3rd Grade Plants Unit

3^rd Grade Plants Unit Blueprint

Lesson 3: Planting the Seeds

STC Plant Growth and Development

Pacing Suggestions:
See page 4 in Teacher's Guide for a schedule of Lessons.

Teacher Resources:
Tips	Observation Log

Essential & Unit Questions ¹

Benchmarks ²

Assessments ³

Using Assessments to Monitor Student Learning

Why is it important to follow directions and keep accurate records of one's work?

Related to 1B(3-5)#2: Results of scientific investigations are seldom exactly the same, but if the differences are large, it is important to try to figure out why. One reason for following directions carefully and for keeping records of one's work is to provide information on what might have caused the differences.

Class discussion on importance of following directions (See Procedure Step 1 on page 23 in Teacher's Guide.)

Teacher observations of students' ability to follow directions

Class Discussion

During the class discussion, do students understand the importance of following directions?
Does their understanding extend beyond the concept of "rules" to follow and reflect a scientific understanding of the importance of following set lab procedures to increase consistency in experiment results?

Teacher Observations of Students
While the benchmark is a conceptual benchmark, the skill of following directions is also important.

To what extent are the students able to monitor their work and follow each direction accurately?
If students exhibit difficulty, a post-planting discussion about the importance of following directions is probably warranted.

12C(3-5)#3: Keep a notebook that describes observations made, carefully distinguishes actual observations from ideas and speculations about what was observed, and is understandable weeks or months later.

12D(3-5)#2: Make sketches to aid in [describing observations and] explaining procedures or ideas.

Student journal entries containing written observations and drawings of the plants—ongoing from Day 5 to Day 35 (Use teacher-generated Observation Log sheet.)

(Note: Maintaining a month-long journal is not specified in the Teacher's Guide.)

Written Observations

Do the written observations contain true observations (information obtained though the senses)?
Are the observations clear enough that they would be understandable weeks and/or months later?
To what extent do the students include inferences, opinions, and fictional information in their entries? (Depending on the prevalence of these types of entries, the teacher may need to do some mini-lessons on observing using the senses; help students differentiate between observations, inferences, opinions, and fiction; and model for students how they can write/record their ideas separate from their observations.)

Drawings

Do the drawings contain labels?

Do the drawings contain most of the details of the plant?

Are the drawings clear enough that they would be understandable weeks and/or months later?

Do the drawings provide a reasonably accurate representation of the plants?

1. For conceptual benchmarks.
2. Bolded sections indicate portion of benchmark addressed
3. Unless noted as a Summative Assessment, the assessments are formative and should be used to guide teaching and learning.

3rd Grade Plants Unit Blueprint

3^rd Grade Plants Unit Blueprint