- assortment of root, stem, fruit, seed vegetables, and herbs (include those featured in Chicks and Salsa and Eating the Alphabet—tomato, grapes, cabbage, cucumber, potato)
- camera or phone camera
- clipboard
- magnifying lens
- marker
- leaf
- part
- plant
- root
- stem
MA Standards
Language/L.PK.MA.6: Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, listening to books read aloud, activities, and play.
Head Start Outcomes
Logic and Reasoning/Reasoning and Problem Solving: Classifies, compares, and contrasts objects, events, and experiences.
Science Knowledge/Scientific Skills and Method: Observes and discusses common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects.
Science Knowledge/Scientific Skills and Method: Collects, describes, and records information through discussions, drawings, maps, and charts.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Language 2: Participate actively in discussions, listen to the ideas of others, and ask and answer relevant questions.
Science and Technology/Inquiry Skills 4: Record observations and share ideas through simple forms of representation such as drawings.
Explore Together (outdoors): Animal Signs
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care. All rights reserved.
STEM Key Concepts: Some plants grow from seeds; Plants grow in many places; Many foods that animals, including humans, eat come from plants; We eat certain leaves, roots, fruits, and seeds, Understand that a seed holds what a plant needs to make more of itself
ELA Focus Skills: Listening and Speaking, Vocabulary
Educator Tip: Before the activity, search out a safe area with plenty of plant life. If you are close to a community garden or you have a private garden that might be a good place to explore.
Safety Tips:
- Be aware of and check areas for poison ivy, poison sumac, nettles, and bushes with thorns before taking children outside.
- 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.
- Children’s allergies need to be taken into account before going outside.
Continue to discuss the plants on display. Have children describe and identify the plants and the plant parts.
- Introduce the idea that animals—including humans—eat many parts of plants: the leaves of some plants (lettuce), the roots of some plants (carrots), the stems of some plants (asparagus), the flowers of some plants (broccoli), the seed of some plants (sunflowers), and the fruit of some plants (cucumber).
- Emphasize that not all plants are safe to eat, which is why it is important to always ask an adult before eating any. Tell children that not all plants are safe to eat, but these plants are.
Tell children they are going to go outside to explore plants. Say, We are going to look at different plants to see if we can find any signs of animals, or evidence that animals have been eating the plants outdoors. Ask children what kinds of things they think they can look for. Record their answers on a clipboard. Possible responses:
- Leaves that look like they were bitten off
- Tracks around plants that are broken or trampled
- Half-eaten fruit on the ground
- Half-eaten nuts on the ground
- Animal in the process of eating plant/nut/seed
Distribute magnifying lenses and have children explore together. Listen and engage children when you notice something sparks their interest. Take photos or videos to record their observations. Ask questions such as,
- Why do you think the animal left the acorns half-eaten instead of eating the full nut inside?
- What kind of animal makes these tiny tracks and also likes to eat the seeds scattered around the tracks?
Reflect and Share
Display any video or photographs you took while children were exploring. Have children share their observations. Encourage them to tell what evidence they found that there might have been an animal in the area eating the plants. Ask questions such as,
- What evidence did you find that makes you think there was an animal that might have been eating the nuts?
- Why do you think we saw so many prints that looked like human footprints in the tomato area?