OpenSciEd Unit 7.4 · Lesson 14 · 14.A
Look for: The atoms that make up carbon dioxide enter t…
MS-LS1-5MS-LS2-3Assessment opportunity · Formative assessment
From Teacher Edition
Facilitation guidance from the lesson plan — what to notice in student thinking and how to respond while teaching.
Building towards
14.A.1 Revise a model to describe how matter cycles through a system of humans, animals, plants, and decomposers as they use food for energy.
What to look / listen for
Students should bring up the ideas that:
- The atoms that make up carbon dioxide enter the plant and then leave as food molecules and oxygen.
- The food molecules can be used by the plant for cellular respiration and then water and carbon dioxide are produced.
- The atoms that make up water enter the plant and then leave as food molecules and oxygen.
What to do
If students struggle to follow the flow of energy or cycling of matter, ask them to trace the carbons that enter the plant all the way from exiting the plant as food and then on a path through other components in the system using the arrows to get back to the plant.