SEEDS Literature Focus Unit EDU 315 Nicole McCrory

Literature Selection  The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle  The Lorax by Dr. Suess  From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons  Seeds by Ken Robbins  How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan, Loretta Krupinski (Illustrator)  The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland, Tatsuro Kiuchi (Illustrator)  A Seed is Sleeping by Dianna Hutts Aston, Sylvia Long (Illustrator)  Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by Jill Esbaum  What Are Seeds? by Molly Aloian  The Life Cycle of a Tree by Bobbie Kalman; Kathryn Smithyman;Barbara Bedell  Oh Say, Can You Seed? All About Flowering Plants by Bonnie Worth; illustrator Aristides Ruiz  What Do Roots Do? by Kathleen Kudlinski; illustrator David Schuppert  To Be Like the Sun by Susan Marie Swanson; illustrator Margaret Chodos-Irvine

THEME STUDY  Students will take part in a thematic unit on seeds and plants. This unit will integrate reading, writing with social studies, science, mathematics, art, music, and physical education.  Students will develop an understanding of seed growth and development, plants and seed/plant terminology, optimal growing conditions, and types of seeds.

Language Arts: Reading Activities  Students will read various fiction and non- fiction books and poetry about seeds and plants through silent reading, partner reading, guided reading, and reading aloud.  Students will read their seed stories and poems to the class.  Students will share their seed journals.

Language Arts: Writing Activities  Students will write a letter to someone who lives on a farm. They need to ask detailed questions.  Students will write a What is it Poem.  Students will write a seed to plant poem.  Students will add seed and plant words to the Word Wall.  Students will write a journal on seed growth  Students will create lyrics to a photosynthesis song.

Language Arts: Speaking Activities  The students will use the author’s chair to read their stories and poems aloud.  Students will join in a grand conversation on what seeds they like/dislike and why.  Students will participate in a small group discussion about What Do Roots Do? by Kathleen Kudlinski  Students will participate in a reader’s theatre of To Be Like the Sun by Susan Marie Swanson

Language Arts: Listening Activities  Students will listen to audio versions of seeds and plant literature  Students will listen as the teacher discusses seeds and plants and how they grow and why. They will listen as the teacher shares information about North Dakota seeds.  Students will listen respectfully to their peers as they share their seed stories, poems, and journal entries.  Students will listen to their peers opinions during grand conversations.  Students will listen to photosynthesis song

Language Arts: Viewing Activities  Students will view seed and plant paintings by famous artist.  Students will view photographs of seeds and plants.  Students will take a field trip to a farm to observe seeds and plants and take photographs.  Students will view the word wall.  Students will take a nature walk to observe the plants.  Students will view plant videos (see technology ideas)  Students will view artistically displayed poems.

Language Arts: Visually Representing Activities  Students will take photographs on their field trip.  Students will display their poems in an artistic presentation.  Students will create a seed Word Wall.  Students will view their own plants growing in the classroom.  Students will create seed pattern.

Science Activities  Students will investigate the seed cycle through experiments such as growing their own plant.  Students will view seeds with a microscope.  Students will dissect a seed and label parts  Students will investigate different types of seeds.  Students will research soils and what types develop good plants.  Students will investigate different types of fertilizer

Mathematics Activities  Students will graph the development of their plant.  Students will measure their plant growth.  Students will create patterns using different seeds.  Students will graph results from soil experiment.  Students make diagrams from fertilizer research.

Social Studies Activities  Students will complete a KWL chart about farming seeds.  Students will create a Venn diagram by comparing crops in various parts of the United States.  Students will create a map of ND crops.  A local farmer can visit the classroom  Students will discuss importance of seeds and plants for North Dakota.  Students will investigate different seeds from other countries.

Music and Art Activities  Students will make paper plants.  Students will mount and title photographs taken outdoors.  Students will create an artistic background for their poems.  Students will make instruments using seeds to make music.  Students will make masks using different types of seeds.  Students will listen to photosynthesis song.

Physical Education  Students will play vocab relay.  Students will go on a field trip to a farm.  Students will plant a tree as a class  Students will participate in a seed and plant scavenger hunt with pedometers  Students will plant a garden.

Technology  o o  client_ftp/ks2/science/plants_pt2/ client_ftp/ks2/science/plants_pt2/   Digital photography  Newspapers  Audiotapes of literature  Magic School Bus: Plants Seeds Video  Way Cool Science: Seeds and Plants By Max Orbit Video  Bill Nye the Science Guy videos

Language Art Strategies  Activating background knowledge: students will think what they already know about seeds and plants.  Brainstorming: students will think of many ideas related to seeds and plants through writing activities.  Predicting and Monitoring: students will predict the plant growth and keep track of plant growth in a journal.  Playing with Language: students will use language creatively through stories, poems, and journals.  Revising: students will make changes to written activities.  Visualizing: students will draw pictures in their minds.

Language Arts Skills  Print: students will recognize words on the Seed Word Wall.  Comprehension: students will recognize literary genres of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.  Language: students will apply various skills in their writing activities: stories, poems.  Reference: students will make venn diagrams, graphs, read newspaper articles

Grouping patterns  Large Group: grand conversations, field trips, nature walk, viewing videos, word wall, Venn diagram, farmer visit.  Small Group: small group discussions, creation of instruments, writing plant journals, mounting and titling plant photographs, identification of ND crops.  Individual: writing stories, poems, letters, journal entries

Assessments  Journal entries and KWL Chart: Rubric  Participation in grand conversations  Analytical Writing Traits Rubrics and peer conferences for stories and poems  Performance assessment of author’s chair, small group science experiments  Math graphs, Venn diagrams, plant journals and Social Studies maps: Checklist  Spelling test with words from the Seed Word Wall  Active participation in physical education and music performances  Portfolio of art work: plants, poetry presentation, and photography