Course Description
Plant Science and Horticulture is for those students who want to explore careers in agronomy, horticulture plant research, botany and much more. In addition, this course will introduce concepts related to gardening, houseplants and landscaping for a better quality of life. Gardening for raising food sustainably will be taught as well. Instruction is given in gardening, greenhouse work, landscaping, turf grass management and agronomy. Student exercises and skill development will include propagation, transplanting and pruning of plants in greenhouses and out-of-doors. Students will work with houseplants, lawns, shrubs, trees, flowers, and vegetables. Soil testing, plant fertilization and pest control (Integrated Pest Management) will be studied. Skills include evaluation and investigation of companion animal management. This course counts towards science credit requirements for graduation.
Core Curriculum Content Standards
PA Common Core: English Language Arts (2013)
Reading Informational Text: Students read, understand, and respond to informational text – with emphasis on comprehension, making connections among ideas and between texts with focus on textual evidence.
GRADES 9-10
- Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing the validity of reasoning and relevance of evidence.(1.2.9-10.H)
- Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade level reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies and tools.(1.2.9-10.K)
- Read and comprehend literary non-fiction and informational text on grade level, reading independently and proficiently.(1.2.9-10.L)
PA Common Core: Science and Technical Subjects (2012)
Reading Informational Text: Students read, understand, and respond to informational text – with emphasis on comprehension, making connections among ideas and between texts with focus on textual evidence.
GRADES 9-10
- Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.(3.5.9-10.A)
- Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks, attending to special cases or exceptions defined in the text.(3.5.9-10.C)
- Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 9–10 texts and topics.(3.5.9-10.D)
- Analyze the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy).(3.5.9-10.E)
- Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.(3.5.9-10.F)
- Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.(3.5.9-10.G)
- By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.(3.5.9-10.J)
Writing: Students write for different purposes and audiences. Students write clear and focused text to convey a well-defined perspective and appropriate content.
GRADES 9-10
- Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.-Introduce a topic and organize ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics(3.6.9-10.B)
- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.(3.6.9-10.C)
- Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.(3.6.9-10.D)
- Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.(3.6.9-10.F)
- Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.(3.6.9-10.H)
- Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.(3.6.9-10.I)
Keystone Biology (2012)
Continuity and Unity of Life
Genetics
- Explain how genetic information is expressed.(BIO.B.2.3)
Ecology
- Describe interactions and relationships in an ecosystem.(BIO.B.4.2)
- Describe biotic interactions in an ecosystem (e.g., competition, predation, symbiosis).(BIO.B.4.2.2)
- Describe how matter recycles through an ecosystem (i.e., water cycle, carbon cycle, oxygen cycle, nitrogen cycle).(BIO.B.4.2.3)
Environment and Ecology (2009-2012)
Natural Resources
GRADE 10
- -Compare and contrast scientific theories. -Know that both direct and indirect observations are used by scientists to study the natural world and universe. -Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations. -Formulate and revise explanations and models using logic and evidence. -Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models.(4.3.10.C)
Agriculture and Society
GRADE 10
- Explain the relationships between and among the components of the food and fiber system. (i.e., production, processing, research and development, marketing, distribution, and regulations.)(4.4.10.A)
- Analyze the effects of agriculture on a society’s economy, environment, standard of living, and foreign trade.(4.4.10.B)
- Analyze how agricultural sciences and technologies strive to increase efficiency while balancing the needs of society with the conservation of our natural resources.(4.4.10.C)
- Evaluate the use of technologies to increase plant and animal productivity.(4.4.10.D)
- -Compare and contrast scientific theories. -Know that both direct and indirect observations are used by scientists to study the natural world and universe. -Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations. -rmulate and revise explanations and models using logic and evidence. -Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models.(4.4.10.E)
Humans and the Environment
GRADE 10
- Describe the impact of integrated pest management practices on the environment.(4.5.10.B)
Units
Unit #1 - Horticulture: An Introduction
Unit #2 - Plant Science
Unit #3 - Plant Propagation
Unit #4 - Plant Health and IPM
Unit #5 - Indoor Plants and Container Gardening
Unit #6 - Lawn and Turfgrass Establishment and Maintenance
Unit #7 - Using Plants in the Landscape
Unit #8 - Vegetable Gardening
Unit #9 - Trends in Horticulture
Course Resources
