Fish Fertilizer Blind Study Follow-Up Lesson Plan

Seeding Blind Study Lesson Plan Follow-up

Grade Level and Unit: Grades 1 and 2, Wampanoag Harvest 1600

Session and Description of Lesson Tasks: In this lesson students will be measuring the growth of their plants and testing their predictions on whether the fish fertilizer helped the bean seeds grow.

Materials needed: Plants, ruler, pencil, worksheet

Grouping Decisions: Students will be working individually.

Learning goals/Objective(s) What are your core ideas for this lesson? What do you intend all students to know and understand? I want students to understand that the Wampanoag Indians used fertilizer to help their crops grow. I also want them to understand the basics of doing a blind study.	Language Objectives? What language will you model during the lesson? What language do you expect to hear during student discourse? Blind Study Variable Fertilizer
Standards: How do the learning goals relate to the standards? Massachusetts Science/ Teachnology/Engineering Frameworks: Pre-K- 2 Recognize that animals (including humans) and plants are living things that grow, reproduce, and need food, air, and water.
Connect and Anticipate: In what ways does this lesson build on students’ previous knowledge? What student strategies and responses do you anticipate? What misconceptions and struggles might students have? Students will be measuring the plants they planted two weeks prior. We will be measuring plant growth based on length and number of leaves. Students will compare the total length of the plants in blue cups and green cups to base their judgment on whether the fertilizer worked or not. Students may have difficulty using a ruler but teachers will be available for support.
Focus Questions Consider what questions you will use to focus on students’ thinking to encourage sense-making and discourse. Launch: To introduce the activity/motivate students. Why are we doing this study? Do you think the blue or green plants had fertilizer? Why? Do you know how to use a ruler? Explore: To assess students’ understanding and to advance their thinking as they work independently, in partners or small group How tall did your plant grow? How many leaves did your plant grow? Summary: To facilitate the analysis and synthesis of ideas shared at the end of the lesson What plants grew the tallest? How can we add the totals up?

Evidence: How will you know what students understand? What evidence will you collect? (If there is an exit task, what will be its focus to inform you instructional next steps?) The evidence I will collect is their filled out worksheet with their measurements and drawing. I will be able to tell the students understanding based on their responses on the worksheet.

Pitfalls and Solutions:

                ELL: No accommodations are necessary for these students.

Special Ed.: There will be three teachers implementing this lesson and able to assist any students with difficulties they are encountering.

Reflection: This lesson went really well. The plants without the fertilizer ended up growing taller so the students had a great discussion about the factors that could have caused this.