The Tree-mendous Benefits of Trees - Teacher Guide

16 Oct 2020

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...

The Tree-mendous Benefits of Trees - Mentor Guide

16 Oct 2020

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...

Agronomy Feeds the World - Mentor's Guide

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 agronomy-related investigations. After initial inquiries – such as watching purple Kool-Aid run through 3+ types of soil, evaluating water-holding capacity of...

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.

Celery Challenge - Toolkit

30 Dec 2017 | Teacher Resources

Agronomy Feeds the World - Experimental Design for Guided Inquiry

27 Dec 2016 | Teacher Resources

This guide will help teachers walk their students through the guided inquiry that is part of the Agronomy Feeds the World module.

Agronomy Feeds the World - Soil Nutrition and Fertility Resources

27 Dec 2016 | Teacher Resources

Goals, purposes and objectives centered around a core concept (big idea):The goal of this project is to allow students to understand the roles of soil nutrients and how they affect plant growth and plant nutritional status.Objectives:Understand the roles of macronutrients...

Agronomy Feeds the World - Field to Table Discussion Items

27 Dec 2016 | Teacher Resources

Goals, purposes and objectives centered around a core concept (big idea):Where exactly does my food come from: Field to table?Objectives:Understand the connection between our food and farmsDetermine the infrastructure necessary to transport foodUnderstand the costs...

Agronomy Feeds the World - Plant Stresses

27 Dec 2016 | Teacher Resources

OverviewThis investigation introduces students to sources/types of plant stress and how plants deal/combat with stress.Also include emphasis on how plant stresses reduce yield quantity/quality; how does this affect the food supply?Talk about how growers help plants...

Agronomy Feeds the World - Plant Measurements

27 Dec 2016 | Teacher Resources

This is a brief resource to assist students in deciding how best to measure plants and record data in their experiments. 

Agronomy Feeds the World - Geography and Water

27 Dec 2016 | Teacher Resources

Goal: To understand how geography and water quantity and quality impact food and fiber production.Objectives:To understand what an ecoregion is and how crops are impacted by weather, climate, and geography among various ecoregions.To understand how water stress impacts crop production.To conduct...

Agronomy Feeds the World - Teacher's Guide

27 Dec 2016 | Teacher Resources

Premise: One in nine people in the world are hungry, and as the population expands to 9 billion by 2050, food production must rapidly rise to the challenge to reduce hunger. Although food is a basic need for mankind, fewer citizens today are aware of the process of food production and its...

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! :)  

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...

Celery Challenge - Mentor 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 investigations on how water moves through plants, using celery.

Celery Challenge - Student's Guide

16 Jun 2016 | Student Resources

In this module, you will think about transpiration, osmosis, and different cell types by trying to cause celery stalks to bend as much as possible. Carrying out several experiments while blogging with a plant biologist will help you develop ideas about these processes.

Celery Challenge - Teacher's Guide

16 Jun 2016 | Teacher Resources

Premise: Many students know that plants require water to live, but fewer understand the processes by which plants take up, transport, and release water. Although plants and plant organs clearly have different structures, students are often surprised to learn that all plant cells are not the...

More Resources for the Celery Challenge

16 Jun 2016 | Teacher Resources

Videos,WebPages,andPeer-ReviewedArticles toSupplementtheCeleryChallenge Teacher’sGuide

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,...