Lesson Plan 13 (December 7, 2012): Flowers 2
Grade/Subject: Grade 4 Science Unit: Plant Growth and Changes
Lesson Duration: 37 Minutes
OUTCOMES FROM
ALBERTA PROGRAM OF
STUDIES
GLO: Demonstrate knowledge
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
and skills for the study,
interpretation, propagation and
enhancement of plant growth.
 SLO: Identify and describe
the general purpose of
plant roots, stems, leaves
and flowers.
 SLO: Nurture a plant
through one complete life
cycle—from seed to seed.
ASSESSMENTS
(Observations, Key Questions, Written
Assessments, Performance
Assessments)
Students will identify the
general purpose of plants roots,
stems, leaves and flowers.
Formative Observation:
Students will contribute to class
discussion.
Students will describe the
general purpose of plants roots,
stems, leaves and flowers.
Written Assessment: Students
will complete their notes for the
lecture.
Students will nurture a plant
through one complete life cycle.
Formative Observation:
Students will monitor their
plants and see if they need any
water or if they have started to
grow.
LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED
Resource #1: Alberta Education. (2005). Science Program of Study: Grade 4. Alberta, Canada:
Alberta
MATERIALS AND EQUPMENT
Notebook Presentation Lesson 12
Student Handout
Smelling the Flowers Materials: Lilies, Q-Tips, magnifying glass
PROCEDURE
Introduction (5 min):
Attention Grabber & Assessment of Prior Knowledge:


Have students go up by rows to check on their plants, and see if they need to be watered.
While the students are checking on their plants the other students will start on their glossary for
the unit and make sure their notes are complete up to the end of the flower unit.
Advance Organizer/Agenda:
o
o
Flower Tic Tact Toe
Scientific Method: Smelling the Flowers
Expectations for Learning and Behaviour:




Students will be expected to listen to the class discussion and contribute to the discussion.
When students are engaged in group work they will contribute to the conversation, respect when
it is another students time to talk (may need to introduce the idea of talking sticks), put up their
hand when they have something to add or wait until a person is done talking before they speak.
When students are at their desk they will be seated and will raise their hand if they have
questions or require assistance.
Students are also required to follow the rules already in place for classroom behavioural
expectations. The general examples of behaviours that warrant being given a number are:
continually calling out, disrupting other learning, being late for class, wearing hats in the
classroom, eye rolling, sighing or other disrespectful behaviour, being unkind to another student,
refusal to follow classroom or school procedures
o #1: a verbal reminder to be making good choices
o #2: students who reach a 2 are given a yellow classroom behaviour form to complete at
the back desk or in the hallway-write down the action they were taking, why it
happened/ why it was inappropriate and lastly how it could have been prevented.
Students remain at the back desk or in the hallway until the teacher is done instructing.
Students will have a conference with the teacher to discuss what happened. Students
will return to their desk and continue working,
o #3: Students who reach a 3 have shown that they are unable to make good choices
within the classroom. Students will be asked to go down to the office where they will fill
out a pink office referral form and work until the situation has been dealt with by
administration. Automatic 3s are for any behaviour, which would be considered
dangerous, or extreme-examples would be physical contact, profanity or aggression
towards anyone.
Transition to Body:

Once all students have checked on their plants get them to return to their desks and explain
flower Tic Tac Toe
Body (25 min):
Learning Activity #1: Flower Tic Tac Toe



Split the class into two groups (the current seating plan already has the group divided evenly)
Label one of the groups X’s and the other O’s student will try and get 3 in a row (vertical,
horizontal, or diagonal) by answering questions correctly, if the student does not answer the
question correctly than the other team can steal for points.
Questions:
o Name 3 ways a petal can attract insects to the center of a flower. (bright colours, pretty
designs, and scent)
o What is phototropism?(when plants move towards light)
o Is a rose a perfect or imperfect flower? (perfect)
o Is a cucumber a perfect or imperfect flower? (imperfect)
o What does the stamen produce? (pollen)
o What contains the male reproductive cells of the plant? (pollen)
o Is the pistil the male or female part of the flower? (female)
o Is the stamen the male or female part of the flower? (male)
o What are 4 ways that flowers get pollinated? (wind, insect, bats, hummingbirds)
o What is pollination? (when pollen from the stamen falls on top of the pistil)
o What contains the female reproductive cells of the plant? (ovary)
o What is fertilization? (when the male and female cells mix to form a seed)
o What is another name for fruit? (seedpod)
Teacher Actions:

The teacher will first explain to students what is expected of them while they are playing Flower
Tic Tac Toe. The students will be working as a team to come up with the answer, but they will
have a time limit to respond. If the students cannot come up with an answer in the correct
amount of time then the question will be passed to the other team.
Sponge Activity:
 Move on to the Scientific Method: Smelling the Flowers
Assessments/Differentiation:


If students are having difficulty with these concepts the teacher can offer different levels of
differentiated support. This will vary by students based on what they know, and will be reflective
of how much further instruction and support they receive.
Students can also discuss with their team the answer
Transition:
Students will be split into groups of three one student will go and get the flowers, one will get the QTips, and the other will get a magnifying glass.
Learning Activity #3: Smelling the Flowers and the Scientific Method



Students will learn and observe how flowers are pollinated
Materials:
o Each group needs 2 flowers (lilies)
o Q-Tips
o Magnifying Glass
What to do:
o Sketch your flower. Label the petals, stamen, pistil, pollen, and ovary
o How do you think your flower attracts insects?
o Now its time to do the work of a bee! The Q-Tip represents a bee. This bee is attracted to one
of your flowers. It buzzes around the petals looking for nectar. It has to go inside the flower
for this. Gently push the Q-Tip inside the flower. Which parts of the flower does the Q-Tip
touch?
o Look closely at the Q-Tip to if it has collected any pollen. Sketch what you see. Use the
magnifying glass or microscope to look at some pollen. Sketch what you see.
o Now touch the pollen that is on the Q-Tip to the top of the pistil in the second flower. This is
how flowers are pollinated.
o How do insects pollinate flowers?
o What are some other ways that pollination can occur?
Teacher Actions:

The teacher will explain what the students will be doing in this activity, and will be available to
help students when needed. The students can also look at the Smart Board for reference.
Sponge Activity:


Students can finish their glossary words on page on page 23 of their student handout as well as
complete the diagram of a flower on page 22.
Give students page 27 from the student handout for students to cut and colour and recreate the
plant lifecycle on page 26.
Assessments/Differentiation:


If students are having difficulty with these concepts the teacher can offer different levels of
differentiated support. This will vary by students based on what they know, and will be reflective
of how much further instruction and support they receive.
Students can also talk with their elbow partners but they need to exercise the ruler rule so that
their voices do not extend beyond their group. Those students who are having difficulty should
be paired with students who understand what is expected of them.
Transition:

Students will put away their experiment materials at the back of the room and will them put
their science notes away.
Closure (7 min):
Consolidation/Assessment of Learning:

As a class we will complete the diagram of a flower and explain the parts and what their purpose
is.
Feedback from Students: Using a thumbs up, down, or in the middle classification system ask
students the first question then be open to comments for the second question:
 Do you understand the purpose of flowers on a plant?
 What role do insects and birds have in a plants growth and development?
Feedback to Students:

I appreciate how well you worked completing your scientific method sheet and going through
the notes, you are showing me great responsibility!
Transition to Next Lesson:
 Now that we know more about all of the different parts of the plant we are going to look at the
life cycle of plants.
REFLECTION
I started todays lesson with a Flower Tic Tac Toe game, and the students seemed to
really respond and like this review game. However, the volume during the game did
continue to climb and I had to remind the students that they could be louder, but
they needed to be in control still. I felt this game was a good review for the students
because some were having difficulty with recall, and I feel this was a good platform
to ensure they remembered the content. Once the game was over I moved on to the
experiment called Smelling the Flowers. For this experiment I also chose to prepare
the procedures and materials separately for the students so they only had to glue
them into their science books. After the students were done filling in the first section
of their scientific method sheets, I assigned tasks to group members for who would
grab the materials.
The challenge with this experiment was that we ran out of time and the students
were rushed. If the flowers survive the weekend I am going to have the students
observe the flowers again because I feel not enough time was spent on this. I also
want to make sure that the students do not rush through it and interpret this
information as being unimportant. The students need to be able to understand this
content, and why it is important to the unit we are studying. I will do another review
at the beginning of the next lesson, then the students will complete their diagram of
a flower and write their conclusion. Once this is done we will then move on to the
next section of this unit, focusing on the life cycle of plants.
Cut-outs for students to put on their scientific method sheets
Procedure: (what we did)
1. Sketch your flower. Label the petals, stamen, pistil, pollen,
and ovary.
2. How do you think your flower attracts insects?
3. Now its time to do the work of a bee! The Q-Tip represents
a bee. This bee is attracted to one of your flowers. It buzzes
around the petals looking for nectar. It has to go inside the
flower for this. Gently push the Q-Tip inside the flower. Which
parts of the flower does the Q-Tip touch?
4. Look closely at the Q-Tip to if it has collected any pollen.
Sketch what you see. Use the magnifying glass or
microscope to look at some pollen. Sketch what you see.
5. Now touch the pollen that is on the Q-Tip to the top of the
pistil in the second flower. This is how flowers are pollinated.
6. How do insects pollinate flowers?
7. What are some other ways that pollination can occur?
Materials Used:
2 Flowers per group (lilies)
Q-Tips
Magnifying Glass