Plant Growth and Development is an eight-week unit during which students experience the complete life cycle of a plant in a very short time and learn that the cycle includes germination, growth, development of specialized parts, and even death, with the promise of new life in the seed. The unit was designed for grade 3 but also could be taught at grade 4. Extensive classroom testing of the unit showed that third graders were highly interested in the unit, displayed the necessary manual dexterity, and could comprehend the major concepts introduced.

The unit features rapid-cycling Wisconsin Fast Plants™ , which go from seed to seed in 40 days. Wisconsin Fast Plants are Brassicas (the mustard and cabbage family), and were developed over a period of 15 years by Dr. Paul Williams of the University of Wisconsin.

The unit opens with lessons on observing seeds and brainstorming about what the students already know about plants. These lessons are followed by a planting activity that stresses following directions and working independently. In about 24 hours, students can observe the seedlings emerge and begin to record their observations both in writing and by making scientific drawings. Several days later, the students will gain experience with two practical gardening techniques, thinning and transplanting, and learn when they should be used.

The unit emphasis then shifts to the theme of interdependence and explores the reasons why the bee and the flower need each other. Since interdependence is such an important concept, students work with it in several different ways. They cross-pollinate their own plants using real bees on toothpicks. Based on their observations, they construct models of bees and blossoms, and act out pollination using their models.

Throughout the unit, students are encouraged to make frequent observations of their plants using as much sensory information as possible. Students continue to record these observations in writing and drawing. They also quantify their observations by taking frequent measurements and recording these on growth graphs.

Finally, the students harvest and thresh the "crop" and determine their yield. There are suggestions of what to do with the seed to extend the unit into more individualized experiments.

To help make management of the unit easier, special instructions about setting up the equipment and other issues have been flagged with icons. Watch for the icon--a finger tied with a bow--for important information.

The Appendices contain a number of useful items. The first section, Post-Unit Assessments, provides tools to help you evaluate student progress in understanding the plant’s life cycle and learning bee anatomy. The second section contains a complete lesson on graphing, in case your class has not yet studied graphing or could use a review before starting the unit. The unit assumes that students can graph independently, so consider teaching this lesson some time before planting day. There also are black-line masters for reproducing graph paper and observation sheets, life cycle cards, and an annotated bibliography of books for both students and teachers.

You do not have to be an expert in botany to teach this unit. The background sections of the Teacher’s Guide will provide you with most of the information you need. But don’t be surprised in you find yourself learning along with the students, and if you and your students find yourselves faced with puzzling questions. Use this situation to model the way scientists learn: define the question, then ask: "How can we find out?" This will encourage your students to find their own answers by experimenting and consulting resource materials.