Time in Lesson 45-50 minutes Subject Science - Trees and Forests Grade Level 5/6

Nitrogen cycle

Developed by Mija MacDonald

Learner Outcomes from the Program of Studies

6–10 Describe characteristics of trees and the interaction of trees with other living things in the local environment.

3. Describe the role of trees in nutrient cycles and in the production of oxygen. (Alberta Education, 1996, B.33)

Assessment Strategies

Objective in student-friendly language What will I accept as evidence of learning/development? Have I employed formative assessment? Do I
make use of prior assessments in this lesson?
What will students
understand/experience/appreciate as a result of
this lesson?
By the end of this lesson students will… Students will participate in class discussion and answering questions related to the nitrogen cycle on
understand a tree’s role in the nitrogen cycle the first day as formative assessment of learning.
and sustaining life.
Students will participate in a body movement recreation of the parts of the cycles

Students will retell the working of the three cycles by drawing, writing, or acting out the steps of each
cycle as a summative assessment task.

Introduction

How will you activate prior knowledge and engage them in the lesson and how does this lesson connect to prior lessons?
So as we have been looking at trees we have zoomed in on the trunk and cookies, zoomed in on the crown and leaves, and more specifically
parts and types of leaves. Today we are going to zoom out a little and look at the roles and responsibilities of parts of the tree in larger cycles
in the forest ecosystem. Does anyone know how trees help support life? Does anyone know what a cycle is? What about what a nutrient cycle
is? The cycle we are going to be learning about today is the nitrogen cycle. The nitrogen cycle occurs down in the roots of plants.

Learning/Activity Sequence

How will students Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and/or Evaluate their understandings of the outcomes.

What is the TEACHER doing? What is What are the STUDENTS doing? Approx. time
your plan for the body of the lesson? How are they engaged while you
What steps are taken during the are teaching the lesson?
lesson?

We all know the leaves play a very

important part in creating oxygen for Watching videos and answering 15 minutes
people and nutrients for the trees, but questions about the cycles in
today we are going to be learning about their science books.
the important role of the roots of a tree
and the roots of plants overall play in the
nitrogen cycle. Can anyone guess what
the nitrogen cycle is?

Nitrogen is an important element for all

living things - it helps with cellular growth,
it’s a key part of DNA (which we are all
made up of), it helps with digesting food,
it helps blood carry oxygen, and it’s
crucial to plant growth also . Safe to say,
we need nitrogen. About 78% of the
Earth’s atmosphere or air is made up of
nitrogen, but plants and animals don’t
actually have the ability to get nitrogen
into their body directly from the air or by
breathing it the way we do oxygen. That
is why the nitrogen cycle is so important.
The nitrogen cycle is a process in which
nitrogen from the air moves from the air
and into the bodies of plants and animals
and then how it gets released back into
the air - a cycle! The part of the cycle
where nitrogen from the air changes into
a usable form for plants and animals is
called nitrification.

We are going to watch a video that tells

us a little bit more about the nitrogen
cycle. While we are watching the video
there are a few key bits of information we
are going to be looking for. We are going
to answer the following four questions
about the nitrogen cycle in our science
books. These questions are all going to
be answered in the video so we’ll take a
look at them now and keep them in mind
while we are watching:

(Review questions with students - write

questions on board)

1. What helps nitrogen turn

from a gas to a usable form
for plants and animals?
(bacteria)
2. What are the steps in
nitrification? Where does the
nitrogen go and how does it
change?
3. How do animals get nitrates?
4. What role do decomposers
play in the nitrogen cycle?
How does nitrogen get
released back into the
atmosphere?

https://studyjams.scholastic.com/stud
yjams/jams/science/ecosystems/nitro
gen-cycle.htm

Show video and discuss questions

Together create a diagram of the

nitrogen cycle on board Creating diagram of nitrogen 15 minutes
cycle in visual journal including
https://plantsandpipettes.com/fixing-
1. Nitrogen in the air going to
nitrogen-fixation/
the soil
2. Nitrogen fixing bacteria
Nitrogen in the air (78%) → Nitrogen-fixing into smelly ammonia
bacteria in the soil and the root nodules of 3. Nitrifying bacteria (two
some plants convert nitrogen gas from the air time occurring process)
to ammonia (1st bacteria step). → Nitrifying 4. Plants absorbing nitrites
bacteria convert ammonia into nitrites and and nitrates
nitrates which are the usable forms of 5. Animals eating plants
nitrogen for plants. (2nd & 3rd bacteria steps) 6. Waste being decomposed
→ Nitrites and nitrates are absorbed by plants and nitrogen going back
and used for plant growth → Animals eat into the air
plants (or eat other animals that ate plants) for
nitrogen consumption → Animal waste and
when animals die, bacteria decomposes the
animal and nitrogen is released back into the
atmosphere to start process again.

Body movement activity, separate

students into small groups and assign In small groups, create one 10 minutes
each group one part of the nitrogen cycle
that they will create a movement for to
share with the rest of the class. After
each group has shared, have the class
repeat the action of the group in
succession with the previously learned
actions.
After groups have all shared their
movements, have class repeat
movements and build the cycle of
movements !
Follow-up assessment on all three cycles →
Have students create a diagram,
action video, and written explanation
of each of the cycles they have
learned.
Draw a cycle frame on board for
students to use as a foundation for the
visual cycle (with empty spaces), and
write the bulleted number slots for
action for the drawn part of the
cycle.
1. Nitrogen in the air going to
the soil
2. Nitrogen fixing bacteria
into smelly ammonia
3. Nitrifying bacteria (two
time occurring process)
4. Plants absorbing nitrites
and nitrates
5. Animals eating plants
6. Waste being decomposed
and nitrogen going back
into the air
Individually, on blank project 20 minutes
paper, create the selected cycle
to demonstrate understanding
Select another cycle to act out
and submit on flipgrid
Select a third cycle to explain in
point form (written)
written explanations of each cycle
(e.g., water cycle has 4 concrete bullet
points)

Conclusion

How will you ensure students walk away with a sense of understanding the purpose of the lesson and its importance to their learning?

What happens if there is too much carbon dioxide or nitrogen in the air? What are some ways we can reduce the amount
of these gasses in the atmosphere? (These questions will be discussed and contemplated as a conclusion across
Monday and Tuesday and as an introduction to the next lesson regarding the importance of trees and human uses of
trees)