MultiMedia Tools

Lesson Idea Name: All About Plants

Content Area: Science
Grade Level(s): 2nd
Content Standard Addressed: S2L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the life cycles of
different living organisms.
b. Plan and carry out an investigation of the life cycle of a plant by growing a plant from a seed and by
recording changes over a period of time.
d. Develop models to illustrate the unique and diverse life cycles of organisms other than humans.

Technology Standard Addressed: Innovative Designer. Students use a variety or technologies within a design
process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.

Selected Technology Tool:

☒ Movie (list application): iMovie
☐ Audio (list application):
☐ Other: (list)
URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☒ Evaluating ☒ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☒ Level 3: Infusion ☒ Level 4: Integration
☐ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

The Universal Design for Learning Principles address the “what”, “how”, and “why” or learning. The “what” of
learning involves providing multiple means of representation. This lesson will provide multiple means of
representation because student will not only be seeing their plant grow in real life, but they will also be
creating a movie about it to explain the processes their plant goes through. The “how” or learning is about
providing multiple means of action expression. Students will be physically growing a plant to observe the life
cycle of plants. They can also conduct research to learn about the life cycle of a plant in a written manner. The
“why” of learning involves multiple means of engagement. This will be incorporated in the lesson because
students can choose to either work in groups or alone and can self-regulate their work.

Lesson idea implementation:

As the standards are addressed, students will be growing a plant over time and recording pictures and video
of their plants life cycle. Teachers will guide students as their plant is growing by teaching students about
what plants need in order to live. The project will first be introduced by learning the basics of plants and their
life cycles. Students will be creating a video with sound and recordings explaining their plants processes
through the life cycle. The final product will be used to inform learning because students will not only be
reading about the life cycle, but also seeing it in action.
Student learning could be extended to a higher level by also having them develop models to illustrate the
unique and diverse life cycles of their specific type of plant. The lesson will be concluded by having each of
the students or group of students present their videos to the class. They will also display their plants in the

Spring 2018_SJB
 MultiMedia Tools
current stage of the life cycle in the classroom. The teacher will provide feedback by giving written forms
about what went well in their projects and what the students could have improved on.

Importance of technology:
Using a multimedia authoring tool is critical in this project because each of the student’s plants will grow
differently and it is important for students to see the processes in a video. This project could be completed
without this technology, but students wouldn’t get to see the development of the plant in a movie form while
descriptions are being played. Other types of technology that will be used in this learning experience is the
camera and video app. Students will be using these apps when recording the life cycles of their plants.
Inspiration (optional):
None.
Internet Safety and Student Privacy:
Students will be creating their own content so there will not be many issues surrounding internet safety. If
students conduct research on plant and their life cycles, teachers will need to ensure that students are visiting
safe websites. To alleviate fears by parents and administrators, the teacher would need to inform them of the
project and what will be taking place in the course of the activity. The teacher would need to review the
common Internet Safety/Acceptable Use Policies to ensure that they are following all the rules throughout
the project.
Reflective Practice:
After designing this lesson idea, I feel that the activities I created could impact student learning because they
are learning about the life cycle in class, watching a plant go through its life cycle, and creating a movie about
the plants life cycle. This was created as a final activity in a unit of study because it is such a big project, but
students could further extend their learning by giving specific details that their plant needs that other plants
may not require. Students could also watch videos online of the life cycle of plant to get an idea of how their
movie should look and how their plant should grow.

Spring 2018_SJB