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Notes for teachers

Notes

I have used the plastic egg cartons and other materials for the seeds. You can use empty milk cartons from the cafeteria as well. A variety of containers will help with their hypothesis; will one container promote more growth than another?

List of Materials

Empty fruit containers
Empty rolls of toilet paper
Coffee Filters
Seeds
Soil
Scissors
Rulers
Water
wooden coffee stirring sticks or other material for labeling name/date/seed type

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Standards

Life Sciences: Students develop an understanding of how energy from the Sun is transferred through ecosystems.

6.L2U3.11

Use evidence to construct an argument regarding the impact of human activities on the environment and how they positively and negatively affect the competition for energy and resources in ecosystems.

Standards

MS-ETS1-1.

Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.

MS-ETS1-2.

Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

MS-ETS1-3.

Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.

MS-ETS1-4.

Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.

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Objective(s):

Today I can use evidence to construct an argument regarding the impact of human activities on the environment and how they can positively and negatively affect the competition for energy and resources in ecosystems.

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Agenda (1 + 5-7 days)

The mini greenhouse doesn’t take that long to complete. If you are planting radishes, they germinate in 5-7 days, so they are great if you are short on time and/or want quick results.

We are at the top of the food chain, and we are still competing for food. Do you know where your food comes from, or how it’s grown?

We can have a positive impact on the environment if we grow our own food. It doesn’t require plastic packaging, or dangerous pesticides. It promotes pollinators and other healthy organisms like worms, as well as provides material to decompose into the earth to create healthy soil.

An ecosystem can be something big, or small. Our little greenhouse is going to be its own ecosystem that we can study up close, and make daily observations about. If we want a healthy ecosystem, what are we going to need? Have students make a list-2-3 min.

Discuss what could happen to an ecosystem if its not healthy. 3-5 min

What can you, as students do, to help the ecosystem stay healthy? 3-5 min.

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Intro

1. What is an ecosystem?

2.What are the different factors that can affect an ecosystem?

3.Why is understanding the ecosystem essential to the survival of its organisms?

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

Suggested group structure of 4. I use table groups to make labeling easy
cut a roll in 1 ⅛ inches pieces to get 4 equal parts
place coffee filter in the bottom of fruit container, and place the 4 rings on top of it.
fill the rings with soil, and water the soil
give each student 2-3 seed to plant in their ring. A seed shouldn’t be planted more than twice its length under the soil- so very shallow.
pat the soil gently over the seeds and water lightly again.
These do NOT need to be placed in sunlight, seed have everything they need to grow.
Label the date, type of seed, and name of student on a coffee stirrer, or other type of marker.
Wait and watch (pictured is radish after 7 days)

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Assessment

An informal assessment could be comparing the size of vegetables or flowers they were able to grow to see who was more successful and WHY. If they can investigate why someone else’s grew better that is a great assessment. Did they use a different container? Was it near sunlight or not? Was the watering schedule different? There are so many variables to be compared. Even asking what they would change if they were to do it again is a good way to gage the learning.

The next assessment-does it taste good? We planted veggies so that we could eat them, how did you do?

Give students seeds to take home and see if they can grow them at home, and compare to the ones growing in the school garden. These are more investigations but you can always create a different assessment.

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Differentiation

Students can start a journal to draw pictures of their mini greenhouse, and add to the pictures as their plants start to grow, as well as write about what they are observing. i.e. How many leaves does it have? Has is grown taller? etc.

Another option is to purchase a soil meter and have students check if the soil needs to be watered, using the meter.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Students can measure their seedlings after they germinate, and graph the growth over four week’s time, depending on how fast the seedlings germinate.

They can also journal the growth, documenting the type of growth whether it be the number of stems/leaves, length etc. and compare with classmates who planted different seeds, or used different types of containers.

The rings, along with seedlings can be transplanted into a larger garden area. The cardboard material will break down into the soil, faster if you introduce vermicomposting.

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