Organisms
Lesson 5
Observing Freshwater Plants
Students observe two plants that live in an environment different than the terrarium: fresh water. They will apply the process skills introduced in Lesson 4 to observe, draw and describe freshwater plants.
3. Lesson set up and Management
INQA Scientific investigations involve asking and trying to answer a question about the natural world by making and recording observations.
INQC Scientists develop explanations, using recorded observations (evidence).
INQD Scientists report on their investigations to other scientists, using drawings and words.
INQF All scientific observations must be reported honestly and accurately.
APPB Different materials are more suitable for some purposes than for other purposes.
APPD Counting, classifying, and measuring can sometimes be helpful in solving a problem.
SYSA Living and nonliving things are made of parts. People give names to the parts that are different from the name of the whole object, plant, or animal.
LS1B All plants and animals have various external parts.
LS2A There are different kinds of natural areas, or habitats, where many different plants and animals live together.
LS2B A habitat supports the growth of many different plants and animals by meeting their basic needs of food, water, and shelter.
LS3A Some things are alive and others are not.
LS3B There are many different types of living things on Earth. Many of them are classified as plants or animals.
LS3C External features of animals and plants are used to classify them into smaller groups.
- Students will observe, draw and describe two water plants, Elodea and Cabomba, to understand that plants have similarities and differences.
- Students will explore what plants need to live.
3. Lesson set up and Management
Materials:
- Rinse the gravel and drain it with a colander but do not use soap.
- Water is the single most important ingredient in the aquarium. The condition of the water is crucial to the survival of the aquatic organisms. Before the organisms arrive, condition tap water by filling two of the kit buckets and dechlorinating with tap water conditioner. Water conditioner is in the kit or can be obtained in any pet supply store. Let the water sit until it is at room temperature. Keep some extra conditioned water on hand in a milk jug to replenish aquariums as water evaporates.
- A water mark needs to be made at about 1 inch from the top. This will provide a water level to which the tank should be filled as water evaporates.
- Be sure students observe the two freshwater plants thoroughly before they are place in the aquarium. The plants are difficult to see up close and clearly once they are put in the aquarium.
- As soon as Elodea and Cabomba arrive place each in a separate pail of conditioned water.
- Here is a nifty idea for adding water in such a way that it doesn’t disturb the gravel:
- Arrange the gravel to slope upward to one side.
- Cover the sloped gravel with a blank white paper.
- Pour water along the paper so it doesn’t disturb the gravel slope.
- Finally, remove the paper.
- The Cabomba is recommended to be anchored in the gravel. It will do fine if it floats out of the gravel and doesn’t stay anchored.
- Instead of using Record Sheet 5-A (and in lesson 11, sheet 5-B) dedicate two or three pages in the science notebook in sequence to aquarium observations, both this initial one and subsequent observations.
After students slope the gravel place
paper over the gravel.Pour water onto the paper and then
slowly remove it when done pouring.Cabomba has delicate feathery leaves
that grow in a circular formation around
the stem, while Elodea has leaves that
grow from the stem opposite one another.
Student Management:
- Aquariums are designed to be set up by groups of about 4 students. It is useful to keep the same groups that set up terrariums in lesson 4. When forming teams, it can be helpful to mix the group with children of different levels of reading, writing, and verbal ability. This will ensure that each team has students that can use their strengths to assist others in the group.
- While it is an option to keep the aquariums on student tables this tends to be risky as they can be overturned and can be pretty distracting for students. If possible keep them on a rolling cart for ease of distribution during future science lessons.
- A parent helper or assistant can be really helpful in circulating around the room assisting students as the teacher does. It is entirely possible to do this solo, however, if no adult help is available. The plants are pretty kid proof.
- While the option of teacher assembling all aquariums is a possibility, this is a richer experience for students if they participate in assembling them.
- Lead the students step by step through the assembling of the aquarium tank, using a teacher aquarium to model each step.
- Create a class chart comparing and contrasting how freshwater plants are the same and different. If this is constructed as a box & T-chart it will provide a scaffold for future writing. Use post-it notes to place the comments so that they can be organized and more added as students make further observations.
The aquarium with two kinds of water
plants.Cabomba and Elodea.
Writing Support:
- Have students write questions they may have about the water plants. Talk about question marks in writing questions.
- Students can practice procedural writing by writing down the steps they used to establish the aquarium.
- Use an observation organizer to scaffold student writing about what they observed.
- Encourage students to always label the parts of any scientific diagram.
Be sure that students are always labeling scientific diagrams in their notebooks.
Reading Support:
- The wordless book, In the Pond, illustrated by Ermano Cristini and Luigi Puricelli gives students practice in understanding sequence in a story. They can tell the story to go along with the pictures. A very important step in reading comprehension is to be able to retell a story and sequence events. This is a great way for non-readers or emergent readers to do so.
Math Support:
- As the aquarium is filled, students need to pour in water to about one inch of the top. They also need to add enough gravel to measure about 2.5 to 5 cm deep. Have them use rulers and measure these depths. You can use inches for one measure and centimeters for the other or measure each in inches and centimeters and talk about the difference between the units of measure.