Section 2: Obtaining and Communicating Information

A. Reading Closely: Animals (30 minutes)

• Distribute Life Cycle Stories of Animals to students according to their Life Cycle expert groups (1).
• Remind students of some of the close reading practices they follow in their Language Arts lessons (2):
• Read small chunks of the text slowly and think about the gist.
• Talk with my partner or group about the text.
• Circle or underline words I don't know.
• Write notes or answer questions about the text.
• Tell students they will have the opportunity to independently read the text now. Remind them to stop after each paragraph during this first read and jot the gist of that paragraph and any unfamiliar vocabulary in their notebook. Review and model finding the gist as necessary.
• Ask students to begin reading. Circulate and support them as they read and determine the gist (3).
• After 7 minutes, ask students to turn and talk to an elbow partner:

"What gist notes or vocabulary words did you write down? What similarities and differences are there between our notes?"

• After 5 minutes, refocus whole class. Point out to students that their job is to learn everything they can about the life cycles of animals.
• Ask students to open up their student science notebooks to the Life Cycle entry and find the Animal Life Cycle graphic organizer (4).
• Tell students they are going to read the text again. This time, they should read closely for details to add to the Animal Life Cycle graphic organizer. They need to determine every stage of the life cycle of their assigned animal and be able to describe what happens to the animal at that stage, just like in the bullfrog life cycle they created.
• Consider doing a brief guided practice, as necessary.
• Ask students to begin reading and taking notes. Circulate to support students as needed.

Section 3: Obtaining and Communicating Information

A. Obtaining Information about Plants (25 minutes)

• Be sure students are in their Life Cycle expert groups.
• Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the first one aloud:
• "I can create a model of the life cycle of a plant and animal."
• Say:

"You have worked hard to learn the life cycle of animals, but now we are going to focus on making a model of the life cycle of plants."

• Distribute General Plant Life Cycle picture cards to expert groups.
• Tell students that plants are living things and therefore have a life cycle just like animals. Plants also have specific parts or structures to help them in each part of their life cycle. Plant structures are things like stems, roots, flowers, fruits, and seeds.
• Tell students they have pictures of the different structures of different types of plants.
• Invite students to work with their group to sort the picture cards into a general plant life cycle circle (1).
• Circulate to check for student understanding. Notice how students are arranging plant structures. It's okay that students don't have the "right" order. They will revisit the cycle two more times.
• Refocus whole group, and tell students they will return to their picture cards as they learn about plant parts and a flowering plant's life cycle.
• Tell students they will now watch several videos to see a plant go through its life cycle. Explain that each video is a time-lapse video, which means it shows what happens to a plant over a long period of time in only a couple of minutes. The first video shows the beginning of the life cycle.
• Play "Wheat Germination and Growing Time Lapse."
• After viewing the video, ask students to turn and talk with an elbow partner:

"What structure does the life cycle start with?" (seed)

"What happens to the seed?" (sprouted and began to grow)

"What structures do you see after the seed sprouts?" (stem and leaves)

"What seeds are you familiar with?" (Answers will vary.)

• Tell students they will now see what happens next in the life cycle of a plant.
• Play "From Seed to Flower."
• After viewing the video, ask:

"When a plant is growing, what is happening to it?" (gets leaves, a thicker stem, taller)

"What happened at the end of the video?" (The plant produced a flower.)

• Point out that flowers can look very different from other flowers. Invite students to look for the flowers in their General Plant Life Cycle picture cards.
• Ask expert groups to revisit their general plant life cycle. This time, they should use the information they learned to re-sort the plant structures.
• Circulate and check for understanding. Consider asking:

"What did you see in the video that made you think that?"

"Why did you put that plant part there?"

• After 5 minutes, refocus whole group.
• Play "Time Lapse Dandelion Flower to Seed Head."
• After viewing the video, ask:

What happens after a dandelion flowers? (It creates a seed head.)

What will the seeds become? (a new dandelion)

What happens to dandelion flowers when the wind blows? (They blow away.)

• Play "Pear Flower to Fruit Swelling Time Lapse Filmed Over 8 Weeks" (2) (3).
• Pause video at 0:32 and help students understand the importance of pollinators. Draw students' attention to the bugs that are crawling around the flowers. Ask:

"What are the bugs doing?" (pollinating the flower)

• After viewing the video, ask:

"What happens after a pear tree flowers and is pollinated?" (It creates a fruit. Be sure students understand it cannot make seeds unless it is pollinated.)

"What does fruit have inside it?" (seeds)

"How is a pear tree and a dandelion plant similar?" (They both flower and then produce seeds.)

"Can you think of other plants that create something edible to hold their seeds?" (Responses will vary but may include tomatoes, peppers, apples.)

• Explain that some plants have things to hold their seeds that aren't edible, like a magnolia. Call students' attention to card 2 of the General Plant Life Cycle picture cards. Point out the magnolia seedpod. Ask:

"Whether the seed is in a seed pod, like a magnolia or a fruit like the cherry, or ready to be blown in the wind like the dandelion, what will the seeds become?"  (a new plant)

"What did we call it when an animal produced an offspring that would grow into a new organism?" (reproducing)

"Does reproduction come near the beginning, middle, or end of the life cycle?" (near the end)

• Ask expert groups to revisit their general plant life cycle. This time, they should use the information they learned to re-sort the plant structures.
• Circulate and check for understanding. Consider asking:

"What did you see in the video that made you think that plant part goes there?"

• Allow time for students to sort the plant parts into a cycle. Remind students that a cycle is represented in a circular way.
• Allow time for students to sort the plant parts into a cycle. Remind students that a cycle is represented in a circular way.
• Circulate to check for understanding. Look for students to have structures sorted correctly and have them in the correct order (seeds, growing plant, flower, fruiting body with seeds, dead plant). Refer to Plant Life Cycle model (answers, for teacher reference) as needed.
• Keep students' general plant life cycle models accessible at their workspace so they can refer to them as they create a plant life cycle model of specific plants later in the lesson sequence.

Section 4: Communicating Information

A. Reviewing Learning Targets (10 minutes)

• Direct students' attention to the posted lesson sequence learning targets, and read the second two aloud:
• "I can compare and contrast the diverse life cycles of plants and animals to identify a pattern of life."
• "I can use a life cycle model to make predictions."
• Invite students to open their student science notebooks to the Life Cycle entry and put their finger on the "Learning Targets #2" section.
• Tell students to record initial ideas about the learning targets in this section.
• Explain to students that now that they have created life cycle models of multiple animals and plants, they will use these models to identify a pattern across life cycles and make predictions. Say:

"First, we are going to focus on using the models to find patterns in life cycles" (1).

• Direct students' attention to the Concepts Scientists Think About anchor chart and lead a discussion on patterns, posing questions such as (2):

"What are examples of patterns that you've seen before?" (patterns in math, on clothing like polka dots or stripes, or the pattern they observed in Lesson Sequence 2)

• Use student examples and ask:

"Knowing that these (examples from students) are patterns, how would you define a pattern?"

• Read the definition of a pattern from the Concepts Scientists Think About anchor chart:
• "A pattern is a repeated event or object. Finding patterns help us see similarities and differences and make predictions." 
• Ask (3):

"Do you think you will be looking for a repeated event (or something that is happening) or a repeated object in the life cycles?" (Students do not have to name this yet but should name that they will be looking for a repeated event.)

"Have you noticed any patterns in the life cycles yet?" (Responses will vary but may include: everything dies.)

• Explain that all organisms have a cycle or a pattern of life, and students will be identifying the pattern by looking at all the life cycle models they made in order to determine what event is similar or repeating in every single one even though they are different in lots of ways too.

C. Scientists Meeting: Building Understanding (30 minutes)

• Ask students to bring their science notebooks and gather for a Scientists Meeting (1).
• Direct students' attention to the Norms of a Scientists Meeting anchor chart. Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What are the norms of a Scientists Meeting?" (take turns talking, build on one another's ideas, disagree respectfully, ask questions to clarify information)

• Remind students that a Scientists Meeting is a conversation where they speak to one another as scientists and not just to the teacher (2).
• Tell students the goal of this meeting is to build understanding about the Unit 1 guiding question. Direct students to the posted guiding question:
• "Why does an organism look the way it does, and why does it matter?"
• Invite students to open their student science notebook to the Life Cycle entry and find the General Pattern of a Life Cycle.
• Display the Pictures of Offspring That Look Different from the Parents.
• Ask:

"Do you think these offspring look like their parents right now?" (no)

"Do you think they will look similar to but a little different from their parents when they complete their life cycle? Why or why not?" (Yes. When they are in the adult stage, they will look like their adult parents.)

"Why do you think understanding life cycles is important to being able to answer the guiding question?" (Responses will vary but may include: Animals look different in different stages of the life cycle. Students may begin to say that animals get their traits from their parents through reproduction.)

• Direct students' attention to the posted Scientists Do These Things anchor chart and focus the class on the "modeling" column. Explain that they have created models of the life cycle, and this act of creating models is something that scientists do all the time.
• Read the definition of a model:
• "A model can be a drawing or diagram, physical replica, or a simulation. A model has limitations because it is used to study one part of a system or object while not paying attention to other parts."
• To build students' understanding about how the life cycles are models according to the definition, consider asking questions such as (3):

"What kind of model is each of our plant and animal life cycles?" (diagram)

"What do our models show and help us understand?" (Responses will vary but may include: how the life cycles compare to each other.)

"What pattern do you see among all the organisms?" (organisms' life cycles and the pattern of birth, growth, reproduction, and death)

"How does the model you helped create show the pattern of life cycle? What part of your model is birth? Growth? Reproduction? Death?" (Responses will vary. Give all expert groups a chance to explain.)

• Encourage students to listen to and respond to one another's ideas. Consider using or prompting students to use the following:

"Can someone paraphrase what Student A said?"

"Who thinks something similar to Student A?

"Who thinks something different from Student A?"

"Can you add to what Student A said?"

• If conflicting information arises, help students challenge each other's ideas respectfully:

"Why do you think you have different conclusions than Student A?"

"With what in Student A's explanation do you disagree? On what points do you agree? What evidence do you have to support those ideas?"

• Tell students that models also help people make predictions. A prediction is saying what we think might happen. Ask students to use their models to make predictions, posing questions such as:

"What would happen if the organism stopped reproducing and having offspring (seeds, eggs, or live young)?" (A new life cycle would not begin and the species would eventually die.)

"What other predictions can you make using the life cycle models?"

• Tell students a model also has limitations or something the model doesn't show.
• Ask students to name some limitations, posing questions such as:

"What limitations do our models have?" (It doesn't show all organisms.)

"What don't they show about the life and death of organisms?" (Some organisms die before they reach all the stages of the life cycle.)

"Do all organisms reach every stage every time? Does our model show that they do?" (No, they don't and yes, our model does.)

"Do our life cycles show that a new life cycle starts with the new offspring? Why is that important to understand life cycle?" (No, they don't. Because the life cycle keeps going in new organisms.)

• Focus students' attention on the Scientists Do These Things anchor chart and add "life cycle model" to the modeling column.
• Invite students to return to their seats.
• Distribute the Exit Ticket: Life Cycle and read the directions aloud.
• Invite students to complete the exit ticket.
• Collect the exit tickets to use as a formative assessment.