Assessment Plan

The purpose of this assessment plan is to assess student learning and exploration of the plant life-cycle.   At the end of this unit students will be able to identify and describe each stage of plant growth from seed to plant.   Hands-on activities involving planting, experimenting, and documenting observations will provide students with a deeper understanding of the needs of plants as well as the functions of the four main parts of the plant(root, stem, leaves and fruit).  Throughout the unit students will be exploring what part of plants are edible.

Activities:
Activity#1: Read a children's trade book and make connections to the different parts of plants we eat.

Learning Outcome: The learner will create a list of plants with edible parts, then using the list students will write sentences describing the edible part that Rabbit will get and the inedible parts that Bear will get. 

For the purpose of this activity we will focus on the edible science aspect of the story.
Click here for a reading of the story Tops and Bottoms 

• Read  Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens   Stop reading at p.24
• Create a list of plants that have edible middles (stem, some leaves)
• Write sentences to describe the part of the plant Hare would get and the parts of the plant that Bear gets
• Illustrate Hare with his edible parts of the plant and Bear with his inedible parts
• Compare what Hare and Bear got in the story and explain why Bear was upset
• After students have finished their assignment finish reading Tops and Bottoms

Activity #2: Plant 2-3 seeds of the same type and experiment with water, sunlight and soil quality

Learning Outcome:  The learner will experiment with different plant growing conditions and explain the results of his/her findings drawing conclusions of a plants needs for growth. 

• Plant seeds
• Students determine different tests they want to perform with at least 2 seeds
• Observe, document daily changes
• Compare and contrast the differences between each plant
• Draw conclusions about what seeds need to grow and stay alive