Seeds of Learning

Curriculum Ideas

The Seeds of Learning campaign is a way for elementary teachers of Ontario to reach out to their students and their communities to remind the public that the elementary school is where learning begins. By setting down roots in the younger years, we create lifelong learners as adults. Learning takes nurturing, care and creativity. We hope these lessons inspire you to learn with your students about the many ways we learn and grow.

The document contains lesson plans for all grade levels from Kindergarten to grade eight. The expectations met by the main lesson on each page are listed in the first box. A focus for the main lesson is also indicated in the "Focus" box. All lessons are integrated with at least two subject areas.

In order for the Seeds of Learning to be a meaningful learning experience, it should be linked to the curriculum expectations. As well, each lesson contains several extensions into other areas of the curriculum. Think of each lesson as a starting point and the extensions as a way to go as far as you wish with the Seeds of Learning campaign.

Many of the resources were chosen to reflect the diverse population of our students in Ontario. We want all students to feel as though they have a voice in this curriculum and campaign. Since integration and inclusivity are key elements in successful learning, we have aimed to meet this in the creation of the lessons.

Each page also contains a section that calls for the students to do some reflective learning and goal setting. By talking about the learning process and setting goals, students will grow to learn that they can accomplish the goals they set for themselves. We hope that this document and the campaign inspire you and your students to succeed and grow!

In our classroom we grow tall Playing, creating, imagining it all We learn our numbers, letters and colours We make new friends and are kind to others

This seed will grow with a lot of care It needs soil and sunlight, water and air Its roots must be strong to eat what it needs Kids too must grow – we are like seeds

We need caring and trust Learning’s a must It all starts here In the early years.

This curriculum resource has been prepared by Debbie Donsky for E TFO

Kindergarten: Garden of Children

Expectations: Language

·         Ask questions, express feelings, and share ideas The Arts

·          Express ideas and feelings through a variety of media

·         Use their creativity in movement, mime, and dance activities (e.g. invent dances using familiar rhythms) Kindergarten: Garden of Children

FOCUS Language and Movement

Plan:

·          Place several types of seeds (e.g., carrot, sunflower and bean seeds) on the discovery table with a magnifying glass and the seed packages and ask the students to guess which seeds belong to each package

·         Ask students to arrange seeds in order from biggest to smallest

·         Bring students together into the whole group

·          Show the students a seed and ask them if they know what it is

·          Record student responses with words and pictures

·          Ask students what grows from a seed

·          Ask students how to make a seed grow

·          Teach one of the songs or poems from the recommended websites and model the movements

·          Ask students to join you in singing the song and doing the actions

·          Play music that will allow the students to freely explore the movement and growth of the seed into a plant

·          On the arts table, students can develop a sequencing of plants from seeds to full grown

Extensions:

·          Ask the students to explain using their words or pictures what happens to the seed as it grows (Language, Mathematics) Use simple measurement terms correctly (e.g. tall /short, big/small, empty/full, heavy/light, tomorrow/yesterday)

·          Ask the students what they need to do in order to learn (Personal and Social Development) Demonstrate independence and a willingness to take responsibility in learning and other activities

·          Send the seeds home for the students to plant and care for (Science and Technology) Demonstrate understanding of and care for the natural world

Goal Setting

Ask the students to share with either a parent, a peer or a teacher two new things they have learned about seeds as a way to reflect on their learning.

Resources Jack and Beanstalk, Various authors Seed to Sunflower, Barbara Reid Acorn to Oak Tree, Barbara Reid http://www.nuttinbutkids.com/gardening.htm http://www.dcs.edu/hasp/Plants/Song.html

Grade 1: Blooming and Learning

Expectations: Language

Reading: express their thoughts and feelings about a story

·          Oral and Visual Communication: listen and react to stories and recount personal experiences Science

·          Life Systems: demonstrate an understanding of the basic needs of animals and plants (e.g., the need for food, air, and water)

FOCUS Language and Science

Plan:

·          Ask students to sit on the carpet in a large group

·          Read the story, Leo the Late Bloomer, by Robert Kraus

·          Ask the students how they felt about Leo in the story

·          Ask students to share experiences with the group about times when they had difficulty doing something

·          Ask the students what a seed needs to help it grow and record it on chart paper  Ask the students what they need to help them learn and record it on chart paper  Ask the students to pick one thing they would like to work on to improve

·          Have the students talk about the steps they will take to reach their goals

Extensions:

·          Ask students to keep a diary of the changes that occur in their bean plant. (Measurement) Order sequences of events orally and with pictures

·          Alter the amount of water, light, soil and air the plant receives and observe the changes. (Science and Technology: Life Systems) Demonstrate an understanding of the basic needs of animals and plants (e.g., the need for food, air, and water)

·          Measure the changes in the plants and record them (Data management and probability) Collect, organize and describe data using concrete materials and drawings

·          Observe the changes in a plant or tree through the seasons. Students can adopt a tree in the school yard, keep a diary of the changes and sketch the changes in their tree (Science and Technology: Earth and Space Systems) Investigate changes that occur in a daily cycle and in a seasonal cycle

·           Students create booklets reflecting what they have learned. One booklet can be called "A Seed Needs" and the other can be called, "What I Need" (Writing) Organize information so that the writing conveys a clear message

·         Sample format Name My goal: Read a new book Steps I will take: 1. Practice reading the book 2. Learn new words in the book 3. Read every night Who can help me along the way? 1. my parent(s) 2. my teacher(s) 3. my brother or sister Note: pictures can replace words if necessary

Goal Setting Ask the students to pick one item they would like to work on improving and set goals to accomplish that task.

Resources A Seed Grows, Pamela Hickman and Heather Collins The Tiniest Acorn: A Story to Grow By, Marsha T. Danzig The Carrot Seed, By Ruth Kraus

Grade 2: Tree Makers

Expectations: Language

·          Produce short pieces of writing using simple forms (e.g. Narratives and poems based on familiar models) Visual Arts

·          Produce two- and three-dimensional works of art that communicate their thoughts and feelings about familiar topics (e.g. using pencil crayons, make a drawing of a tree after observing real trees and trees in works by Emily Carr, Tom Thomson, and Vincent Van Gogh)

FOCUS Language and Visual Arts

Plan:

·          Read the story, The First Forest, to the students

·          Discuss the care and love the Tree Maker took to create the trees

·          Brainstorm with the students the different types of trees they could create if they were Tree Makers

·          Ask the students to create a tree of their own (it may be a tree that grows something special, or a tree that gives them shade, or a tree where animals live, etc.)

·          Students may create the tree by using a variety of media (pastels, crayons, plasticine)

·          Students can create a short poem or narrative to describe their tree – why they created the tree that they did and what this tree needs to grow

·          Students present their work

Extensions:

·          Observe the trees around them and explain how the tree is home to animals and why trees are necessary to animal life (Science and Technology) Describe features of the environment that support the growth of familiar animals (Growth and Changes in Animals)

·           Plant seeds and give them some clean water and some dirty water and observe the changes in their growth (Science and Technology) Describe ways in which clear air and water are vital for meeting the needs of humans and other living things (Air and Water in the Environment)

·          Make a comparison between what they need and what trees need to grow (Health and Physical Education) Describe simple life cycles of plants and animals, including humans; recognize that rest, food, and exercise affect growth

Tree Roots and Trunks Auvers-sur-Oise: July, 1890 Amsterdam, Vincent Van Gogh Museum

Goal Setting Ask the students to record one goal they will accomplish in order to get along better with others or make someone feel special and to record how they will reach this goal.

Resources The First Forest, John Gile A Tree is Growing, Arthur Dorros The Giving Tree, Shel Silverstein http://www.about-van-gogh-art.com/van-gogh-paintings/paintings/610.html http://www.tomthomson.org/frames4.htm http://www.tbc.gov.bc.ca/culture/schoolnet/carr/gallery

Grade 3: Taking Action for the Environment

Expectations:

Language

Express clear responses to written materials, relating the ideas in them to their own
knowledge

Science and Technology

Describe ways in which plants are important to other living things, and the effects of
human activities on plants

Plan:

·         Read either Jen and the Great One, or The Lorax (if neither is available, read a story that shows how people have destroyed plants or how they have taken action to fix an already destroyed plant, habitat or ecosystem)

·         Ask the students to make a chart showing what these places were like before humans destroyed them, how humans destroyed them, and what they will be like in the future if humans fix them or don’t fix them. This can be done using words and pictures (see below). Note: This can also be done in KidPix or Hyperstudio as a slide presentation showing the past, present, and future of the forest they read about.

·         Ask the students to reflect on ways they can improve their schoolyard, their home or their classroom. In what ways can they take action?

·         Students can further their reflection to their learning and what they need to thrive just as the trees need certain things to thrive.

Extensions:

·         Plant seeds in the classroom and have one plant with all that it needs, one plant with little water, one with less sunlight, one with less soil and one with less air and compare how they grow. (Science and Technology) Investigate the requirements of plants and effects of changes in environmental conditions on plants

·         Measure the growth of the plants and chart them using a graph (Mathematics) Compare and order objects by their linear dimensions, construct bar graphs and pictographs using scales with multiples of 2, 5, and 10

·         Respond to the illustrations in the books and how the illustrator uses colour and depth to convey the desolation of the destruction of the forests (Visual Arts) Explain how the artist has used the elements of design to communicate feelings and convey ideas

Resources

Jen and the Great One, Peter Eyvindson The Lorax, Dr. Suess Image

Image Just a Dream, Chris Van Allsburg

Grade 4: Changes and Stages

Expectations: Language

·          Produce pieces of writing using a variety of specific forms and materials from other media (e.g., photo sequence) to enhance their writing The Arts

·          Describe the four stages of human development (infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood) and identify the physical, interpersonal, and emotional changes appropriate to their current stage

·         FOCUS Language and Health and Physical Education

Plan:

·          Listen to Joni Mitchell’s song The Circle Game with the students

·          Display the lyrics on the overhead and ask students to respond to the lyrics about the different stages of growth

·          Ask students to identify changes in themselves (e.g. birth, walking, first day of school) and to depict these stages or moments in a time line using photographs/drawings to indicate each stage

·          Link the stages and growth of the bean plant with their own stages of growth by making a subsequent time line depicting the plant’s growth

·          Read the book, The Tiniest Acorn, with the students and ask them to reflect in writing on the differences between the growth of the acorn and themselves and how they see themselves differently now that they are older (needs, friends, interests)

Extensions:

·          Using the internet, look at the forest habitat and how factors sustain plant and animal life (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/96/forest) (Science and Technology) Investigate the dependency of plants and animals on their habitat and the interrelationships of the plants and animals living in a specific habitat

·          Create a food pyramid depicting the foods they have eaten to be healthy and compare that with a food pyramid in a specific habitat (Science and Technology and Health and Physical Education) Analyze, over a period of time, their own food selections, including food purchases (e.g., "everyday food" versus "sometimes food") and determine whether or not they are healthy choices

Food Pyramid Vegetable Group 3-5 SERVINGS Milk, Yogurt, & Cheese Group 2-3 SERVINGS Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry beans, Eggs, & Nuts Group 2-3 SERVINGS Bread, Cereal, Rice, & Pasta Group 2-3 SERVINGS Fruit Group 2-3 SERVINGS Fats, Oils & Sweets USE SPARINGLY

Goal Setting Ask the students to create a list of goals they hope to accomplish this year, and from that list, choose one. Create a plan to achieve that goal.

Resources The Circle Game, Joni Mitchell The Tiniest Acorn, Marsha T. Danzig http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/96/forest http://www.nal.usda.gov:8001/py/pmap.htm

Grade 5: Seeds of Civilization

Expectations: Language

•  Organize information to convey a central idea, using well-developed paragraphs that focus on a main idea and find some relevant supporting details Social Studies
•  Describe myths and legends of various early civilizations
•  Examine how environment, society and technology were related in early civilizations

FOCUS Language and Social Studies

Plan:

·          Ask students to read the myth of Hades and Persephone (find it on the Internet or use a printed version)

·          Discuss the importance of seeds in mythology and the symbols they represent such as birth, harvest, food, life, wealth. Discuss other stories they know which have seeds in them (Jack and the Beanstalk, The Lotus Seed, The Vision Seeker, etc.)

·          Ask students to do a search on the Internet for mythology and seeds and find various cultures which include seeds as an important symbol in their mythology

·          Ask students to create their own myth using the seed as the central symbol in their story

·          Publish the students’ stories in a class collection of seed mythology

Extensions:

·          Students may wish to perform their myths as a Readers’ Theatre production by changing their stories into scripts for a small group to perform (Drama and Dance) Rehearse and perform small-group drama and dance presentations drawn from novels, poems, stories, plays and other source materials

·          Do a research project on an ancient civilization and the types of crops they planted based on their needs and environmental conditions (Social Studies) Identify ways in which the natural environment shaped the cultures of various early civilizations

·          Investigate the weather patterns in the ancient civilizations and how this would impact their planting practices e.g. the flooding of the Nile and its impact on ancient Egyptian civilization (Science and Technology) Describe ways in which weather conditions affect the activities of humans and other animals

Title (Words) (Images) Characters (Who?) Setting (When? Where?) Complication or Problem Resolution or Moral

Goal Setting Since so much of what we are today is based on our own personal histories, ask students to set goals to learn more about their history by interviewing an elder (parent, grandparent).

Resources The Vision Seeker, James Whetung The Lotus Seed, Sherry Garland From Atalanta to Zeus: Readers Theatre from Greek Mythology, Suzanne I. Barchers

Grade 6: Growing, Learning, and the Obstacles to our Goals

Expectations: Language

•  Communicate ideas and information for a variety of purposes (to inform, to persuade, to explain) and to specific audiences
•  Organize information to convey a central idea, using well-linked paragraphs Choices into Action Document
•  Demonstrate their understanding by using learning skills and strategies in the classroom

FOCUS Language, Social Science and Learning Skills

Plan:

·          Brainstorm all the things the seed will need to grow into a bean plant and to produce many beans

·          Brainstorm all the things they need to be successful in school and in their learning (the class may have to define what success means for both the plant and the students)

·          Create a Venn diagram comparing the things the plant needs and the things the students need

·          Using the template suggested below, the students will create an exposition stating at least three things they will need to be successful in their learning

·          Present the expositions to the class

Extensions:

·          Investigate the history of residential schools in Canada and the impact they had and continue to have on Aboriginal peoples in Canada (Social Science) Demonstrate an understanding of the social, political, and economic issues facing Aboriginal peoples in Canada today

·          Using stories of Aboriginal children in residential schools, present poetry or a monologue telling the tale of one of those students (Drama and Dance) Create, rehearse, and present drama and dance works to communicate the meaning of poems, stories, paintings, myths and other source material drawn from a wide range of cultures

·          Investigate Aboriginal art and how it has been used to represent historical events of this cultural group (The Arts) Demonstrate an awareness that an artist intentionally uses some of the elements and principles of design to convey meaning, and explain how the artist accomplishes his or her intentions

Point of view Argument 1 Argument 2 Argument 3 Conclusion

Goal Setting Ask students to choose one of the factors that would enhance their learning and break it down into the steps they will take in order to accomplish that goal.

Resources The Ledgerbook of Thomas Blue Eagle, Jewel H. Grutman and Gay Matthaei Indian School: Teaching the White Man’s Way, Michael L. Cooper http://www.treaty7.org/document /circle/circltab.htm

Grade 7: Interactions and Dependency

Expectations: Language

·          Communicate ideas and information for a variety of purposes Health and Physical Education

·          Examine the effects of healthy eating and regular physical activity on body size and shape, and on self-esteem

·          Identify factors affecting healthy body weight (e.g., food intake, growth spurts, physical activity/inactivity)

FOCUS Language and Health and Physical Education

Plan:

·          Consider what the bean plant needs to grow and be healthy. Have students reflect on the various things their bodies need to grow and be healthy (healthy eating, physical activity)

·          Discuss factors which affect healthy body weight

·          Read websites listed in the resources (students may do their own search for sites on anorexia and bulimia)

·          Students will write a response to one of the websites. They may send the response to the creator of the page

·          Discuss as a group what the responses to the websites are and whether or not anyone in the class has felt ostracized for reasons related to their appearance

·          Students may create poetry, a letter or a visual response to the websites

Extensions:

·          Investigate the interactions of light, water, soil, and air and relate to the larger ecosystem to determine the ideal conditions for the growth of beans (Science and Technology) Investigate the interactions in the ecosystem, and identify factors that affect the balance among the components of an ecosystem

·          Choose a work of art which depicts a plant (flower, tree) and explain why this particular image appeals to them (The Arts) Explain their preference for specific art works, with reference to the artist’s intentional use of the elements and principles of design

·          Ask the students to find examples in the media of body images. Discuss how a negative body image can lead to an eating disorder (Oral and Visual Communication) Analyze and interpret media works

Goal Setting Ask the students to set goals for healthy eating by following Canada’s Food Guide. Students may want to keep an eating record for one week and reflect on ways they can improve their eating habits.

Resources http://www.bodycage.com/ http://www.expage.com/page/anorexiadiary http://www.geocities.com/myownfairytale/ These include personal stories, artwork and poetry reflecting on their experiences

Grade 8: Growing a Community

Expectations: Language

•  Read a variety of fiction and non-fiction materials (e.g. novels, short stories, poetry, essays, articles) for different purposes
•  Produce pieces of writing using a variety of specific forms (e.g. a script for a play), techniques and resources appropriate to the form and purpose, and materials from other media (e.g. lighting effects) Drama and Dance
•  Interpret and communicate ideas and feelings drawn from fictional accounts, documentaries and other material from a wide variety of sources and cultures, selecting complex drama and dance techniques (e.g. forum theatre)

FOCUS Language and Drama and Dance

Plan:

·          Read the book, Seedfolks, by Paul Flieschman to the class (This book deals with the story of an inner city neighborhood where members of a community create a garden)

·          Ask the students to reflect on the various issues and themes raised in the book including how the seeds and the garden brought the community together while maintaining each member’s identity

·          Put students into cooperative groupings and assign each group their own chapter from the book

·          Ask each group to transform their assigned chapter into a script

·          Students will present their chapters to the class

·          Record their presentations using a video camera

Extensions:

·          Have students do a search for student poetry sites on the Internet or refer them to other collections of poetry created by children or young adults relating to seeds, growth, plants or nature (Haiku is often about nature and is a good place to start) (Language) Explain their interpretation of a written work, supporting it with evidence from the work and from their own knowledge and experience

·          Relate the ethnic makeup of the community in the story to their own community and how people from various national and ethnic origins interact with each other in the book and in their own neighborhood (History) Demonstrate an understanding of how diverse groups and individuals have contributed to the historical, cultural, and economic development of Canada

Goal Setting Ask the students to set a goal around becoming more active in their own community and the steps they will take to accomplish this goal.

Resources Seedfolks, Paul Flieschman www.halcyon.com/kwheeler/devour/ www.csd.net/~cantelow/poem_welcome.html Salting the Ocean, Naomi Shihab Nye The Space Between Our Footsteps, Naomi Shihab Nye …I never saw another butterfly…: Children’s Drawings and Poems from Terezin Concentration Camp, 1942-1944 The Palm of my Heart: Poetry by African American Children, ed. Davida Adedjouma