A 32-page booklet, containing complete instructions for activities at each life cycle stage. The booklet also includes important background information about plant physiology and how to grow Fast Plants. A Growth, Development and Reproduction kit is available. You can also conduct all the investigations explained in the booklet using seeds from a packet of Standard Wisconsin Fast Plants seeds (or...

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This experiment takes advantage of the ease of growth and short life cycle (seed to seed in 35 days) in Fast Plants--an organism suitable for many kinds of home and classroom scientific investigations. Fast Plants are particularly interesting because, like humans, they exhibit considerable variation in many observable characteristics. Fast Plants® are useful for experiments investigating the...

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An article written for children, this reading explains the role of plants as producers. It is written at a grade 4-5 reading level, and it is a good supplement to the evidence that students can observe and record through experimentation with photosynthesis.

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In this investigation, students will gather their own evidence to explain how inheritance works. As they observe three generations of Wisconsin Fast Plants, students will unravel a mystery of paternity: What is the father’s phenotype? Is it the same as the mother’s phenotype or the offspring’s phenotype? Or is it something entirely different? As the generations of plants grow, students will...

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Download the complete instructions for a high school level inheritance inquiry, using Wisconsin Fast Plants. In this investigation, students gather their own evidence to explain how inheritance works. As they observe three generations of Wisconsin Fast Plants, students unravel a paternity mystery: What was the father’s phenotype? Was it the same as the mother’s phenotype or the offspring’s...

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Download this complete unit of instructions to conduct an ecosystem inquiry. In this investigation, students have the opportunity to witness first-hand the dynamic relationship between Brassica butterflies and Wisconsin Fast Plants. Students are responsible for tending the butterflies and plants throughout the entire life cycles, while they explore and explain the changes that each organism goes...

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This is an article explaining about variation in a population in general, using height as a specific example. The article is designed to help students and teachers think about the nature of various determinants underlying biological variation. Variation in height is easily observed and measured by learners, and quantifying height observations over time is a rich context for all ages to make key...

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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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Procedures for germinating seeds using simple materials to investigate the interactions between the environment and germination.

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Description: In this activity students become acquainted with the anatomy and biology of seeds. They will use lenses and scales and make drawings to scale. Students will measure and calculate magnifications and they will begin to understand relationships among these. They will organize and summarize their data and, as they do so, they will be developing the understanding and skills needed to...

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