The Subject of Tree - Case Study Example

Unit of Work Topic - Living Thing – Tree Relevance: The of tree is very knowledge giving to the children as it is an abundant thing on the planet and knowing about it help them in understanding the nature more closely. Trees are the primary source of food and supplier of living element called oxygen .Trees is also a subject of curiosity in the mind of small children. According to (Rollins,2011) “Trees are the largest plants on earth. They are complex organisms that harness energy from the sun to reduce the impact of global warming and help maintain balanced ecosystems”. Scientific (conceptual) knowledge required Trees are found all over the planet. Trees are a form of living thing. Trees have different parts in its body. Trees supply food to human and animals. Trees are the longest living organism on earth. Trees are of different shapes and varieties. Trees give out oxygen for us to breathe. Trees have green leaves and grow tall. Trees have fruits of different colors. Trees help man in building shelter. Trees are also a form of medicine. Trees help in giving rainfall. Trees give wood to make fire. (Conceptual ideas were detailed with the help of the source http://www.turni ngtools.co.u k/tree s/trees2.html) Children’s ideas about trees Children think that tree can grow without much water as rain is not always happening. Children have no idea that trees can breathe and think they just exist without any quality of living organism. Trees are living, but does not breathe in and out like human beings or animals Children do not know that the oxygen they breathe is an outcome of trees. They think air is just there in the atmosphere and it is naturally present without anybody’s assistance. Children at younger age think that trees have no medicinal quality but they are just there in the nature as treat to eyes. Trees cannot sense anything but they just grow tall and move with wind. They think rain is an automatic phenomena Trees consume artificial food, nutrients, minerals etc. Children think that leaves of trees are green for no reason. Children think that trees does not live longer but die off before a human being face death. They do not understand that tree is the longest living thing on earth. Children have a notion that trees came on earth after human being .They do not know plants and trees are the most earliest inhabitants of the earth. Children does not know about the position of trees in the eco system .They do not understand that without tress all living things cease to exist and earth becomes a barren land. Lesson – Aimed at S2 Engage Lesson: Title – Facts about Trees Outcome Statement: Identify different parts of a tree, types of trees and their purpose. As per (Nix,2011) “The parts of a tree - leaves, flowers, bark, tree shape, and fruit can all be different depending on the tree species. Each of these characteristics is unique to certain species - and in combination - can make quick work of identifying a tree” Indicators: Tree help us in giving oxygen to breathe Trees provide us wood Trees make food through photosynthesis. Resources: Chart explaining the process of photosynthesis with color filled images. In his journal (Horrigan,2008,pg.121-24)writes that “The appeal of a color coded chart is that the teacher can apply the most appropriate color to the vowel phonemes” Activities: Class room discussion / quiz – What do we know about trees?As per (Cooper,2011.pg.93)“ Most experts agree that the key to prepare for successful class room discussion is the ability of the teacher to create an atmosphere of trust among student and teacher”. Teacher will explain facts to students with the help of a chart. Teacher to initiate questions How trees make their food ? How trees gives out oxygen in air to breathe ? Why leaves of tree are green? How trees get water from earth? Teacher to take the students to outdoor and to show few trees to have an insight about them. Ask the students to look around and view each tree : In his article (Fink,1999)states that “The act of observing may be "direct" or "vicarious." A direct observation means the learner is observing the real action, directly; a vicarious observation is observing a simulation of the real action”. What can they observe? Is it able to know that trees breathe? Ask the students to touch the tree : According to (Rius,2011)“When we touch something our skin tells us if that thing is strange or familiar, wet or dry, hot or cold, rough or smooth, hard or soft. Many times it gives us messages about all of these things -all at the same time” Is it soft or hard to touch? Can you feel any movement? Take all the students back to classroom for further education about trees. As a part of class room discussion, different parts of tree will be explained such as bark, trunk, root leaves etc. Also different activities of trees are detailed. The responses and comments are recorded in a paper. Why there are different types of trees? Why trees are not moving if it is breathing? Divide the class in into4 groups. As per (Bender,1994,pg.14)“ If you want to have a vigorous discussion where every student speaks, it’s probably wise to divide the class into several groups”. Each group is provided with a big image of tree with photosynthesis functioning init. Then they are asked to point out different parts of the tree and food making process done by it. The image of the tree on a big chart paper and will colored to make it look lively and interesting. Students are asked to recognize the image of the tree and to explore it to understand it completely Can the students understand different parts of the tree? In his book (Fischer,2007,pg.3) “The Checking for understanding provides students with a model of good study skills”. What is a root? Where are the branches? How trees make food from sun, water and earth? The students are encouraged to discuss the different parts of trees and how they make food for themselves. According to (Littlejohn,2005,pg.146)“Students can get lot of ideas if given chance to discuss between themselves in group first” Assessment Students were able to Realize that trees are living organism and has different parts to their body. They need food like us and get it from sun, earth and water by the method of photosynthesis. Observe and interactive lesson Title : Food making process of trees Outcome statement : Identify different parts of tree ,types of trees and their purpose Indicators Observe and touch the pot of plant and chart to find out different parts of trees and their purpose from chart. In the website (KALG,2008) writes that “Children at this age may be still too young to do complex experiments. Instead, we can teach them to observe and question things around them”. Students will investigate and try to get familiarize with the part of plant and how it helps food processing in trees. They will be shown how water poured to the plant is absorbed by it. Use a table to record the purpose and functioning of each part of tree in food processing with the help of chart and pot of plant. Resources 4 X chart paper with tree image and functioning 1 pot of plant 1 watering bottle Activities Teacher will show the chart and explain how each part of tree and its use in extracting food . Teacher to pour water into the pot and show how it is absorbed by the plant and also would exhibit the roots on the plant established in the soil deeply. Teacher to randomly select a student and ask him what all a plant absorbs from the soil . Teacher then explain the process of photosynthesis to students . In his book (Weiner,2003,p g. 154)writes that “ Much of teaching process involves teacher explaining, demonstrating and asking question in the classroom” They are explained that chlorophyll is made with the help of sunlight which gives leaves a green color . Assessment Students able to identify that : - With the help of roots trees get water from beneath the earth. - That earth contains nutrients needed by trees and they absorb it from ground. - That plants produce chlorophyll from the sunlight - The green color in the leaves are because of the chlorophyll produced by plants with the help of sun. - The trees are living things which need food and like any other being inhale and exhale. Drawing Lesson – According to (McAullife,1999,pg.4)“ Importance of art as an element in educational curriculum cannot be overstated. Children have a basic need to express themselves by making things and drawing helps in this extensively” Title – Different kinds of trees Outcome - Identify different parts of tree , types of trees and their purpose Indicators Children understand that there are different varieties of trees. Children draw different types of trees in a chart paper. Resources 12 xChart paper 12 x Crayon pencils 12 x Pencils and erasers. Chart paper with images of different kinds of trees. Activities Show the student different kinds of. trees and explain them briefly about it. The teacher will draw each type of tree like, conifer, deciduous, evergreen, fern etc. The students are then asked to familiarize and draw the same in their book Each student is afterwards asked about the types of the trees. Students are then asked to come and draw a specific tree on the board. Simultaneously they have to tell the rest of the class pointing the drawing the type of the tree. In the end, every student is asked to draw four types of trees without looking in to anything on a chart paper and color it with crayon. Assessment Students able to: Recognize that there are many types of trees. they understand that each type of tree has a peculiar body They are able to know that each type of tree has different kinds of leaves. (Explore lesson idea derived from http://www.lessonplanet.com/lesson-plans/trees) Justification: The children in stage 2 are very curios and anxious about the things they see around them. The purpose of the study was to engage then in any of the object of curiosity and help them to understand it better. As per (Lemov,2010,pg.111)“ Great teachers engage students so that they feel like part of the lessons”. Apart from this they also gain knowledge about which will help them in future to learn more advanced subjects related to the above topic. Bibliography Bender, E.T. (1994). Quick hits: successful strategies by award winning teachers. Indiana: Indiana University Press Cooper , J.M. (2011). Classroom teaching skills . Belmont: Cengage Learning Horrigan, M. (2008). The colour coded phonemic chart as a pedagogical tool. Retrieved from http://ihjournal.com/the-colour-coded-phonemic-chart-as-a-pedagogical-tool Fischer, D. (2007). Checking for understanding: formative assessment techniques for your classroom. Alexandria: ASCD Fink, L.D. (1999). Active learning. Retrieved from http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/Fa cDevC om/guidebk/ teachtip/active.htm KALG, . (2008). Preschool science activities to arouse the curiosity in your child. Retrieved from http://www.kids-activities-learning-games.com/preschool-science-activities.htmlLittlejohn, A. (2005). Cambridge english for schools: starter students book, book 3 . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nix, S. (2011). Dont all trees look alike?. Retrieved fromhttp://forestry.about.com/cs/tree id/f/T ree_ID_looks.htm Rollins, C. (2011). Parts of a tree. Retrieved from http://www.canadianforestry.com/ht ml/fore st/tree _parts_e.html .Rius, M. (2011). The five senses - lesson 4: touch. Retrieved from .http://www.sedl.org/sc imath/pasopar tners/senses/lesson4.html . Lemov, D. (2010). Teach like a champion: 49 techniques that put students on the path to college . U.S.A.: John Wiley & Sons. McAulliffe,M. (1999). Busy teachers guide to art lessons: primary . U.S.A.: Teacher Created resources .Weiner, I.B. (2003). Handbook of psychology: educational psychology . New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Read More