Grade 3 – Life Systems
Lesson Summary: Students will create an animated simulation to represent the life cycle of plants.
Curriculum Expectations: These expectations are intended to highlight the many ways in which this lesson could support
the curriculum. It is neither expected nor necessary for teachers to address all of these expectations at once. Teachers
are encouraged to select the most relevant expectations based on their unique context and intentions for the lesson.
Science & Technology
Mathematics
Language - Writing
Overall Expectations
A2. use coding in investigations and
to model concepts, and assess the
impact of coding and of emerging
technologies on everyday life
A3. demonstrate an understanding of
the practical applications of science
and technology, and of contributions
to science and technology from
people with diverse lived experiences
B2. demonstrate an understanding of
characteristics and uses of plants and
of plants’ responses to the natural
environment
Specific Expectations
A2.1 write and execute code in
investigations and when modelling
concepts, with a focus on testing,
debugging, and refining programs
A2.2 identify and describe impacts of
coding and of emerging technologies
on everyday life
A3.3 analyse contributions to science
and technology from various
communities
B2.3 describe changes that different
plants undergo in their life cycles
B2.4 describe ways in which a variety
of plants adapt and/or react to their
environment and to changes in their
environment
Overall Expectations
C3. solve problems and create
computational representations of
mathematical situations using coding
concepts and skills
Specific Expectations
C3.1 solve problems and
create computational
representations of mathematical
situations by writing and executing
code, including code that
involves sequential, concurrent,
and repeating events
C3.2 read and alter existing code,
including code that involves
sequential, concurrent, and repeating
events, and describe how changes to
the code affect the outcomes
Overall Expectations
1. Generate, gather, and organize
ideas and information to write for an
intended purpose and audience
2. draft and revise their writing, using
a variety of informational, literary,
and graphic forms and stylistic
elements appropriate for the purpose
and audience;
Specific Expectations
1.1 identify the topic, purpose,
audience, and form for writing
1.2 generate ideas about a potential
topic, using a variety of strategies and
resources
1.3 gather information to support
ideas for writing in a variety of ways
and/or from a variety of sources
1.4 sort ideas and information for
their writing in a variety of ways
2.1 write short texts using a variety of
forms
2.3 use words and phrases that will
help convey their meaning as
specifically as possible
2.4 vary sentence structures and
maintain continuity by using joining
words (e.g., and, or) to combine
simple sen- tences and using words
that indicate time and sequence to
link sentences
3.4 use punctuation to help
communicate their intended
meaning, with a focus on the use of:
quotation marks to indicate direct
speech; commas to mark
grammatical boundaries within
sentences; capital letters and final
punctuation to mark the beginning
and end of sentences
3.8 produce pieces of published work
to meet identified criteria based on
the expectations related to content,
organization, style, use of
conventions, and use of presentation
strategies
Breaking Down the Coding Expectations In Science & Technology:
In the Grade 3 Science & Technology curriculum, there are 2 coding related expectations:
A2.1 write and execute code in investigations and when modelling concepts, with a focus on testing,
debugging, and refining programs
A2.2 identify and describe impacts of coding and of emerging technologies on everyday life
To paraphrase these expectations and express them in plainer language, students are being asked to:
● write code to demonstrate a science-related concept, focusing on testing their code to identify issues, correct
those issues, and further improve their code
● show how coding impacts our lives
Both expectations will be addressed through the project.
Learning Goals: We are learning to write code to create an animated simulation to represent the life cycle of plants.
Success Criteria:
1. I can use a variety of backgrounds to create “captions” for my simulation
2. I can use loops to make my code more efficient
3. I can use sprite costumes to create animation effects
4. I can explain the testing and debugging process in my own words
5. I can explain and illustrate the life cycle of plants
STEM Profile:
Robin Wall Kimmerer is a biologist who focuses on botany (the study
of plants).
She is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Braiding
Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the
Teachings of Plants.
Kimmerer is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, a
federally recognized indigenous tribe located in what is now known as
Oklahoma, USA. She combines her indigenous heritage with her
scientific and environmental passions to explore how traditional
Indigenous knowledge and worldviews can help us better understand
plants and the environment.
Like Robin, we will be using our knowledge of the life cycle of plants to help others understand the beauty of nature.
Minds On:
1. Students will have different experience levels when it comes to coding.
a. If students have never experienced coding before, please watch the “What is Coding?” video.
b. If students have experienced coding before, have a quick discussion in which students share their definition
of coding. Some responses to look for include:
i. Coding is the language that computers speak
ii. Coding is how we talk to computers or get computers to do what we want
iii. Coding is the instructions that we give to a computer
2. Introduce the idea of a loop, which is a repeating section of code used to make the code more efficient; for example,
both of the following stacks of code do the same thing (i.e., have a sprite draw a square). Which is more efficient?