The Tree-mendous Benefits of Trees - Teacher Guide

16 Oct 2020 | Contributor(s): plantingscience

Trees are a critical component of our ecosystem: They can produce the food we eat, oxygen that we breathe, shade from the sun, and so much more. Trees are an important and recognizable part of landscapes and forests, but most people don't think about the importance of trees and their value to the...

Mentor Tip Sheet - Pollen and Pollination

30 Aug 2018

The purpose of this tip sheet is to help you as a scientist mentor anticipate and respond to students as they post online about their pollen and pollinator investigations.

C-Fern: Seeds and Spores Power Point

13 Oct 2017

Referred to in the Teacher's Guide for the C-Fern module, this file will assist you with this module.

Class Overview Template

03 Jan 2017

Please use this template to provide information to potential mentors for your classroom. Answer the prompts in this template, then copy and paste the whole text into the group overview. This will help mentors you invite to your group (i.e., invite to mentor one of your project...

Student Roster Template

03 Jan 2017

This is the template for teachers to complete and upload to the website - in the "Students" tab, in the "Projects" tab, in the classroom group.Please be aware:Only input students' first names, passwords and team assignments (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.).All passwords can be...

The Power of Sunlight - Supporting Materials

02 Sep 2016 | Contributor(s): plantingscience

This resource contains several files and three videos referred to in the Teacher's Guide.Please click on the "Supporting Docs" tab above to access all of the files and videos for this module.A supporting link to a video clip on chloroplasts and starch in this...

Primary literature!! Blackawton Bees Paper

12 Jul 2016 | Teacher Resources

Hi all! Attached is the link to the peer reviewed literature article that I discussed briefly this morning! I'm also including a link to a TED talk by the scientist who spearheaded the project to give you some context. It makes science way less scary for a lot of kids. Enjoy! :)  

C-Fern Module - Mentor's Tip Sheet

16 Jun 2016 | Mentor Resources

The purpose of this tip sheet is to help you as a scientist mentor anticipate and respond to students as they post online about their C-Fern® investigations.

C-Fern Module - Teacher's Guide

16 Jun 2016 | Teacher Resources

Module Big Ideas and Design: This module is designed to expose students to the plant life cycle. They will gain firsthand experience with the alternation of generations, a phenomenon that is typically difficult for students to understand. Students work in teams to grow, observe and document...

Pollen Module - Table of Contents

16 Jun 2016 | Teacher Resources

Please review the topics covered in this module via the Table of Contents.

Pollen Module Overview

16 Jun 2016 | Teacher Resources

Abstract: This module provides great flexibility. You can choose some or all of the activities. Each section is posted in separate pdf files on the PlantingScience website, on the Plant Themes / Pollen page. Activity Set A is a basic orientation to plant anatomy in relation to where pollen is...

The Power of Sunlight - Toolkit

25 May 2016 | Teacher Resources | Contributor(s): plantingscience

The PlantingScience Power of Sunlight Toolkit provides background, materials lists, detailed procedures, and safety considerations for additional experimental methods related to photosynthesis and respiration. These tools can provide students the opportunity to ask a wider range of research...

The Power of Sunlight - Student's Guide

25 May 2016 | Student Resources | Contributor(s): plantingscience

In this module, you will join a research team to ask questions about photosynthesis and cellular respiration, then carry out experiments to help answer these questions. You’ll create a team blog where you’ll post your ideas and share your data with a plant biologist, and share what...

The Power of Sunlight - Teacher's Guide

25 May 2016 | Teacher Resources | Contributor(s): plantingscience

Investigations in Photosynthesis & Respiration.

The Power of Sunlight - Mentor Tip Sheet

25 May 2016 | Mentor Resources | Contributor(s): plantingscience

The purpose of this tip sheet is to help you as a scientist mentor anticipate and respond to students as they post online about their photosynthesis &/or respiration investigations.

Activity Set C: Field Study of Flowers and Pollinators

24 May 2016 | Teacher Resources

Summary: In outdoor field settings, students investigate animal pollinators, most likely insects and hummingbirds. Student inquiry questions will be explored by collecting data on pollinator visits to flowers. Students count the number of pollinator visits to flowers during timed observation...

Activity Set B: Exploring Pollen in the Atmosphere

24 May 2016 | Teacher Resources

Summary: Students explore wind-pollination through investigating pollen in the atmosphere. They construct simple pollen traps and set them outdoors. Using a staining technique to distinguish pollen from other material on microscope slides, students conduct pollen counts from the collected...

Activity Set A: Background for Inquiries Investigating Pollen in Plant Reproduction

24 May 2016 | Teacher Resources

Summary: Students gain background knowledge for inquiry investigations through dissecting flowers and/or cones and observing pollen grains through compound microscopes. In addition, students conduct either a guided or open inquiry investigation by growing pollen tubes. Through these activities,...

PlantingScience College Consent Form

19 May 2016 | Teacher Resources

This form needs to be completed for each college-age participant in a PlantingScience module. Signing this form grants PlantingScience the ability to use images and videos from student projects.

PlantingScience K-12 Consent Form

19 May 2016 | Teacher Resources

This form needs to be completed for each student participating in the PlantingScience online community.****Parental consent MUST be obtained for students 13 years of age and under.**Parental consent is NOT necessary for students over 13 years of age, and the students will need to...

Letter for School Authority to Sign

19 May 2016 | Teacher Resources

**For schools in the United States ONLY**Containing information on the PlantingScience online community, this letter is to be sent to main authority for your school or school district. In this letter we describe how secondary school teachers, students, and plant scientists work together in...

The Wonder of Seeds - Mentor Tip Sheet

19 May 2016 | Mentor Resources | Contributor(s): plantingscience

The purpose of this tip sheet is to help you as a scientist mentor anticipate and respond to students as they post online about their germination and seedling growth investigations.

The Wonder of Seeds - Student's Guide

17 May 2016 | Student Resources | Contributor(s): plantingscience

Investigations in Germination & Plant Growth

Photosynthesis and Respiration Resources

12 May 2016 | Teacher Resources | Contributor(s): plantingscience

Videos, Web Pages, Books, and Peer-Reviewed Articles to supplement The Power of Sunlight Teacher’s Guide

Teacher Handbook

09 May 2016 | Teacher Resources

Use this handbook to learn about PlantingScience and how to use it most effectively. Further, a review of this FREE resource from the National Academy of Sciences - Decoding Science - is a fantastic review of what science IS and what it means to DO science.