Plant
Identification Unit Plan
Greenhouse
Production
Unit Rationale:
Students enrolled in the Greenhouse Production course will gain knowledge on
plant-based careers and knowing harmful and helpful plant species in Washington
County. These students participated are
in grades 9-12. Plant identification is relevant in a way where students will
develop sophisticated observational skills while becoming familiar with outside
educational resources. About 4.9 million dollars worth of nursery, greenhouse,
floriculture and so products were sold in Washington County in 2012. (Census of
Agriculture, 2012)
Number of Class
Sessions Needed: 15
Length of Each
Session: 43 minutes
PA Academic Standards
and Assessment Anchors Addressed:
CC.3.5: Reading
Informational Text: Students read, understand, and respond to informational
text – with emphasis on comprehension, making connections among ideas and
between texts with focus on textual evidence.
CC.3.5.11-12.D. Determine the meaning
of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are
used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 11–12
texts and topics.
CC.3.6: Writing: Students write for different
purposes and audiences. Students write clear and focused text to convey a
well-defined perspective and appropriate content.
CC.3.6.11-12.C. Produce clear and
coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CC.3.6:
Writing: Students write for different purposes and audiences. Students write
clear and focused text to convey a well-defined perspective and appropriate
content.
CC.3.6.9-10.E. Use technology,
including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared
writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other
information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
PA Agricultural
Standards and Benchmarks Addressed:
Plant Science.02.01. Classify plants according
to taxonomic systems.
Plant Science.02.01.01.c.
Classify agricultural and ornamental plants according to the hierarchical
classification system
Plant Science.02.01.02.a.
Describe the morphological characteristics used to identify agricultural and herbaceous
plants (e.g., life cycles, growth habit, plant use and as monocotyledons or
dicotyledons, woody, herbaceous, etc.).
Plant Science.02.01.02.b.
Identify and describe important plants to agricultural and ornamental plant
systems by common names.
Plant Science.02.01.02.c.
Identify and describe important plants to agricultural and ornamental plant
systems by scientific names.
Plant Science.02.01.01.a.
Identify and summarize systems used to classify plants based on specific characteristics.
Plant Science.02.02.
Apply knowledge of plant anatomy and the functions associated with plant
systems.
Plant Science.02.02.05.b.
Apply knowledge of flower structure to differentiate between the types of
flowers and flower inflorescence (e.g., complete, incomplete, perfect,
imperfect).
Plant Science.02.02.06.b.
Analyze and categorize the major types of seeds and fruit.
Plant Science.02.02.05.a.
Identify and summarize the components of a flower, the functions of a flower
and the functions of flower components.
Plant Science.04.02
Create designs using plants
Plant Science.04.01.01.a.
Identify and categorize plants by their purpose (e.g., floral plants, landscape
plants, house plants, etc.).
Unit Goals:
·
Students will be able to:
·
Identify common regional plants
·
Use a dichotomous key
·
Identify and categorize plants by their
purpose
·
Explain the functions of a flower and
seed
·
Identify different types of flowers
·
Distinguish the hierarchical
classification system
Lesson
Titles, Daily Objectives, & Realia:
|
Essential
Questions
|
At the conclusion of
instruction, students will be able to:
|
Materials and
Supplies
|
|
1. What
are some different methods of identifying plants?
|
1.1 Explain
different methods of identifying plants to 100% accuracy.
1.2 Identify
key aspects to observe when looking at different plant species to teacher
satisfaction.
|
5 Paint Brush (Interest Approach)
15 Sticky notes
8 packs of Markers
6 Plants
3 Tree branches
3 Leaves
|
|
2. What
is a dichotomous key and how do we use it?
|
2.1 Use a dichotomous key to teacher satisfaction.
2.2 Identify a specific plant using a dichotomous key with
100% accuracy.
2.3 Identify parts and usage of a dichotomous key to
teacher satisfaction.
|
15 Dichotomous Key
15 Playdough
8 Sticks
8 Legos
15 packs of Markers/Colored 30 Pencils
6 Plants
1 per student, Computer/Tablet
|
|
3. How
do we classify plant species?
|
3.1 Describe
how to correctly identify plant species to 100% accuracy.
3.2 Identify
specific plant species to teacher satisfaction.
3.3 Identify
at least three plant species classification to 100% accuracy.
|
1/student: Notebook
6/student: Paper
15 packs of Colored Pencils
6 Plants
6 Plant Images
1/student: Resource books
|
|
4 What
is the difference between monocots and dicots?
|
4.1 Identify
the difference between monocots and dicots to teacher satisfaction
4.2 Identify
monocots and dicots to teacher satisfaction
|
5 Monocot and dicot seeds
5 Knife
18 Surgical trays
18 Magnified glass
|
|
5 How
can we identify and classify different leaf shapes?
|
5.1 Identify
different leaf shapes to 100% accuracy
5.2 Describe
the different leaf outlines to 100% accuracy
5.3 Identify
elements needed for leaf identification to 100% accuracy
|
1/student: Graphic Organizer – Hand made
10/student: Paper
15 packs of Colored pencils
15 Scissors
15 Glue bottles
|
|
6 What
are different types of flowers?
|
6.1 Describe
different types of flowers to 100% accuracy
6.2 Identify
the need for different types of flowers to teacher satisfaction
|
1/student Poster
15 packs of Markers
1/student: Computer/iPad
15 Glue bottles
25 colored Papers
1/student Magazines
|
|
7 How
do lifecycles affect the plant/flower?
(2 day lesson)
|
7.1 Identify
different lifecycles of plants to 100% satisfaction
7.2 Describe
the different lifecycles of each type of flowering plant to teacher
satisfaction
|
100 Story paper
1/student Pencils
15 packs of Colored pencils
|
|
8 How
to identify specific flowers?
|
8.1 Identify
common flowers of Washington County to 100% accuracy
8.2 Describe
common methods of identifying
specific flowers to teacher satisfaction
|
1/student Brochure
15 packs of Markers
100 Papers
15 Glue bottles
15 Scissors
|
|
9 How
are trees identified?
(2 day lesson)
|
9.1 Identify
major trees of the forestry industry to 100% accuracy
9.2 Describe
the top two methods of identifying hardwoods to teacher satisfaction
9.3 Identify
the way foresters tag trees to 100% accuracy
|
Poster Competition
1/studentPoster board
15 packs of Markers & colored Pencils
2 packs of Paper
2 packs of Craft paper
A box of Styrofoam
3 bags of Pipe cleaners
|
|
10 How
are different shrubs identified?
|
10.1
Identify different types of shrubs
found in the local area to 100% satisfaction
10.2
Describe the top 3 methods to identify
shrubs to teacher satisfaction
|
1/ student Notebook
1/ pair of students Field guides
1/ student Pencils
15 packs of Colored pencils
|
|
11 What
are common weeds in our area?
(2 day lesson)
|
11.1
Identify weeds in the local area to
teacher satisfaction.
11.2
Describe ways to control weeds
efficiently to teacher satisfaction
|
1/ student Weed notebooks
6/student Paper
2 packs of Colored paper
15 packs of markers & pencils
|
|
12 How
do we identify unknown plant species without foliage?
|
12.1
Demonstrate proper identification of
unknown plant species teacher satisfaction with foliage.
12.2
Demonstrate proper identification of
unknown plant species teacher satisfaction without foliage.
|
1/ student Camera/Cell phone
1/student Field guides
Previous class materials
1/student Notebooks
1/student Pencil
|
Unit Assessments/Evaluation
Strategy:
Plant lifecycle Project: Students will be spaced into groups
and then instructed to create a story of a specific plant and its type of
lifecycle. Students will be assessed on
knowledge they have learned throughout the class and how much each has
specifically wrote to have a fair grade.
Poster Challenge Project: Students will have several class
periods to create a poster and then will presented to small groups of the
class. Students will be assessed on content knowledge that is put into the
poster as well as appearance.
Shrub walk/verbal quiz: Students will work in pairs and be
assigned to walk around to different shrubs around the building. The students will then identify each shrub on
an evaluation sheet and give feedback of how they identified each shrub.
Dichotomous Key Quiz: Students will have a written
assessment evaluating their knowledge and skills on usage of a dichotomous key.
This will be a fill in the blank, matching and open-ended question quiz.
Exceptional Children
Strategies/Accommodations/Adaptations:
Advanced students are required to submit all of the same
work that other students are assigned, but different and more elaborate rubrics
will be assigned along with extra classroom readings. Special needs students
will be provided guided worksheets if they ask for accommodations. Examples
include more thought out sentences and phrases as well as clear and simplified
at the top of each document. Instructor will identify additional accommodations
based on individual students’ IEPs.
Specific Science,
Math, or English Enhancement:
Science: Biology – Lifecycle, plant parts
English: Narrative story writing, objective essay writing
SAE Integration:
Assist in program greenhouse
·
Experimental-Farm field based research
·
Placement-Employment, floricultural shop,
landscaping
FFA Integration:
·
Floriculture CDE
·
Forestry CDE
·
Landscape and Design CDE
Careers Prepared For:
·
Horticulturalist
·
Foresters
·
Farmer
·
Researcher
· Extension agent/teacher
References (APA):
Census of Agriculture -
Washington County. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2016, from
https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Online_Resources/County_Profiles/Pennsylvania/cp42125.pdf
PDE SLO Template:
