SC.3.L.14.2

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Investigate and describe how plants respond to stimuli (heat, light, gravity), such as the way plant stems grow toward light and their roots grow downward in response to gravity.
General Information
Subject Area: Science
Grade: 3
Body of Knowledge: Life Science
Idea: Level 3: Strategic Thinking & Complex Reasoning
Big Idea: Organization and Development of Living Organisms -

A. All plants and animals, including humans, are alike in some ways and different in others.

B. All plants and animals, including humans, have internal parts and external structures that function to keep them alive and help them grow and reproduce.

C. Humans can better understand the natural world through careful observation.

Date Adopted or Revised: 02/08
Content Complexity Rating: Level 3: Strategic Thinking & Complex Reasoning - More Information
Date of Last Rating: 05/08
Status: State Board Approved
Assessed: Yes

Related Courses

This benchmark is part of these courses.
5020040: Science - Grade Three (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 - 2024, 2024 and beyond (current))
7720040: Access Science Grade 3 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018, 2018 - 2023, 2023 and beyond (current))
5020100: STEM Lab Grade 3 (Specifically in versions: 2016 - 2022, 2022 - 2024, 2024 and beyond (current))

Related Access Points

Alternate version of this benchmark for students with significant cognitive disabilities.
SC.3.L.14.In.2: Identify behaviors of plants that show they are growing.
SC.3.L.14.Su.2: Recognize that plants grow toward light and roots grow down in the soil.
SC.3.L.14.Pa.2: Recognize that plants grow.

Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this benchmark.

Lesson Plans

Watch Me Sprout...Watch Me Grow, Grow!:

During this engineering design challenge, students will create a container to help a local nursery grow sunflowers efficiently. Students will use their knowledge of plant growth to develop a strategy and choose which materials would be best for their sunflower's growth.

Type: Lesson Plan

If You Build It, It Will Grow!:

In this project students are challenged to build a greenhouse and plant seeds using the Engineering Design Process. They will measure plant growth over time and assess the quality of their greenhouses according to the results. Through this process students will gain an understanding of how plants respond to stimuli (heat, light, gravity) and will understand that plants need energy from the sun to make their own food. By designing and testing their greenhouses students will understand that using different materials can result in different outcomes. Students will observe different plant growth patterns and record their results. By doing this, students will see the importance of accurate note taking and be able to participate in group discussions by providing their evidence organized in graphs and tables.

Type: Lesson Plan

Terrarium:

In this lesson plan students are challenged with building a self-sufficient terrarium.

Type: Lesson Plan

Response to the Cues:

This is a design challenge that requires students to cooperatively create a plant terrarium through the process of asking questions, imagining what the design would look like, planning the design, creating the design, testing the design, improving the design, and finally testing their redesign.

Type: Lesson Plan

A-maze-ing Plants:

This Engineering Design Challenge is intended to help students apply the concepts of flowering plants, plant structures, and plant responses to stimuli as they build mazes to demonstrate a plant"s response to light. It is not intended as an initial introduction to this benchmark.

Type: Lesson Plan

Original Student Tutorial

Plants Respond!:

Explore how plants respond to stimuli in the world as you complete this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Perspectives Video: Expert

Light and Colors in Plants:

Wilbert Butler explains the role of light in plants.

Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.

Type: Perspectives Video: Expert

Teaching Ideas

Plants and Gravity:

How do plants respond to gravity? See how gravity affects plant root growth using plant seeds, plastic zip-lock bags, paper towels, and a large cardboard box or dark closet.

Type: Teaching Idea

The Hold of the Cold-SeaWorld Classroom Activity:

In this activity, students will investigate the effects of temperature on growing plants.

Type: Teaching Idea

Text Resource

Plants Responding to Different Factors:

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This article is a description of how a plant responds to light, gravity, and heat.

Type: Text Resource

Video/Audio/Animations

Plants in Motion - Sunflower germination light/dark:

This is a short time-lapse video of sunflower seeds germinating in either light or dark conditions. Different patterns of growth are observable. Includes descriptions of what is being seen.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Plants In Motion:

Plants In Motion is a set of time-lapse movies (embedded in the website) that show how plants respond to stimuli (gravity, light, diurnal patterns). The movies allow students a way to visualize plant processes that take much longer to observe.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Original Student Tutorials Science - Grades K-8

Plants Respond!:

Explore how plants respond to stimuli in the world as you complete this interactive tutorial.

Student Resources

Vetted resources students can use to learn the concepts and skills in this benchmark.

Original Student Tutorial

Plants Respond!:

Explore how plants respond to stimuli in the world as you complete this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Parent Resources

Vetted resources caregivers can use to help students learn the concepts and skills in this benchmark.

Video/Audio/Animation

Plants In Motion:

Plants In Motion is a set of time-lapse movies (embedded in the website) that show how plants respond to stimuli (gravity, light, diurnal patterns). The movies allow students a way to visualize plant processes that take much longer to observe.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation