Plants in our Midst: Formative Assessment

"We want to learn about trees"
In this formative week the children gathered ideas and questions they have about plants. With the sun shiny weather we took a walk in the forest to observe our luscious forest trails. We are so fortunate to have the forest as our backyard and what better way to learn and explore the plants in our immediate environment. 
"Dandelions are everywhere!"



Here are some of their comments:
Kathryn: Tell me what you know about plants?
Children: they are tall and big, they have leaves, they have flowers and fruits.
Matthew: These are weeds!! (Pointing to a Dandelion)
Kathryn: is a weed a plant? (Got a puzzled look from the children)
Francine: They have flowers and they grow everywhere. I like them; they are pretty. But some people don't like them.

"Some leaves are prickly!"


"This tree is dead!"

They were also very curious about naming the plants. Francine most of all wanted to know the names of the trees and the flowers. Damon was very interested in big, tall trees and wondered why some are smaller. Matthew wanted to know more about prickly plants and when berries will start growing. When we came across a hollow tree they noticed small plants were growing on it. This started a buzz and got them asking why. They all agreed that it isn't a plant anymore because it's "dead". Brendan asked: "what are those (little plants) doing there?"

Based on their comments the children created their own criteria  on what plants are.
In the next couple of weeks we will work on the definition of plants by comparing living vs non-living things. We will also learn about some the different types of plants we have in our forest: their features, the similarities and differences.
"What do you call this plant? It's so small!"





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