Apples!

Author(s):
Kate Ferguson
Amy Alexander
(A lesson plan we used in a prior block semester)

Grade Level:
4th grade

Timeframe:
One week. One hour per day: 2:00-3:00 pm

Lesson Description or Explanation:
The students have been studying the life cycle of an apple tree in order to gain insight into the life cycle of plants. In our last lesson we encouraged students to express and explore math along with all of their new understandings about the apple tree. The students seemed to really be forming new understandings of these concepts and we wanted to further that understanding in our next lesson by incorporating connections to new areas relating to these concepts. In this unit students will explore and learn about the life cycle of an apple tree, pollination, and plant and animal cells.

Indiana Curricular Standards:
Science:
4.4.1: Investigate, such as by using microscopes, to see that living things are made mostly of cells.
4.4.3: Observe and describe that organisms interact with one another in various ways, such as providing food, pollination, and seed dispersal.
English:
4.2.2: Use appropriate strategies when reading for different purposes. Example: Read and take notes on an informational text that will be used for a report. Skim a text to locate specific information. Use graphic organizers to show the relationship of ideas in the text.
4.2.3: Draw conclusions or make and confirm predictions about text by using prior knowledge and ideas presented in the text itself, including illustrations, titles, topic sentences, important words, foreshadowing clues (clues that indicate what might happen next), and direct quotations.
Math:
4.7.1: Analyze problems by identifying relationships, telling relevant from irrelevant information, sequencing and prioritizing information, and observing patterns.4.7.5: Express solutions clearly and logically by using the appropriate mathematical terms and notation. Support solutions with evidence in both verbal and symbolic work.

ISTE Standards:
1. Basic Operation and concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems. Students are proficient in the use of technology.

2. Technology Productivity Tools:
Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity. Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.

Assessments- Formative/Summative:
Formative/Ongoing Assessment:
Provide ongoing assessment throughout the lesson.
Observe and encourage student participation in class discussion, asking and answering questions, and volunteering comments and ideas.
Visit students throughout the center activities and provide direction, correct any errors, and affirm successes.
Collect and review written work on the cells.

Prior Knowledge:
Curricular Knowledge or Skills: We discovered the students had misconceptions about the life cycle of an apple tree, how apple seeds were produced inside the apple, pollination, and plant and animal cells.

Technology Knowledge: Our students have weekly time in the computer lab, but they have a program that they follow. They haven’t been given the opportunity to search much on the internet. We hope by giving them a subject to follow that they will be excited and willing to find all that they can about Johnny Appleseed and apples to have information to share with the class. In the past they have had a few projects using Microsoft Office; we plan on building off of those skills and challenge our students to come up with information to share with the class, not just to share with the teacher.

Technology:
Photos of cells for the projector
Photos of cells in a textbook or book
Microscopes and slides of cells
Chalkboards and chalk
Markers and transparencies
Paper
Poster paper
Assorted writing utensils
Computer
Inspiration
PowerPoint
Alphasmart
Assortment of apple books
http://www.appleseed.org/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/paint/school/usa/people/Appleseed.shtml
Science, Elementary, MacMillan and McGraw-Hill, 2004 Adoption, Grade 4
http://home.att.net/~elteach/appleseed.htm
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/tlc-butterflies/
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case4/c4facts1a.html
http://www.nga.gov/kids/

Procedure:
Prior to starting this unit we had an “informal” talk with our students to find out what they knew about the life cycle of an apple tree, pollination, and plant and animal cells.

Day One/ Day Two:
Step One: Gather the children to have them discuss what they know about the life cycle of an apple tree, and start the lesson by sharing books about Johnny Appleseed and other books. We would like for the children to find information about the route Johnny Appleseed traveled.

Step Two: Have the children get into small groups of their own choice and introduce randomly ordered pictures of an apple tree life cycle and ask students to put them in sequence.
After the children get their pictures in the order they believe to be correct, they can go to the computer and check on the internet to see if they ordered the pictures correctly. Then they can use PowerPoint to make a presentation of the order of the life cycle along with information that they find. They will then have a chance to present it to the class.
Wrap Up: Gather together back as a whole class and congress about their sequencing orders. Invite discussion as to what is different / same from their prior representations. We will then have a chance to talk about everyone’s presentation and compare the difference and come up with a conclusion about the correct cycle.

Day Three/ Day Four:
We are going to cover pollination. Each student is going to visit a station displaying a difference phase of pollination.

Station1: We are going to help the children explore the initial stages of a bud.

Station 2: We are going to explore how the bud becomes hairy, flowers continue to swell.

Station 3: We are going to explore individual flower stalks.

Station 4: We are going to explore the stigma, sepals are attached. This is the time when we can see the loose petals on the ground.

Station 5: We are going to explore how the stamens dry up disappear beneath sepal, hairs disappear, fruit is ready to pick.

Have the children explore: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case4/c4facts1a.html (Also available in Spanish).
Have them use http://www.nga.gov/kids/ to express themselves, and what they have learned about pollination and apples so far.

Day Four/ Day Five:
The past two days were actually a build up to this lesson. We are going to go much more in depth with cells.

Step One: Share lesson goals and objectives with students: that they will learn about the cells of plants and animals, the names of the parts of the cell, and what they look like.

Step Two: Bring together and review, as a class, all that we had learned about the cycle of the apple tree and begin to make deeper meaning in order to branch off into new areas and make connections.

Step Three: Start by looking more closely at the apple tree by allowing the students to form small groups and begin to look at the cells of a plant. Students are also able to look at images of cells in their book or on the computer. Follow this with exploring animal cells in the same way and allowing students to make observations and to explore ideas.

Step Four: Bring each group back together and allow time to share their observations and ideas. These can be recorded on the chalkboard, on the computer with adaptive keyboards, on an Alphasmart, on a piece of paper or transparency, on a poster, etc., as drawings, stories, songs, etc. By allowing the students to explore images of the cells, ask questions, and give their own ideas about the cells, then we will be able to find out areas that need support before moving more deeply into cells. This is a good way to use the knowledge that we have gained so far in order to transition to new areas of study.
Wrap Up: Follow this lesson by introducing terms and adding them to images that the students found. Allow students to form connections between the plant cell and animal cell and what they saw when they looked at each. When students get comfortable with the major parts of the cell, they can partner up with an image of a plant cell, and image of an animal cell, and can point out parts of the cell with the correct term. They can then work together using Inspiration to make a concept map of what they learned about apples and cells then share it with the class.

Differentiated Instruction:
ESL:
It would be best to find books and websites that are available in the student’s primary language in order to support that student. The teacher can also use the translator on Word 2007 to help find terms used in charts and in discussions in that student’s language. The student can also use a translator to find the English word that represents terms.

Challenge/Extend:
Have student’s complete further research on the computer about cells. Have students gather information about specific parts of the cell and complete a PowerPoint presentation of the parts of a cell and explain what they do in the cell.

Special Needs:
Students with special needs can use assistive technology that will help them to learn. This can include text enlargers, adaptive keyboards, scanners to read text, etc. They can also view images on the internet that may provide picture support or audio support. They can also use alphasmarts on areas in which they need to write or take notes and can not be at the computer.