Become a Plant Expert

Grade Level:

Subject Areas:

• Science
• Math
• Language Arts

Objectives:

• Students will identify a variety of local native plants.
• Students will identify and label parts of plants.
• Students will write descriptive paragraphs about plants after researching and collecting information on the Internet.
• Students will construct plant presses.

Technology Equipment and Skills Needed:

• Utilize computer to bring in scanned images.
• Use the Internet to research plants.
• Able to operate a digital camera.
• Able to use HyperStudio and ClarisWorks (word processing).

Lesson Overview:

For the following project, students will be grouped in fours to complete and present the assignment. Students will construct the plant press for a possible development of a herbarium (an organized collection of dried plants). They will be assigned to do research on the Internet for the assigned plants. They will choose to present orally using HyperStudio, herbarium, or charts with descriptive information written using the word processor. Students will show appreciation related to the importance of plants from a Native American perspective.

Cultural Content:

• Students will describe uses of native plants including medicinal, culinary, and ornamental purposes.
• Students will compare native plants in their natural environment with plants in the school habitat.
• Students will classify plants into a taxonomy.

Other Background Information for Teacher:

• Digital Desert Library: http://horizon.nmsu.edu/ddl/
• Keepers of the Earth, by Michael Caduto and Joseph Bruchae
• Constructing "plant press," Hands On/Minds On, p. 103

Assessment:

• Teacher Observation
• Student Portfolio