Predicting
the Greening of Spring
with Red Emperor Tulips
Overview
Time
1-2 periods; revisit regularly during weekly spring updates
Standards
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As the earth
revolves around the sun in its annual cycle we experience seasonal change.
Where will spring green-up happen first?
What kind of patterns will we see as the wave of spring progresses? Start
in the fall to think
about these questions, and make some predictions. Then in
the spring revisit your predictions with each Journey North news
update and real-time map.
Preparation
Print a copy of the blank
map and the Tulip
Prediction Chart for each student or student group.
Laying
the Groundwork
- Challenge
students to predict a pattern showing how tulips in Journey North
gardens will emerge. Ask, In which states/provinces
do you think the tulip gardens will emerge first, second, third,
and
so
on? Use different colors to show their predictions on the blank
map. Then have students document their predicted order of spring green-up by
recording the names of the states in the left-hand column of the Tulip
Prediction Chart.
- Ask students
to explain the thinking behind their predictions and respond to one
or both of these questions in their journals:
Why
do you think the greening of spring will happen in the direction
you predicted?
What do you already know about this or what have you observed in the past?
Exploration
- As spring
progresses, students can document the order of actual tulip
emergence by recording the names of the states/provinces in the appropriate
spaces on the chart.
- Have
students revisit and, if necessary, revise their predictions and
explanations when they receive tulip garden updates and new real-time
maps.
- At the
end of the season, ask students to describe the patterns they saw
and compare them with their initial predictions.
- Finally,
ask students to form hypotheses to explain why tulips emerged and
bloomed where and when they did. (For instance, "Tulips emerged
first in the South, maybe because it warmed up sooner.")
Making
Connections — Journaling and Discussion Questions
- In what
ways was the greening of spring similar to your original prediction?
- In what
ways was the greening of spring different than you predicted? Explain what
you did not know originally that caused your prediction to be off.
- Explain
what you learned about climate and geography from tracking spring's
arrival?
- What
did you learn about what plants need to grow?
- How could
we test our hypotheses?
Assessment
As you listen to discussions, review student journals, and see how students
revise prediction charts and maps, use the Making
Predictions Using Data rubric.
Digging
Deeper (for older students)
Measure how much heat tulips need to bloom! Spring
Fever: Tulips, Temperatures and the Greening of Spring.
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