Spring Seeds
Task
Mrs. McKegney is trying to be organized and plan for planting activities next spring. A big part of the planning revolves around the seeds she purchases for students to plant. Using the chart showing what seeds students chose to plant this year, decide which seeds should be purchased for next year's planting.
In a letter to Mrs. McKegney, state your recommendation and explain your reasoning mathematically. Be sure to support your ideas with a mathematical representation, accurate math language and an organized presentation. Please comment on any additional observations you have.
Alternate Versions of Task
| More Accessible Version:
Every year, Mrs. McKegney purchases seeds for her students to plant. Below is a chart that shows what types of seeds students in her class chose to plant last year. Last year she had 12 students in her class. This year she has 24 students.
In a letter to Mrs. McKegney, tell her what types of seeds and how many of each type of seed she should buy. Explain your reasoning mathematically. Be sure to support your ideas with a mathematical representation, accurate math language and an organized presentation. Please comment on any additional observations you have.
More Challenging Version:
Every year, Mrs. McKegney purchases seeds for her students to plant. 60% of the students in her class would like to plant packages of lettuce seeds. Of those 60%, 50% would also like to plant packages of tomato seeds. 20% of the students would like to plant packages of cantaloupe seeds. Half as many students would like to plant packages of wildflower seeds than cantaloupe seeds. The same number of students would like to plant packages of herb seeds as wildflower seeds. Mrs. McKegney has 30 students.
In a letter to Mrs. McKegney, tell her how many of each type of seed she should buy. Explain your reasoning mathematically. Be sure to support your ideas with a mathematical representation, accurate math language and an organized presentation. Please comment on any additional observations you have.
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Context
Before beginning this task, students in this fourth - fifth grade class had just completed planting seeds as part of their science unit. Students chose from 14 varieties of seeds to plant. Previously, students had participated in multiple experiences with data analysis including surveys and the Exemplars task "Ms. Amico's Birthday Bash."
What This Task Accomplishes
This task assesses students' ability to read a chart, analyze data and draw conclusions based on principles of probability.
What the Student Will Do
Most students will determine the "most popular" seed varieties from both classes, create a graph of the seed varieties planted and make recommendations based on the most common seeds planted.
Time Required for Task
Students worked on this task over several days.
Interdisciplinary Links
Science: This activity lends itself well to a study of seed germination in addition to a study of plant structure and function.
Art: Students could design a garden featuring their plants or other plants that would be visually pleasing.
Math: Students could measure the height of plants at regular intervals or investigate the probability of a seed germinating based on the ratio of seeds planted to the ratio of plants growing. This problem could also be made more complex by incorporating germination time.
Teaching Tips
Planting seeds definitely added motivation to the task. The "real-life" connection was important to the students. A seed planting activity would be an excellent precursor to this problem. Experiences with data analysis is very helpful. The task can be easily adapted by looking at a limited number of results (one class vs. two or even 10 children from one class). The actual problem analysis took approximately one hour.
Suggested Materials- Calculators
- Graph paper
- Worksheets (see pages 6-7)
Possible Solutions
Solutions will vary depending on the parameters set by the student - how many seed varieties, reasons for eliminating seeds. Based on the data presented here, students selected between five and nine varieties of seeds, which included Cosmos, Calendulas, Bachelor's Buttons and Dahlias.
| More Accessible Version Solution:
Mrs. McKegney should buy lettuce seeds for eight children, cucumber seeds for six children, carrot seeds for four children, tomato seeds for four children and pepper seeds for two children.
More Challenging Version Solution:
| Type of Seeds |
# of Packages |
| Lettuce |
18 |
| Tomato |
9 |
| Cantaloupe |
6 |
| Wild Flowers |
3 |
| Herbs |
3 |
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Task Specific Assessment Notes
Novice:
A solution that shows an incomplete understanding or ability to solve the problem. A solution that does not address the most popular seeds or eliminates some seeds from the list of possibilities. Reasoning is not apparent in the student's solution.
Apprentice:
A solution that attempts to summarize seed popularity, but is incomplete or incorrect in its conclusions. A solution which demonstrates some understanding of the problem, perhaps by totaling numbers of seeds planted or eliminating possible seed choices, but has a random or weak explanation of reasoning.
Practitioner:
A Practitioner solution considers all the data (both classes) and draws conclusions based on popularity of seeds. It explains the criteria for seed variety selection. The student is able to apply fundamentals of statistical analysis and probability to predict future seed choices.
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Expert:
A solution that addresses multiple factors in seed selection and goes beyond analysis of general data to isolate more specialized information within the class selections (boy/girl preferences for example). Solution clearly describes criteria for seed selection.
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