Recommended Reading  The Curious Garden by Peter Brownfiction Grades: Preschool-3rd Lexile Level: AD870L Selected because: Fun, engaging artwork. Simple message – plants in a human setting need care to survive/human settings are improved with plants. Concepts of life needs, seasonality and life cycles, succession, and persistence all interwoven into the story. Suggested activities: This excellent list of suggested activities from Perfection Learning (PDF) includes language arts, character education, movement and
games, art and music, social science, and science. We particularly like the
open-ended activity of having students think about plant needs and then act out
the process of photosynthesis.  Pick, Pull, Snap!: Where Once a Flower Bloomed by Peter Brownnon-fiction Grades: Preschool-3rd Lexile Level: AD840L Selected because: Gorgeous, accurate diagram illustrations of food plants and parts. Diversity of characters. Seasonality, process of pollination, and planting instructions at the end of the bookSuggested activities: Because the book does not cover pollination explicitly in the main text, this could serve and an excellent assessment opportunity. Scan or photocopy* some of the diagrams. Students can cut them out, then draw or describe the intermediate stages and processes between each diagram. Observation opportunities: peas grow quickly and in cool temperatures. Read the book and plant peas mid-March for harvest in mid-May. Students can pick (or photograph/draw) and align the different stages to make a timeline, dissect flowers and pods, and observer the process of pollination. *Be sure to follow copyright laws! Use of these images in the classroom may fall under the fair use provision of copyright law (photocopies DO NOT fall under the classroom exemption provison), but your agency may require you to contact the publisher for written permission. |
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