Learning Map for a science lesson for a group of kindergarteners learning about basic needs of plants.

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Learning Map
Megan Waldeck
National University

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STAGE 1: PLANNING
YOUR TARGET: Standard, Goals & Outcomes
Teacher: Ms. Waldeck Grade/Subject: Kindergarten/Science (Life Science)
TARGET: Unpack Your Standard
Part 1: My Standards, Goals and Outcomes
Academic Standards: : STATE YOUR STANDARD
K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including
humans) need to survive.
[Clarification Statement: Examples of patterns could include that animals need to take
in food but plants do not; the different kinds of food needed by different types of
animals; the requirement of plants to have light; and, that all living things need water.]
*Highlight the main idea/knowledge (what) *Underline the skills/verbs (how)
Big Questions
(Questions to frame
student learning)
● How do we
observe
something? (use
five senses)
● What do you
think plants need
in order to
survive/stay
alive?
● What do you
think animals
need?
● What about
humans?
● Are there any
patterns in what
living things need
to stay alive?
Knowledge (Concepts
to be understood and
applied)
● Students will
need to
understand how
to observe and
organize
information they
observed.
● Students will
understand that
plants and
animals/humans
have basic needs
that must be met
to survive.
Skills (what you will
explicitly teach)
● Students will be able to
identify:
○ Basic needs of
plants and
animals/humans
○ Patterns within
the basic needs
● Students will be able to
display what they know
as well as verbalize
what they’ve learned
with proper
vocab/academic
language.
Student Learning Goal: STATE YOUR GOAL FOR THE STUDENTS TO SHARE
In this first lesson all students will be able to identify and recognize the basic needs of
plants and how meeting these needs helps them stay alive. Students will also be able to

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demonstrate their knowledge verbally, with proper academic vocabulary, to their
partner and the class, as well as representationally by creating their own Venn
diagram.
Student Social-emotional Goal (LEARNER):
Students will demonstrate proper social skills and cooperative learning when working
in pairs to observe and discuss their findings. Students will use active listening skills
when listening to and learning from their partner or other students who are sharing
with the class. Students will also show patience when offering up their own ideas and
help, as well as acceptance when other’s ideas are shared or constructive criticism is
given.
Barriers to learning (LEARNER): (level of literacy; language proficiency
levels; funds of knowledge; attention span)
Barriers to learning as they relate to my specific students and classroom as a whole:
● Insufficient prior knowledge/knowledge gaps
● Other misconceptions that are subject-matter specific
● Varied content specific language proficiency
● Level of English literacy
● Attitude toward learning science
● Attention span
● Other behavioral issues
● Specific learning disabilities
Common Misconceptions (LEARNER & TARGET): (Subject-matter specific;
Related to academic standard; Knowledge gaps; Student confusion; multiple
meanings; cultural differences; misunderstand)
● Some students might have the misconception that plants aren’t alive as animals
and humans are.
● Students might not know that plants need air just as animals and humans do.
● Students might confuse the basic needs of plants vs. animals/humans
○ Ex. thinking plants need food like animals to survive.
○ Ex. thinking humans don’t eat plants believing vegetables and fruits
are completely different things.
● If brainstorming basic needs as a class, students might misinterpret basic needs
with other comfort or entertainment aspects of their own lives that they believe
are necessary for survival.
Part 2: My Class
My Classroom Composite: (TEACHER & LEARNER) Whole group (Broad needs

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of students; observable patterns & trends; language and literacy subgroups;
digital/technology fluency; emotional regulation)
My class has 23 total students made up of 13 boys and 10 girls. I have three students who
I would suggest are “gifted” and tend to do very well in school. They are very bright and
seem to grasp new concepts easily. My class is quite diverse, though the majority speak
English quite well (6 students passed the CELDT already). I do have 3 ELL students still
though and 2 students with IEPs as well. One of my students with an IEP is at grade level
but was diagnosed with mild Autism. The other has ADHD and other learning
disabilities.
○
What vocabulary words demand
attention & are related to our big
idea?
● Plants
● Animals
● Environment
● Survive
● Basic Needs
● Humans
● Food
● Water
● Light
Academic Language ● Observe/observation
● Describe
● Collect
● Records
● Share
● Analyze
● Patterns
Sentence Frames:
Lessoneer Emerging: I observed that plants need...
Expanding: ____ helps plants survive because...
Bridging: After observing basic needs of plants
and animals/humans I found that they all need ____
to survive. But only plants need ____ to survive.

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(TEACHER, LEARNER, TARGET, ASSESSMENT, INSTRUCTION, MANAGEMENT),
ENGAGEMENT
(multiple means of
engagement)
Describe how the
teacher will capture
students’ interest.
Students will first be read a large picture book about plants, which
will be followed with effective questioning. “What do we know about
plants?” “Are plants alive?” “Do you think a plant needs something
to help it stay alive?”
Both will be used to get them excited/interested in the lesson and to
activate any prior knowledge. During the lesson all students will
watch a video on plants’ needs and will have a chance to go outside
and observe some of the plants around the playground to brainstorm
are some potential basic needs for plants. A large Venn diagram with
names and pictures of basic needs will be displayed on the board for a
class discussion, but before this students will have a personal Venn
diagram where they will be able to color in pictures of the different
types of basic needs.
EXPLORATION
(multiple means of
action)
Describe what hands-
on/minds-on activities
students will be doing.
Students will be partaking in a number of different mind-on activities,
such as following along with a read aloud, watching a video, class
discourse, think-pair-share, a sentence wrap-up, et cetera.
Students will also take part in the following hands-on activities:
observations of plants near the playground, creating personal Venn
diagrams, drawing pictures to represent different needs.
In order to get students thinking about the needs of plants, I would ask
a number of different big idea questions such as: “How do you think
plants stay alive?” “Where do most plants live?” (Should we go
outside and see what we can find?) “What are the specific things they
need to survive outside?”
EXPLANATION
(multiple means of
expression)
What questions or
techniques will the
teacher use to help
students connect their
exploration to the
concept under
examination?
As noted above, students will first listen to read aloud and talk about
what they know about plants. “What do we know about plants?”
“How do you think they stay alive?” This beginning class discourse
and think-pair-share time will help start moving students minds in the
right direction. It won’t be until after students watch a video about
plants, look at pictures, go outside to observe, and work with their
partners to decide what other things keep plants alive, that the
concept/more formal vocabulary of basic needs, survive, environment
will be introduced.
Students will not only be given the chance to explain what they know
in the initial think-pair-share and class discourse time, but also during
another guided discussion that will take place after observations and
research has been done. When students have came to a conclusion on
the basic needs of plants and are helping me place these needs on the
large class Venn diagram, they will be asked higher order thinking
questions in order to help them practice justifying their answers. For

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example, a student might offer up that a basic need to a plant is the
sun or sunlight. I would then ask them “how do you know?” or “why
is this a basic need?” Finally I wanted to note that students will be
able to show what they know with the final activity in the lesson
where they get to draw a picture of a plant and write a sentence wrap-
up something they learned underneath it.
ELABORATION
(Multiple means of
expression)
What vocabulary will
be introduced and how
will it connect to
students’
observations? How is
this knowledge
applied in our daily
lives?
As mentioned above, the key vocabulary that will be introduced to
students will be basic needs and survive. The vocabulary of
environment and observation might also have to be re-discussed or
introduced. At the start of the lesson I will use more common vocab
such as “stay alive” or “living,” and after students have had the
chance to explain their understanding of plants and what they
observed with their own words, I will then connect the new
vocabulary to what they’ve just experienced.
Students will be able to connect the science concept at hand better to
the real world, when as a class we go outside to observe the plants
that are living around us. In addition, the end of this day 1 lesson on
plants will be concluded with some questions being posed to students
that will lead into the day 2 lesson. These questions will reflect
around the needs of animals and humans. I will suggest that they
observe their our pets or family members when they go home to see if
they can spot any new needs or some of the same needs that we
decided that plants have. This way students will get a clear picture as
to how what we are learning is relevant to their own lives.
EVALUATION
(Multiple Means of
Representation
(modeling &
practice)
How will students
demonstrate that they
have achieved the
lesson objective?
Students will demonstrate that they have achieved the lesson
objectives throughout the course of the lesson and at the end of the
lesson as well. Pre-assessment of student knowledge will take place
informally when the initial class discourse takes place after the read
aloud. Students will demonstrate that they meeting social-emotional
goals when working cooperatively with their observation and research
partner. I will specifically check for this as I walk around the room
and check in on individual groups. This time will also serve as an
informal assessment of student learning and grasping of new
concepts, and I will take this time to determine if I want any specific
pairs to share something they found with the group. The personal and
class Venn diagram will be an additional means for students to show
what they know. Finally, the final activity where students get to draw
their own plant and do a sentence wrap-up of what they learned will
act as a demonstration that students achieved the lesson objective of
identify the basic needs of plants.
(*Questions of Inquiry: Open-ended)

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STAGE 2: TEACHING
DAILY AGENDA: WHAT WILL YOU USE TO MANAGE DAILY INSTRUCTION
WHAT IS YOUR LEARNING MAP SEQUENCE FOR DAY 1?
Intro
-The lesson will start with my students sitting on the rainbow carpet and me reading a
picture book about plants to them.
-This will lead into a class discussion. During this discussion I will use effective
questioning to get students talking and activate any prior knowledge they have about
plants. Time will be given for think-pair-share when questions are asked, such as: “What
do we know about plants?” “Are plants alive?” “Do you think a plant needs something to
help it stay alive?”
-This discussion will end at all students knowing plants are alive, and questioning what
they need to stay alive.
Video/Observation
-Segway into watching the sing-along video about plants needs. Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUBIQ1fTRzI
-Check if students grasped some of the needs of plants.
-Put them in partners to look at pictures that I will provide of plants to see if they can
observe any off these needs. Ask them if instead of looking at pictures we should go
outside and observe plants in real life!?
-We will all go outside to observe the plants around us and see if, in partners, we can see
some of the needs the video told us about and brainstorm some other things plants may
need to survive.
Venn Diagram
-When back inside, more think-pair-share with partner about final thoughts on plants
needs.
-Introduce large Venn diagram that students will help me make, as well as the vocab
phrase “basic needs” and “survive.”
-When pairs share a need, I will handout a premade cut out of the need (word and
picture) to the student who shared, and they will place it up on the board by the student.
Ask for students to thumbs up if they agree with that the shared need is indeed a basic
need.
-When all needs are on the board students will get their own small Venn diagram that
they will put together tomorrow. For today they will color in the picture next to the word
of the need. We won’t paste down until we learn about animals/humans tomorrow.
-End Venn diagram for the day by doing another think-pair-share if they think any of the
needs we found will also be a need of plants/humans, which we will be talking about
tomorrow.
End Class Product Example

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Wrap-up
-Students will get a handout where they get to draw whatever plant they want on the top,
and the bottom they will write a sentence about a basic need.
-Sentence stems provided and students can use their Venn diagrams to decide what need
they want to write.
-Sentence example: “Plants need ___ to survive.” Or “___ is a basic need of a plant.”
-The entire lesson will end with a prep for tomorrow by suggesting students observe any
pets they have at home or their family members to investigate what basics needs
animals/humans have.
WHAT MATERIALS WILL YOU USE?
-Plant book
-Sing along video, computer, projector
-Pictures of plants
-Large class Venn diagram, cutouts, magnets to place cutouts on the board
-Individual Venn diagrams
-Crayons for coloring
-Wrap-up paper for individual students
HOW WILL YOU ASSESS STUDENT LEARNING?
This lesson will include various informal and formal assessments throughout the span of
the lesson. At the very start I can check to see if students are following along as I read the
plant book to them. From here I can informally pre-asses what they know about plants
and their needs during the first class discussion and think-pair-share time. More informal
assessment will take place as I walk around from pair to pair when students are observing
the pictures of plants, as well as when we go outside to observe. During this time I will
check to see who is on the right path and answer any questions students may have. On
top of this, this time will allow me to assess if students are working cooperatively in their
pairs and meeting their social/emotional goals for the lesson. A final informal check will
be done when students help me place different needs of plants onto our large class Venn
diagram.

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Formal assessment will take place when students finish the Venn diagram (completeness
and accuracy), but this won’t be finished until we discuss needs of animals/humans.
However, for the end of this lesson specifically, students will be formally assessed
through the exit ticket/sentence wrap-up activity. I will be looking for completeness of a
picture drawn and a sentence written. Reminder that because students will have sentence
stems and their personal Venn diagram to look at, students should be equip to write the
sentence.
Accommodations/Adaptations/Intervention (Teacher, Learner, Instruction,
Management)
For my kindergarteners, I aimed to incorporate different teaching strategies throughout
the lesson that would help them grasp the content from the start. I aimed to weave
accommodations into the work and the layout of the lesson itself to ensure science
learning. Firstly, I aimed to make the lesson as visual as possible because I knew this
would be a benefit to all my ELL students and my two students with IEPs. Hence I
included a read aloud, a video, and a chance for students to look at pictures of plants. I
included peer work and peer learning (think-pair-share) so that my ELL and students
with IEPs would have a chance to learn from some of the other students in the class. I
will strategically place my ELL students and students with IEPs with some of my more
gifted students during peer work in hopes they gain a deeper understanding of what we
are learning. For my ELL students I decided to include pictures next to the words for the
Venn diagram so they might better grasp the vocabulary. For my student with mild
autism and the other with ADHD, I thought the observing outside would be beneficial to
keeping them engaged in the lesson itself. For the final piece of the lesson where students
draw their own plant and write a sentence, I chose to include sentence stems to help aid
these and all my students as well. Here however I might need to accommodate my ELL
and IEP students more. If I feel they need more assistance to finish this assignment, I can
call them over as individuals or in pairs to have them tell me their sentence, which I can
then write down for them. Or I may let them use assistive technology to take a picture of
their drawing and video record their sentence of what they learned.

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Resources
DCI Arrangements of the NGSS. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nextgenscience.org/overview-
dci