Plant Families & Food Ecology
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Provided by: FoodCorps|Published on: May 24, 2024
Lesson PlansScientist Reviewed
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Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this hands-on lesson, 3rd graders will observe and draw the leaf from a plant, then look for similarities in other plant species to identify plants in the same family.
- Students will record the characteristics of their leaf, identify their plant and its family, and find students who have leaves from the same family.
- This project is intended to be completed using leaves from plants in a school garden, with 25 common garden plants that have been grouped and identified to choose from.
Subjects: Science
Authors: FoodCorps
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- There is a section devoted to self-reflection where students reflect on their group's efficacy and their behavior in the garden.
- The lesson includes several extension activities to deepen student understanding.
Prerequisites
- This lesson centers around having a class garden. Students without a class garden may be able to visit a community garden or use images of the plants instead.
- This lesson is 50 minutes long.
- Teachers will need to collect leaves and print the worksheet before teaching the lesson.
Differentiation & Implementation
- In reading classes, students can read a book about plants or gardens before this lesson. Then, teachers can tell students to act as plant detectives to make connections to their reading.
- Science teachers can discuss the importance of having many different plant families in a garden and the role of biodiversity in adapting to climate change.
- Teachers can begin with this lesson to introduce a unit about plant and animal adaptations and how they help an organism survive in their environment.
- Teachers who do the dichotomous key activity can extend it by showing students a dichotomous key for local tree species.
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
FoodCorps
FoodCorps partners with schools and communities to nourish kids’ health, education, and sense of belonging. Our Americorps members serve alongside educators and school nutrition leaders to provide kids with nourishing meals, food education, and culturally affirming experiences with food that celebrate and nurture the whole child. Building on our service program, FoodCorps develops leaders, grows networks, and advocates for policy change in service of every kid’s health and wellbeing.
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
