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All for Science™Curriculum UnitsPlant Traits: Inherited and AcquiredDay 10: The City Counsel Meeting

Day 10: The City Counsel Meeting

Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. City of Houston.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. City of Houston.

STANDARDS OVERVIEW

Reading Strategy:

Sharing scientific expertise with a general audience. 

Science Concept:

Scientists organize their data in a way that is easily understood by others, making it easier to discuss and share.

Reading TEKS:

4.12B, 4.13B, 4.13H

Science TEKS:

2024–25: 4.13B

NGSS:

3-LS3-2

CCSS:

SL.4.4

Science and Literacy Connection:

Scientists present their findings from investigations and text-based inquiry with general audiences to advance public knowledge.

Science Language:

  • Culminating Project

    OVERVIEW

    Yesterday, teams worked on their culminating project: a report sharing what they have learned about a Texas ecoregion/ecosystem and the inherited and acquired traits of the plants that live there, including how changes in environmental conditions that have taken place (and could continue to take place) in the ecoregion/ecosystem may have contributed to the plants acquiring new traits. Today, teams will present their reports at a simulated city council meeting.

     

    MATERIALS NEEDED

    Each team needs:

    • the report they have written

     

    SETUP

    • Ideally, the tables or desks should be set up in a semicircle so that teams can see each other. This configuration will help engage all learners in the discussion. The teacher should also sit in the semicircle.
    • Decide the order in which the teams will present.
    • Each presenting team will stand in front of the class and be prepared to answer any questions.

     

    PRESENTATIONS

    1. Welcome the children and any guests to the “city council meeting.”
    2. Invite each team to present their reports. (Depending on time allotted, you might have each team read their report aloud or choose part of their report to read aloud.)
    3. Allow time for each presenting team to answer questions from other learners. You might also pose questions or ask group to elaborate.

     

    DEBRIEFING

    1. After all presentations are complete, ask learners what patterns they saw across the information presented by the teams.
    2. Invite learners into the discussion with these questions:
      • What did you notice about the relationship between the environmental characteristic of different ecoregions/ecosystems and the inherited and acquired traits of plants that live there?
      • What similarities or differences did you notice across the presentations?
    1. Ask learners to talk about the scientific process in this unit, what they enjoyed, and what they will continue to do.
    2. Congratulate learners on the work they did over the duration of the unit!

     

    EVALUATE

    1. Were the reports well organized?
    2. Did the evidence given reasonably support the team’s investigation claim(s)?
    3. Did teams consider their “nonexpert” audience when writing their reports?

  • Expanded Standards

    Reading TEKS:

    4.12B: Compose informational texts, including brief compositions that convey information about a topic, using a clear central idea and genre characteristics and craft. 4.13E: Demonstrate understanding of information gathered. 4.13H: Use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results.

    NGSS:

    3-LS3-2: Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.

    CCSS:

    SL.4.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

    Science TEKS:

    2024-25: 4.13B: Differentiate between inherited and acquired physical traits of organisms.  

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