Storyboard 1.2.1 Plant Investigations

Storyboard 1.2.1Plant Investigations

Teacher instruction and hints are included within the speaker notes section

STORYLINE: 1.2.1 Effects of Sunlight and Water on Plants

Strand 1.2: THE NEEDS OF LIVING THINGS AND THEIR OFFSPRING Living things (plants and animals, including humans) depend on their surroundings to get what they need, including food, water, shelter, and a favorable temperature. Plants and animals have external features that allow them to survive in a variety of environments. Young plants and animals are similar but not exactly like their parents. In many kinds of animals, parents and offspring engage in behaviors that help the offspring to survive.

Standard(s) 1.2.1: Plan and carry out an investigation to determine the effect of sunlight and water on plant growth. Emphasize investigations that test one variable at a time. (LS1.C)

Phenomena Statement: I left on vacation and when I came back I saw that my plant died.

Expected Student Explanation: All plants need sunlight and water to grow.

Science & Engineering Practices (SEP) Crosscutting Concepts (CCC) Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI)

Planning and Carrying Out Investigations to answer questions or test solutions to problems in K–2 builds on prior experiences and progresses to simple investigations, based on fair tests, which provide data to support explanations or design solutions.

● Make observations (firsthand or from media) to collect data that can be used to make comparisons.

Cause and Effect: Events have causes that generate observable patterns.

LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms Plants need water and light to live and grow.

Features of living things supporting organisms in their environment is not discussed in the K-2 NGSS

Storyline Narrative Documents for Storyline

Note: This storyline needs to have live plants to conduct an investigation. If you choose as a teacher to have students plant seeds to grow into plants, please plan to do that 3-4 weeks before this lesson. Seedlings earlier than two weeks will still have nutrients stored in the seed that could affect the investigation. It would probably be easiest to have small plants ahead of the lesson by purchasing plants ready for the investigation. Also, be aware of any allergies that may cause safety issues when using live plants.

This storyline starts with students exploring what plants need to grow with the focus on water and sunlight. In a class discussion, students develop questions about the effect observed in videos, and/or photographs of a forgotten plant that has died. Students obtain information about the matter and energy that plants need to grow through readings about the needs of plants. Students plan and carry out an investigation to determine how matter (water) and energy (sunlight) affects a plant’s growth. Students will work in small groups of 2-3 students and decide how they will investigate the effect of no sunlight or no water with the supplies provided and set up their investigation. Over the next few weeks, students analyze data patterns to determine the effects of different amounts of water or sunlight in their data. Students write to communicate their explanation of the effects of water and sunlight on plant growth.

Review and/or print out the following documents for this storyline. To edit the following documents you must open, then make your own copy.

Links:● Storyboard Slides ● Student Journal ● Supply List ● Teacher Prep

STORYLINE: Episodes Matrix

Episode PhenomenonEpisode Descriptions & Student Performance Prompts

Note: This is where you add a short description of what occurs during the episode, includes the CCCs and SEPs.

Conceptual Understandings

What We Figured Out: what will the students discover

Next Questions or Steps: what

they will investigate next

Engage/Explore/Explain/Elaborate/Evaluate

Episode 1

4 weeks of two 15-20 minutes blocks per week

I left on vacation and when I came back I saw that my plant in the livingroom died.

Gather - 1. Students develop questions about the effect observed

in videos, and/or photographs of a forgotten plant that has died.

2. Students obtain information about the matter (water) and energy (sun) that plants need to grow.

3. Students plan and carry out an investigation to determine how matter (water) and energy (sunlight) affects a plant’s growth.

Reason - 4. Students analyze data patterns to determine the

effects of different amounts of water or sunlight in their data.

Communicate- 5. Students write to communicate their explanation of

the effects of water and sunlight on plant growth.

Plants need sunlight and water or they will stop growing and die.

What is the effect of giving just a little sunlight and water for plants outdoors in a garden?

Summative Assessment

Assessment for the Storyline will be the communication portion of the investigation. Students should use evidence from the investigation and their notes to describe that plants need both water and sunlight. They should also describe that a plant will die with no water or no sunlight. Student journal page 12

Episode 1: Engage, Explore, Explain,

Elaborate and Evaluate

Phenomenon: I left on vacation and when I came back I saw that my plant died.

Gather - In a T-chart in journal, write and draw what you observe from the photograph and develop questions of why the plant may have died.

Gather -

Obtain information through reading about what a plant needs to grow.

Read the text from ReadWorks.org What Plants Need

Gather - plan and carry out an investigation

Supplies given:Plant in cupCardboard box with a lid and no holesSpray bottle

Reason

Discuss the data taken over the month

Communicate

Write to communicate your explanation of the effects of water and sunlight on plant growth.