It's Alive! Organisms and Plants in the School Garden

This week in Grade 5 STEAM: 

LOOK WHAT WE FOUND!

We have officially begun our first science unit of the year: Studying Life Science through Plants! In 2016 the state of Massachusetts launched a new set of science standards. They are well developed and thought out and leave a lot of room for student engagement, project based learning, and knowledge development. For this unit we are focusing on the following: 

Life Science 1. From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

• 5-LS1-1. Ask testable questions about the process by which plants use air, water, and energy from sunlight to produce sugars and plant materials needed for growth and reproduction.

In order for us to get to this testable question, we need to do our background research. This involves learning that plants are living organisms that go through a predictable life cycle. We will also be studying the structure and function of plant parts in order to understand how plants live and grow.

What better place to do this than in our very own school Community Garden!

This week involved our first expedition out to the garden. We simply observed what we saw- living organisms (both plants and animals). Next week, the Somerville Farm to School Program will come in for our first lesson. We will head back outside to "put the garden to bed" for the season.

Plant Parts and Their Functions: Drawing Scientific Diagrams and Non-Fiction Reading/Note Taking

This year students will be working on incorporating some art into their science class. On Friday we learned how to draw a scientific diagram. Since one of our standards requires us to identify the structures of plants, what better way to learn the skill.

We also practiced reading a short non-fiction text: an article about a plant parts, and talked about the different text features and how they can help us to understand the text.

Coming up next week:

Planting terrariums, measuring plant growth, and graphing the data!

Stay Tuned and have a great weekend!