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NATURAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY FACILITATOR’S GUIDE
Grade 6
A member of the FUTURELEARN group
Natural Sciences and Technology Facilitator’s guide
1806-E-NST-FG01
Í2&È-E-NST-FG01+Î
Grade 6
CAPS aligned
Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
CONTENTS LESSON ELEMENTS ........................................................................................................................4 TIMETABLE AND TIME MANAGEMENT .........................................................................................6 ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS ....................................................................................................7 WORK SCHEDULE ...........................................................................................................................8 STUDY TIPS AND METHODS ........................................................................................................14 OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION ...................................................................................................15 LESSON 1: Photosynthesis ..........................................................................................................17 ACTIVITY 1: Dramatise the process of photosynthesis ..............................................................23 ACTIVITY 2: Difference between a starch and a sugar ..............................................................27 ACTIVITY 3: The iodine starch test .............................................................................................29 ACTIVITY 4: The oxygen and carbon dioxide cycle ....................................................................31 REVISION ...................................................................................................................................33 LESSON 2: Nutrients in food ........................................................................................................34 ACTIVITY 5: Classifying food into the different food groups .......................................................38 ACTIVITY 6: Sorting foods in a meal into the food groups ..........................................................40 REVISION ...................................................................................................................................42 LESSON 3: Nutrition ......................................................................................................................44 ACTIVITY 7: Evaluating a diet to see if it contains all the food groups .......................................45 ACTIVITY 8: Comparing meals ...................................................................................................48 ACTIVITY 9: What diseases or symptoms could Rajesh develop from his diet? ........................54 ACTIVITY 10: Research one of the diseases..............................................................................55 REVISION ...................................................................................................................................56 LESSON 4: Food processing ........................................................................................................57 ACTIVITY 11: A time-travelling role play .....................................................................................59 ACTIVITY 12: Describing processed foods .................................................................................63 ACTIVITY 13: Class discussion ..................................................................................................65 ACTIVITY 14: Learning how to summarise .................................................................................69 ACTIVITY 15: Comparing traditional and commercial food processing methods .......................71 ACTIVITY 16: Food processing project .......................................................................................72 REVISION ...................................................................................................................................75 LESSON 5: ......................................................................................................................................77 ACTIVITY 17: Describing different ecosystems ..........................................................................79 ACTIVITY 18: Assessing the balance between living and non-living things ...............................83 ACTIVITY 19: Drawing food webs...............................................................................................90 ACTIVITY 20: Studying an ecosystem ........................................................................................90 REVISION ...................................................................................................................................94 LESSON 6: Solids, liquids and gases ..........................................................................................97 ACTIVITY 21: Pretending to be particles! .................................................................................101 ACTIVITY 22: The three states of matter in everyday life .........................................................104 ACTIVITY 23: The states of water.............................................................................................108 REVISION .................................................................................................................................110 LESSON 7: Mixtures ....................................................................................................................111 ACTIVITY 24: Mixing solids.......................................................................................................112 ACTIVITY 25: Mixing a solid and a liquid ..................................................................................114 ACTIVITY 26: Mixing liquids......................................................................................................116 1
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Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
ACTIVITY 27: Separating mixtures ...........................................................................................117 REVISION .................................................................................................................................119 LESSON 8: Solutions as special mixtures ................................................................................120 ACTIVITY 28: When is a mixture also a solution? ....................................................................122 ACTIVITY 29: Which mixtures are solutions? ...........................................................................124 ACTIVITY 30: What is a solution? .............................................................................................125 ACTIVITY 31: Soluble or insoluble? ..........................................................................................128 INVESTIGATION: How can we recover a solute (sugar) from the solution? ............................129 ACTIVITY 32: How much solute will dissolve?..........................................................................132 ACTIVITY 33: Making sugar crystals ........................................................................................133 REVISION .................................................................................................................................137 LESSON 9: Dissolving .................................................................................................................138 ACTIVITY 34: Is melting and dissolving the same? ..................................................................138 INVESTIGATION: Does salt dissolve faster in hot or cold water? ............................................143 INVESTIGATION: Does fine salt dissolve faster than rock salt? ..............................................146 INVESTIGATION: Does stirring increase the rate of dissolving? ..............................................148 REVISION ......................................................................................................................................150 LESSON 10: Mixtures and water resources ..............................................................................153 ACTIVITY 35: Thinking about pollution .....................................................................................154 ACTIVITY 36: Making a model of a wetland .............................................................................159 ACTIVITY 37: Researching the different wetlands in South Africa ...........................................162 REVISION .................................................................................................................................163 LESSON 11: Processes to purify water .....................................................................................165 ACTIVITY 38: Cleaning water in a still ......................................................................................167 ACTIVITY 39: Design, make and evaluate a filter .....................................................................169 REVISION .................................................................................................................................175 LESSON 12: ELECTRIC CIRCUITS .............................................................................................177 ACTIVITY 40: What do you know about electricity? ..................................................................178 ACTIVITY 41: How to get a light bulb to work ...........................................................................180 ACTIVITY 42: Investigating how a switch works .......................................................................186 ACTIVITY 43: Batteries come in all shapes and sizes ..............................................................188 ACTIVITY 44: Investigating bulbs .............................................................................................190 ACTIVITY 45: Let's look at more electric wires .........................................................................192 ACTIVITY 46: Swap the components........................................................................................196 ACTIVITY 47: Drawing circuit diagrams ....................................................................................197 REVISION: ................................................................................................................................199 LESSON 13: Electrical conductors and insulators ...................................................................203 INVESTIGATION: What kind of materials can we use in electric circuits? ...............................204 REVISION .................................................................................................................................210 LESSON 14: Systems to solve problems ..................................................................................212 ACTIVITY 48: A world without electricity ...................................................................................213 ACTIVITY 49: Electric circuits influence our lives .....................................................................213 ACTIVITY 50: Design, make and present a system using a circuit ...........................................217 REVISION .................................................................................................................................220 LESSON 15: Mains electricity .....................................................................................................221 ACTIVITY 51: Let's take a trip back in time, millions of years ago! ...........................................223 ACTIVITY 52: Make a poster to trace the source of our electricity ...........................................229 ACTIVITY 53: Energy required by electrical appliances and devices .......................................231 ACTIVITY 54: Safety rules when working with electricity! .........................................................235 © Impaq
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Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
ACTIVITY 55: Renewable versus non-renewable energy .........................................................242 REVISION .................................................................................................................................243 LESSON 16: The solar system ....................................................................................................246 ACTIVITY 56: Word search about Space..................................................................................246 ACTIVITY 57: The core of the Sun............................................................................................249 ACTIVITY 58: Looking at the solar system from far away in Space ..........................................256 ACTIVITY 59: Make a model of two planets moving around the Sun .......................................257 ACTIVITY 60: Comprehension on the eight planets of our solar system. .................................271 ACTIVITY 61: Where is the asteroid belt? ................................................................................273 ACTIVITY 62: Let's revise what we learned in Gr 4 about the Moon. .......................................274 ACTIVITY 63: Compare the Moon with the Earth .....................................................................276 INVESTIGATION: Does the Moon look bigger when it rises than when it is high in the sky? ...277 ACTIVITY 64: Moons in our solar system .................................................................................281 REVISION .................................................................................................................................282 LESSON 17: Movements of the Earth and planets ...................................................................284 ACTIVITY 65: Find East and West ............................................................................................285 ACTIVITY 66: Make a model of the Earth in daytime and night-time ........................................289 ACTIVITY 67: Your head can be a model of the Earth .............................................................291 ACTIVITY 68: Make a model of the Earth revolving around the Sun ........................................293 REVISION .................................................................................................................................295 LESSON 18: The movement of the Moon ..................................................................................296 ACTIVITY 69: Does the Moon rotate?.......................................................................................297 ACTIVITY 70: Make a model of the Earth and Moon revolving around the Sun .......................299 REVISION .................................................................................................................................300 LESSON 19: Systems to explore the Moon and Mars ..............................................................301 ACTIVITY 71: The wheels of Mars rovers .................................................................................306 ACTIVITY 72: Designing and making your rover ......................................................................318 REVISION .................................................................................................................................325 LESSON 20: Systems for looking into Space ...........................................................................326 ACTIVITY 73: How lenses and mirrors make telescopes work .................................................330 ACTIVITY 74: The SKA .............................................................................................................336 REVISION .................................................................................................................................337
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Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
TIMETABLE AND TIME MANAGEMENT Unit 1: Life and Living, Processing: Lesson Photosynthesis Nutrients in Food Nutrition Food Processing Ecosystems and Food Webs
Time allocation (Weeks) 2.5 1.5 1.5 2.5 2
Unit 2 Matter and Materials, Processing: Lesson Solid Liquids and Gases Mixtures Solutions as Special Mixtures Dissolving Mixtures and Water Resources Processes to Purify water
Time allocation (Weeks) 0.5 1 2.5 1 2.5 2.5
Unit 3 Energy and Change, Systems and Control: Lesson Electric Circuits Electrical Conductors and Insulators Systems to solve problems Mains Electricity
Time allocation (Weeks) 2.5 2 2.5 3
Unit 4 Planet Earth and Beyond, Systems and Control: Lesson Time allocation (Weeks) The Solar System 2.5 Movements of the Earth 1 Movement of the Moon 1 Systems for looking into Space 1 Systems to explore the Moon and Mars 2.5
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Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS
School based assignments
Exams Number of formal assessments
•
•
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
• 1 Test • 1 selected practical task.
• 1 selected practical task.
• 1 Test • 1 selected practical task.
• 1 selected practical test.
• 1 Exam 2
•
2
2
Total % for the year 75%
1 Exam
25%
2
Total: 100%
Grade appropriate assessment on aspects of investigations and technological processes should form part of the selected practical tasks in the assessment programme for the year. The class test and examinations MUST include questions on both Natural Sciences and Technology.
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WORK SCHEDULE Work Schedule for Natural Sciences Grade 6 Content
Strand
Week
Topic
Internal Assessment Plan
UNIT 1
Plants make their own food (glucose sugar) by a process called photosynthesis Photosynthesis takes place mainly in the leaves
During photosynthesis the plant uses carbon dioxide from the air and gives off oxygen into the air
Nutrient s in Food
Food Groups
Nutrition
Balanced Diets
3 Foods can be grouped according to their functions in the body and the main nutrients they supply
Most natural foods contain a mixture of more than one nutrient group
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Diet refers to the selection of foods we eat every day. A balanced diet contains sufficient quantities of food from all four nutrient groups, as well as water and fibre
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1 Test (class Test) 1 Selected Practical Task: Activity Research one of the diseases
Plants and Food Plants and Air
2
*Photosynthesis
1
Date
Sign
Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
Content
Strand *Food Processing
Need for Processing Food
6-7
Week
Topic
Internal Assessment Plan
Date
Sign
Food is processed to: - make it edible (preparing, cooking) - make it last longer (preserving) - improve its nutrient value (fermenting) During processing many foods may lose some of their nutrients
Different Ecosystems Living and Non-living Things in an Ecosystem Food Webs
*Ecosystems and Food
8-9
There are many different methods (ways) to process food
An ecosystem is an area where living and non-living things depend on each other in many different ways. In an ecosystem there are certain relationships between living things and Non-living things. In an ecosystem plants and animals are connected by their feeding relationships. This is called a food web
Test
10
Test
11
Arrangement of Particles Mixtures of Materials
13
*Solids, Liquids and Gasses
12
Drawing and writing about how particles are arranged in a solid, liquid and gas
Making mixtures including: two solids - salt and sand, sugar and tea leaves, peanuts and dried beans, different coins, mixture of different sweets
9
1 Practical Task: Investigation Does salt dissolve faster in hot or cold water? 1 Exam (from Unit 1 and 2)
UNIT 2
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Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
Soluble substances
Strand
Content
Investigating solutions to see if we can recover the solute by: -- filtering -- settling -- evaporating the water. (crystallisation) drawing and writing about crystallisation
Saturated solutions
Week
Topic
14
Making mixtures including: two solids – salt and sand, sugar and tea leaves, peanuts and dried beans, different coins, mixture of different sweets
Internal Assessment Plan
19 - 20
Solution as special mixtures
18
*Dissolving
17
Materials such as plaster of Paris, concrete, fabrics, ceramics and glass, plastics and paints, have their own special properties. In Africa people have processed materials for hundreds of years to make clay pots and bricks.
June examination
21
Investigating, measuring and drawing graphs of the time taken to dissolve a solute: -- in hot or cold water -- when stirring/shaking or not
Rates of dissolving
16
*Mixtures
15
June examination
22
Simple Circuit
*Electric
23-24
An electric circuit is a system for transferring energy A simple circuit always has the following components: Source of energy (such as a cell/battery)
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1 Practical Task: Investigatio n What kind of materials can we use
UNIT 3
Date
Sign
Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
Strand *Electrical Conductors and
Conductors and Insulators
*Systems to solve problems
Using electrical Circuits
Content
Internal Assessment Plan
Date
Sign
Mains Electricity
Some materials conduct electricity and are called conductors Most metals, especially copper, conduct electricity some materials do not conduct electricity and are called insulators Most non-metals, such as plastics, do not conduct Electricity
Electric circuits are often used to solve problems that require energy, such as street lighting, alarms, electric gates, traffic lights, fans and heaters Electric circuits can also be used in models and toys
Fossil fuels were formed in the Earth’s crust millions of years ago from dead plants and animals It requires infrastructure including coal mines, transport, power stations, pylons, substations, wiring
September test
29-30-31
Fossil fuels and Electricity Cost of electricity Illegal Connections Renewable ways to generate electricity
27 - 28
Circuit Diagrams Symbols are used when drawing circuit diagrams.
Week 25- 26
Topic
September test
33
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Content
Strand
Week
Topic
Internal Assessment Plan
UNIT 4
There are eight planets and the asteroid belt (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Asteroid Belt, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) in orbit around the Sun
Moons, including our Moon do not give out their own heat and light
In our Solar System, each planet rotates (spins) on its own axis the planet. Earth is spinning, and one complete rotation takes about 24 hours. We experience this as a day and a night
All planets also revolve (travel) around the Sun in their own orbits. The Moon revolves around the Earth and one revolution also takes about a month (about 28 days) together, the Earth and the Moon revolve around the Sun
Telescopes are used to look into space and gather Information. South Africa has built and uses some of the largest telescopes
Revision
39
Revision
40
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1 Practical Task: Investigation Does the moon look bigger when it rises than when in the sky? 1 Exam (from Unit 3 and 4)
*The Solar System
The sun, Planets and Asteroids Moons Rotations
*Movements of the Earth and Planets
Revolutions Rotation and revolution of the moon. Telescopes
38
*Systems for looking
36 - 37
34 - 35
The Sun (a star) is at the centre of our Solar System
Date
Sign
Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
41
Strand
Content
Internal Assessment Plan
Date
Sign
November examination
Week
Topic
November examination
42
• •
*Topics that are in “bold” are most important. Ensure that the concepts are completely understood by learners. All topics must be covered before the exams start or by the end of October.
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Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
Unit
UNIT 1 LIFE, LIVING AND PROCESSING
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Unit
1
LESSON 1: Photosynthesis LEARNING AIMS: • • • • • •
Why can a plant make its own food but an animal cannot? What is needed for photosynthesis to happen? How do plants make food and store food? Why do plants need water? Can plants live in the dark? Why are plants mostly green?
INTRODUCTION Facilitator’s note: The facilitator is encouraged to make a large circle on the wall using large arrows that can be cut from black plastic bags. Cut out white letters to say “PHOTOSYNTHESIS” in the centre of the circle and stick large posters on the arrows to say: • Plants absorb carbon dioxide • Plants release oxygen • Animals breathe in oxygen • Animals breathe out carbon dioxide Perhaps, cut out pictures of plants or get learners to make plants and animals and stick them next to the specific labels they illustrate. Create a glossary by placing words relating to the topic around the classroom. Tell the learners that they are going to be plant investigators, and that their job is to find out what the words mean, and how they relate to plants and photosynthesis. When introducing this topic, remind them of the work on interdependence they covered in Grade 5. Discuss how animals and plants are interdependent upon each other; plants produce food and oxygen for animals while animals – when they die – decay, replacing nutrients in the soil for plants and releasing carbon into the air to continue the carbon cycle.
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IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY • • • • • • • • • •
1.1
photosynthesis chlorophyll carbon dioxide oxygen glucose molecules conditions anchorage microbes fertile
Plants and food
Green plants are just like factories! They make food for themselves and every animal on Earth using sunlight energy, water and the gas carbon dioxide. They also recycle the air and make oxygen for us to breathe. QUESTIONS: 1. What happens in a factory? Why do you think we can say plants are like factories? A factory is a place where goods or products are made/assembled/manufactured and then delivered to other places to be used. Plants are therefore like factories as they use raw products to make new products (food). 2. Why can we say that plants make food for themselves and every animal on earth? Plants make food for themselves and plants are the beginning of the food chain, therefore all other animals, whether herbivores which eat plants directly, or carnivores which eat the herbivores, depend on plants for food.
Scientists have found out exactly how plants are able to do all these things. Let’s take a closer look at how scientists did this and see how plants make food for themselves and us. The process of photosynthesis Photosynthesis is the process that plants use to change the energy from sunlight into energy for food. Plants change light energy from the sun into food energy. Photosynthesis happens in all green parts of a plant. Leaves are usually the greenest parts. So plants do this mostly in their leaves.
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Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
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FOR THE CURIOUS The word photosynthesis actually has two parts: photo = light and synthesis = to make or put together. So it means to use light to make something (in this case, food).
FOR THE CURIOUS The photosynthesis song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1_uez5WX1o&feature=youtu.be
Do you remember learning about photosynthesis in Grade 5? Plants need certain things to photosynthesise.
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Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
Unit
FOR THE CURIOUS Scientists have a term for substances like chlorophyll that have a colour. They call them pigments. There are other pigments in plants. Can you think of their colours? There are pigments in your body too! Where do we find them? What do they do?
Scientists have a term for substances like chlorophyll that have a colour. They call them pigments. There are other pigments in plants. Can you think of their colours? There are pigments in your body too! Where do we find them? What do they do? There are some important requirements for photosynthesis to happen: 1. Chlorophyll Chlorophyll is a green substance that plants use to capture light energy from the sun. Chlorophyll is very important. Without chlorophyll plants cannot use the sunlight energy to make food. Also, oxygen levels in the air will go down. If that happens, plants and animals will suffocate. Facilitator’s note: As a fun activity, take the learners outside to see if there are other colours found in leaves, and not just the green pigment chlorophyll. Although green chlorophyll is predominant, there are also yellow, orange and purple pigments found in leaves, especially in autumn when the leaves change colour. In the body, the pigment melanin is the main determinant of skin colour and it is also found in hair and the iris in the eye. 2.
Sunlight Sunlight has energy. Plants use this energy to make sugars from water and carbon dioxide.
3.
Water The roots of a plant absorb water and nutrients from the soil. Water is a solvent in all living things. Dissolved substances are moved around the body to where they are needed. Just like you, plants have veins for this movement. They move minerals from the roots upwards. They move sugars from the leaves downwards. Photosynthesis can only happen in a water solution. Water is also important because it provides support to the plant to keep it upright. Like you, plants have skeletons. But unlike you, many plants have water skeletons.
Facilitator’s note: In the second unit, Matter and materials and processing, learners will learn more about mixtures, solutions and dissolving, and this will therefore make sense. Refer back to this section when you are doing solutions and discussing water as a solvent.
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Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
Unit
1
4.
Carbon dioxide The plant absorbs or takes in carbon dioxide from the air through little holes. These holes are found all over the plant, mostly under the leaves.
5.
Soil The soil provides mineral nutrients and water for the plant that are necessary during photosynthesis. Soil also provides anchorage to the plant, otherwise the plant cannot stand up straight.
FOR THE CURIOUS These holes also allow other gases and water to enter or leave the plant. They do the same job as your mouth and nose when you breathe; the same job as the pores in your skin when you sweat. How does photosynthesis occur? Plants use chlorophyll, sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to make food. • Chlorophyll captures the sunlight energy. • This energy splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen. • The oxygen is released into the air. • The hydrogen is used with the carbon dioxide to make glucose (sugars). • The sugars are moved from the leaves to other parts of the plants where they are stored. • The water in the plant veins carries the sugars. When the sugars reach the storage parts they are changed into starch. • Plants can store the starch in the following places: o leaves (cabbage, spinach, lettuce) o fruits (apple, banana, peach) o stems (sugar cane) o seeds (wheat, mealie) o flowers (nasturtium, broccoli, cauliflower) o roots (carrot, beetroot)
FOR THE CURIOUS A really good website on photosynthesis: http://www.realtrees4kids.org/sixeight/letseat.htm
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Here is a simple diagram illustrating the process of photosynthesis:
Facilitator’s note: Starch is insoluble in water which is why plants store starch and not glucose, which is soluble in water. Refer back to this section when doing soluble and insoluble substances in the second unit.
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Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
Unit
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ACTIVITY 1: Dramatise the process of photosynthesis Facilitator’s note: Prepare beforehand by collecting the different materials needed. The characters need different colours to identify themselves as what they are, possibly some t-shirts that the learners can pull over their clothes, or a scarf, ribbon or coloured piece of paper to pin onto their front. You will also need tin foil, glitter and string for the roots. For the animals, you can make masks from paper plates with the eyes cut out, and tied around the learners’ heads with a piece of string. Learners can draw animal faces on the front. INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Your facilitator will explain to you how to act out the process of photosynthesis. 2. Characters needed for this dramatisation: • Narrator to describe the process. This can be a facilitator or a learner. It might be a good idea to make short notes from the information above to remember in what order everything is happening. • Sun – this learner can dress in yellow and perhaps get some tin foil or shiny paper to decorate their head or body to show the light and heat energy that the sun produces. • Plants – a few learners can dress in green and perhaps tie a few strings to their feet to represent roots. They need to hold some rice or shiny glitter in their hands or their pockets to show that the water evaporates after photosynthesis. • Rain/water – a few learners can dress in blue and perhaps have some rice, shiny glitter, small pieces of tin foil or something similar to represent the rain falling. • Carbon dioxide – attach signs to some learners’ chests that say ‘CARBON DIOXIDE’ and dress them in purple. • Oxygen – attach signs to some learners’ chests that say ‘OXYGEN’ and dress them in orange. • Glucose energy as fruit and vegetables – dress up or make posters from scrap cardboard to show large carrots, apples, potatoes or something similar. • Some learners need to be animals who breathe out carbon dioxide and eat plants. You can make masks from paper plates with eyes cut out. Facilitator’s note: When the dramatisation starts, the glucose and oxygen actors sit quietly in small groups around the plants with their heads down, not looking at the audience. The narrator introduces the play and explains the different processes as they occur. The sun shines in the centre of the stage and can turn and/or raise their arms to show the sunlight radiating from it.
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The plants stand away from the sun and the rainwater actors can ‘water’ them by gently throwing the rice or similar little objects over their heads. Then sit down around the plants. The carbon dioxide actors run from the animals and circle the plants, and then sit down around the plants. Now the oxygen and glucose actors rise and run around the plants, and then run to the animals to show they are receiving oxygen and food. You might want to repeat this a few times to show that this cycle continues.
QUESTIONS: 1. Why do plants die when there is a drought? There are many processes which shut down without water, photosynthesis being one of them. Plants cannot photosynthesise sunlight without water. If they cannot photosynthesise, they cannot create glucose to support life processes within the plant. If the plant cannot support its own life processes, it dies. The plant also loses its support from the water in the veins acting as a ‘skeleton’. 2. Design a poster to explain the process of photosynthesis. You can use sentences and short paragraphs, but make sure you use many illustrations. Facilitator’s note: Soil was looked at in Grade 5 in Earth and beyond, especially the particles of soil and which types of soil plants grow best in. However, it would be useful to also emphasise soil in this section and have a discussion on what makes up soil, namely organic and inorganic material, water, air, rocks and sand. Where possible, bring examples of different soil types to class (such as loam soil, clay, beach sand) and get the learners to touch and feel the soil and explore what makes up soil. 1.2
Food from photosynthesis
IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY • • • • •
iodine solution indicator starch test
Photosynthesis is the process inside plants that changes the energy from the sun’s light into a form of energy that animals can eat and use to carry out their life processes. © Impaq
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Plants change the glucose into starch, for example mealies (mealies and maize flour), rice (rice flour and rice) and wheat (flour). Plants then store this food in different parts of the plant that an animal will eat. They can store it in their leaves, stems/roots, flowers, fruits or seeds. QUESTIONS: Look at the images below of different plant products. For each image, identify which part of that plant we eat (e.g.: When we eat an apple, are we eating the leaf, the stem, the root, the fruit or the seed of the plant?) Use the space provided to write down your answers. Plant Part that we eat
Flower
Cabbage
Fruit
Tomatoes
Root
Potatoes
Flower
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Facilitator’s Guide G06 ~ Natural Sciences and Technology
Unit
Plant
Part that we eat Stem
Celery
Root
Carrots
Seed
Sunflower seeds
Leaf
Lettuce
Stem
Sugar cane
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Unit
Plant
1
Part that we eat
Seed
Hazelnuts
Seed
Mealies
Fruit
Bananas We know that plants make glucose (a sugar) but they store starch. Let’s find out what the difference is.
ACTIVITY 2: Difference between a starch and a sugar Facilitator’s note: Prepare beforehand: Prepare at least 10 different plant products in advance of this lesson and mark each item from 1 – 10. Cut up fruit/potatoes/sweets into bite-sized cubes. Place flour/cooked rice, etc. into bowls. Use teaspoons to taste the flour/cooked rice, etc. with. IMPORTANT: Before doing this activity, find out if any of the learners have any allergies to these foods and if learners with diabetes are allowed to eat/taste the fruit/sweets.
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MATERIALS: • mealie meal • flour • cooked rice, potato, bread • glucose sweets • sugar • sugar cane, if possible • fresh fruit • blindfold • clipboard INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Work in pairs. 2. One partner must be blindfolded. 3. On a piece of paper, list the numbers 1 – 10. 4. The other partner must let the blindfolded partner taste each of the foods marked 1 – 10. If it is a flour, use a teaspoon to spoon the flour into your partner's mouth. If it is a kernel like a rice or mealie, or a cube of fruit, put it in the palm of your blindfolded partner’s hand and let them eat it themselves. 5. After each taste, your blindfolded partner must guess if it is a sugar or a starch based on the taste. 6. Record your partner’s answers on the piece of paper containing the numbers 1 – 10. 7. Swap with your partner and repeat the test. QUESTIONS: 1. Was it easy to distinguish between the sugar and the starch each time? Which foods did you find difficult to classify? It should not be difficult to distinguish between the two, especially if the learner knows the difference between a sugar and a starch. 2. What can you say about the difference between a starch and a sugar based on taste? Sugars are sweet, starches are not. Using taste to check if a food is a sugar or a starch is not very reliable. There is a special test that scientists use to see if a food product is a starch or not. It is called the iodine starch test. Iodine solution is a special solution that is normally a brown liquid. When iodine solution is dropped on starch, the iodine and starch combine and produce a blue colour. We use this to test whether there is starch in a food product. Let’s see how it works!
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