Budburst- Lilac Festival Inquiry Lesson
Lesson Plans
Grades6, 7, 8Biology
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by BSCS Science Learning
What it is
- In this lesson, students will review citizen science data to determine when lilacs will be in full bloom in their city and when their city should host a lilac festival.
- This lesson spans three 50-minute class periods, in which students will read about lilacs, learn the basics of phenology, analyze graphs, maps, and tables, and write a claim supported by evidence.
- This activity is applicable for students who live in cities where lilacs bloom.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The lesson includes three optional activities for further exploration, including one about exploring biases in data.
- The data analysis strategy is one that is applicable for other graphs students may analyze throughout science and math classes.
Prerequisites
- Teachers should define the terms listed in the background information for students before beginning the lesson.
- Students should know how to read and interpret graphs and tables.
Differentiation & Implementation
- After completing this lesson, students can research the implications of climate change on phenological changes in plants, including lilacs. Teachers can use the Dig Deeper: Time Machine activity to facilitate this exploration.
- If students have a festival celebrating a plant in their town, they can use phenological data to determine the time that these plants become most prominent.
- Students with different opinions about using the suggested date to host a lilac festival can prepare for a verbal debate, working together to collect local data and evidence to support their stance.
From the scientist review
This resource tasks students with scheduling a lilac festival based on citizen observations of the date of full bloom. Sources are well-cited, and the FieldScope site allows students to interact with primary data. While not the central focus, students are tasked with determining how flowering dates will change in the future due to climate change. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Ready to use it?
Hosted on bscs.org
Want this to fit your class?
Add your location for local examples, questions, and action ideas.
