Implementation Strategies
Journaling will be used extensively in this unit as a way for the students to track their plant’s progress. For my own students, journaling in the beginning will just be drawing pictures and labeling. This form of developmental writing is great for students at the beginning of the year. As they become more familiar with the process, their labels will turn into short sentences about what is happening and what they are observing. Journaling is a great way for my students to record scientific data. They will do this by also measuring how tall their bean plant becomes and making these additions to their journal entries. This allows them to learn at their own pace and be allowed to express what is unique to them and thus create individualized learning.
Listening Comprehension is a strategy I use often in my classroom. Due to the age of my students they are not quite reading text on their own at this point. This makes listening comprehension critical especially for nonfiction texts. There are several things one can do while reading to engage the students and increase their comprehension of the story or concept. I use turn and talks during my read alouds to give the students a chance to discuss key concepts with a partner and then report back to the group. I also use think alouds to bring up a problem to use in prompting a class discussion.
Class discussions are essential to all early learning. They provide the students with a chance to ask questions and explore ideas in a safe environment. In my classroom, I use class discussion following a story or main idea. I usually reinforce this with the making of anchor charts of visual aids. I hang these in the class for the students to refer back to in context. This strategy, coupled with journaling, allows independent and group learning in the classroom.
Essential topics and questions
These questions are for general discussion as we read, but they are also intended to guide imaginations as my students explore hands-on within the unit. They may provide a framework for introductions or conclusions.
What is a life cycle?
What are the characteristics of living, nonliving, and dead things?
What can we observe about a pea plant over time?
What happens during each stage of a life cycle?
What is photosynthesis?
What does the sun do for our pea plant?
How can we measure our plant’s growth?
What is energy?
Student Resources
Bang, Molly, and Penny Chisholm. Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth.
Buried Sunlight is an information book for students on fossil fuels. This book explains what fossil fuels are and how they came to exist.
Bang, Molly. Common Ground: The Water, Earth, and Air We Share. New York: Blue Sky Press, 1997.
Common Ground is a great simple story for students on the planet’s natural resources. This story is about a town sharing a common green space and the needs of the townspeople. This book presents the challenge of handling our planet’s natural resources.
Bang, Molly. My Light. New York: Blue Sky Press, 2004.
My Light is a great children’s information book on the sun and solar energy. This book explains to the students how we get energy from light.
Bang, Molly, and Penny Chisholm. Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life. New York: Blue Sky Press, 2009.
Living Sunlight is a great information book about the energy we share with all living things in nature.
Bang, Molly, and Penny Chisholm. Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas. New York: Blue Sky Press, 2012.
Ocean Sunlight is a great information book about life in the ocean. It is filled with simple science and information for students about plant and animal life in the ocean.
Carle, Eric. The Tiny Seed. Natick, MA: Picture Book Studio, 1987.
This is a great read aloud for the students. It follows the growth of a plant from a tiny seed into a thriving flower. This is a great resource with excellent illustrations.
Teacher Resources
MacKay, David J. C. Sustainable Energy--without the Hot Air. Cambridge, England: UIT, 2009.
This is a great and easy read for general background knowledge on sustainable energy. The author is based out of the UK; however, the information is still very pertainable to the United States.
Walker, David. Energy, Plants and Man. Brighton: Oxygraphics, 1992.
This is a great resource for in depth background knowledge relating to photosynthesis. This resource is very technical and specialized for the topic of photosynthesis.
Yergin, Daniel. The Quest: Energy, Security and the Remaking of the Modern World. New York: Penguin Press, 2011.
This is a great resource for the political and economical aspects of energy. This book dives into political issues in the past and present regarding all energy.
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