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Fisman, L. (2005). The effects of local learning on environmental awareness in children: An empirical investigation. The Journal of Environmental Education : The idea that having outdoor science educational programs increases student ecological urban awareness

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In this article, the author examines the effects of an urban environmental education program on children's awareness of their local biophysical environment. She examined changes in environmental awareness among 3rd- and 5th-grade participants in the Open Spaces as Learning Places program in New Haven, Connecticut. Results showed a significant positive effect of the program on students' awareness of the local environment and on their knowledge of environmental concepts. Improvements in environmental knowledge were uncorrelated with the children's socioeconomic status, whereas improvements in local environmental awareness appeared only among students living in high socioeconomic neighborhoods.

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The Effects of Local Learning on Environmental Awareness in Children: An Empirical Investigation

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In this article, the author examines the effects of an urban environmental education program on children's awareness of their local biophysical environment. She examined changes in environmental awareness among 3rd- and 5th-grade participants in the Open Spaces as Learning Places program in New Haven, Connecticut.

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This website has many different categories for students to explore all about plants.

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Science4Fun - Learn Science experiments, Topics, ideas and activities

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Discover the amazing world of plants. Find out the how plants make food, live and grow. Discover many amazing plants that you didn't know before. This section will increase your knowledge about the plants and you will find this section interesting. So, keep learning and enjoy the world of plants

Did you know? Some of the types of the bamboo plant can grow one meter in a single day.
Did you know? Plants give off oxygen and consume carbon dioxide in a process known as photosynthesis.
Did you know? Some plants can eat small insects for their food. These plants are known as carnivores plants.

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Plants For Kids: (Learn About Plants and their Facts)

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Discover the amazing world of plants. Find out the how plants make food, live and grow. Discover many amazing plants that you didn't know before.

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Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/r5Y13NHKGbePSyBZ8

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Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/gaSP4n4LSLsvMQRc9

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Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/nYiS6GpCfdhsCjPC7

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Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/W6fg6HX9Zmg874W69

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Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/pf8HaScbNZgLXqim9

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Thompson, S. L., Lotter, C., Fann, X., & Taylor, L. (2016). Enhancing elementary pre-service teachers’ plant processes conceptions. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 27(4), 439-463.

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Royce, C. A. (2019). The dynamics within ecosystems. Science and Children : Plants and their functions science activity that focuses on a hands-on activity before learning more about plant functions and its survival methods with a supported read aloud.

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Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.

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Journal of Elementary Science Education 

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Journal of Elementary Science Education 

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Martin, S. C. (2003). The influence of outdoor schoolyard experiences on students' environmental knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and comfort levels. Journal of Elementary Science Education, 51-63.

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Publisher Information

Springer is one of the leading international scientific publishing companies, publishing over 1,200 journals and more than 3,000 new books annually, covering a wide range of subjects including biomedicine and the life sciences, clinical medicine, physics, engineering, mathematics, computer sciences, and economics.

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The Influence of Outdoor Schoolyard Experiences on Students' Environmental Knowledge, Attitudes, Behaviors, and Comfort Levels on JSTOR

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Publisher Information Springer is one of the leading international scientific publishing companies, publishing over 1,200 journals and more than 3,000 new books annually, covering a wide range of subjects including biomedicine and the life sciences, clinical medicine, physics, engineering, mathematics, computer sciences, and economics.

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Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4DEshd9oI0

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Life Cycle of a Flowering Plant (Grade 3, Lesson 1 from the Green Our Planet Curriculum)

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Video Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w77zPAtVTuI

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Bean Time-Lapse - 25 days | Soil cross section

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Students will look at the image below and complete sticky notes for what they see, what they are thinking, and what they are wondering.
Image Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/nKTxicvDtCo5LnDy8

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The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds By: Patricia Relf

This story can be used a fun kid friendly story to explain the process of planting seeds and plant formation.

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The Tiny Seed: Eric Carle

This story can be used in the unit to read about the places a seed travels and how it is effected by those places and different environments.

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Carlos and the Squash Plant: Jan Romero

This book can be used throughout the lessons to interest specifically hispanic students and to relay information about the plant life cycle and necessary nutrients plants need.

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Oh Say Can You Seed? By: Dr.Seuss

This story can be used a center read aloud or as a fun way to learn about photosynthesis, seed dispersal, or germination.

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From Seed to Plant By: Gail Gibbons

This book can be used as a read aloud when introducing the life cycle of seeds and plants.

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Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt By: Kate Messner

This book can be used as a way to help students understand that plants are not the only things that are grown in the ground and need nutrients. This book is also good for differentiation of the topic of seed germination for lower students. This story could be used with an activity when teaching about plant nutrients.

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National Geographic for Kids: Seed to Plant By: Kristen Rattini

This story could be used with an activity for assessment with students or have them work in groups to create a thinking map or an informational research project.

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Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring Earth to Life By: Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm

This book is a wonderful resource that turns the perspective around on how plants bring Earth to life rather than how Earth brings plants to life. This could be used with a writing activity or with a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting concepts idea. It also takes a look at different parts of the world.

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Seeds of Change: A Path to Peace By: Jen Johnson

This is an empowering story of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman, and environmentalist, to win a Nobel Peace Prize. This story tells her story about women's rights and environmental inhabitants from long ago. This would be a perfect way to integrate social studies with science and ELA to talk about plant environments.

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A Seed is Sleepy By: Dianna Hutts Aston

This is a personal favorite of mine. This book shows all of the characteristics of different seeds with images, textures, sizes, and appearance! This a book that is wonderful to use for introducing what a seed is.

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This site has videos with questions for students as well as different games related to plant's and life cycles!

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© 1999–2024 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

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This website has plant related games and videos for kids!

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Sid the Science Kid has some fun videos for students to help with planting seeds at home as well as games to go along!

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Growing Plants | Sid the Science Kid Videos | PBS KIDS

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This website is GREAT! It has different categories for students to see real images and videos and play games!

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We see plants all around us, every day. From trees to flowers to the grass in the park, there's no doubt they look great. But there are so many more cool things about plants. Like the fact that they taste great. And did you know that we even wear plants as clothes! Let's explore the world of plants, starting right now.

Ready to Get Started?

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We see plants all around us, every day. From trees to flowers to the grass in the park, there's no doubt they look great. But there are so many more cool things about plants. Like the fact that they taste great. And did you know that we even wear plants as clothes!

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This site has games geared for grades 3-5 on different science topics. There are a couple games on keeping the plants alive and videos for explanation!

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Click on a game to start playing. Make sure your sound is turned up!
Students learn the importance of balancing crop inputs by applying the exact amount of nutrients and water that a crop needs to grow. Players move blocks that represent the essential nutrients N (Nitrogen), P (Phosphorus), K (Potassium) and water onto the field. But keep an eye on the dial at the bottom of the screen! The goal of the game is to keep the needle in the green/middle - don't apply too much or too little or it will lower your score!

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Click on a game to start playing. Make sure your sound is turned up! Students learn the importance of balancing crop inputs by applying the exact amount of nutrients and water that a crop needs to grow. Players move blocks that represent the essential nutrients N (Nitrogen), P (Phosphorus), K (Potassium) and water onto the field.

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References are housed under each Padlet entry with source of image, research article, website, or activity link.

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Creative Ways to teach plant life cycles from other teachers!

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Plant life cycle is always a fun science unit. You get to talk about growing, planting, and nature. Plus, students love digging in and getting their hands dirty when they plant a seed themselves. Here are our favorite plant life cycle activities, projects, and videos to really engage your students and make this lesson fun.

1. Try this window-watching experiment.

SOURCE: Playdough to Plato

If you have great windows and light, then this is an awesome idea. Your students will love watching the progress each day.

2. Teach the basics parts of a plant.

Source: Unknown

It's up to you how involved you want to get on this lesson. This anchor chart is simple, focusing on terms for younger learners. But you can get more detailed with your labels. This really is a lesson you can teach to students from ages from four to 14.

3. Watch it grow in slow-mo.

WeAreTeachers created this time-lapse video, showing the fabulous details of how a plant's root system grows quickly over the course of a few days. Wow! This will really make you want to grab a bean and try it yourself!

4. Create your own printable flowers.

SOURCE: Teaching Momster

This project is an awesome printable where students can create a flower while also learning the different cycles of a plant. You can find it on T eachers Pay Teachers (but it is FREE)!

5. Learn about the life cycle of all different plants.

SOURCE: Jewel's School Gems

This printable is fabulous because it doesn't just lump all plants and seeds together. It shows the plant life cycle of an apple, pumpkin, and sunflower. It is a Teachers Pay Teachers item, but we think it's totally worth it!

6. Teach about the link between plants, animals, and CO2.

Source: Unknown

This anchor chart takes the life cycle concept one step further, showing how plants and animals depend on one another for survival.

7. Add in a vocabulary lesson with cootie catchers.

SOURCE: Science Spot

The good ole cootie catcher never gets old, and this one is a really cute option from the Teachers Pay Teachers store Science Spot.

8. Break down the life cycle with an anchor chart.

Source: Unknown

This anchor chart breaks down the plant life cycle in an easy-to-understand diagram, focusing on key vocabulary words, like germination and pollination. Make this with your students as you go over each step.

9. Let Sci Show inspire a lesson.

We love Sci Show! They regularly post great content. If you need a strong video to kick off a lesson about seeds or the life cycle, then this is a good place to start.

10. Use a flip book to teach the life cycle.

Source: Karen Jones

This Teachers Pay Teachers project is a mix of art and science, and we think it's well worth the $3! The project is designed to "flip," revealing additional information beneath each section.

11. Learning about tiny seeds via Eric Carle.

This YouTube video is a reading of The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. It would be great for your storytime. Just play it on your Smartboard, and you're all set!

12. Create an amazing bulletin board.

Source: Unknown

This bulletin board is a great idea starter of what you could do on a much bigger scale. Have your students define what they want to label and feature on the board and then get them involved in creating it!

13. Write about plants.

If you want a one-stop shop, you must check out Around the Kampfire's collection. She is a second grade teacher and has put together a great set of resources all on this topic, including tips for getting your students to write about plants. There are so many good options to choose from!

14. Let Claymation inspire your learning.

Another YouTube video with learning about seeds to flowers, this time in Claymation!

15. Paint with plants!

This isn't life cycle exactly, but you can use it to work into your overall lesson. We love the creative idea of making chlorophyll rubbings, as seen here from Around the Kampfire.

16. Learn how seeds get from one place to the next.

Here's one more from Around the Kampfire. In this one, students learn about seed dispersal. This is a great lesson to tackle during the fall. So many plants and flowers dry up and drop seeds in the fall. It's a hands-on lesson your students will definitely remember.

17. Regrow kitchen scraps.

You might have life cycle learning opportunities right in your compost bin. Check out this video for info on how to regrow plants. The success rate might be so-so, depending on growing conditions in your classroom. But your students will definitely have fun trying it out!
Check out some of our favorite classroom gardening ideas right here.

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17 Creative Ways to Teach Plant Life Cycle - WeAreTeachers

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Plant life cycle is always a fun science unit. You get to talk about growing, planting, and nature. Plus, students love digging in and getting their hands dirty when they plant a seed themselves. Here are our favorite plant life cycle activities, projects, and videos to really engage your students and make this lesson fun.

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A Wonderful resource to help break down lesson plans and give lesson plan ideas for interactive ways to teach the unit!

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Looking for trusted materials to teach your students about seeds, germination, plant growth, and more? Compiled by educational experts and just a quick download away, this printable pack from Scholastic Teachables has everything you need for a unit on plant life cycles. Plus, these hands-on science investigations come with teaching guidance, so setting up a series of lessons for your young scientists is quick and easy!
For more science learning and fun, download this ready-to-go unit on butterfly life cycles today!
From the unit-opening play (provided in both English and Spanish) through the wrap-up craftivities, the resources in the Plant Life Cycles Pack will help students in grades K-1 understand how plants grow. Also included are four leveled mini-books for guided reading levels B-E, a manipulative Sunflower's Life Cycle Science Wheel, a hands-on science investigation that teaches students how seeds travel in search of fertile ground, writing and math activities, and more. With this ready-to-go science pack, you'll not only introduce your students to the wonderful and amazing world of plants, you'll cultivate the next generation of botanists and biologists, too!

Get the Plant Life Cycles Pack today in the Scholastic Teachables Digital Downloads shop and explore our other skill and thematic packs, including more science packs and Differentiation Packs for reaching all of your learners!

Resources in the article are free to Scholastic Teachables subscribers. Not a subscriber? Sign up now, and get a 30-day trial, or purchase each resource a la carte through the links above.

Want more great content? Subscribe to our Teacher Newsletter below and get teaching ideas delivered right to your inbox.

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Everything You Need to Teach Plant Life Cycles in One Printable Pack

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Use this downloadable printable pack to grow the minds of your budding learners.

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Cavallo, A. (2005). Cycling through plants. Science and Children : Bean Babies science activity with a hands-on approach to planting seeds, observing their progress, and taking them apart after they have sprouted.

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Academia.edu is a platform for academics to share research papers.

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Teaching Strategies for Teaching Plant Science 

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Teaching Strategies for Teaching Plant Science 

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Use this guide for tips and tricks for teaching plant science as well as corresponding videos to help with language!

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Crafty Idea

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Flowering Plant Life Cycle Craftivity | Plant life cycle, Plant life cycles kindergarten, Life cycles kindergarten

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May 1, 2017 - There are so many opportunities for hands-on science in the Spring! Add this flowering plant life cycle craftivity to your science centers today!

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Crafty Idea

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Parts of a plant | Plants unit, Homeschool science, Elementary science

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May 26, 2012 - Thank you! I've just sent the data folder kit to your inbox! Be sure to check spam if you don't see my email. Enjoy! -Linda There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again. First Name Email Address We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be […]

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Idea for a Hands-on Activity!

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Growing plants in the classroom is a fun and hands-on way to teach students about the needs of plants and plant structures. To complete this experiment you will need plastic baggies, seeds, cotton balls, water, and tape.

First, you will need to put 3-5 damp cotton balls inside the plastic baggie. Next, place 3-5 seeds on top of the cotton balls. For this experiment you will want to use fast growing seeds such as bush beans. Then you will seal the plastic baggie and tape it to a window.

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Growing Plants in the Classroom - Carly and Adam

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Growing plants in the classroom is a fun and hands-on way to teach students about the needs of plants and plant structures. To complete this experiment you will need plastic baggies, seeds, cotton balls, water, and tape. First, you will need to put 3-5 damp cotton balls inside the plastic baggie.

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Plants in a Bottle Hands-On Activity

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Introduction: There's only one stable, long-lasting biosphere that we know of. It's the Earth. It shouldn't surprise you that human attempts to create sealed systems don't generally fare very well. The International Space Station, despite efforts to recycle everything possible (including converting urine to drinkable water--do you still want to be an astronaut?) to reduce costs, couldn't sustain life for long without a steady supply of provisions from, and garbage hauling back to, Earth. You know they try hard because, if all goes as planned, it costs about $10,000 to put a pound of payload (supplies) into Earth orbit. The BioSphere 2 project in Southern Arizona was an interesting and costly effort, but the original studies weren't very scientific and it proved quite difficult to keep just a handful of humans alive for a relatively short period of time. You can buy tiny sealed marine ecosystems enclosed in glass. They are beautiful curiosities, but the one I bought for my wife lasted less than a year before crashing. Among the crazier justifications for space exploration is that when (note the assumption of inevitability) we ruin the Earth, we will need new places to live (and, presumably, ruin). Unless or until we can do a lot better at building self-contained ecosystems, it would be a far better use of human effort to focus on preserving the only one we've got. Not only that but, if we make the Earth uninhabitable, I'm not sure we deserve to live somewhere else. But the challenge itself is interesting, and the scientific questions you can ask in the process of understanding, building, and trying to maintain such a system are valid. We're going to give it a try. Good luck! There's a Nobel Prize in it.

marine shrimp ecosphere

The Basic Theory: In a closed system, like the one in your bottle, you will need to establish an ecological balance in order for all of your organisms to survive and reproduce. The selection of which organisms to use, and how many to begin with, is important, because, for example, if you have too many animals consuming oxygen and not enough plants producing it, the animals will die. If you have too many plants and not enough animals that eat them, the plants may become overcrowded and die. Plants take carbon dioxide (CO ₂) out of the air and, by a process called photosynthesis, use the energy from sunlight to take those carbons and string them together to make sugars (plant food), releasing the oxygen (O ₂) as a waste product. Animals use oxygen as part of the process of metabolism (releasing energy from food). Plants and animals are therefore mutualistic; in the right balance, they help each other survive because they each produce what the other needs, and they each use up what the other doesn't need. (Now it's actually a bit more complicated, because plants only produce oxygen when they have light, and they consume oxygen in the dark.) Plants also absorb chemical nutrients like nitrogen (proteins are mostly made of nitrogen and carbon, so dead animals enrich the soil for the plants), phosphorus, and potassium from the soil through their roots. Animals consume the plants (or other animals) and produce wastes that bacteria break down into the nutrients the plants can reuse. Water is consumed by both plants and animals, but is also excreted, purified, and reused. When plants and animals die, they are broken down by decomposer organisms like bacteria and fungi, and the chemicals that were part of their bodies are recycled back into new living things. The only inputs from outside are heat and light, and the whole system should be able to recycle everything else and be self-sustaining across many generations. The earth is a self-sustaining ecosystem that has lasted for billions of years.

This is a project I'd like you to start at the beginning of the semester, so that you can make weekly observations throughout the semester. But there's a catch: Once you seal it up, you can't mess with it anymore. The only allowed inputs to the system are heat and light. To get started, read on...

There's a lot to cover here. Let's start with materials. You will need three or four 2-liter soda bottles. Possibly more if you make mistakes :-) I'd like you to build something similar to the " TerrAqua" column at the Bottle Biology site, or the Building an Eco-Column PDF, but you're going to completely seal it up. No air holes or other inputs except light and heat. You can use either non-toxic silicone sealant (smells like vinegar while drying, takes about 24 hours to fully cure) or duct tape to seal your bottles. We're trying to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that will last a while. Getting things in balance is very tricky, but it can be done.

First steps: Draw your design on paper. Make a detailed plan of what you will need. Assemble your materials. Draw dotted lines where you will cut your bottles. Set it up empty first to make sure it all fits together tightly. Use a few small pieces of tape to temporarily hold it together. Refer to the notes at the resource sites. They have lots of good tips on removing labels, cutting bottles safely, making it fit together, etc. For example, consider whether you will cut above the curve, at the curve, or below the curve of the bottle's top and bottom. If one section curves in, it's easier to fit another section to it. To fit a bottle top into a bottle middle, angle it slightly as you push it in to break the suction/pressure. I made my first cuts with a box cutter, and then trimmed the edges with scissors to make it smoother. It's good to seal as many of the joints between the sections as possible with silicone and let them dry and outgas before you load any living things into the system.

Fit bottles together by cutting one at its widest point and joining it with another where it curves in.

Bottle Assembly Steps: Dry fit the pieces together before adding water, soil, plants, animals.

There are many ways to build your biosphere. The steps above, lettered A-H, using bottles numbered 1-4, will give you the basic idea, but you can expand upon, or deviate from, this design if you want. Step A is the cut for bottle 1, the bottom section, which will contain the aquatic organisms. Step B is the cut for bottle 2, which will form the roof of the aquatic habitat and the connection to the upper chamber. Step C is an assembly step that joins bottle 1 to bottle 2. Step D is the cut of bottle 3, for the walls of the land section. Steps E and F are assembly steps to join bottle 3 to bottles 1 and 2. Step G is the cut of the 4th bottle, which will form the roof of the upper chamber. If you have more bottles, you could keep building upward. The bottle shown in the photographs below has 3 chambers, including one aquatic section and two different land chambers. Note that there should be an opening between all sections so that air and moisture can move throughout the entire bottle complex. However, keeping the cap on top of the aquatic section temporarily while you load the soil, land plants, earthworms, etc., will prevent you from spilling things into the lower section. Just be sure to remove the cap over the aquatic section when you're done with the land habitat. Step H is the completed, 2 chamber bottle biosphere.

Materials gathered. Plants and animals collected. Ready to start cutting bottles.

Collect your living things. Note: Use pond water or freshwater aquarium water. Tap water won't have the right bacteria in it. You can use fine aquarium gravel, sand, and/or potting soil. An aquarium store or local pond will have some aquatic plants. Potting soil is tricky because it will absorb a lot of moisture at first and can be messy to work with. The more complex your biosphere, the more interesting it can be, but remember not to overload it with animals. Don't put fish, frogs, reptiles, etc. in your biosphere; they won't survive long because it's too small and can't support them. A little bit of pond mud will contain some good microscopic invertebrates. Try a few small snails, maybe a few small earthworms, some daphnia or other freshwater invertebrates collected from a pond or stream with a dip net. Make it more like a terrarium. Try some hardy plants; preferably more than one kind. Leave the components open to the air for a week or two while you adjust the moisture levels and get everything established.

Aquatic section partially loaded. Sealing empty sections with silicone.

Empty partially sealed sections pieced together to check fit.

Plants loaded into terrestrial sections; adjusting moisture levels before final seal up.

It's easy to accidentally oversaturate the soil with water, and that will cause problems later. I added some sand and coarse aquarium gravel for drainage at the bottom of my terrestrial sections, and very gradually added water, watching the water level on the outside. Leaving it open for a week or two before sealing it up will allow excess water to evaporate. You want the soil damp but not soggy. I also added 2 small earthworms I collected after a rainstorm to the soil. Hope they make it!

The bottle biosphere is now air-tight. With luck, we've got a self-sustaining eco-system inside.

When the moisture levels are right and everything is loaded inside, seal it up for good and hope for the best. You can still adjust the position of your biosphere relative to heat and light. If too much algae grows, it's too bright. If the plants start to yellow or brown, try a brighter spot. Make sure it doesn't heat up too much or get too cold. Think about the inside of your car on a hot day. Even if things start to crash, keep making observations. Molds are living things too. Think about the cycles that are happening inside the bottle as it warms and cools during day and night, light and dark cycles, and as water, oxygen and carbon dioxide, carbon, nitrogen and other nutrients cycle through the system. Read up on all of the following, because they will help you to understand what's happening inside your "closed system."

Make weekly notes, take weekly photos*, and upload to your personal "Journal." It may not seem like much is happening day to day, but comparing photos week to week may reveal bigger changes. There's a lot going on inside your little biosphere.

* Photo request: Your photos don't have to be at the full resolution of your fancy smartphone or high megapixel camera. Scale 'em down if you can, so that they aren't gigantic. Since I'm being picky here, in focus is nice too! The graphics above are scaled down to about 100 kilobytes each and still look pretty good. Use the "optimize for e-mail" option if available.

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Introduction: There's only one stable, long-lasting biosphere that we know of. It's the Earth. It shouldn't surprise you that human attempts to create sealed systems don't generally fare very well. The International Space Station, despite efforts to recycle everything possible (including converting urine to drinkable water--do you still want to be an astronaut?)

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Teacher Ideas for a Hands-On Activity with Assessment Pieces

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Photo Credit: Clipart.com

Purpose

To observe and document similarities and differences between parts of plants.

Context

While ideas of ecology, biology, horticulture, etc., are far too abstract for K-2 students, young children are curious about their living environment and are ready to be introduced to the idea that they live on this earth along with plants and animals. Although students at this level are most often in awe of the natural world, not all are equally familiar with the living environment. A classroom that fosters students' curiosity about the natural world by exposing them to living things provides students with rich opportunities to learn about the world in which we live. "All students, especially those who live in circumstances that limit their interaction with nature, must have the opportunity to observe a variety of plants and animals in the classroom, on the school grounds, in the neighborhood, at home, in parks and streams and gardens, and at the zoo. But observing is not enough. The students should have reasons for their observations-reasons that prompt them to do something with the information they collect." ( Benchmarks for Science Literacy, p. 102.)

This lesson supports students interacting with nature and provides them with a framework for their observations by offering them opportunities to explore, question, and document similarities and differences among plant parts.

In this lesson, students will identify and sort plant parts through hands-on activities and group discussions and then work with magnifying lenses and tape measures to document their observations on a student sheet. Students will first have opportunities to examine the plants in open-ended ways, and then begin to formulate questions about what they are touching, smelling, and seeing. "The point is to encourage them to ask questions for which they can find answers by looking carefully (using hand lenses when needed) at plants...and then checking their observations and answers with one another." ( Benchmarks for Science Literacy, p.102.)

You can expect that the younger students of this level will focus on one attribute of the plant parts they are examining, while the older students will more likely observe a few attributes. "Most children enter kindergarten interested in living things and already able to distinguish among the common ones. Children know, for example, that fish resemble other fish, frogs resemble other frogs, and that fish and frogs are different. In the beginning, children can focus on any attribute-size, color, limbs, fins, or wings-but then should gradually be guided to realize that for purposes of understanding relatedness among organisms, some characteristics are more significant than others." ( Benchmarks for Science Literacy, p. 101.)

By encouraging students to notice that a plant is comprised of parts, you will facilitate their thinking about plants in a more detailed way. This more detailed thinking will further develop their science skills of observing and classifying, and, at the same time, build a foundation for future learning about plants and relationships among living things in our environment.

Planning Ahead

It is a good idea to display pictures of plants around the classroom and to have plant books available for students at the outset of this lesson.

Motivation

To build excitement among your students, you can organize a plant scavenger hunt! The idea of the scavenger hunt is for students to find and match similar plant parts (roots, stems, and leaves). For the younger students, you may want them to find matching plant parts from the same vegetable plant, while older students may be more appropriately challenged to collect matching parts from the various plants you are using.

Select some common vegetables that are also fairly sturdy (since students will handle them as part of the game). Also, when choosing your vegetables, think about vegetables that have easily identifiable roots, stems, and/or leaves. Fresh carrots, lettuce, broccoli, asparagus, and collard greens are vegetables that work well for this game.

Hide the various plant parts around the classroom and give students clues for finding them. Depending on the level of your group, you may choose to use picture cards, words, or both to illustrate the parts they will try to find. Put three corresponding containers that are labeled roots, stems, and leaves in a designated area for students to put the parts they find.

Once everyone has collected their parts, meet as a large group to discuss the similarities and differences students see among the parts. Bring the three containers to the group, as well as whole vegetables, to help facilitate the discussion. Students may compare the different parts of the same plant, similar parts from different plants, or a combination of both. Depending on your particular group of students, you can choose to have them study and sort by single attributes or multiple attributes. Younger students may benefit from comparing different parts of the same plant, while older students will be more challenged to look at a variety of plants. Again, you can decide whether or not you want students to look at one part (the stem, for example) from a variety of plants or simply look at a variety of plants and observe all the different parts.

At this point in the activity, leaving the discussion open to their observations is important. Later in the lesson, you will challenge students to think more critically about their observations. Some questions that may be helpful for group discussion are:

What do you notice about the roots? Stems? Leaves?

Is there anything the same about all the roots? Stems? Leaves? (Some students may not yet know the term similar.)

Is there anything different about the roots? Stems? Leaves?

Where do you see these parts on the whole vegetable?

What questions do you have about these plant parts?

Chart students' responses on newsprint, and then add it to the classroom display of plant pictures. As students move through the activities in this lesson, you can refer back to their original observations and questions as appropriate.

Development

Use masking tape to make a grid on the top of a table. Be sure to make the grid spaces large enough for students to put a collection of parts. Let students use the vegetable parts collected during the scavenger hunt to sort and classify with this table-top grid. This activity should remain open-ended, but you can challenge them to consider what attributes they are using to sort; encourage them to find other attributes to use as their sorting criteria; and even add a little math to this exercise.

Once students have had an open-ended opportunity to examine the vegetable plant parts, encourage students to begin thinking more critically about these parts. You might ask:

What do you notice about all these plant parts?

How do the different parts look, feel, and smell?

Have you seen any of these plant parts before? Where?

Which parts did you put in the same square on the table grid? Why?

What kinds of things helped you decide what to put in which square?

To challenge students to extend their thinking about plant parts and to encourage students to formulate some of their own questions, offer students magnifying lenses. Let them explore the various plant parts with these for a short while, and then give each student the Vegetable Plant Parts student sheet to document their observations. Students should draw pictures of these things: a root; a stem; a leaf; and a whole plant.

Once students have completed their student sheets, reconvene for a group discussion. You might ask:

What do these plant parts remind you of?

How are the plant parts connected?

How did the plants look when you used the magnifying lenses?

Why do you think plants have different parts?

How are plants helpful to people?

What more do you want to know about these plants or plant parts?

While it is too abstract for students at this level to understand the role plants play in our living environment, this group discussion will help you introduce students to the idea that plants do play a part in our world. To keep it very basic and simple, you can talk with students about how the plants they have been examining are vegetables that we can eat. In this way, students can begin to develop an appreciation for how vegetable plants provide people with nourishment.

Now students should use their Plant Parts student esheet to go to Plant Parts Salad, from Cool Science for Curious Kids, for an online activity that will reinforce matching corresponding plant parts. (Note, this Web activity also includes the flower and fruit part of a plant. You may want to talk with students about these two additional parts by bringing in examples. Tomatoes are an example of the fruit part, because it has seeds. Broccoli is a good example of a flower.) From here, you can ask students if they would like to make their own Plant-Parts Salad. Ask students to bring a vegetable into class, and the group can make their own salad. Consider assigning students particular vegetables in order to allow for using only vegetables that are easy to tear with glove-covered hands, since students may be too young to safely handle a knife. Alternatively, at the end of the day, you could cut the vegetables students brought in, and create the salad together the following day.

Assessment

Through this lesson, students have had several experiences with plant parts. Because there were not several different kinds of plants (all were vegetables), it was easier for students to identify similarities and differences between plant parts. One way to assess how well students understand the concept of like and difference among plants and plant parts is to add a variable. Introduce one other type of plant. Ask students:

Do you see a root on this plant?

How is it the same or different from some of the other roots we have seen? (Repeat these two questions for stem and leaf.)

After discussing these questions, give students the More Plant Parts student sheet. It may be important to review their student sheets and use their responses to facilitate another group discussion about what they have discovered about plants and plant parts. You can also display these student sheets around the classroom (anonymously) so that students can learn from other students' observations as well.

Extensions

Offer students seed and gardening catalogues to cut and paste to make plant collages. Then encourage students to tell a story about their plants.

Activity number two from the Jay Jay the Jet Plane site will provide students with a longer term project of seeing a seed grow into a full plant.

Reviewing these websites will also give you additional ideas for plant activities:
Send us feedback about this Lesson >

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Photo Credit: Clipart.com To observe and document similarities and differences between parts of plants. While ideas of ecology, biology, horticulture, etc., are far too abstract for K-2 students, young children are curious about their living environment and are ready to be introduced to the idea that they live on this earth along with plants and animals.

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Teacher based activity where students are creating plants based on vegetables growth.

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Shannon Cush: Integrated Science and Tech Pre k -4

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Shannon Cush
Plant Life Lesson Plan

Subject Area: Science

Essential Question(s) Science: What are the steps a seed goes through to become a plant?

Where do we see plants throughout our daily life?

Title of the Unit

Plant Life

Title of the Lesson: Exploring Plant Life

Grade Level: 3rd Grade

Estimated Time :1 hour 15 minutes

Summary of the Lesson: In this lesson, students will become familiar with the process of germination. They will also become familiar with the parts of the plants, and learn where certain plants grow. Students will plant their own seeds and make predictions about what will happen.

Materials Required

Powerpoint

Youtube

Seeds

Vegetables

Handouts

Magnifying Glasses

Science Journals

"Buzzers"

Soil

Cups

Academic Standards

S3.B.1.1.3: Describe the basic needs of plants and animals and their dependence on light, food, air, water, and shelter

S3.B.1.1.4: Describe how plants and animals go through life cycles.

S3.A.2.1.2: Make predictions based on observations.

S3.A.2.2.1: Identify appropriate tools or instruments for specific tasks, and describe the information they provide (i.e., measuring [length-ruler; mass- balance scale] and making observations [hand lenses-very small objects]).

Objectives/Webb's DOK

SWBAT:

Identify what germination is

Describe the characteristics of a seed (seed coat, embryo, food)

Use a magnifying glass to make observations and predictions about seeds

Identify the parts of a plant

Describe the part of the plant each vegetable is

Vocabulary

Germination

Plant Ovary

Roots

Stem

Leaves

Flower

Procedure

Engage:

Teacher will explain that the day's lesson will be about the life of a plant.

After explaining that every plant starts with a seed, the teacher will show the class a video about a seed and its germination process.

Teacher will assess the students after the video with some open-ended questions, such as "Why did our seed in the video wear a seed coat?"

Teacher will explain to the class that they will be conducting a "seed sorting activity" in which they will observe the different parts of the seed.

Teacher will pass out magnifying glasses to the class and explain that a magnifying glass is an appropriate tool used when you are observing something small.

Teacher will administer the activity and remind students to be looking for a seed's "seed coat".

Teacher will then explain that she will come around the room and "dissect" the seed so that they can look inside. Students will talk about what they see with a partner

Teacher will ask the students to reveal some of their observations.

Teacher will also ask what they remember each part of the seed is used for (seed coat-protection, embryo-baby plant, cotyledon- seed food).

Teacher will then begin to pass out materials for planting seeds.

Students will plant sunflower seeds.

Teacher will instruct the students how much soil to use, how much water to pour, etc.

Teacher will pass out "Seed Journals" to the class.

Students will record what they did that day, and make predictions on what will happen to their plant the next day.

Teacher will direct students' attention back to the PowerPoint to learn how seeds travel.

Teacher will explain that seeds are not only planted by humans. Wind, sea and animals often help to plant seeds as well. (Mention example of dandelion)

Teacher will go on to explain the parts of a plant. Before telling the students what each part of a plant does, she will ask them to take a guess.

After each part of a plant is covered, the class will then do the next activity entitled, "I Can Eat a Whole Plant!"

For this activity, the teacher will explain that it is actually possible for all parts of a plant to be edible.

Teacher will hand out vegetables and the handout. On the handout, students will be instructed to place the appropriate vegetable next to the part of the plant that it is considered(Example: carrots would be placed in the space next to "roots", because a carrot is considered the root part of a plant).

Once the students have completed the worksheet they will "think pair share" with a partner and talk about the answers they came up with.

Teacher will then review the worksheet and go over root vegetables, flower vegetables, etc. She will explain what they are, and ask the students to come up with examples of each.

Extend/Evaluate:

To extend and evaluate the students' knowledge on plants and plant life, the teacher will explain to the students that they will be playing "Plant Life Jeopardy". (E-Learning)

The class will be divided into two teams.

Teacher will explain the rules of the game and ask for any questions.

Teacher will give "buzzers" to both groups.

Teacher will keep score and determine a winner at the end of the game.

After the game is over, teacher will ask students what they have learned, and what they are still not sure about.

Teacher will then ask a few more questions to assess the students on plant life.

Assessment

Teacher will assess students by asking questions throughout the lesson. By asking about what students know about the senses periodically, the teacher can get a better understanding of what needs to be worked on. Also asking the students what they are observing throughout the lesson helps the teacher to know if they are actually observing what needs to be observed. Plant Life Jeopardy is also a fun and engaging way to assess the students' knowledge on plants.

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Inquiry Based Lesson (Plant Life) (Lesson Plan #2)

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Shannon CushPlant Life Lesson Plan Subject Area: Science Essential Question(s) Science: What are the steps a seed goes through to become a plant? Where do we see plants throughout our daily life?

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This site lists the ideas of building a community garden or school garden and gathering research from local parks, farms, biologists as well as gathering seeds from people and businesses around town.

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From growing purple carrots to pretzel beans, school gardens can provide an engaging space for limitless learning opportunities. With youth becoming increasingly disconnected from the natural and cultivated world, it is more important than ever to create gardens as outdoor laboratories.
These gardens connect students to plants, soils, ecology, and a multitude of other concepts in a hands-on, experiential learning environment. School gardens help children discover where their food comes from and form the foundation for making healthier food choices. Gardens can nurture life skills in youth, including responsibility, problem solving, and critical thinking.

Gardens engage students by providing dynamic environments in which to observe, discover, experiment, nurture, and learn. Living laboratories where lessons are drawn from real-life experiences rather than textbook examples, gardens draw students in as active participants in the learning process. Science, math, language arts, health, and many other subjects can be introduced through hands-on experiential activities. School gardens can focus on fruit and vegetable production, building wildlife habitats, creating spaces for pollinators, or emphasizing countless themes from ABC gardens to storybook gardens. This publication will delve into the details of creating an edible garden.
The idea for a school garden can sprout from anywhere: a teacher, a parent volunteer, a student, the principal, the groundskeeper, or the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) landscaping committee.
Wherever it begins, all of those described above should be included from the beginning when discussing a potential garden. These stakeholders will be the leaders of the garden team. Consider including other interested parties and organizations that provide diverse experience and talents, for example, community members and neighbors, Cooperative Extension, farmers, and parks and recreation or nature educators.

Building community support is essential to long-term garden sustainability. This can include a variety of individuals who can be members of the initial planning team and provide expertise and offer valuable strategies for success. They can provide garden resources and educational curricula that teachers, parents, and volunteers can use with children in the garden setting. Their familiarity with the local community can provide connections to a network of local community members who can help build partnerships and assist in obtaining gardening resources. Sustainability is an on-going process that requires tending much like a garden. The individuals who may help launch a garden may not be the same group that maintains it over time. Crafting the structure of a garden team allows individuals to come and go, with new members providing continued support.

The garden team should solicit approval from the school principal from the beginning. In some school districts, the county school administration will have to approve the project. The science curriculum consultant is often the point of contact for a school garden project. If the consultant sees that activities in the garden support and reinforce science learning objectives, approval is likely. When meeting with county education administration, we recommend bringing along examples of gardening curricula (see the list in the appendix) that can be used by teachers in the "outdoor learning laboratory."

While it is tempting to take a shovel and start digging in immediately, time spent planning saves on frustration, time, and money during the installation and results in a more sustainable project. Visit other school gardens in the area, and talk to the leaders to find out what worked for them, mistakes they made, and suggestions they might have. Take the time to engage with the school community, including teachers, students, parents, and the neighbors who would like to use the garden.

School administrators and other garden visitors may need help making the connection between gardening and multidisciplinary learning. Learn to communicate the benefits in terms that resonate with them. Invite community leaders to visit the garden when it is alive with children learning. Offer them a tool and encourage them to get involved.
The school garden design should reflect a thoughtful planning process whereby the garden team has agreed upon a set of goals and objectives that guide the design decisions.
The design process is the perfect opportunity to engage the wider school community stakeholders to address ideas or concerns about the project. The garden team should think about why the school wants to start a garden, how and by whom it will be used, and the ways in which the garden connects with curriculum and meets community needs. Priorities can include science curriculum, food production, nutrition, waste reduction, and learning where food comes from. Reaching consensus on the purpose of the garden and the learning outcomes allows everyone to move forward together with a clear understanding about why some opportunities are pursued and others are not.
TAKE NOTE
The garden is an ideal setting to explore the scientific method with children.

Ask questions (How do vines climb?)

Research information (Why do vines need to climb?)

Form hypotheses (I think vines climb to get more sunlight.)

Identify variables (Do all vines climb the same way?)

Interpret data (Some vines have tendrils, others have aerial roots, some vines don't climb at all.)

Draw conclusions (Many vines have specific characteristics adapted for local conditions.)

Ask new questions (What would be the best vine for a fort?)

Create your garden with themed beds. The following themes have many exciting possibilities for including fun plants:

Alphabet garden

Butterfly/pollinator garden

Edible garden with vegetables and fruits

Feathered friends garden (bird habitat)

Herb garden

History garden

Literary garden

Native plantings

Pond garden

Storybook garden

Pizza garden

Be sure to solicit the input and participation of school maintenance professionals, and ask them to review the design to identify any potential maintenance challenges. They may also be able to assist with obtaining mulch, compost, and plants for the project.

To create garden ownership, meaning, and relevance for the students, include them in the planning process from the start. Think about ways to gather their ideas of what the garden could be. An open-ended visioning process, using student drawings and magazine pictures and looking through books, can empower them in the design process.
School gardens are most likely to thrive when the entire school community feels a sense of ownership in the planning process.
The following suggestions are a few strategies for gathering ideas and building agreement between students, teachers, parents, administrators, neighbors, and other community members on the purpose of the garden, plants and elements to include, and ways the garden will be utilized.
GOALS AND STRATEGIES
Bring together a group of stakeholders (students, teachers, parents, and others) and have participants identify priorities for the garden. Each individual writes three goals and three strategies to achieve each goal. Have individuals gather in groups of three to five people, share their goals and strategies, and select three goals and strategies for the group to present to the whole audience. After capturing all of the ideas, use facilitation techniques to develop consensus ( Figure 1).
DESCRIPTIVE WORDS
Individually show each participant a deliberately chosen set of images of gardens and garden features. Compile a list of positive descriptive adjectives and a matched set of negative adjectives. For each image, ask participants to select one word from matched adjectives (either positive or negative) that best reflects their reaction to the image. Compile reactions and present to participants. Ask participants to select their favorite image and share their reaction to the descriptive word with the group ( Figure 2) (Sanoff, 2001).
WISH POEM
Based on the ideas of Henry Sanoff with NC State University's College of Design, a wish poem helps identify needs and special concerns. Participants choose carefully preselected images and elements that show a variety of styles and forms they would like to see in the garden. They then give descriptions of how they envision their dream garden. Participants then share their favorite points from their wish poem with the larger group ( Figure 3).
From a courtyard bursting with blooms to a bounty of spring salad greens, there are many forms a school garden can take. Determine what kind of garden will be developed at the school, and sketch out a plan for the entire area, including all the components to form a master plan that can be built at once or in stages over time.
Raised beds are a common solution for the prevalence of poor soil at many schools. Raised beds are constructed and filled with a blend of compost and topsoil. Raised beds can be built from lumber (pine, cypress) or plastic timber. The choice is often dictated by what is available for free or at a minimal cost. Raised beds can be expensive, and you may want to consider other planting options in the beginning, such as starting seeds inside the classroom or using outdoor planters. Raised beds should be no more than 4 feet wide so that children can reach into the middle of the bed without stepping in it. For younger students, beds that are 3 feet wide may be more appropriate. Beds can be any length, but at most schools where space is limited they are generally 4-6 feet long.

Garden beds needn't be boxy. They can follow the contour of the landscape or come in any shape or size depending on the space available. However, consider the maintenance challenges of mowing around a star shaped bed prior to installing one. Consider growing a "pizza garden" in the shape of a pizza pie! In this type of garden, the perimeter is a circle. Section the circle into "slices," and grow pizza ingredients in each slice. For example, plant one slice with wheat, representing the pizza dough. Other slices could be planted with peppers, garlic, onions, and tomatoes.
GARDEN LOCATION
Finding the best site for the garden can be challenging as plant soil and light needs must be met. On many school campuses, topsoil is a scarce resource, and most of the open, sunny ground is occupied by playfields. Courtyards and open sections between buildings are often the only sites to construct raised beds, but they may receive sunlight for only a small portion of the day. If any grading took place to level the ground when school construction began, the topsoil was likely removed, leaving the poor subsoil. Sometimes the only choice is to transform perennial plantings or "landscaped" areas into a space that is more engaging for learning. By involving students in selecting a suitable site, curricular topics like plant and habitat needs can be explored.
SOIL PREPARATION
Start small! Nothing nurtures confidence like success and nothing fizzles enthusiasm faster than an overly ambitious site full of weeds.

Begin with only as much as you can do joyfully, even if some of your volunteers quit or there are other unanticipated challenges.

Begin by removing unwanted vegetation. Before breaking ground, call NC One Call at 811 to have the location of underground utility lines marked. Call the school district to have the location of private utility lines and easements marked.

Once you have selected the potential site, have the soil tested before moving forward. April through November, soil can be tested for free through the NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. The rest of the year there is a minimal fee. Soil testing boxes can be obtained through the local Cooperative Extension center, and agriculture agents can help interpret the results and make recommendations for nutrient application and pH modifications. Many soils in North Carolina are acidic and need an alkaline modifier, usually lime. Review the Extension publication, Minimizing Risks of Soil Contaminants in Urban Gardens, to determine whether you should also have soil from the site tested for heavy metals through a private soil testing lab.

It is likely the soil has been compacted, so before constructing the beds, loosen the soil by ripping and tilling. Find a volunteer with a tractor or rototiller, because spading hard ground is likely to be difficult. You might consider planting a nitrogen fixing cover crop for a year or two to build soil structure prior to breaking ground.
PLANTS
A multitude of plants should be considered for growing. Flowers and vegetables can easily be grown in the spring and fall, and if a school is on a year-round calendar, many warm season crops can thrive. You might begin by choosing vegetables that are easy to grow, mature quickly, and can be eaten raw, such as radishes or leaf lettuces. Snacking on vegetables that the children grew themselves makes the experience meaningful and real. Fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, and figs are easy to grow and offer a delightful treat. Other plants such as cut flowers, ornamental perennials, shrubs, and trees offer a variety of opportunities for students to investigate throughout the seasons.
GARDEN INFRASTRUCTURE
There are supplies, tools, and equipment that will be needed to grow a garden, and there must be some means available to water the plants. Ensure that there is a potable water supply that is easily accessible. A school might consider installing a cistern to harvest rainwater for use on ornamental plantings. Reference the Extension publication, Water Quality of Rooftop Runoff: Implications for Residential Water Harvesting Systems for suggestions to optimize cistern use. Hoses and sprinklers are necessary to bring water to the garden space.

Large buckets are a great tool to engage young gardeners. Students can fill them with water and dunk watering cans into them for use in irrigating the crops. Shovels, hoes, rakes, and hand trowels will be necessary. Seeds and plants are necessary to grow a crop.
TO FENCE OR NOT TO FENCE?
Fences can keep out rabbits, deer, stray dogs, and other unwanted visitors. Some gardens have a locked gate on the fence to also keep out unwelcome people. Other gardens are fenced, but leave the gate unlocked to welcome all. Some gardeners have found that the higher and stronger you build the fence, the more attractive it is for vandals to enter and cause destruction. Others have found that welcoming the community into the garden, with positive rules that promote clear expectations, serve to extend the sense of ownership, thereby protecting the garden. This may also increase awareness of and comfort with the garden, which may aid in the recruitment of new volunteers.
EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIES
The educational activities that take place in the school garden will require supplies, too. With classroom budgets pinched, donations become the normal means of acquisition. The school garden team, including 4-H Extension programs, may be a fertile ground for gathering what is needed to make a gardening educational activity succeed.
ACTIVITIES AND CURRICULUM INTEGRATION
Growing edible produce from seeds and plants may take as little as 30 to as many as 120 days. Planning for educational activities and care of plants will vary according to what is being grown. Many school calendars lend themselves to fall, spring, and summer plantings. Coordinate with the school schedule to ensure there is time for planting and harvest. Soil preparation, planting, watering, weeding, and pest management can all be "lessons" in and of themselves, with many curricula and garden lesson plans available to make those lessons even more meaningful. These same resources provide an abundance of other educational activities that can occur to reinforce science, math, health, and other subject matter that is the standard course of study for the grade levels involved in the project.
OUTDOOR CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
School class sizes vary, depending on the school district. Actively engaging and involving 30 children all at once in a 4-foot by 12-foot garden space is a challenge. One management strategy is to encourage volunteers to help on garden days and be responsible for small groups of students. Students can rotate through different gardening activities, or a class might be split into groups, with one half remaining inside and the other in the garden. Follow best practices for child safety, including ensuring that volunteers have had background checks or always teach with the teacher present. Volunteers can make the learning process better. Properly trained in the planned curricula or in appropriate educational activities, volunteers can engage three or four sets of children from the classroom sequentially in a valuable educational experience. The volunteer may be Extension staff, a parent volunteer, a science lead teacher, an Extension Master Gardener volunteer, or someone else who likes to garden and enjoys teaching children.

Volunteers will need training, and Extension can take the lead in this process. Train-the-trainer sessions can expose both teachers and volunteers to school gardening curricula that address a range of subject matter and give them the opportunity to try any educational activities themselves before engaging children in them.

School gardens in North Carolina are perfect for growing spring and fall gardens. Planted in early spring, cool-season vegetables will mature before school ends for summer break. This way the vegetables may be harvested, and low maintenance cover crops can be planted for the summer. Cool-season vegetables can be planted again in late August/early September as school begins and will be ready to eat before Thanksgiving. Vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, chard, kale, turnips, radishes, collards, broccoli, onions, parsley, and dill grow wonderfully in cool weather. For more information, consult with your local horticulture/agriculture Extension agent for planting dates and recommendations. In addition, fruit like strawberries, figs, and blueberries can be planted and easily maintained. Harvesting vegetables that students have raised themselves, even some they've never tried before, and eating them in a fresh salad is a nutritional experience the children will not forget.

Consistent garden maintenance practices such as weeding, watering, harvesting, mulching, and planting can be challenging. With most students following a traditional school calendar, there is considerable time when the school is out of session with limited staff and student resources to provide continuous cultivation. Traditional school calendars have summer vacation during the prime summer gardening season. This not only makes it difficult to grow and harvest some of the most popular summer vegetables such as watermelons and sweet corn, but it raises the question of who will maintain the vegetable gardens during that time.

Summer vegetables planted just before the school year ends in May are likely to die or become overgrown with weeds before children return in the fall. Certainly, school administration, and most importantly the custodial staff, will not be pleased with a raised bed with weeds grown five feet tall. Year-round schools may be more flexible in what they may be able to grow and harvest but still have breaks that might be as long as six weeks.

Volunteers may be needed to tend the garden during school breaks. In return for maintaining the garden, the volunteers can be rewarded with produce and still leave enough for harvest when students return. Volunteers may consist of teachers, community members, students (K-16) and their families, 4-H or FFA clubs, businesses, faith-based groups, and other community organizations.
VANDALISM
Locate the garden in a highly visible space. Increased visibility and traffic can minimize vandalism. Engaging as many children as possible in the project and giving the entire school ownership of the garden helps to limit chance vandalism.
PESTS
Many school gardens are organic to limit children's exposure to any harmful materials that might otherwise be used in a vegetable garden. Include flowers in and around the garden to encourage beneficial insects that will eat or parasitize garden pests. Beneficial insects provide obvious ecological lessons. Ecological relationships of plants to plant pathogens can also be a part of the discussion of pest management. The issue of pest management introduces the concept of environmental stewardship to students. Consider engaging students in researching and implementing ways to manage pests in their gardens as a way to grow problem solving and critical thinking skills.
Keeping the garden going over time requires commitment from all partners in the project. Gardens need at least weekly attention during the school year.
Without the support of volunteers during both the school year and the summer, teachers can run out

of the energy needed to sustain the project. Providing ongoing training for teachers and volunteers and adequate garden resources should be a priority for ensuring the garden continues to serve its educational function. Rely on your garden team to continually recruit and manage volunteers for a strong, consistent cohort of people invested in the garden's success.

Create a strategy to fund your garden's long-term development and maintenance with both financial and in-kind resources. How will the garden be funded? Who will manage the money? Where will donations be deposited? Do you have a fiscal agent with a 501(c)(3) so that all donations are tax deductible? How much will it cost? Create a budget.

Schools can pursue youth garden grants given by local foundations, national nonprofit and for-profit organizations, or from government agencies. Local businesses may provide sponsorship in exchange for visibility of their businesses. Parent-teacher organizations may include an annual allocation for the school garden. Have a list of garden needs (materials, staffing, program supplies) available to give to potential donors when the opportunity arises. Send the list home with children; often parents are happy to donate old tools, leftover seeds, and more. For building projects, identify an experienced carpenter or builder in the group to organize workers. Identify those with plumbing, electrical, and irrigation knowledge and skills. Ask volunteers to bring needed tools including saws, hammers, posthole diggers, wheelbarrows, shovels, spades, pickaxes, digging bars, and spading forks. Parents who are not able to volunteer may be happy to purchase items for the garden. The list can also be distributed during school fundraisers; for example, create a "Giving Tree," with individual needs written on separate colorful cards clipped to the tree. People can select the cards listing items they are willing to donate. Plant sales and silent auctions are additional fundraising options to sustain the garden over the long term.
DOCUMENTING SUCCESSES
Resources, both time and money, used to develop content, coordinate the work of others, and deliver educational programming have costs associated with them. Being able to document the benefits associated with these costs and to demonstrate that benefits exceed costs provides accountability to the individuals, organizations, and public entities that provide resources. Demonstrating positive changes in knowledge, attitudes, skills, and aspirations in children is a means of measuring positive outcomes from the project. Other outcome measures include things that happen because of the project. For example, because a child was involved in the project, his or her family started a vegetable garden at home, and they now enjoy the benefits of a healthier diet. If this sort of outcome is observed, it can be reported as a success story. Success stories have powerful effects on attitudes of administrators, funding agencies, and others in a position to influence whether the project goes forward.
Thank you notes, handwritten and delivered by children, with photos of fun learning in the garden are a powerful way to show appreciation.
Volunteers are amazing assets that will add value to a school garden program. They can provide expertise, labor, materials, and connections, and they can ensure success. Volunteers who encourage children to take full advantage of their outdoor gardening experience will enrich your school gardening program. Children are naturally inquisitive, and volunteers who encourage children to think for themselves are invaluable. There are many places to recruit volunteers: 4-H clubs, Extension Master Gardeners, local garden clubs, the PTSA, retired teachers, neighbors, and other community resources. Not all volunteers may want to work with children directly. Those who want to help gather resources or support the development of infrastructure are tremendously valuable, too. Hold frequent orientation and training sessions for volunteers. They can quickly feel very lost if released into the school setting without knowing school rules and policies, knowing teachers and other school personnel, or knowing where to turn for help. Be available to answer their questions and help with problem solving.
TAKE NOTE
Communication with volunteers is essential to your project's success. Here are some tips for communicating with them:

Keep a good record of volunteers with up-to-date contact information.

Establish a standard method of communication that is delivered consistently, such as a LISTSERV.

Create a written schedule of events that is communicated to volunteers.

Hold regular volunteer meetings.

Provide constructive feedback to your volunteers.

Recognize and reward your volunteers.

Use social media to engage the community.

School gardens enrich the lives of the children and adults who explore their spaces. A garden creates an accessible environment to investigate science, math, reading, writing, and history- bringing each of these subject areas to life. From understanding fractions in a pizza garden to writing rhymes about bugs or discovering how cotton makes a t-shirt, the garden is a context to experience these ideas hands-on and to contribute significantly to student success. Involve students in each step of the process whenever possible. A garden builds a community within a school and its surroundings, creating relationships and learning that last a lifetime.
CURRICULUM RESOURCES
For a full list of curricular resources, visit North Carolina 4-H's Grow For It program.
DOWN-TO-EARTH: GARDENING IN THE CLASSROOM
Down-to-Earth assists the helper in using gardening as a means to explore plant growth and development. Through this hands-on, minds-on program, youth learn the basics of botany, the gist of gardening, the essentials of ecology, and much more. Through gardening, youth stimulate their senses and cultivate science processes and life skills. By gathering data via the scientific method, youth feel a sense of pride and responsibility. This award-winning 88-page activity guide is an excellent resource for school enrichment programs, organized 4-H clubs, school-age childcare educators, after-school programs, nature centers, summer youth camps, scouts, and traditional school settings. Developed by North Carolina A&T University. (144 pages).
SOIL SOLUTIONS
The 4-H Soil Solutions enrichment curriculum is developed for a third grade audience interested in learning about plants and soils in a fun, interactive way. Aligned to meet the North Carolina science standards in plants and soils, the lessons draw from current research and knowledge from NC State's crop science, horticulture, and soil science departments. Includes eight lessons covering the following topics: soil properties, soil and water relationships, soil and plant growth, composting, seed germination, pollination and flowers, and plant growth and development. This resource is available for free through your local Cooperative Extension center. Contact your 4-H or agriculture/horticulture Extension agent for more information.
STRAWBERRIES IN SCHOOLS
Schoolyard strawberry gardens provide rich spaces for students and teachers to explore concepts relevant to their curricula in a hands-on, experiential way. A strawberry garden, modeled on the annual hill production system used by farmers in the southeastern United States, fits neatly into the traditional-year calendar for elementary schools, with students beginning school in late August and finishing the year in June. This coincides with the southeastern strawberry production system in which strawberry plants are set into the ground between late September through early October, and the fruit is harvested in late April to early May. This growing schedule enables students to observe the life cycle of the strawberry plant throughout the school year.

JUNIOR MASTER GARDENER (JMG)
(Available through Texas A&M Cooperative Extension)

Provides teachers with the resources to teach students about the wonderful world of gardening. There are eight chapters with hands-on, novel learning experiences for youth. The curriculum also includes activity pages, worksheets, JMG rhythms, reading passages formatted for standardized tests, and much more. After studying life skills and careers, students may culminate their learning experience with service activities. This JMG curriculum is designed for students in grades 3 to 5 and 6 to 8.
GROWING CLASSROOM BY LIFELAB
Developed by the Life Lab Science Program, this award-winning second edition has been revised to meet current science standards. A wonderful collection of classic garden activities, The Growing Classroom is a teacher's manual featuring step-by-step instructions and strategies for setting up a garden-based science program and outdoor classroom activities. Topics include planning a garden laboratory, facilitating investigative lessons on ecology and nutrition, and involving the community. Includes an expanded gardening resource section.

Bucklen-Sporer, A. and Pringle, R.K. (2010). How to Grow a School Garden: A Complete Guide for Parents and Teachers. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press.

Danks, S.G. (2010). Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation. Oakland, CA: New Village Press.

Guy, L., Cromell, C. and Bradley, L. (1996). Success with School Gardens. Arizona Master Gardener Press.

Sanoff, H. (2001). A Visioning Processfor Designing Responsive Schools. Washington DC: National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.

Waters, A. (2008). Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
Special thanks to the vibrant school and youth gardening programs through Avery, Durham, Guilford and Harnett Extension for the use of their photos.
N.C. Cooperative Extension prohibits discrimination and harassment regardless of age, color, disability, family and marital status, gender identity, national origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation and veteran status.

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Teaching From the Garden: Creating Transformative Learning Landscapes at Schools | NC State Extension Publications

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From growing purple carrots to pretzel beans, school gardens can provide an engaging space for limitless learning opportunities. With youth becoming increasingly disconnected from the natural and cultivated world, it is more important than ever to create gardens as outdoor laboratories.

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Garden for the Environment Virtual Field Trip 

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Garden for the Environment Virtual Field Trip 

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Garden for the Environment Virtual Field Trips in San Francisco, CA!

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Youth have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the garden, connecting with the natural world and each other, creating real, beneficial impact and life skills to take with them after they leave.

Based on the interests and level of each group, we provide two or three hands-on activities in garden exploration and/or garden care.

During our field trips, students help to maintain the compost system for healthy soil (collect plant material, chop, mix, sift), search for worms and other decomposers, plant seeds and seedlings, spread mulch, explore water-wise gardening and much more.

In learning how the garden takes care of us, students explore perennial spaces demonstrating how native peoples, and people around the world today, use plants for food, medicine, art, and materials.

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Youth Field Trips - Garden for the Environment

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Youth have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the garden, connecting with the natural world and each other, creating real, beneficial impact and life skills to take with them after they leave. Based on the interests and level of each group, we provide two or three hands-on activities in garden exploration and/or garden care.

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Students could join this project to compare and contrast videos and live coverage of daffodils and tulips with students around the world.

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Daffodils and Tulips

Students in different parts of the world plant bulbs at the same time and collect data on various parameters (latitude, longitude, sunlight, temperature, etc.), as well as track when they blossom. Classrooms around the world choose either Daffodil and/or Tulip bulbs to plant during the same week in November. Students will be asked to collect temperature data throughout the experiment and report to the group - in addition they will report when the blooms appear and other data about the plant as it blooms. This project can be as involved or as simple as your class needs it to be.

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Daffodils and Tulips - Teachers' Guide to Global Collaboration

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A searchable database of projects and resources to help educators collaborate globally Students in different parts of the world plant bulbs at the same time and collect data on various parameters (latitude, longitude, sunlight, temperature, etc.), as well as track when they blossom...

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This site has LOTS of fun games related to photosynthesis, plant nutrients, seed and plant life cycles!

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Turtle Diary offers a wide variety of plant games for kids. The games cover the following topics: plant life cycle, vegetables, fruits, and growing plants. These games are grade-appropriate, so your child stays on target at school, and the material will be challenging, but not impossible.

The games can be played as often as your child wishes. It is like bringing the classroom into your home, but never feels like homework. Games like "Identify the Fruit" and "Spell the Fruit" will encourage other skills as well.

Your child will improve spelling and reasoning skills while playing these games. The animation invites your child into a new world of learning about plants and builds confidence in the subject matter. As your child's performance improves, so will their grades.

It is easy to get started. Choose the topic your child is studying in school and walk them through the lesson, exercises, and game. It is not only a great parent-child quality moment, but you will also be available to your child in case any questions arise. After the initial game, your child will want to play over and over.

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Learn the Life Cycle of a Plant | Turtle Diary

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Turtle Diary offers a wide variety of plant games for kids. The games cover the following topics: plant life cycle, vegetables, fruits, and growing plants. These games are grade-appropriate, so your child stays on target at school, and the material will be challenging, but not impossible.

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Students explore how to keep an ecosystem alive by seeing how the different species rely on one another.

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What Is This Game?

Now that your kids are experts on life in the jungle, they can try keeping a whole jungle ecosystem alive! This game allows players to see how the different species of plants and animals in a rainforest depend on one another, and to experiment with how changing the amount of one resource affects the whole ecosystem. Their goal is to put together a balanced ecosystem, in which each animal has enough food to survive over a period of 12 days. The longer their ecosystem lasts, the more points they will earn for their sticker collections.

Conversation Starters

Explore Some More

Green Space Inventory

Next time you are out walking in the neighborhood, make a note of all the open green spaces you find - lawns, gardens, parks, even the landscaped traffic islands in the middle of many large roads. When you return home, draw a simple map of your neighborhood, labeling the streets you walked on. Color in all the locations where you found green spaces. Is there more or less green space in your neighborhood than you thought before? What does this tell you about how many animals can live in your neighborhood?

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Now that your kids are experts on life in the jungle, they can try keeping a whole jungle ecosystem alive! This game allows players to see how the different species of plants and animals in a rainforest depend on one another, and to experiment with how changing the amount of one resource affects the whole ecosystem.

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Through this video, students learn about ecosystems and what is needed in order for them to thrive.

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Honeybees, Butterflies, and Ladybugs: Partners to Plants

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Honeybees, Butterflies, and Ladybugs: Partners to Plants

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Campbell, A. (2009). Use this journal article to help teach the relationship between insects and plants.

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What Do Plant's Need? Inquiry Based Science Experiment

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Quick Look

Grade Level: 1 (K-2)

Time Required: 30 minutes

Lesson Dependency: None

Subject Areas: Life Science, Measurement, Number and Operations

NGSS Performance Expectations:

Summary In an introductory discussion, students identify the physical needs of animals and then speculate on the needs of plants. With teacher guidance, students then design an experiment that can take place in the classroom to test whether or not plants need light and water in order to grow. This prepares them to conduct the associated activity in which sunflower seeds are planted in plastic cups, and once germinated, are exposed to different conditions. In a classroom setting it is easy to test for the effects of light versus darkness, and watered versus non-watered conditions. During exposure of the plants to these different conditions, students measure growth of the seedlings every few days using non-standard measurement. After a few weeks, they compare the growth of plants exposed to the different conditions, and make pictorial bar graphs that demonstrate these comparisons.
This engineering curriculum aligns to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Engineering Connection

Determining the optimal environments for growing crops and other plants used to produce products is agricultural engineering.

Learning Objectives

After this lesson, students should be able to:

Discuss what plants and animals need to survive.

Describe how a simple experiment can be conducted in order to determine whether or not plants need light and/or water in order to grow.

Educational Standards

Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards.

All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN), a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org).

In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g., by state; within source by type; e.g., science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc.

NGSS Performance Expectation

Click to view other curriculum aligned to this Performance Expectation

This lesson focuses on the following Three Dimensional Learning aspects of NGSS:

Science & Engineering Practices

Disciplinary Core Ideas

Crosscutting Concepts

Use observations (firsthand or from media) to describe patterns in the natural world in order to answer scientific questions. Scientists look for patterns and order when making observations about the world.

Suggest an alignment not listed above

Introduction/Motivation

Begin with a brief discussion about the needs of animals, using the familiar examples of humans, dogs and cats. Expect students to be able to recognize that these animals all need food to eat, water to drink and air to breathe. They might also suggest that animals need clothing and shelter in order to keep warm and dry.

Then ask students what they think plants need in order to live and grow. It is helpful to have a few house plants in the classroom to refer to. Perhaps students have seen you water them, or if houseplants are not available, perhaps they have seen lawns and gardens being watered. If students do not suggest light as a need of plants, simply ask them if they think plants need light. You could help them reason out the answer by asking if gardens and farms are planted in forests or in open areas. Expect them to make the connection that gardens would not get as much light if they were planted in the shade of a forest, but instead, in an open area with lots more sunshine.

Ask students if they would like to plant some seeds and then see if their plants grow better in light or in the dark (Refer to the associated activity Light Plants and Dark Plants, Wet Plants and Dry Ones for more information). Point out that they can also find out if their plants need water or not. Since young children generally enjoy growing plants from seeds, and will monitor their progress with enthusiasm, at this point expect them to be well motivated to continue investigating the needs of plants.

Lesson Background and Concepts for Teachers

Body of Lesson:

Announce that you have materials so that each student can grow some plants from seeds. Then point out that this provides as opportunity to do an experiment to determine if plants really do need water or light. Ask for ideas as to how this could be done. Be sure to listen to all ideas, and without directly stating that an idea or some aspect of it won't work; instead, ask leading questions to get the student to realize that a better way might exist.

Point out that if the class wants to see if water is necessary, it is important that the non-watered plants be otherwise treated just the same as the watered ones, that is, placed in the light alongside the watered plants. Otherwise the class will not be able to tell if it was the lack of water that was responsible for any differences that occurred, or if it was some other difference in the plants' locations that was responsible. (Students may not understand this idea, but it is worth mentioning with the hope that it comes to memory when students are asked to conduct other experiments in the future.) Likewise, if the class wants to find out if plants will grow in darkness, explain that they, too, must otherwise be treated the same as the plants grown in the light, that is, they should be watered just like those grown in the light.

Try to let students come up with a way to keep some of the plants in the dark by asking for suggestions. The more input they have into the design of the experiment, the better. A dark closet or cabinet is ideal, or a space can be created from a large cardboard box draped in black felt.

Associated Activities

Lesson Closure

Once the basic questions of what the experiment (or experiments) will be about, and how the room can be used to conduct the experiment(s), have students prepare to conduct the associated activity.

Assessment

Patterns: Have students use their observations to describe patterns of what plants need to survive.

Perform student assessment after completion of the associated activity.

Copyright © 2013 by Regents of the University of Colorado; original © 2004 Duke University

Contributors Mary R. Hebrank, project and lesson/activity consultant

Supporting Program Engineering K-PhD Program, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University

Acknowledgements

This content was developed by the MUSIC (Math Understanding through Science Integrated with Curriculum) Program in the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University under National Science Foundation GK-12 grant no. DGE 0338262. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the NSF, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.

Last modified: May 13, 2021

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Let's Plan an Experiment: What Do Plants Need? - Lesson

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In an introductory discussion, students identify the physical needs of animals and then speculate on the needs of plants. With teacher guidance, students then design an experiment that can take place in the classroom to test whether or not plants need light and water in order to grow.

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Field Trip Possibility

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Fees:

Please see field trip descriptions above for the cost per student. The minimum fee is $30 per program.

Group Size:

Please see field trip descriptions above for maximum group size per program. We cannot offer field trips for groups of less than 5 students. PLEASE NOTE: The Garden can accommodate up to 50 students per day. If you would like to bring more than 50 students, you will need to request an additional program on another date.

Chaperones:

We require one adult chaperone for every 5 students. A maximum of 10 chaperones, including teachers, per program are permitted. We cannot accommodate siblings. There is no charge for teachers or chaperones.

Limited Financial Assistance:

In an effort to reach public schools that are most in need, we offer a limited number of partial fee waivers for Title I schools. To request a fee waiver, contact Lauren Greene at lgreene@unc.edu .

Payment:

Invoices must be paid two (2) weeks before your program date. We reserve the right to offer your date(s) to other groups if payment is not received. We accept cash, check, or credit card.

Cancellations:

A minimum one (1) week notice in writing is required for a refund. Groups that do not cancel will be billed the full program(s) fee. Please contact Lauren Greene at lgreene@unc.edu or 919-962-2887 to cancel. If your program is cancelled by the Garden or due to weather, we will make every effort to reschedule your group or refund your fee.

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Fees: Please see field trip descriptions above for the cost per student. The minimum fee is $30 per program. Group Size: Please see field trip descriptions above for maximum group size per program. We cannot offer field trips for groups of less than 5 students.

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Student research can be conducted using PebbleGo. Through this platform, students can learn about what plants are, while also studying plant parts, plant habitats, and plant classifications.