PLANTS UNIT STUDY

The following items are included in the unit study package and must be returned to HCOS:

1. Parent guide (with daily activity guide and materials list for student activities) 2. The Kids Canadian Plant Book by Pamela Hickman 3. Earth Watch Pan Canadian Science 4. Starting with Science: Plants 5. A Seed Grows - Hickman 6. A Day at the Apple Orchard Megan Faulkner 7. Watch it Grow! Pan Canadian Science 8. How Flowers Grow Emma Helbrough 9. Weird & Wacky Plants Katherine Kenah 10. The Secret Life of Trees DK Publishing 11. The Life and Times of the Peanut Charles Micucci

Student pages are available for download from the library website. http://www.onlineschool.ca/rooms/library/

Materials required: Internet access Ask your online teacher for the password for United Streaming it has Videos to watch online.

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http://www.discoveryeducation.ca/ Enchanted Learning also has useful pages to print. Ask your OT for a password: http://members.enchantedlearning.com/members/login.shtml/ Paper, pens, pencils, pencil crayons, etc.

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Here are some options to use to record your childs learning and to submit for portfolios. There are many websites and yahoo groups which have a lot of information as well as free resourcesjust do a search!

Big Book of Books and Activities: an illustrated guide for teachers, parents, and anyone who works with kids! by Dinah Zike is available from the HCOS library
http://www.dinah.com/ About Lapbooks and Lapbooking Lapbooking is the term for taking a paper file folder and refolding it so that there are two covers on the front. It is held vertically, with the 11 inch long side being held in a vertical position. It is refolded so that one cover opens to the left and the other cover opens to the right. This lapbook is dedicated to one topic of study. The child then makes miniature books and little folded flaps about content of that subject area. Those little books are glued to the inside of this lapbook. Extensions can be made, with card stock paper or tag board paper, to make the lapbook have more surfaces in which to place books. The cover can be decorated.

About Notebooks and Notebooking The big difference between notebooks and lapbooks is that in lapbooking the information is made into tiny books which are glued inside of a file folder. With notebooking a child may make little books but they are glued into pages which are 3 hole punched and put inside of a 3 ring binder notebook. With notebooking, regular pages can be added as well as pressed leaves or other objects. In other words the notebook pages might just be flat and not have "mini books" in them. Also some people use notebooks like scrapbooks and can add in things like pressed flowers, real dried leaves, photographs your family took, et cetera. Notebooking can cover a whole subject such as Ancient History and may hold an inch thick stack of papers, while lapbooking is smaller/thinner and holds less information. Subjects for lapbooking may cover smaller topics such as Ancient Egypt or Pyramids. Sites for lapbooks & notebooking:

Homeschool share have many free resources! http://www.homeschoolshare.com/lapbooking_resources.php

http://lapbooking.wordpress.com/ Lapbook lessons http://www.lapbooklessons.com/

www.knowledgeboxcentral.com Lapbooking 101

Flapbooks http://www.unitstudies.com/books/index.aspx

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 Day 1: Day 2: Day 3:

Plants Unit Daily Lessons

What are plants? Read and discuss Watch it Grow p. 4,5 Read aloud Pamela Hickmans The Kids Canadian Plants Book, p. 4-5

How are plants different? Read and discuss Watch it Grow p. 6,7 Read aloud Pamela Hickmans The Kids Canadian Plants Book, p. 6-7 Plant parts diagram What do plants need? Read and discuss Watch it Grow p. 8,9 Read Starting with Science: Plants pages 10-16 If the season is suitable, do Just a little Sprout, Observing Bulbs, or What a Corny Life activity (in parent activity guide with worksheets in student packet) Complete one of the activities listed in todays readings

Day 4: How do plants change in each season?

Day 5: Day 6a:

OR

Read and discuss the book Earth Watch Read aloud Pamela Hickmans The Kids Canadian Plants Book, p. 10-11 Complete A Snap of Time activity as described in parent activity guide. Work-sheets are included in the student activity packet. Play Season-O as described in the parent activity guide (worksheets in student activity packet.) Read A Day at the Apple Orchard and discuss how apple trees change over the year.

Why do plants live in different places? Read and discuss Watch it Grow p. 10,11 Read aloud Pamela Hickmans The Kids Canadian Plants Book, p. 14-15

How do plants make food? Read and discuss Watch it Grow p. 12,13 Do (if in season) Leaf Hunt in Starting with Science: Plants pages28-29 Make and read mini-book What is Photosynthesis (included in student packet)

Day 7:

Day 6b:What is soil? (Directly addresses Grade 2 content) Complete Dirt Baggers activity as described in parent activity guide. Worksheets are included in the student activity packet. Why do plants have seeds? Read and discuss Watch it Grow p. 14,15

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 Day 8: Day 9:

Read aloud Pamela Hickmans The Kids Canadian Plants Book, p. 16-17 Read Starting with Science: Plants pages 4-8. Complete one of the activities suggested in one of todays readings. How do plants make new seeds? Read and discuss Watch it Grow p. 16,17 Read aloud Pamela Hickmans The Kids Canadian Plants Book, p. 8-9 How do seeds travel? Read and discuss Watch it Grow p. 18,19 Read aloud Pamela Hickmans The Kids Canadian Plants Book, p. 18-19 Do the Seed Stroll activity described in Starting with Science: Plants pages 26-27

Day 10: How do are plants useful to animals and humans? Day 11: How do plants help the environment?

Read and discuss Watch it Grow p. 20,21 Read and discuss Watch it Grow p. 22-25 Read aloud Pamela Hickmans The Kids Canadian Plants Book, p. 24-25 Make a chart of plants that you use in your home, listing in one column the plants used for food, and in the other column, plants used to make things.

Day 12: How do we protect and care for plants?

Read and discuss Watch it Grow p. 26-27 Do Fallen Leaf activity as described in the parent activity guide.

Read and discuss Watch it Grow p. 28-31 Read aloud Pamela Hickmans The Kids Canadian Plants Book, p. 26-27

Ongoing Unit Activities: Many of the activities in this unit will be ongoing over several weeks. You may want to have your child keep a plant journal for the unit, recording change observed in the different experiments. Some books included in the resource packet are not referred to in the daily lessons. These are for you to read with your child on an interest basis: The Life and Times of the Peanut by Charles Micucci A Seed Grows by Pamela Hickman and Heather Collins Weird and Wacky Plants/The Secret Life of Trees (student readers)

Go on a leaf hunt and collect various leaves from your backyard or while on a nature walk. Talk about the different shapes and features of the leaves. Create a leaf rubbing (by arranging the leaves on a flat surface, covering them with paper and then rubbing the surface with the flat side of a crayon) of the various leaves found.

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Take some art materials (paints, pencil crayons, or pencils) outside and ask the student to describe some of the features of their immediate environment. Draw or paint pictures of the immediate environment. Go outside to a favourite place. Have the student look around and describe what he sees (you can be writing this down as he talks). Then have the student touch various things around him and describe how they feel. If there is anything in the environment that is safe to taste, have him taste it. Then have the student close his eyes and describe what he can hear. Have him take a look at his observations and see if there are similarities or differences between the things he noticed with each of his senses. Plant Project - Plant a bean or another plant that grows quickly. Measure the plants growth and record the date any changes occurred. Make a list of what the plant needs to survive. Create a diagram of the plants life cycle. Create a diagram of the basic parts of the plant, including the roots, leaves, stem, etc. Plant Comparison choose two different plants and compare the similarities and differences in each, use a Venn diagram to chart your findings using pictures or words. Needs of Plants Experiment experiment with small plants to see what a plant needs. What happens when a plant doesnt get sunshine? What happens when a plant doesnt get water? What happens to a leaf when we cover it with foil? What happens if a plant isnt in soil? Make predications and record observations. Brainstorm create a mind web about what living things depend on plants for Harvest Field Trip take a trip to a local farm or orchard and look specifically for different ways that plants are harvested. Create a notebook page with illustrations and comments about what you learned.

Portfolio Submission Guidelines Each portfolio should include three samples of science work from the list below: A chart or graph showing the students observations, experiences, or thinking. A chart that classifies objects, events, or organisms based on criteria determined by the student. Written notes or observations An oral recording of the student discussing any of the above content. A photograph of the student making observations. Any artwork the student has created as he made observations.

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Provincial Learning Outcomes by primary grade level

Kindergarten Use the five senses to make observations Share with others information obtained by observing Describe features of local plants and animals (e.g., colour, shape, size, texture) Compare local plants Grade 1 Communicate their observations, experiences, and thinking in a variety of ways (e.g., verbally, pictorially, graphically) Classify objects, events, and organisms Classify living and non-living things Describe the basic needs of local plants and animals (e.g., food, water, light) Describe how the basic needs of plants and animals are met in their environment Grade 2 Use their senses to interpret observations Infer the probable outcome of an event or behaviour based on observations Describe physical properties of air, water, and soil Distinguish ways in which air, water, and soil interact Explain why air, water, and soil are important for living things Grade 3 Ask questions that foster investigations and explorations relevant to the content Measure objects and events Compare familiar plants according to similarities and differences in appearance and life cycles Describe ways in which plants are important to other living things and the environment Describe how plants are harvested and used throughout the seasons

This unit study addresses plants in general. Effort was made to address each of the plantrelated learning outcomes from K-3. The daily lesson breakdown is intended to help you break down the content into lessons. Some lessons include more activities than youll need; feel free to omit and/or modify as necessary. Not all activities will be suitable for all age levels, so pick and choose the ones that are most suitable for your childs level of understanding. You may be required to demonstrate your childs understanding of concepts at a later grade level (for example, if the plant study was done in Kindergarten their understanding of concepts would be expected to be shallower than at a Grade 3 level). The suitability of some activities will depend on the season (such as growing pumpkins or planting daffodils)

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