Lesson Plan Template (Teacher Facilitated Arts

Integration)
HEADING:
Students Name: Christina DeGraffinried
2015
Subject Area(s): Science/ Visual Arts
Grade
Concept/Topic: Sunflowers
minutes

Date: November 16,

Grade Level: 3rd
Time: 1 hour, 45

OBJECTIVES AND STANDARDS:

Big Ideas/Key Concepts:
What do you want students to understand about the topic? Students grow
both sunflowers and their knowledge of science and art. After exploring the
work of Van Gogh and other artists, students create their own artwork.
Additionally, students are to observe and record the growth of a sunflower,
journaling its growth with their personal life experiences during the same
time period. Students will reflect this growth experience through creative
writing. This lesson can be taught by the classroom teacher or with the help
of science specialists and arts educators. The general teacher should have
an understanding of the Van Gogh artwork and his life as well as an
understanding of the growth of sunflower plants.
Objectives:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Observe the growth of a sunflower from seed to mature plant.

Record the growth of a sunflower from seed to mature plant.
Understand the life cycle of a sunflower plant.
Journal their own life experience over this growth period.
Explore the sunflower-based artwork of Van Gogh and other artist.
Create their own sunflower-based artwork

Curriculum Standards:
Science:
SI.3.: Understand that all scientific investigations involve asking and
answering questions and comparing the answer with what is already known.
3.1.3.A5.: Identify the structures in plants that are responsible for food
production, support, water transport, reproduction, growth, and protection.
Language Arts:
1.8.3.B.: Conduct inquiry and research on self-selected or assigned topics

using specified sources and strategies.

1.2.3.D.: Make inferences from text when studying a topic (e.g., science,
social studies) and draw conclusions, citing evidence from the text to support
answers.
1.3.3.B.: Recognize and identify different types of genres such as poetry,
drama, and fiction.
1.2.3.E.: Read, understand, and respond to essential content of text in all
academic areas
Arts Education:
9.3.3.C.: Know classification skills with materials and processes used to
create works in the arts (e.g., sorting and matching textiles, musical chants,
television comedies).
9.1.3.I.: Identify arts events that take place in schools and in communities

LEARNING PLAN:
Rationale:

Differentiation: Learning about the sunflower plant cycle is part of the

core curriculum for 3rd grade. Through this lesson the students will be
introduced to this concept in depth for the first time. Students will be
able to experience the correlation between visual arts and science
concepts. The Temple Teaching standards will be incorporated
throughout the entire lesson. One of the main standards covered in this
lesson is Active Learning. Students are encouraged to participate in
hands-on activities to further their knowledge of plants. Critical and
Creative Thinking is shown through this lesson when students are
asked to observe and predict what they witness while making
connections from Van Gogh art style. Students with visual problems
may need to watch the sunflower-growth video tape on a personal
computer. Deaf/hard of hearing students may require a transcript of
the audio tour of the Van Gogh artwork at Philadelphia Art Museum.

Materials and Technology:

Website: http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/lessons/grade3-4/Sunflowers#Instruction
Website:
http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/59202.html?
mulR=12995
Computer-Smart Board (YouTube Video): https://youtu.be/Z-iPp6yn0hw
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Book: Van Gogh and the Sunflowers by Laurence Anholt

Van Gogh Poster of the Sunflower
Student Journal of growth
Writing Utensils

Step-By-Step Procedure:
1. Launch:
a. Hook/Lead-in: Introduce the lesson by demonstrating to the
classroom a relapse clip of a sunflower blossoming from a seed
to a mature plant. Talk about the seed growth, and engage
students in a group discussion on their reaction to the clip.
i. What does it look like right after the seeds are planted?
ii. What emerged first?
iii. What do think we will be learning about this week?
b. Visit the Philadelphia Art Museum to view one of Van Goghs
sunflower paintings. Allow the docent to explain the artwork to
the students. (audio)
i. What is your reaction to the photo? Does this sunflower
resemble the flowers in the video?
ii. Has anyone heard of Van Gogh before? /What do you want
to learn about him?
iii. What tools do you think Van Gogh used to created this
painting?
c. Activate Prior Knowledge: Introduce to students Van Gogh
and the Sunflowers by Laurence Anholt. During the reading,
teacher will ask open-ended questions, discuss concepts from
books and elaborate key information from story. Information from
this book will be used to expand and develop student knowledge
of Van Gogh.
i. Based on the cover what do you think this book will be
about?
ii. Who is Van Gogh? And what was he famous for?
iii. Why sunflower? Why do you think is his fascination with
this plant?
d. Explore sunflower artwork of Vincent Van Gogh using the gallery
implemented in the website. The gallery represents several
variations of sunflower paintings done by Van Gogh. Engage
students in an open discussion about the painting to prep
students. Have students compare and contrast the sunflower
paintings.
i. What is similar in these paintings?

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ii. What is different?

iii. Why do you think Van Gogh found sunflowers to be artworthy?
iv. Why do you think the he painted similar pieces?
e. In a classroom discussion, the teacher will explain the
components of a sunflowers life cycle. Review the time-lapse of
the video again. Discuss parts of a flower and incorporate
vocabulary. Students will be given a Parts of a Flower
worksheet to help guide their understanding.
i. Vocabulary: Germination, roots and shoots, Buds,
Pollination, Ripe, Withering
ii. Review Sunflower facts
iii. Tell students to complete worksheet, and check work with
partner.
2. Instruction:
a. Explicit Instruction or Worked Example: Students will be
divided in groups of three a will be given directions to plant
sunflower seeds. Students will be given small containers to plant
their sunflower seeds. The teacher in whole class instruction
demonstrate the procedure on how to properly plant the seed
into the container. Students will name their group and label their
container. The student will then break off into small groups to
complete the task. After the students successfully planted their
seed, students will write a prediction on the growth and
representation of their plant.
i. What do you think is the first step to planting a sunflower/
Is there any necessities this plant needs to survive?
ii. According to what we have learned about the sunflower,
how long do you think it will take the plant to blossom?
iii. Do you see the connection between this plant and the
sunflowers in the painting be Van Gogh?
b. Observe and record the growth of a sunflower. Using the Student
Journal Worksheet. In their groups each student will observe,
measure, and record the growth of the sunflower each day.
Alongside, have the student journal about his or her own
activities each day. Students are to document the growth of the
plant by writing a brief description of growth with a picture to
visually demonstrate the progression.
c. Modeling: Tell how you will use concrete representations to
model concepts and procedures.
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d. *Guided Practice: Create sunflower artwork in the style of Van

Gogh. Place a vase with several sunflowers (real or artificial)
inside it in the center of the room. Arrange desks or tables in a
circle around the vase. Have students fold a 12 x 18 piece of
art paper in half, creating two drawing areas, each 9 x 12.
Using pencils, colored pencils, charcoal, or pastels, have each
student draw the vase and sunflowers from a location in the
classroom. After a given period of time, perhaps 15 minutes,
have students rotate to a new desk or location. From this new
location, each student will create a second piece of artwork in
the second area on the art paper. After the second drawing, ask
the students:
i. How are your two drawings the same?
ii. How are they different?
iii. Did Van Goghs work (or the work of another artist)
influence your artwork
3. Independent Practice: Students will create a growth graph that
represents the progression of their plants. Students will be given the
freedom to choose any form of graph to use to represent their data.
Plot time on the x axis and height on the y axis. This can be created
during the recording process or at the completion of recording growth.
4. Application: Students will be prompted to create a poem. Students
will incorporate scientific findings as well as their own creative
perspective in order to create their poem. Students are to use their
'Student Journal Worksheets' referenced earlier as a guide. The two
voices will be the sunflower and the student. The voices will alternate
with each line. For example: The sun warmed my soil/I grew impatient
waiting for your arrival/ I emerged but was all alone. /I learned to
dance on my toes today. /I danced in the sunlight. / I watched you
reach for the sun. /I am growing quickly. /Today I measured you and
me. Were both sprouting! and so on.
5. Closure: Create a sunflower exhibit. Post the artwork and poetry for
the entire classroom to view. Prompt students with a series of
questions, to engage them in the difference of artwork amongst the
students:
o How are the sunflower art pieces the same?
o How are they different?

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o What similar things did you observe about the growing

sunflower?
o What different things did you observe?
o What role did your personal journaling play in your creative
writing?
o How did it feel to write a poem in two voices?
o What other living things could you observe and write about in
a similar manner?
o How does knowing scientific information about your subject
make your artwork stronger?

EVIDENCE:

During the lesson there will be a checklist the teacher will follow in
order to ensure that each student in on-task and grasping the key
concepts the lesson. In order to implement the checklist, the teacher
will daily check the student progress in their data collection of their
sunflower growth and their group discussion.
During and after the lesson the teacher will ask a series of questions to
verify the student has gained an understanding. Based on the student
answers, that will determine if the students understood the topics of
the lesson.
Students will be given a series of activities in various formats to
demonstrate their ability to understand the goals taught in the lesson.

ASSESSMENTS:
This rubric assessment will check the students mastery of the lesson
objectives.

The
student:

This assessment will be implemented as a check list to determine

each students understanding of key concepts of sunflowers and
Van Gogh.
This assessment will be incorporated amongst all the activities
this lesson may include.
In the assessment I will be looking for proficiency and mostly
completing, understanding and creativity.

With the
Highest
Degree of

Lesson Plan Template

With
Above
Average

With
Average
Proficiency

With
Varied
Levels of

Comments
:

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Skill and
Proficiency

Proficiency

Low
Proficiency

Compared
art
reproductio
ns of Van
Gogh
Diagramme
d the life
cycle of a
sunflower
Planted
their
sunflower
seeds
according
to the given
directions
Completed
the seed
packet
questionnai
re
Measured
the rate of
growth of a
sunflower
Composed
an original
poem about
sunflowers
Created a
personal
representati
on of
sunflowers

RESOURCES:

Website: http://artsedge.kennedycenter.org/educators/lessons/grade-3-4/Sunflowers#Instruction

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Website: http://www.vangoghgallery.com
Website:http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/592
02.html/mulR=1299

REFLECTION (AFTER THE LESSON):

Analyze the evidence you collected and reflect on how the lesson went:

What did the students learn? How do you know?

What went well? What makes you think so?
What would you change if you were to teach the lesson again?
Why?
Explain how the evidence that you collected is also useful in
thinking about something more than the success of this
particular lesson.
How will this lesson tie into the lessons that follow or a larger
overall thematic unit?

TEMPLE TEACHING STANDARDS (TTS):

Temple Teaching Standards (TTS)

o Deep Content Understanding: The lesson fosters the
development of deep understanding by incorporating key
concepts using a variety of teaching methods and providing
multiple pathways to learning. Students are given the
opportunity to demonstrate their learning is several different
formats.
o Coherence & Continuity: This lesson integrates visual arts into
a science lesson into a unit plan in order for students to get a
clear understanding of goals and ideas. Learners are given the
opportunity connections between current lessons and what they
have studied in the past and are able to use those connections to
further their understanding.
o Real World Connections: This lesson allows students to
incorporate their life experiences into the classroom and come to
understand how their personal lives interact with the larger
social beyond the classroom. Students will learn and draw
connections between Van Gogh era and current are.
o Active Learning: Students will be given the opportunity to
facilitate learning by doing by encouraging students to
investigate, explore, inquire, research, and develop

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understanding in response to material presented by the teacher

and to evidence they gather on their own. Learners will be given
time to pursue answers to questions they pose, think and work
independently, and demonstrate their understanding through
projects, reports, presentations, and student exhibitions.
o Critical & Creative Thinking: Students will be prompted in
open-ended questions that have no pre-established answers,
which enables learners to respond creatively. The classroom
environment promotes risk-taking and inspires learners to
develop original and unique ideas. Learners identify patterns,
take positions and develop arguments, construct explanations,
and draw conclusions demonstrating higher order and innovative
thinking.
o Teacher Reflective Thinking: Teacher will encourage learners
to reflect as well and help them develop strategies for improving
their performance. Learners provide feedback and participate in
classroom evaluations. Teachers will develop self-awareness and
awareness of the political and social contexts that influence
schooling, placing them on a path toward teacher leadership.

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