Unit Plan Overview

Unit:

Teacher:
Stage 1- Desired Results

Connections to Context:
Students have previously learned
about plant growth and what a plant
needs, now they are learning about
it more in depth. Students can
connect these lessons to their daily
lives because plants are so essential
to our world.
(How does this fit with students
experiences, the school goals, and the
larger societal issues? How does this fit
with the broader curriculum- what has
come before and what will come after?)

Established Goals
2-LS2-1 Plan and conduct an
investigation to determine if plants
need sunlight and water to grow. **
2-LS2-2 Develop a simple model that
mimics the function of an animal in
dispersing seeds or pollinating
plants. *
2-LS4-1 Make observations of plants
and animals to compare the diversity
of life in different habitats. **
Michigan State Board of Education
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.1.a Follow agreedupon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the
floor in respectful ways, listening to others
with care, speaking one at a time about the
topics and texts under discussion).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.1.b Build on others'
talk in conversations by linking their
comments to the remarks of others.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.3 Ask and answer
questions about what a speaker says in order
to clarify comprehension, gather additional
information, or deepen understanding of a

Transfer
Students will be able to independently use their learning to
Appreciate plants and how to better take care of them.
(What kinds of long-term independent accomplishments are desired?)

Meaning
UNDERSTANDINGS
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Students will understand that
Students will keep considering
Plants are important to our lives and are very How we can use our knowledge to take care of
complex and interesting.
plants

(What specifically do you want students to

understand?
What inferences should they make?)

(What thought-provoking questions will foster inquiry,

meaning- making and transfer?)

Acquisition of Knowledge, Skill and Values/Commitments/Dispositions

Cognitive Objectives
Physical Development
Socio-emotional Objectives
Objectives
Vocabulary, life cycle order,
Reflect on why plants are
Dissect seeds, plant life
what plants need to grow,
important, why we need to
why plants are important,
cycle motions, create a seed
learn about plants, why
what we use plants for, parts
bag
adaptations are important for
of a seed
plant survival

(What facts and basic concepts

should students know and be
able to recall?)

(What discrete skills and processes

should students be able to use?)

(What values and commitments and

attitudes should students acquire or
wrestle with?)

Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to
Curriculum

topic or issue.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.7 Participate
in shared research and writing
projects (e.g., read a number of
books on a single topic to produce a
report; record science
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.3 Write narratives in
which they recount a well-elaborated event or
short sequence of events, include details to
describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use
temporal words to signal event order, and
provide a sense of closure. Observations).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.5.a Identify real-life
connections between words and their use (e.g.,
describe foods that are spicy or juicy).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.3 Describe the
connection between a series of historical
events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in
technical procedures in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.7 Explain how
specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how
a machine works) contribute to and
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.2.4 Read with
sufficient accuracy and fluency to support
comprehension clarify a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.8 Recall information
from experiences or gather information from
provided sources to answer a question.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.1.a Follow agreedupon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the
floor in respectful ways, listening to others
with care, speaking one at a time about the
topics and texts under discussion).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.2 Recount or
describe key ideas or details from a text read
aloud or information presented orally or
through other media.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.6 Produce complete
sentences when appropriate to task and
situation in order to provide requested detail
or clarification.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.1.b Build on others'
talk in conversations by linking their
Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to
Curriculum

comments to the remarks of others.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.3 Ask and answer
questions about what a speaker says in order
to clarify comprehension, gather additional
information, or deepen understanding of a
topic or issue.
(What content standards and programor mission-related goal(s) will the unit
address?
What habits of mind and crossdisciplinary goal(s)- for example 21st
century skills, core competencies- will
this unit address?
Include source and identifying number)

Evaluative Criteria

(What criteria will be used in each

assessment to evaluate attainment of
the desired results?)(rubric required)
Vocabulary
Writing/grammar
Drawing/labelling
Knowledge demonstrated
(Regardless of the format of the
assessment, what qualities are most
important?)
Knowledge demonstrated
Effort

Stage 2- Evidence
Students will show their learning by (summative assessment)
PERFORMANCE TASK(S):
Running bean experiment/seed journal
Final test
Paper plate life cycle
Class discussions
Creating their own plant
(How will students demonstrate their understanding- meaning-making and transfer- through complex
performance?)

OTHER EVIDENCE:
Bean journals
Diagrams
Paper plate projects
Crossword puzzles
Before Experiment handout
(What other evidence will you collect to determine whether Stage 1 goals were achieved?

Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to
Curriculum

Stage 3- Learning Plan

Pre-assessment- due ________
I will ask lots of discussion questions at the beginning of each new topic. This especially shows when we are doing the
New vocabulary words, and I ask students if they know what the word means. This will allow me to assess where the students are at and what
They remember from previous years. I will also allow time for questions before and after.
(What pre-assessments will you use to check students prior knowledge, skill levels, and potential misconceptions?)
(Toward which goal does
Learning Events
each learning event build?)
Acquisition
Meaning
Transfer

Progress Monitoring

Student success at transfer, meaning, and acquisition depends upon their

participation in these learning events

Class discussion on why plants are important (transfer) (meaning)

Bean experiment/seed journal (meaning)
Vocabulary review (acquisition)
Life cycle craft and motions (acquisition)
Readings and question handouts (acquisition)
Labelling the different diagrams (acquisition)
Putting the life cycle in order (acquisition)
Seed journal (acquisition) (transfer)
Creating their own plant (meaning)
Organizing foods into plant parts (acquisition)

(How will you monitor students

progress toward acquisition,
meaning, and transfer during lesson
events?) (Formative Assessment)

Students will turn in different

worksheets and projects that
will allow me to see their
progression. We will also do lots
of class discussions.

(How will students monitor their

own progress toward
acquisition, meaning, and
transfer?)(Assessment as
learning)(rubric?)
There will be a rubric for the final
project. They can also tell by how they
are doing on the worksheets. If they are
asking lots of questions and need lots
of help, it will indicate that they need to
pay attention more in class, but if they
are breezing through the worksheet
they will know that they are doing well.

(What are potential rough spots and

student misunderstandings?)

Some of the vocabulary is new

(Have you included multiple means of representation, multiple means of

and complicated. I need to
Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to
Curriculum

make sure they have a clear

understanding of the vocab
words because we will be using
them a lot.

action and expression, and multiple means of engagement?)

(Are all three types of goals (acquisition, meaning, and transfer) addressed in
the learning plan?)
(Does the learning plan reflect principles of learning and best practices?)
(Is there tight alignment with Stages 1 and 2?)

(How will students get the feedback

they need?)

The last few projects will be graded.

They will do group work that needs
to be checked by a teacher. We will
go through a lot of the worksheets
together as a class to make sure
they are getting the right answers.

Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to
Curriculum