SCIENTIX LESSON PLAN
Title
Water – the essence of life; Why is water so important?
Author(s)
Adina Stratulat
Abstract
Water is present everywhere in the environment: on the surface of the Earth, in the soil, in the air, in plants and in the
body of living things. Water is an indispensable environmental factor for life. For some animals and plants, water is a
living environment.
What are we experiencing?
1. The presence of the water in the soil.
With what materials? A clear glass, different type of soil, water, Laboratory Alcohol Burner Lamp
How do we work? We put the earth in the glass. We cover it. We heat the glass. What did I discover?
Water drops – evaporation, condensation.
2. How did water from the soil help plants to grow?
With what materials? Plant three plants: the first, in a pot with garden soil, the second, in a pot with clay,
and the third, in a pot with sand.
How do we work? team work. Periodically water the plants and watch them for two weeks. The results are
noted in chart.
How can we use the right amount of water for every type of soil? – conclusions after experiment.
3. Create a mini green house in the classroom
With what materials? Every student plant in a pot with the appropriate soil different kinds of plants, and
create with his team an irrigation system for economic use of water.
How do we work? Team work. Every team choose materials for their irrigation system, create it, observe it
and improve it during a week.
Keywords
Add here 5 keywords that you think best describe your learning scenario. Other teachers will find your learning scenario
based on these keywords, so please try to be as accurate as possible. Use as examples the lists provided in
http://www.scientix.eu/resources under Subject, Type and STEM School Strategy
Water, soil, plants, experiments, observation.
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The work presented in this document has received funding from the European Union’s H2020 research and
innovation programme – project Scientix 4 (Grant agreement N. 101000063), coordinated by European
Schoolnet (EUN). The content of the Learning Scenario is the sole responsibility of the authors and it does
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Summary table
Subject List all the subjects that this learning scenario is intended for. If this is an interdisciplinary
lesson, list multiple subjects.
Natural Sciences
Topic(s) within the Add here a topic that the learning scenario addresses. For example, if this scenario is
subject intended for a Biology lesson, the topic could be the climate change.
Water, air, soil
Key real-life topic Add here the real-life topic that the learning scenario addresses. For example, if this
scenario is about the arrival of airplanes to an airport (and how understanding
coordinates systems is very important), write “airplanes and the tower control”.
Discovering the best methods to grow plants and using water efficient.
Age of students 9 years
Preparation time 1 hour
Teaching time 4 hours
Online teaching List here all the links of online tools, applications and support documents that you will
material use during the lesson, such as: Padlet, Kahoot, Canva, etc.
Offline teaching List here all the offline tools, such as: paper, glue, etc.
material A clear glass, different type of soil, water, Laboratory Alcohol Burner
Lamp, pots, observatory charts.
2
Integration into the curriculum
Detail in a few sentences how the topic of the learning scenario will fit into your national curriculum.
Aim of the lesson
Describe in 1-2 sentences what you would like to achieve with your students by the end of the lesson.
Discovering the best methods of plant growth and efficient use of water.
Outcome of the lesson
Describe in 1-2 sentences what kind of outcome the lesson will have. This can be a tangible end-product or any other
particular outcome.
Students:
- identifies soil properties: colour, permeability, presence of water and air;
- use the right soil and the necessary amount of water to grow plants:
- create a mini green house in the class.
Trends
List the relevant trends that the lesson incorporates: http://www.allourideas.org/trendiez/results
Project-Based Learning
Collaborative Learning
STEM Learning
21st century skills
Add here how the lesson plan corresponds to 21 st century skills. To find out more: http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-
framework .
Creativity and Innovation • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving • Communication • Collaboration
Activities
Describe here in detail all the activities during the lesson and the time they require. Remember, that your lesson plan
needs to correspond to real-world problems in STEM education.
Name of Procedure Time
activity
1. The presence of the water in the soil. 1 hour
With what materials?
A clear glass, different type of soil, water, Laboratory Alcohol Burner Lamp
How do we work?
We put the earth in the glass. We cover it. We heat the glass.
What did I discover? Water drops – evaporation, condensation.
2. How did water from the soil help plants to grow? 2 hours
3
With what materials? Plant three plants: the first, in a pot with garden soil, the
second, in a pot with clay, and the third, in a pot with sand.
How do we work? Team work. Periodically water the plants and watch them
for two weeks. The results are noted in chart.
How can we use the right amount of water for every type of soil? – conclusions
after experiment.
3. Create a mini green house in the classroom 2 hours
• With what materials? Every student plant in a pot with the appropriate soil
different kinds of plants, and create with his team an irrigation system for
economic use of water.
• How do we work? Team work. Every team choose materials for their irrigation
system, create it, observe it and improve it during a week.
Assessment
Describe here the assessment method of the lesson, if any. For example, if you plan on assessing your students with
a quiz, include here questions and answer options with color-coding the correct answers.
The assessment will be project based learning, and the ”prove” for their work will be the
observation charts and the mini green house.
Student feedback
Add here the method with which your students will be able to give you feedback and discuss the lesson.
The students will give feedback in a feedback form at the end of every activity.
https://forms.gle/PasiN3Mv6VzGYZbr7
About Scientix
Scientix, the community for Science education in Europe, promotes and supports a Europe-wide
collaboration among STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) teachers, education
researchers, policymakers and other STEM education professionals. If you need more information, check
the Scientix portal, or contact either the Scientix National Contact Point or Scientix Ambassadors in your
country.
