cmsEDN113+Teacher+Information

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Social networking: we recommend that the students maintain and use a blog regularly for this assignment. The blog will give them a location to reflect on their learning process and the changes which are occurring in their plant. This can be supported with photos and videos the students have taken when they attend to their plant each morning. They will not always need to upload a photo but will need to record the measured height of their plant and their thoughts of what is happening and why. The teacher can also use the blog to read the students work or to upload and share relevant information and tasks. The site we recommend using is [|kidblog.org]=====

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Websites: one of the harder things to do in this assignment is making your line graph of growth. You can use the website to make them for you there are many site available but the most age appropriate site to make your graph is by kidz zone. Through this website you can select the type of graph and the axis. All that needs to be done is fill in your information and the graph will be made and then down loaded to the computer.=====

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Interactive whiteboard: the learning federation provides a range of different interactive activities to be used in a classroom situation. We have sought out the manipulative //let’s plant a tree//. This manipulative introduce the basics of a scientific method and the process involved to grow a plant.=====

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Movie: after using //YouTube// we have located a video which can be used by the students to watch the growth of a plant in fast forward. After seeing this student will have a rough idea of the stages and appearance that a plant goes through. time lapse - tomato plant=====

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The first lesson is a chance to introduce students to the new topic which we will study over the term. To start off as a class students will interact with the whiteboard manipulative //let’s grow a tree// and from this they will learn how to follow a procedure and a bit about how to successfully grow a plant. This should take no longer than about 15 minutes and followed on by research questions in the form of a worksheet. See below. These questions were inspired by gizmo (2011) and give students the basic understanding they need to grow a plant and further learn. This should take an hour with access to internet.=====

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At the beginning of the class each student can log into their blog. Their first practise blog entry will be based on the research that was conducted in lesson one. Next the students will be put into groups of three to four subject to class numbers. As a group they will decide on what hypothesis they want to test, this is up to the teacher discretion.=====

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As a group they should then discuss the first part of the scientific procedure. This includes the aim, equipment, method and variables. This information can then be used to fill out the worksheet; we have uploaded an example worksheet from teaching-ideas (2011).=====

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In lesson three students in their groups will collect the equipment needed to set up their experiment. Materials include: two tomato plant seedlings, trowel, additional soil, water jug, tray and fertilizer if specified in hypothesis. Once the students have collected this equipment it is time to plant the seedlings and place garden tray on window sill in sunlight. Allow 45 minutes for this part of the process. Document this process to blog about at a later lesson.=====

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This lesson is used by the teacher to demonstrate what the students should be doing on a daily basis. The students should first observe the change in there plant, next take a photo if there is any evident change, take a measurement of the plants height. This information can then be put into a blog by the students’ which is updated regularly. This should occur regularly throughout the term.=====

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In the second last week of term the students will then finish the experiment. First the students will get back into their groups they will then work together to finish filling the scientific method worksheet. They will also need to make a graph. The teacher will then show the students how to use the graphing tool on the //[|kidz zone]// website. After watching the teacher make her own the students can then construct a graph then print and save it to their computer. Finally as a group they can then discuss wh-ether their hypothesis was proven or not this information is then filled in on the worksheet.=====

The task for this lesson is to create a PowerPoint presentation. The allocated time for this is one – two hours and should include slides on

 * =====Aim, method, hypothesis, variable=====
 * =====The line graph demonstrating plant growth=====
 * =====Photos of plant growth=====
 * =====Conclusion.=====

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To conclude this terms experiment the students show their PowerPoint presentation to the rest of the class and invited parents, they should have blog completed for marking from teacher. The last step of this blog is to upload their PowerPoint to their blog.=====

**Resource**: internet, computer, printer
Expanding on the task After completing this assignment further activities student can be undertaken. With the student’s new understanding of growing plants effectively, as a class you could now undertake the challenge of growing a class veggie garden. With the produce that grows you could then research in to the benefits and importance of eating fresh fruit and veg. as a class you can make different salads etc. to help the plants grow students can make compost and explore the benefit of recycling. As you can see with a little creativity this task can allow a new variety of tasks. These tasks can be explored and developed into older age groups but focuses on the basics. This is an engaging authentic task for students to learn about the world we live in.