Project

Objective

To notice plants in their habitat, identify their parts, and create a bookmark using the plants, leaves and/or flowers.

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Project Details

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Materials

• Clear contact paper pre-cut into 3” x 6” rectangles, 2 per student or clear packing tape
• Piece of plain paper
• Scissors
• One (1) letter or business size envelope per child (if doing the nature walk)
• Plant leaves and/or flowers collected on the walk

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Research Question: What plant life/parts can you identify?

Experimental Procedure: 

1. Review plants.
2. Distribute the pre-gathered plant parts to each student. If doing the nature walk, follow the tips below.
3. Students will place their plant parts on the sticky side of one piece of contact paper or on the plain piece of regular paper. When everything is arranged, sandwich the plant parts with the other piece of contact paper (sticky sides facing each other) or apply strips of packing tape over the plant parts and onto the plain paper.

Nature walk tips:

1. Distribute envelopes to each student to hold plant parts that each collects.
2. Rules: Leaves on the ground are great to collect because plants no longer need them. Pick leaves, flowers, and seeds sparingly so that the plants can grow and reproduce.
3. Lead a nature walk so that all students walk the same route. Encourage students to notice the plants around them. Model thinking for collection: “That is a very pretty plant, but it has only a few leaves, and I don’t see other plants like it. I won’t collect this leaf.” “Here are some leaves on the ground. I can collect them.” “This flower has a lot of pretty petals. I can use some of the petals for my bookmark and share the rest with friends.”
4. Students collect items in their envelopes and bring them inside to create a bookmark. Items will need to be flat, so flower parts may need to be used rather than whole blossoms.

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