Life Science - Plant Structures (2nd Grade)

FOCUS QUESTION* (Big Idea) 

Do vegetable plants and flower plants have the same structure?

PREDICTION/ HYPOTHESIS*

I think that vegetable plants and flower plants will have the same structure but they will look different on the outside.

PLANNING

  • Materials: tomato plants, flower plants, science notebooks, Promethean board, pencil, paper, paper plates, napkins, and photographs in plastic sleeves

1. The teacher will ask the students to take out their “science notebooks” and put their name and date and title it plants. The teacher will then write “Key Words about Plants” on the Promethean board. The teacher will then ask the students to share their responses and record the responses as the students say them. The teacher will ask the students to record the responses as she is writing. We will then discuss the words on the board and ask the students what parts do all plants have in common? We will then circle the words: roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. If the students do not name the words, we will ask them prompting questions such as: what holds plants in the ground? What hold a plant up? What hangs from the stem? You gave some great key words about plants, but today we are going to focus specifically on the words that make up a plant. These words are roots, stems, leaves, and flowers.  What we are going to do today is work like scientists and explore two different plants to see if they both have these parts in common.

PART 2

2.  We will then move on to talking about the focus question. We will ask the students if they think these two plants will have the same structure (we will hold them up and show them to the students). (One will be a tomato plant and one will be a flower plant, but we will not tell the students this because that’s part of the investigation.) We will then ask the students to turn and talk about whether or not the two plants will have the same structure. We will then ask a couple groups to share their responses. We will then ask the students to record their focus question for the day and write down a prediction based on the focus question. We will be sure to prompt the students and tell them to start their prediction with “I think… because.”

3. Each group will be given two plants. The students will be grouped into groups of 4-5. The students will then investigate each plant. We will ask them to draw a quick sketch of each plant so they are able to record the four different features of the plant.

As they are doing this, we will walk around to assist and further students thinking. We will ask them where the parts are and how they know.

4. After the students have investigated, we will give out pictures of plant A and plant B in their premature stage and growth to their mature stage. We will ask students to determine which plant is A and which plant is B. 

5.  After the students have identified the plants, we will then come back together as a whole group and discuss.

6.  We will ask the students what plant A is and what plant B is. We will then record beside A and B. We will then ask the students if plant A has a root, stem, leaves, and flower. We will then ask the students if plant B has a root, stem, leaves, and flower.

7. Okay now that we know that each of these plant have the four parts we discussed, where are they located? We will then draw a rough sketch of each plant. We will then ask the students where the root is, where the stem is, where the leaves are, and where the flowers are.

8. We will then ask the students what our claims and evidence statement should be based on our findings. We will record these as the students say them. (We will also ask the students to record the C/E in their notebook page.

9. We will then talk about the information we have in the conclusion. In this investigation, we learned that plant A and plant B both have the same structures, but they look different. They also grow different things. One produces something edible and one does not. Upon further investigation, we also learned that plant A was a tomato plant and plant B was a flower plant.

10. We will then ask the students if they have any other question or what else can we investigate about plants. (These are the questions we will use to extend their thinking.)

**According to the first grade standards, students are familiar with plants, but not the structure.

 DATA*

	Stem	Root	Leaves	Flower
A
B

(We will also have a rough sketch of each of the plants.)

CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE*

I claim that tomato plants and flower plants will have the same structure because they both have roots, stems, leaves, and flowers.

CONCLUSION*

In this investigation, we learned that plant A and plant B both have the same structures, but they look different. They also grow different things. One produces something edible and one does not. Upon further investigation, we also learned that plant A was a tomato plant and plant B was a flower plant. 

**QUESTIONS:  

Will a tree have the same structure?

Will a fruit plant have the same structure?

Does grass have the same structure as the plants we investigated?