INTRODUCTION

You encounter many familiar plants when you pick flowers, run across freshly cut grass, or eat vegetables such as carrots. Members of the plant kingdom share some important characteristics. Plants are autotrophs that produce their own food. Life would not be the same without plants. Plants are the beginning of the food cycle for many living things, including YOU! You will learn that all plants reproduce, respond to stimuli, grow and develop, and obtain and use resources for energy. You will learn the different types of plants, vascular and nonvascular, spore-producing and seed-producing, cone-bearing and flowering, and monocot and dicot. You will also learn the stages of a plant's life cycle, how plants defend themselves, and their survival structures (leaves, roots, stems, etc...). As you work through the treasure hunt, you will learn plants reproduce sexually and asexually. Lastly, you will learn the many processes plants can go through to survive. WOW, so much to learn so let's get started!

THE QUESTIONS:

1. What are the characteristics of vascular and nonvascular plants?

http://arnica.csustan.edu/boty1050/Vascular/vascular_plants.htm

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/vascular/vascular.html

http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/esp/2001_gbio/folder_structure/di/m6/s5/index.htm

http://www.quia.com/servlets/quia.activities.common.ActivityPlayer?AP_rand=122218052&AP_activityType=6&AP_urlId=37268&AP_continuePlay=true&id=37268

2. How are seed and spore-producing plants different?

http://www.promotega.org/hgr00005/spore.htm

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/seedplants/seedplants.html

3. Compare cone-bearing plants and flowering plants.

http://www.biologycorner.com/bio2/notes_plants.html

4. Compare monocot and dicot flowering plants.

http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/201Manhart/mono.vs.di/monosvsdi.html

http://www.hcs.ohio-state.edu/mgonline/Botany/gro04/04gro04a.htm

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss8/monocotdicot.html

http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/biobk/BioBookPLANTANATII.html

http://www.backyardnature.net/monodico.htm

5. How do plants defend themselves?

http://poisonivy.aesir.com/

http://library.thinkquest.org/J001543/

6. What structures are essential to plant survival?

http://facweb.furman.edu/~lthompson/bgy34/plantanatomy/plant_root.htm

http://www.botanical-online.com/raizangles.htm

http://www.dmturner.org/Teacher/Library/4thText/PlantsPart2.html

7. What structures make plant reproduction possible?

http://www.scsc.k12.ar.us/MosleyR/vocabula.htm

http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/biobk/BioBookflowersII.html

http://www.biology4kids.com/files/plants_reproduction.html

8. Describe the four stages of the plant life cycle.

http://www.arboretum.fullerton.edu/grow/primer/cycle.asp

9. How do annuals, bieannials, and perennials differ?

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/annuals/whatis.html

http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/flower/biennials.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perennial_plant

10. Define sexual and asexual plant reproduction.

http://www.biology4kids.com/files/plants_reproduction.html

http://www.hcs.ohio-state.edu/mgonline/Herbaceous/bul05/04bul05.htm

11. Explain how photosynthesis, respiration, and transpiration allow plants to live. Tell where each occurs.

http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/educate/kids/photsyn.htm

http://www.spacesciencegroup.org/sootw/Default.asp?Theme=plants&pagename=plantrespiration

12. What is it called when plants respond to light, gravity, harsh environments, touch, and water?

http://www.bonus.com/bonus/nav/scooter/scooterize.htmp?loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ebonus%2Ecom%2Fcontour%2FKids%5FGarden%2Fhttp%40%40%2Fwww%2Ekidsgardening%2Ecom%2Fgrowingideas%2Fprojects%2Fjuly04%2Fpg2%2Ehtml&useragent=Mozilla%2F4%2E0+%28compatible%3B+MSIE+6%2E0%3B+Windows+NT+5%2E1%3B+SV1%29&refv=1&referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch%2Eyahoo%2Ecom%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Dplant%2Btropisms%2Bfor%2Bkids%26fr%3Dyfp%2Dt%2D501%26toggle%3D1%26cop%3Dmss%26ei%3DUTF%2D8&entry=bonus&SERVER=www%2Ebonus%2Ecom

13. Compare positive and negative plant responses.

http://www.kidsgardening.com/themes/scientists13.asp

http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/smore/background/mcclain-scott.html

14. What are 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of fungi on plants and humans. Include examples.

http://www.nearctica.com/family/kids/kplants.htm

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/fungi/fungi.html

http://www.doctorfungus.org/

INTERNET RESOURCES:

www.ask.com

This website is Ask Jeeves, an amazing search engine to help you find most anything you want. This website will provide you with an encyclopedia, weather, maps and directions, a dictionary, and a site especially for kids.

http://www.biology4kids.com/files/plants_main.html

Biology4kids is an excellent reference tool for plants and animals. Students can view pictures and find a wealth of information on their search topic. This website also offers a site tour and quizzes.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case1/c1facts2c.html

This website is also known as, "The Great Plant Escape with Detective Le Plant." You can view and read all about plant, fruit, and flower parts, food making process (photosynthesis), fertilization, and growing plants indoors. This site offers mysteries, facts, quizzes. This fact is also written En Espanol!

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids/index.html

This site is called Sci4KIDS. Just click on the picture of the sunflower under the bumblebee. This will direct you to many activities, readings, and pictures on plants.

http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/vegquiz/veggie.htm

Cool Science for Curious Kids! This site will help you identify plant parts and build a salad.

http://www.dmturner.org/Teacher/Library/4thText/PlantsPart2.html

Science with Dr. T. Part 2: Roots, stems, and leaves. This website is a great vocabulary tool. You can find definitions to many plant vocabulary words in this site.

http://www.madsci.org/experiments/

This is the Edible/Inedible Science Experiments website. Try your hand at experimental science ! Some experiments may be eaten before, during, or after the experiment. Some should not be eaten at all!

http://www.alghazalyschool.org/pages/5sci_curr.htm

BIG QUESTION:

You have gathered many, many pieces of research and information on plants.
Using all of your information, create a brochure or poster to represent everything you have learned about plants. Your main goal is to prove the following: YOU REALLY ARE A PLANT EXPERT!
You will work your way through all of the questions listed above (#1-#14).
When creating your brochure or poster, you may draw labeled pictures to explain a question (#6, #7, #8, #9), and you may want to draw a chart to compare the structures of the various types of plants (#5).
Finally, create your own super plant on the back of your poster or brochure. You want to create a beautiful new flower labeling the roots, stem, leaves, petals, pistil, stamen, and style.
Your created flower should look like no other flower you have ever seen before. Be creative with the petal design and colors.

STANDARDS:

http://ed.sc.gov/agency/offices/cso/standards/science/sd.html

Academic Standard 6-2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of structures, processes, and responses of plants that allow them to survive and reproduce.

RUBRICS:

Making A Brochure : All About Plants

Teacher Name: Ms. Wade

Student Name: ________________________________________

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Content - Accuracy	All facts in the brochure are accurate.	99-90% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.	89-80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.	Fewer than 80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate.
Graphics/Pictures	Graphics go well with the text and there is a good mix of text and graphics.	Graphics go well with the text, but there are so many that they distract from the text.	Graphics go well with the text, but there are too few and the brochure seems "text-heavy".	Graphics do not go with the accompanying text or appear to be randomly chosen.
Attractiveness & Organization	The brochure has exceptionally attractive formatting and well-organized information.	The brochure has attractive formatting and well-organized information.	The brochure has well-organized information.	The brochure's formatting and organization of material are confusing to the reader.
Writing - Organization	Each section in the brochure has a clear beginning, middle, and end.	Almost all sections of the brochure have a clear beginning, middle and end.	Most sections of the brochure have a clear beginning, middle and end.	Less than half of the sections of the brochure have a clear beginning, middle and end.
Spelling & Proofreading	No spelling errors remain after one person other than the typist reads and corrects the brochure.	No more than 1 spelling error remains after one person other than the typist reads and corrects the brochure.	No more than 3 spelling errors remain after one person other than the typist reads and corrects the brochure.	Several spelling errors in the brochure.

Making A Poster : All About Plants

Teacher Name: Ms. Wade

Student Name: ________________________________________

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Content - Accuracy	All facts on the poster are accurate and correct.	99% - 90% of the facts on the poster are accurate and correct.	89% - 80% facts on the poster are accurate and correct.	Fewer than 80% of the facts on the poster are accurate and correct.
Graphics - Originality	Several of the graphics used on the poster reflect a exceptional degree of student creativity in their creation and/or display.	One or two of the graphics used on the poster reflect student creativity in their creation and/or display.	The graphics are made by the student, but are based on the designs or ideas of others.	No graphics made by the student are included.
Attractiveness	The poster is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness.	The poster is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness.	The poster is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy.	The poster is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.
Labels	All items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away.	Almost all items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away.	Several items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away.	Labels are too small to view OR no important items were labeled.
Grammar	There are no grammatical mistakes on the poster.	There is 1 grammatical mistake on the poster.	There are 2 grammatical mistakes on the poster.	There are more than 2 grammatical mistakes on the poster.
Required Elements	The poster includes all required elements as well as additional information.	All required elements are included on the poster.	All but 1 of the required elements are included on the poster.	Several required elements were missing.

created by: Tonya Patton

Castle Heights Middle School

Rock Hill School District 3

Updated: May 16, 2007

wadespeanut@yahoo.com