Palo Alto Unified School District—Science On–Line
Guide for Teachers
Experiments with Plants
56h Grade Life Science Unit |
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General Information
The Experiments with Plants unit was created by the National Science Resources Center, which is operated by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Academy of Sciences. The unit is published by Carolina Biological Supply Company.
In this unit students are expected to:
- understand that a good experiment is a fair test of one variable while all
other variables remain unchanged
- know the requirements for the optimum growth and development of Wisconsin
Fast Plants
- be able to manipulate a planning board as a way of thinking about how to
do an experiment
- help design a team experiment that shows understanding of scientific
methodology
- maintain records of plant observations throughout an experiment, including
drawings, measurements, and graphs
- demonstrate the ability to plant, thin, transplant, pollinate, harvest, and
thresh
- understand the basics of bee and flower anatomy
- understand the process of pollination and its importance to the production
of seeds
- comprehend the interdependent relationship between the bee and the flowering
plant
- organize and analyze logically the data collected in the team's experiment
- draw conclusions based on data
- help present the team project, communicating the project results and
conclusions
- apply skills and concepts learned in the team experiment to plan and set up
an individual experiment in seed germination
- analyze own data on germination and draw conclusions
- plan and set up new experiments involving phototropism and geotropism
- analyze data and draw conclusions from it about tropisms
Scientific Process Skills:
- Work individually and in teams to collect and share information and ideas.
- Conduct simple investigations or experiments to test a hypothesis and record
results.
- Predict probable outcomes when given sufficient data. Use facts to support
conclusions.
- Communicate scientific information verbally, in writing and drawing. Use
descriptive language.
- Make and use estimates, inferences and predictions.
- Make models to represent an idea or object.
- Collect, organize and interpret data.
- Create charts and graphs to report data.
- Identify and control variables in experimental situations.
By the end of Sixth Grade all students will know that:
- all plants have basic needs for growth: water, light, space nutrients,
and air (including oxygen).
- photosynthesis is the process by which leaves create food for the plant
from the sun's energy.
- flowering plants and their pollinators are an example of interdependence.
They rely on each other and have evolved together over millions of years. Many
flowering plants have evolved reproductive parts, odors, flashy petals, and other adaptations to attract specific pollinators.
Observe that:
- when the seed germinates in the Brassica plant, the radicle emerges and
becomes the root, while the cotyledon leaves poke through the soil.
- growth of the plant includes the development of true leaves, a period of
adolescence where the plant experiences a growth spurt, and the appearance of buds.
- tap root and root hairs obtain water and nutrients from the soil, which are
transported up the stem and to the leaves and buds.
- seeds begin to develop and the ovary expands and elongates. This is the
seed pod. The petals of the flower fall off as the seed pod develops. Finally,
the plant dies, but the seeds can produce a new generation of the species.
Demonstrate that:
- buds open into flowers which include the reproductive parts of the plant.
The stamen (male part) produces pollen. The pistil (female part) includes the ovary which contains the egg cells. When a plant is pollinated by a pollinator (insects, birds, bats, wind, etc.), the pollen from one plant's stamen travels to the pistil of another plant.
- effective pollination results in fertilization, where the pollen grows a
long tube which travels down the pistil and fertilizes the egg cells in the ovary. The fertilized cells are the new seeds.
Misconceptions
- Plants create oxygen, but do not need oxygen to grow.
- The plant is dying or dead when the petals fall off.
