Imbedding Roots

Today was a wonderful day in the garden. The new day brought with it new lesson plans! I was ready to get involved. Greeted warmly with hugs and eager faces, we immediately got to it and began to talk about the different parts of the plant.

The kids were really engaged today. Each student actively participated in our lesson plan and were excited to tell me what they already knew about the parts of the plant. I was surprised by how much they already knew about the structure and functions of plants. As we began to cover further detail, I became interested in what the kids didn't yet know, and what was less apparent at first sight when they are out in the garden. As a new environmental educator, I wanted to draw into these unknown details further.

The students and I walked around the garden to actively engage in what we were learning about and  to exemplify the structures and functions we saw in our garden's plants. As I continued with my lesson plan with each class, I noticed that the students knew a lot about the structures and functions they saw above ground, but continuously gave me the incorrect answers to questions about the soil and the growth that occurs underground. A lot of the students could answer questions and further draw into detail about intense and more elaborate topics such as photosynthesis and pollination, however at the same time believed that water was specifically absorbed through the leaves and not through the roots in the ground. Many students knew that water and sunlight were needed for growth, but didn't seem to recognize that healthy plant growth also needs nutrient rich soil to prosper. With these observations, we began to talk about the growth that occurs in the plant roots and why they are specifically important in collecting water and nutrients.

With the remainder of the time spent on talking about the structure and functions of the roots, we began pulling out weeds and looking at their unique roots. Drawing into our observations, the kids pointed out that some of the roots reached further down in the soil then others and some even spread out further in width. We also talked about the edible parts of the plants that we eat, which grow under the ground. I pointed to the carrots and allowing the group to pull out just one, so that they could actively observe what was usually unseen.

The class period seemed to go by too quickly. There was still so much to be taught and still so much to draw into. I wanted to further talk about our soil, defining how Florida's native soil was much different from the soil that we had in our gardens, and how our native plants were able to adapt to this sandy nutrient poor soils while our garden plants had other needs. However there was no time. Oh well, what a good topic for next week!

-Avery Martin