring soil tomorrow using magnifying glasses. The students will then be recording what they see in the soil in their science duo tangs.