Flower Garden


Author: Mathew Needleman
Date Created: 10/19/2003 12:22:25 PM PST
Grade/Level: K-2
Subject Area(s): Language Arts (English)


Concept(s):
There are many tools which assist us in planting flowers.

Flowers enrich our lives by contributing to the attractiveness of our community.
State Academic Content Standard(s):
CA- CCTC: Aligned CSTP's and TPE's
• Standard : CSTP: Standard for Engaging and Supporting all Students in Learning
TPE: C. Engaging and Supporting Students in Learning
CSTP Description: Teachers build on students’ prior knowledge, life experience, and interests to achieve learning goals for all students. Teachers use a variety of instructional strategies and resources that respond to students’ diverse needs. Teachers facilitate challenging learning experiences for all students in environments that promote autonomy, interaction and choice. Teachers actively engage all students in problem solving and critical thinking within and across subject matter areas. Concepts and skills are taught in ways that encourage students to apply them in real-life contexts that make subject matter meaningful. Teachers assist all students to become self-directed learners who are able to demonstrate, articulate, and evaluate what they learn.
• CSTP Key Element : Connecting students’ prior knowledge, life experience, and interests with learning goals.
 Question : help students to see the connections between what they already know and the new material?

CA- California K-12 Academic Content Standards
• Subject : English Language Arts
• Grade : Grade One
• Area : Reading
• Sub-Strand 3.0: Literary Response and Analysis
Students read and respond to a wide variety of significant works of children’s literature. They distinguish between the structural features of the text and the literary terms or elements (e.g., theme, plot, setting, characters). The selections in Recommended Readings in Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Eight illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students.
• Concept : Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text
 Standard 3.3: Recollect, talk, and write about books read during the school year.
• Area : Writing
• Sub-Strand 2.0: Writing Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)
Students write compositions that describe and explain familiar objects, events, and experiences. Student writing demonstrates a command of standard American English and the drafting, research, and organizational strategies outlined in Writing Standard 1.0.
• Concept : Using the writing strategies of grade one outlined in Writing Standard 1.0, students:
 Standard 2.2: Write brief expository descriptions of a real object, person, place, or event, using sensory details.


Objective(s):
After participating in a guided reading and discussion of Eve Bunting's "Flower Garden" students will explain the way that a trowel is used by drawing a picture and writing 1-3 sentences in their writing journals with ninety-percent accuracy.
Prerequisite Background Skills/ Knowledge:
Students should be familiar with the idea of planting flowers. This will have been previously taught through the story, "Machines in Our Garden."
Vocabulary/Language Skills:
Trowel. Students will see a real-life example of a trowel.

Garden. Students have some knowledge of this, however, it will be reinforced through the pictures in this story.

Flower names: daffodils, geraniums, tulips. This may be students' first exposure to these words. They will not need to remember the names of all of these but should begin to become familiar with these names as they will hear them again in this unit.
Materials:
Book: Flower Garden
Writing Journals
Trowel
Classroom Management:
Keep lesson brief to maximize student interest and attention.

Writing journals are new to students and they will need some instruction on how to use them.
Models of Instruction:
Direct Instruction
Procedure
Open:
Present students with a real-life trowel and ask them if they know what it is. Students will most likely say a shovel. Teach them that the name for it is a trowel and write this on the board. Ask them what it is used for and chart their responses on the board as well.

Display the book, "Flower Garden" by Eve Bunting and explain that we will be reading a story about a girl who will be using a trowel to plant a garden.
Input:
Read the story to students, stopping to model appropriate reading strategies to better understand the book and also to clear up unfamiliar vocabulary. Some of the illustrations may be confusing for students, especially when they show the main character's point of view, stop at that point in the story in particular to model thinking aloud as you figure out what the picture shows. Also allow students to make predictions to partners about what they think will happen at the end of the story.
Guided Practice:
After reading the story, stop for some students' general reactions to the book. Did they like it and why? Then ask students to tell you how a trowel was used in the story. Whether there were any other tools used. And to speak a little about how gardens bring beauty into our lives.
Independent Practice:
After students have had a chance to speak about how a trowel is used and the role of gardens in our lives, then quickly remind students of the format of their writing journals and explain that today they will be writing about how a trowel is used. Students will be expected to write one-three sentences.

Although not all words will be spelled correctly, teacher will expect that the word trowel as well as the high frequency words learned so far will be spelled correctly.
Close:
Have students sum up their learning by asking a couple of students to share their writing journal entries. Also post information about a trowel on the concept/question board and any questions that students may have.
Assessment/ Reflection

Assessment:
Students' oral comments and journal entries will be examined to see that students are able to explain how a trowel is used either in writing, verbally, or through pictures with ninety-percent accuracy.

copyright ©2003 by Mathew Needleman http://www.opencourtresources.com