Garden Safari

Students will use their senses to explore objects from the schoolyard and then classify them as living or non-living, developing descriptors for each of the two classifications. Further explorations demonstrate plant movement (as a qualifier for being “living”) and provide an opportunity for students to sort plants based on observable traits.

Concepts: Living vs. Non-Living

Essential Questions

  • How can we classify what we find in our schoolyard as living, once-living, or non-living?

Standards Addressed

GSES

  • SKP1b. Use senses and science tools to classify common objects according to their physical attributes (color, size, shape, weight, and texture).
  • SKL1b. Develop a model to represent how a set of living and non-living objects are sorted into groups based on their attributes.
  • SKL2b. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants can be grouped according to their features.

Common Core ELA

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.E Students will use the most frequently occurring prepositions.
  • ELAGSEKL1 Demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
    • e. Use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with).