Assessment focuses
AF1, AF2, AF4
Context
The pupils visited Kew Gardens and took part in a tour and workshop, learning about plant growth and nurture. Back in school they looked further at the life cycles of plants and kept a diary for the growing of cress seeds, observing and recording changes taking place as the seeds germinated and grew.
They then took part in a themed day during which ‘Charles Darwin’ visited the school. The children were given the opportunity to learn about his life and work and how this has changed our understanding of plants, and to apply their current learning to the real world.
As an opportunity to apply their knowledge and observe plants in an everyday environment, the pupils went into the school grounds to compare and record different kinds of plants.
The evidence
See the video clip of Manushree exploring plant growth in the school environmental area.
- Manushree
- It's so thin. Oh look there's a split in here and if you look inside it there's even more leaves in there, and there's some growing out the top as well.
- Teacher
- Yes.
- Manushree
- Which, I wonder why, because it's already got some leaves in there and there's leaves inside. It might be because once these leaves die the other leaves inside come out.
- Teacher
- That's probably right, yes, so if it has leaves inside, why has it got this protective...or this sort of casing?
- Manushree
- Because there's a spilt at the top. What might happen is if there was no casing, the whole plant would just be leaves.
- Teacher
- Yes, so it holds it upright does it?
- Manushree
- Yeah.
- Teacher
- OK, what else could protective casing do?
- Manushree
- Well, if it didn't have protective casing, what might happen is all these leaves would come out and that would be a waste of leaves because all of them might die.
- Teacher
- OK.
- Manushree
- And there would be no other leaves for the plant.
- Teacher
- OK, do you want to look at a different plant or...
- Manushree
- OK.
- Teacher
- It's up to you.
- Manushree
- Yeah, shall we look at this one?
- Teacher
- Which one? That one.
- Manushree
- I was wondering why they're so round and they're not free like those ones over here, or like these.
- Teacher
- Maybe write that question down because I can't answer that.
- Manushree
- And also, again, why they're so tall? I mean this is taller than this, why they're so tall, they don’t.... I suppose all of this is being covering all the...the other bit so they need to grow tall to get past that bit and then to get sunlight.
- Teacher
- Yes.
[End of clip]
Download formats:
pp_sci_manush_pl_gr.mov
(19.6 MB) pri_app_sci_manush_pl_gr.wmv
(18.7 MB)
Teacher’s notes
At Kew, Manushree saw scientific work about pollination and confidently asked about bees and butterflies and why scientists need to help particular plants in their hothouses.
Quotes from Manushree’s cress diary:
Manushree recorded on Day 1:
‘The seeds are miniature and are a nice rusty brown. They are shaped a bit like raindrops.’
On Day 2 she recorded:
‘The cress looks really healthy and it has turned to a rich green. The cress has grown to 1.8 cm.’
In the school grounds, Manushree spotted different kinds of plants and asked questions about their similarities and differences. She made some sketches and wrote down some of her questions, which were later discussed in class.
Next steps
- Investigation of the effects of water, warmth and light on plant growth.
Assessment commentary
The evidence here shows Manushree using her accurate observational skills, identifying similarities, differences and changes, and asking relevant questions. She considers how the work of scientists at Kew helps plants.
Attachments
Related downloads
- Exploring plant growth: video clip
- [Apple video] - [ mov : 19.6 MB ]
- [Windows video] - [ wmv : 18.7 MB ]
- [Generic video] - [ mp4 : 22.6 MB ]
