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                               Helpful Hints for the Teacher

Class preparation for Day 1: 
For the sprouting the lima bean project, you will need several lima beans per child, paper towels, water, plastic plates, one hand lens per child, large board illustration of the parts of the inside of a lima bean. Lima Bean Illustration
Note:  1.  Because the lima beans can break apart easily, soak extras for those students who need replacements.  2)  Before the students start their seed sprouting, read and discuss as a class Ten Seeds and The Empty Pot.  3)  Assign the students into groups of four or five.
Class preparation for Day 2:
For this class you will need for each student, a plant pot, soil, water, popsicle stick. Have the students study their sprouted bean, then bring them together to reread Ten Seeds.  Ask the students what similarities their bean has to the pictures of the seed stages in the book.  Then, go over the lima bean illustration chart.  Have the students journal what actually happened verses what they predicted.
    

                           Regarding the hyperlinked Website,
                                        The Great Escape

The Great Escape website is designed for fourth grade instruction.  Still, several of the website's activities are appropriate for the second grade.  Two of these are included in this Seeds and Plants WebQuest.  Minimal  student supervision will be necessary because the same concepts and most of the same words  are presented in the literature that will be read and discussed as a class.

Adaptations to Help ELD/ELL/Resource Students

In this WebQuest, the concepts and words are used in constant repetition in aural, visual and written forms for reinforcement.  If the teacher feels certain students will still need more help with prior knowledge, I suggest using a word wall with pictures that apply to each vocabulary word, showing the students (step by step) how to do the activities, pairing the ELD/ELL/Resource students with stronger students who can translate and/or guide and help them through the assignments.  The predictions and discussions of outcomes in class, and the student's personal reference via their journal writing will help reinforce the needs of the individual as well as the group as a whole.

                        Adaptations to Help GATE Students

Gate students will be further challenged by directing them to study the pollination and/or reproductive cycles of plants.  A great book to inspire and help the GATE
student is The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book about How Living Things Grow, by Joanna Cole.  The same Website the entire class is accessing for interactive Web learning has multiple options of more advanced concepts about plants as well as reproduction.  A different tactic for inspiring a GATE student is what products can be made from a particular plant.  A fun book in more of a literature vein to start them thinking in this direction is Weslandia by Paul Fleischman.
 

Selected Standard Using Backward Design Principles: California Science Framework (2nd grade)

Life Sciences
2a --- Plants and animals have predictable life cycles/ Organisms produce offspring of their own kind
4a --- Scientific progress is made by adding meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations/  Make predictions based on pattern of observation rather than random guessing.

NOTE:  (Regarding Life Sciences 2a)  After studying the plant life cycle,  a second excellent WebQuest would be to study the animal life cycle.  Then, ask the students to think about and list the similarities and differences between the two. This is a great way to extend their knowledge and develop higher-level thinking skills. This Plants and Seeds WebQuest is intended to be an inroad toward the development and achievement of the goals of Life Sciences 2a.

Additional  Standards Met

2.0 Reading Comprehension
Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They draw upon a variety of comprehension strategies as needed (e.g., generating and responding to essential questions, making predictions, comparing information from several sources).
2.7 Interpret information from diagrams, charts, and graphs. sources).
2.8 Follow two-step written instructions

1.0 Writing Strategies
Organization and Focus
1.1 Group related ideas and maintain a consistent focus.
Penmanship
1.2 Create readable documents with legible handwriting.
Research
1.3 Understand the purposes of various reference materials (e.g., dictionary, thesaurus, atlas).
2.0 Writing Applications
2.1 Write brief narratives based on their experiences:
a. Move through a logical sequence of events.

 2.0 Writing Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)
Students write compositions that describe and explain familiar objects, events, and experiences. Student writing demonstrates a command of standard American English and the drafting, research, and organizational strategies outlined in Writing Standard 1.0.
2.1 Write brief narratives based on their experiences:
a. Move through a logical sequence of events.
 
1.0 Listening and speaking Strategies
Comprehension
1.1 Determine the purpose or purposes of listening (e.g., to obtain information, to solve problems, for enjoyment).
1.2 Ask for clarification and explanation of stories and ideas.
1.3 Paraphrase information that has been shared orally by others.
1.4 Give and follow three-and four-step oral directions.
Organization and Delivery of Oral Communication
1.5 Organize presentations to maintain a clear focus.
1.6 Speak clearly and at an appropriate pace for the type of communication (e.g., informal discussion, report to class).
1.7 Recount experiences in a logical sequence.
1.8 Retell stories, including characters, setting, and plot.
1.9 Report on a topic with supportive facts and details.
 2.0 Speaking Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)
Students deliver brief recitations and oral presentations about familiar experiences or interests that are organized around a coherent thesis statement. Student speaking demonstrates a command of standard American English and the organizational and delivery strategies outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0. Using the speaking strategies of grade two outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0, students:
2.1 Recount experiences or present stories:
a. Move through a logical sequence of events.
2.2 Report on a topic with facts and details, drawing from several sources of information.

1.0 ARTISTIC PERCEPTION
2.1 Demonstrate beginning skill in the use of basic tools and art-making processes, such as printing, crayon rubbings, collage, and stencils.
 

                               References and Credits

Website Utilized for Webquest links:
The Great Plant Escape from the University of Illinois Extension:
     http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case1/c1m1a.html
    http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/gpe/case1/c1facts1b.html

Concepts and Ideas Adapted from:
Websites:
    1)  Inside a Seed: Lesson Plan by Amana Hill  (accessed 5/1/03)
    http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/lessons/InsideSeed.shtml
    2)  From Seed to Plant:  An AskERIC Lesson Plan by Marcia Goudie,
    Montessori Children's School, Vacaville, CA   (accessed 5/1/03)
     http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Lessons/Science?Agriculture/AGR0010.html
    3) "Moon Mission" Power Point Instructions  by Terry Lieberman
    http://visalia.k12.ca.us/teachers/tlieberman/moon/process.htm
Book:   
    Thematic Unit Plants by Teacher Created Materials, Inc.   Westminster, CA
Copyright 1995. (pp.6, 18).
Artwork:
    Microsoft ClipArt
    Free Clipart Archive    http://www.1clipart.com/  
WebQuest Software:
    Microsoft FrontPage