Plant Lesson-The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds
Plant Lesson-The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds
Plant Lesson-The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds
SPECIFIC
Step-by-Step Details
Vocabulary: plants, gardens, seed, petal, nectar, anther, pollen, grain of pollen,
stigma, pollen tube, egg cells, flowers,
Reading: The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds
Introduction: What do you know about plants? What do you know about gardens?
What about flowers? Today, we are going to read a Magic School Bus book covering
How Living Things Grow as part of our weekly unit on plants. How many of you
have ever planted a plant before? . Awesome. Well as you listen to the story, I
want you to relate your planting experiences to Mrs. Frizzles class. But, before we
get to read the book, I am going to handout to you a vocabulary organizer. Ill
explain what we are going to do with this worksheet after everyone has theirs.
(handout vocabulary organizer w/s)
----------------Procedures---------------Step 1: What I want you to do, is quickly scan over your handout of the book, pick
5 vocabulary words out that you dont know the meaning about. Try to pick words
that you think pertain to the planting, gardening, or flowers. You only need to jot
down the word, not the definition. Students should be allowed 5-7 minutes to
complete this part.
Step 2: Now, with a highlighter or light color highlight all the words you picked out.
You might see some words repeated, if so, highlight each time you see the word.
Allow an additional 2 minutes for this.
Step 3: Okay everyone, now it is time to read the story. I will read aloud and you
must follow along. If I feel like youre not following along I will call on you to read.
So, make sure you have your pointer finger, pencil, or ruler out and are keeping up
with where we are at. We will have questions to answer at the end so you need to
listen carefully.
Step 4: Teacher reads the book. Then reviews the book. She asks the students
critical thinking questions such ask: What does Carlos say his tomato plants came
from? Why do you think Mrs. Frizzle turned the school bus into a lady bug? Why
would Mrs. Frizzle take her class inside of a flower? Why do you think the bees
came to the flowers that Mrs. Frizzles class was in? Who took the lady bug (magic
school bus) to the other plant and away from Phoebes old teacher? What
happened when the pollen of one plant was dropped onto another? Hint (Arnold
and Phoebe slid down it). What was inside that tube? Explain how the class got
back to their garden.
Step 5: Now, I want you to get your vocabulary worksheet back out and fill in the
definition portion for each word you wrote down. A good strategy to remember is to
use your context clues in the story if you arent sure about the definition still. You
will have 10 minutes and then we will go over the words together as a group.
Students have 10 minutes to research their definitions.
Step 6: Okay ladies and gents time is up. Now, we are going to review everyones
definitions together. Each student calls out one vocabulary word and the definition.
The teacher should type as the student calls out the definition and it should be
shown on the overhead at the same time. After the student is done defining the
word, the class makes a decision as a whole whether they agree with the definition
or more needs to added to it. After each person in the class has gave at least one
definition, the teacher should ask does anyone have a vocabulary word written
down that we havent covered yet? If there is one you should write down the word
and definition, if not move on.
Step 7: Now that we have all of our definitions on the board, we need to decide
which words pertain strictly to, plants, gardens, or flowers. Allow students time to
decide which words to keep and which to take away. Only spend about 2 minutes
doing so. Whichever words are decided to be taken away, cut and paste them to a
different word document.
Step 8: Now, print off the words and definitions. Cut them into strips (1 word and
definition on same strip) and tape them spatially around the room. Students can
take bathroom/water breaks during this time.
Step 9: Now, explain to class that they will be in put in pairs and will move around
the room clockwise to copy down any definitions they dont already have on the
back part of their w/s. You might mention students can use their library books,
science books, or clipboards and a utensil to write on. Let students circulate the
room for another 10 minutes.
Step 10: Now, have students complete the labeling worksheet that pertains to some
of the vocabulary they just learned. Let them know that they will be using this
worksheet to create a plant tomorrow so it is essential for them to label correctly.
Variations: Students can come up to the computer and type their definitions
themselves to practice computer and typing skills. If a computer and overhead
system isnt available students can write on the board. The word bank can be cut up
and glued onto the right labeling area instead of written.
seed
petal
anther
egg cells