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Test Construction Project

State of Illinois Standards:

State Goal # 1: Read with understanding and fluency.

Learning Standard A: Apply word analysis and vocabulary
skills to comprehend selections.

1.A.1a: Apply word analysis skills and vocabulary skills (E.g.,
phonics, word patterns) to recognize new words.

State Goal # 12: Understand the fundamental concepts,
principles, and interconnections of the life, physical, and
earth/space sciences.

Learning Standard A: Know and apply concepts that explain
how living things function, adapt, and change.

12.A.1a: Identify and describe the component parts of living
things (E.g., birds have feathers, people have bones, blood, hair,
skin) and their major functions.

12.A.2a: Describe simple life cycles of plants and animals and
the similarities and differences in their offspring.

Learning Standard B: Know and apply concepts that describe
how living things interact with each other and with their
environment.

12.B.1a: Describe and compare characteristics of things in
relation to their environment.

12.B.2b: Identify physical features of plants and animals that help
them live in different environments (E.g., specialized teeth for
eating certain foods, thorns for protection, insulation for cold
temperatures).

Source: Illinois Learning Standards, 1997 (Pages 32 and 34)

Objectives:

When asked, the student will be able to:

Identify form and function of roots, stem, and leaf of a plant

(E.g., labeling the 3 parts and stating what the function is).

[Recalling-Knowledge]

Correctly explain what a life cycle is and its stages (E.g., A life

cycle is a pattern of growth that happens over and over again.

Its stages are seed, seedling, and adult plant).

[Remembering-Knowledge]

Explain the importance of plants in people's lives (E.g., Plants

can be used for medicinal purposes, food, clothing, homes,

etc.). [Recalling-Knowledge]

Describe how flowers are alike and different (E.g., scented or

unscented, color, size, shape, number of parts). [Recalling-

Knowledge]

Correctly describe how animals help make seeds in their own

words (E.g., When an animal visits a flower, it gets covered

with powder. Then it visits another flower. Some powder rubs

off onto parts of this next flower and makes seeds grow

inside. A fruit grows around the seed to hold it in.).

[Translating-Comprehension]

Explain that all new plants grow to look like the same plants

the seeds came from (E.g., An apple seed will grow into an

apple tree.). [Recognizing-Knowledge]

Describe why plants and animals need each other in their own

words (E.g., Many kinds of plants need animals to help them

make fruits and spread seeds. Many kinds of animals need

flowers and fruits of plants for food.). [Translating-

Comprehension]

Identify special plant parts and their functions (E.g., shape of

leaf, location of roots, needles, etc.). [Recalling-Knowledge]

Description of Unit:

The unit that will be assessed for this test is a Science

Unit for first grade, specifically an overview about plants,

including plant reproduction, life cycle, and heredity. This

unit can be found in the McGraw Hill textbook, unit one.

During the first chapter of this unit students learn about the

three main parts of a plant and what the function of each

part is. This chapter also covers the life cycle of a plant

and its different stages. The second chapter in this unit is

about flowering plants. In this section, students learn that

flowers have many characteristics that are alike and

different. Heredity of seeds and how animals help make

seeds is also discussed. The third chapter teaches

students about specialized parts of plants that help them

to live in certain places, like the desert or a wet

environment.

McGraw Hill begins this unit by explaining that plants have

different parts that help them live. The book then provides

a list of vocabulary words and definitions for the different

plant parts. For example, the definition of roots is the plant

part that grows under ground. The stem holds the plant up

straight, and the leaves are the plant part that grows from

the stem. The definition of a life cycle is also provided,

which is a pattern of growth that happens over and over

again.

Several extension activities are done with students to help

them learn these vocabulary words in a meaningful way.

For one of them, students go on a walk around the

schoolyard and focus on trees, shrubs, and flowers in

view. They are encouraged to notice the way that the

parts of the plant are held together. Some guided

discovery is used, as the teacher asks, where would the

leaves be if there were no stems? why is it important for

leaves to get sunlight?, and what might happen if most of

the plants leaves were removed?

Next, students learn about the life cycle of a plant through

direct instruction, from a diagram in their textbook. The

students do an extension activity where they write a poem

or story describing the problems a seed or a plant might

face if it was where a fire or other natural disaster

occurred. In this way the students are invited to imagine

the hazards that can befall a plant in the course of its life

cycle.

In chapter two, the students learn about the similarities and

differences that flowers have, such as shape, color,

scented, unscented, size, and number of parts. This is

done through a guided discovery lesson where students

compare different flowers and their observations of them

with other students. Students are then taught, through

direct instruction, that some animals and insects visit

flowers of certain shapes, sizes, colors and scents, and

that this is how pollination occurs.

Then, students learn mostly through direct instruction, but

also by looking at pictures, what will grow from different

seeds. The main point that is focused on is that all new

plants grow to look like the same plants the seeds came

from. Students are also taught by direct instruction, that

many kinds of plants need animals to help them make

fruits and spread seeds and that many animals need

flowers and fruits of plants for food.

In the third chapter, students learn about specialized plant

parts and how they enable plants to live in different places.

To start the chapter the students are asked to get in

groups and describe different kinds of leaves from plants.

They are also asked to determine which plant they think

needs the most water. This is done by guided discovery

with real leaves. Students place the different leaves in a

sunny place and predict which will dry out the fastest. They

then record the drying times of each leaf and show the

results on a chart. Through this activity students learn how

leaves help plants live where they do.

Next, the students read about plants that live in the desert

or wet places, and learn about the different special parts

that allow them to survive dry conditions, through direct

instruction. They read that plants in the desert have roots

near the top of the soil that spread out to get water quickly

and that a leaf's shape also helps it retain water. Plants in

wet places have long roots that can grow at the bottom of

a pond. For example, a water lily has roots at the bottom

of the pond, but large flat leaves that float on top of the

water to get sunlight.

Last, students learn that conifers in forests survive

because they have a sloped shaped, which lets heavy

snow fall off its branches. Students play a game where

they hold their arms straight out and drape a magazine

over each arm, then they move their arms to 45 degree

slopes and observe what happens. They are asked to

determine if they modeled a conifer tree in the winter, what

can the magazines stand for? This game teaches

students through guided discovery about the specialized

parts of a conifer tree.

Self-made test for this unit

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