Organisms
Lesson 4
Observing Woodland Plants
Students broaden their understanding of plants by beginning a study of two woodland plants, moss and a tree seedling. They will become aware of the needs, similarities, and differences of the two organisms.
3. Lesson set up and Management
SYSTEMS GLE 1.1.6 Understand characteristics of living organisms: identify observable characteristics of living organisms and observe and describe characteristics of living organisms.
SYSTEMS GLE 1.3.8 Know that most living things need food, water, and air: observe and record that most living things need food, water, and air and observe and record or demonstrate that plants need light.
SYSTEMS GLE 1.3.10 Know that plants and animals need a place to live: observe and show how organisms live in specific places and describe how animals depend on plants or other animals for food and describe how animals depend on plants or other animals for shelter.
INQUIRY GLE 2.1.4 Understand that models represent real objects, events, or processes: Create a simple model of a common object, event, or process.
INQUIRY GLE 2.2.2 Understand that observations and measurement are used by scientists to describe the world.
- Students will observe, draw and describe two woodland plants, moss and a tree seedling, to understand that plants have similarities and differences.
- Students will explore what plants need to live.
3. Lesson set up and Management
Materials:
- The woodland plants will do best in indirect light. They should be easily observed by students each day.
- The teacher’s guide suggests that the teacher set up each terrarium ahead of time. This is a waste of valuable teacher time and does not make the learning as powerful for students. Guide them through the setting up of the terrarium and let each group make their own.
- Teams of students will need some adult assistance to loosen the seedling from the planting cup and to plant the woodland plants.
- Leaf litter can be gathered along fence lines or under trees. It is simply dried leaf matter that has fallen from trees. Gather about 2 grocery bags full. Have kids crunch it up before placing it in the terrarium. Watch out for critters in the leaf litter as you gather it. Spiders and other unsavory creatures like to live in leaf litter. Wearing gloves is a great idea.
- If there is good balance in the covered terrarium you may not need to water it further. There will be some condensation on the sides and top but if it is so wet you cannot see through the tank it is too wet. Open up the dial on the top a little more to let the tank air out a bit. If there is no condensation, mist the plants.
- Instead of using Record Sheet 4-A (and in lesson 12 4-B) dedicate two or three pages in the science notebook in sequence to terrarium observations, both this initial one and subsequent observations.
Each group of students gets a moss
section to place on the soil.Each group will plant one tree seedling.
Terrarium with tree, leaf litter and
wood chips.The moss mat in the terrarium.
Student Management:
- Terrariums are designed to be set up by groups of about 4 students. When forming teams it can be helpful to mix the group with children of different levels of reading, writing, and verbal ability. This will ensure that each team has students that can use their strengths to assist others in the group.
- A parent helper or assistant can be really helpful in circulating around the room assisting students as the teacher does. It is entirely possible to do this solo, however, if no adult help is available. The plants are pretty kid proof as long as they don’t break the tree.
- Give each student a sandwich type bag to bring in twigs, small rocks and other items that can be added to the terrarium. Pill bugs like to have places to hide.
- While it is an option to keep the terrariums on student tables; this tends to be risky as they can be overturned and can be pretty distracting for students.
- Have materials to set up a sample terrarium as you lead students through the procedure.
- Create a class chart comparing and contrasting how woodland plants are the same and different. If this is constructed as a box & T-chart it will provide a scaffold for future writing. Use post-it notes to place the comments so that they can be organized and more added as students make further observations.
Students bring in rocks and sticks to
add to their terrarium.Terrarium with rocks and sticks.
Writing Support:
- Read books such as A Tree Is Nice, by Janice May Udry and have students draw why they think a tree is nice and complete the sentence (or even several sentences) "I think a tree is nice because____________."
- Use an observation organizer to scaffold student writing about what they observed.
Reading Support:
- As a class read about mosses and trees. Two good tree books are A Tree is Growing by Arthur Dorros and Look at a Tree by Eileen Curran
- Eileen Curran's book, Life in the Forest, is a book beginning readers could read independently.
- Begin a word wall and add vocabulary words such as "tree," "moss," "seedling," "plant," and "soil." Have children orally read the list from time to time and refer to it as they read and write.
Math Support:
- Be sure to have students put the date and the time on each science notebook page. Having students write the time of each lesson provides an embedded time-telling practice each time they work in their science notebook. Initially, the class can refer to the clock and tell the time to be written together. Have the class tell which number the hour/small hand is at or has gone past and write that down. Then they write the “dot-dot” or colon. Finally, guide the class through counting by 5’s and ones to get to the minute/long hand. By spring most students will have an understanding of time-telling without lots of Judy Clock practice that has no purpose for them.