This newsletter outlines a unit on the life cycles of plants. Students will compare and contrast the life cycles of mosses, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms. They will research these cycles online and through observations, then present their findings. The teacher's role is to facilitate learning and ensure standards are met. Students will work collaboratively while parents are encouraged to support project-based learning. The unit aims to teach essential plant knowledge and life skills through student-driven inquiry.

1. Class Newsletter
Teacher: Nathan Storey
Email: rnstorey@crimson.ua.edu

2. Circle of Life
• Essential Question:
– Can plants tell us anything about Humans?
• Unit Questions:
– How does the life cycle of plants compare to the life cycle
of people?
– What do plants and humans have in common?
• Content Questions:
– What’s the difference between angiosperms and
gymnosperms?
– What’s the difference between monocots and dicots?
– What’s the difference between vascular and non-vascular
plants?

3. Standards and Objectives
• Standard: TC2(9-12)(11) Critique digital content for
validity, accuracy, bias, currency, and relevance.
• Objective: The students will use basic technology,
scientific method and scientific process and application
skills (e.g. observing, communicating, classifying,
measuring, predicting, inferring, etc.)
-Students will use internet and powerpoint
presentations to fulfill the standard of using digital
content. Also on the same point of the standard is that
the students will have to be able to interpret whether
the information they found is valid and reliable for
their project(s).

4. Standards and Objectives
• Standard: SC(9-12) Botany Elective (9) Identify life
cycles of mosses, ferns, gymnosperms, and
angiosperms.
• Objective: The students will compare and contrast the
life cycles of mosses, ferns, gymnosperms and
angiosperms. They will evaluate the effectiveness of
each cycle and how it relates to alternation of
generations.
-The students will go out into the community and
around school grounds and observe plant life to add to
their presentation with the research on the life cycle of
these plants that they found on the internet.

5. Role of Teacher
• The role of the teacher is to mediate and
initiate learning in the classroom.
• My role is to encourage further learning and
entice students to go above and beyond the
standards and objectives.
• Explain all tasks to be completed.
• Help students set and reach goals.
• Assess Learning.

6. Role of Student
• Work in collaborative groups
• Find sources and conduct research
• Hold each other accountable
• Motivate each other to strive for excellence
• Meet state and local standards
• Present findings on research

7. Role of Parent
• Become acquainted with PBL
• Keep an open mind
• Encourage PBL in your child's school
• Share your expertise
• Ask your children questions
• Volunteer to help

8. PBL and Benefits of this Unit
• A systematic teaching method that engages students
in learning essential knowledge and life-enhancing
skills through an extended, student-influenced
inquiry process structured around complex,
authentic questions and carefully designed products
and tasks.
• Benefits of this unit include: learning life cycles of
different plants, learning about the differences in
plants with similarities, and collaboration with peers
to achieve a higher degree of learning.