Español
Materials
- clipboard, paper, and pencil
- camera
- magnifying glasses
Key Science Concepts
- There are many different types of plants and seeds.
- Plants grow in many places. Usually they grow in soil.
- A tree is a very large plant. There are many different types of trees.
Vocabulary
Encourage children to use vocabulary related to plants, such as trees, leaves, stems, twigs, roots, bark, flowers, grass, and seeds, and science process words such as observe, describe, compare, and predict.
Directions
Tell children you are going to go outside to take a plant walk. Before heading outdoors, ask children what plants they think they’ll see.
- Write down their predictions on your clipboard.
- Pass out magnifying glasses and encourage children to use them to look closely at the different plants they find.
- Throughout the walk, make a list of the different plants, flowers, and trees that children identify.
- Take photographs.
- Ask children, Do you think there is more than one kind of tree or flower? Why do you think that? What do you see?
Reflect and Share
Discuss what children saw on the plant walk:
- Did you see any really big plants? What were they like?
- What about trees? Do you think trees are plants? Why?
- Did you see any tiny plants? Describe them.
- Did you see any flowers? What did they look like?
- Did you notice any plants you had never seen before? Can you describe what they look like?
- Did you see any plants growing in surprising places (like cracks in the sidewalk or on a wall)?
