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
| Plants Make Their Own Food |
| 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. |
This Model Curriculum Unit is designed to illustrate effective curriculum that lead to expectations outlined in the 2016 Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Frameworks (www.doe.mass.edu/STEM/STE) as well as the MA Curriculum Frameworks for English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics. This unit includes lesson plans, a Curriculum Embedded Performance Assessment (CEPA), and related resources. In using this unit it is important to consider the variability of learners in your class and make adaptations as necessary.
Table of Contents
Lesson 1: Pre-assessment and Introduction to Plants and Plant Growth 12
Lesson 2: How Plants Produce the Food We Eat 17
Lesson 3: Plants Role in the Water Cycle 24
Lesson 4: Interpreting and Producing Data Tables and Graphs 29
Lesson 1: Pre-assessment handout, A Plant Story (http://udl.concord.org/share/teacher-guides/Plants34_v7.pdf), and questions related to A Plant Story 40
Lesson 2: The Food-o-Meter: What do plants need to stay alive? handout 40
Lesson 3: Diagram of The Hydrologic Cycle from the Delaware Basin Commission: http://www.state.nj.us/drbc/library/documents/water_cycle.pdf 40
Lesson 4: 40
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.) Students will produce and interpret data tables and graphs to show how a plant grows under different conditions. 40
Unit Assumptions and Comments on SequenceAssumed knowledge and skills that student should bring to the unit:
Students will be able to construct an argument that plants have structures that support their survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. Students should know that plants need water and light to grow. Students should know that plants have different structures that perform different functions (they are not expected to know details). Students have learned how to use a science notebook. Students have interpreted and analyzed data from simple tables and graphs.
Notes about the unit:
In this unit, students are introduced to the concept of photosynthesis to the depth of how a plant acquires the materials it needs to provide for itself, grow, and store food for animals. It does not go deeply into identifying one of the main products of the process of photosynthesis, glucose, and in accordance with the standard for this grade level, 5-LS1-1, it does not go into its chemical equation.
Although STE standard 5-ESS2-1 is addressed (in part), in this unit, it is not taught to its fullest intent or depth. We recommend that there be additional opportunities for students to fully learn the concepts embedded in this standard.
Access to obtaining student and class data on the Concord Consortium website is limited. Therefore, teachers should not set up accounts for students until the unit is updated on the Concord Consortium website. Teachers (and students) can and should access the activities on the site, but the questions that follow in each of the sections, should not be completed online. Instead, these questions have been copied into handouts for the students to complete.
This unit has online components for students to interact with, but it can also be adapted so that the teacher can use “paper and pencil” alternatives. Teachers may choose any of the following: each student has access to a computer to complete the unit; students can work in groups of 2-4 with each group having a computer; or a teacher may project the website to the class.
Before implementing this unit, teachers should:
Become familiar with the scope and parts of this unit. Teachers should access and review the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Beginning and Intermediate Plants Unit at http://udl.portal.concord.org/activities/. (This unit will have its own pop up window in Java.) Teachers should click on icons in the Java Plants Beginning Unit to become familiar with the following sections: Pre-Test, Story, Modeling and Post-Test. Teachers should click on icons in the Java Plants Intermediate Unit to become familiar with the following section: Math and Introduction.
Sign up on the website so that they view the Teacher Resources. The Teacher Guide for this unit located at http://udl.concord.org/share/teacher-guides/TG_Plants-Beginning-2010-final.pdf.
In addition, we also recommend that teachers:
Collect seeds and plants to show the class (Lessons 1 and 3)
Have each student use a ½ inch 3-ring binder serve as their science notebook. This will allow students to keep track of the handouts for this unit.
Plan to build Biome in a Baggie days before you begin this unit so it will be ready to show with students during lesson 3. Review the video Biome in a Baggie for directions on how to build one. (http://mass.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.stru.baggiezoom/biome-in-a-baggie/).
Throughout the unit, notes to the teacher are either noted as such or written in parentheses, and distinguished with red font.
All handouts are located at the end of the unit.
You may need to establish an account with PBSLearningMedia (http://mass.pbslearningmedia.org/) to access the resources in this unit. It is free and enables you access to other PBSLearningMedia resources.
See the Additional Instructional Materials/Resources/Tools (page 33) section at the end of this unit for resources that provide background information and support the teaching of this unit