Plant Growth Lesson Plan: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Plant Growth Lesson Plan.

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Plant Growth, and supports the standard of constructing an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Display an image of a plant growing, like this one: 

Ask students:

• What do you notice about the plant’s environment that might help it grow?
• How do you think each part of the plant contributes to its growth and survival?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

• Read the description on the Plant Growth topic page.
• Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
• Assign Related Reading.
  

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign the Plant Growth Challenge and Quiz, applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about plant growth while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

• Make-a-Movie: Produce a movie that follows a plant through each stage of its life cycle. Explain how the plant’s structures and environment support its growth. 
• Make-a-Map: Create a concept map sequencing and describing each stage in a plant’s life cycle. 
• Creative Coding: Code a true or false game about plant growth. 
• Primary Source Activity: Analyze the photos of three different growing systems, and cite details to answer the accompanying questions.

More to Explore 

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of plant structures and processes with these topics: Seed Plants, Seedless Plants, Photosynthesis, and Pollination.

Teacher Support Resources:

• Pause Point Overview: Video tutorial showing how Pause Points actively engage students to stop, think, and express ideas. 
• Learning Activities Modifications: Strategies to meet ELL and other instructional and student needs.
• Learning Activities Support: Resources for best practices using BrainPOP.