Plants

During my teaching experience in pre-school I developed a unit on plants for ages 4-5, but could also be used in Kindergarten and First Grade.

Here is a list of books that I used and had displayed in the classroom.

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

A Garden Alphabet by Isabel Wilner

Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Elhert

The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds by Joanna Cole

The Tiny SeedI by Eric Carle

From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons

Dinofours:My Seeds Won't Grow by

The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller

This is a poem we used written by Helen H. Moore

Seed, Sprout Flower

A seed is planted:

First a sprout,

then stem,

and leaves,

and buds,

come out.

Buds grow bigger,

smelling sweet,

bees and birds come 'round to eat.

Bees and birds

help flowers spread

their seeds on

the garden bed…

A seed is planted

*This poem is a great poem to discuss the dipthong /ou/ ou, ow

Make a flower cutout and have students write words with /ou/ on the petals

This is a song we sung ever day to remember the parts of a plant

Parts of a Plant by Meish Goldish (sung to "The Wheels on the Bus")

The roots of a plant grow underground,

Underground, underground.

The roots of a plant grow underground,

Roots are part of a plant.

The stems of a plant hold up the leaves,

Up the leaves, up the leaves,

the stems of a plant hold up the leaves,

Stems are part of a plant.

The leaves on a plant are making food,

making food, making food,

The leaves on a plant are making food,

Leaves are part of a plant.

The flowers on a plant are growing seeds,

Growing seeds, growing seeds,

The flowers on a plant are growing seeds,

Flowers are part of a plant.

Activities for learning about plants:

This activity shows how plants get water. I used celery with my class, but you could also use a daisy or carnation. Add red and blue food coloring to water. Place celery in the water and wait a few days and see what happens. The tubes in the plants are like straws and get water to the leaves

Place a damp paper towel in a zip lock bag. Add a lima bean on top of the paper towel. DO not seal the bag all the way. Tape it on the window and watch it grow.

Have a plant part eating feast after discussing the different plants people eat. Roots: onions, carrots, radishes Flowers: broccoli, cauliflower Stems: Celery, Rhubarb Leaves: lettuce, spinach, cabbage Seeds: peas, corn, fruit

Plant some seeds in time for Mother's Day in May. We planted marigolds and had a lot of success. Make sure you plant them about 6 weeks ahead of time and plant a couple of extra in case someone's doesn't make it.

In a small snack size zip lock place various seeds in the bags and see if students can guess what vegetables they will grow into