Science: Experimenting with Celery Stems

Teacher name: Veronica M. Long

Grade: 1
st
grade
Estimated time for lesson/activity: 1 hour
Lesson type: Full class lesson

Overview and Context

Overview of lesson:

Students investigate stems and their functions. They observe and compare
celery stems and learn about the function of stems in relation to a plant (they
provide support). They also set up an experiment using celery that helps
demonstrate that stems move water and nutrients to plant parts.
Context of lesson: This lesson is a part of the unit on Collecting and Examining Life. The big
ideas in the unit are the characteristics of living things, including animals,
plants, and fungi. The unit begins with a cluster on living things in general
and learning how to classify living things. The next cluster is on animals.
During this cluster, students observe and compare how animals move,
breathe, eat, and sense their environment. The next cluster, where the stems
lesson occurs, is on plants. This is when students learn similarities and
differences between plants and animals as well as the characteristics and
parts of plants. The last cluster, which will take place after this lesson
happens, is on fungi. Students will learn about fungi and comparing the
characteristics of mold and other fungi to those of plants and animals.
Sources: - Science Companion: Collecting and Examining Life (Teacher Edition)

Learning Goals

Learning Goals Connection to Standards Connection to Activities
SCIENCE CONTENT / CORE
DISCIPLINARY IDEAS

Life Sciences: Students will be able
to learn that stems move nutrients
and water up and down through a
plant. The different parts of plants
help them survive and grow
(Structure and Function).
LS1.A: Structure and Function

All organisms have external parts.
Different animals use their body
parts in different ways to see, hear,
grasp objects, protect themselves,
move from place to place, and seek,
find, and take in food, water and air.
Plants also have different parts
(roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits)
that help them survive and grow. (1-
LS1-1)

Students will accomplish this goal
by studying the stem and observing
the tubes that carry water and
nutrients from the roots to the
leaves. This observation happens
when the students peel apart the
celery as well as when they see the
change in the limp celery after it has
been in water.

SCIENTIFIC PRACTICES

Students will be able to discuss how
stems provide support and structure
for a plant.
Make observations (firsthand or
from media) to construct an
evidence-based account for natural
phenomena. (1-LS3-1)
Students will have a discussion with
each other and the teacher regarding
how stems provide support and
structure for plants.
CROSSCUTTING CONCEPTS

Students will be able to understand
that putting stems into water will
give them more support and
structure. (Patterns/Cause and
Effect)

Students will be able to explain how
stems provide structure and support
for plants. (Structure and Function)
Patterns in the natural world can be
observed, used to describe
phenomena, and used as evidence.
(1-LS1-2),(1-LS3- 1)

The shape and stability of structures
of natural and designed objects are
related to their function(s). (1-LS1-
1)
Students will see the pattern and
cause and effect of putting stems
into water when they observe the
limp celery before and after it is in
water.

Students will explain how stems
provide structure and support for
plants during the group discussion
and their writing in science
notebooks.

EEE Connection
Investigation question students will
answer:
Why are stems important to a plant?
Claim with evidence you hope
students will generate:
I think ___________ (claim).
I think this because I've seen or done ______________ (evidence).

I think that the stem provides structure and support for a plant, and helps to
carry water through the plant to make it strong.
I think this because after the limp celery sat in the colored water, the stems
and leaves of the celery turned the color of the water as it carried water into
the plant. I also observed that the leaves would have nowhere to connect to
without the support of the stem.

Attending to the Learners
Anticipating student ideas, including
alternative ideas, misconceptions,
and prior knowledge:
Some students will already know what a stem is and what it does, while
others may not have had much prior knowledge.

Some students may not be able to draw connections between celery and
other plants (such as trees), and the fact that the stalks are the same as
branches/trunks.

Students will most likely want to share out some of their ideas on this
content, and this will provide good background knowledge for all students to
have going into the lesson.

Some students may think that leaves absorb water and gravity brings it to the
roots.

Some students may not be able to put the celery in the correct orientation so
that the roots are at the bottom and the leaves are at the top.

Another concept that students might believe is that plants get their energy
directly from the sun even though there is no sun in the classroom where the
celery is.

Also, some students may think celery is not living because it is not moving,
breathing, or growing at the point where they typically see celery.
Making the content accessible to all
students, including using specific
equity practices from class:
To make this content accessible for all students, it would be beneficial to
come up with a class definition for the word, stem. This will allow all the
students to have an equal understanding of this part of the plant.


Assessments
Type of Assessment Learning-Goals Connection
Formative: Students will take notes
using their science journals to
obtain, evaluate and communicate
the information gathered during the
investigation. The teacher will look
through all notebooks and use rubric
2 to see where the students are at in
their learning and accuracy of
recording of information.
Students will be able to learn that stems move nutrients and water up and
down through a plant (Life Sciences).

Students will be able to understand that putting stems into water will give
them more support and structure. (Patterns)

Students will be able to explain how stems provide structure and support for
plants. (Structure and Function)
Summative: After the final
discussion, students will complete
an exit slip explaining their claims
about how stems provide structure
Students will be able to discuss how stems provide support and structure for
a plant.
and support for a plant.


Instructional Sequence
Materials: Celery stalks (limp and crisp with leaves attached), red food coloring, plastic knives, magnifying
lenses, clear plastic containers, water, scissors, drawing materials, student science journals, exit slips

Instructional Sequence: Engage Element
Steps for Engage Element
Time:
15 minutes
The teacher will:
We need to be acting and thinking as
scientists during our investigation!
Display the class plant poster
Quickly review the plant parts the
class has learned about (leaves, seeds,
fruits and roots)
o Lets review what we know
about plants and their
functions.
o How do leaves help the
plant? Seeds? Fruits? Roots?
Explain what part of the plant the
class will be learning today:
o Today we are going to focus
on the part of the plant,
stems.
o Label or point out which part
of the plant is the stem on the
class plant poster.
o Why are stems important to
a plant?
o We are going to learn more
about stems during the
lesson! It is our investigation
question over the next couple
of days!
Pass out non-limp celery to students
and have them observe while thinking
about (teacher asks):
o How do stems help hold a
plant up and hold its leaves
so they can catch sunlight?
o How would a plant stay up
without stems?
o Where would its leaves grow
without stems?
o What would its roots connect
to without stems?
o What else do we notice about
the celery stalk?
Show the class the limp celery and ask
them to compare this limp celery to
the celery they just looked at. Ask
them to think about:
o How is this stalk different
The students will:
Review and observe the parts of the
plants from previous lessons
o Think about what they already
know about the parts of the
plants
o Volunteer to share what they
remember about how seeds,
fruits and roots help plants.
Listen and answer questions
o Listen
o Observe and review which part
of the plant is a stem
o Answer the question the teacher
asks (Because they hold the
plant up, they provide nutrients,
etc.)
Observe the non-limp celery and THINK
about the questions:
o (Rigid, sturdy)
o (Plants couldnt stay up without
stems)
o (Leaves would grow right out of
the ground from the roots)
o (Roots would have to be directly
connect to leaves)
Compare limp celery and non-limp celery
and think about question
o (Celery might soak up water,
nothing could happen, celery
might turn red, etc.)
Predict what will happen during the
investigation
o Provide reasoning and ideas to
be recorded on the board
from the last one that we
looked at? How is it similar?
o What do you think will
happen when the celery is put
in the clear water and dyed
water? -> Record the student
predictions on the board so
that they can refer back to
their original thoughts
throughout

Management Considerations for Engage Element:
- Have limp and non-limp celery ready to pass out to students, but dont pass out until ready to use or the kids may
start playing with it.
- Have the different water ready and within reach for the teacher to grab
- Make sure the kids down start cutting or breaking the celery until the experience element

Instructional Sequence: Experience Element
Steps for Experience Element
Time:
25 minutes
The teacher will:
Remind students to continue their
work as scientists, and use all of the
strategies that are involved with
science investigations in answering
the investigation question Why are
stems important to a plant?
Remind students that we observed
pieces of celery in the previous lesson,
and reminded ourselves about what
parts of the plant we could already
identify. Also remind students that we
discussed that the limp celery
became that way from not having
enough water. We then placed the
celery in clear water and red dyed
water, then made and recorded
predictions about what might happen
to both limp celery stalks. Today we
are going to investigate the celery that
has been sitting in the red dye for
several days.
Tell the students that materials will be
passed out to each of their groups, and
remind them of proper use of science
tools. Remind students that when we
have materials in class it is important
to not touch the materials until
directions are given, and after that
only touch them in ways that will help
further the scientific investigation.
Also remind them that we will be
using plastic knives so it is very
important to be careful so that we
remain safe both when the knives are
The students will:
Listen and wait for directions for the
investigation.
Follow along about how to dissect the
celery with the teacher.
Only use the materials as directed by the
teacher
o Cut celery in half, crosswise
o Save the top half for later
o Cut the bottom half crosswise
into enough pieces so that each
group member gets a piece
Be prepared to share findings and
observations of the tubes in the celery
o Talk with their table groups what
they think the tubes in the celery
are for and why they are red
Respond to what the tubes are for and
why they are red
Think as scientists about how they can
answer the investigation question (Why
are stems important to a plant?)
Record their findings in their science
notebooks


in and out of use.
Instruct the class on the dissection of
the red dyed celery
o Cut celery in half, crosswise
(explain what crosswise is)
o Save the top half for later
o Cut the bottom half crosswise
into enough pieces so that
each group member gets a
piece (Model saying, I am
going to think about how
many people are in my group
and cut that many pieces)
o Now we are all going to
carefully peel apart the
celery kind of like string
cheese.
o Now, lets use a magnifying
glass to see if there are any
round tubes.
Start discussion on the tubes in celery,
and have students make predictions
referring to the investigation problem.
o Have students discuss with
their groups on what they
think the tubes in the celery
is for and why they are red
o Have the whole group share
what they predict the tubes
are for as well as anything
else that they think may be
interesting about how stems
are important to a plant, and
make a list on the board
Dissect the green celery, comparing
and contrasting to the red dyed celery.
-> Record findings of similarities and
differences on the board
Support students in their investigation.
Ask probing questions, and support
those who are stuck or get done
early. Give reminders to refer back
to the investigation question.
Monitor student recordings of data in
their science notebooks.

Management Considerations for Experience Element:
The students will have the materials and complete each step of the dissection at the same time as the teacher
when the teacher demonstrates each individual step. If all steps were given at the beginning there was a concern
that students would forget the order of the steps and doing the activity as a class eliminates this concern. Doing
the steps as a class also allows the teacher to control the pacing of the activity so that all students are observing
and discussing the round tubes and their predictions. To ensure safe and productive investigations by the
students, the teacher should remind and demonstrate to the class of the proper use of materials.
Place students within groups that work optimally for cutting the celery stalks into individual sections of several
inches so that students can pull the segment apart. A smaller section makes it too difficult to pull the tubes
away from the stalk.
Make sure the materials are distributed in a way that is efficient to get to the students, and wont provide chaos
in getting or putting away the materials.
Make sure to be circulating and checking so that the students are not incorrectly recording their observations.

Instructional Sequence: Explain Element
Steps for Explain Element
Time
20 minutes
The teacher will:
Refer back to the investigation
question by asking students what
question our celery experience helped
us to answer and ask students to recall
what happened during the celery
investigation.
o The last time we worked on
science together we got to do
an experiment with celery.
Can someone share with the
class what we did with the
celery? -> Scientists write
down their observations to
help remind them last of what
they had done in the past
o I am hearing you say that
we made observations of the
celery. We recorded these
observations to help us
answer how water travels
from the roots to the leaves.
Review the data that was collected
during the Experience section
o Lets share and record
together some of our findings
during our celery
dissection.
o What were the differences
between the celery before
and after it was put in the red
water.
o What were some of the
differences between the
celery in the red water and
the celery in the clear
water?
Come up with a claim as a class
o Have the class turn and talk
to individually discuss ideas
before sharing out as a class.
o What would be an answer to
our question original
question of why stems are
important to a plant? That is
what our claim should be.
Come up with evidence points that go
with the claim
o What is a piece of evidence
from our data that we can
The students will:
Share their findings during the
Experience section
Share any data that they observed
Revisit their predictions and compare
what they found to what they had thought
would happen
Apply what they learned in class to
outside knowledge and make connections
to what they learned other than just this
experiment
- Make connections from what they
learned in this experiment to new ideas
and questions about this material posed to
the class
Make a class claim based on evidence
from their findings and the original
investigations question
Complete end of investigation check

use to support our claim?
Apply knowledge to other plants
o Have any of you ever seen
bright orange or blue
flowers? Why/how do you
think that happens?
o Sometimes florists want fun
colors for flowers so they put
the flowers in dyed water,
which will be soaked up by
the roots and dye the flower a
color!
Explain: The tubes in the celery are
like straws that carry water and
nutrients through the plant. Remember
how roots suck up water and
nutrients. These tubes carry it from
the roots in the soil all the way to the
leaves!
Distribute and explain the end of
investigation check about the
individual student claims of how
stems provide structure and support
for a plant.

Management Considerations for Explain Element:
Have the investigation question recorded on a piece of chart paper or on the whiteboard prior to enacting
the explain element. If possible have the same piece of chart paper from the experience segment on which
the class observations were recorded so students can refer back to their data. If not possible, rewrite the
class observations on a new piece so the students can use the recorded data to identify patterns and refer
back to it in the future.
It is important to have the group of students in a central meeting location like the carpet so that group
discussion is facilitated. In the peer teaching experience this is not essential but with a whole class it would
be an important management consideration.


Reflection on Planning
Learning goal for self: I would like to be as concise as possible when engaging the students in the
lesson. If I talk too much, they may not be excited to begin the experiment. I
also need to make sure to focus on what is important during the time allotted,
and not go off on tangents that are exciting, but dont relate to the lesson.
Preparing to teach this lesson: Before doing the lesson, I read through the preexisting plan to make the edited
one that I will be teaching. I made sure to practice the lesson with all of the
materials, and tried to time it to make sure I knew that I would be on track for
my timing goals. I also looked at how this lesson relates to and builds upon the
previous lesson. I looked up information on plant stems (and celery) to
familiarize myself with the content.