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Reflection of Plant Unit
Before teaching the plant unit the students were given a pre-test. I was able to look at that data and analyze the areas they needed improvement in. The test results showed that the students had little understanding of plants. Zero percent of the students passed the pre-test. The data showed that most of the students were low in their understanding of the difference between living and non-living things. Therefore, my plant unit concentrated on the understanding of living things. After the unit, the students were given their final test. All students improved from the pre-test to the post-test and 92% of the students passed the post-test.
During the unit, the students were able to compare the characteristics of living things with non-living things. In addition, the students were able to identify how organisms react to change and they were able to give specific examples. They learned the different parts of cells and were able to distinguish between an animal cell and a plant cell. They demonstrated this comparison using a Venn-diagram. The students showed their understanding of the needs of a plant as well as the jobs of the parts of a plant by completing a KWL chart. They were able draw and label the parts of a plant. They witnessed the movement of water through a plant by observing a celery stalk in food coloring. Furthermore, the students were able to identify a plant embryo and learned the concept of a plant embryo by dissecting a lima bean and locating the embryo inside. In addition, the students showed their understanding of the plant life cycle by completing the plant life cycle interactive bulletin board as well as creating a graphic organizer for writing a paper on the plant life cycle. The learning centers allowed the students to develop their knowledge about plants as well as improve their skills in other subjects such as reading, writing, and art.
Some changes I would implement in this unit include extending the time for learning centers. I would utilize the learning centers throughout the unit rather than just a couple of days during the unit. I felt that the learning centers were very beneficial to the students and allowed them to develop their skills in cooperative learning as well as their skills in a variety of subjects. Another change I would like to make to this unit would be to incorporate math into the unit or create a math center that relates to plants. I would also like to include parental involvement and group presentations in the unit. I think that by having the students give oral presentations on plants for their parents would have enhanced what they learned. It also would have allowed the parents to become more involved in the unit and their children’s learning.