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Designing a New Plant

A 4th grade STEM lesson

Hailey Murphy

05/14/24

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Notes for teachers

This lesson is intended to take place after students have learned about adaptations.
The lesson can be split into several days. One day can be dedicated to researching the environment, another day can be dedicated brainstorming adaptations, and another day or two can be dedicated to designing and building the model. Presentations can take place on a separate day. There are many possible break points, so feel free to adjust the timing as it suits you!

List of Materials

Computers with internet access
Variety of STEM building materials including but not limited to:

Legos
Pipe Cleaners
Popsicle Sticks
Paper
Cardboard

Copies of rubric

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Arizona Standards

Arizona Science Standards:

4.L4U1.11 - Analyze and interpret environmental data to demonstrate that species either adapt and survive or go extinct over time.

Arizona Engineering Standards:

Standard 5.0 - Apply Technology and Tools to Engineering Solutions

Arizona ELA Standards:

4.SL.4 - Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

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Objectives:

Today you will choose and research an environment for your “new” plant to survive in.

Today you will explain how plants evolve to survive in their environments.

Today you will use the technology or tool of your choice to build a model of your new plant.

Today you will share and explain how your new plant has adapted to survive in its environment.

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Agenda

Introduction/Driving Question (Day 1 - 5 minutes)
Select and research a harsh environment (Day 1 - 40-60 minutes)
Brainstorm adaptations for new plant (Day 1 or 2 - 20 minutes)
Design and build new plant (Day 2 - 60ish minutes)
Present new plants to classmates (Day 3 and/or 4 - each student should take 3-5 minutes to present)

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Intro/Driving Question/Opening

Show students the following pictures,

“How do you think these plants survive in such harsh conditions?”

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Intro/Driving Question/Opening

You are a scientist who has been tasked with designing a new plant to test the limits of adaptations in extreme environments. Your job is to research an extreme environment to become an expert on the conditions there, then design and create a plant that has adapted to survive in this harsh environment.

You will share your findings and final design with your scientist colleagues!

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

Students can work independently or with a partner
1. Select an environment to research. Students can use Epic!, PebbleGo, NatGeo Kids, etc. to conduct their research.
2. Students will brainstorm qualities that a plant would need to survive in the given environment
3. Next, students will decide how they want to design and present their new plant. They can use hands-on materials such as Legos, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, etc. or they can create a digital model using Tinkercad.
4. Students will present their new plant to their classmates. They will start by describing the environment that their plant lives in, then explain the special adaptations the plants have to survive in their environment.

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Assessment

Teachers will use the following rubric to assess students completion of the PBL.

Click the above link to see full-sized document.

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Differentiation

Provide students with examples of harsh environments (desert, tundra, etc.) and provide scaffolded notes to aid in research
Provide students with sentence starters for their presentations

i.e. “One adaptation that helps my plant survive in __________________ is ____________________. “
“This helps my plant survive because ______________.”

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

For an additional challenge, some students can select an extreme environment that is not on Earth (International Space Station, Mars, the Moon, etc.)