Early Childhood Education

Learning Experience Template

Name: Kate Van Etten Lesson Title: Flower Growth

Date: 4/3/2024 Grade Level: Preschool Circle one: ECE PKSN
Standard(s)/Guideline(s): 1.a. Explores and investigates objects and events in the environment. : Engages in investigations, makes comparisons between two or
more items or events, and makes predictions based on previous observations.

Standard(s)/Guideline(s): 1.b. Develops ability to reason about cause and effect. : Makes inferences, generalizations, and explanations (may not be correct)
based on prior knowledge or evidence.

Pre-assessment of current knowledge: Students will be asked questions about growth in nature. This is to simply see what they know and answers won’t be
provided as it is the students who are investigating the topic. A checklist will then be filled out to measure what students know at the beginning of the lesson.

Instructional Objectives (1-2) Assessment of Student Learning Learning Experience

One/Two Assessed Instructional
Objective(s):
-Students will be able to make
predictions/inferences about the
growth of plants based off of
information learned in the
classroom, but also through real
experiences looking at plant
growth outside.
One Assessed Developmental
Skill:
-Students will be able to ask
questions and gather information
about the world around them
through an investigation.
Safety Considerations:
N/A
Identify Evidence: (What will you collect or record as data
to demonstrate students have met your objective(s) and
skill?)
-An assessment after the completion of the lesson to
measure overall growth and understanding of the topic.
-Pictures will be taken to capture the activity and for
teachers to see how students individualize the content and
information presented to them.
Progress Monitoring:
Progress will be monitored through a formal assessment.
This will be a checklist format, the teacher will check the
boxes that they feel are applicable to the students. This will
then be reviewed to see what students learned from the
lesson, and what needs to maybe be reiterated if this
lesson were to be taught again.
Differentiation:
N/A
Academic Language:
-Growth, Plants, Elements, Sun, Dirt, Water, Minerals,
Daffodils, Tulips, Grass
Procedural steps:
-Students will begin this lesson in the classroom. We will be
reading the book “We are Growing!”. This will be an
interactive read aloud and after we will predict what makes
plants grow.
-We will then turn to the book, “It Could Still be a Flower”, to
further our predictions. This is a nonfiction book that includes
pictures and facts
-Next, the students will go outside and look at real examples
of growth on the playground.
-I will ask students to go around and find me as many
examples of growth they can find. Examples could include
the grass, different kinds of flowers, any sort of fungi, etc.
-Students will then get to plant a bulb from the playground in
their place of choice.
-The teacher will be asking thought provoking questions
throughout the lesson. Examples may look like: Where
should we plant this flower? What does a flower need to
grow? How can we find these things on our playground?

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 Early Childhood Education
Learning Experience Template

-Students should be encouraged to find their own ways to get

the needed elements for plant growth. These include: dirt,
water, and sunshine.
-After giving the plant all the elements it needs to grow,
teacher will ask students once again what these elements
are.
-After, the teacher will initiate the final assessment based and
fill out the checklist based on how well the students
understood the content.

Authentic Materials: (Describe authentic real-life, hands-on

materials.)

-“We are Growing!” By Laurie Keller

-“It Could Still be a Flower” By Allan Fowler
-Flower, grass, watering can, dirt

Adult Roles:
-Facilitate the overall question
-Facilitate the read aloud
-Ask prompting questions
-Help gather materials

Resources & References:

-“We are Growing!” By Laurie Keller

-“It Could Still be a Flower” By Allan Fowler

Reflection: (What have you learned about your students? How will this inform future instruction?)

Overall the lesson went very well. The students were very engaged in the topic and were eager to get the hands-on experience. The
students were able to incorporate their own creativity in to the lesson. When out on the playground, we found a flower bulb. We had a
discussion about this bulb(as well as other plant life we saw) and then got to plant this on the playground. Students were asked guided
questions in order to properly plant this flower. They grabbed toys from the sand area to dig a hole in the dirt. They put the plant in the
ground and then used a watering can filled up with water from the water fountain. I learned that these students were very creative in
their collection of resources. They were the ones who discussed and figured out what they should use to best plant this flower. They got
to, step by step, see the elements that help a flower grow (this is including a discussion of the sun as a role in the growth of plants as
well.) I learned that when given the opportunity, students are able to figure things out on their own. The teacher role was very limited in

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 Early Childhood Education
Learning Experience Template

this lesson and I think that is what allowed for the most learning opportunities. They learned much more when they were outside
working hands on, vs when we were inside reading. I think in my experience in a teacher role, I am always very eager to give students
the answer or provide too much guidance when oftentimes this is really doing more harm than good. Students when given a challenge,
are more than capable of finding information and problem solving on their own. This is where the best learning, that sticks with students
for a long time occurs.

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