Prickly Flower Pods

1. Flowers are very different, depending on what they need to thrive in their native habitats. However, all flowers have basic parts in common, such as root systems, stems, and blossoms. Invite students to choose a geographic region and native flower. Research information about its native habitat and the growing conditions in which it thrives. Students collect photographs and drawings in preparation for creating an accurate, realistic flower sculpture.
2. Students begin their flower sculptures by mising yellow and blue Crayola Model Magic® compound to create green Model Magic. Roll out a long thin slab with a Crayola Marker barrel. Use part of the slab to neatly cover a wooden dowel to make a sturdy stem. Make several realistic leaves by cutting them out with Crayola Scissors. Attach leaves to the stem in the way they grow on the actual flower.
3. Depending on the shape of the flower, students may want to form a Model Magic base on the stem on which to apply the petals. Mix petal colors as needed. Build buds and petals from the inside out. Look at pictures to see whether the petals change colors or look shadowed in either the center or bottom. Use a lighter color for the top. Model Magic® dries to the touch overnight and dries completely in 2 to 3 days.
4. Encourage students to add tiny details, such as dew drops or highlights, with Crayola Glitter Glue. Air-dry the paint before displaying the replica.

LA: Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

LA: Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grade level text complexity band independently and proficiently.

LA: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

LA: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.

MATH: Graph points on the coordinate plane to solve real-world and mathematical problems

SCI: Investigate the life cycles of plants and animals to compare similarities and differences among organisms.

SCI: Use models to communicate that plants obtain matter to grow chiefly from the air and water, and energy to grow from the sun.

SS: Use appropriate resources, data sources, and geographic tools to generate, manipulate, and interpret information.

VA: Select media, techniques, an processes; analyze what makes them effective or not effective in communicating ideas; and reflect upon the effectiveness of choices.

VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of experiences and ideas.

Possible classroom resources include: Plant Parts by Louise Spilsbury; From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons

Students take digital photographs of plants that they are interested in investigating in-depth. Upload the photographs to a classroom computer. Students research their selected plants and create a sketch of the anatomy of the plants, labeling all important parts and writing a sentence or two describing he function of each part. Create a bulletin board including all student plant selections.

Students work in teams to compose a poem or short story about an event in the life of their selected plants. This writing piece should be done from the perspective of the plant. Consider: How does it feel when the wind blows on the plant's leaves? What does the plant "think" when it's raining? When the sun is shining?