This is a field investigation where students observe plants in a school forest setting. Students then compare adaptations of plants from different parts of the forest.
This activity is a field investigation where students identify native MN plants and record the common name, scientific name, and important information about each.
These instructions describe how to construct a plant light box from two stackable plastic file crates that are cut, lined with aluminum foil and lit with a 40/42-watt CFL bulb. This 3-page document includes a complete materials list and 12-step assembly instructions with photographs that illustrate each step. This light box works well for growing Fast Plants.
This activity is a field investigation of plant succession stages, which students will gather evidence of the areas plant history.
Students gain an understanding of the parts of a plant, plant types and how they produce their own food from sunlight through photosynthesis. They also learn about transpiration, the process by which plants release moisture to the atmosphere. With this understanding, students test the effects of photosynthesis and transpiration by growing a plant from seed. They learn how plants play an important part in maintaining a balanced environment in which the living organisms of the Earth survive. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their evolving understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.
This site helps students see how plants and animals interact to accomplish pollination. Students (Grades 3-8) identify plant and animal parts involved in pollination, connections between pollination and food production, relationships between pollinators and the plants they pollinate, and ways flowers have adapted to encourage pollination.
The goals of the International OER Exchange Pilot project are to: facilitate the development and use of Open Educational Resources (OER) by teachers and students globally, track the development and use of the science learning materials and data collection, especially around climate change study, created in the project through OER Commons, and highlight the process and results through workshops and conference presentations.The broader purpose of the project is to support the international exchange of information and understanding through freely available resources among teachers and students, especially in the area of environmental science and climate change investigation.
This webpage explains the steps for pollinating Fast Plants.
A series of experiments explore the effects of increased population growth on a population of Fast Plants. Through these inquiries, students will better understand the many substantial and pertinent issues surrounding human population explosion on Earth.These experiments can be adjusted toward middle, high school or post-secondary levels.
This pdf document explains key planting mix and fertilizer considerations to take into account when preparing to grow Wisconsin Fast Plants. This document was designed to serve as both a source of information and "shopping list."
An article written for children, this reading explains the role of plants as producers. It is written at a grade 4-5 reading level, and it is a good supplement to the evidence that students can observe and record through experimentation with photosynthesis.
Biodiversity is a shortened form of the term "biological diversity." The entire spectrum of life forms and the many ecological processes support them. Wisconsin is blessed with abundant biodiversity. Located at the junction of the eastern deciduous forest, northern boreal forest and temperate grasslands, we have a wealth of species and natural communities.
Approximately 1,800 species of native plants and close to 700 species of native vertebrates have been identified in Wisconsin. In addition, there are thousands of species of non-vascular plants and invertebrates. These pages highlight the uncommon and rare species, natural communities, geological features and essential habitat areas throughout Wisconsin.
This document is the step-by-step instructions for planting Fast Plants in a quad growing system like is sold by Carolina Biological Supply Company. The instructions are illustrated by our Fast Plants artist, Amy, to help all learners understand the steps.
This article describes how Fast Plants can be used to help students understand how, through genetic selection associated with phenotypic variation, traits are passed on to future generations. This resource includes information about how to analyze variation in a population and selectively breed to change the frequency of a particular trait in future generations. Advanced Placement teachers who are teaching AP Inquiry Investigation #1, Artificial Selection, will find this article relevant to that inquiry.
This catalog from the Rapid Cycling Brassica Collection (RcBC) is for use by researchers. The RcBC was established in 1982 by Paul Williams as a means for distributing seed and information, about various genetic stocks of 6 different species of rapid cycling brassicas. Initially known as the Crucifer Genetics Cooperative (CrGC) the collection now resides under the Wisconsin Fast Plants Program. The RCBC provides seed stocks of rapid cycling brassicas to researchersthrough an RCBC Catalog.
This glossary was developed for students, teachers and scientist to help with communication about the genetics of Fast Plants through standardized genetic terminology. The Wisconsin Fast Plants Program follows the standardized rules for the designation of phenotypic and genotypic symbols for Brassica species.
This document is a complete science notebook that was designed by teachers working with elementary and middle level students who were learning with Fast Plants. The notebook includes color illustrations by our Fast Plant artist, Amy Kelley. It includes a graphic organizer to support predicting what the answer will be to a question being investigated, pages with prompts for recording observations (drawings and written words), and a graphic organizer with sentence stems for constructing an evidence based claim or explanation. If you print this pdf as double-sided and flipped on the short edge, then you can fold all the pages together in half and staple along the fold to form a booklet.
This an inqiury based activity where students are asked to sequence events that have occurred to a block of wood and justify their answers.
This Immersion Unit provides a coherent series of lessons designed to guide students in developing deep conceptual understanding that is aligned with the National standards, key science concepts, and essential features of classroom inquiry (as defined by the National Science Education Standards). The goal of this unit is to provide students with an opportunity to explore the interdependency of living and nonliving factors in an ecological system. Students investigate the process of decomposition and examine the role that decomposers and other organisms play in the transfer of energy and matter.The Unit's overarching concepts are:Organisms need matter and energy to live.Science knowledge advances through inquiry.This unit was developed through the large Math and Science Partnership project called System-wide Change for All Learners and Educators (SCALE), involving a collaboration among Los Angeles School District educators, California State University science and education faculty, and UW-Madison SCALE staff.
This activity is a field-based investigation involving identifying and investigating common trees on the schoolyard and creating a field guide containing pressed leaves.