1st Grade - Act. 23: How Tall are Plants?

Summary

Students will measure a plant using unifix cubes and record their measurements on a class chart.

Materials

• various plants
• unifix cubes
• discovery journals
• pencils
• chart paper

Additional Resources

Look at this Tree by Susan Canizares
All Kinds of Plants by Sandar Iversen
From Flowers to Fruit by Fred and Jeanne Biddulph
Plant Parts by Amy Jo
Plants and Seeds by Colin Walker
Where are the Seeds? by Pauline Cartwright

Background for Teachers

Height is a physical characteristic of plants. It is determined by the growing conditions that the plant receives such as the amount of sunlight, water, quality of soil, and temperature. Growth is a characteristic of plants that can be easily measured.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Intended Learning Outcomes
5. Understand and use basic concepts and skills.

Process Skills
Description, data collection and interpretation

Instructional Procedures

Invitation to Learn
Use a non-standard unit such as unifix cubes, paperclips, or string to measure plant growth.

Instructional Procedures

1. Demonstrate how to measure the height of a plant using unifix cubes.
2. Divide students into groups and give each group a plant to observe and measure using unifix cubes.
3. Record height on class chart using cut out squares to match unifix cubes.
4. As a class, put the plants' height on a class chart and compare.
5. Students will write and illustrate one or more conclusions drawn from the class chart.

Extensions

Possible Extensions/Adaptations
Measure plants using another nonstandard unit.

Family Connections
Share discovery journal at home. Measure plants at home using nonstandard units of measure.

Assessment Plan

Teacher observes group activities and evaluates journal entries.