Lesson Description

This lesson introduces learners to the primary parts of a mushroom by allowing them to build their very own mushroom! Learners will watch a video to learn about how mushroom farmers grow mushrooms before designing their own top-secret new mushroom. This lesson engages learners' creativity while exercising their understanding of basic mushroom morphology.

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Associated Standards

K-2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.2
Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
 
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.3
Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.

3-5
4LS1-1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
 
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1 (also SL.4.1, SL.5.1)
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
 
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.3
Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.

6-8
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.2
Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
 
MS-LS1-4 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.

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Essential Questions
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• What are the primary components of a mushroom?​

Enduring Understandings

• Mushrooms typically consist of a stalk/stem, a veil/annulus, a cap, and spore releasing structures as either gills, pores or teeth.

Learning Objectives
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• Learners will understand how mushrooms are cultivated for food.
• Learners will construct their own unique mushroom using modeling clay which will feature all primary components of a mushroom including mycelium, a stalk, a cap with gills, pores or teeth, and spores.
• Learners will invent a story about their fungi that describes the life habit and habitat of their mushrooms.
  

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Materials

• Paper
• Writing utensils
• ​Modeling clay

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Lesson Instructions

1. Background 
2. Anticipatory Set:
   1. Show learners this YouTube video about mushroom farming: https://youtu.be/HLtGRHX0sLI
   2. In this video, the mushroom farmer will describe the basic parts of a mushroom
   3. After the video, ask learners to write down three facts they remembered from the video.
3. ​​Explain to learners that today they will be mushroom farmers who will be debuting their special, top-secret, new mushrooms to the world! To do this, they will be building their very own mushrooms out of modeling clay. Their mushrooms should be very creative, but must contain the primary components of a mushroom including the mycelium, a fruiting body with either gills, pores, or teeth, and spores.
4. Learners will have fifteen minutes to complete their mushrooms. After the first seven or eight minutes, have learners display their progress, demonstrating each of the required components. This not only helps the educator ensure that everyone is staying on task, but also helps remind learners of the required components, should they forget.
5. After fifteen minutes, all work must cease and each learner must present their mushroom to the group. Encourage learners to make up a story about the mushroom. Where does it live? How does it survive? Based on the shape and size of the mushroom, will the spores travel far or nearby? Based on the shape of the spores, are they likely to stick to animals (rough spores)? Or travel really far on the wind (smooth spores)?

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References and Resources

Mushroom morphology information sourced from Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora
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​Our lesson plans utilize the backward design model presented by Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

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