This article provides a list of plants native to Oregon and their significance.
Students will learn the historical significance of these plants, as well as the benefits of planting native plants.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This article is in a list format with a small paragraph about each plant, making the content easy to follow.
Pictures of the plants help students get an idea of how to identify them in nature.
Additional Prerequisites
Prior to reading, it may be beneficial to discuss with students what a native plant is, though it is defined in the article.
ELL students and younger students may need some terms defined prior to reading the article, including pesticides, fertilizers, acclimated, shrub, sinuous, and thrive.
Differentiation
Science classes can use this article in a wider conversation about native species, non-native species, invasive species, and the effects they all have on ecosystems.
Students can choose one of the plants mentioned in the article and create their own care guide, including best growing conditions, care instructions, and benefits of this plant. These ideas can come from the article, student ideas, and further research.
Geography classes can discuss the impact that these plants have on people living in the region, with a focus on Native American history and culture.
This article can be used to introduce an activity where students will conduct research to find out what plants are native to their area and the benefits of these plants.
This article can be supplemented with a hands-on project in Oregon, where students plant native plants on the school grounds and monitor the care for these plants.
This article could lend itself to a jigsaw activity, especially to practice summarization skills in English language arts, with groups of 5 each reading about two different plants and summarizing what they read.
Students studying Lewis and Clark can read this article to gain additional information about their expedition and the classification they did during that time.
Scientist Notes
Though this list is nearly 10 years old, the accuracy of the information has been independently verified and is correct. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Geography
D2.Geo.6.6-8 Explain how the physical and human characteristics of places and regions are connected to human identities and cultures.
D2.Geo.10.6-8 Analyze the ways in which cultural and environmental characteristics vary among various regions of the world.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Informational Text (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.2 Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
