ALEX Learning Activity

  

Plant Life in a Bottle

A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Stephanie Carver
System:Cullman City
School:Cullman City Board Of Education
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 2038
Title:
Plant Life in a Bottle
Digital Tool/Resource:
 
Web Address – URL:
Not Applicable
Overview:

Students will create a classroom terrarium. Everything the plant needs (food, soil, and water) will be placed inside a plastic bottle and the bottle will be sealed. The students will place the bottle in the sunlight and watch the plants grow.

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
Science
SC2015 (2015)
Grade: K
5 ) Construct a model of a natural habitat (e.g., terrarium, ant farm, diorama) conducive to meeting the needs of plants and animals native to Alabama.

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L4.1: Organisms need food, water, and air; a way to dispose of waste; and an environment in which they can live.*

NAEP Statement::
L4.2: Organisms have basic needs. Animals require air, water, and a source of energy and building material for growth and repair. Plants also require light.

NAEP Statement::
L4.3: Organisms interact and are interdependent in various ways, including providing food and shelter to one another. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their needs are met. Some interactions are beneficial; others are detrimental to the organism and other organisms.

NAEP Statement::
L4.4: When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Developing and Using Models
Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models
Disciplinary Core Idea: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Construct a model of a natural habitat conducive to meeting the needs of plants and animals native to Alabama.
  • Use the model to describe the relationships between the different plants and animals and the materials they need to survive.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Construct
  • Model
  • Natural
  • Habitat
  • Conducive
  • Needs
  • Plants
  • Animals
  • Native
  • Alabama
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Needs of plants and animals native to Alabama.
  • How to construct a model of a natural habitat and can identify and describe the components of the model
  • Places where the different plants and animals live.
  • The relationship between where plants and animals live and the resources those places provide
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Construct a model of interactions that occur in a natural habitat.
  • Use a model to represent and describe the relationships between the components.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Systems in the natural environments of Alabama have parts that work together and can be represented.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Plants and Animals
*Exploring Plants and Animals, STC
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.K.5- Participate in the construction and/or care of a model habitat of plants and animals native to Alabama.
Learning Objectives:

I can construct a model of a terrarium and include everything the plants need to grow.
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
After/Explain/Elaborate
Activity:

This learning activity should be used after teaching a unit on plants or living things. The teacher will begin by reviewing the basic needs of a plant in order to survive: food, water, soil, sunlight, and space. Show the students the materials for building a terrarium: one 2-liter bottle, scissors, potting soil, gravel, small plants still containing their roots (can be found outside or bought), and water. Discuss if all the basic needs of a plant can be met with these materials. Students might point out that sunlight is missing and that the scissors are not needed. The teacher will build the terrarium or allow the students to build it. Make sure the class discusses how each basic need is met as the terrarium is being built. 

  1. Remove the label and cut the 2-liter bottle horizontally in two about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom.

  2. In the top portion, cut six vertical 1-inch slits spaced around the bottle.

  3. Pour gravel in the bottom of the bottle, just enough to cover the base.

  4. Take the plants and the soil and finish filling the bottom of the bottle.

  5. Water the soil and seal your plants by replacing the top portion of the bottle, fitting the slits over the base.

  6. Place the terrarium next to the window and observe it for several days or longer.
Assessment Strategies:

The class discussion on the basic needs of plants and the building of the terrarium will assess if the students mastered the learning objective.
Advanced Preparation:

The teacher will need to gather the following items per terrarium: one 2-liter bottle, scissors, potting soil, gravel, small plants still containing their roots (can be found outside or bought), and water.
Variation Tips (optional):

The class can be split into groups and make several classroom terrariums if desired.
Notes or Recommendations (optional):
 
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: