Description
- Make growth, development, and reproduction real for students with this Fast Plants® kit; studies include measuring and quantifying germination, pollination, and seed development.
- Middle and high school lab investigation with enough materials for 16 lab groups.
- Carolina Kits 3D®—Labs that use phenomena to support NGSS and 3-dimensional instruction.
The investigations in this kit use Wisconsin Fast Plants® as a model organism for understanding the life cycle of plants. Although each investigation stands on its own and can be taught separately (provided you have grown the plants to the required stage), following the entire sequence leads students to a deeper understanding of how the stages of the life cycle interrelate. By looking at the life cycle of Fast Plants® from seed germination to seed production, students can understand the nature of the dependency among organisms and their environment. Under ideal conditions of light, moisture, and temperature, the life cycle of Wisconsin Fast Plants® is 35 to 45 days.
Time Requirement
The entire life cycle takes 35–40 days, from planting to harvesting the seeds. The amount of time required to care for Fast Plants® each day varies, depending on the task and the stage of development. Only a few minutes are required on the days when students are simply observing the plants, checking the water level in the reservoir, or making notes. On days when students are planting, measuring, dissecting, or pollinating, an entire class period may be required.
Digital Resources
Includes 1-year access to digital resources that support 3-dimensional instruction for NGSS. Digital resources may include a teacher manual and student guide, pre-lab activities and setup videos, phenomenon videos, simulations, and post-lab analysis and assessments.
Performance Expectations
HS-LS1-2
HS-LS1-4
Crosscutting Concepts
Systems and System Models
Disciplinary Core Ideas
HS-LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms
Science and Engineering Practices
Developing and Using Models
Learning Objectives
- Apply observations to describe the life cycle of a model organism.
- Gather evidence and use scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction.
- Quantitatively and qualitatively track variation within a population.
- Explore the mutualism between bees and flowering plants.
Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills
Students should be familiar with using a dissecting microscope (stereoscope) and hand lens. They should also be able to calculate mean and range and create scatter plots (by hand or on a spreadsheet).