Classroom Center – Plants - 1ST GRADE

Classroom Center – Plants!

2 Description

My center was centered on the topic of plants. The children are always fascinated with

plants and I provided a variety of activities and materials related to this theme. Overall I had 10 planned activities, but I left the materials open ended enough so that the activities could be modified into a new activity or used in a new way that the children come up with. The materials I provided included: 5 live plants, a variety of seeds and containers, matching seed and plant cards, leaves, stems, flowers, glue, scissors, markers, paper, rulers, foam flower stickers, a variety of worksheets/prompts for activities, pipe cleaners, magnifying glasses, fake flowers, and clothespin labels for the parts of the plant. I also provided directions for the activities printed out on colorful paper so the children could always have guidance for what they could be doing.

The activities consisted of sorting, mystery leaf bag, observation, comparison, measurements, graphing, parts of the plant activities, and make your own plant! With the sorting activity children could sort the different types of seeds provided into different containers (shape, size, and color). There was also a corresponding sheet for higher‐level children to help them make up their own category different than the ones provided. The mystery leaf bag had lots of different leaves in it of all colors, shapes, and sizes! The children could pick a leaf out of the bag and then describe it. They could use the magnifying glass, ruler, or any materials they desired to help them describe their leaf! I made some seed matching cards so the children could play a matching game. The children matched the seed card to the corresponding plant card. The back of the card had a shape and color that matched so the children self check to make sure they were right! I had some fake flowers standing up in a bottle and clothespins with different parts of the plant labeled for the children to clip onto the fake flowers to learn/model the parts of the plant! I also provided a lot of materials for the

3 children to make their own plants. The goal was for them to learn about the parts of the plant by making their own. I then had a sheet for them to write about the plant they have created.

They were supposed to use their imagination and describe their flower. They could name it, talk about it’s color, smell, texture, and animals that lived in/used it. I had these writing prompts and more in the center for them to use if they desired.

The rest of the activities all had to do with the live plants. I had multiple sets of directions so that the children could be guided to these activities as necessary. The children were encouraged to observe the plants over time using their science journals noting changes in them as well as what they need to live. I also provided a few different observation sheets to spark the children’s interests. There was a Venn diagram the children could use to compare 2 plants. There was an observation sheet that had a chart with the plants across one side and the parts of a plant across another. The children could tally, count, or mark that the each plant had these depending on their level. Along with this sheet was a graphing sheet in which the children could make a bar graph for the amount of parts across the 5 plants OR could pick one plant and graph the amount of each part the plant had. This graphing sheet was meant for the higher students as it involved a little more understanding of comparison than the chart did. Lastly I had a sheet that the children could use when observing the flowers to record their measurement in inches and/or centimeters.

(ALL WORKSHEETS ARE AT THE END OF THIS DOCUMENT)

4 Differentiation

I explained previously how the different activities had extra components for higher‐level

children. It is also important to note the different range of activities I provided in the center. I had the simple task of sorting and then a more complex task of making a bar graph about the different plants. These skills vary with the child’s mathematical level. I also have different subjects integrated throughout the center (math, science, art, English/language arts). This allows the children to follow his/her own interests as well!

Management

During center time the children are assigned to a center. I had 4 children in the center at

once. There were enough activities for all children to be satisfied and each activity (with the exception of 2 or 3) were able to have all 4 children complete them simultaneously if that happened to occur. The children were responsible for finding their own materials (they were laid out in a very organized way) and cleaning up any mess that may occur.

5

Measurements!

Lily

Petunia

Begonia

Salvia

Peppermint

Height in inches

Height in centimeters

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

My leaf is _________ inches. My leaf is ________ centimeters. ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

Name: 7

Choose two plants. Fill out the same and different between the 2 plants.

Venn diagram with things that are the

Plant 2: ________________ Plant 1: ________________ [Both]

NORMALLY LANDSCAPE LAYOUT

8

Sorting Sheet

9

Sort the seeds and leaves using your senses…

SIGHT • Size (big, medium, small) • Shape (round, oval, pointy, square) • Color • Shiny or dull SOUND

TOUCH • Soft or hard • Brittle or Dull SMELL

10

I made a plant!

Write about the plant that you made! The following questions are SOME of the different things you can write about: • How many leaves does your plant have?

• How many flowers does your plant have?

• What colors are the different parts of your plant (leaves, flowers, stems & roots)?

• Does your plant have a smell? What is it?

• Does your plant have a taste? What does it taste like?

• Do any animals use your plant for something (food, home, resting place)?

11

I Made a Plant!

12

Parts of a Plant Observation Sheet

Root

Stem

Leaves

Flower

Lily

Mint

Begonia

Petunia

Salvia

13

Helpful Plant Words

• 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