Explore Together (outdoors): Outdoor Plant Parts

© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care. All rights reserved.

STEM Key Concepts: Plants grow in many places; Plants have different parts: roots, stems, leaves, and fruit; Plants need water and sunlight to grow; Plants grow in places where they get their needs met; Plants often grow in some type of dirt; Plants exhibit diversity and variation; Some plant parts are below the ground and some above

ELA Focus Skills: Listening and Speaking, Vocabulary

Educator Prep:

• Display the plant diagram next to the real plant.
• Before the activity, go outside and search out an area with various plants for children to explore.
• If possible, make a list of the plants and identify ones that are local to the area.

Safety Tips:

• Be aware of and check for poison ivy and poison sumac before gathering children in a designated area.
• Remind children to wash their hands before and after the activity.
• Remind children not to eat ANY plants or touch any plants without asking an adult.
• Take children’s allergies into account before going outside.

You may want to begin the week by reviewing the basic rules chart.

Things that are okay to do while exploring outdoors:

• Collect parts of plants that have fallen on the ground (twigs, leaves, nuts)
• Observe plants with your eyes and magnifying lenses
• Touch and sniff growing plants only after an adult says it is okay

Things that are not okay to do while exploring outdoors:

• Break off bark, twigs, leaves, or flowers (that can hurt or kill a plant)
• Put berries, leaves, twigs, or ANYTHING in your mouth

Tell children they will go outside to explore plants and plant parts with a partner. Focus attention on the plant and the plant diagram and ask children to name the parts of a plant that they know. Use the real plant, when possible. For parts that are not visible in the live plant. Use the diagram to help children identify the part. Record the parts on the clipboard. (root, stem, leaves, flower, seed, bulb)

Explain to children that you want them to notice how plant parts might be the same and different on different plants, even on plants of the same kind.

Draw children’s attention to the similarities and differences between plants and plant parts by asking questions such as,

• What is the same/different about these two plants?
• What is the same/different about the leaves? The stem? The other parts?
• What do you notice about the size/shape/color/smell of this plant compared to that plant?

List children’s ideas on the clipboard. Include comments on the following or similar topics:

• Similarities and differences in leaves, flowers, fruits, nuts, and seeds
• Similarities and differences in size, shape, color, type, quantity, and smell

Take children outdoors and encourage them to share what they observe about plant parts with their partner and to draw their observations in their notebooks to record information. As children explore freely, circulate, listen, and engage when you notice a pair is engrossed in an observation. Ask questions such as,

• What do you notice about the size of the stem on the plant with the small flower compared to the size of the stem on the plant with the big flower?
• What do you notice about the parts of the tree that are like the parts of this flowering plant? What do you notice that’s different?

Reflect and Share

Once you are back in the room, display or pass around any photos you took of children’s explorations. Encourage pairs to use the photos or their notebooks to share what they observed. Prompt children to ask questions of the children who are sharing. Ask questions such as,

• How were all the sunflowers the same? How were some of the sunflowers different? (some were taller than others; some had bigger flowers)
• What parts did they all have?
•  What did you notice that was similar about all the plants?

Extend the concept and help children gain an understanding that all living things have similarities and differences. Say, Plants are living things that have similarities and differences—just like animals, including people. People are living things with similarities and differences. Explain that each one of the children in the group is unique, even though they are all children/people. Ask questions such as,

• How are all the children in our group the same? (people, children)
• How are some of you different? (tall/short, brown hair, dark skin, etc.)
• What are some parts you all have? (eyes, hair, feet, etc.)