Developmental Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate: Abigail Elsavage Date: N/A

Group Size: 23 Allotted Time: 1 hour
Subject or Topic: #3 Plant Adaptation Grade Level: 4th
Common Core/PA Standard(s):
Standard - 3.1.4.C2: Describe plant and animal adaptations that are important to survival.

Learning Targets/Objectives:
- The students will be able to give examples of unusual plant adaptations by writing a
plant adaptation on scratch paper (scratch paper snowball).
Assessment Approaches: Evidence:
1. VFT observation sheet 1. Completed notes
2. Thumbs up/thumbs down 3. Observational
3. Scratch paper snowball 4. 1 written fact

Assessment Scale:
Student was able to provide 1 plant adaptation = proficient
Student was not able to provide 1 plant adaptation = unsatisfactory
Subject Matter/Content:
Prerequisites:
*All prerequisites were taught in the prior lesson
- Parts of a plant (stem, roots, and leaves)
- Dormancy: Low activity in trees
- Taproots: Roots that are very deep and often have 1 main root
- Fibrous roots: Roots that are close to the surface of the soil and have many roots of the
same size

Key Vocabulary:
Adaptation: Special features that allow a plant to live in different climates and
 conditions.
Content/Facts:
- Adaptations are special features that allow a plant to live in different climates and
conditions.
- Some plants live on land (an Oak tree grows in PA and other northern states.)
- Some plants live in the water (Water Lily)
- Water Lilies live in ponds and lakes.
- They grow from the soil below the water.
- Sunlight filters through the water to reach the young Water Lily.
- At the top of the water, the flat pads take in sunlight and CO2.
- The roots take in water and nutrients from the muddy bottom.
- Vines have stem adaptations.
- Vines often grow on forest floor, where the light is dim.
- To reach sunlight, vines have long stems with adaptations for clinging to other objects
for support.
- Some plants adapt to live with very little water.
- In some deserts, it may be months or even years between rain showers.
- Cacti can survive these dry spells because they have thick stems that store water.
- The roots of the cactus grow just below the surface of the ground, making it easy for
them to collect water.
- A carnivorous plant is a plant that eats meat. (Carne means meat in Spanish)
- Venus Fly Trap
- An insect sees the leaf of a Venus’ flytrap as a safe place to land and a possible source
of food.
- When it lands, the insect touches special hairs. Touching any two hairs is the trigger
stimulus. The plant responds by snapping the leaf shut. The points on the edges of the
leaf halves lace together, trapping the insect inside.
- Once the leaf is fully closed, digestive juices dissolve the soft parts of the insect. It may
take weeks for the plant to fully digest the insect. When the leaf reopens, the insect’s
skeleton and wings are blown away by the wind. The leaf is then ready for another
insect
Introduction/Activating/Launch Strategies:

Flower Observation 1. The teacher will place the two potted flowers on a desk in

(extended over multiple the front of the classroom (flower #1 & flower #2)

days within unit) 2. First, students will observe the flowers and complete the

This will be a part of the Seesaw journal activity which will ask the following

introduction to every question:

lesson in this unit. - “What do you notice about flower #1 and flower #2 on

*Over the next few days, day 3?”

students will observe two - Allow 4 minutes for students to observe flowers and

different flowers and complete the Seesaw activity.

3. Next, show students the celery experiment from yesterday.
4. Have a discussion with the students about what happened:
Discussion Questions (Ask students these question)
- What happened?
- What do your observations tell you about the way that plants transport water?
- How do you think the water is able to travel upward from the roots to the leaves?
- Why do plants need water?
5. Before starting the new lesson, inform students that they will be working in coopering
learning groups at one point in the lesson. Provide students with their group members at
this time to avoid any questions during the lesson.
6. Next, write the words “Carnivorous Plants” on the board.
7. Ask the students to think about what the word carnivorous means.
8. Allow students to share out some answers.
9. Inform the students that the Spanish word for “meat” is “carne” to help guide students
thinking.
10. Ask the students “Animals are carnivores. What does that mean?”
- It means that they eat meat!
11. Ask the students “So, what does carnivorous plant mean?”
- It means “meat eating plant.” (Students should have very many questions at this time.
Tell them to hold their questions for now so they can get to the learning.”
12. Direct students to sit in front of the smart board.
Development/Teaching Approaches
1. The teacher will go through the “Plant Adaptations” slideshow with the students.
Link to slideshow:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1O7HN_gDW3nPxioExcHyLLkieL6ms_xD9X
YNdWPUYi_g/edit?usp=sharing
2. After watching the Venus Fly Trap video on slide 12, write the following question on
the board: “What specialized parts of the Venus Fly Trap help it survive? What is your
evidence?” *Give students a hint by opening and closing your hands like a Venus Fly
Trap
- Leaves & hairs
3. Tell students “It’s one thing to watch it in a video, but it’s another thing to experience
it for real.”
4. Tell students to get into their cooperative learning groups and sit somewhere in the
classroom together. (Students received their groups at the beginning of the lesson)
5. Each group will receive a small Venus Fly Trap.
6. In groups students will be tasked to:
- Avoid touching the plant!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Sketch the plant in full detail (include every hair)
- Look at the plant with a magnifying glass
- Take photos with iPad
7. The teacher will put a stopwatch on the smart board for 5 minutes.
8. During the observation, stop and ask students for a thumbs up/thumbs down to check
to make sure everyone is doing okay.
9. The teacher will walk around and listen to students’ observations/comments. The
teacher can ask individual students questions to drive the inquiry. The teacher should
make sure every group can get their Venus Fly Trap to close. If a groups plant is not
closing, the teacher will help.
10. After 5 minutes, ask students to bring their attention back to the teacher.
11. Ask the students to come over to the kidney bean shaped table and gather around it.
12. Appoint one student (to save time) and instruct them to take a toothpick and gentry rub
the trigger hairs on the inside of the trap. Appoint another student to start a stopwatch.
 When the trap is completely closed, the timer is stopped. Everyone needs to record
their observations and the time it took for that trap to shut.
13. Explain to students that the trap will only shut so many times before it will die.
Therefore, it is important to save the plant’s energy for trapping real flies instead of
toothpicks.
14. Next, direct students to create one rich question that would help other understand how
a Venus Fly Trap Works.
15. Provide students with an example of a rich question: “What do you notice as the Venus
Fly Trap closes?”
16. Provide students with a weak question: “How many hairs does a Venus Fly Trap
have?”
17. Provide the students with 1 flashcard per group and have the students write their
question on the flashcard.
18. Set a timer for 3 minutes.
19. Collect the flashcards.
20. Read everyone’s flash card out loud.
Closure/Summarizing Strategies:
1. To end the lesson, give everyone a piece of scratch paper.
2. Tell students to write one plant adaptation that they learned today on the paper. (Only
put your number)
3. Tell students to crumble up the paper.
4. On the count of 3, have students throw the paper in the air.
5. Tell the students to pick up one “snowball” from another student.
6. Go around the room sharing facts that were learned in this lesson.
Accommodations/Differentiation:
Follow all IEPs
Materials/Resources:
 Some lesson ideas were found on this website:
https://teaching.betterlesson.com/lesson/617285/monster-plants
 Venus fly traps (2)
 Toothpick (2)
  Magnifying glasses (23)
 Stopwatch
 PowerPoint
 Scrap papers
 https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/
1O7HN_gDW3nPxioExcHyLLkieL6ms_xD9XYNdWPUYi_g/edit?usp=sharing

Reflection:
There were many assessments throughout this lesson to ensure students met the objectives.
First students were asked to observe a Venus fly trap and make a sketch of the plant. I collected
the sketch to review students’ observations. I made sure the students added the little hairs and
points on the plant and all students were able to sketch those details. Next, I did use thumbs up
& down throughout the lesson to ensure my students were on track and did not have any
questions. Last, I ended the lesson with another formative assessment. I handed out scratch
paper and I asked my students to write 1 thing they learned during the plant adaptation lesson.
The students then crumbled it up, threw it in the air, and picked up a new “snowball.” The
students read the “snowball” aloud when I picked their stick. The students really enjoyed this
assessment. I was able to collect the “snowballs” and I read through them and confirmed all
students wrote down 1 fact from the lesson.