KCK Organic Teaching Gardens

Just How Do Plants Grow?

This workshop expands on the information of “The Parts of The Seed” and “The Parts of The Plant” workshops. A read-aloud of a garden book is expanded for students to perform the book as a short play.  Students are reminded about the basic things plants need to grow: Sunlight, Water, Air and Soil (rich in nutrients). Mentors and students discuss specifically the individual parts of the plant and why many plants have: roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and seed. Mentors use visual images and terms at the front of class with special handouts and worksheets identifying the main parts of the plant, the parts of a flower, and the definition of photosynthesis.  What does a flower do for a plant?  Why are bees, birds, butterflies, and the wind important to plants?  Students compare themselves to flowers. Students examine how plants produce fruit?Students and mentors begin several scientific experiments that continue into the following day, that demonstrate how plants take water and food into their roots, up through their stem to the flower. This is one of our more advanced workshops that aims to reinforce 6th grade science benchmarks in the schools, while connecting these benchmarks directly to their garden and their food.