| Subject
Matter: |
Life Science |
| Grade Levels:
|
9-12 |
| Time Allotment:
|
Four 60-minute class
sessions |
Overview
Plants are alive and changing
all around us. Their growth is often overlooked because change is
slow. In this lesson, students will learn the elements and conditions
for optimal plant growth and the structure and functions of plant
cells that enable plants to thrive. Students will develop a hypothesis,
design experiments and conduct experiments using an online virtual
plant lab. Results will be charted and a conclusion will be prepared
for compilation in a class hypermedia presentation.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able
to:
- Identify plant structure organelles and the processes of plant
growth.
- Develop a hypothesis and identify factors and variables in a
plant growth experiment.
- Conduct an experiment in an online laboratory.
- Produce spreadsheets of data supporting or denying a stated
hypothesis.
- Prepare experiment conclusions for a group hypermedia presentation.
Oregon Standards Available
at:
http://www.ode.state.or.us/cifs
Science –
Life Science
Understand the structure,
functions and interactions of living organisms and the environment.
Organisms
- Describe, explain and compare the structure and functions of
cells in organisms.
Science –
Scientific Inquiry
Use interrelated processes
to pose questions and investigate the physical and living world.
Forming the Question/Hypothesis
- Based on observations and scientific concepts, ask questions
or form hypotheses that can be answered or tested through scientific
investigations.
Designing the Investigation
- Design a scientific investigation that provides sufficient data
to answer a question or test a hypothesis.
Collecting and Presenting
Data
- Collect, organize and display sufficient data to facilitate
scientific analysis and interpretation.
Analyzing and Interpreting
Results
- Summarize and analyze data, evaluating sources of error or bias.
Propose explanations that are supported by data and knowledge
of scientific terminology.
Media Components
Video
Check the link at http://www.opb.org/edmedia/trs/
to find access to the video(s) from unitedstreaming™ referenced
in this lesson plan.
- "Life Science: Plants" (20:00)
o Clip: "The Survival of Plants: Reproduction
and Change" (03:48)
- "Elements of Biology: The Cell: Structure and Function"
(20:00)
o Clip: "Plant and Animal Cells" (04:30)
Web
Materials
Per Student:
- Pencil
- Handout: Bloom Where You're Planted - Introductory Activity
Response Sheet (located at end of lesson plan)
- Handout: Label the Plant Cell (located at end of lesson plan)
- Handout: Research and Experiment Gathering Sheet (located at
end of lesson plan)
- Handout: Which Way Did They Grow? (located at end of lesson
plan)
- Handout: Plant Adaptation Video Clips Focus (located at end
of lesson plan)
- Handout: Scoring Guide found at http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/projects/yep/endoyrub/proprub.html
Per Class:
- Access to a shared folder on a server or floppy disks to transfer
data from student work to compile for group presentation
- Access to a color printer (Black and white will work, though.)
- Computer with network connectivity, Java-enabled browser installed,
QuickTime (Macintosh) or Windows Media Player installed
- Spreadsheet software installed on computers
- Hyperstudio, Microsoft PowerPoint or other hypermedia software
installed
- Demonstration computer with Internet connectivity with projection
screen for whole group instruction
- Overhead transparency of "Comparing a Cell to a Factory"
found at: http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/pdfs/cellsystem_actsheet.pdf
Prep for Teachers
When using media, provide
students with a Focus for Media Interaction, a
specific task to complete and/or information to identify during
or after viewing of video, Web sites or other multimedia elements.
Session 1:
Bookmark all Web sites and download video clips. Preview them for
specific points you will use to teach students about plant structure
and growth processes. Schedule the computer lab or mobile lab and
allow one computer per student. Check to see if QuickTime or Windows
Media Player is installed on the demonstration computer you will
use for instruction. Make sure that this computer can be connected
to a projector or a large-screen monitor for large-group instruction.
Make a copy of Bloom Where You're Planted - Introductory Activity
Response Sheet handout for each student.
Session 2:
Prepare an overhead transparency of "Comparing a Cell to a
Factory" from http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/pdfs/cellsystem_actsheet.pdf
and copy the Which Way Did They Grow?, Plant Adaptation Video Clips
Focus and Label the Plant Cell handouts for each student.
Session 3:
Practice using the virtual plant lab found at: http://cycas.cornell.edu/ebp/projects/laststraw/ise/frm.lab.html.
Be familiar with the process of screen capture for the computer
platform you are using. Practice how to paste the data into PowerPoint.
Have individual floppy disks or some scheme to save student work
in PowerPoint to a folder for assembling into one class presentation.
Review saving data with the students, if necessary. Make a copy
of the scoring guide found at: http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/projects/yep/endoyrub/proprub.html
and the Research and Experiment Gathering Sheet handout for each
student.
Introductory Activity
Step 1:
As the students enter the room, give them copies of the handout
Bloom Where You're Planted? and have the movie found at http://207.148.237.252/lowlife/craigweb1.swf
playing in the background. When students are settled into the classroom/lab/AV
auditorium, begin the class by viewing "Flower Play" from
the Web site, http://sunflower.bio.indiana.edu/~rhangart/plantmotion/art/art.html,
following the navigation menu: Plants & Art--Plant Art--Flower
Play. The movie begins by crossing your mouse over the viewing area.
For the Focus for Media Interaction, have students
respond to the movies by answering the questions on the handout
while listening and watching the images.
Step 2:
After viewing the video clip, have students share answers from the
handout. (Possible answers from the first film are: seeing aliens
dancing, plant seeds are growing, time-lapse photography, claymation.
For the second film, possible answers are: to decorate, for medicine,
to represent a country — ex: the cedar tree on the flag of
Lebanon, for employment of farmers, for celebration — ex.
the Potato Festival in Michigan. Examples of commercial movies include
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "Little Shop of
Horrors," "Day of the Triffids" and the "Killer
Tomato" series — these films emphasize rapid growth and
meat-eating species. Answers will vary for the rest of the questions
but look for leads to the next teaching activity that highlight
growth and conditions for growth.)
Learning Activities
Session 1
Step 1: Play
the video clip, "The Survival of Plants: Reproduction and Change"
(03:48), from the video, "Life Science: Plants" (20:00).
As a Focus for Media Interaction, review the top
half of the Plant Adaptation Film Video Clips Focus handout and
ask students to fill in answers.
Step 2:
Share answers. (Answers may vary but look for light energy to chemical
energy through photosynthesis and is possible through the stems
and leaves using chlorophyll; Wagner's definition of biology is
"study of plants and their parasites"; two specialties
are reproduction and change — some changes are climate, volcanoes,
rainfall change and new kinds of organisms; plants can't move —
that is why they have to adapt to survive; bees, insects and birds
move pollen around, and the wind and animals move seeds from place
to place; the Dutchman's Pipe captures a bee until the time he is
loaded with pollen and then releases him by relaxing the downward
pointed hairs in the "belly" of the plant.)
Session 2
Step 1:
View the video clip, "Plant and Animal Cells" (04:30),
from the video, "Elements of Biology: The Cell: Structure and
Function" (20:00), and as a Focus for Media Interaction,
fill in the parts of a plant cell mentioned in the video clip on
the Label the Plant Cell handout. Ask the students about an environmental
issue referred to in the video in which plants process more carbon
dioxide than their numbers can handle (greenhouse effect).
Step 2:
Have the students finish labeling the parts of the cell by visiting
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/lmexer1a.htm#plant
and/or http://www.cellsalive.com/cells/plntcell.htm.
Ask the students if they
find the analogy of the cell as a factory a valid analogy. Why or
why not? Use the overhead transparency to compare the cell organelles
and their functions to factory processes. (See overhead master "Comparing
a Cell to a Factory.")
Step 3:
As a Focus for Media Interaction, have the students
use the handout Which Way Did They Grow? (located at end of lesson
plan) to match the growth process description with the action seen
while watching the video clips below.
Watch the following QuickTime
movies:
Sunflowers (germination)
http://sunflower.bio.indiana.edu/~rhangart/plantmotion/earlygrowth/germination/germ.html
Sunflowers – in
dark and in light (photomorphogenesis)
http://sunflower.bio.indiana.edu/~rhangart/plantmotion/earlygrowth/photomorph/photomorph.html
Coleus (negative gravitropism)
http://sunflower.bio.indiana.edu/~rhangart/plantmotion/movements/tropism/tropisms.html
Venus flytrap (nastic
movements)
http://sunflower.bio.indiana.edu/~rhangart/plantmotion/movements/nastic/nastic.html
Shamrock plant (circadian
response)
http://sunflower.bio.indiana.edu/~rhangart/plantmotion/movements/leafmovements/clocks.html
Root and root hair growth
(growth)
http://sunflower.bio.indiana.edu/~rhangart/plantmotion/vegetative/veg.html
Morning Glory (flowering)
http://sunflower.bio.indiana.edu/~rhangart/plantmotion/flowers/flower.html
Step 4:
Share answers in class. Assure that answers are reinforced by naming
variables. Example: "What are the variables in the dark and
light conditions for growth of the sunflowers?"
Session 3
Step 1:
As a Focus for Media Interaction, using the Research
and Experiment Gathering Sheet handout, students will follow the
steps necessary to create an online experiment in plant growth.
The steps follow:
Step 2:
Proceed to http://cycas.cornell.edu/ebp/projects/laststraw/ise/frm.lab.html.
Read the directions on the first page of this Web site until you
are ready to click on the button "Open model window."
Note:
First screen is the "Help" menu and well worth your time
exploring. Pay particular attention to the buttons, "How do
I collect the results?" and "How do I graph the results?"
Step 3:
When you are confident that you know what you are looking for, click
on the "Plant" tab at the top of the Help screen. Choose
your plants for comparison. Keep in mind which variables you are
concentrating on.
Step 4:
Choose the climates using the "Climate" tab.
Step 5:
Next, click on the "Grow" tab and watch your plants grow
under the conditions and climate you chose.
Step 6:
On the left side of the screen, choose the measurement element you
are using as a point of comparison. Pull the probe down with your
mouse and notice the readings change in the top of the screen to
reflect the data represented in your choices. Don't forget that
time may be one of your variables and days are managed by the slide
bar in the upper left-hand of the screen.
Note:
At this point, you need to note your data on the bottom of this
paper for safekeeping. Once you leave the computer, your data is
gone.
Step 7:
Choose the "Graph" tab. You will see your graph produced
on the screen. To copy it to the computer Clipboard for pasting
into PowerPoint, hold down the Alt button and Print Screen button
at the same time on a Windows computer to place your active window
of your graph to the computer's Clipboard. On a Macintosh, hold
down the Control, Shift, Command and the 4 key all at once to capture
a part of your computer screen. Drag the selection tool over your
graph to capture it to the computer Clipboard.
Note:
Do not use the "Export to Clipboard" button at the bottom
of your graph. It will create more mess than you need!
Step 8:
Open up PowerPoint and choose the template that has a picture and
one headline. Paste your graph in the open space of the slide by
choosing "Paste" from the Edit menu. Save your work to
the server or floppy disk (whatever is the protocol in your school).
If you need help with PowerPoint, visit http://www.learningelectric.com/powerpoint.htm.
Step 9:
Gather all the individual slides from the students (whether they
are on the server in a folder or on individual floppies) and assemble
them into one class presentation.
Culminating Activity
Have the students organize
their topics into some order for a table of contents by organizing
their research question from the Research and Experiment Gathering
Sheet handout. Generate general topics about plant growth and write
them on the blackboard. Some students may prefer growth strategies
as a way to organize the topics (phototropism, circadian cycles),
while others may prefer conditions for growth (light, water, soil)
as ways to organize. Write student names with corresponding research
question under the main headings as you view the whole class presentation
build from the individual slides. Have students defend their reason
for putting their own research questions under the umbrella of a
topic.
Cross-Curricular Extensions
English/Language
Arts
- Students can research famous poems about plants, flowers and
trees (example: Kilmer's "Trees" or Wordsworth's "The
Daffodils"). A collage of poetry and poems may be created.
The poetry can be analyzed for scientific elements.
Civics
- The students can investigate legislation about air emission
standards in the United States compared to other industrialized
countries.
Music
- Students can perform or compose music to accompany video clips
of time-lapse photography of plant growth.
Art
- Students can create accurate depictions of plant life with labels
identifying the different parts of a plant.
Community Connections
- Invite regional climatologists to speak to the students about
the effects of greenhouse gases on the planet.
- Invite botanists or gardeners to share specific plant adaptations
to the region where you live. What plants live here and why? What
environmental conditions make them thrive?
Bloom Where You're Planted?
Introductory Activity
Response Sheet
Your Name_____________________________________________________
Time Block _______________
While watching the first
video, reflect on these questions:
» What are you
seeing?
» What process
captured this movement?
» Why is this
process important?
While viewing the second
video, reflect on these thoughts:
» What do plants
provide for human life? (Write at least 6 different uses
of plants - food being the obvious one.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
» Can you think
of any commercial movies where plants have been a main "character"?
» What made the
plants in the movie remarkable?
» Do you notice
plants much as you travel along?
- If you do not notice, why don't we notice plants very much
compared to their value on the planet?
- If you do notice plants as you go along, what accounts for
that?
Plant Adaptation Video
Clips Focus
Name______________________________
Time Block____________
Fill in the answers as
we watch the video clip "Plants: Reproduction and Change."
1. Plants capture light energy and change it to _______________
energy through a process called ____________________________ through
_________________ found in stems and leaves of plants.
2. Warren Wagner, the
biologist in the film clip, defines biology in a unique way. What
is his definition?
3. Plants require two specialties to survive:
a.
b.
4. What can happen to
make plants adapt? Name at least three change agents.
5. What aspect of being a plant complicates its adaptation in its
environment?
6. What moves pollen and
seed from a plant to another place? Be specific.
7. What is the unique way that the Dutchman's
Pipe plant moves its pollen? Be specific.
Label the Plant Cell
Name
Time Block
Word Bank
cell wall
chloroplast
cytoplasm
nucleolus
nucleus
plasma membrane
vacuole (large)
|
Which Way Did They Grow?
Plant Growth Processes
Name____________________________________
Time Block ____________________
As we watch several segments
of plant growth processes, match up the video clip with the growth
process it illustrates. Draw lines from the flower to the process
you watched in the video segments.
Sunflowers |
negative gravitropism - directional movement
responses that occur in response to a directional stimulus |
Sunflowers - in dark and in light |
circadian response - biological clocks that allow plants
to respond to changes in time |
Coleus |
flowering - is the reproductive structure and is essential
for completion of the plant's life cycle |
Venus flytrap |
germination - starts when a seed is provided with water
as long as the temperature is appropriate |
Shamrock plant |
photomorphogenesis - the process by which plant development
is controlled by light |
Root and root hair growth |
nastic movements - movements that occur in response to
environmental stimuli |
Morning Glory |
growth - the period between germination and flowering |
 We
have all observed examples of plant growth processes. Name two plant
growth processes you have observed in daily life. From the processes
we watched in the video clips, what processes do they represent?
1.
2.
Research and Experiment
Gathering Sheet
Name_________________________________________
Time Block _______________
 Research
Sources:
Visit at least three Web sites and gather information about plant
growth and plant structure. To get you started, here are some ideas:
http://plantfacts.osu.edu/
The Ohio State University Plant Facts
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case1/c1brief.html
The Great Plant Escape, Case #1
http://sunflower.bio.indiana.edu/~rhangart/plantmotion/starthere.html
Plant processes
Record your research in
the following form and table:
Research Source #1
Author (if any)___________________________________________________________
Title of the Web page______________________________________________________
Type of resource (movie, article in a database, Web page) _________________________
Publisher or organization___________________________________________________
Date visited _____________________________________________________________
URL ___________________________________________________________________
Direct quote from the Web page |
State the quote in YOUR own words |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use the back of the paper
if necessary to add more information.
Research Source #2
Author (if any)___________________________________________________________
Title of the Web page______________________________________________________
Type of resource (movie, article in a database, Web page) _________________________
Publisher or organization___________________________________________________
Date visited _____________________________________________________________
URL ___________________________________________________________________
Direct quote from the Web page |
State the quote in YOUR own words |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use the back of the paper
if necessary to add more information.
Research Source #3
Author (if any)___________________________________________________________
Title of the Web page______________________________________________________
Type of resource (movie, article in a database, Web page) _________________________
Publisher or organization___________________________________________________
Date visited _____________________________________________________________
URL ___________________________________________________________________
Direct quote from the Web page |
State the quote in YOUR own words |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use the back of the paper
if necessary to add more information.
Hypothesis:
1. List as many factors
as you can that affect plant growth.
2. Choose one question
that you would like to test:
If you need help identifying
a hypothesis, try getting some ideas at this Web site: http://www.accessexcellence.org/21st/TL/filson/biol.html
3. Identify the controlled
and dependent variables for your experiment. A definition of these
terms is found at http://ei.cornell.edu/student/exptdesign.asp
The Experiment
* Proceed to http://cycas.cornell.edu/ebp/projects/laststraw/ise/frm.lab.html.
* Read the directions
on the first page of this Web site until you are ready to click
on the button "Open model window."
* The first screen is
the "Help" menu and well worth your time exploring.
Pay particular attention to the buttons, "How do I collect
the results?" and "How do I graph the results?"
* When you are confident
that you know what you are looking for, click on the "Plant"
tab at the top of the Help screen. Choose your plants for comparison.
Keep in mind which variables you are concentrating on.
* Now, choose your climates
using the "Climate" tab.
* Next, click on the
"Grow" tab and watch your plants grow under the conditions
and climate you chose.
* On the left side of
the screen, choose the measurement element you are using as a
point of comparison. Pull the probe down with your mouse and notice
the readings change in the top of the screen to reflect the data
represented in your choices. Note: Don't forget
that time may be one of your variables and days are managed by
the slide bar in the upper left-hand of the screen.
Note:
At this point, you need to note your data on the bottom of this
paper for safekeeping. Once you leave the computer, your data
is gone.
* Choose the "Graph"
tab. You will see your graph produced on the screen. To copy it
to the computer Clipboard for pasting into PowerPoint, hold down
the Alt button and Print Screen button at the same time on a Windows
computer to place your active window of your graph to the computer's
Clipboard. On a Macintosh, hold down the Control, Shift, Command
and the 4 key all at once to capture a part of your computer screen.
Drag the selection tool over your graph to capture it to the computer
Clipboard. Note: Do not use the "Export
to Clipboard" button that looks so easy to use!
* Open up PowerPoint
and choose the template that has a picture and one headline. Paste
your graph in the open space of the slide by choosing "Paste"
from the Edit menu. Save your work to ___________________________________________________.
If you need help with PowerPoint, visit http://www.learningelectric.com/powerpoint.htm
To help you organize
your data and headlines, use the space below:
Hypothesis: |
Variables:
|
Data:
|
* Add a headline that
describes your data and your hypothesis. Save again.
We will compile all
the data slides into one group presentation.
|
