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Contents

• Introduction
• Contents
• Objectives
• Concepts
• District Standards
• Assessment

Introduction

The Plant Growth and Development unit is a Science and Technology for Children (STC) kit developed by the National Science Resources Center at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.

In the Plant Growth and Development kit students work with the Wisconsin Fast Plants. They learn how to plant the seeds and thin and transplant their seedlings. Lessons follow the growth of the plant and include: investigating plant structure, charting the growth spurt that occurs before flowering, examining the bee/flower relationship, and recording seed yield after harvesting and threshing.

Contents

Lesson 1: What Do You Know about Plants?

Lesson 2: What Is Inside a Seed?

Lesson 3: Planting the Seed

Lesson 4: Thinning and Transplanting

Lesson 5: How Does Your Plant Grow?

Lesson 6: Observing Leaves and Flower Buds

Lesson 7: Observing the Growth Spurt

Lesson 8: Why Are Bees Important?

Lesson 9: Getting a Handle on Your Bee

Lesson 10: Looking at Flowers

Lesson 11: Pollinating Flowers

Lesson 12: Observing Pods

Lesson 13: Making a Brassica model

Lesson 14: Making a Bee Model

Lesson 15: Interpreting Graphs

Lesson 16: Harvesting and Threshing Seed

Objectives

Students are expected to:

• plant and care for Brassica rapa.
• observe, describe, and record changes in plants.
• compare and discuss changes occurring in plants over time.
• measure and record the growth of plants.
• use graphs to display and compare growth patterns.
• predict future growth from observations and measurements.
• read to learn more about plants.
• communicate results and reflect on experiences through writing, drawing, and discussion.
• develop interest in studying the life cycle of plants.
• develop sensitivity to the needs of plants.
• develop an awareness of the interaction between plants and animals.

Concepts

• Many plants follow a life cycle that begins with growth from a seed and proceeds through the production of seeds.
• Plants have distinct stages in their life cycle.
• To live and grow, plants need light, water and nutrients from the soil.
• Flowering plants must be pollinated in order to produce seeds.
• Many plants are pollinated by bees.
• A flower's pollen sticks to a bee, but some rubs off when the bee feeds at other flowers.
• One seed produces one plant; one plant can produce many seeds.

District Standards

The Plant Growth and Development kit meets the following District Standards:

Standard 1. Students understand the process of scientific investigation and design, conduct, communicate about, and evaluate such investigations. (1.a., 1.b., 1.c., 1.d.)

Standard 2. Physical Science: Students know and understand common properties, forms, and changes in matter and energy. (2.3.a., 2.3.b., 2.3.c.)

Standard 3. Life Science: Students know and understand the characteristics and structure of living things, the process of life, and how living things interact with each other and their environment. (3.1.a., 3.1.c., 3.1.d., 3.2.a., 3.3.c., 3.4.a., 3.4.b., 3.4.c.)

Standard 6. Students understand that science involves a particular way of knowing and understand common connections among scientific disciplines. (6.a., 6.b., 6.e.)

Assessment

In the Plant Growth and Development kit, assessment is an ongoing, integral part of instruction. Strategies fall into three categories: matched pre- and post-unit assessments, embedded assessments, and final assessments. The pre/post-unit assessment questions provide two sets of comparable data to indicate student growth in knowledge and skills. Embedded assessments are woven into the unit and provide an ongoing profile of student progress and thinking. Specific guidelines for a variety of assessments are found within the lessons. Appendix A offers post-unit assessments. A selection is offered so the most appropriate one may be selected.

This web page is maintained by Leanne Graves.