Plants, Decimals, Percentages and Diaries on Thursday and Friday

Plant Growth and Change is our final science exploration.
Following are the learning objectives:

Students learn about the structure and growth of plants. They also learn to recognize and describe different forms of leaves, stems, roots and flowers and learn their functions in supporting the growth and reproduction of the plant. They learn various ways of starting new plants and the plants' requirements for growth. Through hands-on activities, students learn that different plants have different needs, and they gain skills and attitudes for their care.
Here is an essential question we are exploring: Why are plants so important to humans?
What is your inference?

Here are some photos for you to discuss at home:

Finding Plants in the playground at school. What kind of plant is this and how does it spread its seeds?

A close up look at the same plant above.

Plants in the community (Nose Hill Park). Do you recognize this plant from previous posts? What is the connection to First Nations people? http://plantwatch.naturealberta.ca/choose-your-plants/golden-bean/

Growing plants in the class. We are watching the growth and changes of 4 different types of plants: Lavender, Sage, Blanket Flower and beans.

Sprouts emerge. Can you inference which plant germinated first?

Germinate means: when plant begins to grow and put out roots and shoots after a dormant period.

What are the basic needs of plants?

Students are recording the observed changes in a diary format based on the books Diary of A Fly, Spider and Worm. In this case students are creating a diary in their visual sketch journals to incorporate humour along with subject specific vocabulary and transition signals. This will be a great way for them to synthesize all the writing techniques that we have been focusing on through the year.

Have a look at some of their first diary entries. They are writing from the perspective of the plant. We are able to use the figurative device personification in this writing task. Students will also be able to add in the six thinking hats perspectives to enhance their writing.