Adopt-a-Plant

Activity

Students are taken to the greenhouses and asked to explore them looking for a plant to adopt. The students have to explain why they have adopted that plant: food, water, camouflage, to protect, for protection, or to pollinate.

Materials Needed: Students, Greenhouses

Procedure

1. Docent leads students to the greenhouses.
2. Docent explains activity and prompts students to think why a plant-insect relationship could be important.
3. Students are told they have to 1)have a good reason why they want to adopt that plant: food, protection, shelter, etc. and 2) tell 3 people why they chose that plant. One person has to be a teacher or Docent.
4. Students are told they have seven minutes to explore the greenhouses and choose a plant.
5. Students are then sent into the greenhouses to explore.

Alabama Course of Study for Science

This activity meets goals specified for grades:

• K–#’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 14, 15, 19
• 1st–#’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27
• 2nd–#’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 20, 23, 25, 26
• 3rd–#’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 32, 37
• 4th–#’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 43, 46
• 5th–#’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 30, 31, 39

Learning Outcomes

Students will look at plant-insect relationships from a different perspective, from the perspective of the insect they have become and understand better why plants could be important to them as an insect and as a human.

Instrumental Objectives

Students will be able to:

• identify and discuss why plants are important to insects.
• distinguish at least three important relationships between plants and insects.
• verbalize why a plant is important to them as a specific insect.