NathanialCool

Taylor
Hoftiezer
SofiaLongest
1

Leaf Chromatography and Photosynthesis

GradeLevel8th

Overviewof Plantsproducetheirfoodthroughtheprocessofphotosynthesisinorderto
survive.Inorderforphotosynthesistooccur,thepigmentchlorophyllmustbe
Lesson

presentintheleaf.However,thereareotherpigmentsthatleafscontainas
well.
Attheconclusionofthislessonstudentswillbeableto:
Instructional

Recognizethatleavesaremadeupofdifferenttypesofpigmentsthat
Objectives
areusedintheprocessofphotosynthesis.
Recognizethatleaveschangecolorinthefallbecauseofchangesin
thepigmentsfoundinthem.
Describethebenefitsofaleafhavingmorethan1typeofpigment.
Learnersand Thislessonisaimedatagroupof15208thgradestudentsandtheirmentors.
Environment Thecollegebuddyservingasthementorforeachstudentwillassistthem
throughthemainactivityofthelesson.Atthebeginningofthelesson
studentswillbeoutsidegatheringleavesandthenwewillmoveinsidetoa
Purduelabfortheactivity.Becausethestudentsarein8thgradewecangeta
bitmoretechnicalwiththelecturereallydivingintoleafpigmentsandwhat
theydo.
Required:
Severalfreshlypickedleaves
Materials
91%isopropylalcohol
Scissors
Coin
Pipette
Smallbeaker
Filterpaper
Pencil
Papertowel
Scotchtape
Procedures Wewillbeginthelessonbywalkingthestudentsaroundcampusandhaving
thempicksomeleavesfromtreesforuseinthelabactivity.Thenwewill
headtoaPurduebiologylabandgetstartedrightawayontheactivity.An
instructionalvideohasbeenpreparedtohelpthestudentsthroughtheactivity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmM_DVS_H00

LabActivityProcedures:
Useapairofscissorstocutapproximatelya2cmwidestripfromthe
centeroftheroundpieceoffilterpaper.
Approximately11.5cmfromthebottomedgeofthefilterpaper,
drawastraightlinewithapencil.
AdaptedfromBIOL20500LabPacket

ScienceLessonPlan
Atthetopofthefilterpaperstripwriteyourname.Makesureyoudo
thiswithapencil.
Takeyourleafandplaceittopsidedownonthefilterpaper.
Usetheedgeofacointorubalineofleafpigmentontothefilter
paperinthesameplaceasthelineyoudrewwiththepencil.
Makesuretheleafpigmentyouhaverubbedontothefilterpaperis
darkandthatistheentirewidthofthefilterpaperstrip.
Usingthepipetteputapproximately10mLofisopropylalcoholina
smallbeaker.
Nextyouwillplaceyourfilterpaperstripinthebeakersothattheline
ofpigmentisinsidethebeaker.
Youwillneedtofoldthetoppartofthestripovertheedgeofthe
beaker.Makesureyoufolditoverenoughthatthebottomstripisin
theisopropylalcoholbutnottouchingthebottomofthebeaker.Make
surethatthedepthofthealcoholisbelowthepigmentlineonthefilter
paper.
Tokeepthepaperinplaceyoumayneedtotapeittotheoutsideofthe
beaker.
Leavethefilterpaperinthebeakertoprocessfor1530minutes.
Once1530minuteshaspassed,removeyourfilterpaperfromthe
beaker.
Gentlyblotawaytheexcessalcoholwithapapertowel.
Pourtheisopropylalcoholintothelargebeakernexttothesinkthatis
labeledisopropylalcohol.
Rinseoutthebeakerandplaceitbackinthesupplyboxonyourtable.

Assessment

Standards
Resources

Duringthe1530minutewaitingperiodwewilldiscusshowplantsproduce
theirfoodthroughtheprocessofphotosynthesisinordertosurvive.Inorder
forphotosynthesistooccur,thepigmentchlorophyllmustbepresentinthe
leaf.However,thereareotherpigmentsthatleafscontainaswell.Theactivity
thattheyjustdidwillshowthemthesepigments.
Aftertheexperiment,studentswillbeabletopassaquizthatincludesthe
followingquestions
Describewhathappenedonthefilterpaper.
Whydoesitlookthisway?
Whatdoesittellyouaboutthetypesofpigmentscontainedinthis
typeofleaf?
Whydoleaveschangecolorinthefall?
Howdoeshavingmorethanonetypeofpigmentinitsleavesbenefita
plant?
K2.NOS17,LS3.3.1,35.NOS.19,LS4.3.24.3.4
Savery,J.R.(2006).OverviewofProblembasedLearning:Definitionsand
Distinctions.
InterdisciplinaryJournalofProblembasedLearning,1
(1).

LeafUnit

ScienceLessonPlan
Thisarticledescribestheinstructionalapproachofproblembasedlearning
andhowitcanbesuccessfullyusedtoenhancetheteachingofSTEM
concepts.ItdescribeshowPBLisastudentcenteredapproachwherethe
studentsengagewiththeproblemmimickingrealworldproblemsolving.The
articlealsomentionsthatcollaborationisessentialinPBL.Thecollege
mentorsthateachstudenthaswiththemallowsthemtopracticecollaboration.
Weusedtheinformationfromthisarticlewhendesigningouractivity.The
activityallowsstudentstogetsomehandsonexperienceandexplorethe
conceptsthatwetaughtthemselves.

Lederman,N.G.,Lederman,J.S.,&Antink,A.(2013).Natureofscienceand
scientificinquiryascontextsforthelearningofscienceandachievementof
scientificliteracy.
InternationalJournalofEducationinMathematics,Science
andTechnology,1
(3),138147.

Thisarticleisaboutthenatureofscientificinquiryandhowitinfluencesstudents
learningofscienceconcepts.ItsaysthatAlthoughcloselyrelatedtoscience
processes,scientificinquiryextendsbeyondthemeredevelopmentofprocess
skillssuchasobserving,inferring,classifying,predicting,measuring,
questioning,interpretingandanalyzingdata.Itisallaboutusingcriticalthinking
tocreatescientificknowledge.Weusedalotoftheinformationfromthisarticle
whendesigningourlessontodistinguishitfromtraditionalsciencelabs.

Eichinger,D.&Sheetz,C.(2015).
Biologyforelementaryschoolteachers:
Biology20500labmanual
.

WeadaptedthislessonfromaBiologylabcontainedinthisbook.Ourmain
activitythatweusetoteachtheconceptspresentedinthislessoncomesfrom
thelabmanual.

LeafUnit