Field Trips

Plants

Grade Level:
Lower Elementary: Pre-Kindergarten through Second Grade
Subject:
Science
State Standards:
Next Generation Science Standards:
LS1.A
LS1.B
LS1.D
LS2.A
LS3.A
LS3.B
LS4.D

This field trip investigates the diversity of plants within Olympic National Park as well as the basics of plant reproduction. Through guided and unguided observations, students will increase their understanding of the plants of the Pacific Northwest, understand how scientists use a variety of tools and equipment to assist with the scientific process, as well as realize that the scientific method begins with observations and questioning.

The three-and-a-half hour long hands-on program compliments the New Plants FOSS Science Kits and is conducted both inside and out. It includes a ranger guided plant walk on the Living Forest Trail, a session with our dissecting microscope, and educational games and activities. This program is typically offered in autumn. 

Contact

Dean Butterworth
email us
360-565-3146


Activities: Nature hike along the Living Forest Trail, plant investigations with video microscope, and indoor or outdoor scavenger hunt.

Theme: Olympic National Park provides a world-class laboratory in which we can learn about plants by observing them in their natural habitat.

Goals: At the end of the program students will:
 1. Understand the beginning stages of the scientific method (making observations and asking testable questions).
 2. Learn that the forest consists of a large diversity of plants
 3. Know that plants reproduce differently
 4. Understand how tools help scientists expand their observation skills

Objectives: At the end of the program students will:
 1. Identify two different species of plants on the Living Forest Trail
 2. Draw, list and explain detailed observations
 3. Record three detailed observations about plants of Olympic National Park
 4. Describe the difference between seeds and spores
 5. Describe ways seeds and spores are dispersed
 6. Use a scientific tool to assist in making observations
 7. Have a fun experience in a National Park

Next Generation Science Standards Addressed: This lesson is designed to be used in conjunction with FOSS’s Next Generation Plants and Animals Module for 1st grade, or Insects and Plants for 2nd . Specifically, this program addresses the following elements of first and second grade standards:

Performance Expectations

  • 1-LS1-1. Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow and meet their needs.
  • 1-LS3-1. Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.
  • 2-LS2-2. Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.
  • 2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. Disciplinary Core Ideas First:
  • LS1.A. Structure and Function: All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, Plant Investigation Field Trip Olympic National Park find, and take in food, water and air. Plants also have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow. (1-LS1-1)
  • LS1.B. Growth and Development of Organisms: Adult plants and animals can have young. In many kinds of animals, parents and the offspring themselves engage in behaviors that help the offspring to survive. (1-LS1-2)
  • LS1.D. Information Processing: Animals have body parts that capture and convey different kinds of information needed for growth and survival. Animals respond to these inputs with behaviors that help them survive. Plants also respond to some external inputs. (1-LS1-1)
  • LS3.A. Inheritance of Traits: Young animals are very much, but not exactly like, their parents. Plants also are very much, but not exactly, like their parents. (1- LS3-1)
  • LS3.B. Variation of Traits: Individuals of the same kind of plant or animal are recognizable as similar but can also vary in many ways. (1-LS3-1) Second:
  • LS2.A. Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems: Plants depend on water and light to grow. (2-LS2- 1): Plants depend on animals for pollination or to move their seeds around. (2-LS2-2)
  • LS4.D. Biodiversity and Humans: There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water. (2-LS4-1)

Crosscutting Concepts

  • Patterns: Patterns in the natural world can be observed, used to describe phenomena, and used as evidence.
  • Structure and Function: The shape and stability of structures of natural and designed objects are related to their function(s).


Sample Schedule (program can be tailored to address your needs)
08:00 Arrival and welcome in the Visitor Center auditorium. Separate into three groups.
08:15 Begin first station (nature hike)
09:05 Rotate to second station (microscope investigations)
09:55 - 10:15 Snack and restroom break
10:20 – 11:05 Third and final station (seed skits)
11:10 – 11:20 Summary and closing

Resources: http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/moss.html

 

Tags: biodiversity biology plants botany community environment science and technology

Last updated: December 3, 2019