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A Plant’s Life
Introduction
The purpose of this STEM unit, specifically for second grade science, is to get students
excited about planting seeds, observing the growth of bean plants, and understanding what
plants need to sustain life. Many educators feel that making connections between students and
nature is very beneficial, especially at this age. There are three 2nd grade benchmarks that have
been targeted as the focus of this unit, which will be listed below. There are a variety of activities
incorporated within this 5-day unit and they all have a central theme-what plants need to
survive.
2.4.1.1.1 “Describe and sort plants into groups in many ways, according to their
characteristics and behaviors”
2.4.2.1.1 “Recognize that plants need space, water, nutrients, and air, and that they
fulfill those things in different ways”
2.4.3.1.1. “Describe the characteristics of plants at different stages in their life”
Taken from MN STEM Teacher Center Online
Table of Contents
Day 1: Students will brainstorm in a large group, begin writing observations in science journal of
plants on “nature walk” outside, and create a foldable book to illustrate the survival needs of a
plants water, food, space.
Content Objective: The student will be able to define plant and understand the survival needs of
a plant (water, food, space).
Benchmarks Met: 2.4.1.1.1, and 2.4.2.1.1
Day 2: Students will work with small groups to complete the celery activity with food coloring to
demonstrate how a plant absorbs water. Students will also complete the “What Happens After
Planting” activity in which they are asked to match pictures of the 5 main stages of plant growth
to the description of each.
Content Objective: The student will be able to arrange the stages of plant growth in
chronological order.
Benchmarks Met: 2.4.2.1.1, and 2.4.3.1.1
Day 3: Students will be conducting an experiment with small bean plants (already planted) and
the effects of being watered with water, soda, and milk over the course of days 3-5 (and the
weekend). They will be asked to form a hypothesis in their science journals for the experiment
and then divided into three groups based on the three liquids. They will then discuss in small
groups for wrap-up.
Content Objective: Students will be able to observe the effects of various liquids on plant
growth.
Benchmarks Met: 2.4.2.1.1, and 2.4.3.1.1
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Day 4: Students will be continuing with experiment from previous day. They will be asked to note
any observations in the three groups of plants and record the measurements of any plant
growth. They will then water the same plant using same liquid as previous day.
Content Objective: Students will be able to observe the effects of various liquids on plant
growth.
Benchmarks Met: 2.4.2.1.1, and 2.4.3.1.1
Day 5: Students will be continuing with experiment from previous day. They will be asked to note
any observations in the three groups of plants and record the measurements of any plant
growth. They will then water the same plant using same liquid as previous day. They will then
complete the “Create a Plant” activity individually.
Content Objective: Students will be able to observe the effects of various liquids on plant
growth.
Benchmarks Met: 2.4.2.1.1, and 2.4.3.1.1
Potential Assessments:
Short quiz, 5-10 questions (multiple choice)
Brief one-on-one presentation of science journal and findings to instructor
Presentation of “Create a Plant”
Observation during experiment
Small and large group discussions
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Stage 1: Desired Results
Established Goals (Standards): 2.4.2.1.1 “Recognize that plants need space, water, nutrients, and air, and that they fulfill these needs in
different ways
Plants are living beings How is the way a plant gets water different from the way people drink water?
Plants grow, and have stages of growth Do you think a plant’s growth will chance if it is watered with coke instead of plain
A plant’s growth can measured and water (or milk, etc)?
recorded to use in the future Where do you think a plant gets its nutrients from?
Plants can live in almost any climate on What is a hypothesis and how can we test it?
earth, just like people
There are many different kinds of plants
Stage 2: Assessment Evidence
Performance Task Other Evidence
- One of the main performance tasks is the three day Small group discussions
experiment in which the students are split into three smaller Large-group sharing and brainstorming
groups to test a liquid (either water, soda, or milk) on four of Individual observations
the 12 bean plants. Small group work within the experiment