welcome to The First Grade In the Living Classroom Learning Lab!
Welcome to our First Grade Nature Curriculum! If you have any issues registering or would like to talk directly with someone please reach out to us at 503-770-0860 9-5 Pacific Time or by email to info@livingclassroomlearninglab.org
First Grade
Each unit has a Teacher Resource Menu With Information About the Lessons:
The purpose of each lesson, Materials Needed, Advanced Prep, The Standards Each Address, as well as other information.
we Suggest you Familiarize Yourself with this first, then proceed to the lesson content contained in The lesson tabs.
A link to the PDF of the original lessons are Available in the left column of the lesson windows for Reference.
First Grade
fALL UNITS
Harvesting in the Vegetable Garden
Purpose of this Lesson:
This lesson is the fourth in a series of lessons that will develop the children’s understanding of how a seed grows into a plant that produces a vegetable that can be given or brought to a family’s dinner table. When the children come out to harvest their vegetables, they will see how
the small plants and seeds they planted in the Vegetable Garden during the spring of Kindergarten have grown. Their eyes open wide as they are surprised to see how some of their vegetables have grown down in the ground. They love to dig to find the potatoes!
The children help collect the harvest and then wash and pack it to be delivered to the Local Food Pantry. The children learn that they will be helping people who do not have enough food receive fresh organic food to take home for their family’s meals. They will also realize how the
vegetables they have at dinner came to their table.
While the children are collecting their vegetables, the teachers will cut open one of the harvested peppers. There they will find all the seeds the plant has produced to continue its own propagation. The life cycle of a seed is complete: Seed to plant to flower to seed.
The essential question these first graders will be able to answer is How do vegetables get to my dinner table?
Advanced Teacher Preparation: (10 minutes)
- Request parent volunteers for activities #1 and #2.
- Contact the Local Food Pantry to make sure they can accept the harvest and schedule a field trip for after the day of harvesting to deliver the children’s harvest.
Materials Needed:
- grocery bags to collect vegetables
- small hand trowels
- scissors
- sharp knife to be used by an adult to cut the cabbage
- Books:
- How Groundhog’s Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry
- Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole
- The Greatest Power by Demi
- Books:
- Printable Materials attached:
- Page #3 - Seed Tape Journal: Our Planting Experiment
- Page #4 - Seed Tape Journal
- Page #5 - Seed Tape Journal
- Last Page of “Seed to Seedling” Journal
- Journey of a Seed: Overall Sequence for Teacher
- Cut Outs for Journey of a Seed to Table #1, 2, 3
- Image of the Kitchen Garden at George Washington’s Mount Vernon
- Printable Materials attached:
- Videos:
- How Groundhog’s Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry
- Videos:
Sequence of Lessons Showing the Life Cycle of a Seed:
Kindergarten:
Seed to Seedling in the Kindergarten Classroom:
This lesson is the beginning of a series of three Kindergarten lessons and one first grade lesson that will show how a seed grows and produces a vegetable or fruit that comes to the child’s dinner table.
Essential Questions: Where do we get seeds? and What does a seed need to grow?
Children watch vegetable seeds grow in the classroom if they are given water and light.
Making a Seed Tape:
Essential Question: What is the best way to plant our seeds?
Children learn that vegetables also need the right amount of space to grow.
Planting in the Vegetable Garden:
Essential Question: Now that our plants are growing in the garden, how will our plants receive the basic needs that they must have to grow?
Children plant vegetable seedlings and seed tapes in the Vegetable Garden.
First Grade:
Harvesting in the Vegetable Garden:
Essential Questions: How do vegetables get to my dinner table? Are the seeds I find in these vegetables I am harvesting the ones that could be planted next Spring?
Children pick the vegetables that they have grown from seed. As the vegetables go on to the food pantry, the children will observe how food gets to a dinner table.
Length of Lesson:
Activity #1: Journals & Carrot Harvesting (45 min)
Activity #2: Full Harvesting (45 min)
Activity #3: Field Trip to Local Food Pantry (60 min)
Activity #4: Sequencing the Journey of a Seed to a Table (40 min)
Vocabulary:
All of these words are in the book How Groundhog’s Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry.
compost: a mixture that consists largely of decayed organic matter and is used for fertilizing and conditioning land. Compost is usually made by gathering plant material, such as leaves, grass clippings and vegetable peels into a pile or bin and letting it decompose as a result of the action of
aerobic bacteria, fungi, other organisms.
fertilize: to make (soil, land, etc.) richer and better able to support plant growth by adding chemicals or a natural substance (such as compost)
perennial: living for several years or for many years; having a life cycle that is more than two years long; existing or continuing in the same way for a long time.
transplant: to remove from one place and introduce elsewhere; relocate
pollination: the transfer of pollen from one flower to another
Background Information:
In the Spring of their Kindergarten year, the children planted vegetables in the Vegetable Garden. Throughout the summer, the vegetables grow and by the time the children return to school as first graders, it is time to harvest all their vegetables. Throughout this process, the children understand how vegetables grow. By delivering their harvest themselves to the food pantry, they see and understand the entire process of how
vegetables come to us from seed, to plant, to fruit, to store, and finally to their dinner table.
Before Harvesting Day, all first graders need to be able to observe the carrot experiment they created and planted last Spring. The purpose of the experiment is to see what is the best way to plant carrots:
- in a seed tape
- by hand in a furrow
- 3 seeds in a hole
They will observe the results. If all went well over the summer and nothing befell the carrots like being eaten by bunnies or the carrots already have been picked, the experiment should show that the carrots need space to grow best. The seed tape should have the best result.
Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
Disciplinary Core Ideas in the Next Generation Science Standards:
www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards
1-LS1-1 Structure and Function
Plants have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits that help them survive and
grow.
LS2.A Independent Relationships in Ecosystems
Plants acquire material for growth chiefly from air, water, and process matter and
obtain energy from sunlight, which is used to maintain conditions necessary for survival.
K-LS1-1The Needs of Living Things
Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to
survive.
Plants depend on water and light to grow.
1-LS3-1 Inheritance of Traits
Plants are very much, but not exactly, like their parents.
Understandings about the Nature of Science in the Next Generation Science Standards for K-2:
Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World Science Is a Way of Knowing
Scientists study the natural and material world.
Science knowledge helps us know about the world.
Science investigations begin with a question.
Scientists use different ways to study the world.
Scientists use drawings, sketches, and models as a way to communicate ideas.
Lesson
Essential questions are:
~What is the best way to plant seeds?
~Are the seeds I find in these vegetables I am harvesting the ones that could be planted next
Spring?
~How do vegetables get to my dinner table?
The objective is for the children to know and be able to verbalize that from the seeds and
seedlings that they planted came these wonderful vegetables that can go right on a dinner
table and to realize all plants need space from the results of their carrot experiment.
vIDEO COMING SOON
Remind children about their Making a Seed Tape Experiment from last Spring when they were in Kindergarten. Talk about the three ways they planted their carrot seeds; in a seed tape, in a furrow and three in a hole.
If you do not have the Kindergarten is Growing journals from last year go to Our Planting Experiment and review the children’s predictions of which way they thought would grow the best vegetable. If you do not have the journals, then print Page #3 – Seed Tape Journal: Our Planting Experiment and have them take their best guess now.
Read and discuss: Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole
With their journal pages titled Seed Tape Journal Page #4 & #5, bring the first graders out to look at their carrot experiments that they designed and planted in the Spring. They will observe the growth of the carrots grown in three ways and write about the end result of their experiment. If all went well over the summer and nothing befell the carrots, like being eaten by bunnies or the carrots already have been picked, the experiment should show that the seed tape has the best result because the carrots should be the largest. Carrots need space to grow best. But with science experiments, the outcome may not always be as expected. While the children are there, have them complete pages 4 and 5 in their journal by drawing what their grown carrots look like and describe why they measured between each seed.
“Open your journals to page 4. As you are looking at the experiment, draw a picture of your carrots that grew in the seed tape. Then draw a picture of your carrots grown in the furrow and your carrots that were planted with three seeds in each whole. Circle what you now think is the best way to grow carrot seeds. Tell why you think you measured between each seed.”
“Are you wondering about anything else?”
If you have volunteers, have them read books to the children while one group harvest with the teacher. In the absence of volunteers, children can read or look at books while the other group harvests.
- Divide equally the amount of vegetables each classroom can pick.
- Save a pepper so you are able to cut it open to show the children the seeds that will be saved to grow the peppers next Spring.
- If The Three Sisters were planted, then the corn, beans, and pumpkins are to be picked by the third grade.
Bring to the vegetable garden:
- scissors
- small hand trowels
- baskets and grocery bags to hold vegetables
During the lesson in the vegetable garden help the children with the harvest by showing them how to pick the vegetables:
- carrots, beets, onions, radishes and celery are pulled from the ground
- peppers, cucumbers, peas, beans, pumpkins, blueberries, goji berries and watermelon are picked or cut from the vine
- lettuce, spinach, kale and Swiss Chard are cut about an inch above the stem leaving some of the plant there to regrow
- potatoes need to be dug up
- cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower can be twisted and the stem cut
- herbs: arugula, mint, parsley and chive leaves are picked
- save a pepper so it can be cut to show the seeds that will be planted next Spring to make more peppers
The children will be excited to see how their vegetables have grown, so we cannot expect very quiet voices upon their discoveries. That is okay.
“Can you name some of the vegetables you harvested today?”
”What part of the plant do we eat?”
Example:
- lettuce = leaves
- potatoes = roots (special roots called tubers)
- peppers, strawberries and tomatoes = fruit
“Do you know what helped make these vegetables grow so well?”
“Are there any vegetables here that we cannot pick and put in our bag? What has happened to them?“
“What vegetable is your favorite? Is it planted here? If it is not here, you could suggest that it be planted next year.”
“Would you have any suggestions that would help our vegetable garden next year?”
“Did you eat a plant today?”
“I brought a pepper in from your harvest that I am going to cut open now. Come and see what is inside here.”
“Look at all of those seeds. Do you have an idea why they are here?”
“Yes. You are so right. They do look like the seeds that you planted last Spring.
You are also correct in your thinking. This is how plants reproduce. They make their own seeds so they can continue to grow more peppers.”
“Let’s review what you have done with seeds from Kindergarten to now. You planted a seed. It grew. It produced a vegetable. You picked it to be able to eat it. Now, you see that your vegetable has seeds to save for the Kindergarteners to plant. It is amazing!”
Read and Discuss: How Groundhog’s Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry
“How does a vegetable come to your dinner table?”
Wash the harvest and pack it for delivery to the Local Food Pantry.
If the Food Pantry is within walking distance, walk to the Food Pantry by forming a wagon brigade to carry the harvest. Have the children carry the harvest in, and deliver it to the volunteers. Have the volunteers give a tour and explain how the pantry serves the local community.
“There is something else I hope you can tell me. Do you think there maybe some people involved in getting your food to you?”
Share ideas.
Watch:
- The Farmer / Driscoll’s One Family
- Driscoll Brands – Idaho Potatoes
“Now that we have watched these videos, let’s see if we can put together the sequence of how a vegetable comes to our dinner table. I have these pictures of different farm scenes. Which picture would come first?…and second?…and on to the end, which would be our dinner table.”
Randomly place the cut-out pictures on the board to sequence the journey of the seed at the farm to the market and to your dinner table.
“I believe that now we can complete the page of our Kindergarten Is Growing journal entitled ‘How My Vegetable Grew and Came to Someone’s Dinner Table.’ “
Complete the Last Page of “Seed to Seedling” Journal: How My Vegetable Grew and Came to Someone’s Dinner Table.
Read and Discuss: The Greatest Power by Demi
“Thank you, children, for being such fantastic observers and listeners who are so willing to share their discoveries. Whenever you are here in our Living Classroom Learning Lab, remember to watch and listen silently and you will surely come to know some of the secrets that are hiding here.”
Nature Detective
Purpose of this Lesson:
Being able to sit quietly and observe everything around one’s self is an important
skill in learning about nature. As the children progress through the activities in our
Living Classroom Learning Lab, they will need to use their senses of sight, sound,
smell and touch to understand the plants and animals that make their home there.
The purpose of this lesson is for the children to deepen their observation skills by
exploring nature more closely as they find treasures in the Living Classroom to
look at under a microscope. A question to discuss is: What makes on object become
a special treasure?
We want the children to become explorers of their natural world. As they
experience this world, they will come to know how intricate it is and how
miraculous it is to see and understand the relationship between the plants and
animals in their world. They need to ask themselves how they are connected to the
plants and animals. They need to begin to know that they have a responsibility to
help preserve this world because they are the ones who need to care for it now and
in the future especially with the environmental challenges of habitat loss and
climate change. We want them to know that theirs is a beautiful planet that needs
their care.
“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder…he needs the
companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the
joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.”
- Rachel Carson 1962 Silent Spring
“We need to be very careful about how we define nature. In order to not to steel it
from our children, we have to do two things. First, we cannot define nature as that
which is untouched…nature has not been untouched for thousands of years. And it
excludes most of the nature that most people can visit and have a relationship with,
including only nature that children cannot touch. Which brings me to the second
thing we have to do which is that we have to let children touch nature. Because
that which is untouched, is unloved… The only way we are going to raise up a
generation of people who care about nature is by letting them touch nature.”
- Emma Marris
Advanced Teacher Preparation:(10 minutes)
- Request volunteers for this lesson
- Print materials for children, teacher and volunteers
- Tie string in a circle for each child
Materials Needed:
- hand lenses
- microscopes
- clip boards
- pencils
- string tied in a circle for each child to sit in
- Printable Materials
- Using My Senses
- Questions
- Describing Words
- My Special Treasure
- Nature Detective Badges
- Books:
- Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor & Peter Parnell
- Tiny Perfect Things by M. H. Clark
- If You Find A Rock by Peggy Christian
- Float by Daniel Miyares
- 10 Zeiss Pre-Moistened Lens Cleaning Wipes to clean microscope lenses
- paper towels to wipe the microscope tubes
- scissors
- tape or safety pins for each child
Sequence of Activities in the Nature Detective Lessons:
Kindergarten
Essential Question: What is Nature?
Objective: Children use their senses to record sensory words and compose a free
verse poem.
First Grade
For the teacher: TED Talk by Emma Marris Nature is Everywhere - we just need to learn to see it
https://www.ted.com/talks/emma_marris_nature_is_everywhere_we_just_need_to_learn_to_see_it
Essential Question: What makes an object become a special treasure?
Children use their senses to observe, use sensory words in writing and develop an
appreciation of nature.
Second Grade
Essential Question: Do all animals have a unique sound? Do all humans have a
unique sound?
Children use their sense of hearing to compare the day sounds of the Living
Classroom to the night sounds of their backyards.
Third Grade
Essential Question: What is a decomposer and why are they important?
Children compose a paragraph describing this importance which they will add to a
poster illustrating the significance of these organisms.
Fourth Grade
Essential Question: What adaptations does this plant make to ensure its survival?
Children design their own mega plant which would be able to grow and be
sustained for countless years.
Fifth Graders
Essential Question: What is Nature?
Children reflect on their first answer in kindergarten and write a poetic diamante.
Length of Lesson: 30(minutes)
Activity #1: Observation (45 min)
Activity #2: Writing & Nature Detective Badge (45 min)
Background Information:
It is stated in the Next Generation Science Standards, Appendix H, that “science is
a way of explaining the natural world….students should develop an understanding
of the enterprise of science as a whole - the wondering, investigating, questioning,
data collecting, and analyzing.” While sitting in the Living Classroom Learning
Lab, which is all around you outside, children will take the first steps to become
Nature Detectives - observers of their natural world. Children can begin to
understand how important observation is in knowing the environment that
surrounds them in their study of nature.
Reflecting on and discovering how things work in the natural world has shown
how many of our modern inventions came to be. From observing:
- the flight of birds came airplanes
- the beaks of birds came the bullet train
- the strength of spider’s silk came strong medical tape
- how whales submerged came the submarine
- how burrs stick came velcro
- how bats fly and dolphins swim came sonar
- how ducks swim with their webbed feet came flippers
- how termites build their structure and beavers build dams came basics in
architecture - how nocturnal animals can see at night came night vision
- how things fall came the Law of Gravitational Force
We need to become Nature Detectives!
Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
Science and Engineering Practices in the Next Generation Science Standards:
www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards
Understandings about the Nature of Science
Science is a way of knowing.
Science knowledge helps us know about the world.
Science addresses questions about the natural and material world.
Scientists study the natural and material world.
Scientists search for cause and effect relationships to explain natural events.
Scientists use drawings, sketches, and models as a way to communicate ideas.
Scientists ask Questions and Define Problems
District 181 Science Standards
K.SC.1.3 Make observations and gather information using the senses.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they
name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of
closure.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.5
With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and
suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.7
Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of "howto" books on a given topic and use them to write a sequence of instructions).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.8
With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or
gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
Comprehension and Collaboration:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.1
Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1
topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.3
Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional
information or clarify something that is not understood.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.4
Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas
and feelings clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.5
Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify
ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.6
Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.
Conventions of Standard English:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage
when writing or speaking.
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.6
Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to,
and responding to texts, including using frequently occurring conjunctions to
signal simple relationships (e.g., because).
Lesson
The Essential Question is: “What makes on object become a special treasure?”
The Objective is for the children to use their senses to find something that is
special to them while observing nature in the Living Classroom and describe
their “special treasure” with sensory words in a paragraph.
VIDEO COMING SOON
“Have you ever been walking along and you see a stone that you bend over and pick up? Has it become your special stone?”
Share ideas.
“I have a book here that describes how the author found something special. Let’s read it.”
Read or watch and discuss: Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor & Peter Parnell
“Today you are going to be able to go out to find a special treasure in a small plot of the Living Classroom, which is all around you outside. Your treasure will have to be pretty small.”
“Remember we are always trying to be Nature Detectives while we are out searching in the Living Classroom. Whenever you are in the Living Classroom, you can sharpen your observation skills and use all your senses to observe how nature works. You are going to describe a special treasure you find in the Living Classroom. Observing how things work in the natural world has resulted in many modern inventions! From observing:
- the flight of birds came airplanes
- the beaks of birds came the bullet train
- the strength of spider’s silk came strong medical tape
- how whales submerged came the submarine
- how burrs stick came velcro
- how bats fly and dolphins swim came sonar
- how ducks swim with their webbed feet came flippers
- how termites build their structure and beavers build dams came basics in architecture
- how nocturnal animals can see at night came night vision
- how things fall came the Law of Gravitational Force
We need to become Nature Detectives!”
“What are our five senses? Yes! We need to open up all our senses and observe with our sight, our touch, our hearing, and our smell in order to
experience the magic and mystery that the plants and animals who reside here already know. Let’s pick up our clip boards, pencils, string and hand lenses and follow me out to the Living Classroom Learning Lab. I want you to sit inside your circle of string and observe that circle of special space. As we go out, walk lightly and be silent, and maybe we will see some of the animals that live here.”
Pass out a Using My Senses sheet, string tied in a circle, clipboard, pencil and hand lens to each child. Walk outside to an open, wild space or your existing garden. If you have volunteers assign them to groups of children. Adults should guide the children with the additional questions and describing words once they find their special treasure.
“I will be sending you out for your investigation. You will listen for the noises of nature that the animals and plants make. Use your sense of smell to detect any odors that are there, and use your sense of touch to feel the leaves, bark, or ground. Look closely at the ground and then look even more closely. Look for something very special where you are. Look for something you would like to keep and make a special treasure. When you find it, carefully pick it up without anyone seeing it, because when we come back into the room, we are going to play a little game. I will describe the game when we get back to the classroom.”
Once children find their special treasure, children should begin completing their
Using My Senses sheet to describe their special treasure.
Back inside, each child will place their “treasure” under the microscope and describe it to their partner. Their partner will try to guess what the special treasure is by the child’s description. Repeat this activity with the other child in this partnership. If a child is sick or has an eye infections, they should not use the microscope. Afterwards, microscopes need to be cleaned with Zeiss Pre-Moistened Lens Cleaning Wipes and a damp paper towel for the tube.
Afterward, gather the children around and allow time for the children to share some of their observations from the entire lesson.
“I would like you to share some of your observations. Listen carefully to one another and let us know when you have seen, heard, felt, or smelled something that no one else has mentioned.”
Read and Discuss: Tiny Perfect Things by M. H. Clark
“Now that you each have a special treasure, let’s find out what has made that object special for you.”
Allow time for sharing their ideas about treasures.
To strengthen the children’s describing abilities, the children will complete a paragraph describing their special treasure using sensory words. Teacher models how to complete My Special Treasure by using the information from the Using My Senses thinking map.
As they finish their writing, present a Nature Detective Badge to each child. Print one for each child and have them cut it out and tape or safety pin it on!
“Thank you, children, for being such fantastic observers and listeners who are so willing to share your discoveries. You are becoming Nature Detectives!
Whenever you are here in our Living Classroom Learning Lab, which is all around you outside, remember to watch and listen silently and you will surely come to know some of the secrets that are hiding here.”
Ecosystems Study #3 The Producers
Purpose of this Lesson:
Materials Needed:
- Printed Materials (attached):
- Label the Process of Photosynthesis
- Answers for Photosynthesis Worksheet
- Mouse Eating a Plant from Pass the Energy, Please! by Barbara Shaw McKinney
- What Is a Food Chain?
- Ecosystem Circle: Producer
- My Special Producer
- Plants and their Purpose #1
- Plants and their Purpose #2
- celery stalk, a glass or transparent plastic cup and blue dye
- Examples of plants - Some of these plants may have to be bought at a nursery and when the lesson is finished, can be planted in the Living Classroom. These plants can be brought in from the Living Classroom and replanted there after this lesson completed with the exception of the evergreen.
- small evergreen
- pepper plant
- milkweed plant
- small grass (Little Blue Stem)
- flowering plant (snap dragon or zinnia)
- duck weed from the pond
- pencils or colored pencils
- clip boards
- Book:
- The Mysterious Marching Vegetables by Barbara Tharp, Judith Dresden, James Denk and Nancy Moreno
- Videos:
- Photosynthesis for Kids | Learn how plants MAKE their own food
- Fabulous Food Chains: Crash Course Kids #7.1
- Bill Nye the Science Guy: Plants
Length of Lesson:
Activity #2: Nature Walk (45 min)
Activity #3: My Special Producer (45 min)
Background Information:
In the Ecosystem Study #1 lesson, first graders learned that all living things need energy to live and to grow. Therefore, the questions for the first graders in this lesson are: Where do plants get their energy? and How do plants eat?
We get energy from the food we eat. Energy helps maintain all physical bodies and helps the external activities of all living things. Plants receive their energy from the sun. Then with the help of water that contains vital nutrients that are needed by the plant, the plant grows. Animals receive their energy from the plants. When animals or humans eat plants and animals, that energy is passed on to them. As living things die and decompose, invertebrates, fungus and bacteria convert the decaying matter back into nutrients for the plants so the process can begin again. This is the cycle of life!
We illustrate this process by creating a food chain. A food chain will show how energy is passed from one living thing to another. A chain is composed of links. In this first grade lesson, the Sun will send its energy to all the plants of the world which are the first link in the food chain, the Producers. Second and third grade will go on to learn about the second and third links in the food chain which are the consumers and decomposers.
Prior to a nature walk in the gardens, discuss the types of plants that you have in your Living Classroom which are: plants that make vegetables so we have something to eat; plants that make flowers so bees may make honey; and plants that are grasses so birds have seeds to eat. Then take a nature walk to become familiar with the gardens and plants growing in each ecosystem. Before returning to the classroom, each child will pick out a plant, a producer, draw it in the middle of its ecosystem circle and using words or pictures describe the non-living and living parts of the ecosystem where their plant lives.
Upon returning to the classroom, the children tell each other about their special producer in its ecosystem. To help embed the function of a producer, the children will complete a sentence telling the type of plant they drew and its purpose.
For the Teacher: TEDtalk
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim | Humble Plants that Hide Surprising Secrets
From the isolated islands and regions of Africa comes the “brume de l’ile plate”
which might offer a new treatment for asthma and the iconic baobab tree which
could hold the key to the future of food.
Time of Year:
Purpose of the Curriculum:
Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards
LS1.A: Structure and Function
All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place and seek, find and take in food, water and air. Plants have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow. (1-LS1-1)
LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
All animals need food in order to live and grow. They obtain their food from plants or from other animals. Plants need water and light to live and grow. (K-LS1-1)
K-ESS3-1ESS3.A: Natural Resources
Living things need water, air and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do. (K-ESS3-1)
PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
The energy released [from] food was once energy from the sun that was captured by plants in the chemical process that forms plant matter (from air and water). (5-PS3-1)
Connections to the Nature of Science:
Science Is a Way of Knowing.
Science knowledge helps us know about the world.
Scientists study the natural and material world.
Science investigations begin with a question.
Scientists use different ways to study the world.
Scientists use drawings, sketches and models as a way to communicate ideas.
District 181 Science Standards
2.SC.2.1 Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow (one variable at a time).
Advanced Teacher Preparation:
- Request volunteers for Activity #2: Nature Walk
- Print materials
- Bring in live examples of plants and label them with their common name and their purpose. If samples are unattainable, use images in printed materials.
- small evergreen - does not lose its leaves in winter and is a good place for birds to make nests
- a vegetable plant (a pepper plant) - food for people and animals
- a milkweed plant - helps butterflies reproduce
- a flower plant (a snap dragon or zinnia) - produces flowers and has pollen for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds
- a small grass (Little Blue Stem) - seeds for birds
- duck weed from the pond - acts as a water filter (cleans the water) and is a food for the animals in the pond
- Bring in a celery stalk, a glass or transparent plastic cup and blue dye
Vocabulary:
abiotic: non-living
producer: the first living part of the food chain that is the food source for animals …a person or thing that makes or causes something
ecosystem: a community of plants, animals and smaller organisms that live, feed, reproduce and interact in the same area or environment
Environment: the natural world - everything that surrounds someone or something
food chain: a feeding chain which shows how food energy is passed from one organism to another
grass: any plant of the family Gramineae, having jointed stems, sheathing leaves and seed like grains
photosynthesis:the process by which plants make their own food using carbon dioxide, water and sunlight
carbon dioxide:(CO2), a colorless gas and a minor component of Earth’s atmosphere, formed in respiration of animals and employed by plants in the photosynthesis of carbohydrates
osmosis: a passing of material and especially water through a membrane (as of a living cell) that will not allow all kinds of molecules to pass
Web of Life: a succession of organisms in an ecological community that are linked to each other through the transfer of energy and nutrients
glucose: a simple sugar which is an important energy source in living organisms and is a component of many carbohydrates
Lesson
The Essential Questions are: What are the basic needs of people, animals and plants? and Are the basic needs of people, animals and plants all the same?
The Objective is for the children to know the basic needs of people, animals and plants and to display their knowledge in an oral presentation of “The Basic Needs Chant,” completing an Our Basic Needs assessment and having a teacher led discussion about our basic needs and ecosystems.
“I have a question for all of you. Where do you get the energy to run, to jump and to think?”
Share ideas. Children will come up with food.
“Where does most of our food come from?”
Their first answer will most likely be the store. If you harvested vegetables in your vegetable garden ask:
“Before you answer, I would like you to think about what we harvested from the Vegetable Garden. You are right, we collected vegetables. What do all the vegetables grew on? Right again, plants! Did you know that plants produce almost all of the food we eat? Can we say that the plants we eat give us energy? What do you think?”
“Now where do you think plants get the energy to pass on to us? Remember our basic needs. What is the chant we learned? It is:
Our basic needs must be you see
for animals, plants, you and me
air, water, food, shelter, sunlight and space
and we need them all in one place.”
Share ideas.
“We decided that all living things need food to grow. How does a plant get food to grow? Tell the person next to you what you think. “
Share ideas.
”These are very good ideas.”
“Let’s watch a video that will help us out. It is going to tell us about a process that plants do to make their own food. Isn’t that amazing! Plants make their own food! Plants are the only thing on Earth that make their own food. The way they are able to do this is through a process that is called photosynthesis.”
Watch the video Photosynthesis for Kids | Learn how plants MAKE their own food
Pass out the Label the Process of Photosynthesis sheet.
“Now that we know how the plants make their own food, look at this diagram of a plant and see if you and your partner can tell the story of how the plant makes its own food and what the plant gives to us when it makes its own food. After you tell the story, label the parts of the diagram that are important.”
Conduct an experiment to show the process of osmosis which is how plants absorb water and minerals. Take a celery stalk, place it in a glass of water, add a few drops of blue dye and let the children watch it for a day or two. It will not take long for the celery to start turning blue and will demonstrate how water travels through a plant’s stem.
“There is a cycle called the Web of Life that says that all living things on our Earth are connected and they are linked together as energy and nutrients are passed through the food chain.”
Project the picture of the mouse eating grass.
“Let’s look at this picture. The mouse is eating the grass. The grass is a plant that has made its own food with the help of the sun, water, nutrients in the water and carbon dioxide from all of us.”
“The food which the plant has made is a sugar called glucose. As the mouse eats the grass, glucose is being passed to the mouse. The mouse now has food which gives him the energy to work, play and live. If something eats the mouse, then energy is passed on to it. This is the beginning of what we call ‘the food chain’. To help us visualize how this cycle works, here is an illustration of a food chain.
Project the picture of the food chain.
“This chain begins with the sun when energy in the form of sunlight comes from the sun down to the seeds in the ground. Water is added which allows the seeds to grow into many of the plants we eat. These plants are the first link in the chain and they are called the Producers which means they make something happen. The food chain goes on to describe what eats the plants and who or what eats the beings that eat the plants. When
things die and start decomposing, other beings recycle the nutrients and bring
them back into the soil, and thus plants, allowing the cycle to begin again. Here is a video to tell us about food chains.”
Watch Fabulous Food Chains: Crash Course Kids #7.1
“We are going on a nature walk to our Living Classroom Learning Lab to investigate all the different plants that we have there. Before we go, I would like to show you samples of some of the plants that you will see.”
For the children to understand why we have so many different plants, it is important for them to know that many plants have a different purpose other than to feed the Earth. Go through the samples of living plants emphasizing and discussing the different structures and leaves. Talk about the differences in the plants that we use for beauty and the plants that are vegetables or grasses.
- small evergreen – does not lose its leaves in winter and is a good place for birds to make nests and for animals to hide from predators
- a vegetable plant (pepper plant) – food for people and animals
- a milkweed plant – helps butterflies reproduce
- a flowering plant (snap dragon or zinnia) – produces beauty for our enjoyment and has pollen for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds
- a small grass (Little Blue Stem) – seeds for birds
- duck weed from the pond – acts as a water filter by cleaning the pond water and is food for the animals in the pond
“In a few minutes, we are going to take a guided Nature Walk through the Living Classroom Learning Lab to look at the plants that are growing there. We will be walking through the Butterfly Garden, the Prairie, the Pond and the Vegetable Garden. You will see many plants for sure. Each one of these gardens is a separate ecosystem. Each of these ecosystems has plants and animals that need to have all their basic needs met here. In addition to the living objects in an ecosystem, there also need to be non-living objects to complete the ecosystem.”
“When we finish our Nature Walk, you will go to one of the gardens, or ecosystems, to complete the ecosystem circle. In the outside circles of the ecosystem circle, draw pictures and write the words for all that you find that is living and all that is non-living. In the middle of your circle, draw the plant or plants that are the producers in your ecosystem.”
Remind the children of how to act in the Living Classroom Learning Lab and take them on a nature walk through the gardens, in a wild area or in an area where gardens will be established.
“Remember, if there are animals in the Living Classroom Learning Lab when we first get there, they may go away for a while, but if we step softly and have silent voices they may come back. We also need to keep our eyes and ears wide open.”
If you have an established Living Classroom
Learning Lab garden use this script as a tour of the area.
Hummingbird Garden is where the plants bring beauty to our world with their flowers. Most, but not all, of the flowers on the plants here are shaped in a “v” so the hummingbird can use its long beak to collect its food from this producer. The plants here give the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds food and help them to grow and reproduce.
Butterfly Garden is where butterflies, bees and birds abound. All the plants here enhance our Earth with their beautiful colors and shapes. Swamp milkweed and common milkweed are in this garden. These plants are a food for the butterfly and also a place for the butterfly to lay its eggs. While here, try to find the snap dragon. It is one of the smallest, closed up flowers that only a bee can climb into to pollinate. Both the Hummingbird and the Butterfly gardens are pollinating gardens. Look at the original Living Classroom Learning Lab Butterfly Garden on a Google map and you will see that it was built in the shape of a butterfly.
The Prairie is where the tallest and most unusual of our plants grow. Our Prairie has the tallest grass grown in the Prairie, Big Blue Stem. It also has the tallest flowering plant in the Prairie, Prairie Dock. All the plants in the Prairie are great examples of how plants can adapt to their environment. These grasses provide many seeds for birds and the flower heads also provide pollen for the bees and butterflies.
The Pond is where the smallest plant in the world, duck weed, 11 A Snap Dragon duckweed resides. It is one of the plants that helps to keep the water in the pond clean. It also is food for the animals in the pond. Usually in the middle of the pond are water lilies. The animals in the pond love to hide and cool themselves under the lilies’ large petal pads. Water Striders use the lily pads as jumping pads for their antics. The plants around the pond are there to beautify the pond area. There are many animals living in the pond and their presence or absence is an indicator of pond ecosystem health.
The Vegetable Garden plants are grown for food. Some of the vegetables grown here are cabbages, lettuces, carrots, onions, strawberries and peppers. There is a huge plant grown for both its beauty and seeds for the birds. It is the sunflower. Every spring, the kindergarten children plant the vegetables and then harvest them in September to take to the Food Pantry.
Once the Nature Walk has been completed, instruct the children to complete their ecosystem circle.
Ecosystem Circle: Producers Name: Producers Living (Biotic) Non-Living (Abiotic) The Sun “Now that we know more about the fabulous producers that we have in our Living Classroom, go to one of the gardens or ecosystems to complete the ecosystem circle. Find a plant that you would like to place in your ecosystem circle. In the outside circles of the ecosystem circle, draw pictures and write the words for all that you find that is living and all that is non-living around your producer. In the middle of your circle, draw the plant or plants that are the producers in your ecosystem and write your garden’s name where you found your producer.”
Read and discuss The Mysterious Marching Vegetables.
“There is a mystery! Where is the lettuce going? Our friends put on disguises and stay up all night to solve this mystery. The story incorporates information about plants, health, pesticides and pollution remedies.”
Bring the children together with their ecosystem circles and distribute My special producer is important because. Discuss the possible sentence endings.
Some answers could be:
- it gives food for all of us
- it beautifies the Earth
- it helps animals reproduce
- it helps animals hide in them and build
houses in them
Share when the children are done.
“Where did you find your producer?”
“How is it important?”
Watch & discuss: Bill Nye the Science Guy: Plants
“Now that we know what these plants do for us, is there something we should do for them?”
A Map of My Garden
Update in progress
Lesson
Essential Questions are:
~ Do all vegetables grow above the ground?
~ How does a map “key” help unlock the information on a map?
The Objective is for the children to learn that there are vegetables that grow under the ground, on the ground and above the ground while they are learning the purpose of a map “key” in completing their Map of My Garden.
“We have been learning a lot about the vegetables we are growing in the Vegetable Garden. We have grown vegetables in our classroom and have planted them outside. Today, I have a folktale for you about a hare and a bear who became business partners in growing a garden. “
“A folktale is a story that was usually told a long time ago when they say,’ It was a time when all the animals could talk.’ In a folktale, there is usually someone who is very big. In this case, it is the bear. And there is someone who is very small, who in our book, is the hare. In folktales, a problem usually appears and it is up to the smallest to use their brain and creativity to find the solution to the problem. The smallest outwits the biggest. Let’s read our story Tops and Bottoms. Janet Stevens is the author and the illustrator of this folktale. This folktale is a modern day folktale which means that it didn’t happen long ago, but rather just a short while ago. I’m wondering if it could have happened right in our Vegetable Garden with a raccoon and a hare, which is another word for bunny. As I read, be thinking about the problem in the story. Who finds a solution and how did they find it? Now for our story, Tops and Bottoms – a folktale for you about a hare and a bear who became business partners in growing a garden.“
Read Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens. When the story is finished, discuss with the children the different ways vegetables grow and the problem and solution in the folktale.
At this time bring out and read the other folktale, Why the Jackal Won’t Speak to the Hedgehog by Harold Berson and compare the two stories.
“Now that we have read ‘Why the Jackal Won’t Speak to the Hedgehog’ it seems to me to have come through time as an oral story from a long, long time ago that was probably told around the camp fire at night. What are some of the clues that tell us this?
Share ideas. Some may be clothing, buildings, tools, the animal characters, the country.
“The story ‘Why the Jackal Won’t Speak to the Hedgehog’ came from the country of Tunisia which is a rather small country located on the African continent sandwiched between Libya and Algeria right on the Mediterranean Sea.”
Locate Tunisia and the USA on the map.
“Looking on a map, the two countries are far apart. How do you think that could have happened that there are two stories so similar but are so far apart and one that was told a long, long time ago? These stories are identical in the ideas and
lesson they want to be known. Don’t you wonder how many more ‘Tops and Bottoms’ folktales are out in the world?”
After discussing the stories, pass out the sheets of A Map of My Garden, Symbol Cut Outs, and Vegetable Cut Outs.
“We are going to draw A Map of My Garden. Please cut out the photos of the four vegetables and all the geometric symbols. We will use all of these to make our map. Today, we will be learning about a map key and adding it to our map.”
Hold up the key and lock.
“What does a key do for a door? Good. It opens the door and lets us know what is inside. That is exactly what a map key also does. It opens up the map and tells us what the symbols are representing. Why do we need to have a map key? It explains how to read the map and tells about things that are on the map. On your map, the key will be most important.”
“We are going to have four vegetables in our garden. Instead of making a complicated drawing of each vegetable, we are going to make a special symbol for each vegetable we are going to plant.
an orange triangle = a carrot
a blue circle = a potato
a yellow square = corn
a green star = lettuce
Let’s put each of these symbols and what each symbol stands for in the map key.
These symbols can represent actual living things – our plants!”
Guide the children in completing the map key by writing name of the vegetable next to each symbol.
When the key is complete, the children can begin putting the vegetables on the line below the words A Map of My Garden. Before the children begin to put their pictures of the four vegetables on the line, discuss where each vegetable grows stating that the line is the dirt:
- the corn grows way above the line
- the potatoes grow below the line
- the carrots grow below the line
- the lettuce grows on the line Once the images are in place, put each vegetable’s symbol below it.
“Look at the single line under the words Map of My Garden. We are going to place the pictures of the four vegetables we have cut out on this line. We need to place them properly on this line that represents the dirt. Think about the carrot. Where does the part of the carrot we eat grow? That is right. The part of the carrot that we eat grows below the dirt and that part is orange. Where on the line will we place the carrot? Right again! The orange part of the carrot goes below the dirt line and the green part of the carrot goes above the dirt lines, so the middle of the carrot is on the line. Place the carrot on the line now.”
“What other vegetable grows like the carrot – part above the line and the vegetable that we eat grows below the line? Super! Potatoes! Place these on the line correctly.”
“The corn will go way above the line. And where does the lettuce go? That’s it! Right above the line.”
“Now it’s your turn! I would like you to put the symbol for each vegetable right under its picture.”
Now, the children should be ready to plant their garden. Remind them that when they planted in the vegetable garden, their seeds and plants were planted in straight rows. It is best to start the top row with the corn because its symbol the yellow square needs to be placed about an inch above the line. Map four vegetables to a row. Complete the first row and part of the next row with the children. Allow them to complete the remainder of My Garden on their own.
“It is time to plant My Garden. Each of the four lines under the words My Garden represent dirt. We are going to use each vegetables symbol to plant four of the same vegetable on each line. Let’s start with the four yellow squares that represent four corn plants. Place these four way above the dirt line. An ear of corn grows up high. Once the corn is pasted down, you can continue to complete My Garden by adding the remaining three corn symbols to that line. Four vegetables of the same kind should be on one line. Keep going with your next type of vegetable on the next line.”
When the children have completed their garden pictures, congratulate them on their beautiful gardens.
“Look at these gorgeous maps! What beautiful gardens! You have done a great job today.”
“Can you name some of the vegetables you harvested that grew below the ground On the ground? Above the ground?”
“Do we now know what the map key tells us?”
wINTER uNITS
Private Eye Observation
Purpose of this Lesson:
The purpose of the Living Classroom is for children to learn, through hands-on
experiences, the intricacies, interdependencies, and mysteries that exist in
nature. The lessons guide the children to understand the importance of being
caretakers of the Earth in order to preserve present and future ecosystems.
With the use of the Private Eye piece throughout this curriculum, children will
begin to: sharpen their observation skills, learn to express their thoughts, look
closely and differently at objects, think by analogy, and theorize.
Advanced Teacher Preparation: preparation time is about 20 minutes
Reserve a time for the lesson on the Google Calendar.
The classroom teacher may wish to obtain the volunteer parents for this lesson, or
the classroom teacher may ask our parent liaison to the Living Classroom to
obtain parents for the lesson.
Ask parents to bring in samples of leaves, flowers, moss - anything living
Materials Needed:
26 Private Eye loupes
Samples of objects to observe under the jeweler’s loupe are in the Private Eye Kit
Other examples to be used: leaves, flowers, rocks, moss, vegetables (to be
brought in by teacher and parent volunteers)
Original/laminated Private Eye recording sheet
Original/laminated hand out of describing words for parents
Original/laminated handout of questions for parent recorders to ask the children
they are with to elicit more responses form the children.
4 to 5 parent handouts that have been xeroxed, mounted back to back, laminated,
and placed on a ring
Presentation system to model the lesson
12 Zeiss Lens Cleaning Wipes to clean the loupes when the lesson is complete.
Length of Lesson: approximately 30 to 35 minutes
10 minutes for modeling the lesson
10 to 15 minutes for the children's observations to be recorded
5 to 10 minutes for sharing observations
Leadership:
The classroom teacher will teach this
lesson with the help of 3 parent volunteers to record
the children’s ideas.
Vocabulary:
loupe lo͞op/
a small magnifying glass used by jewelers and watchmakers
a simile — is a figure of speech in which things different in kind or quality are
compared by the use of the word like or as.
analogy — a comparison of two things based on their being alike in some way
“in focus” — clear
“out of focus” — blurry
Background Information:
The Private Eye piece, which is similar to a “jeweler’s loupe,” magnifies an object
5 times. Putting two of the eye pieces together will give a magnification of 10
times. As the children look through their “loupe," they will be asked to respond to
three questions: “What does it look like?”, “What does it remind you of?”, and
“What else can it be?”
Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
Science and Engineering Practices in the Next Generation Science Standards:
www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards
Asking Questions and Defining Problems and Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Lesson
Important: This was presented in kindergarten, but probably needs a review.
Introduce the concept of “in focus” and “out of focus”, or “blurry” versus “clear”. The best way to convey the clarity and sharpness with focus is to place and image like a picture of a face on an overhead projector or presentation system and move it in and out of focus until the children can orally recognize
which is “in focus” and which is “out of focus”.
You can show them the picture of where the loupe should be. The loupe should be held against the eye, and the object should be held about two inches away from the lens. They should be able to see the object in focus — very sharp and clear.
To begin the lesson, you will need to model what they will be doing. Place an object on the presentation system and ask:
“What does it look like?” or “Describe what you see.”
Elicit as many responses as possible. List of possible sight words: glassy, fluffy, furry, greasy, hairy, bumpy bubbly, dull, feathery, foamy, fuzzy, lacy, leathery, metallic, mushy, moist, oily, sandy, shaggy, shiny, silky, slimy, smooth, soft, spongy, tangled, velvety, tiny, large, gigantic, microscopic
“What does it remind you of? Describe what else it reminds you of”
You may have to begin by giving one or two of your own creative responses.
After a few minutes, bring out the Private Eye loupes. The children need to be the best observers that they can possibly be. Sometimes they can find something marvelous that no one else has seen just by opening up their eyes and thinking. Remind them to always use their imagination.
“You are going to use the Private Eye piece today. It makes objects look bigger. When that happens, you will be able to see different things. You will each get an object to look at with your Private Eye piece. Do you know there is an occupation known as a Private Eye? Does any one know what a Private Eye person does? A Private Eye looks and watches to find out unusual and interesting things about other people. Now, you can be a Private Eye to find new and interesting things about different objects. As you look through your loupe, describe your object in the first circle that says, “What does it look like?”. Think of as many words as you can that would describe your object to someone who could not see it.”
“Think about, “What does it remind you of?” or “Describe what else it reminds you of. Use your imagination on this question. You can whisper your ideas to a grown-up who will be able to write them down for you.”
“Now that we know what we are going to do, I am going to put you with a partner, and then I will give you a place to sit together. On the table, you will find a loupe and a recording sheet and I will give you an object to look at with your loupe. Remember to use your imagination and use whispering voices.”
Ask a parent to go with each group and write down all the children’s ideas. Ask them to write down the name of the child and the objects observed. Try to have the groups spread out as much as space allows. Have different objects for each child in the group.
Hand out to the parents a copy of the questions that they can use to help the children focus.
On the back side from the questions, there is a list of sight describing words.
“When you finish answering these questions, we are going to make something called a simile. A simile is something we use when we write and talk to describe something. We describe the object by comparing it to something that we know using the words like or as.”
Scavenger Hunt
Update in progress
Lesson
Even during winter’s coldest and snowiest days, nature never sleeps. Bundle up, bring your digital device, because it is time to take another quiet walk through the Living Classroom trying to find:
- a rabbit’s foot prints
- another set of animal tracks (maybe a raccoon’s or a deer’s)
- a solid form of water
- fallen leaves from three kinds of trees a tunnel in the snow
- red berries
- shaggy bark from a tree a human shoe foot print a large hole in a tree
- a feather
- a tree in the shape of a triangle
- an abandoned nest
- a pine cone
- a piece of trash
- a beautifully colored rock
- something no one else will find anything green
Show the children the materials:
- Seeds: Zinnias, Bee Balm (Monarda), English Daisy, Calendula, Lantana, Carnation, Mexican Sunflower
- Soil
- Bio Dome or Containers
- Popsicle stick for names of plants and children
“Last year in kindergarten, children, you may have grown vegetable plants and then went out to the Vegetable Garden and planted them there or in containers. You were able to watch them grow all summer long and then when you came back to school, you were able to harvest your vegetables. Now, you are first graders and we are going to do the same thing. This time we are going to germinate the seeds of flowers that will become flowering plants which we will take out to place in the Butterfly and Hummingbird Gardens. We are going to be planting Zinnia and Mexican Sunflower seeds.”
If you are using a bio dome:
“Here is the seed-starting kit that we are going to use to grow our plants. It is just like the one you used in kindergarten to plant your vegetables, so you do know how our seeds will grow. Once we plant our seeds, we will fill the bottom with water, and the dome will go on the tray. When everything is together, we will place the bio dome near a sunny window or under a grow light if one is available.”
If you are using other containers:
“Here are the containers that we are going to use to grow our plants. Once we plant our seeds, we will place our containers near a sunny window or under a grow light if one is available.”
“What is the substance in which we are planting our seeds?” “You are right – soil. Let’s plant your seeds!”
“I think you remember how to do it, so I will only go over the directions briefly.”
Show how to plant the seeds.
“Each one of you will plant a seed in one of the cells or containers.”
Give each child a craft stick to write their name on to place it in the spot with their seed.
“Our container will be we will be in a very warm place until we begin to see green little leaves poke up from the soil. Then we will be put your seedlings under a grow light, if it is available, to give them more light and warmth.”
“Once the first leaf grows on your plant, you will measure your seedling with unifix cubes and record how much it has grown in your new journal ‘First Grade Is Growing.’ Every five days you will measure and record. When it is time, you will transplant your plants into the Butterfly or Hummingbird Garden. You can come to visit the gardens all through the summer and watch your flowers grow. When you come back to school in the Fall, you will be in second grade. Then, you will collect the seeds your flowers have made and make them into seed balls to be put back into the gardens.”
“Do you remember from kindergarten what we found that a seed needs to germinate?”
Hopefully, the children will respond with water and light. The children may respond with food. In the Kindergarten Seeds to Seedlings lesson, we opened a Lima bean seed to find the food for the plant inside the seed. They may also include space which was discovered in the lesson Making a Seed Tape.
“Fantastic! Yes. Water and light. You have also remembered space and food. Where does it find its food?”
Project the image of the Inside of the Lima Bean Seed. You may want to chart their answers so you are able to know what they do recall.
“Now, I am going to ask you to go back to another lesson we have had where we found out the basic needs of all living things. We developed a chant which, if you have forgotten, I will say and then I’m sure you will remember it. The second time that I say it, we will say it all together.”
“It is:
Our basic needs must be you see
for animals, plants, you and me
air, water, food, shelter, sunlight,
and space and we need them all in one place.”
“Which one of the basic needs for all living things have we not investigated? Again, you are right. Shelter. Why or when would a plant need shelter?”
Charting their thoughts. If they are stumped, ask,
“Why are we starting our plants inside instead of outside?”
Some children may be familiar with greenhouses.
”Give me a thumbs up or down if you know what a greenhouse is. What is the function of a greenhouse?”
“We are starting our plants inside because it is not that warm out at night yet. If we planted them outside, we might have to cover them every night to protect them from frost. On your way home today, look real hard at the tops of the trees. You will see buds on them. Also look at the beds where flowers are planted and watch for the very green tips of plants pushing through the soil. Listen for the ducks and cranes honking in the sky. Their coming back is a sure sign Spring is coming. Watch for the spring flowers in stores and the spring flower wreaths on houses. These are all signs that it is about time to take our seedlings out to plant. Come to school and tell us when you hear or see these happenings. It will almost be time to take our plants outside. Hopefully, we have given our plants enough shelter.”
Pass out the children’s First Grade Is Growing journal.
“Here is your new journal where we will record the progress your plant makes as it is growing. This journal is very similar to the one you used in Kindergarten.
Please write your name on the first page and open to the second page.
Write the date we planted our seeds in the classroom which is .
Look at the first sentence. When will we measure our plants:
for the first time for the second time? for the third time?
We will continue to record all our experiments in our journal until we finally harvest our flowers to obtain seeds for the next planting time.”
After the seeds are planted, project the pictures of the Great Lakes Dunes and a Kelp Forest ecosystem.
“Looking at these two ecosystems, if we were to be there, would we be planting our seeds in soil? What do you think?”
“Of course not. What substances would we be using?”
“Yes, you are right. We would be planting in sand at the beach ecosystem, and we would be planting in water in the ocean ecosystem.”
“Do you think a seed could grow in sand? What is your best guess or hypothesis? Stand if you think that a seed could germinate in sand.”
“It seems that many of you are not sure.”
“Do you think a seed could germinate in water? What is your best guess – your prediction or hypothesis? Stand if you think that a seed could germinate in water.”
“It also seems that some of us are sure and some of us are not sure.”
“I think we could find the answer to this question by setting up an experiment which could help us answer the question: Can a seed germinate in soil, sand and water?”
Show the 3 containers.
Here are the test tubes or containers. We can fill one container with soil, one with sand and one with water. We could then plant a seed in each container and watch to see how all three seeds grow. There is our experiment.”
“Let’s set up the experiment to see what exactly will happen to both the plant stems and their roots.”
“In this experiment, what is the question we are trying to find out?”
Take the children’s ideas and guide them to:
“Excellent! You have come up with the best question: Can seeds germinate in soil, sand and water?”
Have 10 lima been seeds already germinating to show.
“For this experiment to begin, I have a some bean seeds. I chose bean seeds because they do not take long to germinate – only about 3 days after they have been soaked in a paper towel in the warm window.”
“Look at these seeds. They have the little green stem poking out of the seed. I will place one seed in each container.”
Plant a bean seed in each container. Demonstrate how to plant the seed. Hand out to each child:
- 3 seeds
- 3 containers
- Soil, sand and water for each container
- Permanent marker for name
“What else do we need to give our seeds to survive?”
“Our experiment is now set up. It will be fun to watch to see what will happen.”
Distribute the journal titled “My Soil, Sand & Water Experiment.” “Open your ‘Soil, Sand & Water Experiment’ journal to page 2.” “The question that we are trying to answer is Can
seeds germinate in soil, sand and water?”
“Under the question is your best guess, prediction or hypothesis. Circle the substances that you think seeds will grow in. You could circle one substance, two substances or all three substances.”
“After we put the seeds into each container, we
will watch to see if the plant grows. We will watch and measure the stem of the new plant. Going back to your journal, you are asked to predict if soil, sand, or water will grow the best bean plant. Write what you think will happen on the next line. We will not be able to put a final answer on the last line until we see the end of our experiment.”
“As our beans begin to grow, we will measure their progress. Turn to the next page in your journal to see where we will be charting our beans’ growth. Enter today’s date again where you see the line that says date all planted at the bottom of the page. Now, we can begin watching. We certainly have some exciting experiments to watch!”
“While we were planting I was talking to you about what plants need to survive. Can we remember what they are? I would like you to think and tell us if and how we will be able to supply those needs to our seedling plants.”
Have the children complete the basic needs page of their journal.
Note: On this page of the journal, the intent is to have the children draw what they imagine their plant will look like when grown and draw representations of the basic needs they have given their plant – for example: raindrops representing water and the sun representing light and energy.
When the first leaf appears on their control plants,
children will take their first measurement.
In their journal, First Grade Is Growing, have the
children place the date they planted their seeds.
Complete the pages describing how their seedling
grew as they measure their seedlings. The last
measurement is recorded before the seedlings are
transplanted into the garden in the Planting in the
Garden lesson.
Take measurements on the Sand & Water
experimental plants at the same time as the control plants.
Discuss the results of the Soil, Sand, and Water
experiments.
- Are the results what you thought they would be?
- Did you notice anything unusual as the
seeds were growing? - Do these results make you wonder about
something else? - Who do you think might be interested in
the results of this experiment?
Watch the video of a reading of the book Oh Say Can You Seed by Dr. Seuss.
Read aloud to the class A Seed Is Sleepy by Diana Hutts Aston & Sylvia Long Using the descriptive words in A Seed Is Sleepy, ask the children to interpret the words and phrases in dance.
Put a list of descriptive words and phrases from A Seed Is Sleepy on the board. Do these words and phrases describe themselves or other people they know? Using the words, describe someone. “I am sleepy when I wake up too early.”
Using the endpapers at the front and back of the book, ask the children to identify the seed with the plant.
SPRING UNITS
Seed To Seedling
Purpose of this Lesson:
Last year, the kindergarten children planted vegetables and fruits in the Vegetable Garden. Now as first graders, the children will replenish the Butterfly and Hummingbird Gardens with their seeds, plants, and seed tapes of flowers. The main purpose of this lesson is for the children to understand that plants can be grown in many different substances. Since this is a lesson designed for first graders, we will only consider three substances that can be used to germinate their seeds: soil, sand, and water. One of the questions that the children need to answer in this lesson is Can seeds germination in soil, sand, and water? In order to answer this question, a hydroponics lab will be set up. The lab consists of three tubes or containers. One will be filled with soil. Another will have sand and the other will have water. A seed from the same flower species will be placed in each tube and from there the children will observe to see if the seed can grow in all three substances.
In a first grade ecosystem lesson titled Ecosystem #1 - Living & Non-Living Review & The Basic Needs of All Living Things, the children discovered that the basic needs of animals and plants are the same. They all need air, water, food, shelter, sunlight, and space, and these all need to be in the same place.
In the first Kindergarten lesson, Seeds to Seedlings, the children found out that their plants needed water and light to grow. They saw in the Lima bean seed that a seed has its own food stored in the seed. In the Seed Tape lesson, they predicted that their seeds and plants will need the right amount of space to grow.
The basic need of a plant that has not been addressed in the Kindergarten planting lessons is shelter. This is the second purpose of this lesson with the question being When would a plant need shelter? The concept of shelter for a plant will be introduced with the idea of what would happen if we took our plants out to the Butterfly or Hummingbird Gardens without checking what the weather would be like for the next month. If the plants were in the garden and they were out and a frost occurred, then what would happen to our plants?
Since our growing season is shorter here than the states of California or Florida, many gardeners begin plants inside. Starting these plants indoors is a good way to have them ready to go outside when the weather is warm enough to transplant them in the Butterfly or Hummingbird Gardens.
"It is also a magical moment when the children first see the green tips of a seemingly lifeless seed bursting through the black dirt becoming a living plant. Their eyes light up and they want everyone to come and look at what is happening, beaming that they are partly responsible for this amazing occurrence."
Dannette "Danny" Riehle
Teacher Preparation: (15 minutes)
• Set p the Bio Dome (or similar) Seed Starting Kit.
• Check on the water level in the peat pots once a week and in each container
in the Soil, Sand & Water Experiment.
Materials Needed:
• picture of the Inside of a Lima Bean Seed
• picture of a greenhouse to prevent damage from frost
• containers - bio dome or a variety of containers could be used such as nursery flats or trays,
cardboard egg cartons, cut-down milk cartons, etc. One of the best containers to use is the
biodegradable peat pots which can be planted right in the ground when it is time to plant the
vegetables in the garden. Make sure that any container to be used has holes in the bottom for good
drainage.
• The container pictured here is a Bio Dome Seed Starting Kit. The kit has two trays. The top
tray holds all the individual pots. The bottom tray contains water which makes the kit self
watering. The children will plant a seed in each cup.
• a package of seeds that can be planted indoors:
Zinnias, Bee Balm (Monarda), English Daisy, Calendula, Lantana, Carnation, Mexican Sunflower
• These seeds need to be bought. They need to be marked Non-GMO,
Non-hybridized, organic or heirloom. Some companies have fiddled with seeds and now some seeds will
not grow at all or will revert back to an early variety.
• plant labels - the empty seed package on a craft stick
• permanent markers
• plate for the seeds
• 2 individual first grade journals “First Grade Is Growing” and “My Soil, Sand
& Water Experiment”
• chart paper to record growth
• Unifix cubes to measure the growth of seedlings
• pictures of a desert ecosystem and an ocean ecosystem
• one package of Lima beans
• Paper towel, plastic bag and water to soak Lima beans for demonstration
• A Seed Is Sleepy - book by Diana Hutts Aston & Sylvia Long - read the entire book especially
from the chapter A Seed Is Generous to the end of the book.
• Oh Say Can You Seed - a book by Dr. Seuss
• colored pencils
Sequence of Lessons Showing the Life Cycle of a Seed:
First Grade:
Seed to Seedling in the First-Grade Classroom:
This lesson is the beginning of a series of three first-grade lessons and one second- grade lesson that will show the life cycle of a flower seed.
Essential questions: Can seeds germinate in soil, sand, and water? and When
would a plant need shelter?
Children know that from the flower seed they plant in the soil in the classroom a plant will grow and continue to grow once it is transplanted, if they give it water and light.
Making a Seed Tape:
Essential Question: Do flowering plants need their own space to grow well?
Children know that a flowering plant needs the right amount of space to grow.
Planting in the Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden:
Essential Question: Why are flowers important?
Children will see the beauty they have added to the garden with their flowering plants as well as the food they will be providing for the pollinators of the gardens.
Length of Lesson:
The lesson totals 2 hours and 45 minutes:
Activity #1: Planting the Seeds (30 min)
Activity #2: Soil, Sand and Water Experiment (45 min)
Activity #3: Measuring & Journal Entries 1, 2 & (45 min each)
Activity #4: Read Aloud Books or Video (45 min)
Activity #4: First Journal Entry (45 min)
Activity #5: Second Journal Entry (20 min)
Activity #6: Final Journal Entry (30 min)
Vocabulary:
biodegradable: capable of being slowly destroyed and broken down into very small parts by natural processes, bacteria, etc.
germinate: biology definition as it concerns seeds: to begin to grow
transplant: move or transfer
embryo: the rudimentary plant usually contained in the seed.
seed coat: the outside layer of a seed
experiment: an operation or procedure carried out under controlled conditions in order to discover an unknown effect or law, to test or establish a hypothesis, or to illustrate a known law
predict: a statement about what will or might happen in the future
hypothesis: best guess, prediction
hydroponic: a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions in water, without soil - Plants that are grown in water without soil are grown hydroponically.
Background Information:
A seed is the plant’s embryo that stores its initial food supply inside a protective coat until a combination of elements wakes the embryo up.
Water, warmth, air, and sunlight come together and germination begins.
Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
LS3.A Inheritance of Traits
and
LS3.B Variation of Traits
Young organisms are very much, but not exactly, like their parents and also resemble other organisms of the same kind.
Understandings about the Nature of Science in the Next Generation Science Standards for K-2:
Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World Science Is a Way of Knowing
Scientists study the natural and material world.
Science knowledge helps us know about the world.
Science investigations begin with a question. Scientists use different ways to study the world.
Scientists use drawings, sketches, and models as a way to communicate ideas.
Common Core State Standards Initiative: Mathematics
http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Content
Grade1>> Measurement & Data
Measure lengths indirectly and by iterating length units.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.A.1
Order three objects by length; compare the lengths of two objects indirectly by using a third object.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.A.2
Express the length of an object as a whole number of length units, by laying multiple copies of a shorter object (the length unit) end to end; understand that the length measurement of an object is the number of same-size length units that span it with no gaps or overlaps.
Lesson
Essential Questions are:
~ Can seeds germinate in soil, sand, and water?
~ and When would a plant need shelter?
The objectives are: for the children to know that a seed may be grown in different substances and that plants do require shelter in certain instances.
Seed tapes are to be labeled by seed type. If there are any parts of the seed tapes that are not planted, the children could take them home.
“You have now planted flower seeds in peat pots and in seed tapes. How could we tell if our flowers like your vegetables need space to germinate, grow, and open its buds into beautiful flowers? Do we have some best guesses?”
You may want to chart their ideas.
“There are some great ideas here. Let us see if there are three ways we can plant our seeds so we can answer our question once our seeds grow into flowers.”
“Here is a great suggestion. Let’s make it experiment one: Plant the seed tapes just as they are. We measured them according to the directions. The seeds are about 14 unifix cubes apart”.
“We have another great suggestion. Plant about 4 or 5 peat pots that have your seedlings and plant them with 8 unifix cubes between each one. This is experiment 2.”
“Experiment 3 is planting 4 peat pots that have your seedlings. Have them growing right next to each other.”
“How will this experiment answer our question: Do flowering plants need their own space to grow well?”
You may want to chart answers here to see if there are any misconceptions about why we are measuring plants (not understanding the concept of space…).
“Before we go out to plant, we are going to vote. We have planted our seeds three different ways, which one is best? Stand if you think it will be……
Number one: the seeds in the seed tapes
Number two: the seeds in the peat pots with half the space between them than the seeds in the seed tape (8 spaces)
Number three: the seeds in the peat pots with no space between them .”
“It looks like the seeds in the seed tapes are the ones you think will grow the best flowers because they have the most space. In a few days we will be planting your flower seeds in these three ways. Next Fall when you come back to school as second graders, be sure to come over to the gardens and see if you were correct. Look for your flowers and decide which of the seeds you planted did well. When you come back inside, be sure to write in your journal if the best guess you made last Spring was correct.”
Seed tapes are to be labeled by seed type. If there are any parts of the seed tapes that are not planted, the children could take them home.
“You have now planted flower seeds in peat pots and in seed tapes. How could we tell if our flowers like your vegetables need space to germinate, grow, and open its buds into beautiful flowers? Do we have some best guesses?”
You may want to chart their ideas.
“There are some great ideas here. Let us see if there are three ways we can plant our seeds so we can answer our question once our seeds grow into flowers.”
“Here is a great suggestion. Let’s make it experiment one: Plant the seed tapes just as they are. We measured them according to the directions. The seeds are about 14 unifix cubes apart”.
“We have another great suggestion. Plant about 4 or 5 peat pots that have your seedlings and plant them with 8 unifix cubes between each one. This is experiment 2.”
“Experiment 3 is planting 4 peat pots that have your seedlings. Have them growing right next to each other.”
“How will this experiment answer our question: Do flowering plants need their own space to grow well?”
You may want to chart answers here to see if there are any misconceptions about why we are measuring plants (not understanding the concept of space…).
“Before we go out to plant, we are going to vote. We have planted our seeds three different ways, which one is best? Stand if you think it will be……
Number one: the seeds in the seed tapes
Number two: the seeds in the peat pots with half the space between them than the seeds in the seed tape (8 spaces)
Number three: the seeds in the peat pots with no space between them .”
“It looks like the seeds in the seed tapes are the ones you think will grow the best flowers because they have the most space. In a few days we will be planting your flower seeds in these three ways. Next Fall when you come back to school as second graders, be sure to come over to the gardens and see if you were correct. Look for your flowers and decide which of the seeds you planted did well. When you come back inside, be sure to write in your journal if the best guess you made last Spring was correct.”
Seed tapes are to be labeled by seed type. If there are any parts of the seed tapes that are not planted, the children could take them home.
“You have now planted flower seeds in peat pots and in seed tapes. How could we tell if our flowers like your vegetables need space to germinate, grow, and open its buds into beautiful flowers? Do we have some best guesses?”
You may want to chart their ideas.
“There are some great ideas here. Let us see if there are three ways we can plant our seeds so we can answer our question once our seeds grow into flowers.”
“Here is a great suggestion. Let’s make it experiment one: Plant the seed tapes just as they are. We measured them according to the directions. The seeds are about 14 unifix cubes apart”.
“We have another great suggestion. Plant about 4 or 5 peat pots that have your seedlings and plant them with 8 unifix cubes between each one. This is experiment 2.”
“Experiment 3 is planting 4 peat pots that have your seedlings. Have them growing right next to each other.”
“How will this experiment answer our question: Do flowering plants need their own space to grow well?”
You may want to chart answers here to see if there are any misconceptions about why we are measuring plants (not understanding the concept of space…).
“Before we go out to plant, we are going to vote. We have planted our seeds three different ways, which one is best? Stand if you think it will be……
Number one: the seeds in the seed tapes
Number two: the seeds in the peat pots with half the space between them than the seeds in the seed tape (8 spaces)
Number three: the seeds in the peat pots with no space between them .”
“It looks like the seeds in the seed tapes are the ones you think will grow the best flowers because they have the most space. In a few days we will be planting your flower seeds in these three ways. Next Fall when you come back to school as second graders, be sure to come over to the gardens and see if you were correct. Look for your flowers and decide which of the seeds you planted did well. When you come back inside, be sure to write in your journal if the best guess you made last Spring was correct.”
Seed tapes are to be labeled by seed type. If there are any parts of the seed tapes that are not planted, the children could take them home.
“You have now planted flower seeds in peat pots and in seed tapes. How could we tell if our flowers like your vegetables need space to germinate, grow, and open its buds into beautiful flowers? Do we have some best guesses?”
You may want to chart their ideas.
“There are some great ideas here. Let us see if there are three ways we can plant our seeds so we can answer our question once our seeds grow into flowers.”
“Here is a great suggestion. Let’s make it experiment one: Plant the seed tapes just as they are. We measured them according to the directions. The seeds are about 14 unifix cubes apart”.
“We have another great suggestion. Plant about 4 or 5 peat pots that have your seedlings and plant them with 8 unifix cubes between each one. This is experiment 2.”
“Experiment 3 is planting 4 peat pots that have your seedlings. Have them growing right next to each other.”
“How will this experiment answer our question: Do flowering plants need their own space to grow well?”
You may want to chart answers here to see if there are any misconceptions about why we are measuring plants (not understanding the concept of space…).
“Before we go out to plant, we are going to vote. We have planted our seeds three different ways, which one is best? Stand if you think it will be……
Number one: the seeds in the seed tapes
Number two: the seeds in the peat pots with half the space between them than the seeds in the seed tape (8 spaces)
Number three: the seeds in the peat pots with no space between them .”
“It looks like the seeds in the seed tapes are the ones you think will grow the best flowers because they have the most space. In a few days we will be planting your flower seeds in these three ways. Next Fall when you come back to school as second graders, be sure to come over to the gardens and see if you were correct. Look for your flowers and decide which of the seeds you planted did well. When you come back inside, be sure to write in your journal if the best guess you made last Spring was correct.”
Making a Seed Tape
Purpose of this Lesson:
The main purpose of this lesson is for the children to learn the best way to plant carrot seeds which happen to be very small. Before we used the seed tape method to plant the carrots, we would make furrows and the children would drop the seeds in the furrow by hand. The process of sowing seeds by hand requires thinning. (Thinning is the process of reducing the number of seedlings in a row by physically taking out or cutting seedlings down so that the seedlings that are left are spaced correctly and produce a good yield of plants.) Thinning usually did not happen in our garden. As a result, the children’s carrots would be extremely small. One of the basic needs of all living things is space. Everything needs its own space to live. To understand why this element of space is so important, the children will be conducting an experiment to see if having enough space helps a plant grow best. In order to understand that making seed tapes is a good way to plant seeds, an experiment will be set up that the children will not know the results of until the Fall when they come back to school as second graders.
The question for this lesson will become What is the best way to plant our carrot seeds?
The experiment will consist of three ways to plant our carrot seeds:
• planting the seeds correctly spaced on a seed tape
• planting the seeds in a furrow by hand
• making 5 holes spaced evenly apart and planting 3 seeds in each hole.
"A secondary purpose of this lesson: Planting a small seed and watching it grow is a magical time for Kindergarten children — for all children. Making the seed tape is easy, fun, and anticipates a trip out to the Living Classroom Learning Lab to begin planting a new crop of vegetables to grow throughout the spring and summer."
~ Danette "Danny" Riehle ~
Teacher Preparation: (15 minutes)
• Bring in one large carrot for each kindergarten
• Lay out the large sheets of bulletin board paper and the seed tape materials
• If the toilet paper is not one ply, then separate the toilet paper into one ply strips, cut into 3 foot sections
Materials Needed:
• chart paper
• packaged carrot seeds The seeds need to be bought. They need to be marked Non-GMO, Non-hybridized, organic or heirloom. Some companies have fiddled with seeds and now some seeds will not grow at all or will revert back to an early variety.
• large carrot for each kindergarten
• one ply toilet paper used to make the seed tapes, cut into 3 foot strips
• 1 1/2 cups flour (for paste)
• 1 cup water (for paste)
• a mixing bowl and spoon to stir the paste
• containers to hold the paste
• containers to hold the seeds
• rulers
• unifix cubes
• craft sticks or paint brushes to apply paste
• craft sticks to identify the place where the seed tapes, seeds in a furrow and seeds in hole are planted
• markers
• large sheets of bulletin board paper
• picture of the beds in the vegetable garden
• if no outdoor garden is available to plant in: large containers for planting - cardboard produce containers from Costco provide the surface and depth for planting all three experiments
• soil
• From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
• Vegetables in the Garden: A First Discovery Book
Directions on How to Make a Seed Tape:
Lay the one ply toilet paper on each side of the table to
make 2 seed tapes. Each tape should be as long as the
table. Place a few seeds in one plate and some paste in
another plate and place them both near the appropriate
seed tapes. Read the seed packet to see how far apart the
seeds should be. Show the children this measurement and
connect the same number of Unifix cubes as the
measurement. These cubes then become the measurement
stick the children will use to measure the distance between
each seed. Using the Unifix cubes and a marker, the
children can measure and place a dot where each seed will
go. Keep the dots on the side of the toilet paper closest to
the child. Have the children take a paint brush or craft stick and place a smudge of paste on the colored dot (One paint brush tip or one craft stick end of paste should do about three to four dots - too much paste may get the seeds to sprout before the seed tape is planted.) Next, have the children put one seed on each spot of paste. While the paste is still wet, fold the toilet paper in half lengthwise over the seeds to make a cover for the seeds. The seed tape is now complete. The seed tape needs to dry before it can be rolled up. The children can make plant markers for the garden. Once the seed tape is dry, you may roll it up until it is time to plant it.
There should be only 2 children working on each seed tape.
Length of Lesson:
Activity #1: Making a Seed Tape (30 min)
Activity #2: Planting Seed Tapes, Seeds in a Furrow & Planting 3 Seeds in a Hole (30 min)
Activity #4: My Seed Tape Journal (30 min)
Vocabulary:
biodegradable: capable of being slowly destroyed and broken down into very small parts by natural processes, bacteria, etc.
germinate: biology definition as it concerns seeds: to begin to grow
hypothesis: best guess
furrow: row
Sequence of Lessons Showing the Life Cycle of a Seed:
Kindergarten
Seed to Seedling in the Kindergarten Classroom:
This lesson is the beginning of a series of three kindergarten lessons and one first grade lesson that will show how a seed grows and produces a vegetable or fruit that can come to the child’s dinner table. Essential Questions: Where do we get seeds? and What does a seed need to grow? Children watch vegetable seeds grow in the classroom if they are given water and light.
Making a Seed Tape:
Essential Question: What is the best way to plant our seeds? Children learn that vegetables need the right amount of space to grow.
Planting in the George Washington Vegetable Garden:
Essential Question: Now that our plants are growing in the garden, how will our plants receive the basic needs that they must have to grow? Children plant vegetable seedlings and seed tapes in the George Washington Vegetable Garden.
First Grade
Harvesting in the George Washington Vegetable Garden: (Two months later, as first-graders…)
Essential Questions: How do vegetables get to my dinner table? and Can the seeds from the vegetables I am harvesting be used for more plants? Children pick the vegetables and fruits that they have grown from seed. As they observe the many seeds that are present inside the fruits they have picked, they will have seen the life cycle of a seed. The new seeds will be stored to plant the vegetable garden again next Spring.
Background Information:
Making a seed tape ensures the success of growing healthy vegetables and plants from very small seeds. If seeds are sown in a furrow, thinning the growing plants is necessary to produce healthy mature vegetables. Thinning is the process whereby
some plants that are competing against one another for their existence are pulled so others will have plenty of room to develop. In past years in the Vegetable Garden, thinning has not happened, so the vegetables do not have room to grow and
expand. Carrots become thin strings and beets cannot grow at all. With the seed tapes, thinning will not be necessary. The children look at the directions on the seed packet to know how far apart each seed should be placed. They lay down the first seed on the tape and measure the distance between each seed. It is important during this measuring that the teacher verbalizes to the children that, “We are giving the plants space to grow.” When the appropriate time of the Spring arrives, they will be able to plant their seed tapes easily in the Vegetable Garden.
With the beginning of this lesson, it is hoped that the children and their parents will experience the complete life cycle of their plants. In April, the children will be making seed tapes for certain vegetables. At the right time, these seed tapes will be planted in the Vegetable Garden. The children will also sow other seeds and vegetable plants directly in the vegetable garden when the time is right. Through out the summer, kindergarten children and their parents are encouraged to come back to the garden to witness the growth of their plant. When fall arrives, their
vegetables will be ready to harvest. With the culmination of the harvesting, the children and their parents will have experienced the life cycle of their plants.
• It is interesting to note the difference between fruits and vegetables.
• The definition of a fruit is: the usually edible reproductive body of a seed plant especially: one having a sweet pulp associated with the seed, such as a peach or avocado.
• The definition of a vegetable is: a plant or part of a plant used as food, such as a cabbage, potato, carrot, turnip, or bean.
Chefs consider foods that are savory instead of sweet as vegetables.
That is how we now know that all sweet foods are fruits.
Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
Disciplinary Core Ideas in the Next Generation Science Standards:
www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards
Structure and Function
All organisms have external parts that they use to perform daily functions.
All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in
different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water and air. Plants have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow. (1-LS1-1)
Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Food provides animals with the materials and energy they need for body repair, growth, warmth, and motion. Plants acquire material for growth chiefly from air, water, and process matter and obtain energy from sunlight, which is used to maintain conditions necessary for survival. (K-LS1-1)
LS2.A Independent Relationships in Ecosystems
Plants acquire material for growth chiefly from air, water, and process matter and obtain energy from sunlight, which is used to maintain conditions necessary for survival.
The Needs of Living Things
Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive. (K-LS1-1)
Natural Resources
Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do. (K-ESS3-1)
Understandings about the Nature of Science in the Next Generation Science Standards for K-2:
Connections to the Nature of Science:
> Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World.
> Science Is a Way of Knowing.
> Scientists study the natural and material world.
> Science knowledge helps us know about the world.
> Science investigations begin with a question.
> Scientists use different ways to study the world.
> Scientists use drawings, sketches, and models as a way to communicate ideas.
Common Core State Standards Initiative: Mathematics Kindergarten>> Measurement & Data
Describe and compare measurable attributes.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K. Measurement & Data.A.1
Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight.
Lesson
Essential Question:
Do flowering plants need their own space to grow well?
The objective of the lesson is for the children to know that a flowering plant needs the right amount of space to grow by observing the results of three planting experiments which will test the best way to plant zinnia seeds.
“Children, in Kindergarten, you made seed tapes to plant some of your vegetables in the George Washington Vegetable Garden. Today we are going to make seed tapes for plants that will grow to have gorgeous flowers to beautify the Butterfly and Hummingbird gardens. Your flowers will help bring more pollinators to the Living Classroom. Once I start giving you the directions, I know you will remember how you made these seed tapes in Kindergarten.”
- I have strips of toilet paper on your tables that will be the bottom and the top of your seed tape. We need to find out from the directions on the seed packet how far apart the seeds should be.
- Put your unifix cubes together to make that length.
- You are going to be measuring the distance between 2 points. Place your measuring stick on the paper and mark both ends of your stick with a dot. Pick up your stick and place it on the last dot that you made. Mark a dot at the end of your stick. You have just measured the distance between 2 dots. Do this all the way down your side of the toilet paper. Make your dots in a straight row close to your side of the toilet paper strip.
- Using a toothpick, put a tiny (stress tiny) dab of paste on each dot, and place the seed on top of the paste.
- When you have glued all your seeds onto the seed tape, we will fold the toilet paper in half which will glue one side to the other. (Add more glue if needed to secure the seed tape.)
- When the seed tape is dry, we can roll it up and save it until it is the right planting time for that seed. Plant markers will be made so we can mark the place where we plant our seed tapes in the Butterfly and Hummingbird Gardens.
Seed tapes are to be labeled by seed type. If there are any parts of the seed tapes that are not planted, the children could take them home.
“You have now planted flower seeds in peat pots and in seed tapes. How could we tell if our flowers like your vegetables need space to germinate, grow, and open its buds into beautiful flowers? Do we have some best guesses?”
You may want to chart their ideas.
“There are some great ideas here. Let us see if there are three ways we can plant our seeds so we can answer our question once our seeds grow into flowers.”
“Here is a great suggestion. Let’s make it experiment one: Plant the seed tapes just as they are. We measured them according to the directions. The seeds are about 14 unifix cubes apart”.
“We have another great suggestion. Plant about 4 or 5 peat pots that have your seedlings and plant them with 8 unifix cubes between each one. This is experiment 2.”
“Experiment 3 is planting 4 peat pots that have your seedlings. Have them growing right next to each other.”
“How will this experiment answer our question: Do flowering plants need their own space to grow well?”
You may want to chart answers here to see if there are any misconceptions about why we are measuring plants (not understanding the concept of space…).
“Before we go out to plant, we are going to vote. We have planted our seeds three different ways, which one is best? Stand if you think it will be……
Number one: the seeds in the seed tapes
Number two: the seeds in the peat pots with half the space between them than the seeds in the seed tape (8 spaces)
Number three: the seeds in the peat pots with no space between them .”
“It looks like the seeds in the seed tapes are the ones you think will grow the best flowers because they have the most space. In a few days we will be planting your flower seeds in these three ways. Next Fall when you come back to school as second graders, be sure to come over to the gardens and see if you were correct. Look for your flowers and decide which of the seeds you planted did well. When you come back inside, be sure to write in your journal if the best guess you made last Spring was correct.”
Planting in the Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden
Purpose of this Lesson:
The first-grade children have planted flower seeds in Jiffy pots that have grown to
seedlings. They have also used seed tapes to plant the seeds of flowers. The plants
that grow from these seeds will be beneficial for the insects that come to the
Butterfly and Hummingbird gardens. The plant’s color and the design of its flower
will bring more insects to the garden in spring and throughout the summer.
All the children know the importance of the vegetables they planted last Spring in
kindergarten. We need them for food. We are now planting flowers. Have we
realized that flowers are important, too? The question for this lesson then becomes
Why are flowers important? It is important to reiterate how important plants are
to us. The first grade children learned in the Fall that flowering plants are a source
of food for some animals. Plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen
for us to breathe. They hold soil in place and they can even clean our water. They
are beautiful and they can make us even feel happy to see them. Therefore, we
need to take good care of them.
A secondary purpose of this lesson is for the children to experience the magic in
observing green tips of plants pushing their way up through the dirt from a tiny
seed they had placed in their seed tape. With their family, they can come to the
garden throughout the summer months to watch the growth of their plants. When
Fall arrives, the children will be in second grade; they will then collect the seeds
from their flowers to start replanting and begin the life cycle of their plant all over
again. All the children and their parents will have then experienced the life cycle of
their plants.
Advanced Teacher Preparation:(40 minutes)
Check all items in the kit against the Materials Needed list.
Reserve a time for the lesson on the Google Calendar.
The classroom teacher may wish to obtain the volunteers for the lesson, or
the classroom teacher may ask the Living Classroom liaison to obtain the
volunteer for the lesson.
At least two members of the Living Classroom Committee should be with
each first-grade class.
Inform all parents two days before of the planting in the Butterfly and
Hummingbird Gardens asking them to have their child wear old clothing on
the day of planting.
Decide if the entire class is coming out to plant at one time or if groups are to be
s ent out to plant.
Materials Needed:
- seed tapes and seedlings: from the classroom
- markers and/or popsicle sticks to identify where seed tapes have been planted
- sand lines, yarn, or popsicle sticks can be used to mark off large areas in the
garden where seeds and plants could be planted - cubes for measuring
- shovels and watering cans located in the shed — key for the shed located with
the school secretary - iPads or iPhones to take a picture of the children planting
- From Seed to Plant - a book by Gail Gibbons
- Mrs. Spitzer’s Garden - a book by Edith Pattou
- Journal: First Grade Is Planting
- photocopies of: photosynthesis diagram, Our Planting
Experiment, photo of sheltered raised beds and Parent
Invitation to visit the gardens over the summer
Sequence of Lessons Showing the Life Cycle of a Seed:
First Grade:
Seed to Seedling in the First-Grade Classroom:
This lesson is the beginning of a series of three first-grade lessons and one secondgrade lesson that will show the life cycle of a flower seed.
Essential questions: Can seeds germinate in soil, sand, and water? and When would a plant need shelter?
Children know that from the flower seed they plant in the soil in the classroom a
plant will grow and continue to grow once it is planted, if they give it water and
light.
Making a Seed Tape:
Essential Question: Do flowering plants need their own space to grow well?
Children know that a flowering plant needs the right amount of space to grow.
Planting in the Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden:
Essential Question: Why are flowers important?
Children will see the beauty they have added to the garden with their flowering
plants as well as the food they will be providing for the pollinator of the gardens.
Second Grade:
Harvesting Seeds and Making Seed Balls to Replenish the Prairie and
Butterfly and Hummingbird gardens
Essential Questions: What is the life cycle of a flowering plant? and How do seeds
move?
Children will understand the complete life cycle of a flowering seed from
germination to growth to withering and seed reproduction as well as the many
ways a seed can move.
Leadership:
The classroom teacher with the assistance of 5 parent volunteers and
the Living Classroom Committee will be assisting the children with the planting of
their seed tapes and plants.
Length of Lesson: 30(minutes)
30 to 45 minutes
Vocabulary:
The new vocabulary contained in the lesson comes from the two books,
From Seed to Plant and A Seed Is Sleepy, Most of the new words are defined for
the teacher and children right in the book when the concept is introduced. At the
first grade level, these words are merely introduced. Mastery of these words is not
necessary
stigma: the top part in the center of a flower which receives the pollen
stamen: the part of a flower that produces pollen
pistil: the seed-producing part of a flower consisting of stigma, style, and ovary
ovary: the part of a flower where seeds are formed (ovule)
sepal: One of the usually green leaflike structures composing the outermost part of a flower.
Sepals often enclose and protect the bud and may remain after the fruit forms.
pollen: the very fine usually yellow dust that is produced by a plant and that is carried to other plants of the same kind, usually by wind or insects so that the plants can
produce seeds.
pollination: the transfer of pollen from a stamen to a pistil of a flower or from a male cone to a female cone
seed coat: the outside covering of a seed
germination: the seed coat breaks open and the seed begins to grow when the sun shines and warms the ground
germinate: cause to sprout or grow
secretive: does not reveal itself too quickly
embryo: baby plant
cotyledon: a plant’s seed leaves
monocots: seeds with one seed leaf, like corn
dicot: seeds with two seed leaves, like beans
dormant: slept undisturbed
minerals: organic food which can be present in the soil
photosynthesis: the process where plants make their own food
Background Information:
This lesson is part of an additional strand that runs throughout the curriculum of
animal and plant adaptation and pollination. Last Fall, the children studied the
process of pollination. Looking at the plants and the pollinators, it is hard not to
wonder how this coevolution between the plants and their pollinators ever evolved.
The adage form follows function works extremely well as the principle behind
pollination. It would be good to review with the children the plants that our
pollinators need to exist and how they are able to help one another. There is a
beautifully written book to review these concepts with the first grade children. It is
From Seed to Plant written by Gail Gibbons. Her simple and colorful illustrations
will give the first grade children a further understanding of the life cycle of the
plants they will be planting.
The children plant in the Butterfly and Hummingbird gardens each Spring. When
they return in the Fall as second graders, they will be harvesting the seeds of their
flowers to enclose them in seed balls to replenish the Prairie, Butterfly, and
Hummingbird gardens.
The classroom teacher will have a map of the Butterfly garden showing where seed
tapes are to be planted. The flower seeds planted in the Jiffy pots will be planted at
the border of the Hummingbird garden. In order for this to happen, there will need
to be pre-planning. This is discussed in the Advanced Volunteer Preparation with
the Living Classroom Committee.
Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
LS1.A Structure and Function
All organisms have external parts that they use to perform daily functions.
LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Food provides animals with the materials and energy they need for body repair, growth,
warmth, and motion. Plants acquire material for growth chiefly from air, water, and
process matter and obtain energy from sunlight, which is used to maintain conditions
necessary for survival.
and
LS2.AIndependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Plants acquire material for growth chiefly from air, water, and process matter and
obtain energy from sunlight, which is used to maintain conditions necessary for
survival.
K-LS1-1The Needs of Living Things
Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans)
need to survive.
K-ESS3.A: Natural Resources
Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they
need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do. (K-ESS3-1)
LS3.A Inheritance of Traits
and
LS3.B Variation of Traits
Young organisms are very much, but not exactly, like their parents and also
resemble other organisms of the same kind.
Understandings about the Nature of Science in the Next Generation Science
Standards for K-2:
Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World
Science Is a Way of Knowing
Scientists study the natural and material world.
Science knowledge helps us know about the world.
Science investigations begin with a question.
Scientists use different ways to study the world.
Scientists use drawings, sketches, and models as a way to communicate ideas
Lesson
Essential Question is : Why are flowers important?
The objective is for the children to understand that the flowers they will plant to enhance the Butterfly and Hummingbird Gardens will bring many benefits to our Earth as they:
- provide beauty
- foster happiness,
- feed bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, birds, and more
- eliminate CO2
- provide oxygen
- clean water.
Indoors:
“Exciting news everyone. I noticed something happening outside today. Has anyone else noticed anything? Fabulous! What did you noticed today?”
He/she saw some leaves on the trees and little tips of some plants pushing up out of the soil.
“Remember why we planted some of our seeds in school and didn’t take them out to the garden?”
“That’s right. We wanted to give them a head start growing so we would have beautiful flowers for our gardens as soon as we could. If we planted them outside when it was still cold, we might have to cover them every night and maybe even some days. We gave them shelter from the cold by keeping them inside. Shelter is one of a plant’s basic needs.”
Show the children the tray of seedlings.
“Look, children, at your seedlings. How did they get here? What are they going to become?”
“Great answers. I would like you to always remember that you started with a seed. The plants that you grow are important to have in our ecosystem. Please stretch your brains and tell me some of the reasons that make them so important.”
Answers:
- their beauty,
- helps us to be happy,
- food for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, birds, and more
- get rid of CO2
- gives us oxygen
- clean water
“Class, I would like to go over two your reasons. Flowers can get rid of carbon dioxide for us and they can then give us oxygen. This is a very important idea. It is actually a process that the plants use that helps our Earth breath better. It is called “photosynthesis”. Here is a Youtube video that demonstrates how a plant takes in CO2 and emits oxygen. Let’s watch.”
Photosynthesis for Kids – How Plants Make Food Animation Science
“Isn’t it wonderful what plants for us! Always remember how important these plants are. And now, you have been waiting for this I am sure. We are going to go and plant our seed tapes and these seedlings in the Butterfly and Hummingbird Gardens. I know that you are excited about planting. Your seeds will grow into a plant that will burst open with the most beautifully colored flowers that will bring many more animals to the garden. Volunteers who will help you plant your seed tapes are waiting at the garden for us. Remember your manners. The volunteers have already dug the trench where you will be placing your seed tape. Once the seed tape is in the trench, you will cover the trench and seed tape with dirt. We take our time to spread the dirt because we would not want any dirt to land in someone’s eyes if we are careless.”
“At some point in our planting time, I will call all of you over to one place in the garden, where we will plant the space experiment you created in our Seed Tape lesson.”
Pass out the children’s seedlings and bring the seed tapes with you.
“I have your seed tapes. Bring your seedlings and let’s go plant!”
Before the children are assigned to groups, bring them over and plant their experiment.
“Class, come over here to plant our space experiment first. Look, our volunteers have this bed all ready for us.”
“Let’s first plant the seed tape in the furrow. Now, we need peat pots with their seedling in the next row. I hope you remember that these seedlings are to be planted in half of the space we used to plant the seeds in the seed tape. That will make them how many inches apart?”
“Super! 8 inches apart! Here are the cubes for measuring.” (Teacher to choose one child to measure.) “ please put 8 cubes together to measure where the holes need to be dug. We can plant about 3 seedlings in this row.”
“For the last row, we are to put the seedlings in with no space between them. You are right! You may be able to put at least 10 in this row.”
“Your space experiment is planted. Remember to come here before you harvest your seeds next Fall to see which row of Zinnias grew the best. I am going to break you into groups now and you can go with one of our volunteers to plant the rest of you seedlings and seed tapes. Have fun.”
Divide the children into groups. Each group will go with their assigned volunteer to plant their seed tape. Following are the directions for planting:
first. Look, our volunteers have this bed all ready for us.”
“Let’s first plant the seed tape in the furrow. Now, we need peat pots with their seedling in the next row. I hope you remember that these seedlings are to be planted in half of the space we used to plant the seeds in the seed tape. That will make them how many inches apart?”
- Help the children unroll the seed tapes into the trench. The children can place the seed tape in and cover it with dirt. Mark where all the seed tapes have been planted.
- The seedlings in the peat pots can be planted in both the Butterfly and Hummingbird Gardens. Help the child dig an appropriate hole to accommodate his/her seedling. Cover with a bit of dirt.
“Now that we are all done planting, I would like your volunteers to take a picture of you and the place where you planted your seed tape and also the seedlings. This picture and the date we planted, which is today, will go in your journals and on the chart in our classroom.”
“We have one last thing to do before we go in to wash our hands. Water your
plants very slowly.”
“You have done a splendid job today. I can hardly wait to see how big your plants will grow and how brilliant the colors of your flowers will be.”
“Let’s give a big thanks to all the volunteers that helped us today”
The children need to water their plantings before they return to the building. Ask the volunteers to take the tools back to the shed. Once you come back to the building, take the children into the washroom to wash hands.
“ Watch the garden every day and tell us when you see anything that looks green sprouting out of the dirt where you planted your seed tape. When you see these sprouts, we will go out to see them getting bigger.”
“Please come to visit your plants throughout the summer. When you come back to school after the summer, you will be in second grade. That will be Fall. Your plants will have grown. Remember to go and check out our space experiment. I wonder how many of you will have guessed right about which way your plants grew the best. Later in the Fall, you will harvest the seeds that your plants make. We will replant some seeds and some we will save to be planted in seed tapes by another first grade. You will also get to make seed balls with the seeds you collect. The seed balls help to replenish the gardens. What fun you will have!”
The Concepts Taught Throughout The LCLL Curriculum
~ Ecosystems ~
&
~ Life Cycles ~
~ Adaptation ~
&
~ Pollination ~
~ Biodiversity ~
&
~ Food Chains ~
~ Patterns ~
&
~ Shapes ~
~ Balance of Nature ~
&
~ Sustainability ~