Where does food come from and where does it go next?
This life science unit builds science ideas around photosynthesis, matter cycling, and energy. Specifically, students start by reflecting on how plants and animals get their food, and what happens to it in the process.
If humans go to the grocery store to get food, then where does a plant go? A simple silly question forces students to wonder how grass on a lawn or a house plant gets nutrients. They taste maple syrup and consider its origin. Students investigate the different kinds of matter molecules that make up food. They initially learn how these food molecules are processed and move through their body systems. Then, students wonder how these food molecules end up in plants, especially in the plants they eat. This motivates students to think and examine how living and nonliving components work together as part of a broader system.
As the unit progresses, students construct and develop models of how food molecules are processed and used in animals and plants. Students use these models to explain and argue how they think matter and energy cycles between animals and plants. In the end, students develop a robust understanding of how molecules and matter can be cycled within a system as energy flows.