Standards Aligned

Science

• LS1-5: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.

Language Arts

• RI.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
• RI.3.7: Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
• SL.3.1: 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.

Math

• HSS.MD.A.1: Define a random variable for a quantity of interest by assigning a numerical value to each event in a sample space; graph the corresponding probability distribution using the same graphical displays as for data distributions.
• HSS.MD.A.2: Calculate the expected value of a random variable; interpret it as the mean of the probability distribution.

Learning Objectives

• Students will gain an understanding of ideal growing conditions for corn.
• Students will be able to make calculations to determine what stage of growth corn is in.
• Students will use their knowledge of corn life stages to determine when it will mature.

Materials

• Growing Degree Days PowerPoint
• Growing Degree Days Student Packet and Worksheet
• Answer Key – Growing Degree Days Student Worksheet (Teacher Tips Section)
• Computer and internet access

Procedures for Instruction

Length of Time for Preparation: 30 minutes

Length of Time for Classroom Teaching: 1.5 hours

Note: It is recommended that students complete the Kansas Corn: Explore Corn lab before completing the Kansas Corn: Growing Degree Days lab.

Classroom Discussion

Open the Growing Degree Days Powerpoint and show the students the slide with the United States (Slide 2). Have them identify all of the states from the map that are major corn producers. (Note: The numbers on the states are the percent of total corn production contributed to the U.S. supply.)

There must be a reason why corn is grown in these areas!

To gauge student knowledge, have students make a list of everything that can impact the growth of corn. Give them one minute. At the end of that minute, have them turn to a shoulder partner to compare lists. Encourage them to talk through the lists. From those lists, the partners will create a new list of the top five factors that can impact growth.

Bring the class back together and have students read off their lists. Write down their ideas on the board. If the same idea is mentioned, put a tick mark next to it. By the end, you will hopefully be able to narrow the list down to the top five impacts.

If students need help generating ideas, here are a few factors they may want to add to their list: location of the field, soil quality, pests in the field, the use of chemicals in the field, moisture, sunlight, soil temperature, and air temperature.

While all of those are important, farmers use a calculation called growing degree days (GDD). Now, hand out the Growing Degree Days Student Packet.

Have students read the first page of the Growing Degree Days Student Packet, which give students a background in growing degree days. Encourage them to highlight portions they think are important.

Procedure for Lab

Calculating Growing Degrees Days for Corn

On the second page of the Growing Degree Days Student Packet, students are introduced to the Growing Degree Days (GDD) calculation.

This equation helps farmers calculate what stage of life their corn plant is in. It takes into account air temperature for any given day. The calculation is below:

The temperature will not always be between 50°F and 86°F. That is where a few rules come in when using the GDD equation. Make sure you explain these rules to students!

• Rule 1: If your minimum or maximum temperature is below 50°F, set it to 50°F in the equation.
• Rule 2: If your maximum temperature is above 86°F, set it to 86°F in the equation.

Remember, the growth process for corn halts with a temperature below 50°F; therefore, 50°F is our Lower Base Temperature. Also, remember that corn does not see a noticeable positive impact with temperatures above 86°F; therefore, 86°F is our Upper Limit Temperature.

So, if on a sunny May day, our high temperature was 70°F, and our low temperature was 54°F, our equation would look like this:

That would give us a GDD number of “12” for that sunny, May day. The more growing degree days we “accumulate,” the farther along the corn plant is in it growth. Often, students hear the term growing degree days, and think they are adding the number of days together. In actuality, you can accumulate many growing degree days in one day. It is simply a number.

After looking at the two examples in the Growing Degree Days Student Packet, show students the Growing Degree Days PowerPoint slide with information from the chart below (Slide 5). Have students work through the maximum and minimum temperatures to see if they can calculate the total number of growing degree days for that week. This concept is very unfamiliar to many students, so you may want to work through the data on Monday and Tuesday, then turn them loose to calculate the rest of the week.

Throughout this random week, our corn plant has “accumulated” 51.5 growing degree days.

According to the chart below from Clemson Cooperative Extension (this table is also in the Growing Degree Days Student Worksheet and in the Growing Degree Days PowerPoint), our corn plant would not have even emerged from the ground. We need to accumulate another 73.5 (125-51.5) growing degree days before that will happen. It could by the end of the next week!

With the rules explained earlier in mind, now have students practice by calculating the growing degree days for this random week in May. The chart below is in the Growing Degree Days Student Packet.

Real World Practice

Now, students will get real world experience. Have them go to the High Plains Regional Climate Center Website.

The student instructions are in the Growing Degree Days PowerPoint (Slide 11), but when students go to the website, the map will be zoomed in on Kansas. Have them choose a field in Kansas (any field!) by clicking on the field and then “Create GDD Graph”. A chart will pop up for that field. The county where the field is located will be listed at the top of the chart.

• Have students determine the earliest first freeze, as well as the latest last freeze. That is important, because you want to grow corn in areas with longer growing seasons.
• Now, have students unclick all of the lines except “2017 GDD”, which is found in the grid box in the graph (or the year listed).
• Have them hover over the remaining line. They will see GDDs accumulate as they move over the line.
• Using the chart on their Growing Degree Days Student Worksheet, have them determine the dates when enough GDDs will have accumulated for each stage of growth.
• When will the corn be ready for harvest? Usually, this will happen around R4.
• Have the students compare their results from fields around the state. Where in Kansas would you want to grow corn based on the results?

Now, have students click back to the map they saw when they first went to the website. Have them back up the map on the website so they can see other highlighted states.

• Have them use the Growing Degree Days Student Worksheet to guide them through picking two other fields. (This is good practice for students to remember where states are located!)
• Once finished, have students answer the questions on the back of the Growing Degree Days Student Worksheet.

Answer Key is found on page T10 in printed teacher lesson provided with materials. 

Reflection and Conclusion

The goal of this activity is for students to gain a better understanding of how weather and climate have a major influence on crop growth. Farmers can use knowledge gained from previous years to predict when a crop will reach maturity. This helps with knowing when to harvest and when to spray pesticides. This is a great activity to revisit later in the growing season. Students can compare their data from earlier in the season to see how accurate it is with what actually happens.

Assessments

To check for understanding, have students make their own “fake” growing degree days table. Have them make up a location, as well as come up with their own highs and lows. Emphasize  that the table should be a mix of numbers between 50°F and 86°F, and some outside of that range. After creating the table, have them determine the number of GDDs for their week. Have them then exchange with another person in class to see if they get the same numbers.

Sources

• Ohio Corn and Wheat curriculum – https://ohiocorneducation.org/
• Ground temperature and plant emergence – https://www.agronomy.k-state.edu/extension/crop-production/corn/corn-growth-and-development.html
• Temperatures and corn growth –https://agron-www.agron.iastate.edu/courses/Agron541/classes/541/lesson02b/2b.1.html
• Corn GDD Calculation – https://ndawn.ndsu.nodak.edu/help-corn-growing-degreedays.html
• Table showing approximate GDD required to reach different growth stages – Clemson Cooperative Extension https://www.clemson.edu/extension/publications/files/agronomic-crops/ac09-introduction-to-growing-degree-days.pdf

Disclaimer

Any educator electing to perform demonstrations is expected to follow NSTA Minimum Safety Practices and Regulations for Demonstrations, Experiments, and Workshops, which are available at https://static.nsta.org/pdfs/MinimumSafetyPracticesAndRegulations.pdf, as well as all school policies and rules and all state and federal laws, regulations, codes and professional standards. Educators are responsible for abiding appropriate legal standards and better professional practices under a duty of care to make laboratories and demonstrations in and out of the classroom as safe as possible. If in doubt, do not perform the demonstrations.