A Study of Plants

What a "nutty" class! Peanuts are a tasty way to learn about seeds.

We looked inside peanuts to identify the parts of a seed.

Our Peanut Plants

We took raw peanuts out of their shells and planted them in cups. It seemed like it was taking a long time for them to sprout, so we gently removed the seeds from the soil to see what was happening under the dirt.

Hmm- it looks like the roots sprouted first. They were growing down under the soil.

We are checking the growth of our peanuts using magnifying glasses. We were amazed to see the root curve around the peanut. We learned that roots grow down - even if they have to curve around to do it - a wonderful scientific discovery!

Botanists at work!

What do you notice?

We are measuring the growth of our plants. It's time to take our peanuts home and plant them outside where they will have more space to grow. We learned a lot about plants by watching our peanuts grow.

Reading	Math
Browsing Box - familiar books Add plant books Add Little Red Hen magnetic story characters and cookie sheet	Read: Jack and the Beanstalk How many different kinds of beans can you find in 15 Bean Soup Mix? (sounds funny - try it!) measure 1/4 cup into butter tub, count beans onto 100 chart, sort beans onto sorting mat, draw sort on record sheet, record observations
Phonics	ABC Order
"We're 3 Peas in A Pod" Contractions match word cards to make contractions we + are = we're Record contractions on pea pod shaped recording sheet Staple pages together to make a contraction booklet Assess: contractions	Pick A Plant ABC Order Game *Before this game is set up, the class brainstorms things that grow from plants. Write each of these words on a large craft stick using a thin permanent marker. Store sticks in a flower pot. The child "picks" 5 sticks from the pot. Put them in ABC order. Record on record sheet. Pick again and play again. Turn in for Language Arts assessment
Writing	Computers
___ and the Beansprout Bean sprout sequence book. The child colors and sequences pictures of a bean growing from run off sheet. The child glues pictures in sequence in book using glue stick. Write a caption for each picture. Turn in for reading - sequence - grade	Plant Poems Use ClarisWorks to write a plant poem using framework: I like (watermelon). (juicy) , (red) , (watermelon). (especially in summer) Print poems. Children use colored pencils to illustrate poems. Share with class. Display on Garden Bulletin Board.
Science	Creative Arts
Living/Nonliving Sort Sort words on Mini pocket chart according to headings Living and Non - Living Use markers to record sort on manilla paper, illustrating words. Turn in to basket for Science Assessment grade.	My Secret Garden Read instructions to create a garden picture on white construction paper with pencils, thin permanent markers and water color paints Use these to decorate Spring Learning Portfolio envelopes "Growing and Learning Together" Spring Learning Portfolio - 2001
Listening	Literacy
Jack and the Beanstalk The Little Red Hen The Princess and the Pea Children listen to story on tape. Respond: Select one story - draw the characters in the story. Write one sentence to tell about each character. Share with group.	Pea + nut = Peanut Compound Words The child finds words on "nut shaped" brown paper that can be combined on a tan "shell shaped" mat to form compound words. Record compound words created in peanut shaped book. Illustrate words. Bonus: include a peanut snack to enjoy while working in this station Teacher quick check for accuracy

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Pecan Creek Elementary School ~ Denton ISD

Special thanks to my "photographer" - Darla :)

This page was created by Lin Attaya on 3-26-01

updated 04-16-01