Case
Plant Nutrition Lesson Plan
Lesson Title: Magnesium and Calcium Deficiencies
Grade Level/Subject: 9-12/Plant Biology
Time allowed for lesson: 4 weeks
TEKS Addressed:
§119.47. Range Management and Ecology
C1(B): plan and manage supervised agricultural experience.
C1(C): demonstrate record-keeping procedures.
C3(A): define ecology, photosynthesis, energy flow, and climax vegetation
§119.51. Horticultural Plant Production
C3(A): identify the basic structure and functions of plant parts
C3(B): differentiate between monocots and dicots and male and female plants
C3(C): germinate and transplant seeds
C4(B): select, prepare, and sterilize plant growth media, mulches, and compost
C4(C): select, plant, fertilize, water, and manage greenhouse and nursery plants
C4(D): demonstrate the skills of greenhouse operation and environmental control
C5(A): schedule production cycles
C5(B): inventory and store plants
C5(C): discuss marketing, transportation, and sales of greenhouse crops
Objectives:
 Students will identify the structures of a plant with 95% accuracy.
 Students will explain the functions of the structures of a plant with 95% accuracy.
 Students will differentiate between monocots and dicots with 100% accuracy.
 Students will differentiate between the male and female plants with 100%
accuracy.
 Students will collect data from the plant nutrition lab experiment with 99%
accuracy.
 Students will create computer generated charts of data collected with 100%
accuracy.
 Students will analyze the data collected with 90% accuracy.
Focus Activity:
Video: The video that I will present to students is one that pertains to real life vegetable
growing. The video expresses that the soil quality has a large impact on how successful
plant growth is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaFRbWsuWyA
Materials:
 Sterilized plant media (control, calcium deficient, and magnesium deficient)
 Planters
 Plant seeds
 Beaker to hold media and planter
Case
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Greenhouse with light
Rulers
Distilled water
Camera
Calendar
Science Journals
Lecture Procedure:
I will begin by showing a video over plant nutrition and why it is important to
acknowledge. I will use a PowerPoint as an aid throughout my lecture. Students will
answer clicker questions via PowerPoint to ensure that they grasp the concept.
Lab Procedure:
Students will be put into a group of twos. Students will locate 6 beakers, 6
planters, and 12 seeds. Students will pour 200 mL of control media into 2 beakers, 200
mL of calcium deficient media into 2 beakers, and 200 mL of magnesium deficient media
into the last 2 beakers. They will place their 2 seeds into each of the planters and place
the planters into the beaker. The planter should be placed where the seed is barely
covered with media. Students will label their beakers with their group name, date, media
type, and class period. Students will then place their plants in the greenhouse. Students
will check on their plants twice a week. While checking on their plants, they will note the
media level (add more if necessary), measure the stem length, measure the leaves width
and length, note the color, texture, or any other characteristics. Also, students will have
the opportunity to take a picture of their plants each week to refer to in their lab report.
Safety Precautions:
 Handle glassware with care. Report any broken materials to teacher immediately.
 Do not drink any solutions.
 Discard of extra solution properly.
Assessment:
Formative:
Lecture: Throughout the lecture, there will be clicker points that students will
answer in order to help me know if they understand specific topics. This will help me
know if I can move on or re-teach concepts.
I will walk students through setting up their experiment. Throughout the weeks
that the experiment is being conducted, I will hold a discussion with the students to
compare the differences seen amongst the plants.
Summative
Lab Assessment: students will be required to write a lab report. The lab report will
include basic information of plant nutrition and plant stressors. Students will have a
section for their materials and methods that they used to carryout their experiment. They
will have a results section that includes all data tables of their plants measurements and
Case
include a characteristic table. They will have a discussion section that explains their
results in full details and gives reasons as to why their results turned out like they did.
They will also have an application section that they will suggest how this information
will pertain to their further investigations in plant biology. They will cite all their
references they have used to complete the paper as well as an appendix that contains all
raw data sheets that were used during the experiment.
Lecture Assessment: Students will be given a 40 question test. The questions on the test
will pertain to the structure and functions of the plant parts, difference between monocots
and dicots, difference between female and male plants, the required nutrition a plant
needs to properly produce, and the results of a plant not obtaining the proper nutrition.
Extension Project:
Students will look up current events via internet, newspapers, science journals,
etc. to find current events that relates to plant environment. For example, currently Texas
has been declared in a disaster due to the heavy droughts over the past few years. They
will find an article, summarize the article, explain the threats to plant growth, and suggest
a solution to the problem.
Modifications:
 Special needs students will be provided appropriate peer and teacher assistance.
 If needed, ESL teacher will be provided for students.
 ELL students would be assisted by an educator that can translate.
 Class lecture will be printed for students who have trouble note taking.
 Worksheets printed in enlarged format for students who need it.