Plants: More Than Meets the Eye! Plus, a Plant Freebie!

Hi, Teaching Friends!

It's the wonderful season for growing plants again! Chances are, you'll be doing some planting in your classroom this spring, so I'd like to share some helpful resources I've come across, plus a freebie, too!

Many of our students may have little or no experience with growing plants, so they think it's kind of magic. You put a seed in soil, water it, and - poof! - a plant appears on the surface of the soil! We tell them about roots, and show them pictures, but seeing is believing. That's why I love planting projects that have visible root activity, like these ideas from Pinterest. They really give students the big picture of plants!

The first planting project has a bean seed in a plastic CD case. {You can click on any of these images to see them at Pinterest.}

One of the best visuals I've come across for watching root growth (short of the real thing, of course!) is this amazing video of the growth of radish seeds - time lapse photography over a nine day period. I love how the kids can see that action is happening beneath the ground before anything is visible on the surface. Sorry I can't get the video to embed, but if you click on the pic, it will take you directly to the pin on my First Grade Science board.

If you're planting with your class, stop by my Tpt store to download this newly listed freebie! It includes a class graph to compare germination times, a survey, and a template for persuasive writing.
Just in time to complement your own spring planting projects!

These plant activities are part of 1st and 2nd Grade Science ~ Data Collection and Writing Activities for Eight Science Themes . Click on the picture to see it at my TpT store!

Happy Teaching!

Easy Plant Project for Your Classroom

Do you teach a science unit on plants in the spring? Here's a way to help review the work and words of scientists (observe, predict, data, conclude) and also build some prior knowledge with your students about the needs of plants. You can easily squeeze in some writing and math with this project, too! Grow one of these big, beautiful amaryllis plants!

The boxed bulbs are still in stores, and mostly marked down now. They come in red, white, and pink. Personally, I love the red ones for a punch of lively color in your classroom, and because they become part of the Valentines Day celebration when they bloom! When you buy yours, take a peek in the box to find one with minimal sprouting, so there'll be more action for your students to observe.

Everything you need to get started is right in the box: bulb, pot, and soil disk. The hardened little disk needs soaking to get started, and boy, is that ever a cool and amazing high-interest thing for the kiddos. It also involves some math (measure the water, watch the clock...).

Follow the directions on the box, put it in a sunny spot, and stand back! These plants grow amazingly fast, which is part of what makes them so interesting to grow with your class.

Here are some of the other learning opportunities:

* Have your students make journals to record their observations. This could be included in your writing center during the time you have the amaryllis in your classroom. Look below for a journal cover and word list. Print them back-to-back, staple with half-sheets of picture/story paper - voila - instant Scientist's Observation Journal! By the way, we brainstormed the words for writing, and did a shared writing of a chart list before I transferred them to the word lists for their journals.

* Keep an ongoing, dated record of growth to support the student journal writing. As you see in the picture, there was a good amount of shared writing going on! Also measuring, naturally!

* One year, we grew 2 plants side by side, which led to a whole slew of other learning, including lots of comparative word problems. "How much taller is Plant A than Plant B? ", etc.

* Even the word amaryllis was a learning experience: "Look, Mrs. Nelson! It's the /ar/ chunk!";  "I see is!" ; "I see am!"  :)

Click the picture for journal cover and word list for writing.

Do you have a favorite plant project that you'd like to share? Please leave a comment! Thanks!

                                                                                                     Linda