[PCA] PUBLICATION: Exploring the Native Plant World (from Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center)

[Olivia Kwong]

http://www.wildflower.org/?nd=edu_books

Exploring the Native Plant World
A Life Science Curriculum for Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 6

In today.s culture, many of us are urban dwellers. Too few children have 
the opportunity to engage in and observe the natural world. As educators 
and environmental specialists we can introduce nature to children from all 
walks of life. Studies show that just as there is a critical time in a 
child.s life when he develops language, there is a time in a child.s life 
when she develops an appreciation of the natural world. Our challenge is 
to open that window of opportunity and welcome children to a lifetime of 
exploring and understanding nature.s wonders.

This curriculum is divided into four grade-specific, modules: Pre-K/K, 
Grades 1-2, Grades 3-4, and Grades 5-6. The focus is to provide a basis 
for the study of botany and biological systems and to serve as a 
foundation for future botanical explorations. Children in pre-kindergarten 
and kindergarten are introduced to to the shapes and patterns found in 
nature, beginning with the shapes in flowers and continuing through 
explorations of patterns found throughout a plant.s life. First and second 
graders find that plants change over time (as does everything on earth) 
and plants take care of their needs with specialized parts. In the third 
and fourth grade unit, students learn more about how plants survive and 
that this survival is carried out through a variety of relationships with 
other plants and animals and abiotic, or non-living, factors. In the final 
unit, fifth and sixth graders discover the concepts and mechanisms of 
natural selection and natural communities, as well as human impact on 
these communities.

A primary goal of this curriculum is to teach botanical principles through 
all elementary grades in order to build an ecologically literate 
citizenry. By focusing on native plants, this curriculum also provides an 
opportunity to learn more about imperiled ecosystems.

Exploring the Native Plant World was developed using the National 
Benchmarks for Science Literacy.