ClassroomCenter–Plants!

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Description

Mycenterwascenteredonthetopicofplants.Thechildrenarealwaysfascinatedwith

plantsandIprovidedavarietyofactivitiesandmaterialsrelatedtothistheme.OverallIhad10

plannedactivities,butIleftthematerialsopenendedenoughsothattheactivitiescouldbe

modifiedintoanewactivityorusedinanewwaythatthechildrencomeupwith.Thematerials

Iprovidedincluded:5liveplants,avarietyofseedsandcontainers,matchingseedandplant

cards,leaves,stems,flowers,glue,scissors,markers,paper,rulers,foamflowerstickers,a

varietyofworksheets/promptsforactivities,pipecleaners,magnifyingglasses,fakeflowers,

andclothespinlabelsforthepartsoftheplant.Ialsoprovideddirectionsfortheactivities

printedoutoncolorfulpapersothechildrencouldalwayshaveguidanceforwhattheycould

bedoing.

Theactivitiesconsistedofsorting,mysteryleafbag,observation,comparison,

measurements,graphing,partsoftheplantactivities,andmakeyourownplant!Withthe

sortingactivitychildrencouldsortthedifferenttypesofseedsprovidedintodifferent

containers(shape,size,andcolor).Therewasalsoacorrespondingsheetforhigher‐level

childrentohelpthemmakeuptheirowncategorydifferentthantheonesprovided.The

mysteryleafbaghadlotsofdifferentleavesinitofallcolors,shapes,andsizes!Thechildren

couldpickaleafoutofthebagandthendescribeit.Theycouldusethemagnifyingglass,ruler,

oranymaterialstheydesiredtohelpthemdescribetheirleaf!Imadesomeseedmatching

cardssothechildrencouldplayamatchinggame.Thechildrenmatchedtheseedcardtothe

correspondingplantcard.Thebackofthecardhadashapeandcolorthatmatchedsothe

childrenselfchecktomakesuretheywereright!Ihadsomefakeflowersstandingupina

bottleandclothespinswithdifferentpartsoftheplantlabeledforthechildrentoclipontothe

fakeflowerstolearn/modelthepartsoftheplant!Ialsoprovidedalotofmaterialsforthe

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childrentomaketheirownplants.Thegoalwasforthemtolearnaboutthepartsoftheplant

bymakingtheirown.Ithenhadasheetforthemtowriteabouttheplanttheyhavecreated.

Theyweresupposedtousetheirimaginationanddescribetheirflower.Theycouldnameit,talk

aboutit’scolor,smell,texture,andanimalsthatlivedin/usedit.Ihadthesewritingprompts

andmoreinthecenterforthemtouseiftheydesired.

Therestoftheactivitiesallhadtodowiththeliveplants.Ihadmultiplesetsof

directionssothatthechildrencouldbeguidedtotheseactivitiesasnecessary.Thechildren

wereencouragedtoobservetheplantsovertimeusingtheirsciencejournalsnotingchangesin

themaswellaswhattheyneedtolive.Ialsoprovidedafewdifferentobservationsheetsto

sparkthechildren’sinterests.TherewasaVenndiagramthechildrencouldusetocompare2

plants.Therewasanobservationsheetthathadachartwiththeplantsacrossonesideandthe

partsofaplantacrossanother.Thechildrencouldtally,count,ormarkthattheeachplanthad

thesedependingontheirlevel.Alongwiththissheetwasagraphingsheetinwhichthechildren

couldmakeabargraphfortheamountofpartsacrossthe5plantsORcouldpickoneplantand

graphtheamountofeachparttheplanthad.Thisgraphingsheetwasmeantforthehigher

studentsasitinvolvedalittlemoreunderstandingofcomparisonthanthechartdid.LastlyIhad

asheetthatthechildrencouldusewhenobservingtheflowerstorecordtheirmeasurementin

inchesand/orcentimeters.

(ALLWORKSHEETSAREATTHEENDOFTHISDOCUMENT)

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Differentiation

Iexplainedpreviouslyhowthedifferentactivitieshadextracomponentsforhigher‐level

children.ItisalsoimportanttonotethedifferentrangeofactivitiesIprovidedinthecenter.I

hadthesimpletaskofsortingandthenamorecomplextaskofmakingabargraphaboutthe

differentplants.Theseskillsvarywiththechild’smathematicallevel.Ialsohavedifferent

subjectsintegratedthroughoutthecenter(math,science,art,English/languagearts).This

allowsthechildrentofollowhis/herowninterestsaswell!

Management

Duringcentertimethechildrenareassignedtoacenter.Ihad4childreninthecenterat

once.Therewereenoughactivitiesforallchildrentobesatisfiedandeachactivity(withthe

exceptionof2or3)wereabletohaveall4childrencompletethemsimultaneouslyifthat

happenedtooccur.Thechildrenwereresponsibleforfindingtheirownmaterials(theywere

laidoutinaveryorganizedway)andcleaningupanymessthatmayoccur.

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Measurements!

Heightininches HeightincentimetersLily

Petunia

Begonia

Salvia

Peppermint

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Myleafis_________inches.Myleafis________centimeters.

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Trace and color or Draw a picture of your leaf here!

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Name:

Plant1:________________Plant2:________________

Choose two plants. Fill out the Venn diagram with things that are the same and different between the 2 plants.

NORMALLYLANDSCAPELAYOUT

[Both]

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SortingSheet

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Sorttheseedsandleavesusingyoursenses…

SIGHT

• Size(big,medium,small)

• Shape(round,oval,pointy,square)

• Color

• Shinyordull

SOUND

TOUCH

• Softorhard

• BrittleorDull

SMELL

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Imadeaplant!

Writeabouttheplantthatyoumade!Thefollowingquestions

areSOMEofthedifferentthingsyoucanwriteabout:

• Howmanyleavesdoesyourplanthave?

• Howmanyflowersdoesyourplanthave?

• Whatcolorsarethedifferentpartsofyourplant(leaves,

flowers,stems&roots)?

• Doesyourplanthaveasmell?Whatisit?

• Doesyourplanthaveataste?Whatdoesittastelike?

• Doanyanimalsuseyourplantforsomething(food,home,

restingplace)?

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IMadeaPlant!

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PartsofaPlantObservationSheet

Lily Mint Begonia Petunia Salvia

Root

Stem

Leaves

Flower

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HelpfulPlantWords

• Plant• Flower• Stem• Root• Leaf• Seed• Sun• Water• Smell• Pointy• Spiky• Sharp• Shiny• Dull• Soft• Round

• Oval• Square• Crunchy• Sweet• Tall• Skinny• Short• Small• Medium• Large