Succession: patterns in the field and in seeds

This lesson will review what the students already know about succession, then develop their understanding of what may be driving the pattern.  They will brainstorm hypotheses and predictions.  They will walk the nature trail to practice recognizing different successional stages and to collect seeds from the plants in different stages.  They will also think about seed dispersal and other plant adaptations.  This lesson can be expanded to include a section where 10^th grade students give 5^th grade students a tour of the nature trail and teach them about succession.

At the conclusion of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Recognize successional patterns in plant communities in the field
• Recognize seeds and the structures in which they occur; describe the dispersal adaptations of those plants
• Brainstorm hypotheses explaining succession and generate predictions

Resources:

• Lesson plan (.doc)
• Presentation with background information (.pdf)
• Drawing seeds worksheet (.doc)
• Hypotheses and predictions worksheet (.doc)

Lesson Plan created by GK-12 fellow Emily Grman, 2008