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Photosynthesis

Supporting

Photosynthesis

TEKS Objective

The student is expected to describe how the flow of energy derived from the Sun, used by producers to create their own food, is transferred through a food chain and food web to consumers and decomposers.


Essential Understanding

The student knows that there are relationships, systems, and cycles within environments.

Science Background

Photosynthesis: BioCoach (website) - Series of pages and animations that provide a thorough introduction to the science behind photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis
Pearson Education, BioCoach, www.phschool.com

Biology of Plants: Missouri Botanical Garden (website) - Background about plant needs, growth and development, with links to information of plant parts, how plants make food, plant adaptations, and more.

Biology of Plants
Missouri Botanical Garden, mbgnet.net

Signature Lesson

Do Plants Need Light? BioEd Online (website) - Students learn that plants require light, water, air and soil to grow, and they conduct investigations showing that plants require energy from sunlight to produce new plant material and food that will be transferred to consumers and decomposers.

Do Plants Need Light?
BioEd Online, www.bioedonline.org

Supporting Lessons

Do Plants Need Sunlight? Michigan Reach Out! (website) - Students learn that plants need sunlight to survive, and investigate what happens to plants that do not receive sufficient sunlight. Includes assessment and extensions.

Do Plants Need Sunlight?
Michigan Reach Out, www.reachoutmichigan.org

Elaboration Lessons and Extensions

Finding the Carbon in Sugar: BioEd Online (website) - Students observe the burning of candle and a small amount of sugar to investigate the energy produced by photosynthesis and stored in carbon-containing molecules in plants, such as sugar.

Finding the Carbon in Sugar
BioEd Online, www.bioedonline.org

Assessment Ideas

Have students illustrate the photosynthesis process with a drawing. Or, have them represent and describe the photosynthesis equation using pictures or drawings.

Carbon dioxide [CO2] + water [H2O] + light  — > sugar [C6H12O6] + water [H2O]+ oxygen [O2]

Literature Connections

Food (Cycles in Science). Riley, Peter (ISBN-13: 978-1575726182)

Photosynthesis: Changing Sunlight into Food. Kalman, Bobbie (ISBN-13: 978-0778723080)

Why Do People Eat? Needham, Kate (ISBN-13: 978-0746013021)

Understanding Photosynthesis with Max Axiom, Super Scientist. O’Donnell, Liam (ISBN-13: 978-1429611602)

The Magic School Bus Gets Planted: A Book About Photosynthesis. Notkin, Lenore (ISBN-13: 978-0590922463)

Related Science TEKS

(5.9A) Interactions in Ecosystems
The student is expected to observe the way organisms live and survive in their ecosystem by interacting with the living and non-living elements.

(5.9C) Changes in Ecosystems
The student is expected to predict the effects of changes in ecosystems caused by living organisms, including humans, such as the overpopulation of grazers or the building of highways.

(5.9D) Carbon dioxide-oxygen Cycle
The student is expected to identify the significance of the carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle to the survival of plants and animals.

Related Math TEKS

5.13A  The student is expected to use tables of related number pairs to make line graphs.

Additional Resources

Illuminating Photosynthesis: NOVA (website) - Photosynthesis in plants and a few bacteria is responsible for feeding nearly all life on Earth. Explore this website to explore the basic photosynthesis model.

Illuminating Photosynthesis
NOVA on PBS, www.pbs.org

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