Alyssa Wellmann

EDUC 2220- Educational Technology

Infant-Pre-K Curriculum Plan: Technology-Based Lesson/Activity

Your Name Alyssa Wellmann
Activity Title Powerful Plants
Number of children participating at one time 10
Ohio Early Learning &
Development Standards:
List at least 1 standard that is
addressed by this activity. Write
out each component completely
and exactly, as published in
ELDS.

Ages 5-6

Domain: Approaches Toward Learning

Strand: Initiative
Topic: Initiative and Curiosity
Standard Statement: Offers explanations about topics of
interest
Domain: Approaches Toward Learning
Strand: Engagement and Persistence
Topic: Attention
Standard Statement: Focus on an activity with deliberate concentration
despite distractions

Lesson Summary:

This lesson is entailed to build upon the attention,

persistence, initiative, and curiosity of the student. This
lesson will also build on the knowledge of local plants
that the students have been studying. This lesson plan
will also allow the teacher to observe and score the
attention span of the students as well as their ability to
offer explanations. Using an app and book, called
Powerful Plants, that is provided, the students will be
able to explore a variety of plants within small groups,
or on their own. The children simply move their device
over the book and the photos come to life on the app.
Naturally, the students will spend most of their time
exploring the plants that they are most interested in. At
the end of the week, the students will have the
opportunity to share what they have learned with the
class and discuss any new curiosities that they may
have. Students will also we able to bring in information
and examples of different plants that were displayed or
not displayed in the book/app. Over the course of a
week, the students will have engaged in a multitude of
learning, collaboration, and exploration.

Estimated Duration:

The teacher will provide 20 minutes of book and app

exploration for the students on Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, the teacher will
provide at least 20 minutes for the students to share the
information that they have learned, are curious to learn
more about, etc. If the students show interest passed 20
minutes, the teacher will allow them to continue sharing
with each other and the teacher until they no longer
show interest.

Preparation of materials
and environment

What preparation is needed?

Include lessons about plants-how they grow, what they need to thrive,
etc.
Supply enough books for each student
One-to-one classroom- ipads
What materials will be used?
Ipads, Powerful Plant books, real plants
How will the learning environment be set up?
There will be enough space for the children to work in separate groups
or on their own. There will be areas for the children to sit on they floor
or at desks (let the children decide). There will be occasional
distractions (a different book, a loud song, a new toy) in order to
assess the students attention.

Instructional Procedures:
Day 1: Teacher will ask questions in order to stir up brief discussion about what
the students are excited about for this lesson, what they want to learn, what
plants they are interested in, etc. (5 minutes). The teacher will place the children
into groups, then allow the students to break off and work alone if they wish (5
minutes). Students will begin to explore the contents of the book using the app
provided on their ipads (10 minutes).
Day 2: The teacher will prompt a brief discussion about the contents of the book
and the app. What did the students find interesting? How does the book/app
interaction make them feel? (5 minutes). Split the children into the same groups
as the previous day and begin to freely explore the contents of the book and app
once again. (15 minutes) The teacher will wonder around, scaffolding the
students. The teacher will ask questions about the specific plants they are
learning about. The teacher will also make connections to other plants and ideas
within discussion with individual students/groups.
Day 3: The teacher will lay out a variety of plants. The teacher will allow students
to explore the plants that are provided to each group or individual. The teacher
and students will ask questions and discuss what they see. Do the children
recognize any of the plants? What texture are the plants? Where could these
plants be from? (10-15 minutes). Allow students to interact freely with the book,
app, and live plants (remaining time of 5-10 minutes). This time, the teacher will
provide a variety of distractions. The teacher may do this by playing loud music,
setting out a new toy, bringing an unfamiliar adult into the room. During this, the
teacher will observe how the students stay on task vs how distracted they
become.
Day 4: The entire class will gather to present their findings to each other. Each
group will use their books, apps, and real plants that are provided to show the rest
of the class what they have learned. This will be a time of open discussion and
presentation of what they found interesting, what they learned, what else they
want to learn, etc. (at least 20 minutes) (approximately 5 minutes per group). The
teacher will observe how long the students are able to pay attention to their
peers, offer explanations, and take interest in the class discussion.

Day 5: The class will gather once again for a presentation. Each student will
supply an example, idea, or interest in a plant that they have learned about or
want to learn about (at least 5 minutes per group). This will last at least 20
minutes or until children no longer show interest. The teacher will once again
observe the attention of each student during the presentations. The teacher will
use the checklist to observe how well the students stay on task, how often they
become distracted, and how well the students offer explanations about their
plants.
Extension
https://powerfulplants.net/about/
On the powerful plants website, there is more fun and learning to be
provided! Here, parents will find a variety of extension activities to
introduce to the children. The website shows fun plants to plant and
grow at home as well as other ways to help the environment. Parents
can encourage their children to perform the tasks provided on the
website like gardening and vegetable picking. The students can benefit
from the ideas on this website because it provides more information and
activities for the students to engage their attention in.
Differentiated Instructional Support: Describe how instruction can be
differentiated (changed or altered) to meet the needs of gifted or accelerated
students:
When pairing the children into groups, I will be sure to place above average
students with below average students so that there is extra support in learning
and staying on task. I will also provide extra books and websites for the children
to explore if they show interest in even more information than what is provided in
Powerful Plants.
Discuss additional activities you could do to meet the needs of students who
might be struggling with the material: An additional activity for the students that
might be struggling will be to provide the materials to plant their own plants. A
vase, dirt, seeds, sunlight and water will be provided. Some students learn better
with hands on activities. Therefore, this hands on activity of planting and growing
a plant will provide an alternative way of learning how plants work and grow.
Vocabulary:

Photosynthesis will be defined prior to instruction

Pollination will be defined during instruction (when integrating other subject)
The names of the plants will also become vocabulary as the students learn of new
plants
Poison Ivy
Dragons Tongue Bush Bean
Jalapeno Pepper
etc.
For teachers

iPad with Powerful Plant app for each student

Powerful plant book for each student
Real examples of plants

Materials for planting (seeds, dirt, vase, water, sunlight)

Extra books for further information about plants
Extra websites for further information about plants
Glue, poster board, coloring utensils- for plant collage
Plant picture files

For students

Each student will need an ipad with the app installed

Each student will need a Powerful Plants book

Commentary: In the week leading up to this lesson plan, the teacher will introduce
basic knowledge of plants (how they grow, photosynthesis, different species, what they
are used for, etc.) The teacher will introduce this information through outdoor play and
exploration. The teacher will also provide engaging activities that incorporate
information about plants such as books, songs, and picture files. The teacher will get
the students hooked by exploring different plants with them that the children show
interest in. Another way to hook the students is to, during outdoor exploration, the
teacher will provide a list of plants (names and photos included) so that the children can
go on a scavenger hunt. The teacher will then allow the students to collect the plants
that they find, bring them inside, and create a plant collage. It will be challenging for the
teacher to observe the students while they are outdoors collecting plants. The teacher
will need to be sure that the students to not collect plants that are potentially dangerous
(poison ivy for example). The teacher will most likely need extra help for this activity so
that each child is observed.
Pre-assessment: The teacher will have a pre-assessment checklist. The checklist will
include:

Can child offer explanations about topics of interest

Can child focus on an activity without getting distracted
Can child focus on an activity without getting distracted when distractions are
deliberately provided
Does child show interest in new information
Does child grasp the concept of plants
Can child explore freely (show initiative) without prompt from adult

Scoring Guidelines: Teacher will be able to assess students comprehension of plants

through a series of questions, discussion, and scaffolding projects. Teacher will be able
to assess the students interest and attention through observation of the students
interaction and how long the interactions last. Teacher will assess the students ability to
stay on task by first placing no distractions, then deliberately placing distractions and
determine how long the child can stay on task.
Post-Assessment: The teacher will have a post-assessment checklist. The checklist
will include:

Can child offer explanations about topics of interest

Can child focus on an activity without getting distracted

Can child focus on an activity without getting distracted when distractions are
deliberately provided
Does child show interest in new information
Does child grasp the concept of plants
Can child explore freely (show initiative) without prompt from adult

This checklist will display that the children can focus on an activity with deliberate
concentration despite distractions and offer explanations about topics of interest
because the teacher will interact one-on-one with the student and continuously observe
the interactions to check off the list. The teacher will also observe these abilities while
the students are researching on their own, as well as while they present to the class.
Homework Options and Home Connections: On day 5 the children have the options
to bring in a plant that they found on their own. Parents are asked to escort students
around their house, a park, etc., so that the student may explore and find a new plant
that is not provided in the Powerful Plants book/app. The parents are asked to research
a little about the plant that their child chose (name, specific qualities, etc.) so that the
child may present their plant to the class. There is also the extension options listed
above.
Interdisciplinary Connections: While discussing the concept of plants, the teacher will
scaffold the students to make the connection between plants and bees. The children will
learn about bees and how they pollinate the flowers to then make honey. From here, the
teacher may ask what other creatures associate with flowers (Do any animals/insects
eat plants? Can plants provide protection and shelter for any animals/insects?) This will
integrate the subjects of animals and insects. Also, the children will be able to integrate
the subject of art when they create a plant collage after the plant scavenger hunt.