Let’s Plant A FlowerThe Sunset Elementary School

Rosedale, USAMay 2, 2011

Volume 1, Issue 1

Get Ready! This week we are working on a project entitled, “Let’s Plant A Flower”. The students are preparing themselves by taking notes, researching information, and working together as a team. The project will consist of us going out into the communities around the school and capturing pictures of different types of flowers. We will begin working on the project today and the students are very excited to get started. Throughout the project, we will gather data and collect new information along with important questions that will help us get started. After the project, we are inviting parents, friends, teachers, and other students on Friday to come and see our presentations that summarizes everything we did this week. See you on Friday! For all questions or concerns, please contact me at (555)222-1010 or email me at ms*smith2011@sunset.com.

This newsletter is informing you about the project that we are beginning this week. The purpose of this project is to get students out in the community to see different kinds of plants

and flowers along with habitats. The students will have an opportunity to work with their peers and to create a project to share with the community. The following questions that you

see on here are the questions that we are focusing on throughout the project. These questions will give us an idea of the project and how to get started.

Essential Questions:What do plants need to be able to grow and

function?

Unit Questions:What are the three components that a plant

use that helps them grow?Identify the relationship of structure to function

in plants, including roots, stems, leaves, and flowers.

Content Questions:What are plants?What are the flower parts of a plant?What are the habitat conditions that support

plant growth and survival?

Benefits of Project Based Learning

Increased attendance, growth in self-reliance, and improved attitudes toward learning

Opportunities to develop complex skills, such as higher-order thinking, problem-solving, collaborating, and communicating

Access to a broader range of learning opportunities in the classroom, providing a strategy for engaging culturally diverse learners

Expected Roles of Students and Parents

The students will be using critical thinking and problem solving. In this case, the student will need to identify the relationship of structure to function in plants, including roots, stems, leaves, and flowers by labeling a flower structure on a worksheet.

In this activity, the students will be using ICT Literacy, by using technology to conduct definitions research. After the students have completed the activity 1, then they will need to define vocabulary words using the internet dictionary.

Attention Parents: Please consider helping in a number of ways:Donating supplies-flower pots, soil, seed, or even garden toolsSpeaking to our class about flowers and their habitats

Instructional Standards for the Unit

3rd Grade Science

Standard SC.3.7 = Describe the life cycle of plants, including seed, seed germination, growth, and reproduction.

Objective = The students will collect, germinate, plant and observe how seeds grow from collection to plant growth. The students will be able to label the roots, stems, leaves, and flower parts of a plant. Students will write about the steps taken to grow the plants.

3rd Grade Science

Standard SC.3.8 = Identify how organisms are classified in the Animalia and Plantae kingdoms.

Objective = The students will answer the question, "Can Plants be Grown in Space?" and defend their explanations. Students will keep an organized science journal noting experiment results.

Have a wonderful week and we are looking forward to seeing you on Friday @4:00 P.M. in Room 106 for our presentations!

Thank you to the students, parents, and faculty for your support of preparing us for this project.