Watch it Grow!

T E

A C H E R ’ S

N O T E S

Focus:

Students explore plants: their unique characteristics and what they need to grow, how they change as they grow, and how humans use them. Students will also learn that plants are important to the planet and that humans need to protect plants and their habitats. Learning Goals:

Students will have opportunities to learn • how to correctly use the terms life cycle, carbon dioxide, nutrient, photosynthesis, adaptation, algae, habitat, survive, tundra, germination, pollen, pollination, stamen, pistil, crop, energy, medicine, oxygen, survive, environment, pollute, protect • that plants are living things and look different as they grow and change • how plants survive and make their own food • that each part of the plant helps it to live • how plants are adapted to their environment • how seeds are made and grow • how animals and humans use plants • how humans affect plants • how humans can protect plants

© Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2010

Discussion Prompts:

• What plants do you know and use every day? • How do seeds become plants? • How do plants adapt to their environment? How does this help them to survive? • How do people use plants in all areas of their life? • How are plants being harmed? • How can people help to protect plants?

Assessment Prompts:

• Do students demonstrate, in their discussions and answers to questions, understanding of the science vocabulary used in the cards for this unit?

• Are students able to carry out the skills of scientific inquiry, following activity safety procedure steps safely and accurately, making observations when appropriate? • Assess students’ responses during discussions. - Do students understand that plants are living things and look different as they go through their life cycle? - Do they understand that all plants make food through photosynthesis? - Do they know that plants have special features that help them to adapt to their habitat? - Can students explain how humans use plants in many areas of their daily life? - Can students identify and explain how people make it hard for plants to survive? - Can students suggest ways to protect plants?

Links to PCSP Student Book Watch it Grow!: Card 1: see Lessons 1-3, 5, and 7 Card 2: see Lessons 2, 4, 5, and 10 Card 3: see Lessons 7-9 Card 4: see Lessons 6, 11, and 12 Card 5: see Lessons 10 and 12-14

Focus:

Students explore the plant life cycle and what plants need to live.

Activity Description: A new screen called “How Plants Change” appears. The text answers the Think question. Students click on the “continue” button to see how four plants start out as seeds. By clicking the orange icon on this screen, students can click and drag the labels to the correct picture to test their knowledge in a timed task. The orange icon that leads to the next screen allows students to drag and drop labels of an apple tree life cycle into the correct order. Learning Goal: Students investigate how plants change and grow from a seed to a mature plant. Ask Students: What are the life-cycle stages of a plant? Assessment: Are students able to name correctly, and in the proper order, the life-cycle stages of a plant?

Introduce students to the topic with the video that shows plants growing. Discuss the video and any comments or questions students may have.


Activity Description: A new screen called “How do plants make their own food?” allows the students to click on each part of the plant to learn how it contributes to photosynthesis. Learning Goal: Students clarify their understanding of how each part of the plant helps in photosynthesis. (sunlight and carbon dioxide with water and nutrients from the soil helps the leaves to make food for the plant, stem, leaves and roots all have a role) Ask Students: How does the plant make its own food? Assessment: Are students able to name the role that each part of a plant plays in photosynthesis? Can they label and describe briefly what happens in each part of the plant? PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes

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Activity Description: Corresponding to Page 4 of this card, this screen includes the page 4 illustration with labels to be dropped into each section of the diagram Learning Goal: Students review the parts of the plant. Ask Students:What are the most important parts of a plant? (flower, leaf, roots, stem) Assessment: Can students name the parts of a plant in a variety of plants–maple tree, bean plant, and daisy? PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes

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Focus:

Students explore how plants are different and alike and how they are adapted to their habitat.

Activity Description: In the screen that appears, the student task highlights three plants and answers the Think question. The orange “continue” button leads students to a new screen about unusual food ‘trapping’ plants. Learning Goal: Students extend their understanding of how plants are alike and different, and learn about plants that trap insects as an extra source of food.

Introduce students to the topic with the video slide show of plants from all around the world. Discuss the video and any comments and questions the students may have.

Ask Students: How are the stem, leaves, and fruit of various plants different? ( Some leaves are smooth, spiky, very small, very large; some fruit are cones, edible fruit like oranges, apples, and berries; some stems are smooth, spiky, and hair y) Assessment: Are students able to compare two different plants from two different climates (leaves, stem, fruit) to highlight their similarities and differences?

Learning Goals: Students deepen their knowledge of unique survival features of some plants (spiky leaves and spines, poisonous hairs and berries, thorns)

Activity Description: In the new screen that appears, the Think question is answered and students can see the features of plants in both cold and warm climates. Students can click “continue” to learn how four unique plants survive their climates. The last orange icon allows the students to confirm their understanding of climate and special plant features with a matching game.

Ask Students: How do plants protect themselves? What are some of the special features that plants have to ‘stay safe’?

Learning Goals: Students enhance their understanding of how special features are


Activity Description: In the new screen that appears, students are introduced to the page “Staying Alive”, which highlights special features some plants have to protect themselves. This answers the Think question and allows students to click on each plant to learn about its unique survival feature.

Assessment: Can students name some of the special features and describe how they protect the plant? PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes

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Activity Description: Students drag and drop the correct adaptation labels onto each plant. Students then click “continue” to learn about two additional Arctic plants with unique tundra adaptations. Learning Goal: Students will extend their learning and gather further examples of plants that have unique features to survive different climates. Ask Students: Can students choose one of the Arctic plants featured in this section and explain how it is adapted to the cold climate of the Arctic? Assessment: Have each student write a journal entry as a botanist explaining the special features of the plant found in the Arctic (words, pictures, labels may be used to share knowledge).

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adaptations for survival from predators and the environment Ask Students: How do plants protect themselves? What are some of the special features that plants have to live in their climate/environment?


Assessment: Are students able to match a special feature with an adaptation to climate and explain how it helps with survival?

PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes

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Focus:

Students explore how seeds grow and how plants make seeds.

Activity Description: A new screen begins with a paragraph about how seeds are spread. Students discover the Think question by picking the correct caption to match a picture about how seeds are spread. Learning Goal: Students explore the different ways seeds are spread. Ask Students: What are some of the ways seeds are spread?


Assessment: Are students able to draw a labelled diagram of the steps required to plant a seed?

Activity Description: A new screen called “Time to Grow” appears. The text answers the Think question. Students click on the orange icon to read the screen “Sowing Seeds”. Students can choose seeds to grow, label, water and then germinate. Learning Goal: Students explore the steps required to grow a plant. Ask Students: How do you plant a seed? Explain the steps. Assessment: Are students able to draw a labelled diagram of the steps required to plant a seed? PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes

Introduce students to the topic with the video of acorn seeds sprouting. Discuss the video and any comments and questions students may have.

Activity Description: A new screen begins with a graphic that explains how a peach grows from flower to fruit. Students click on the blue dots to understand each part of the growth cycle. Students click “continue” and each screen answers the Think question. continued next page

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Learning Goal: Students investigate how a peach seed becomes a flower. Ask Students: What are the steps in the cycle of a peach seed to a flower?


Assessment: Do students understand the steps required through the help of birds and bees to pollinate and turn a flower into a seed?

Activity Description: This screen includes the page 4 illustration with labels to be dropped into each section of the table. This answers the Think question. Learning Goal: Students will understand that the size of the seed does not indicate the size of the plant. Ask Students: Does the size of a seed tell you the size of the plant? Assessment: Do students understand that seeds and plants come in many shapes and sizes? Can they describe several examples of how the size of a seed does not indicate the size of the plant? PCSP Interactive Science Teacher’s Notes

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Focus:

Students explore how we use plants for food and other important uses.

Activity Description: A new screen called “Time to Grow” appears. The text answers the Think question. Students can then click on the orange icon to play a timed matching activity. Students click on the plant part label that matches the plant picture. Learning Goal: Students will explore the many parts of a plant that can be used for food. Ask Students: What parts of a plant can be used? How do we use these plants in our life?


Assessment: Are students able to give several examples of how different plant parts are used by people?

Introduce students to the topic with the video of a tractor harvesting crops. Discuss the video and any comments and questions students may have.

Activity Description: A new screen called “A Floating Market” appears. The text answers the Think question. Students can click on each dot in the market picture to discover how each plant in the basket is being used. When students “continue”, they will discover four other examples. The orange icon brings the students to a screen “Home and Away”. Students can click on each plant item to discover where in the world this plant is from.

Activity Description: A new screen called “What do people use these plants for?” appears. The text answers the Think question. Students can then click on the orange icon to play a timed matching activity. Students click on the plant and match it to the product. This activity is self-checking.

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Learning Goal: Students will explore several products that are made from plants.

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Activity Description: A new screen called “An Energy Chain” appears. Students click and drag the parts of the energy chain into the correct order. This activity is selfchecking. Learning Goal: Students explore the components of an energy chain. Ask Students: What is always the first component of an energy chain? How are the parts of the energy chain connected? Assessment: Are students able to explain/draw and label the components of an energy chain? Are they able to create a new energy chain?



Learning Goal: Students will explore the many parts of the plant that are used by humans and where these plants are found in the world. Ask Students: How are plants used by people? How are they helpful in daily life? Where do some of these plants come from? Assessment: Are students able to give several examples of how plants are used? Can students describe where some useful plants come from?



Ask Students: What are some products made from plants? Assessment: Are students able to give several examples of how products are made from plants?

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Focus:

Students explore how humans make it difficult for plants to survive and how we can protect plants.

Introduce students to the topic with the video showing deforestation. Discuss the video and any comments and questions students may have.

Activity Description: A new screen called “Felling Forests” appears. Students click “continue” to answer the Think question. Students can then click on the map on the last screen which helps them to discover the difference between rainforest coverage in the 1800s and today. Students can then click the orange icon to read about the effects of cutting down trees. Learning Goal: Students will investigate what happens when forests are destroyed.


Ask Students: What happens when forests are cut down? Who is affected? Assessment: Are students able to describe the effects of deforestation? Can they draw/ label/describe in words and/or pictures how each one is affected?


Activity Description: A new screen called “Help them Grow” appears. As students click on the pictures, the Think question is answered. Students can then click on the orange icon to create their own scarecrow by dragging and dropping items onto a scarecrow form. Learning Goal: Students review what plants need to grow. Ask Students: What do plants need to grow? How can we help them to grow? Assessment: Are students able to explain what plants need to grow? Do they understand they can actively influence plant survival in their habitat?

Activity Description: Students learn about what they can do to help protect plants and their habitats. Students then click on the orange icon to play a timed drag-and-drop activity. Learning Goal: Students learn the different things they can do to protect plants. Ask Students: What can you do to help plants? What should you avoid doing? Assessment: Can students list things they can do to help plants? Can they list things they shouldn’t do?

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Activity Description: Students click on the blue dots to find out about endangered plants around the world. Students then click the orange icon to learn why they are endangered and that they can help make a difference.


Learning Goal: Students will explore why several plants in the world are endangered. Ask Students: Can you do anything do help plants around the world that are in danger? Assessment: Do students understand that once a plant is endangered and then destroyed, it is gone from the Earth forever? Can they suggest any ways to help preserve these plants or communicate this to others in their community/world?


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