Note: This lesson is part of this unit’s Anchor Layer. If you have the Anchor Layer turned on, we recommend teaching all lessons in the remainder of this unit in order.

The anchor phenomenon for this unit is a mysterious case of how and why some very stinky seeds from a plant are being collected and buried.

During the introduction, students generate observations and questions about the phenomenon and create an initial conceptual model to explain how and why they think this is happening.

Students will gather clues during and after each lesson in this unit to help them improve their explanation. It is important to encourage students to recognize that even if they don't know the perfect answer yet, they are going to learn a lot throughout the unit and will have an opportunity to change or add to their first explanation.