In this lesson, students will step outside on their school grounds to connect plant vocabulary words learned in the classroom to plants found outside on the school site.
Students will be able to….
• Observe botany terminology in live plants
• Sketch and label plants using correct botany terminology including: leaf, bud, blade, petiole, node, internode, fibrous root system, cuticle, and net veins
Science: F. 8.1, F.8.2, F.8. 3; B.12.5, C.12.1, F.12.11
• Copies of Plant Biology student worksheet
• Clipboard or hard writing surface
• Writing utensil
• notify the main office that you will be outside for a certain amount of time
• be sure students are appropriately dressed for the weather
• gather all needed materials so you don’t have to run back inside
• classroom behavior guidelines are the same outdoors as they are in the classroom
1.
In class, students should have learned basic botany vocabulary. This includes the plant parts of stem, flower, branch, node, internode, leaf, blade, petiole, net and parallel veins, cuticle, terminal and axillary buds, and the different root systems. Students should also understand the difference between simple and compound leaves, and alternate and opposite branching.
2.
Take students outdoors to locate, identify, and sketch the required components on the Plant Biology worksheet.
• Locate a deciduous tree on the school site. Have students sketch, identify, and label all plant terminology listed above in Procedure #1. Students should then use this information, along with a tree identification guide, to properly identify the species of tree in their sketch. Students should sketch an evergreen tree. Challenge them to use the list in Procedure #1 to label the parts found on an evergreen tree. Compare and contrast which parts are similar or different between the deciduous and evergreen tree. Discuss how this relates back to their classification within the Plant Kingdom.
Created by: WI School Forest Program – www.leafprogram.org

Botanist: _________________________________
Date: ___________________________
1.
Find one plant that has parallel veins in the leaf and another plant that has net veins in the leaf. Sketch these leaves. Label the blade, petiole and veins on both leaves.
2.
Find a plant that has all of the following parts: stem, flower, branch, node, internode, leaf, bud, and root system. Make a sketch of the plant and label all of the parts listed above.
3.
Find a plant that has a waxy cuticle on the surface of the leaf. Identify it if possible. Sketch the plant that has this characteristic.
4.
Sit down and carefully study a clump of grass. Examine the leaf structure. Imagine what the root structure is like in the soil. Sketch the leaf and root structure of that clump of grass.
5.
Sketch 2 different simple leaves. Label the blade, petiole, and veins; also as opposite or alternate arrangement on the stem.
Created by: WI School Forest Program – www.leafprogram.org

6.
Find a compound leaf and sketch it.
7.
Identify and sketch a plant that would have fibrous roots and another that would have lateral roots.
Label them appropriately.
8.
Look for plants that fit into the following classification categories: vascular seedless plants, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. Sketch and label each along with their reproductive structures.
Created by: WI School Forest Program – www.leafprogram.org