Unit 11 — Plant Science and Technology Integration - Growing Things and Digital Storytelling
Description
Students plant bean seeds, observe growth over weeks, collect data on plant height, and create digital stories about their plants. This unit integrates life science, measurement, graphing, and technology skills. Students design tools to help in gardening and connect plant growth to classroom learning.
Essential Questions
- What do plants need to grow?
- How do we measure and record growth over time?
- How can technology help us document learning?
Learning Objectives
- Understand basic plant needs and life cycles
- Measure plant height accurately over time
- Collect and organize data in tables and graphs
- Design a tool to help with gardening
- Use technology to create digital stories of learning
- Make predictions and observations about plant growth
Supplemental Resources
- Graph paper for charting plant height
- Rulers for measuring plants
- Sticky notes for recording weekly observations
Life Sciences
Data and Analysis
Engineering Design
Digital Literacy
Measurement
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Students write in science notebooks, create digital stories about plants and animals, and communicate findings through word processing documents and presentations. Students read and interpret informational texts about engineering design and natural systems.
Students measure and record data, create bar graphs and pictographs, calculate area and perimeter, apply multiplication and division to solve engineering problems, and analyze patterns in test results. Students use measurement tools and represent data visually.
Formative Assessments
- Observation of plant care and growth
- Measurement and data recording on height each week
- Graphing of growth data
- Discussion of what plants need and how to care for them
- Sketches of gardening tool designs
Summative Assessment
Growth data table and graph showing measurements over time; completed gardening tool design; digital story using pictures and words to document plant growth and learning
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding of plant growth through a teacher-led discussion about their observations, with support from photos or drawings of their plants. Data collection may be simplified to fewer measurement points or completed with teacher guidance and verbal responses instead of independent written recording.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Students may benefit from graphic organizers that scaffold data recording, such as pre-labeled tables where they fill in measurements rather than creating their own structure from scratch. Visual supports like labeled diagrams of plant parts and growth stages can reinforce science vocabulary and support comprehension during observations. For the digital story, allow students to dictate narration or use pictures with minimal text to demonstrate their learning, prioritizing oral and visual expression over written output. Break the multi-week project into clearly sequenced steps with checklists so students can monitor their own progress.
Section 504
Provide extended time for weekly measurement recording and graphing tasks, and ensure students have access to a low-distraction workspace during sustained observation and data collection activities. Preferential seating near the plants and teacher can help students stay engaged during longer observation periods. Enlarged graph templates or larger-print data tables may reduce visual processing demands during the graphing component.
ELL / MLL
Introduce and reinforce key plant science vocabulary — such as seed, stem, root, leaf, and growth — using picture cards, labeled plant diagrams, and realia like the bean seeds and seedlings themselves before and throughout the unit. Provide simplified, step-by-step directions for measurement and data recording tasks, and use visual models of completed data tables and graphs so students understand the expected format. Encourage students to discuss observations with a partner or in their home language before contributing to whole-group sharing, supporting both comprehension and confidence.
At Risk (RTI)
Connect the unit to students' prior experiences with plants, food, or gardens to build engagement and activate background knowledge before introducing new concepts. Provide partially completed data tables and graph templates so students can focus on the observation and measurement process rather than the organizational structure. Offer hands-on entry points at every stage — touching the soil, handling seeds, physically measuring with a ruler — to ground abstract concepts like growth and change in concrete, accessible experiences.
Gifted & Talented
Encourage students to go beyond simple height measurements by investigating and recording additional variables, such as the effect of light or water amounts on growth rate, and forming hypotheses they test over the course of the unit. Students can deepen the design thinking component by researching real gardening tools and evaluating trade-offs in their own tool design using engineering criteria. For the digital story, challenge students to structure their narrative around a scientific question and evidence-based conclusion, moving from documentation toward genuine scientific communication.