UKanTeach 2 Lesson Plan

Author (s): Karl & Kyle

Team Members: ^

Title of Lesson: Transpiration

Lesson Source:

Lesson #:
1
Date lesson will be taught:

3/6

Mentors Name: Elizabeth Zhou

Mentors School: Harmony Middle School
Subject/Grade level: 6th grade biology

Concepts/Main Idea In paragraph form, tell the concepts and vocabulary of this activity.

(For science lessons,

see NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas):

The students will be able to define Transpiration, osmosis, and some basic properties of water.
They will identify the important parts of plants that are part of the transpiration process. The
student will be able to explain what role transpiration has in the water cycle.

Objective/s- Write objectives in SWBAT form

The Students Will Be Able To:

Describe how plants drink water and minerals.

Explain the process of osmosis and its relationship to
plant roots, the trunk, and leaves.
Connect the transpiration process with the water
cycle.

Updated Spring 2014

Evaluation

Based on your objectives, draft the content of

the questions you will ask on your pre- and post-tests; at least 1
question for each objective. Questions do not have to be
multiple choice. The your actual pre- and post-tests should be
copied at the end of this lesson plan.

Plants absorb water through their roots. By what

process does this happen?
Water can move up a plant defying gravity. Why?
What role do plants play in the water cycle?

NGSS and Common Core Standards

1. At least one NGSS Science and Engineering Practice (number and name of practice) : Practice 1 Asking

Questions and Defining Problems

2. At least one NGSS Disciplinary Core Idea :
Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth's systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.
MS- [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the ways water changes its state as it moves through the multiple pathways of the hydrologic cycle.
ESS2-4. Examples of models can be conceptual or physical.] [Assessment Boundary: A quantitative understanding of the latent heats of vaporization
and fusion is not assessed.]
3. A minimum of one Common Core Math Practice Standard (number and name of standard): 1-Make sense of

problems and persevere in solving them.

A minimum of one Common Core ELA (English Language Arts) Practice Standard (number and name of standard): CCR Writing Anchor #7: Conduct
short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

4.

Materials list (BE SPECIFIC about quantities)

for Whole Class:
Plant Model
3 plants
3 clear cups

Accommodations: Include a general

statement and any specific student needs

Student may need help in filling the cups with

water. Ask if any need any help.
Since the Students will be working in small
groups Team members can assist each other so
all the students can participate.

Small pieces of card board

Tape
Vaseline
Container of plastic beads
Container of small blue magnets
Food coloring
per Group: of 2
1 small clear container
1 Dixie cup with needle holes randomly poked around it.
Small container of water
per Student:
1 small bottle of water
A straw
Handout
Test
Advance preparation:
Plant the plants in the clear cups. Fill each plant with the same amount
of water and then label the first plant control. Then leave this plant
alone. Make a small hole in the cardboard large enough to fit the roots
and stem through. Seal the hole with the Vaseline. Cover the third
plant in a large clear bag taping the bag close around the cup. Poke
holes randomly in the Dixie cup with a small needle.
Include handouts at the end of this lesson plan document (blank page
provided to paste a copy of your document). List handouts in your
materials list.

Safety: Include a general statement and any specific

safety concerns

Follow general class safety procedures.

Any spills quickly clean up to prevent slips
and falls.

Name:______________
Date_______________

Transpiration Lab
Water is essential for life. Animals and Plants need water. Animals can drink water, but how do plants get water?

To understand how plants get water we need to know a little bit about water. How is water special?

Procedure:
Place the paper cup in the center of the clear plastic cup.
Pour water in the paper cup up to the first line.
Pour water into the clear cup to the line.
What do you notice?

Now we are going to simulate rain. Pour more water carefully in the Dixie cup so there is more water in the paper cup then the
plastic cup. Write down your observations. Did the water flow? In what direction did it move?

Water likes to move from high concentrations to lower concentrations. Water also acts like little magnets. This is how water
moves into roots and into the plant. But how does water move up the tree?

Let us look at the simple parts of a plant.

What are the roots used for?

What is the stem used for?

What are leaves used for?

Here are three plants that were set up earlier. The first plant was watered up to the line and each day the water dropped and was
marked. What happened to the water?

The second plant was marked the same as the first but also had the lid sealed. This way no water could escape by evaporation.
Did the water drop? Was more or less loss then our control? If we lost water where did it go?

Our final plant has the lid sealed and is also covered by a plastic bag. What do you notice?

The process of water moving through a plant is called_____________________. But why is this so important?

Recall the water cycle.

Studies have revealed that about 10 percent of the moisture found in the atmosphere is released by plants through transpiration.
The remaining 90 percent is mainly supplied by evaporation from oceans, seas, and other bodies of water (lakes, rivers, streams).

Engagement:

Estimated Time: _____5min_____

What the teacher does AND how will the

teacher direct students: (Directions)

Probing Questions: Critical

questions that will connect prior
knowledge and create a Need

to know
Pass out a bottle of water to the students.
Have them open the bottles and leave them on
their desk. Ask them to try and drink the water
without touching the bottle with their hands or
lifting it off the desk.
Pass out straws to the students and ask them
to drink the water now.

Is it possible to get to the water

this way? Why or Why not?
What is needed to get to the
water?
If you were a plant what role
would the straw be?
How does a plant suck water
up?

Expected Student Responses AND

Misconceptions - think like a student
to consider student responses
INCLUDING misconceptions:
No cant drink the water need a tool
A straw will help
The root.
The leaf
The trunk
I dont know

Exploration:

Estimated Time: ___30_______

What the teacher does AND what the

teacher will direct students to do:
(Directions)

Probing Questions: Critical

questions that will guide
students to a Common set

of Experiences
Before we talk about transpiration we need to
talk about water.
The teacher will hold up the plastic container of
loose beads and the container of magnets so
the class can see.

Which container is more like

water?
Why?

Hand out cups. Have the students place the

smaller Dixie cup into the larger plastic cup.
Have the students poor water into the cups
filling both cups equally and record what they
see in the handout. Now say it is starting to
rain and have the students poor some more
water ONLY IN THE Dixie. Drop one drop of food
coloring in the Dixie cup to help them see what
is happening.
Have them record their observations.

What happening with the

water?

Expected Student Responses AND

Misconceptions - think like a student
to consider student responses
INCLUDING misconceptions:
The beads.
The magnets.
Water sticks together?
The water is evening out

Take out the plants that have been set up

before.
Show the control plant to the students and
have them record their observations.
Take out the plant with the card board lid and
have the students record their observations.
Take out the plant with the plastic bag and have
the students record their observations.

Now think about plants, how

can plants suck up water?

The plant has less water and when it

rains it uses the more water.
Drinking Osmosis

What is this very important

process called?

Evaporation the plant used it.

This plant had water up to this
line the day before. Now the
water is lower where did it go?
The plant drank it.
This plant had water up to this
line the day before but has
been sealed so no evaporation
can occur where did the water
go?
Where did all of the water come
from that is around the plastic
bag?

Moisture in the air.

Explanation:

Estimated Time: ___20_______

What the teacher does AND what the

teacher will direct students to do:
(Directions)

The teacher will have a class member draw a

tree on the white board. The teacher will
explain that the roots are like a straw. The
plant does not suck water it has a lower
concentration of water in it and the process of
osmosis moves the water into the plant. Since
water likes to stick together if will flow together
up the plant. This is like the experiment with
the cups.
Take out the plant with the cardboard lid on the
cup, and take out the plastic covered plant.
Have the students explain where the water
enters the plant and where it leaves the plant.
Help the students define this process as
transpiration.
Explain to the students that Transpiration is
part of the water cycle and this is another way
for the water to go into the air to make clouds

Clarifying Questions: Critical

questions that will help
students clarify their
understanding and introduce
information related to the
lesson concepts & vocabulary
Why is osmosis so important?

Expected Student Responses AND

Misconceptions - think like a student
to consider student responses
INCLUDING misconceptions:

Does this process happen in

other things?

Yes no I dont know

How can water move up the

tree?

So plants can drink?

Because it stick together

I dont know
It is the way plants move water

What is so important about

transpiration?
There would be less clouds
What would happen if there
were no plants?

Elaboration:

Estimated Time: ____5 min______

What the teacher does AND what the

teacher will direct students to do:
(Directions)

Probing Questions: Critical

questions that will help
students extend or apply
their newly acquired
concepts/skills in new

Expected Student Responses AND

Misconceptions - think like a student
to consider student responses
INCLUDING misconceptions:

situations
Ask the students to put away all of their
materials.
Ask the students how this experiment applies
to other things in the world like pollution and
how plants use transpiration with contaminated
water and the effects.

Since plants use transpiration

with water for food and to
drink what happens when
water is contaminated?

The plants will die because they are

using transpiration with bad water.
I dont know.

Evaluation:

Estimated Time: __________

Critical questions that ask students to demonstrate their understanding of the lessons performance
objectives.
Formative Assessment(s): In addition to the pre- and post-test, how will you determine students learning within
this lesson: (observations, student responses/elaborations, white boards, student questions, etc.)?
By observation and class participation.
By watching the looks on the kids faces to see if they are understanding.

Summative Assessment: Provide a student copy of the multiple choice quiz (a blank page provided at the end of this
document for you to paste your quiz).

Name:______________
Date_______________

Test

1. Plants absorb water through their roots. By what process does this happen?
a. Suction
b. Osmosis
c. Transpiration
d. Diffusion

2. Water can move up a plant defying gravity. Why?

a. Water molecules act like little magnets that help them stick together.
b. Water has magical properties.
c. The water freezes inside the plant and the ice moves up the plant.
d. The sun evaporates the water and the gas moves up the plant.

3. In your own words what is Transpiration?