21st Century Instructional Plan: Student Population

Instructional Input “I do”- The information that the student must have so that she/he may reach the objective. The teacher needs to determine how the student is going to get this information and what the means of instruction will be. It is important that the teacher determine what new information is needed by the learner, and the most efficient and effective means of delivery.

Direct Instruction (I do it): To begin this lesson, the students will ask the student to think about why they think plants are important for humans before they watch a video that provides a catchy tune to identifying the plant parts and its function. The video is located at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql6OL7_qFgU . Once the video is over, the teacher will ask the students to respond to the following question: “Why are plants important?” (DOK 3 ) After the students watch the video, the teacher will give each table a potted flower to examine all of the parts as the teacher goes over each one with the class.

Modeling - This happens when the student sees an example or examples of steps in a process or an acceptable portion of a product or is exposed to what the new learning looks like. The teacher needs to focus on the essentials and label the critical elements.

The teacher will have a potted flower as she points to each part of the plant in addition to a poster diagram of the plant parts to further support student understanding. Additionally, as students complete the foldable, the teacher will be modeling each step in creating the foldable on plant parts.

Check for Understanding - When the teacher checks for student’s demonstration of essential information and the skills necessary to achieve the instructional objective. Students show what they know.

Students will complete a plant foldable where they will label the different plant parts as well as their functions. This foldable will be used to ensure that students have properly labeled each plant part and can describe the function of each plant part. The creation of an iMovie will also provide formative assessment to determine if students are working towards mastering the objectives. At the end of the lesson, students will complete the “L” section of their KWL chart which will serve as their exit ticket. (Bold represent the 3 different ways to assess FOR learning)

Questioning Strategies/Topical or Overarching Questions --This section enables teachers to ask the right questions to probe for higher levels of thinking. Again, teachers may find the Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational

Objectives a valuable tool in questioning strategies.

The teacher will ask the following questions that will engage students in critical thinking questions:

Critical Thinking Questions:

What would happen if there were no plants in the world? (DOK 3)

How are the roots, stems, and leaves alike? (DOK 3)

What is the purpose of the flower? (DOK 2)

Guided Practice -- The students’ first attempts with new learning are guided so they are accurate and successful. The “We do” portion of the lesson. What and how will you assess here?

Guided Instruction (We do it): The students, with the support of the teacher, will create a foldable. The students will take a piece of paper, fold it in half and on the front part, draw a picture of a plant that includes the following parts: root, stem, leaves, and flower. The students will then cut the front part of the fold into four parts so that each plant part has its own flap. The teacher will ask the students what each part does and then behind each flap, the students will write the function of each of the four plant parts. The teacher will be modeling how to complete the foldable using an Elmo to project on the screen. (DOK 1)

Independent Practice - The “You do” portion of the lesson. When students practice independently or with others without the guidance or help of the teacher. What and how will you assess?

Independent Practice (You do on your own): Students will create an iMovie that shows the parts of the plant as well as a description of its function. Students will first create a slide for each plant part and then record their voice when describing the plant part functions. Students will then share their iMovies to the class website to share with friends and family members. (DOK 2, Technology)

Closure – Bring it all back to the lesson’s objective. Will you assess using an exit ticket strategy, whole group discussion? Ticket out the door, or some other closing activity?

Students will complete their KWL charts by completing the “L” section that allows students to write down what they have learned, which will serve as an exit ticket. This will then be used as a way for the teacher to formatively assess the knowledge that students have gained and are working towards mastering the lesson objectives.

Differentiating for Students with Special Needs

Students with specific learning disabilities in reading and math: Since this lesson has no reading and mathematics requirement, there are not specific modifications/accommodations that need to be made.

Student with ADHD: This student will have the opportunity to stand up while working on his or her tasks if needed and while working on the independent activity, will allow the student to work in a quiet place to minimize distractions.

ELL student: For the student who is not fluent in English, I will provide opportunities for the student to connect the parts of a plant with his or her first language to offer native language supports. Additionally, I will be modeling and providing a lot of visuals using pictures and the video to provide comprehension. When the ELL students need to label the parts of a plant during the independent activity, I will provide the labels in both English and their native language to support them. When writing the functions of each plant part, they can attempt to draw a picture to represent the function. Additionally, when I pair the ELLs with a peer to complete the iMovie, if possible, I will pair them with a student that speaks their native language, but is fluent in English.