Ideas were flowing! Students had a great deal of prior knowledge! This activity also allowed me to identify some misconceptions, which we discussed and will further clarify in future lessons. Don't mind my messy SMART board printing :)
Today, we listed the needs of plants and viewed a short videoclip about students growing a school garden and the needs plants. We completed a reading activity and 5 fill-in-the-blank review sentences.
After these activities, we were certain that plants needed, water, air, sunlight and soil. I proposed that we tested our understanding by attempting to grow plants WITHOUT one of those elements.
We will grow the plant on the left in sand, the plant in the middle will not receive water and the plant of the right will be grown in a ziploc bag (and we receive as little air as possible). We also have a plant growing in the closet, far from sunlight. Let the experiment begin!
Finally, we examined packets of seeds and the information provided for ideal growth. In a windowsill box, we planted pansies, tom thumbs and mimosa pudicas. In addition, each team member will grow their own bean plant. Students enjoyed getting a little dirt as they planted their bean seed. Some stated that this was their first time gardening!
Students will plant, care for and observe the growth of their plant through its lifecycle. After a quick rearrangement of our reading folders, we set up our indoor garden, located on the window ledge by our library.
As plants grow, students will record the changes in their observation journals.
Whew! What a busy lesson! So much fun! I can't wait to see the excitement on students' faces when they first see their plant sprout :)
Classroom Housekeeping:
-Please keep an eye on the weather; some mornings (and afternoons) are quite chilly, especially in the large, open field.
-Spelling test tomorrow.
-Blog popcorn party tomorrow afternoon to celebrate 1500+ page views on our blog :)
~Ms. Burland
Fun Naomi
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