1.07 The Amazing Potato Race
This is Lesson 1.7, “The Amazing Potato Race!”, from the Grow Your PALS Program Guide (The National FFA Mentoring Program), within the Plants and Gardening unit. It is a small-group mentoring lesson that teaches students about phototropism and the importance of light to plant growth through a hands-on “Potato Maze” activity, in which a sprouting potato grows through a cardboard maze inside a shoebox toward a hole that lets in light, followed by a drawing review activity.
At a glance
- Learning objectives
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- Define phototropism.
- Explain the importance of light in plant growth.
- Time required
- Instruction time for this lesson: 50 minutes.
- Materials
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- PALS1.7.SG.AS.A – one per student
- PALS1.7.SG.TM.A – one per group
- Piece of white computer paper – one per student
- Colored pencils/markers/paint/crayons – enough for entire group
- A shoebox with a lid; a hole of about 1.5 inches in diameter should be cut out of one end of the box (needed for every two students)
- Several pieces of cardboard small enough to fit into the shoebox (needed for every two students)
- A sprouting potato (needed for every two students)
- Lesson Type
- Small Group
- Precepts
- J. Mental Growth — J2. Think creatively
- Key Terms
- Phototropism
Downloads & Links
Aligned Standards
National Standards
- NL-ENG.K-12.12Applying Language Skills
- NS.K-4.3Life Science