Science

Fast Growing Plants

• What does a science community look and feel like?

• Many plants follow a life-cycle that starts with a seed and follows through to the production of seeds.

• Plants have distinct stages in their life cycle.

• To live and grow, plants need light, water, and nutrients from soil.

• Flowering plants must be pollinated to produce seeds.  

• Bees pollinate many plants.

• A flower’s pollen sticks to a bee, and some rubs off on other flowers while the bee is feeding.

• One seed produces one plant, but one plant can produce many seeds.

• How are seeds alike?

• What do seeds need to germinate?

• How do seeds germinate?

• Where does pizza come from?

• What adjectives describe a seed?

• Where does flour come from?

• Why is wheat important?

• Why is it important to thin plants?

• What does a farm look like throughout the year?

• What equipment helps farmers?

• What are the parts of plants?

• Why do plants have flowers?

• What part of a tomato plant do we eat?

• What vegetable toppings make a good pizza?

• What is a pest?

• How do different insects’ mouths work?

• What is scouting/

• How many insects are too many?

• What are the best IPM methods?

• Does IPM work?

• What animals are found on PA farms?

• In what ways are cows important?

• What are dairy products and how do we get them?

• How is cheese made?

• How do you make pizza?

Going Green in the Neighborhood

• Houses come in many different styles and are made up of different parts and materials.

• Garbage is made up of different materials.

• Garbage takes up space.

• Data is analyzed to determine patterns.

• Reducing, reusing, and recycling are three ways to create less garbage.

• Data sets are compared to analyze effectiveness of implemented changes.

• By reducing the amount of garbage generated, natural resources are conserved.

• Trees are natural resources that provide many products and benefits.

• Trees are made up of many parts.

• Cross-sections of trees provide information about how trees grow.

• Trees are renewable resources.

• There are different types of trees.

• Reducing, reusing, recycling, and renewing resources are ways to help our environment.

The Community Playground

• Scientists use observation skills to collect data that helps them make decisions.

• Surveys can be conducted to collect data about people’s preferences.

• Engineers are scientists who solve problems.

• Engineers use design considerations when building structures.

• A triangle is a shape that makes structures strong.

• Materials can be made stronger by folding and/or layering.

• Swings are pendulums.

• The farther back a swing is pulled, the longer it takes to go back and forth.

• The longer the chain, the longer it takes the swing to go back and forth.

• The weight on a swing does not affect the time it takes the swing to go back and forth.

• Slides are a type of inclined plane.

• The steeper the slope of  the slide, the faster the slide will go.

• The longer the slide with the same slope, the longer it will take the slider to reach the bottom.

• The weight of the slider does not affect the time it takes to get to the bottom.

• Engineers analyze data and use the data to help make decisions.

• Engineers use models to represent their designs on a smaller scale.

• Engineers build models based on appropriate design considerations.

• Engineers provide evidence to support their decision making.