Inquiry Circles

OVERVIEW

Scientists identify inquiry questions and record their data in an organized manner. Today learners will be introduced to the Inquiry Charts they will use as they investigate agricultural plants. You may want to model how to use the Inquiry Chart. The blank Inquiry Chart provided below can be used to create a larger version on chart paper so that it can be seen easily by the whole class, or it can be displayed on a large screen with a projector. In future lessons, the teacher will use apple trees (and resources about apple trees) to model the various strategies. The teacher might also consider creating a model Inquiry Chart using apple trees as the inquiry topic.  

Blank Sample Inquiry Chart 

A true inquiry allows learners to develop their own inquiry questions. The resources compiled for this inquiry are focused on the physical traits (both inherited and acquired) of the agricultural plants. At this point, each team has chosen one agricultural plant to learn more about. The teams will generate questions about their agricultural plant that can be answered by the available resources. For example, a team learning more about strawberries might generate questions about the characteristics that all  strawberry plants inherit, characteristics that strawberry plants might acquire, or anything else about the strawberry plant that the learners want to know. Throughout the unit, learners may develop additional questions that can be added to the Inquiry Charts.
 

Note: If you feel your learners need more space, you have the option to recreate these charts on a large pieces of chart or butcher paper, but be sure the size is easy for the learners to record on and manageable for storage when teams are not working on them. If your learners have not used an Inquiry Chart before, it is suggested that you have each team’s Inquiry Chart created prior to starting the lesson. If Inquiry Charts are familiar to your learners, you might give them the option to create their own Inquiry Chart.  

PROCEDURE

Each italicized statement below contains suggested wording the teacher may choose to use for the lesson; additional teacher actions and considerations are in parentheses.   

Before Inquiry Circles   

1. Now we will get into our Inquiry Circle teams. (Help learners find their assigned teams. Ask Equipment Directors to gather the Team Inquiry Chart and writing utensils. Once all items have been distributed, the teacher will tell each team which agricultural plant they have been assigned.)   

1. You will work in the same team every day during inquiry circles and the science investigations. Now that you know which agricultural plant you have been assigned, please write it in the top corner of the Inquiry Chart along with each team member’s name.   

1. Notice that the team Inquiry Chart looks just like the sample Inquiry Chart we discussed during the mini-lesson. Today we are going to start a guided inquiry. You can see along the top of the Inquiry Chart, there are four column headers where you will write your inquiry questions as well as a column for other interesting facts.   

During Inquiry Circles (20 minutes)    

1. We have a variety of resources available for our inquiry. We have texts where we can find information about the traits or characteristics of your plant, both inherited and acquired traits. (You might remind learners that they discussed the term “trait” in yesterday’s science investigation). In your teams, you’ll start by thinking about our shared questions (from the mini-lesson) and then your team will generate questions about the team’s agricultural plant.  

• What would you like to know about your plant’s traits? Decide as a team and write your questions in the column headers on your Inquiry Chart.   

• You might not have 4 inquiry questions yet. That is okay! You can add more questions after today.  

• If you have more questions about your agricultural plant, you can add additional columns.  

• You can add additional findings in the column titled “Other Interesting Facts.”  

1. Take a few moments to discuss what you already know about your agricultural plant. The Lab Director will lead the discussion. Be sure everyone has a chance to share. Do not write anything on your Inquiry Chart just yet. (While teams are working, walk around the room and assist learners as needed.)   

1. Now, everyone should assist the Data Scientist in recording what you already know in the correct column. For example, if you already know something related to one of your inquiry questions, write it in the column below that question. If you know something that doesn’t fit into these inquiry questions, record it in the “Other Interesting Facts” column. (While teams are working, walk around the room and assist learners as needed.)   

After Inquiry Circles (10 minutes)   

1. As we conclude our inquiry circles for today, each team will have a chance to share what they already know about their agricultural plant, as well as what they accomplished and learned. The Lab Director will lead the discussion about today’s results. (You may want to post or project a guiding list of questions for learners to use during their team discussions. The following questions may be used, though you may add any of your own based on your class’s needs: What did the team already know about its agricultural plant? What problems did the team encounter? How did the team resolve those problems? What new questions came up during the discussion?)    

1. The Data Scientist will now share with the entire class either something the team learned about its agricultural plant or any new questions that came up.  

1. (After all learners have shared, thank them for their hard work and point out any excellent behaviors that you observed. If you notice any problems in the teams during the lesson, take a moment to point them out, and explain your expectations for all future inquiry circles. Collect all Inquiry Charts or have learners put them in their normal classroom place for on-going work so they can easily access them.)   

Guided Science Investigation

OVERVIEW

Today children discuss inherited plant traits then consider how a plant’s environment may affect them.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

What are examples of traits that plants inherit? Can environmental factors affect inherited traits?

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE TEACHER

While there is some evidence that acquired traits may be passed on, for this study we are focusing on physical acquired traits that can be observed by young learners.

Acquired physical traits are characteristics that develop as the result of interactions with external or environmental factors. Organisms are not born with them—they are not inherited from parents, and they cannot be passed on. Environmental factors that can affect the inherited traits of plants include temperature, air, and water.

The amount of water plants receive is not the only thing that can affect their structures and functions. Plant growth and where plants can live successfully is determined by other environmental factors, including temperature, light, and the availability of nutrients.

Temperature plays a big role in such plant functions as respiration, photosynthesis, seed germination, and flowering. Adverse temperatures—too high or too low—affect these processes and can also stunt the plant’s root and shoot growth.

The duration and type of light plants receive and the availability of nutrition from basic chemical elements in the air and soil can result in such changes as leaf curling, leaf burn, or spotting on leaves.

PROCEDURE

Engage

1. In our last class we learned that a trait is an observable physical attribute that animals and plants that are alike share. What examples did you list on our T-chart yesterday? Accept responses.
2. Explain that the traits they have described are called inherited Organisms inherit traits from their parents. This just means that traits are passed from parent to offspring. Both plants and animals, including humans, produce offspring.

Explore

1. Distribute 1 set of Trait Cards to each team. Point out that each card has a number.
2. Instruct learners to work as a team to identify the traits that the plants in the images likely inherited from a parent plant. Tell them to write the number of the image in their science notebooks and a brief description of the traits they believe are inherited. They can also add any questions they might have about an image.
3. Allow 15 minutes for the exploration as you move between the teams listening to their discussions.

Explain

1. What traits did you find that were likely inherited from a parent plant? Ask the Data Scientists from each team to describe the team’s observations about one or two of the Trait Card images. Invite other teams to share if they have different ideas.
2. Summarize their observations by image number on the whiteboard as learners respond.
3. Listen for questions or comments about images 1, 3, 4, and 7, which contain some fairly obvious acquired traits, and record those observations as well.
4. After all of the observations have been recorded, share that plants inherit particular traits from a parent plant. Those traits include the color and shape of a flower, flower position, seed color and shape, leaf patterns, and stem height. You have correctly identified some of those traits in your observations!
5. Let’s look again at the images you had questions or special comments about. (Learners may have pointed out the brownish discoloration on the cactus in image 1; the holes or “bite” on image 3; the dried-out leaves on image 4, and the strange bend of the tree in image 7.)
6. Review the comments they made in their observations about these images. Add that while we may not know exactly what has happened to cause these changes in the plants, we can assume they were not inherited traits.
7. Explain that these are examples traits that are acquired, not inherited from a parent. Acquired traits can be caused by environmental conditions or external factors, such as an accident, injury, or an intentional act. For example, the holes or bites in the fruit in image 3 may have been the result of insects or other animals. The dried leaves in image 4 may have been caused by too much or too little water or heat.

Elaborate

1. Let’s take a closer look at how a plant’s environment can affect inherited traits. What do we know about what a plant needs to live and survive? Accept responses, which may include air, water, light, the right temperature, nutrients, space, and time.
2. Encourage learners to think about how a change in the environment might affect the ability of the plant to meet its needs.
3. Refer back to image 4 (corn stalk). Let’s suppose for a moment that the dried leaves on this plant were the result of the amount of water it received as it was growing. Did it get too much? Not enough?
4. Where do plants in the natural environment get water from? Accept responses which should include rainfall.
5. Announce that in the next class they will investigate how rainfall amounts affect plants.

Evaluate

1. Pose the question, How can a trait be both inherited and acquired? Take a minute to turn and share your ideas with a partner in your team. Listen for children to describe how an inherited trait might be changed.

Expanded Standards