EDUC 872 Curriculum Plan Critique Assignment Instructions Overview The purpose of this assignment is for you to critique a curriculum plan based upon what you have learned in this course by describing

Life Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science, Grade 5

(Revised July 2018)

Standards addressed in unit:

5-ESS2-1. Use a model to describe the cycling of water through a watershed through evaporation, precipitation, absorption, surface runoff, and condensation. State Assessment Boundary: Transportation or explanations of mechanisms that drive the cycle are not expected in state assessment.

5-LS1-1. Ask testable questions about the process by which plants use air, water, and energy from sunlight to produce sugars and plant materials needed for growth and reproduction. State Assessment Boundary: The chemical formula or molecular details about the process of photosynthesis are not expected in state assessment.

5-PS3-1. Use a model to describe that the food animals digest (a) contains energy that was once energy from the Sun, and (b) provides energy and nutrients for life processes, including body repair, growth, motion, body warmth, and reproduction. Clarification Statement: Examples of models could include diagrams and flow charts. State Assessment Boundary: Details of cellular respiration, ATP, or molecular details of the process of photosynthesis or respiration are not expected in state assessment.

Using principles from Universal Design for Learning (UDL), this unit uses materials from the Concord Consortium to engage students in investigations about photosynthesis and plant growth. Students use the online environment to read a story, reflect on their understanding through writing, and use models and test variables. Students learn about where earth’s water comes from and goes to and produce and interpret data tables and graphs to show how a plant grows under different conditions. Students create a digital lab book where they collect snapshots of their investigations and activities and reflect on their understanding of concepts.

Stage 1 Desired Results

ESTABLISHED GOALS G

Science and Technology/Engineering:

5-ESS2-1. Use a model to describe the cycling of water through a watershed through evaporation, precipitation, absorption, surface runoff, and condensation. State Assessment Boundary: Transportation or explanations of mechanisms that drive the cycle are not expected in state assessment.

5-LS1-1. Ask testable questions about the process by which plants use air, water, and energy from sunlight to produce sugars and plant materials needed for growth and reproduction. State Assessment Boundary: The chemical formula or molecular details about the process of photosynthesis are not expected in state assessment.

5-PS3-1. Use a model to describe that the food animals digest (a) contains energy that was once energy from the Sun, and (b) provides energy and nutrients for life processes, including body repair, growth, motion, body warmth, and reproduction. Clarification Statement: Examples of models could include diagrams and flow charts. State Assessment Boundary: Details of cellular respiration, ATP, or molecular details of the process of photosynthesis or respiration are not expected in state assessment.

English Language Arts and Literacy:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas clearly.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.4. Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Mathematics:

CCSS.Math.Content.5.G.A.2. Represent real-world and mathematical problems by graphing points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane, and interpret coordinate values of points in the context of the situation.

Transfer

Students will be able to independently use their learning to…

1. Engage in sustained, complex and successful scientific inquiry.

2. Use appropriate evidence and reasoning to develop scientific claims and engage in discussions of scientific and technical topics. T

Meaning

UNDERSTANDINGS U

Students will understand that…

1. The materials that make up a plant come mostly from carbon dioxide in the air and from water, not from the soil.

1. Plants get the materials they need for growth and reproduction mostly through a process called photosynthesis.

1. Photosynthesis requires light energy (from the Sun) for a part of air (carbon dioxide) and water to combine to form sugar (glucose) and oxygen.

1. The sugars can be immediately used or stored for growth or later use, such as flower and seed production.

1. There is a relationship between environmental conditions and plant growth.

1. The energy and materials that animals need for their bodies come from plants and can be traced back to the sun.

1. Models can use symbols to represent parts and processes in scientific contexts.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS Q

1. How does a small seed turn into a large plant?

1. How do plants get the material and energy required for growth?

Acquisition

Students will know…

K

1. Leaves have parts within them that perform photosynthesis.

2. Carbon dioxide is taken in by leaves and water is taken in by roots.

3. Air (carbon dioxide) and water recombine inside the plant to form sugar (glucose).

4. Sugar (glucose) is used by the plant as energy, or converted into other substances (such as starch) for storing energy, or converted into other substances (such as cellulose) for structures inside cells.

5. Plants get the water they need as water cycles through the Earth’s systems (the geosphere (solid earth), the hydrosphere (the earth’s waters), and atmosphere (air surrounding the earth), and the biosphere (where plants and animals live) through the processes of evaporation, precipitation, condensation, transpiration, and runoff.

Students will be skilled at… S

1. Determining the meaning of symbols used in a specific scientific model.

2. Using models to build conceptual understanding.

3. Supporting their explanation using evidence from informational texts (data, graphs, texts, etc.)

4. Analyzing plant growth using data tables and graphs.

5. Drawing conclusions and defending their claims using data.

Stage 2 - Evidence

Evaluative Criteria

Assessment Evidence

See CEPA Rubric

CURRICULUM EMBEDDED PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT (PERFORMANCE TASKS) PT

Goal: Create a model for a new exhibit at Boston’s Children’s Museum that shows the connections between plants, animals, and their surroundings. The challenge is to develop a model that shows how plants get the materials they need through the cycling of water on Earth and the process of photosynthesis to grow and store food-energy, and how animals acquire that food-energy. Your display should clearly show what is needed for photosynthesis to occur, why it is needed and what the products of photosynthesis are. You will also need to describe what happens to these materials.

Role: Students are participating in a model-building challenge. Students will present their model to the class.

Audience: Boston Children’s Museum staff and visitors to the Boston Children’s Museum. Visitors are mostly families with young children.

Situation: The Boston Children’s Museum has challenged fifth grade students to help them design a new exhibit. The museum wants to find the most accurate and visually appealing display that highlights the connections between plants, animals, and their surroundings to the visitors.

Product and Purpose: Students will create a model (2D or 3D) that shows how plants acquire the water (through the cycling of water on Earth) and other materials they need to grow and store food-energy for animals.

OTHER EVIDENCE: OE

Pre-assessment

Science notebooks with responses to posed questions and notes on observations

Computer-based post assessment

Interpreting and Producing Data Tables and Graphs handout

Class discussions

Homework- Food-o-Meter questions

Stage 3 – Learning Plan

Summary of Key Learning Events and Instruction

Lesson 1: Pre-assessment and Introduction to Plants and Plant Growth

In this lesson, the teacher introduces the unit to the students. Students come up with their own questions about how plants make food. Then they will take a pre-test to gauge their understanding of the basic functions of plant structures and what plants need to grow. Students will also read a story about how plants grow and be asked questions about the story. This lesson is an introduction to the unit and the questions should be used as formative tools. (90 minutes or 2 X 45-minute sessions)

Lesson 2: How Plants Produce the Food We Eat

In this lesson, students examine a model to determine how models in science help us understand phenomena and that models have limitations. In this lesson, students compare seeds to their corresponding plants to continue to build on their understanding of how plants grow. Students make predictions and engage with a computer model (Food-O-Meter) to show how varying exposure to water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide affect a plant’s growth. Students view a short photosynthesis video; discuss the limitations and benefits of using models; and follow with an interactive PBS video to understand Energy Flow. Students learn that the food animals (including humans) eat for the energy they need include plants or can be traced back to plants and ultimately the Sun. (90 minutes or 2 X 45-minute sessions)

Lesson 3: Plants Role in the Water Cycle

In this lesson, students learn about where Earth’s water comes from and goes to. They watch a video in which a plant that was grown in a sealed, self-contained system called a biome gets the water it needs to sustain its growth, partially demonstrating the cycling of water on Earth.

(50 minutes)

Lesson 4: Interpreting and Producing Data Tables and Graphs

In this lesson, students will produce and interpret data tables and graphs to show how a plant grows under different conditions. Students will use the Lesson 4 Handout which is based on the Concord Consortium’s UDL Intermediate Plants Unit. (Note: The handout is not the same as the UDL Unit.). (45 minutes)

Curriculum Embedded Performance Assessment

Students will work independently to complete the Curriculum Embedded Performance Assessment (CEPA) for this unit. Students will participate in a mock competition by the Boston Children’s Museum to develop a model for a new exhibit that shows the connections between plants, animals, and their surroundings. Each model must show how plants get the materials they need through the cycling of water on earth and the process of photosynthesis to grow and store food-energy, and how animals acquire that food-energy. Informative descriptions must accompany the model. The CEPA is the summative assessment for the unit. (180 minutes or 4 X 45 minute sessions)

Adapted from Understanding by Design 2.0 © 2011 Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe Used with Permission