OBJECTIVE

Students will use observational skills and senses to notice how the spring season changes the garden.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

How do the seasons affect life in the gardens?

MATERIALS NEEDED

Three adult group leaders

PROCEDURE

Introduction:
How might things have changed since we last talked about the seasons?

Activity:
• Divide the class into three groups. Assign one group to study each of the following: plants, animals and insects, weather and seasons. Direct all of the groups to observe the changes in the plants (or animals and insects, or weather and seasons) that they notice in the garden. Supply the adult leader of each group with a list of questions such as the following to guide:
Plant Group
o What plants are growing in the garden today?
o Are there any plants now that were not here in the winter?
o Which plants are still here from the winter?
o Do the plants that are still here from winter look and feel different
now? How?
o What do you think the garden will be like tomorrow? What will the plants be like in the summer?
Animal and Insect Groups
o What animals/insects can we see in the garden now?
o Are there any animals and insects here now that were not here in
the winter?
o Are there any animals and insects still here from winter? Are they
any different now?
o What will happen to the animals/insects in the summer when it gets warmer?
Weather and Season Group
o What is the weather like in the garden today? What is the sky like? Is the air warm? Cold? Wet? Dry?
o How has the weather changed since our last visit?
o What clothes did we wear last time we visited the garden? What clothes are we wearing now? Why?
o What is different about the soil?
o What will the weather be like in the summer? What will the soil be like?

Wrap up/ Assessment:
• Return to the classroom to discuss students’ observations and predictions. Have students dictate a list of the changes in the plants, animals, insects and weather they saw in the garden. Write examples on the board.
• Have students draw a line to divide a the sheet of paper in half and draw, on one side, three things they saw in the garden in the winter, and on the opposite side, how those three things look now.