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Knowledge and Skills Statement

Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms undergo similar life processes and have structures that function to help them survive within their environments.
The image shows two gray arrows pointing down. The left arrow has 4 images overlaying it that portray the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle: egg, larvae, pupa, and adult. The right arrow has four images overlaying it that portray the stages of a beetle’s life cycle: egg, young nymph, later nymph, and adult.
File: Holometabolous vs. Hemimetabolous.svg - Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holometabolous_vs._Hemimetabolous.svg

Some insects go through complete metamorphosis, where young do not resemble their parents until adulthood. (See the image on the left.) Complete metamorphosis consists of four distinct stages in which the insect continues to grow and change during each stage: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. For example, ladybird beetles, darkwing beetles, and monarch butterflies undergo complete metamorphosis.  

Some insects go through incomplete metamorphosis, where the young resemble their parents once hatched from the egg. (See the image on the right.) Incomplete metamorphosis consists of three stages in which the insect continues to grow and sheds its exoskeleton: egg, nymph, and adult. For example, crickets, roaches, and lice undergo incomplete metamorphosis. 

the circumstances, objects, or conditions that surround an organism including abiotic (climate and soil) and biotic (living organisms) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival

the stages of existence organisms go through, which include being born (sprouting in plants), growing, developing into adults, reproducing, and eventually dying

an individual form of life, such as a plant, animal, bacterium, protist, or fungus; a body made up of organs, organelles, or other parts that work together to carry on the various processes of life  

something arranged in a definite pattern of organization; the arrangement of particles or parts in a substance or body; the aggregate of elements of an entity in their relationships to each other

Research

Cavallo, Ann. 2005.  “Cycling Through Plants.” Science and Children 42, no. 7 (2005): 22–27. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43172521. 

Summary: Students may need help understanding the relationship between seeds and plants. In this article, 3rd-grade students explore seeds, such as lima bean or string bean seeds, monitor plant growth, and observe sprouted seeds to learn how seeds grow into plants. Students start by looking at seeds using tools like magnifying glasses. They record drawings and observations using kid-friendly language that they are familiar with. They dissect their seeds to see what they look like on the inside. After this exploration, the teacher introduces scientific vocabulary. Next, students put seeds in plastic bags with water to observe changes in their seeds. They record observations daily and notice what changes they are seeing. Children can then compare new and sprouted seeds to see the similarities and differences. Students end the activity by making predictions about what plants need to grow.

 

Research

"Keeley, Page. 2018. “Formative Assessment Probes: Uncovering Representations of the Water Cycle.” Science and Children 55, no. 5 (January 2018): 18-19.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/44709896. "

Summary: Learning about life cycles can help students understand the continuity of life, but students need to know that life cycles look different depending on the organism. Many young students start learning about life cycles by observing and describing the parts of the life cycles of organisms that experience a complete metamorphosis, like butterflies. Students can then describe the different phases these organisms go through during their life cycle. They can start to believe that only organisms that experience dramatic phase changes (like frogs or butterflies) experience life cycles rather than all living things. Learning life cycles only through complete metamorphosis can cause students misconceptions. Collaborative discussion among students is essential in correcting these misconceptions. Teachers can discuss organisms using picture cards for younger grades, and students can decide together whether or not they think that organism experiences a life cycle and give their reasoning for why or why not.