2.1 Students understand scientific ways of thinking and working and use those methods to solve real-life problems.

Students identify, analyze, and use patterns such as cycles and trends to understand past and present events and predict possible future events.

2.6 Students understand how living and nonliving things change over time and the factors that influence the changes.

2.3 Students identify and analyze systems and the ways their components work together or affect each other.

2.4 Students use the concept of scaled and scientific models to explain the organization and functioning of living and nonliving things and predict other characteristics that might be observed.

2.5 Students understand that under certain conditions nature tens to remain the shame or move toward a balance.

SC-E-3.1.1 Things in the environment are classified as living, nonliving, and once living. Living things differ from nonliving things. Organisms are classified into groups by using various characteristics (e.g., body coverings, body structures).

Observe and compare properties of several different plants.

Differentiate between living organisms and nonliving objects.

Plants and animals have life cycles that include the beginning of life, growth and development, reproduction, and death. The details of a life cycle are different for different organisms.

Grow plants from seeds. Observe, describe, and record growth and developmental changes.

Identify required environmental factors for germination and plant growth.

All organisms, including humans, cause changes in the environment where they live. Some of these changes are detrimental to the organism or to other organisms; other changes are beneficial (e.g., dams built by beavers benefit some aquatic organisms but are detrimental to others).

1. What is a plant?
2. How do plants grow?
3. Why are plants necessary for us to live in our environment?
4. What do you think would happen if we didn’t have plants?
5. How are plants useful?
6. What connections do plants have to your life?

1. Draw all the parts of the plant.

2. Draw the life cycle of a plant.

Garden Show: In groups of three, students will each choose two products (garden journals, graphs, sequences, art projects, experiments, writing activities, digital photos, Kidspiration projects) they have produced throughout the unit. The group of six different products will be displayed on a science fair presentation board with a title. Students will be responsible for presenting each product to parents and other classes that tour the Garden Show.

Student performs all movement, songs and speaking parts in the musical to relatives and parents. Student provides a fully developed "display" of projects done throughout the unit that includes relevant details that are accurate and appropriate, vocabulary and concepts from the discipline are used, and connections to the real world are made when appropriate.

A musical performance, The Garden Show: Aliens Land in Garden, allows the students to demonstrate their learning. This is a way for the community to see what is going on in the classroom. Flexible casting 8-40 students allows the teacher to individualize for students and meet multiple intelligences. Make garden journals to keep throughout the year (or duration of the unit). You can make a book and include weekly/monthly tabs, lined, plain, and graph paper for pages. Provide time for children to write, draw, record and make larger display of findings. Hang student work on and around the set.

T4.4.2 Access and navigate web sites

T6 Use or Present Information/Technological Skills

T6.1.1 Define an end product

T6.4.4 Write documents to help with oral presentations

T6.5 Create a presentation or product using application software.

T6.6 Use digital imaging and audio

T6.6.1 Use digital media for image input and output (camera, scanner, OCR, videodisc)

• Classify plants based on observable characteristics.
• Observe and sort seeds by properties.
• Observe and compare properties of several different plants.
• Differentiate between living organisms and nonliving objects.
• Describe common characteristics of living things.
• Draw the life cycle of a plant.
• Grow plants from seeds. Observe, describe, and record growth and developmental changes.
• Identify required environmental factors necessary for germination and plant growth.
• Plant and grow seeds using different amounts of light and water.
• Observe plants in the classroom and/or garden. Observe, infer, and predict changes that occur. Keep a journal or log of the changes.
• Communicate learning in performance and a display.

Timeline for Unit

Description: Use 4 testing devices:

Assessment: Draw a picture of plant parts, draw a picture of life cycle, match vocabulary to pictures, circle living things from a page of living and non-living things.

Objective: To determine what the students already know, and what they want to learn.

Description: Use chart with 3 columns for ‘Know," "What We Want to Know," and "Learned"

Assessment: Assess what they knew to begin with, and what they have learned over time.

Objective: Students will plant their own seed with all growing conditions.

Description: Students will learn how to plant seeds and grow a plant in sequential order. Students are responsible for watering in correct amounts.

Assessment: Journal observations.

Objective: Learn about impact of soil, light and moisture on a plant

Description: Plant seeds to show effects with no light- sunlight, no soil-soil, no water-water, all three conditions.

Assessment: Class journal, observations, measure growth

Objective: Show differences in sprouting time between different types of seeds.

Description: Plant 5 different types of seeds in plastic bags with wet paper towels.

Assessment: Observe seeds and dates of spouting. Graph Club graph.

Objective: Read a book to introduce the topic of living and nonliving book.

Description: Discuss

Assessment: Informal observations.

Objective: Identify living and nonliving objects.

Description: Digital pictures of living & nonliving things. Students will write a sentence stating the object name and whether it is living or nonliving.

Assessment: Hard copy classroom book.

Objective: Introduce students to the parts of a plant.

Description: Read a story and label the parts of a plant.

Assessment: Written assignment of labeling parts.

Objective: Students will identify the roots of a plant and their function.

Description: Word study, description sheet and then begin carrot experiment. Predict what will happen to the carrot in their journal.

Assessment: Written assignment and journal entry.

Objective:

Description: Word study, description sheet and then begin celery experiment. Predict what will happen to the celery in their journal.

Assessment: Written assignment and journal entry.

Objective: Students will measure the leaves of a plant and their function.

Description: Measure the length and width of leaves, attach the leaf to journal and diagram the length and wide.

Assessment: Written assignment and journal entry.

Objective: Students will review plant parts and learn about planting procedures.

Description: Class discussion of flower worksheet and sequence plant parts on folded construction paper.

Assessment: Folded construction paper sequence of all the parts of a plant.

Objective: Students will be introduced to the plant life cycle.

Description: Read book and discuss the life cycle.

Assessment: Written sequence of events from the story.

Objective: Students will be able to identify the life cycle process.

Description: Using Kidspiration create the life cycle of a flower and then have students cut out and create their own life cycle of a flower using a paper plate.

Assessment: Paper plate life cycle.

Objective: Review all material from the unit.

Description: Powerpoint Jeopardy game will be played whole group using the smartboard.

Assessment: Informal Observations.

Printed Resources

• Clyde Robin Seed Company Catalog
• Better Homes and Garden Magazine
• Flower and Garden Magazine
• Computer and CD-ROM Resources
• FLOWERscape, Voudette Inc.
• Garden Series 1 and 2, Spring Brings Changes, A World of Plants, Learning About Science: Flowers, Hooray For Plants (from the Educational Software Institute)

Internet Resources

• Books on tape that explore the unit’s content

• National Gardening Association 800-538-7476
• Carolina Biological Supply 800-334-5551
• Children’s Garden 415-987-0097
• Green Teacher 416-960-1244
• Earth Day in Your School and Community 816-756-5686

• Flowers: Investigate the Colorful World of Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds by David Burnie
• What’s Inside Plants? by Anita Ganeri
• Growing Things by Ting and Neil Morris
• A Flower Grows by Kin Robbins
• Don’t Tell the Scarecrow and Other Japanese Poems by Issa
• Everything Grows Album and Songbook by Raffi
• Anna’s Garden Songs by Mary Q. Steele
• Life and times of the Peanut by Charles Micucci
• New Junior Garden Book by Felder Rushing
• Plant (Eyewitness Books)
• A Walk in the Rainforest by Kristin Joy Pratt
• Green Thumbs by Laurie Carlson
• The Life and Times of the Apple by Charles Micucci
• The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller
• A Seed Grows by Pamela Hickman
• A Weed is a Flower by Aliki