The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project
How Humans Can Change their Environment
How Humans Can Change Their Environment: Tomato Pruning Techniques
A 5 - 8 grade STEM lesson
Mike Allen
12-17-23
Notes for teachers
Materials
Key Points for Teachers
Objectives
Vocabulary
Addressing Common Misconceptions
Standards
This lesson applies to standards for Science, Mathematics, and writing.
5.L4U3.11
Obtain, evaluate, and communicate evidence about how natural and human-caused changes to habitats or climate can impact populations.
3-5.3.c
Students, in collaboration with an educator, use a variety of strategies to collect and organize information and make meaningful connections between resources.
5.MP.5
Use appropriate tools strategically. Mathematically proficient students consider available tools when solving a mathematical problem. They choose tools that are relevant and useful to the problem at hand.
5.RL.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
5.RI.9
Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Objectives:
Lesson Objective:
Students will understand that humans can control their environment. Students will investigate the effects of different pruning methods on cherry tomato plant growth and fruit production.
One example of humans controlling their environment is through food production. Students will investigate pruning is one way to produce more fruit per plant. Students will understand that there are many types of pruning techniques. Students will investigate two major types of pruning, light pruning, and heavy pruning for better fruit production.
Agenda
Engage 20 min.
Investigating a New Plant
Explore 15 min.
What are the Characteristics of the New Plant?
Explain 20min.
What is Pruning? How Will We Use It?
Extend 10min
Allow students to use their new knowledge and continue to explore pruning techniques and implications.
Evaluate 5 min.
exit ticket
This lesson uses the 5e learning cycle which can be divided into multiple sessions
Vocabulary
Pruning:
The act of cutting or trimming branches, leaves, or stems of a plant to promote growth or shape the plant.
Growth:
The process of increasing in size or development, often referring to a plant's increase in height or size.
Fruit Production:
The process of a plant producing and bearing fruit, such as cherry tomatoes.
Branches:
The smaller stems that extend from the main stem or trunk of a plant.
Leaves:
The green structures on plants that are responsible for photosynthesis, where plants make their own food.
Pruning Shears:
Tools used for cutting branches or leaves from plants during pruning.
Sunlight:
The natural light from the sun, essential for photosynthesis and plant growth.
Watering:
The act of providing water to plants to maintain their hydration and well-being.
Common Student Misconceptions
Water Always Means Better Growth
Many students believe that constantly watering a plant will make it grow faster and healthier. They may not understand the importance of proper watering practices, including allowing the soil to dry out between watering, to prevent overwatering and root rot.
Bigger Plants Yield More Fruit
Students might assume that the taller or larger a tomato plant grows, the more fruit it will produce. This oversimplification doesn't consider factors such as pruning and the plant's energy allocation to fruit production.
Pruning Always Harms Plants
Some students may believe that pruning is harmful to plants because it involves cutting off parts of the plant. They might not grasp that appropriate pruning can actually benefit the plant by directing its resources more efficiently.
All Tomatoes Are the Same
Students may think that all tomatoes are the same, not realizing the vast variety of tomato types and the differences in growth patterns, fruit size, and flavor. This misconception can affect their understanding of plant care and fruit production.
Plants Grow Continuously
Some students may assume that plants, including tomato plants, grow continuously without any dormant or resting periods. This misconception overlooks the natural growth cycles of plants, which may include periods of slower growth or dormancy.
Online Resources
Engage
Investigating a New Plant
Formative assessment probe: “What is this plant, and what can it be used for?”
Pass out the “What is this plant, and what can it be used for?” handout.
The handout has an illustration (ai generated) of a group of explorers investigating a new-to-them plant. Below the illustration is the text:
While traveling the highlands of South American Andes mountains, a small group of explorers came across this plant. The small group had never seen such a plant, and wondered what it was.
On the handout are a couple questions about what the students see.
Have students respond to the probe and answer the questions.
Talk with the students about this plant, and what it is used for.
Have the students pair and share.
Engage continued
Ask students to pair up with their shoulder partner and share their thoughts on the probe.
Have one student share their thoughts for one half minute.
Next, tell students to switch roles and the other student will share their thoughts.
During the whole-group discussion, encourage the students to express their thoughts and finding about the assessment probe.
“Now, students, to understand this plant and what it is, we are going to watch a video. Have students open their Garden Journals and take notes pausing video for them to write information they learn.”
Show the YouTube videos:
The Life Cycle of the Tomato Plant
Explore
What are the Characteristics of the New Plant?
Continue to discuss this new plant and what the students learned while watching the videos transitioning to the explore part of the lesson.
“We have come to an understanding of what a tomato plant is, where it originated from, and how other cultures have used the tomato plant, we will explore the characteristics of the tomato plant.”
Have students get into groups, if they are not already, of three or four.
Next, handout to each group several detailed pictures of tomatoes such as the leaf, stem, and fruit. Ask the students to write down what they see, and discuss within the group.
Tell the students they are to investigate, on the internet, some characteristics of a tomato plant. Have them write four to five sentences for each group, describing some characteristics of this new plant. Ask students to quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. Tell each group they need to write down on one sticky note (That each group received from the teacher) one to two characteristics to be placed on the word wall for later.
After videos conduct a class discussion on what they have learned so far. And have each group place one of the characteristics they wrote on the word wall.
Explain
What is Pruning? How Will We Use It?
"The Pruned Promise: A Tomato Farmer's Tale."
Fable to engage the students about the concept of pruning.
Fable about how tomatoes are like children, and how to raise, care for, and grow tomatoes is important.
How to Grow Tomatoes - A Kid Project How to prune your cherry tomatoes
Next, explain the concept of pruning in gardening and its purpose.
Discuss the two types of pruning that will be employed in the project. Light pruning, and heavy pruning. We will also have a plant that receives no pruning called the control.
“Students, there are several types of pruning techniques that growers use; we will only learn about the two that we will use in this project. The first, light pruning, it is when you lightly prune small amount of “sucker” leads. We will only prune these leads at the very bottom of the plant and let some of the suckers grow. The plant will use its energy to produce stems and tomatoes.”
Explain continued
Next, heavy pruning, heavy pruning is pruning all the suckers from the bottom to the top of the plant. Also, we might prune the leafy leads, this maintains only the main stem of the plant at the bottom, while allowing only a small amount of leafy leads to remain at the top. This will allow the plant to put all its energy to producing tomatoes.”
Present the hypothesis to the students:
"How does the type of pruning affect cherry tomato plant growth and fruit production?"
Encourage students to share their thoughts and predictions.
Next, pass out to each group the “what is pruning” worksheets.
This worksheet will have a tomato plant illustration on the left, and on the right top of the page. Above each illustration is a title. The left title is written “Light Pruning”, and the other is titled “Heavy Pruning”. Below each illustration are a couple investigation probe questions.
Have the groups work on the illustrations answering the questions about pruning.
With the understanding of each pruning technique, ask the students to draw a red x where they will prune each plant illustration.
Extend
Allow students to use their new knowledge and continue to explore pruning techniques and implications.
Provide students with various tomato plants at different growth stages, some pruned and some unpruned. Ask students to analyze the plants and recommend the best pruning strategy for each one. This activity encourages students to apply their understanding of pruning and plant care to real-life scenarios.
Journaling
Thought the growing season for the tomatoes, have each student record in their personal journals a) what type of pruning techniques is doing the best after each week? b) How tall in, inches, is each plant according to pruning technique? c) what is the difference between each pruning technique, the characteristics of each plant, such as size of plant, leaf structure, overall health?
Conclusion
To conclude experiment, each student will record and create a graph detailing the growth in inches, and the differences of each type of technique.
Also, students will research the 3 different types of pruning techniques other than light, and heavy pruning, quoting specifically from text.
AI generated image
Evaluate
In this phase of the 5e teaching model we will assess the students’ knowledge after the lesson to evaluate their understand of tomato plant pruning.
Hand out the exit ticket to each student. Students should have a basic understanding of tomato pruning, and the reason behind its implementation.
Ask questions such as:
Describe the purpose of pruning in tomato plant care.
Explain the potential benefits of light pruning on tomato plants.
What might happen to a tomato plant if it is not pruned at all?In what season or growth stage of a tomato plant is it most appropriate to conduct pruning?
What could be some negative consequences of over-pruning a tomato plant?
Describe the difference between pruning a branch and simply plucking a leaf from a tomato plant.
Differentiation Remediation Plan
1. Pre-Lesson Assessment
2. Simplified Vocabulary and Concepts
3. Hands-On Activities
4. Visual Learning Aids
Extension/Enrichment
1. Advanced Research Projects
2. Experiment Design
3. Guest Speaker Sessions
4. Field Trips