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The following classroom
activities were developed over two summers by Donna Schmidt as part of a
teacher summer research experience funded by the National
Science Foundation. They have been designed as an ongoing
investigative experience that to some extent mimics the
actual process of science as it occurs in a research
facility.
Donna Schmidt is a high school biology teacher at
Pattonville High School in St. Louis, MO.
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Introduction
Students begin by reading
about plants in their textbook, and researching on the
Internet to get some basic knowledge about plants and how
they maintain life processes. They will also get
background information on corn in particular, as it will
be the plant of focus. Concurrently they will plant corn
seed and make observations as they watch it grow. They
will make qualitative observations about color, turgor,
growth patterns and timing, and descriptions of leaf
emergence as well as quantitative ones like leaf length,
number of leaves, etc. During this time they will also
practice keeping a lab book with detailed notes about what
they learn and observe. A bioassay will be completed as a
class activity so students can develop a technique that
they can use in some modified form in a design of their
own experiment. There
will be ongoing discussions in both small and large groups
throughout. Two different bioassays are included,
"Leaf Elongation Bioassay in Zea mays"
which is most appropriate for advanced biology students
and "Zea mays, Responding to the
Environment" which is meant for general high school
biology students. In each case, students first learn
a technique for a bioassay and then design an experiment
using that particular assay technique. |
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Curriculum
Timeline and syllabus
Activity: The Incredible, Edible Plant
Activity:
Making Corn Babies
Activity: The Saga of the Corn Embryo
Activity: Leaf Elongation Bioassay in Zea mays
Activity:
Zea mays, Responding to the Environment
The Experiment
Activity:
Zoom in on a Leaf
Stomatal Peel
Experiment
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Missouri
Assessment
The above activities meet the Missouri Frameworks and
Show-Me Standards:
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Missouri
Curriculum Frameworks |
Show-Me
Standards |
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I. A 1 |
1.7;1.8;3.4;3.6 |
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I. A 2 |
1.8;2.1;2.3;2.4 |
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I. B 3 |
1.1;1.2;1.3;1.8;2.1;2.2;3.1;3.2;3.3;3.4;3.5;4.1;4.4 |
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Search terms: teaching
resources, Plant Biology, Plant Physiology, maize,
high school, laboratory exercise, transpiration,
drought, environmental stress, stomata, zea mays |
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