Hand Full of Seeds Literature Focus Unit EDU 315

Literature Selection The Curious Garden by Peter Brown Jo MacDonald had a Garden by Mary Quattlebaum Get Growing! By Lois Walker The Lorax by Dr. Suess The Plant Cycle by Sally Morgan From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle Oh Say Can You Seed: All About Flowering Plants by Bonnie Worth Ride the Wind: Airborne Journeys of Animals and Plants by Seymour Simon Plant (Eyewitness Book Series) by David Burnie Powerful Plant Cells by Rebecca L. Johnson Johnny Appleseed: The Legend and the Truth by Jane Yolen Night Garden: Poems From the World of Dreams by Janet S. Wong James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Theme Study Students will take part in a thematic unit on plant life. This unit will integrate reading and writing with social studies, science, mathematics, art, music, and physical education. Students will develop an understanding of gardening different plants, plant cycles, seeds, and North Dakota crops.

Language Arts: Reading Activities Students will read fiction and non-fiction books and poems about plants through silent reading, partner reading, guided reading, reading aloud, and reader’s theatre. Students will read their plant stories and poems in the author chair. Students will share their plant observation journals. Teacher will read from James and the Giant Peach Students will share their journal entries about their imaginary plant.

Language Arts: Writing Activities Students will add plant words to the Plant Word Wall. Students will write concrete poem and a limerick poem. Students will write about the life cycle of plants and describe each stage. Students will create a new plant and describe the plant and draw picture of new plant. Based on The Lorax. Students will write in their journal about their garden at home. Students will write and illustrate a fictional story of what fruit they would want to live in and describe what insects they would meet. Based on James and the Giant Peach.

Language Arts: Speaking Activities Students will participate in a reader’s theatre of The Lorax By Dr. Suess. Students will participate in grand conversations about The Lorax. Students will present their poems and stories using the author’s chair. Students will participate in small group discussion about The Curious Garden by Peter Brown. Students will read the words aloud on the Word Wall. Students will share what plants they grow at their own house.

Language Arts: Listening Activities Students will listen to audio versions of plant literature and participate in read to partners. Students will listen as the teacher discusses plant life cycles and different plants. They will listen as the teacher discusses different crops and their production rates in North Dakota. Students will listen to their peers opinions during the grand conversations. Students will listen respectfully as peers share their stories, poems, and journal entries.

Language Arts: Viewing Activities Students will view painting from famous artists. (Georgia O’Keeffe) Students will view videos Students will view dried flowers made by peers. Students will view the Plant Word Wall Students will observe their plants. Students will observe gardens at their home or neighborhood. Students will view the following websites: and Students will view the Readers Theater performance.

Language Arts: Visually Representing Activities Students will take photographs of their plant at school and plants at their home or neighborhood. Students will present their story and poems in an artistic presentation. Students will create a Plant Word Wall. Students will make seed art and other art work.

Science Activities: Students will explain about plant cells and how they are different from animal cells. Students will plant flower and vegetable seeds. Students will start avocado seeds in water then when seed starts to sprout plant in pots. Students will study why plants are green. (photosynthesis) Discuss the greenhouse effect. Students will plant seeds in the shade and sun to see the importance of sunlight in plant growth. Discussion on what plants need to grow. Students will identify the different parts of plants and make a plant model with labeled parts.

Mathematics Activities Students will estimate a jar of various seeds. Students will count and sort 100 seeds. Students will measure the growth of their plants. Students will graph the heights of their plants (line graph). Students will vote for their favorite plant then graph the results (bar graph). Students will count the flower buds on the flowers they grew.

Social Studies Activities Students will study about the agriculture in ND. Students will identify the advantages and struggles of farming in ND (moisture, soil, whether, growing season). Students will be shown different seeds, wheat, durum wheat, barley, corn, peas, flax, canola, oil sunflowers, confectionary sunflower, and oats then identify. Students will list the uses for crops grown in ND. (Chart) Students will learn how much of each crop is produced. Discuss why crops are different in different states. Why can they grow oranges in FL and not ND?

Music and Art Activities Students will make seed art. Students will add poems and art work to their photographs. Students will make plant decorations for the classroom. Students will do a watercolor of plants that grow above and below the ground. Students will sing songs about plants (My Wild Irish Rose). Students will listen to recorded music. Students will sing In My Garden (Raffi).

Physical Education Activities Students will plant gardens outside. Students will take walks to photograph plant life. Students will have a scavenger hunt outside to find certain plants. Students will add actions to In My Garden.

Technology art.com Newspapers Digital photography The Lorax movie Youtube.com

Language Arts Strategies Activating background knowledge: students will think what they already know about plants and gardening. Brainstorming: students will think of many ideas related to plants and gardening through writing activities. Connecting: Students will relate topics to the world around them by journaling and creating a growth log by writing poems and stories. Predicting and Monitoring: Students will predict the growth of their plants and keep track of the plant growth in growth log. Playing with Language: Students will use language creatively through stories, poems, and journals. Revising: Students will make changes to written activities. Visualizing: Students will create pictures in their minds.

Language Arts Skills Print: Students will recognize words on the Plant Word Wall. Comprehension: Students will recognize literary genres of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Students will compare and contrast likes and dislikes of certain plants, and different plants. Language: Students will apply various skills in their writing activities: stories, poems, and song lyrics. Reference: Students will make graphs, venn diagrams, read articles. Study: Take notes in Science and Social Studies

Grouping Patterns Large Group: grand conversations, nature walk, harvest day, Venn diagram, word wall, readers theater, viewing videos, singing songs, authors chair. Small Group: small group discussions, math surveys, comparing plants, book discussions, view dried flowers, titling photographs, and students will go on scavenger hunt. Individual: Write stories, poems, journals entries, making plant decorations, art projects, planting seeds, and viewing plants.

Assessments Journal entries : Rubric Participation in grand conversations Analytical Writing Traits Rubrics and peer conferencing for stories and poems Informal observation of author’s chair, reader’s theatre, and small group plant observations Math graphs, Venn diagram, seed identification: checklist Spelling test with words from the Plant World Wall Active participation in physical education and music performances. Portfolio of art work: plant decorations, photography, seed art, story presentation, watercolors, dried flowers, and poems.