This video resource explains and demonstrates how to plant Fast Plants in a bottle growing system made from recycled soda/water bottles was made by the instructors at UW-Madison who teach Biocore (a foundational undergraduate biology course). In this planting approach, vermiculite is used along with a soil-less potting mix (e.g. Redi-Earth).

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.

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.

A seminal paper, introducing rapid-cycling Brassicas as model organisms for use in plant biology research and education. Written by Williams and Hill, published in Science, 1986.

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 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.

Science Inquiry Map Poster featuring the web of inquiry processes as described by the Five Essential Features of Inquiry from the National Science Education Standards. The illustrations are by our wonderful Fast Plants artist, Amy Kelly.

A teacher-developed scoring rubric for student's conceptual model for explaining inheritance of Mendelian traits in Wisconsin Fast Plants and presentation.

A 23-page PDF file (644 KB) with a complete set of activities for elementary students (can also work with middle level) to learn about the life cycle of flowering plants. Students predict how many seeds their Fast Plant will produce and engage in planting, growing, observing doing supporting learning activities to understand the life cycle.Carolina Biological sells a kit to accompany this activity for a class of 32 students, containing the seeds and planting materials. Alternatively, the activity can be taught using seeds from a packet of Standard Wisconsin Fast Plants (or seeds from Fast Plants you grow yourself) and your own potting mix and growing system.A 24-hour fluorescent light source is needed for this activity.

This is "The Story of Fast Plants" - a short story of the origins of Brassicas and the work of Dr. Paul Williams, developing Brassica rapa. Reading level ~7th grade.

The first activity in this newsletter was written to engage students in an investigation related to the Fast Plants that traveled into space in May of 1995. Students explore how plants use guidance systems which sense and respond to gravity (gravitropism) ensuring that roots anchor plants and access water and that shoots emerge into the light.This activity includes substantial background discussion about gravitropism in plants.

This article provides rich background information about how the three environmental components: !. Physical, 2. Chemical, 3. Biological interact to influence all life processes and systems.

This pdf document provides background information and examples for collecting, organizing and analyzing data that could be collected through experimentation with Fast Plants.

This investigation spans the entire life cycle of the first-generation offpsring (F1) of plants; an additional nine days allow students to observe the second- generation offspring (F2) and the father generation (P2).WhoĺŐs the Father? is designed to provide students with the opportunity to investigate the inheritance of two genes in Wisconsin Fast PlantsTM. One gene, anthocyaninless (anl), determines whether the stem color of each plant will be purple or non- purple. A second gene, yellow-green (ygr), determines whether the leaf color of each plant will be green or yellow-green.