nvestigations withWisconsin Fast Plants can make
the subject matter come alive... or dead, depending on the experimental treatment. This became
apparent when a university -based teacher educator and a fifth-grade teacher collaborated on a professional development experience aimed at increasing
understanding of how science inquiry could be used
effectively in diverse classrooms. This professional
development experience centered on cocreating a unit
for fifth-grade students as a part of a study of plant
and animal cycles. While the unit included numerous
activities (Figures 1 and 2 show the "activity calendar"
for the entire unit), this article focuses on the inquiry
portion of the study, as students investigated how pollutants might affect plants.
Unit Planning
After reviewing the district's standards and learning
targets for fifth grade, the teacher knew he wanted to
focus his unit on plants and plant life cycles. One of our
goals for this professional development experience was
to create units using a context that was interesting to stu-
dents. Because his students came from an urban setting
and had expressed an interest in pollution previously in
the year, he felt that studying the effect of pollution on
plants could help relate the topics of plant needs and
their life cycles to his students' lives.
As a starting point for unit planning, the teacher and
one of his colleagues collaborated to develop a pretest,
which the teacher then implemented. The pretest consisted of a series of open-ended questions: 1) Draw a
plant and label its parts. 2) List the things that a plant
needs to survive. 3) What could cause the leaves of a
houseplant to turn brown? 4) Draw and label the life
cycle of a plant. 5) Why are bees good for plants? 6)
What might make trees sick in the summer? The results
from the pretest indicated his students had some general knowledge of plants and of pollution but very little
understanding of how pollution affects plants. Only
three students identified pollution as a reason for plants
or trees getting sick in pretest questions. Additionally,
students had almost no understanding of the life cycle
of plants and how plants reproduce.
Armed with this understanding of students' initial
April/May 2007
37
Unit activity calendar, days 1-10.
Day 1. What Do You Know?
" Students were asked to "think, pair, share"
focusing on what they know about plants,
pollution, and the effects of pollution on plants.
"• Class responses were recorded on chart paper.
Day 2. Benchmark-What Is Pollution?
Students read, outlined, and discussed a chapter
in a general science resource bookthat focused on
pollution. The discussion focused on garbage, air
pollution, water pollution, and disposal methods.
Day 3. Benchmark-What Is Pollution? and
Day 4. Inquiry-Develop Questions,
Inquiry-Why Is It Important That I Learn How
Pollution Affects Plants?
Plant Wisconsin Fast Plants
"* Students were told that they were going to
individually respond to the question, "Why is
it important that I learn about the effects of
pollution on plants?" after viewing Bill Nye's
"Biodiversity" video.
"• Students viewed the video.
"* Students shared their responses to the question.
No "passes."
Day 5. Benchmark-Measuring Length Using
Millimeters and Centimeters
"• As part of a math lesson students reviewed the
relationship between milimeters and centimeters.
"* Students practiced measuring in centimeters
and milimeters using a teacher developed
worksheet. Feedback on student progress was
immediate.
"* All students were asked to show their competency by accurately measuring the last few
items without assistance.
Day 7. Inquiry - Record Observations/
Data (Initial)
"• Students worked in groups to record their
initial data set.
"• Students applied the first treatment to plants
after deciding how much to put on the plants.
38
Science and Children
"* The whole class brainstormed different kinds of
pollution that we could test on plants. Students
engaged in some discussion of where the pollution is found and how it might get on plants.
"• Students were divided into teacher-selected
groups, and groups selected a pollutant to test.
"• Students recorded their question and predictions
in their science journals.
"• With teacher guidance and written directions,
groups planted the Wisconsin Fast Plant seeds.
Day 6. Benchmark-Recording Data
"• Students discussed what types of data would
be useful in investigating the effects of pollution on plants.
"* Class ideas were incorporated into a data
collection format that all groups would use
throughout the investigation.
"*The terms control group and treatment
group were introduced by the teacher.
"* Students practiced recording data by copying data from pretend control and treatment
plants.
Days 8, 9, 10. Inquiry-Record
Observations/Data (Continuing)
• Students recorded their observations in science journals.
Unit activity calendar, days 11-16.
Day 11. Benchmark and Inquiry-Parts of a Plant
"*Students read about vascular plants in their
science book and completed the vocabulary
and review exercises.
- Students viewed Bill Nye's video, "Plants."
"*Students examined, drew, and labeled parts
of plant specimens mounted by third-grade
teachers and students.
"*Students viewed plant cells using microscopes.
Day 13. Inquiry-Communicating Results of
Group Investigations
"*Groups communicated their results to small
groups of third graders, who had also been
studying plants.
"• Each group presented to at least five thirdgrade groups.
"*Teachers circulated asking questions and encouraging presenters.
Day15. Benchmark-Parts of a Flower and
Plant Reproduction
"*Students drew and labeled the parts of a flower
with guidance from the teacher and a large
flower model.
"* Using a model and diagrams, a teacher explained how plants reproduce.
conceptions, the teacher developed an inquiry-based
unit based on a central investigation exploring how pollution affects plants. By the end of the unit's activities,
he expected that students would be able to describe
some sources of pollution and their potential effect on
plants. Additionally, he expected that students would
be able to describe the reproductive parts of a plant and
the life cycle of a plant.
Because they have a very short life cycle (approximately six weeks), the teacher chose to have his students investigate the effect of pollution on plants using
Wisconsin Fast Plants (see Internet Resources). The
teacher planned a series of benchmark activities that
would be woven into the student investigations. These
benchmark activities would introduce and reinforce
specific content objectives, including identifying plant
Day 12. Benchmark-Preparing to Report
Results of Investigation
* Students worked in groups to prepare their
presentations. Teacher acted as a resource
and provided encouragement.
Day 14. Benchmark-Human Progress
Can Sometimes Lead to Unintended
Consequences.
* Students viewed the Dr. Seuss video, "The
Lorax."
* Students discussed the relevance of the video.
Day 16. Inquiry-Pollination of Wisconsin Fast
Plants
* Students pollinated Wisconsin Fast Plant
flowers using a dead bee at the end of a
toothpick (dead bees purchased from Carolina
Biological).
parts, pollination, and the life cycle of plants. Additionally, the benchmark activities would help students
build skills that they need to conduct inquiry, such as
observation, measurement, identifying and controlling
variables, and using evidence to support conclusions.
Conducting the Investigations
The teacher began the student investigations by having
students brainstorm a list of pollutants that could be tested
on plants. Students suggested a diverse list of pollutants,
including road salt, acid rain, laundry detergent, gasoline,
antifreeze, and motor oil, all of which students felt could
adversely affect plants in their neighborhood. Students
realized that some pollutants were not safe to test in the
classroom, so we brainstormed alternatives-like vinegar
for acid rain and cooking oil for motor oil.
April/May 2007
39
First, each group selected a pollutant (road salt [dissolved to saturation in warm water before being given
to the students], vinegar, laundry detergent, or cooking
oil) to test on their plants. Students should wear safety
goggles and gloves for this activity. Instruct students not
to touch the pollutant or the soil after the pollutant had
been added. Provide all chemicals in highly dilute
conditions (< 1%) in very small labeled containers
CAUTION (up to 5 ml). Keep MSDS sheets for all substances
used in the classroom (www.hazard.com).
Next, students wrote their investigation question
and predictions in their science journals and planted
their Wisconsin Fast Plant seeds. The class discussed
what types of data would be useful in investigating the
effects of pollution on plants. The students suggested
that the health of the plants could be measured by recording the height, color, and number of leaves. They
also said they could measure the temperature of the
room, the amount of water the plant receives, and the
amount of light that each plant receives.
At this point, the teacher introduced students to
the idea of a control group and a treatment group. To
begin, he asked students how they would be able to
tell that the pollutant affected the plant. Initially,
students responded, "they will get sick." He asked,
"How would you know that the behavior is not normal for the plant or caused by something besides the
pollutant?" The students quickly provided the idea
that they should also grow some plants that they
did not put pollution on, and the teacher explained
that these plants are called the control group and the
plants that get pollutants added to them are called
the treatment plants.
Once the plants germinated (in about three days),
students began collecting height and color data for
their control and treatment plants. After the plants had
begun growing, the students were ready to apply their
chosen pollutant to the treatment plants. He provided
them with 5 ml of the chosen pollutant to each group.
After the pollutant was applied, students continued
to collect data from their control and treatment plants
for four more days. Students were highly engaged and
often stopped by the room before school to check on
their plants. Many of the students were dismayed that
their treatment plants grew sick and died within days
after applying the treatment.
Throughout the unit, students maintained a science journal. This journal contained observational
data about the health of the plants, drawings of
the plants, and measurements of the control and
treatment plant heights. Figure 3 shows an example
entry from one student's journal. Students prepared
presentations using their journal data on how their
selected pollutant affected their plants. The presenta-
jL•
40
Science and Children
A student journal entry for the
plant unit.
tions included a statement of their experimental question, a conclusion about the effect of their pollutant on
the growth of their plant, and the evidence from their
data that supported their conclusion. For example, the
"Road Salt" group presented that their plants began
to wilt and turn yellow the day after the treatment was
applied. All of the students concluded that the pollutants were very harmful to their plants.
Assessment and Learning Gains
Our observations indicated that students were engaged and thinking about ideas beyond that of textbook knowledge. The teacher rarely had to refocus
his students duringthe unit. Students felt ownership
over the investigation and their plants. Students frequently gave unsolicited suggestions as to why some
plants died quickly after the pollutant treatment.
Even though all students followed similar plant care
procedures, including the amount of water, some
students suggested that the plants may not have
received the same amount of water. Other students
said that the seedlings might be more fragile than
older plants. Additionally, students were noticing
things without being prompted. For example, one
group of students suggested that these are small
plants and the results might be different if they
were testing larger plants. During the presentations,
one group of students said that they wonder what
happens to all of the chemicals that they use when
they do chores. They were interested in finding out
where they go and if they will affect plants. That
question would never have been asked if it wasn't
for this style of inquiry.
The plant investigation was the core of this unit;
I
I
Connecting to the Standards
Student pre- and posttest sketches of
the parts of a plant.
This article relates to the following NationalScience
Education Standards(NRC 1996):
Content Standards
Grades 5-8
Standard A: Science as Inquiry
-Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
- Understandings about scientific inquiry
Standard C: Life Science
-Structure and function in living systems
* Reproduction and heredity
however, the overall goal was for students to learn
more about the needs and life cycle of plants. Students were assessed in multiple ways during this
unit. The teacher assessed the investigation portion
of this unit through the presentations and science
notebooks. In the notebooks, the teacher looked for
evidence that students were diligent in recording
their observations and measurements. Because the
teacher understood that his students, many of whom
are English language learners, were not comfortable
presenting to large groups, he had the students prepare scripts. These scripts were assessed for evidence
of students' inclusion of the question and the use of
evidence to support their conclusion.
Finally, at the end of the unit, students retook
the pretest. A comparison of student responses on
the pre- and posttests showed considerable gains
(Figure 4). When compared to the pretest, students
were able to label more plant parts correctly and to
describe more causes for unhealthy plants. Before
the unit, no students drew or labeled the pistil or stamen. After the unit, 10 of 21 did so. Before the unit,
only one student accurately described the life cycle
of a plant. After the unit, 14 of 21 students did so.
Engagement and Learning
Developing science inquiry units can be a difficult
and time-consuming process. However, the payoff is
increased student engagement and learning. In this
unit, the students learned inquiry, organizational,
presentation, and teamwork skills. They also learned
about plants and got a sense of the role humans play
in the fate of our planet.
The classroom teacher concluded, "I am really enthusiastic about what we accomplished; it was interesting seeing the growth in kids' learning. It gave me
a push and renewed my interest in how we educate
our students in science." Reflecting on the success
of this collaboration only confirms our belief in the
value of partnerships between teachers and teacher
educators for the benefit of student learning. a
Eric Brunsell ([email protected]) is an
assistant professor of science education at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. J. William Hug
([email protected]) is an educational consultant specializing in science teaching
methods, experiential education, and place-based
education.
Acknowledgement
This research was supported by The Center for Learning and Teaching in the West (NSF Award #0119786),
Montana State University, and Space Education
Initiatives (www.spaceed.org). Opinions expressed in
this article are those of the authors and not necessarily the position or policies of the National Science
Foundation. As this was part of a research project, the
school district requires that we protect the privacy of
the participating teacher and students.
Resources
National Research Council (NRC) 1996. National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Internet
Wisconsin Fast Plants
www.fastplants.org
April/May 2007
41
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
TITLE: Plants and Pollution
SOURCE: Science and Children 44 no8 Ap/My 2007
PAGE(S): 37-41
The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it
is reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article in
violation of the copyright is prohibited. To contact the publisher:
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