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Observing Flowers

Starting from Science

These primary science lessons allow students to explore curricular concepts while deepening their relationship and understanding of place. The hands-on activities build students' understanding through play and creativity.

Map

1

Life Cycles

Through this activity, students will explore metamorphic and non-metamorphic life cycles of organisms in their local environment.

2

Nature Classification

Students will learn about different ways of classifying natural objects (both conventional scientific and Indigenous ways of classification). They will build their relationship with the place through exploring the area and developing their own way of sorting found objects. 

3

Seasonal Rounds

This activity aims to broaden students' knowledge about seasons. Students will learn about how First Peoples used seasonal rounds to organize their calendar year.

Life Cycles

Curricular Competencies

Science

  • Demonstrate curiosity and a sense of wonder about the world

  • Observe objects and events in familiar contexts

  • Ask questions about familiar objects and events 

  • Experience and interpret the local environment

  • Make and record observations

  • Sort and classify data and information using drawings,  pictographs and provided tables

  • Compare observations with those of others

  • Communicate observations and ideas using oral or written language, drawing, or role-play

  • Express and reflect on personal experiences of place

Art

  • Express feelings, ideas, stories, observations, and experiences through the arts

English Language Arts

  • Engage actively as listeners, viewers, and readers, as appropriate, to develop understanding of self, identity, and community

  • Use foundational concepts of print, oral, and visual texts

  • Communicate using letters and words and applying some conventions of Canadian spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Materials: ​

  • clipboards

  • worksheets

  • pencils

​

  1. Bring students outside to a natural area with open space with clipboards, journals, and pencils.

  2. Game: rock, paper, scissors evolution. Chose a life cycle they already know and brainstorm 4-5 stages of its life (e.g. Salmon: egg, alevin, fry, smolt, adult salmon). Every student starts as an egg. They then find others who are at the same stage of life and play rock paper scissors. Whoever wins will evolve to the next stage of life. If you lose, you stay at the same stage. Once at the final stage of life, if you lose you go all the way back to the first stage. 

  3. Discuss: What life cycles do you know about? Where have you seen these life cycles? Why are life cycles important? Do plants and animals have the same life cycle? (metamorphic = body structure changes, non-metamorphic= same body structure but size changes).

  4. Explore the natural area around, point out that all living things have a life cycle. Invite students to pick one natural being and sit with them.

  5. Hand out clipboards, worksheets, and pencils. Sketch and label what their life cycle might be like (e.g. tree: seed from cone, seedling, sapling, adult tree, nurse log). 

 

Extensions:

  • Share your life cycle with the class.

  • Using books or the internet, research the natural being you spent time with. Was your life cycle correct? 

Nature Classification

Curricular Competencies

Science

  • Demonstrate curiosity and a sense of wonder about the world

  • Observe objects and events in familiar contexts

  • Ask questions about familiar objects and events 

  • Experience and interpret the local environment

  • Make and record observations

  • Sort and classify data and information using drawings,  pictographs and provided tables

  • Compare observations with those of others

  • Communicate observations and ideas using oral or written language, drawing, or role-play

Social Studies

  • Explain why people, events, or places are significant to various individuals and groups (significance)

  • Explain why people’s beliefs, values, worldviews, experiences, and roles give them different perspectives on people, places, issues, or events (perspective)

Art

  • Express feelings, ideas, stories, observations, and experiences through the arts

Math

  • Develop mental math strategies and abilities to make sense of quantities

  • Visualize to explore mathematical concepts

  • Model mathematics in contextualized experiences

  • Represent mathematical ideas in concrete, pictorial, and symbolic forms

Materials: ​

  • clipboards

  • worksheets

  • pencils

​

  1. Bring students outside to a natural area. Point out boundaries.

  2. Ask each student to explore the natural area for 2-3 minutes then choose 1 natural object (size of their hand, familiar, and not living) to bring back to the group.

  3. When all students have returned with their objects, gather the objects in the middle and make a circle around them. Tell students that we are now going to classify them. 

  4. Discuss: what is classification? How do scientists classify things? What characteristics of these objects could we use to classify them? (colour, size, shape, weight, uses, location, etc.). 

  5. Hand out clipboards, worksheets, and pencils. Explain to students that they are going to classify the objects on their own. Pick a classification (or characteristic they want to classify by) and write the headings in each bubble on the sheet. Teacher shows an example.

  6. Give students time to write or draw objects in each bubble according to their classification. Remind students they do not have to use every bubble. If they have more than 4 categories, use the back of the paper.

  7. Invite students to share with the class how you classified these objects, move the objects into their groups according to the students classification. 

  8. Discuss: did you classify the objects differently? Explain that there are different ways to classify natural beings (i.e.conventional scientific based on characteristics and Indigenous ways of classifying based on uses). 

  9. Have each student put their natural object back where they found it.

 

Extensions:

  • Graph the objects according to the classification. Which group had the most? Least?

  • Sketch and label your object as well as the environment you found it in.

  • Write a story about one of the objects, what makes it unique from the others?

Seasonal Rounds

Curricular Competencies

Science

  • Demonstrate curiosity and a sense of wonder about the world

  • Observe objects and events in familiar contexts

  • Ask questions about familiar objects and events 

  • Experience and interpret the local environment

  • Make and record observations

  • Sort and classify data and information using drawings,  pictographs and provided tables

  • Compare observations with those of others

  • Communicate observations and ideas using oral or written language, drawing, or role-play

Social Studies

  • Explain why people, events, or places are significant to various individuals and groups (significance)

  • Explain why people’s beliefs, values, worldviews, experiences, and roles give them different perspectives on people, places, issues, or events (perspective)

Art

  • Express feelings, ideas, stories, observations, and experiences through the arts

Materials: ​

  • clipboards

  • worksheets

  • pencils/drawing supplies

​

  1. Explain that Coast Salish people often adapt their homes, food, and activities depending on the season. They would plan their year according to the seasons, because some activities you can only do in certain seasons. First Nations seasonal round calendars may include activities such as: hunting, fishing, weaving, carving, gathering edible plants, and celebrations.

  2. Take students outside to a natural area. Gather in a circle. Discuss: what season is it right now? What makes this season different from others? What plants and animals grow in this season? Are there any events or activities that happen in this season?

  3. Hand out clipboards, worksheets, and pencils/drawing supplies.

  4. Explain to students that they will be making their own seasonal rounds, with symbols representing the natural objects, celebrations, or events in that season (e.g. weather patterns, common animals, birthdays, etc.)

  5. Invite students to share their seasonal round with the class, describing what is in each season.

 

Extensions:

  • Make a large seasonal round as a class, showing all the things they will do and learn throughout the year, including any celebrations.

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