Half Hollow Hills CSD Elementary Science
Christian Fogarazzo Director of Science
Unit: Plants Grade: 1 Standards: Standard 4 (The Living Environment): Students will understand and apply concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science. Key Idea 1: Living things are both similar to and different from each other and from nonliving things. Performance Indicator 1.1: Describe the characteristics of and variations between living and nonliving things. Major Understandings: 1.1b Plants require air, water, nutrients, and light in order to live and thrive. 1.1c Nonliving things do not live and thrive. Performance Indicator 1.2: Describe the life processes common to all living things. Major Understandings: 1.2a Living things grow, take in nutrients, breathe, reproduce, eliminate waste, and die. Key Idea 2: Organisms inherit genetic information in a variety of ways that result in continuity of structure and function between parents and offspring. Performance Indicator 2.2: Recognize that for humans and other living things there is genetic continuity between generations. Major Understandings: 2.2a Plants and animals closely resemble their parents and other individuals in their species. Key Idea 3: Individual organisms and species change over time. Performance Indicator 3.1: Describe how the structures of plants and animals complement the environment of the plant or animal. Major Understandings: 3.1b Each plant has different structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction. • Roots help support the plant and take in water and nutrients • Leaves help plants utilize sunlight to make food for the plant • Stems, stalks, trunks, and other similar structures provide support for the plant • Some plants have flowers • Flowers are reproductive structures of plants that produce fruit which contains seeds • Seeds contain stored food that aids in germination and the growth of young plants
Key Idea 4: The continuity of life is sustained through reproduction and development. Performance Indicator 4.1: Describe the major stages in the life cycles of selected plants and animals. Major Understandings: 4.1a Plants and animals have life cycles. These may include beginning of a life, development into an adult, reproduction as an adult, and eventually death. 4.1b Each kind of plant goes through its own stages of growth and development that may include seed, young plant, and mature plant. 4.1c The length of time from beginning of development to death of the plant is called its life span. 4.1d Life cycles of some plants include changes from seed to mature plant. Key Idea 5: Organisms maintain a dynamic equilibrium that sustains life. Performance Indicator 5.2: Describe some survival behaviors of common living specimens. Major Understandings: 5.2a Plants respond to changes in their environment. For example, the leaves of some green plants change position as the direction of light changes; the parts of some plants undergo seasonal changes that enable the plant to grow; seeds germinate, and leaves form and grow. Essential Questions: How do plants respond to changes in the environment? How do plant structures help plants live and thrive? How do plants change in their life span? What variables can affect plant growth? Why are plants classified as living things? What do all living things need in order to live and thrive? What are some factors that affect seed germination? Content (Students will know/ understand that…) I. Living vs. Nonliving Things A. Characteristics of Living Things: 1. Grow 2. Change and/or move on their own 3. Produce offspring (reproduce) 4. Take in nutrients 5. Breathe 6. Eliminate waste 7. Die
B. Examples of Living Things 1. Animals 2. Plants
C. Needs of Living Things 1. Air (Animals & Plants) 2. Water (Animals & Plants) 3. Food (Animals & Plants) 4. Light (Plants)
II. Plant Structures A. Roots 1. Help support the plant 2. Take in water and nutrients B. Leaves 1. Help plants utilize sunlight to make food for the plant C. Stems, Stalks, Trunks 1. Provide support for the plant D. Flowers (Basic) 1. Reproductive Structure E. Seeds 1. Contain stored food that aids in germination and growth of young plants III. Genetic Continuity Between Generations A. Life Cycle of Plants & Animals (Basic) 1. Beginning of Life 2. Development into an adult 3. Reproduction as an adult (produce offspring) 4. Death B. Life Cycle of Plants 1. Seed 2. Young plant 3. Mature plant C. Parents & Offspring 1. Young plants are very much, but not exactly, like their parents
IV. Plants and the Environment A. Plant Behaviors 1. Plants respond to changes in the environment Examples: Leaves drop in the Autumn, Seeds germinate in moist conditions Skills (Students will be able to…) Students will be able to identify plants as living things. Students will be able to identify what plants require to live. Students will be able to identify the parts of a plant and explain their functions. Students will be able to examine and identify the parts of a seed. Students will conduct an investigation to determine which factors affect seed germination. Students will be able to recognize and identify the stages of a plant life cycle. Students will conduct an investigation to determine which factors can affect plant growth. Students will observe and demonstrate how plants respond to changes in the environment. Students will observe and record plant growth. Assessment Science Journal Entries Plant Growth Experiment Seed Observation/Dissection How Does a Seed grow Experiment Multiple Choice / Short Answer Test Resources STEM Lab Library Discovery Education Science See KUB List (Recommended Activities)
Essential Vocabulary • Chlorophyll • Cotyledon • Embryo • Flower • Fruit • Germinate • Leaves • Life cycle • Nutrients • Offspring • Plants • Roots • Seed • Seed coat • Soil • Stem • Sunlight