Untitled Document

Estuary Plants vs. School Plants

One Great Lesson Plan

Download the lesson plan, plant cards, and plant facts.

Title:

Compare/contrast plants at school and plants in the estuary.

Learning Outcome:

To learn about different plants found in an estuary and on school grounds and how they survive in their environments .

Students should be able to compare and contrast characteristics and behaviors of plants and the environments where they live.

Oregon Content Standards – Science:

2.1L.1- Structure and Function: Compare and contrast characteristics and behaviors of plants and animals and the environments where they live.

Materials Needed:

On the floor in an open space tape out a Venn diagram large enough for all your students to stand in.
One large photo of Carex, Spartina, Skunk Cabbage, Pickle Weed, Maple Tree, Tulip, Rose, Crabgrass, Blackberry, and Japanese Knotweed with information about each plant on separate “clue cards.”
A plant, lamp, squirt bottle, fan, pot, and dirt/fertilizer.
One large white board or chalk board.

Activity Directions:

Basic Plant Survival

Have a plant that is out of soil in your hands that looks to students like it is in need of care. Ask students what they think a plant needs in order to survive.
As students raise their hands to answer “Sunlight, Water, Air, Space/nutrients, Soil” have symbolic items out of sight that students can give the plant like a lamp, squirt bottle, fan, pot/fertilizer, and dirt.
Visit the webpage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQT6piZOX7c and let the students sing along to a rhyme about the five basic things that plants need.
Draw a Venn diagram on the whiteboard at the front of the class. Label one side as estuary, the other side school, and the center both.
Fill in the center of the Venn diagram by asking students: What are some things that plants need to have or do to survive in both the estuary and at school? They would both need the five basics. Etc.
Add to Venn diagram the needs of all plants. Note: no specific plants added to Venn diagram at this point.

Estuary Exploration

- students will do this as a solo journaling activity

In a notebook students walk around the estuary and record what they observe or know about the habitat.
Students select a plant and draw a picture of that plant taking observations about how they think it survives in the environment.
Students answer the question: What does a plant need to have or do to survive at an estuary?
Think about needs of living things (get energy/nutrients, have a place to live, avoid being eaten…)

Estuary Discussion

Have students share journaling responses: What does a plant need to have or do to survive in an estuary?
Guide the class with the following questions:
What is an estuary?
What kinds of bodies of water mix in an estuary?An estuary is a place where fresh water from rivers meets and mixes with salt water from the ocean.
What happens to the water level in an estuary during a high tide and during a low tide? Estuaries flood during high tides and empty during low tides.
What does an estuary do for the animals and plants that live there? Estuaries provide shelter, food and nursery grounds for animals like the salmon.
What do you think happens to nutrients in an estuary? It’s a perfect place for nutrients to be recycled and made available to living organisms.
Fill in the estuary side on the same Venn diagram used earlier. Use what you have just discussed and pose the following question to the class: Aside from the five basics, what does a plant need to have or do to survive in an estuary? A plant living in the estuary would need to withstand salt water, fresh water, and being submerged in water. Etc.
Add to Venn diagram the needs of plants in an estuary. Note: no specific plants added to Venn diagram at this point.

School exploration

– Students will do a similar solo journaling activity.

In a notebook students walk around the school grounds and record what they see or know about the habitat.
Students select a plant and draw a picture of that plant taking observations about how they think it survives in the environment.
Students answer the question: what does a plant need to have or do to survive at school?

School discussion

Have students share journaling responses: What does a plant need to have or do to survive in an estuary?
Guide the class with the following questions:
How do plants at school get their water? Our school doesn’t flood often so plants get watered by sprinklers or rain.
What kind of water do the plants at school get? There is only fresh water available to plants growing at school.
Are there any dangers that plants at school have to survive? Animals like birds and squirrels often eat food off of plants. Kids walk over the plants.
Fill in the school side on the same Venn diagram. Use what you have just discussed and pose the following question to the class: Aside from the five basics, what does a plant need to have or do to survive at school? A plant living at school would need only fresh water. It needs to be strong enough to be stepped on or out of a walking area. Etc.
Add to the Venn diagram needs of plants at school. Note: no specific plants added to Venn diagram at this point.

Hands-on Venn diagram activity

Get students into pairs and pass out one photo to each pair of students that has a picture of a plant from an estuary (Carex, Spartina, skunk cabbage, and pickle weed), one from a school grounds (Maple tree, tulip, and rose), or one from both (crabgrass, blackberry, and Japanese knotweed) Ask students to first figure out what they can just by observing the picture.
Based on the information they have let students discuss in pairs whether their plant could survive on school ground, in the estuary, or both.
As students work through this process, provide them with one “clue card” at a time. The cards have descriptive characteristics of their plant that will help them if they are getting stuck.
After students come to a conclusion about their plant have them bring their picture and stand in the appropriate section of the large Venn diagram that is taped out on the floor. Some groups will finish before others. Encourage them to ask for a “clue card,” and move to a different section of the diagram if they change their minds. After all groups are standing in the Venn diagram with their picture have each group share where they think their plant could survive and why.

Assessment of Learning:

Students who understand what an estuary is and how it differs from their school environment will be able to:
Journaling – complete journal prompts. Define an estuary. Identify needs of all plants (at least 5). Make 3 observations about habitat features in estuary and at school. Can hypothesize about how a plant they observed both in estuary and at school can survive in its habitat.
Come up with at least five similarities or differences between the two environments that are accurate.
Make at least three accurate observations about their given organisms that will help them place the organisms in their proper habitat.
Correctly match organisms to the environment where they are found, either with or without help from the fact card.
Students who understand some pieces of what an estuary is and how an estuary differs from their school environment will be able to:
Journaling – mostly complete journal prompts. May or may not define an estuary. Identify needs of all plants (at least 3). Make 2 observations about habitat features in estuary and at school. May or may not hypothesize about how a plant they observed both in estuary and at school can survive in its habitat.
Come up with less than five similarities and differences between estuaries and the school environment, but all might not be correct.
Make observations about their organism cards, but not three for each.
Match one out of the two given organism cards to their correct environment either with or without the facts as hints.
Students who do not understand what an estuary is or how estuaries differ from their school environment will:
Journaling –incomplete journal prompts. Did not define an estuary. Identify needs of all plants (less than 3). Make 1 observation about habitat features in estuary and at school. Did not hypothesize about how a plant they observed both in estuary and at school can survive in its habitat.
Not recognize main similarities and differences between estuaries and the school environment.
Make less than three observations about their organisms.
Not correctly match their given organism cards to their correct environment given the fact as a hint.

Extensions:

In addition to comparing and contrasting the estuary to the school grounds for where plant life could survive best students could compare and contrast the environments for where animals could best survive.
Students can be prompted to look for plants outside of the school grounds. Maybe in their yard at home, a family member’s yard in another city or state, or another place they visit that may have different plants than they have seen before. This could be an actual assignment or an extra project for students to do to get extra credit or a prize. They will observe similar to the school ground exploration, but can also research online to figure out some actual facts to share with the class.
To extend this lesson into the subject area of Art students could give attention to detail and draw a picture of the plant that they observed in its habitat while exploring with different elements of art such as media.
To extend this activity into the subject area of speech students could write an informational speech about what they learned about the estuary and their school to perform to classmates, parents, or the community.
To extend this lesson into the subject area of math students could compare numbers in the estuary to their school environment: They could make graphs using factors such as temperature, water salinity if available, insect population or invertebrate numbers. What do these numbers tell us?