In an attempt to lead students towards the information they will need to compile, each class searched for anything they could find about one specific plant. This was practice for when I set them free to choose whatever plant they want to work with.1st period: the Sun Belle tomato.
2nd period: the Pineapple tomato.
3rd period: the Red Fig tomato.
6th period: the Dixie Golden Giant.
8th period: the White Zebra tomato.
During the search, I had them dig for information in the following categories listed on the main worksheet for the project:
- Name of the plant:
- What is the provenance of the plant:
- List some the main reasons why it is endangered or considered an heirloom:
- What specific conditions does it require to grow and thrive:
- What are its favorite companion plants:
- What makes it unique/special. Consider use, flavor, texture, share, color, contributions to the natural world:
- List/Track all of the places you learned or borrowed information/experiences:
The purpose was to do the exercise together in a large group so that I could direct them through obstacles and encourage them to dig deeper into the online resources. Sometimes a younger student will simply take the first information available and pass on the opportunity of exploring and unearthing some other gems of knowledge.
Some of the common learning experiences today:
- discovering the provenance of a plant is not so easy in some cases
- information about plants is scattered all over the internet
- plants are quirky and have a variety of needs
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