UNLV/Department of Teaching & Learning

Elementary Lesson Plan Template

UNLV Student: Kayla Meyers PreService Mentor Mrs. Goodwin

Teacher’s (PSMT)
Name:
Lesson Plan Title: Life cycle of a Lesson Plan Topic: Science
Pumpkin Lesson
Date: 10/07/2020 Estimated Time: 30 minutes
Grade Level: Kindergarten School Site: Thiriot Elementary
School
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

1. State Standard(s):
● Next Generation Science Standards-
○ K-LS1-1 Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals
(including humans) need to survive.
● NV Science State Standards for K-2 bracket:
○ N.2.A.1- Students know how to make observations and give descriptions using
words, numbers, and drawings.

● Teaching Model(s):
● “I do, we do, you do” direct instruction model
● Read-aloud to students
● Whole-group and independent practice with making a pumpkin life cycle chart.
● Modeling for students
● Lemov Strategies (Teach Like a Champion 2.0):
o Technique 5: Show Me- Flip the classroom dynamic in which the teacher gleans
data from a passive group of students. Have students actively show evidence of
their understanding.

● Two Potential Bloom's Taxonomy Questions (higher-order thinking):

○ Can you predict how pumpkin seeds spread around to different locations?
(evaluation).
○ The teacher will provide different incorrect versions of the pumpkin life cycle
steps. The students will differentiate between the correct and incorrect life cycles
(analysis).
2. Objective(s):
● SWBAT attentively listen to the teacher and all elements of the powerpoint to gain an
understanding of the life cycle of a pumpkin.
● SWBAT draw and color a chart that represents the six stages of a pumpkin’s life cycle.
● SWBAT verbally answer questions and make predictions during the Pumpkin Investigation
to guide the teacher through the investigation.

3. Materials and Technology Resources: (Virtual learning version)

● Internet access, a camera, and a microphone
● A document camera (if available).
o If not available, the teacher can use a tabletop/standup whiteboard to work on
the investigation and chart in front of the students.
● Google meets link for all students to join
● One small pumpkin
● One large bowl filled with water
● One knife or pumpkin-carving tool to open the pumpkin up with
● Math unit cubes/manipulatives to measure the height of the pumpkin
● Life Cycle of a Pumpkin Powerpoint:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nEIoidmuAz1huiJQdCOSzRH5KRXrp1VbG1
pbvMu6SOo/edit?usp=sharing
● Youtube song about pumpkins: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifLMJLN-A9w
● Mini-book about the life cycle of a
pumpkin:​https://www.storyjumper.com/book/read/78614385/The-Life-Cycle-of-a-Pum
pkin-Seed#
● Colored pencils or crayons
● A pencil and pen.
● One copy of the “My goals” powerpoint slide 3, either printed out or available for
screen-sharing.
● One copy of the Pumpkin Investigation worksheet for the teacher to use.

4. Instructional Procedures:
a. Motivation/Engagement:
● Gaining Attention/ background knowledge (1 minute):
○ The students will listen to the teacher introduce the topic of the lesson and give a
brief overview of what they will be doing.
■ Example of what the teacher can say: “Hello everybody! Today we are
going to try something a little different and do a science lesson! Science is
a subject where we explore different ideas, make guesses, and test ideas.
Today we are going to be learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin
*teacher will hold up pumpkin to screen* Give me a thumbs up if you have
 ever seen a pumpkin in real life before. *teacher will assess how many
students have seen a pumpkin.* Halloween is on the very last day of this
month, so you will likely see a lot of pumpkins around! Some of you might
even carve a pumpkin with your family or bake a pumpkin pie. We are
going to learn all about pumpkins and how they grow!
■ The teacher will share their screen to show the class powerpoint and show
slide one to the class.

● Stimulating Recall (1 minute)-

○ The teacher will then flip to slide 2 of the powerpoint and begin explaining what a
pumpkin is while showing the real pumpkin to the camera.
○ The teacher will also emphasize that plants like pumpkins need sunlight and water
to survive. The teacher can compare this to how people need sunlight for vitamins,
and water to stay healthy.

● Informing learners of the objectives (1 minute):

● The teacher will show the “My goals” document to the students through the camera by
either holding up a printed copy or sharing their screen of powerpoint slide 3 with the
class.
○ The teacher will ensure that the text is not too blurry and is visible to everyone.
○ The goals are as follows:
■ I will keep my microphone muted, unless I am asked to unmute it.
■ I will listen to the song and the story on pumpkins.
■ I will participate in every activity!
■ I will create a pumpkin life cycle chart.
○ Students will go over all of the objectives and the expectations for this lesson.
○ The teacher will read the objectives aloud and describe visually how to
demonstrate each goal.

b. Guided Practice (“We do”) (10 minutes):

Pumpkin Investigation:
● The teacher will then place the Pumpkin Investigation worksheet on a tabletop whiteboard
for all students to see.
○ The students should be able to see both the worksheet and the teacher at the
same time.
● The teacher will then work through the worksheet while demonstrating every step.
● For each box, the teacher should call on 2-3 students to help complete the worksheet. For
example, in the third box that says, “How many lines does the pumpkin have?,” the
teacher can call on two students to make guesses about the number of lines on the
pumpkin. The teacher can then write that prediction in the “our guesses” section. Finally,
 the teacher can count the actual number of lines in front of the camera with the students,
and record that on the “actual answer” section.
○ Science is all about predictions of the natural world, so this gets students to make
hypotheses.
● The teacher should clarify any unknown concepts in comprehensible ways. For example,
several students might not know what sinking/floating means. The teacher can explain this
to the students and use the picture from the worksheet as an example. The teacher can
place one item that floats in the water and one item that sinks in the water to
demonstrate before students make their predictions.

c. Presenting New Content (“I do”) (10 minutes):

Mini-Book (4 mins):
● The teacher will flip to slide 6 of the powerpoint and open up the mini-book on the
provided link.
○ To read the full story, teachers will need to sign up for a free account on the
website StoryJumper.com
○ Link to mini-book by Kimberly Foley:
https://www.storyjumper.com/book/read/78614385/The-Life-Cycle-of-a-Pumpkin-
Seed#
● The teacher will then read the mini-book about the life cycle of a pumpkin. This story
introduces students to the six stages of the life cycle.
○ While reading, the students should follow along. They should pay close attention to
the stages Steven the Seed goes through when transitioning from a seed to a
pumpkin.
○ During the story, the teacher will read at an appropriate pace and volume.
○ The students can ask questions, as the teacher should take pauses to point out
illustrations and answer clarifying questions.
○ The teacher will audibly make note of/ emphasize the six steps of the life cycle.
○ Teacher should utilize repetition frequently.

Explanation (3 minutes):
● Afterwards, the teacher will explain the life cycle stages once again and in more detail.
● The teacher will flip to slide 7 of the powerpoint to use a visual representation to guide
the students through the steps.

Song (2 minutes):
● The teacher will then flip to slide 8 of the powerpoint and play the pumpkin life cycle
song.
○ The students and teacher should attempt to sing along with the video.
○ Youtube link: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifLMJLN-A9w
 ● If the video has subtitles, the teacher can turn on subtitles for parents or students with
hearing difficulties.

d.Assessing Outcomes (“You do”) (5-10 minutes):

● Creating a Life Cycle of a Pumpkin Chart:
○ The teacher will then ask students to pull out a sheet of paper, colored pencils or
crayons, and a regular pencil.
■ The teacher can project the paper on a document camera or use magnets to
hold it to a tabletop whiteboard.
○ The teacher can start with the class jingle, “The first thing I do is always the same,
I pick up my pencil and write my name” while writing their name at the top.
■ The teacher should remind students to write their names, not the teacher’s
name.
○ The students will then fill out their own chart of the six steps of the pumpkin’s life
cycle. The teacher should model how this should look for the class.
■ The teacher should ask students to raise their hands to provide one step at
a time. If a student responds with “The first step is seed.” The teacher
should then say to the rest of the class, “Give me a thumbs up if you agree,
and a thumbs down if you think the first step is NOT the seed.” The
teacher can assess students’ answers and use them to correctly fill out the
chart.
● If students do not get the answer correct, the teacher can guide
them to the right answer with questioning, prompts, or by
reviewing the song.
■ The teacher should instruct students that they can draw them in any format
they wish (in circles, squares, alone) as long as they show them in the
correct order. They should use arrows or numbers to label the steps.
■ If students do not finish in time, they may complete it when class is over.

e. Providing Feedback (Closure):

○ Extension: ​If the students finish early, they can pull out their whiteboards and practice
listing the six steps of the pumpkin life cycle. They can also google the life cycle of other
plants.
○ Contingency plan:​ If time is running low, the teacher can limit the amount of students
called on per question to one or two. This way they keep the steps of the activity but cut
down the time it takes.

5. Accommodations, Modifications and Differentiations for Diverse Learners:

● Using repetition when necessary.
● Modeling every step.
 ● Providing multiple options for students at different levels of writing to participate. For
example, if they can only write the first sound, they should try that. If they can write
the full word like “orange pumpkin” they should do that. As long as they can follow
the progression of the pumpkin, it is okay if they need alternatives for the writing
portion.
● Youtube video and coloring activity for those with visual learning preferences.
● Turning on subtitles for those who need the written alternative.
● Using small pictures on the “My goals” slide to show students the desired behaviors
visually.
● Providing students who finish early a new task to stay occupied and students who do
not finish in time the opportunity to work at their own pace.
● Scaffolding student responses to get them started in the right direction.
● Pausing and leaving enough time for all students to think of a response before calling
on someone.

6. Assessment and Evaluation of Learning:

● Formative:
○ The teacher can watch students create their own Life Cycle of a Pumpkin chart.
They can also hold up their finished product to the camera for the teacher to
assess.
○ The teacher can watch students to check who is participating in singing along with
the youtube pumpkin song and participating in the activities.
○ The teacher can take note of all students who seem to understand the cycle and
those who do not understand as proficiently.
○ The teacher can listen to the various students’ responses to questions to assess
their comprehension of the material.
● Summative:
○ Since our class has not got into full science lessons frequently, this may be a lot of
their first experiences with science. Therefore, no summative assessment is needed
at this time. This lesson should act as a way to introduce students to science in an
engaging way.

7. Homework Assignment (1 minute):

● Students will be told that if they have not finished their life cycle drawing and labels,
they can do so for homework.
● The students should then have the opportunity to ask questions to the teacher at the
end of the lesson for clarifications.
8. Reflection of lesson plan creation:
a. Strengths:
I feel that this lesson plan is both engaging and informative. I tried to incorporate
areas where the students could make predictions, sing, draw, and read a story.
Hopefully every student finds at least one activity that is interesting to them. Since
Halloween is coming up (for those that celebrate), I am glad I will be able to give a
Halloween-themed lesson since many students likely won’t have the opportunity to
trick-or-treat this year. Although I feel it would have been even more exciting if it was
administered in-person, I feel that the twists I made to the lesson make it still
engaging for remote education. The students have not had much experience with
science lessons, so hopefully this is a nice change from their daily routines.

b. Concerns:
Although I have been assured that going over the estimated time is fine, this is still one of
my primary concerns. I do not want to take up too much time and not be able to complete
the other daily activities. On my other two lessons (reading and writing), I took over an
aspect that Mrs. Goodwin was already planning to teach. Since science lessons like these
are not a part of the daily routine, I hope that we will still have time for all of the other
planned activities. I also worry about my competency in teaching a science lesson. I have
never presented a science lesson before, so I am nervous about how my explanations will
translate to the students.

c. Insight:
My next three lessons will be about science, social studies, and math. These are three
subjects I never presented before to an audience. I have formulated all of my previous
verbal lessons around reading/writing and health, for those are my favorite subjects.
Despite my apprehension to try these other subjects, I am definitely excited to grow my
experiences. Hopefully by the end of practicum II, I feel more comfortable with all of the
subjects.
Life Cycle of
a Pumpkin
Science Lesson
Ms. Meyers
Pumpkins are a
type of fruit!
You can see a lot during
the months of October
and November!
 My Goals
1) I will keep my microphone muted, unless I am asked to unmute it.

2) I will listen to the song and the story on pumpkins.

3) I will participate in every activity!

4) I will create a pumpkin life cycle chart.

 Fun Fact
Some people grow HUGE pumpkins for contests! The largest pumpkin in the world
was 2,528 pounds! That’s as heavy as some cars!
 Pumpkin
Investigation
 Mini-book Time!

https://www.storyjumper.com/book/read/78614385/The-Life-Cycle-of-a-Pumpkin-Seed#
Pumpkin Life Cycle Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifLMJLN-A9w
Let’s make our own
pumpkin life cycles!