It is fascinating to listen to middle school students talk about food for plants and animals and how that food is used. Some students describe ideas that are essentially correct. Some comments suggest that students are familiar with the content, but their understanding is incomplete or includes inaccuracies. Finally, some students have little…

Despite our best teaching efforts, many students hold misconceptions related to the roles plants play in gas-related processes (Amir and Tamir 1994; Hershey 1992; 2004). In an effort to remedy this problem, the author presents a series of activities that address common plant-related gas-process misconceptions held by middle school students. The…

Students can use seed characteristics to discriminate between the different kinds of legumes using taxonomic classification processes of sorting and ranking, followed by construction of taxonomic keys. The application of the Learning Cycle process to taxonomic principles, hierarchical classification, and construction of keys presents the…

With such curriculum gaps, it is hardly surprising that middle school children's understanding of botany is limited and riddled with misconceptions. Knowing that plants supply the oxygen to sustain most life forms and provide the primary energy source of most food webs is a core idea of science. Investigating non-native species is one way to…