SOWING SEEDS OF LEARNING 

About the project

Class III students explored the topic, ‘Plants’ as a project. They learnt about different parts of a plant and the vital role played by each through guided in-depth discussions, watching videos, creating web organisers, and attempting hands on activities. Students worked collaboratively and came up with different ideas for their culmination.  After some brainstorming, we decided to have a ‘Recipe Book’ based on different parts of a plant. We created three Recipe Books that included delicious recipes made using the five groups: leaves, stems, roots, flowers, and fruits.

Driving Question

Why do we need our garden plants? How do we grow them?

Process

We began our learning journey during the winter break by sowing seeds of a winter vegetable in the vegetable patch of the School garden.

Post the winter break, the new year was welcomed with some wonderful new plants as every student participated in a ‘Show and Tell’ event in which they explained the importance of plants, health benefits, how to take care of the plant during the winter season and so on. They had put a plaque card on the plant stating its name. We took our journey ahead and went for a field trip to the Parmanand Nursery, situated in Dwarka where students observed different types of plants and flowers. The students then filled an observation sheet in which they listed different types of plants and their uses.

Going further, we drew a weekly menu with an objective of instilling the habit of eating healthy. Students also stepped into the shoes of a ‘Chef’ and prepared yummy dishes using their recipes with the help of their parents, which they brought to the school and relished with their peers.   They then filled in a ‘Recipe Review Sheet’ comparing different recipes.

Integrating the learning with the English language, students employed the technique of ‘sequencing’ while writing the recipes in the Recipe Sheet. Each Recipe book was divided into five segments: Leaves, Roots, Stems, Flowers and Fruits.

Project Culmination

Parents attended the culmination event in which the students presented a plant-based Recipe Book and shared their learning as they posed as roots, stems, flower, fruits and leaves. They spoke about functions of each plant part, and shed light on the health benefits of plants, while using props to better connect with the audience.

Parents were then taken through a guided tour along different stations such as ‘Quiz Masters’, ‘Plant Managers’, ‘Life Cycle of a Plant’, ‘My favourite Dish’ and ‘Message Writing for Plants- Plant a hope’, with each station guarded by a group of students. After the event, parents were encouraged to fill in the feedback form using a QR code. Students also showcased the ‘vegetable garden’ in which different vegetables were grown during the winter break, some of which were sowed by the students with the help of Sunil bhaiya, the School gardener.

Teacher Reflection

I have always enjoyed this theme and learnt something new along with my students, who showed tremendous enthusiasm in doing this project. It has made me reflect as a true nurturer of plants and keenly observe how they grow and evolve over time. It helped me to be more grateful to nature and connect with it as a lifelong learner, and it was immensely satisfying to see my students display a love of learning as they immersed in the project. As a bonus, I have tried some amazing recipes based on different types of plants, relishing it with my friends and family!