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1. In Lesson 7.2: Planning Plant Investigations, students planned investigations to try to determine where the matter that makes up a tree comes from. Have students review/share their plans. Provide sheets of chart paper, butcher paper, or 11” × 14” sheets of paper for students to draw the main details of their plan as a poster.

TEACHER NOTE

If students did not collaboratively develop a plan in Lesson 7.2: Planning Plant Investigations, ask the students to share ideas and either pick one person’s plan or develop a common plan now. The goal is to have students collaborate in groups and to have their ideas visible to the class and for you to assess how students are thinking about how the transfer of energy drives the motion and/or cycling of matter. This is also an opportunity for students to move their verbal conversations to a public, written format. The scaffolds for discussion described in Lesson 7.2: Planning Plant Investigations can be used to support student discussion.

2. Facilitate a class discussion as students share their plans. Direct students to visit at least two other groups and review their plans. Tell students to review in pairs or trios and direct them to look for things that are similar and different in the plans.

TEACHER NOTE

English Learners may benefit from linguistic scaffolds to support their ability to express and share their ideas. A few sentence starters can be provided such as: The dependent variable in both plans _______, but the independent variables _______. The plans use different/similar tools to measure _______.The plans are different because the data collected _______. Allowing the use of native language, non-standard, or social language can be productive in this process.

3. Tell students that people wondered about similar things in the past and did investigations to find out more information. Sequence the ideas in order so that you can provide the handouts when the ideas are brought up by the students.
4. Explain to students that they will read and discuss information from past investigations. Review the student-generated questions from Lesson 7.1: Tree Matter. Ask students which questions they were attempting to answer when they designed their investigation. Tell students that they worked on developing investigations in Lesson 7.2: Planning Plant Investigations, and now they will have an opportunity to compare their plans to investigations that were actually conducted by scientists in the past. As they discuss the readings, students should evaluate the scientist’s plan, the data collected from the plan, and the conclusions drawn from the data. Explain to students that we are analyzing these historical investigations to help us answer our questions related to how matter flows in and out of the plant or tree.
5. Have students obtain information from 7.3.G1: Information about Historical Investigations. As they read, they should make notes about their evaluation of the plan, the data collected from the plan, and the conclusions drawn from the data. They should also make notations, revisions, and additions to their group poster. As students work, visit each group, listen to their discussion, and review their work on the group poster. If there is no evidence on the group poster that students have considered how the investigation can provide evidence about how the transfer of energy is driving the motion of matter flowing into the tree (system), facilitate their thinking with a few questions:
   • Which component of the system is the focus of the investigation?
   • What inputs were manipulated? Controlled? Measured?
   • What outputs were manipulated? Controlled? Measured?
   • What forms of energy are involved in this system?
   • What molecules are involved in this process?
   • How are the molecules being rearranged?
   For English Learners or students reading below grade level, the text of 7.3.G1: Information about Historical Investigations may be challenging. Before they read, preview the reading to look for terms that are unfamiliar. Annotate the text by identifying words that they won’t understand, ideas that relate to their plans, and ideas that bring up questions. This will help them to understand the investigation and its results. Students who are above the target level for this lesson may wish to conduct some individual research. Suggested websites are provided at the end of this lesson.

TEACHER NOTE

The goal of this experience is that students see that their ideas are similar to what scientists actually did. It is important to relate the historical investigations to the student ideas. Conduct a discussion where the students describe their investigations and then provide the matching historical investigation when needed. It is also important to sequence the discussion in the order of questions in 7.3.G1: Information about Historical Investigations. For example, if a student or group planned an investigation seeking to find out if soil made up the matter of the tree, the student could share that investigation, and then you could provide the part of the reading that describes Helmont’s investigations of “Is soil the source of matter in plants?”. Another group may have planned an investigation about water. This group could share their plan, and then you could provide the information on “Is water the source of matter in plants?” The discussion should lead to reading all of 7.3.G1: Information about Historical Investigations. The main idea is that the students see that the historical investigations relate to the investigations they planned in Lesson 7.2: Planning Plant Investigations.

“Is water the source of matter in plants?” on the second page of 7.3.G1: Information about Historical Investigations includes some flawed logic on the part of the researcher. The stated reasoning is that because MOST of the water was not going into the plant, one can reject the idea that water is the source of the extra 1 g of mass in the plant. While the conclusion to the experiment is reasonable and accurate, there is a discrepancy in the reasoning that students may need support to identify and reconcile.

6. Give students 7.3.H1: Modeling Historical Investigations or display the template on a screen so the students can enter their work directly into their science notebook.

TEACHER NOTE

These historical investigations are designed to elicit and address some common alternate conceptions common in middle school students. For example, many middle-age students think that plants gain mass from the soil or use soil for food. This can lead to the prediction that when a plant grows, the soil will lose weight. This idea is brought up in the Van Helmont investigation. Similarly, middle school students often think that plants gain mass from water, which is addressed in the Woodward investigation. Other student alternative conceptions include seeing food as a requirement for growth, rather than a matter for growth; seeing organisms, such as plants, as very different types of matter from other materials in the environment such as water or air. The connection between matter, energy, and food will start to be addressed in this lesson and developed over the next several lessons in the unit.

7. Ask the students to think about what each investigation was trying to figure out. To which component of the system does the investigation relate? Does it connect to some aspect of their model? Direct students to part 1 of 7.3.H1: Modeling Historical Investigations. Have students process the information they obtained in the reading by creating models of the investigations using 7.3.H1: Modeling Historical Investigations. The models should include words and drawings that show the steps of the investigations and conclusions. Any critiques (good or bad) about each investigation should also be included in each model. As students work in their groups, walk around the room, and visit groups to assess their progress. This is another opportunity to check for evidence that students have considered how the investigation can provide evidence about how the transfer of energy is driving the motion of matter flowing into the tree (system). Facilitate their thinking with the same questions used in step 3:
   • Which component of the system is the focus of the investigation?
   • What inputs were manipulated? Controlled? Measured?
   • What outputs were manipulated? Controlled? Measured?
   • What forms of energy are involved in this system?
   • What molecules are involved in this process?
   • How are the molecules being rearranged?
8. Have students compare their drawings with other students and make changes or add information if necessary. At this point, students should be able to produce models that accurately display the steps of each investigation (first drawing includes a sprig of mint under an enclosed clear jar with a burning candle, the second drawing shows a similar setup with candle burned out, etc.), the data collected (burnt-out candle is capable of relighting and burning after 27 days with the plant) and conclusion (plants change the composition of the air). Remind students to use the discussion prompts introduced in Lesson 7.2: Planning Plant Investigations when they share their models:
   • I am not sure I understood _______. Can you tell me more?
   • I agree with _______ because _______.
   • I disagree with _______ because _______.
   • What you said _______ about ______ made me wonder _______.
   • I want to build on your idea about _______.
   After students have discussed their models with another group and received feedback, allow them a few minutes to consider the feedback they received and revise their models.
9. Direct students to move to Part II of 7.3.G1: Information about Historical Investigations. Tell students that if they have not considered how each investigation contributes to our understanding of the flow of matter, they can add that to their models now. Tell students that at this point, their models should use evidence from these investigations about how matter can be tracked in terms of weight.
10. Direct students to consider how they can add details about how the transfer of energy is contributing to how matter is flowing in and out of the tree. These points should have been discussed in steps 3 and 5, but students may not have recorded their ideas in their science notebook yet. These ideas will be built on later, so it is important they are recorded in their science notebook.
11. Ask a few groups to share their thinking or select groups to share based on conversations you have had while observing their group work. If students are uncertain how to include energy transformation to their models, ask them what evidence there is that the plant is getting the energy it needs (it is growing, it is healthy, etc.) and then how they might indicate that on their models (additional arrows or labels). Students who are not yet proficient in English may feel uncomfortable sharing with the entire class. You can ask those students ahead of time if they would be willing to share something in the small group, providing additional time to prepare what they want to say. Other options are suggesting that students use the visual model as support or co-sharing the idea with a table partner.
12. Direct students to add a short paragraph summary of each model in their science notebook. Remind students that the summaries should identify the main ideas of each handout without directly repeating information. Students above the target level should be encouraged to include descriptions of matter cycling and energy flow in the investigation descriptions. If students are having trouble summarizing in paragraphs, they could summarize using the models constructed during their group work and add a few sentences about the model. English Learners would benefit from this multimodal strategy as well as a few sentence frames to describe the investigations:
    • The variable changed was _________.
    • The data ______ was measured.
    • The conclusion was _________ because ________.
    These summaries can be reviewed to assess both whole class and individual student progress and combined with the exit ticket assessment data (step 14.) However, students need to have a record of these discussions in their science notebook to refer back to later in the unit as they plan and conduct their own investigations.
13. Five minutes before the end of the class, direct students to look at their initial model from Lesson 1: Tree Matter and add any new ideas or wonderings they have to their model. Remind them that they will be adding to this model throughout their learning experiences. Ask students to consider ways in which their models are limited in describing the phenomenon of the tree growing and what information would be useful to improve their model.
14. Distribute 7.3.H2: Exit Ticket or post the question and have students answer the question on a card or in their science notebook. Tell students: Now that we have learned about results from investigations done in the past, what can we say about where a tree’s mass comes from? What cause-and-effect relationships are supported with evidence from the historical investigations? What cause-and-effect relationships are not supported? What is a question that you still have?
15. Direct students to record their ideas on a slip of paper or notecard and hand it to you as they leave the class. These notecards can provide you with evidence of student learning (FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT) and help plan for the next series of lessons. At this point, students should state that plants need sunlight to add mass, but soil and water are not adding to the new mass or growth of the tree.

TEACHER NOTE

7.3.H2: Exit Ticket is answered individually by each student. The exit tickets should be reviewed and returned to the individual students with your evaluation using the 7.3.H3: Exit Ticket Assessment Rubric. Mark each row of the rubric with yes/no to provide feedback to each student. As you have judged each students work, put a tally in the yes or no column of 7.3.R1: Exit Ticket Assessment Rubric: Possible Instructional Responses to identify trends across the entire class. Suggestions located in the last column of 7.3.R1: Exit Ticket Assessment Rubric: Possible Instructional Responses may be used to support individual students as well as used with the entire class.