Plant and Animal Cells in Human Life: Lesson Plan Essay

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Integrated Lesson Plan: Science, Social Studies, Arts, and Health Education

Name: Mentor:

Date:

Subject/grade level: Science, Social Studies, Arts, and Health Education (Grade: 4)

Materials: Textbook; posters with the pictures of plants and animal cells (with details and descriptions over the arrows pointing at the corresponding part of the plant or animal cell); posters of cells with no descriptions (the learners are supposed to fill them in); spreadsheets with crossword puzzles printed on them; pencils; erasers; crayons.

CCSS Standards or MD VSC:
“Use knowledge of the language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening” (National Governors Association 29);
“Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks, attending to special cases or exceptions defined in the text” (National Governors Association 62);
“Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words” (National Governors Association 63)

Lesson objective(s):

Helping the students understand what a cell is and explore its nature, components, and functions in plants and animals;
Expanding the learners’ ability to transform the provided information and use it to complete basic tasks;
Improving the learners’ literacy by encouraging them to spell complicated terms properly;
Inviting the learners to discuss the new information and their performance in the tasks.

Accommodation/Differentiation strategies to meet diverse learner needs:

ESL learners: Making the instructions simple, concise, and accurate so that ESL students could understand the guidelines and complete the tasks accordingly;
Learners with disabilities: Providing the required equipment, making the text legible, and using IT tools to accommodate students with physical and mental disabilities;
Learners from different social backgrounds: providing students with detailed instruction and inviting them to ask questions to clarify any issue.

Essential Question:
What functions do plant and animal cells play, and how does the understanding of it affect people and their health?

Rationale/Background:
Learning about how different elements of the environment interact with each other is essential for learners. Thus, the foundation for their exploration of nature and a deeper understanding of science can be created. Particularly, the learners will understand that every element of an organism has a specific function. Furthermore, the significance of the cooperation between different parts of the cells will be stressed. As a result, the basis for understanding the complexity of nature, in general, can be built.

Vocabulary:
Cell (a unit of living organisms) [‘sel];
Nucleus (the center of the cell) [ˈnjuːklɪəs];
Prokaryotic cell (a cell with no nucleus) [‚prɔːk ərɪˈɒtɪk];
Eukaryotic cell(a cell with one or more nuclei) [ˈjʊ k ərɪˈɒtɪk];
Membrane (the cover of a cell) [ˈmembreɪn];
Chloroplasts (the parts of a plant cell that generate carbohydrates) [ˈklɔːəˌplæsts];
Vacuole (a vessel for storing waste and water) [ˈvækjuəʊl];
Chromoplasts (the parts that define the cell’s color) [‘krəʊməˌ plæsts].

ENGAGEMENT (pre-assessment, warm-up, or engagement activity):
Time _____5 min________________________________________________

Describe how the teacher will capture students’ interest.
State objective and essential question.

The teacher shows the students a small construction toy set (e.g., big LEGO blocks clipped together) and asks what they think is also built out of similar “bricks.” After the students participate in a small class discussion, the teacher reveals that every living organism is made of small “bricks,” i.e., cells. A colorful image of a cell is shown with the help of a classroom projector. The teacher states that, during the lesson, the students will learn:

What a cell is;
What plant cells are made of;
What animal cells are made of.

Essential question: What are the key components of plant and animal cells?

EXPLORATION (hands-on, task cards, any way to explore the concept)
Time ______10 min_________________________________________________

Describe what hands-on/minds-on activities students will be doing.

The students are provided with activity sheets, asked to read the definitions, and mark the appropriate part of a cell on their sheets by signing it and coloring it with a crayon (a different color per each element). The teacher controls the process, correcting the mistakes, and clarifying the issues that confuse the students.

EXPLANATION (TEACH the concept)
Time _______10 min__________________________________________________

What questions or techniques will the teacher use to help students connect their exploration to the concept under examination?
List higher order thinkingquestionswhich teachers will use to solicit studentexplanations and help them to justify their explanations.

The students will have to answer the following questions:
High Order Thinking Questions:
Creating: What information did you use to complete the task?
Evaluating: How can this information help you determine the parts of a cell?
Analysis: What seemed difficult to understand when completing the task?
Application: How would you define the following concepts using your own words: cell, nucleus, prokaryotic, eukaryotic, membrane?
Comprehension: Could you show the corresponding parts of a cell in the picture? (The teacher shows a poster).
Knowledge: Could you sum up what a plant ell is made of? An animal cell? How does this knowledge affect you?

ELABORATION (small groups, seat work, or extension)
Time ______15 min___________________________________________________

Extending the concept for deeper understanding.
How is this knowledge applied in our daily lives?

The teacher asks the students to show how the knowledge of a cell’s properties will help them learn more about plants and animals, The students share their opinions in a group discussion.

EVALUATION (formal and informal assessment)
Time ____15 min__________________________________________________

How will students demonstrate that they have achieved the lesson objective?
This should be embedded throughout the lesson as well as at the end of the lesson.

The teacher provides the learners with a list of concepts (i.e., a cell, a chloroplast, etc.) and asks the learners to define them in their own words. After a learner provides a definition, the rest of the class agrees, expands the answer, or corrects it, while the teacher supervises the discussion and corrects the learners (if necessary).

Follow-up Activities (homework/expanding your lesson): (5 min)
The teacher provides the students with homework details (i. e, giving examples of animal and plant cells).

Works Cited

National Governors Association. “Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.”CCSSI ELA. 2010, Web.

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