Plants in our Midst - Formative week

The children were gathered as a group to assess their prior knowledge of living and non-living things in order to help us know more about the form of plants.  This is one of the key concepts 
(Form is the understanding that everything has a form with recognizable features that can be observed, identified, described and categorized). The group cooperated to create a Venn Diagram comparing a rock and a plant. After discussing the difference between living and non-living things, the children gathered into their small groups. This allows for more individual attention and sharing of ideas.
The group I was working with (the fire group) had a tray with different things on it. Their task was to discuss and decide what belongs to the living things category and what belongs to the non-living things category.

After we discussed as a group whether the things on the tray are living or non-living things, the children received a piece of paper on which they drew a picture of a living or non-living thing.
Emilie drew a lollipop and said that it is a living thing.  Before gathering, the children listened to “The Lollipop Tree Song” about a person who planted a lollipop stick in their backyard and it grew into a lollipop tree. From that song, Emilie got the impression that a lollipop is a living thing. Since the children showed an interest in this topic, we will start an inquiry. We will plant our own lollipop sticks, water and care for them, and measure them to see if they grow in order to determine whether they are living or non-living things.