This pdf includes background information and an activity for engaging students in the processes that occur during pollination, fertilization and seed development in Fast Plants. Pollination is explained and illustrated and an activity for students to pollinate Fast Plants and observe reproductive development is described. In participating in this activity students will: understand...

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Instructions for constructing and planting Fast Plants in the recycled "Bottle Growing System" that was designed by the Wisconsin Fast Plant Program. This is a low-cost growing system ideal for growing plants in the classroom, made from recycled soda or water bottles. These growing system are easy to build, use, and can be cleaned and reused for multiple years.

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This document is the step-by-step instructions for germinating seeds and growing young Fast Plant seedlings on paper toweling in a Petri dish. The Petri dish technique is terrific for making it easy to observe what happens during germination. This growing system can also be used as a 72-hour method for identifying phenotypes to demonstrate Mendelian inheritance patterns in some Fast Plant...

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This Farming Fast Plants activity introduces a classroom investigation that is easily adaptable for all grade levels and designed to engage teachers and students as investigators. The activity has the practical outcome of producing an abundant supply of Fast Plants seed for future classroom use and for sharing with other teachers. The central question of the activity is "How many seeds can your...

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Background information for teachers and an activity description for engaging students in the processes that occur during pollination, fertilization and seed development in Fast Plants. Symbiosis between bees and brassicas is explained and illustrated. Includes an activity for students to pollinate Fast Plants.

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This is "The Story of Fast Plants" - a short story of the origins of Brassicas and the work of Dr. Paul Williams, developing Brassica rapa. Reading level ~7th grade.

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Download this complete set of lessons for an elementary, NGSS-aligned inquiry that foregrounds engineering practices. During the days that are supported by this investigation, students observe flowers on their 14 to 16 day old Fast Plants along with bee structures, learning to connect how the shape of a structure is related to its function. Then, students make and/or use bee sticks to conduct...

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This 2-page handout gives instructions for making the seed sponge model that was developed by the Wisconsin Fast Plants Program as a tool for learning about germination. Visualizing what is inside a seed and how those structures function during germination is modeled, using a simple kitchen sponge. For all ages of learners, watching a "seed sponge model" unfold as it absorbs water can be inspiring...

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Download this comprehensive, 60-page elementary unit that was co-developed by the Fast Plants Program and Emily Miller (ELA/science elementary teacher who helped author the Next Generation Science Standards) as an exemplar for supporting three-dimensional learning. Developed in 2014, the lessons in this unit that fall during the time when Fast Plants are flowering and being pollinated are the same...

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This comprehensive Open Source lesson plan is designed for Kindergarten through Middle School level students to learn about life cycles, plants needs, and plant structures & their functions through hands-on investigations with Wisconsin Fast Plants. Depending on the grade level, students engage at an appropriate depth with developing models and constructing arguments that plants have internal and...

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