Chapter 4 Introduction

Materials:

Here is the schedule for Chapter 4

• Worksheet, More about plants
• Article, Native American Farmers on back of worksheet.
• Page 66 of Book, Picture
• Diagram of Four Groups of Plants

Objective:

• Students will be introduced to the chapter on Classifying Plant Groups.
• Students will access their prior knowledge about plants, make comparisons, and identify similarities between simple and complex plants.

Alaska Standards:

• SCI A-12 Students will distinguish the patterns of similarity and differences in the living world in order to understand the diversity of life and understand the theories that describe the importance of diversity for species and ecosystems.
• SCI A-15 Students will use science to understand and describe the local environment.
• SCI B-1 Students will use the processes of science: classifying.
• SCI C-3, Students will understand that society, culture, history, and environment affect the development of scientific knowledge.

Anticipatory Set: Show the students the picture on P 66 of their book and lead a discussion which describes some similarities and differences with of the plants. If the students were going to separate the plants into groups, how would they do it. Items discussed should include siz, kinds of leaves, shape of plant parts, plant reproduction.

Have the students look at sections 2 and 3 in their book, What importance in plant classification do those sections have?

Teacher Input: The teacher will discuss where plants have come from and how they have changed in the fossil record. Students will look at the diagram of hisory of plants.Key points for discussion,

• Fossil evidence suggests that plants evolved from a green alga.
• A difference between plants and algae is that plants have adapted to life in a terrestrial environment.
• Challenges of life on land included the limited availability of water and changes in temperature.

Teacher Modeling: How important are plants in your lives? Students will discuss this question while looking at a picture of some cabbage and a picture of some Bamboo. Students should answer these questions while looking at the pictures of the plants. Have you ever eaten either of the plants shown in the photographs? In what part of the world do you think the plant shown in the second photograph is common? Why? How are plants important to you?. Answers should include: food, oxygen, building materials, and medicines.

Check for Understanding: Students will remphasize the similarities and differences between algae and plants, Student will then help the teacher construct a chart on the screen that lists two columns, similarities and differences.

Differences should include,

• plants have specialized cells,
• roots, leaves, and stems,
• most plants do not require water for fertilization
• plants are generally adapted for water on land.

Similarities should include,

• same photosynthetic pigments in similar chloroplasts,
• Cell walls that contain cellulose,
• the development of a cell plate during cell division,
• Food for plants and algae is stored as starch.

Independent Practice:

• Students will read the very interesting article on Native American Agriculture.
• Students will do a little research on plants and finish the worksheet.

Duration:

30 minutes + 10-15 for Independent Practice (Could be longer if taken for homework).