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Plants and Pollution


By: Eric Brunsell and J. William Hug

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Details

Type of Product:Journal Article
Average Rating:
 based on 1 review
Publication Title:Science and Children
Publication Date:4/1/2007
Pages:5
Grade Level:Elementary School


Description

Investigations with Wisconsin Fast Plants can make the subject matter come alive…or dead, depending on the experimental treatment. This became apparent when a university-based teacher educator and a fifth-grade teacher collaborated on a professional development experience aimed at increasing understanding of how science inquiry could be used effectively in diverse classrooms. This professional development experience centered on creating a unit for fifth-grade students as a part of a study of plant and animal cycles. While the unit included numerous activities, this article focuses on the inquiry portion of the study, as students investigated how pollutants might affect plants.


Ideas For Use

Developing science inquiry units can be a difficult and time-consuming process. However, the payoff is increased student engagement and learning. In this unit, the students learned inquiry, organizational, presentation, and teamwork skills. They also learned about plants and got a sense of the role humans play in the fate of our planet.

Additional Info

Science Discipline: (mouse over for full classification)
Analyzing data
Asking questions
Collecting data
Communicating
Interpreting data
Observing
Predicting
Scientific habits of mind
Plants
Life cycles
Growth and development
Intended User Role:New Teacher, Teacher
Educational Issues:Achievement, Assessment of students, Classroom management, Curriculum, Educational research, Inquiry learning, Learning theory, Professional development, Teacher content knowledge, Teacher preparation, Teaching strategies

Technical

Resource Format:application/pdf
Size:267 KB
Requirements:Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader


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National Standards Correlation

This resource has 14 correlations with the National Standards.  
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This resource has 14 correlations with the National Standards.  
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  • Life Science
    • Structure and function in living systems
      • Living systems at all levels of organization demonstrate the complementary nature of structure and function (5-8)
      • Disease is a breakdown in structures or functions of an organism. Some diseases are the result of intrinsic failures of the system. Others are the result of damage by infection by other organisms. (5-8)
    • Reproduction and heredity
      • Reproduction is a characteristic of all living systems; because no individual organism lives forever, reproduction is essential to the continuation of every species. (5-8)
      • Plants also reproduce sexually--the egg and sperm are produced in the flowers of flowering plants. (5-8)
      • Some traits are inherited and others result from interactions with the environment. (5-8)
  • Science as Inquiry
    • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
      • Ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment. (K-4)
      • Plan and conduct a simple investigation. (K-4)
      • Use data to construct a reasonable explanation.
      • Communicate investigations and explanations.
      • Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
      • Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations.
  • Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
    • Changes in environments
      • Changes in environments can be natural or influenced by humans. Some changes are good, some are bad, and some are neither good nor bad.
      • Pollution is a change in the environment that can influence the health, survival, or activities of organisms, including humans.
      • Students should understand the different consequences of changing environments in small increments over long periods as compared with changing environments in large increments over short periods.


Customer Reviews
Testing Pollutants on Plant Growth
  Reviewed by: Patricia McGinnis (Pottstown, PA) on April 18, 2011
  This article contains daily specific lessons plans for a 16 day unit in which students test the effect of common pollutants on Wisconsin fast plants. Details concerning student journals and assessments are also included. Plants are a terrific way to generate student interest and Wisconsin fast plants are particularly useful fro developing inquiry projects. You will find this article useful as a guide for incorporating this valuable inquiry experience into your own classroom.

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