Spring is just around the corner
This is a great time of year to go for a walk and observe the changes taking place.
- Prepare for your walk by reading the Frog and Toad story "Spring," from Frog and Toad are Friends.
- Discuss the meaning of the saying, "Spring is just around the corner."
- As you take your walk, have students look for new life emerging and observe the buds fattening up on trees and bushes.
- Students gather materials on their walk to use as visual aids for reporting what they have seen when they get back to the classroom.
- Take a walk along the same path a week later to see what has changed.
- Students map their walk, using trees, sidewalks, buildings, etc., as points of reference.
Cool Website: Project BudBurst
While they are out for their walk, older students can collect information for Project BudBurst, A National Phenology Network Field Campaign for Citizen Scientists. Participants help collect important climate change data on the timing of first bud burst, first leafing, first flower, and seed or fruit dispersal. This national field campaign for people of all ages targets native tree and flower species across the country. The observations and records are entered into a BudBurst data base. As a result of the pilot field campaign in 2007, useful data was collected in a consistent way across the country so that scientists could use it to learn about the responses of individual plant species to climatic variation locally, regionally, and nationally, and to detect longer-term impacts of climate change by comparing with historical data.
The website also includes useful information about phenology and climate change.
Vernal Equinox
March 20 is the Vernal, or Spring, Equinox, the beginning of astronomical spring.
The equinoxes are the two days each year when the middle of the Sun is an equal amount of time above and below the horizon for every location on Earth. In other words the sun would be directly over the Equator.
In the southern hemisphere, the Autumnal Equinox occurs at the same time as our Vernal Equinox.
- Students locate the southern hemisphere on a globe and name three countries where Autumn is beginning at the same time spring is beginning here.
- The new moon closest to the Vernal Equinox is traditionally the best time to plant. Students figure out when that is.
- Students plant some seeds on the new moon closest to the Vernal Equinox and some another day to determine which seeds do best. Make sure all other variables are the same.
P.A.S.S. for Spring activities
In Clover
Shamrock is the English form of the Irish word seamrog which, literally translated, means "little clover." Clover is one of the major crops grown in Oklahoma as hay. It is extremely delicious and fattening to cattle. This fact is where we get the idiomatic phrase "in clover," meaning a carefree life of ease, comfort, or prosperity. Clover also grows, often unwanted, in most lawns in Oklahoma. Clover is a legume, which means it is good for the soil. Legumes capture nitrogen. Clover is one of the first plants to start greening up in the spring.
I Found a Four-Leaf Clover (poem by Jack Prelutsky)
ACTIVITIES: Find a nice field of clover, and take your students outdoors to look for four-leaf clovers.
- Students measure the area they are searching and determine the probability of finding four-leaf clovers, based on the area covered and the number of four leaf clovers they find.
- Students make graphs showing the different kinds of plants found in the area.
- Students use magnifying glasses to examine the clover and other plant material in the area.
- Students compare clover with dandelions and other plants in the area. List differences and similarities on a Venn diagram.
- Students use clover to construct multiplication facts. (Four clovers with three leaves each has how many leaves?)
- Students use clover to demonstrate thirds.
- Students make clover jewelry by gently tying one clover flower to the next until they have strings long enough for a necklace or bracelet.
- Make clover bookmarks: Put a clover leaf between two sheets of white paper, and press between the pages of a heavy book. In a few days, when the clover has dried, take it from between the pages of paper. Cut a strip from colored construction paper, and carefully glue your clover to the top end. Laminate your bookmark to make it last longer!
- Gather a mess of clover to use as a natural dye. Students guess what color the dye will make.
For more information about clover and hay, see A Hundred Bales of Hay.
Cattle love to eat clover, but, just like humans, they need other foods, too: They Don't Just Eat Grass
What nationwide youth organization has a four-leaf clover as its symbol?
Oklahoma 4-H is celebrating its centennial this year. Learn about the origins of 4-H and its importance to agricultural research with this online OAITC lesson: Head, Heart, Hands, Health
Red Dirt Groundbreaker: Bermuda John Fields
One of the first acts of the legislature of the Oklahoma Territory was to establish an agricultural college in Stillwater. Iowa-born John Fields was one of the first two assistant professors. In 1899 he was appointed first director of the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station. The purpose of the Experiment Station was to conduct experiments to help Oklahoma farmers.
Fields was a very good speaker. For the next several years he became the most familiar figure in Oklahoma associated with agriculture. He was one of the authors of a territorial law passed in 1905 making the teaching of agriculture in the public schools mandatory. The next year the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention included a provision in the new constitution for the compulsory “teaching of the elements of agriculture, horticulture, stock feeding and domestic science.
Fields was responsible for popularizing and distributing Bermuda
grass in the state. This all-purpose pasture and lawn grass made its
appearance in Oklahoma around the turn of the century. Fields gathered
the available information on the grass and planted it on the college
farm in 1900. He sodded the campus with it, pas-
tured livestock on it and published an experiment station bulletin on
the subject. As late as 1903, some farmers still believed the plant to
be harmful to livestock. To overcome their worries, Fields raised and
shipped Bermuda grass roots to all who would pay the shipping costs.
He was very happy when important citizens such as former governor Thompson
B. Ferguson of Watonga,requested Bermuda grass for their lawns. The giveaway
brought the grass and Fields a great deal of publicity. By June, 1906,
roots had been shipped to more than 600 farmers, and some were calling
Fields “Bermuda John.”
In 1906 Fields resigned from the experiment station to become editor of the Oklahoma Farm Journal. He ran for governor in 1922 but was defeated by his opponent, John Walton.
Ag Day in Oklahoma is March 24.
Celebrate Ag Day with these lessons
Ag Day Fun Facts: Flora, Fauna and Food for Thought
March is National Noodle Month
Use macaroni and other dry pasta as math manipulatives:
-
Construct addition and subtraction facts.
-
Develop multiplication algorithms.
-
Use pasta pieces to create patterns.
-
Sort dry pasta pieces into groups by shape, size, color, etc.
-
Count dry pasta pieces by ones, twos, fives, etc.
-
Create bar graphs to show how many of each kind of pasta students have counted. Glue one of the pasta pieces at the top of each column.
-
List all possible arrangements and combinations of the kinds of dry pasta provided.
-
Use spaghetti to construct models of parallel, intersecting and perpindicular lines.
-
Use dry spaghetti to demonstrate fractions. For example, divide one spaghetti strand into equal pieces to serve four mice. Now divide it again to serve eight, 16, etc.
Bring a variety of cooked pastas for students to sample. Include whole wheat pastas and pastas made with spinach and other vegetables. Provide a simple spaghetti sauce and canned Parmesan cheese for a snack.
-
Students write observations and compare and contrast. Students develop their own criteria for comparison (e.g., texture, shape, flavor, etc.)
Use macaroni and other dry pasta for art projects.
-
Place a handful of pasta in a plastic bag.
-
Add food coloring and a larger amount of rubbing alcohol.
-
Work the bag until all the pasta is colored.
-
Spread on a box lid to dry.
In Like A Lion, Out Like A Lamb
This phrase has its origins with the constellations Leo, the Lion, and Aries, the ram or lamb. It has to do with the relative positions of these constellations in the sky at the beginning and end of the month. For those of us who live through Oklahoma's volatile spring weather, it is an apt description of this month.
Before improved animal husbandry made lamb available year round, lamb meat was only available in spring. For that reason, lamb was associated with spring and called "spring lamb."
Spring is the time when most farm animal babies are scheduled to be born. Learn more about this with these lessons:
In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb
March roars in like a lion
So fierce,
The wind so cold,
It seems to pierce.
The month rolls on
And Spring draws near,
And March goes out
Like a lamb so dear
by Lorie Hill
Read the poem "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb."
- Students discuss the imagery in the poem. How is the wind like a lion?
- Students use an online search engine to find weather forecasts for the month of March.
- Students predict at the beginning of the month whether there will be more lion (windy) days or lamb (calm) days.
- Students design a chart to keep track of lion days and lamb days for the month.
- Students vote each day a "lion" day or "lamb" day.
Uneven heating of the Earth's surface causes the wind to blow. Many societies have long taken advantage of this energy to travel great distances and perform diverse tasks such as grinding grains, sawing and pumping water. Modern wind turbines using advanced technologies are able to produce electricity for homes, businesses, and even utilities.
Explore the history of windmills with Writing the Wind
Read about a very windy March day in Oklahoma history: Dark Days on the Prairie
March is National Nutrition Month
Green is good for you! Have a green lunch for St. Patrick's Day -
green grapes
spinach salad
split pea soup
green-colored milk
saltine crackers painted with green food coloring
March 14 is Pi Day
The Greek letter pi, is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi = 3.1415926535... Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th.
Celebrate by making pizza, pot pie, veggie and/or fruit pie. Use the pies in the following math activities:
- Measure by circumference.
- Measure by area.
- Determine approximate volume.
Pie Recipes:
Hat sizes are determined using pi.
- Students use measuring tape to measure the circumference of their heads. (Think of where a hat sits on the head).
- Divide the circumference by pi to get the hat size.
Ag in Poetry
Plowing through Ashes
by Walter McDonald
After frost, grain-sorghum stubble
yellow as wheat
hid pairs of pheasants
scattered on the plains.
Seven, eight times a season
we searched the rows,
shotguns stiff, dogs sniffing ahead,
and took our necessary meat.
After the last snow
we torched the stalks,
the orange flames
spreading like a prairie fire,
covering the fields with soot.
March, after the dirt cooled,
my father plowed the charred
earth brown again,
like flipping a reversible jacket
seam by seam.
Unless it rained, he ditched,
for two weeks irrigated,
and in May
he rigged the tractor up,
lowered four worn plows
into the ground
and planted grain.
March 22 is World Water Day
AITC Online Lessons for World Water Day
Additional Resources for World Water Day
Writing Prompts
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Describe a day in the life of a field of clover.
-
Write about a springtime memory.
-
Describe the smell of cut grass.
-
Write a green story.
-
Write instructions for making your favorite pizza.
-
Invent a nutritious snack and describe it.
-
March comes in like a _______ and goes out like a ________. Make up your own analogy for March and write a poem.
-
What is the best way to eat peanut butter?
-
Write a letter to the new Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilseck, suggesting ways to keep our food safe?
-
Write 10 things about wind.
-
Pretend you are a peanut on Facebook. What is your status? Pass your status along so others in the class can write comments.
-
Write a letter to your parents suggesting ways to improve nutrition in your home.
Bunting, Eve, Dandelions, Harcourt Brace, 1995. (Grades K-4)
Zoe and her family have traveled by covered wagon from Illinois to the Nebraska Territory. On a trip to town with her father for supplies, Zoe spots a mass of dandelions and realizes that the flowers are much like her family - they may be out of their element on the prairie, but they will survive and bloom in their new land.
Byars, Betsy, and Doron Ben-Ami, Tornado, 1996. (Grades K-3)
When a tornado is sighted, a boy's family rushes to the storm cellar. Anxious about the father, who's still in the cornfield, they listen to the storm overhead and to the stories related by their farmhand, Pete, about Tornado, the dog he knew and loved as a boy.
Geisert, Bonnie, Haystack, Houghton Mifflin, 2003. (Grades K-3)
Beginning with details about mowing, drying and tromping hay, the narrative moves on to explain the haystack's important purposes: to provide food, and a shelter from the wind, for cows during the winter; during warmer weather, to serve as a resting and feeding place for pigs. In return, the animals' manure is used as fertilizer for the next year's hay, thus continuing the cycle.
Haas, Jessie, and Joseph A. Smith, Mowing, Greenwillow, 1994. (Grades PreK-2)
Bumping down the road on the seat of an old, sickle-bar mower, Nora and Gramp set out to mow the hayfield.
Lobel, Arnold, Frog and Toad are Friends, HarperTrophy, 1979.
Frog and Toad are best friends, looking for lost buttons, greeting the spring, and waiting for mail. Their genuine care for each other makes Frog and Toad two of the finest amphibious role models around.
Locker, Thomas, Water Dance, Harcourt Brace, 1998. (Grades preK-3)
The book features a free-verse narrative illustrated by landscape and seascape paintings that show water in various forms referred to in the text: "I am the waterfall," "I am the clouds," or "I am the thunderhead." At the end of the book each picture appears in miniature accompanied by a paragraph explaining that particular phase of the water cycle.
Merberg, Julie, and Suzanne Bober, In the Garden with Van Gogh, Chronicle, 2002.
Perez, L. King, and Robert Casilla, First Day in Grapes, Lee & Low, 2002 (Grades 1-3).
Growing up in a migrant family, Chico has experienced first school days in artichokes and first days in onions, and "now his first day in third grade would be in grapes." His encounters with bullies and the grumpy school bus driver shake Chico's confidence, but a friendly classmate and an understanding teacher help him adjust. Realistic watercolor, pastel, and colored-pencil illustrations portray Chico's emotions.
Ray, Mary Lyn, and Lauren Stringer, Mud, Harcourt Brace, 1996. (Grades K-3)
The joy of a child playing in mud is tied to the change of seasons. Ray uses spirited language to show a child's playfulness as the mud thaws and comes alive with spring. This blithe view of one of the building blocks of life can come only from close observation; the point of view is at ground level, where readers can visually muck around in all that goo. The transformation of winter frost to mud serves as a spawning stage for the green of the new season.
Stevens, Janet, Tops & Bottoms, Harcourt Brace, 1995. (K-4)
Hoping to rise above his level of poverty, clever Hare strikes a deal with a rich and lazy bear in which Bear will contribute the land while Hare will provide the labor for a profitable harvest.
Wick, Walter, A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder, Scholastic,
1998. (Grades preK-3)
Filled with stop-action and close-up photography, an early scientific book features such images as a single snowflake and a falling drop of water, accompanied by introductions to such concepts as evaporation and condensation.
What to Do in March
- Spring is Just Around the Corner
- National Peanut Month
- Peanuts and Salmonella
- National Noodle Month
- Cool Website: Project BudBurst
- Vernal Equinox
- Clover Activities
- Red Dirt Groundbreaker: Bermuda John Fields
- National Nutrition Month
- World Water Day
- Ag Day in Oklahoma is March 24
- Oklahoma Fruit of the Month: Grapes
- Oklahoma Vegetable of the Month: Greens
- In Like a Lion; Out Like a Lamb
- March 14 is Pi Day
- Outdoor Classrooms
- Ag in Art: Happy Birthday, Vincent!
- Ag in Poetry
- Writing Prompts
- March Books
Ag Day at the Capitol, March 25
March is National Peanut Month
Peanuts are an important component in the American diet. On average, each American eats three pounds of peanut butter a year.
In Oklahoma, peanuts are our 13th most valuable agricultural commodity in 2007. Oklahoma ranks 8th in the US in the production of peanuts.
The Five Civilized Tribes brought peanuts to the Indian Territory, planting them in small gardens. After the general settlement of Oklahoma Territory, residents also planted parcels of the nuts, often selling or trading them to neighbors.
Most peanuts grown in Oklahoma are the Spanish peanut, considered the most flavorful of all varieties of peanuts. Spanish peanuts are used mostly for peanut candy, salted nuts, and peanut butter.
Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth.
Peanuts and Salmonella
Peanut products are all over the news because of several salmonella cases originating in one peanut processing plant in Georgia. A leaky roof allowed water to get into the plant. The water may have spread salmonella from the feces of wild birds.
The contamination was widespread because of the large number of products made from peanuts processed at the Georgia plant. This chart from the US Food and Drug Administration shows how the peanuts from this one plant was distributed into the food system.
Although events like these draw attention to the threat of salmonella and other food safety issues, deaths from salmonella have actually gone down over the past 30 years. In the past most cases were from eggs and meat that were handled improperly. Consumer awareness of proper food handling techniques has helped bring the number of outbreaks down.
More information about the peanut recall from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Oklahoma Fruit of the Month: Grapes
People have been eating grapes since prehistoric times. Raisins were probably first produced deliberately in Asia Minor by the process of burying fresh grapes in the hot desert sand. The grapes used to make raisins are different from table grapes. Another kind of grape is used to make grape juice. Growing grapes in Oklahoma has gained popularity over the past several years. All kinds of grapes can be grown in Oklahoma, but most Oklahoma grapes are grown for grape juice and wine. Table grapes available in the grocery store are mainly from California or Chile
Play With Your Food: The Grapes of Math
-
For each group of students, provide a large clear container and a mixture of green and red grapes.
-
Each group estimates how many grapes they think their container will hold.
-
Students count the grapes as they fill the container, by ones, twos and fives.
-
Students estimate how many of each color grape they have.
-
Students estimate the volume (in grapes) of another container, based on the number of grapes in the first container.
-
Students create patterns using the grapes.
-
Students use the grapes to construct addition and subtraction facts.
-
Students establish benchmarks on their containers for customary and metric units and estimate the measures of grapes.Try again with raisins.
-
Students select appropriate customary and metric units of measure to find the volume of the grapes.
-
Students describe the probability of drawing a red grape from the container.
-
Research question: Why are seedless grapes seedless? (See Melon Meiosis for a clue.)
Grapes (1 1/2 cup, red or green)
amounts per serving |
% daily value |
|
calories |
60 |
|
calories from fat |
0 |
|
total fat |
0g |
0% |
sodium |
0mg |
0% |
total carbohydrate |
14g |
5% |
dietary fiber |
1g |
4% |
sugars |
12g |
|
protein |
1g |
|
Vitamin A |
2% |
|
Vitamin C |
15% |
|
calcium |
0% |
|
iron |
2% |
Percent daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Source: Centers for Disease Control
Oklahoma Vegetable of the Month: Gather the Greens
Greens are the first vegetables to come up in the springtime. If well-protected, some will stay alive through the winter and begin growing once the days start to warm. Spinach that overwinters is sweeter than that which is planted later. Spinach is probably the best known of the greens, but there are many others, including young dandelion greens! Swiss chard grows very well in Oklahoma as do mustard and beet greens. Other greens available in the grocery store this time of year are collard greens, kale and an assortment of Oriental greens.
Be a Food Explorer: Spinach Salad
Many times children will eat raw spinach, even if they don't like lettuce. Set up a mini salad bar with spinach and additional ingredients like sunflower seeds, mandarin oranges, grated carrots, mushrooms, red, yellow and green bell peppers, grapes, apple slices, nuts, etc. Provide a slightly sweet dressing such as honey mustard or poppyseed, and encourage students to build their own salad or just eat the ingredients individually.
Spinach (1/2 cup, chopped. raw)
amounts per serving |
% daily value |
|
calories |
5 |
|
calories from fat |
0 |
|
total fat |
0g |
0% |
sodium |
25mg |
1% |
total carbohydrate |
1g |
0% |
dietary fiber |
1g |
4% |
sugars |
0g |
|
protein |
1g |
|
Vitamin A |
60% |
|
Vitamin C |
15% |
|
calcium |
2% |
|
iron |
4% |
Percent daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Source: Centers for Disease Control
Play With Your Food: Greens
Bring an assortment of greens to class. Set aside some for tasting, and let students handle and look at the rest.
-
Students draw pictures of the different kinds of leaves.
-
Students taste one each of the washed greens and determine which ones they like the best. You may also cook some to see which ones taste better cooked.
-
Record preferences and graph the results.
-
Greens lose a suprising amount of mass when cooked. Students weigh and measure greens before and after cooking. (Place a small amount of water or oil in a pan on medium heat. An electric skillet would work. Place the greens in the pan and cover.) Discuss the reason for the huge loss (water).
-
Use the cooking water as a natural dye.
More activities with Oklahoma Roots and Leafy Greens
Now is the time to start seedlings indoors to transplant into your outdoor classroom later in the spring.
-
Plant tomato and pepper seeds in peat trays.
-
Students estimate how many of the seeds will sprout and how long it will take them to sprout.
-
Keep the seeds in a warm, dark place until they sprout.
-
Students graph the number of seeds that sprout in each tray.
-
Thin seedlings after they have grown their second set of leaves.
Cool weather veggies like spinach, lettuce, beets, peas and many other vegetables can be planted right into the garden beginning in March.
Plan your garden with Garden Grid.
Other Gardening Resources
Ag in Art
Vincent Van Gogh's birthday is March 30. Happy Birthday, Vincent!
Vincent Van Gogh
Sheaves of Wheat in a Field
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) viewed wheat as a central metaphor of the cycle of life, abundance and the creative process. As such, it was a theme that he consistently explored throughout his career. Setting up his easel in the fields, van Gogh painted the harvest during his last summer in Nuenen, Netherlands. His dedication to painting outdoors endured because he believed that the natural light on the fields could not be duplicated in the studio.
-
Describe the light in this painting. How is outdoor light different from indoor light?
-
Where are the shadows?
-
Where is the light?
-
Find the horizontal and vertical lines.
-
What shapes do you see?
-
Describe the use of color.
-
What is the dominant color?
-
Describe the texture.
-
How is wheat a metaphor for the cycle of life, abundance and the creative process?
P.A.S.S.
Spring Activities
-
Pre-K - Oral Language: 1.1. Literacy: 3.1; 8.1,4. Science Process: 1.1,4. Life Science: 3.1,2,3. Earth Science: 4.2,3. Social Studes: 2.1
-
Kindergarten - Oral Language: 2.1. Science Process: 1.1,3. Physical Science: 1.1. Life Science: 1.1,2. Earth Science: 3.2,3. Social Studies: 1.1,3
-
Grade 1 - Reading: 5.1; 6.1ab,3a. Science Process: 1.2; 3.1. Life Science: 2.2. Earth Science: 3.2. Social Studies: 2.3,5; 4.3
-
Grade 2 - Reading: 4.1; 5.1ac; 6.3. Science Process: 1.2; 3.1. Life Science: 2.1. Earth Science: 3.1. Social Studies: 4.1
-
Grade 3 - Reading: 3.1; 4.1ad,2c; 5.3. Science Process: 1.2; 3.1. Life Science: 2.1
Clover Activities
-
PreK - Creative Skills: 1.2,4. Math: 1.1; 2.2; 5.3. Small Motor: 2.1,2. Science Process: 1.1,2. Life Science: 3.3
-
Kindergarten - Creative Skills: 1.3. Math: 1.1; 2.1,4. Small Motor: 1.1. Science Process: 1.1,3. Physical Science: 1.1
-
Grade 1 - Science Process: 1.2; 2.1; 3.1,2,3; 4.3. Life Science: 2.2. Visual Arts: 3.1,2. Math Process: 1.1,2,3,5; 2.3; 3.2; 4.4; 5.2 . Math Content: 5.1
-
Grade 2 - Science Process: 1.2; 2.1; 3.1,2,3; 4.3.Life Science: 2.1. Visual Arts: 3.1,2. Math Process: 1.1,2,3; 2.3; 3.2; 4.4; 5.2. Math Content: 2.1b; 4.2ab; 5.1
-
Grade 3 - Science Process: 1.2; 2.1; 3.1,2,3; 4.3. Life Science: 2.1,2,3. Visual Arts: 3.1,2. Math Process: 1.1,2,3,5; 2.3; 3.2; 4.4; 5.2. Math Content: 2.2b; 3.2b; 4.2c,3; 5.1a,2a
-
Grade 4 - Science Process: 1.2; 2.1; 3.1,2,3; 4.1,3,4; 5.1,2. Life Science: 3.3. Visual Arts: 3.1,2. Math Process: 1.1,2,3,5; 2.3; 3.2; 4.4; 5.2. Math Content: 4.4b; 5.1b
-
Grade 5 - Science Process: 1.2; 2.1; 3.1,2,3; 4.1,3,4; 5.1,2. Physical Science: 1.1,2. Visual Arts: 3.1. Math Process: 1.1,2,3,5; 2.3; 3.2; 4.4; 5.2. Math Content: 2.1d; 4.2,4; 5.1ac
Pasta Activities
-
PreK - Creative Skills: 1.2,4. Math: 1.1,2; 2.2,3; 5.1,2,3. Small Motor: 2.1,2. Science Process: 1.1. Physical Science: 2.1
-
Kindergarten - Creative Skills: 1.3. Math: 1.1; 2.1,8. Small Motor: 1.1. Science Process: 1.1. Physical Science: 1.1. Visual Arts: 3.1d
-
Grade 1 - Math Process: 2.3; 3.2; 4.1; 5.1,2. Math Content: 1.1; 2.1.2a; 5.2. Science Process: 1.2. Physical Science: 1.1. Visual Arts: 3.1,2
-
Grade 2 - Math Process: 2.3; 3.2; 4.1; 5.1,2. Math Content: 1.1; 3.1a; 5.1. Science Process: 1.2. Physical Science: 1.1. Visual Arts: 3.1,2
-
Grade 3 - Math Process: 2.3; 3.2; 4.1; 5.1,2. Math Content: 3.2b; 5.1c,2b. Science Process: 1.2. Physical Science: 1.1. Visual Arts: 3.1,2
-
Grade 4 - Math Process: 2.3; 3.2; 4.1; 5.1,2. Math Content: 4.1a,2a; 5.1ab. Science Process: 1.2. Visual Arts: 3.1
-
Grade 5 - Math Process: 2.3; 3.2; 4.1; 5.1,2. Math Content: 1.1; 5.1a,2b. Science Process: 1.2. Physical Science: 1.1. Visual Arts: 3.1
Spring Activities
-
PreK - Creative Skills: 1.1. Oral Language: 1.1; 2.5. Reading: 8.4. Science Process: 1.1. Life Science: 3.2,3. Earth Science: 4.3
-
Kindergarten - Oral Language: 1.2; 2.1; 3.1. Reading: 6.3. Science Process: 1.1,2,3. Life Science: 2.2. Earth Science: 3.3. Social Studies: 1.1,3
-
Grade 1 - Science Process: 1.2; 3.1,2. Life Science: 2.1. Earth Science: 3.2. Reading: 6.1c,2,3b. Oral Language: 2.2,6,7; 3.2. Social Studies: 1.1
-
Grade 2 - Science Process: 1.2; 3.1,2. Life Science: 2.1. Earth Science: 3.1. Reading: 5.1c,2a. Oral Language: 2.2; 3.2. Social Studies: 1.1
-
Grade 3 - Science Process: 1.2; 3.1,2. Life Science: 2.1. Reading: 4.2ab. Oral Language: 3.2. Social Studies: 1.1; 2.3; 4.1
-
Grade 4 - Science Process: 1.2; 3.1,3. Life Science: 3.1,2. Reading: 3.1b,2a. Oral Language: 3.1. Social Studies: 2.2
-
Grade 5 - Science Process: 1.2; 3.1. Life Science: 2.2. Earth Science: 3.2. Social Studies: 1.1
-
Grade 6 - Science Process: 1.1; 3.1,3,4. Life Science: 4.1. Earth Science: 5.3. Social Studies: 2.3
-
Grade 7 - Science Process: 1.1; 3.1,3,4. Life Science: 4.2. Earth Science: 6.1. Social Studies: 2.4
-
Grade 8 - Science Process: 1.1; 3.1,3,4. Life Science: 3.2
Wind Activities
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PreK - Oral Language: 1.1; 2.1,5. Reading: 8.4. Math: 5.2. Science Process: 1.1. Earth Science: 4.2
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Kindergarten - Oral Language: 1.2. Reading: 6.3. Math: 5.1,2. Science Process: 1.3. Earth Science: 3.2
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Grade 1 - Reading: 6.1a. Science Process: 2.1; 4.3. Earth Science 3.2
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Grade 2 - Reading: 5.1; 6.3. Science Process: 2.1; 4.3.
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Grade 3 - Reading: 4.1a; 5.3. Science Process: 2.1; 4.3.
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Grade 4 - Reading: 3.1b; 4.3b. Science Process: 2.1; 4.1.
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Grade 5 - Reading: 3.1b; 4.1b,3bcd. Science Process: 2.1; 4.1. Earth Science: 3.2.
Grapes Activities
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PreK - Math: 1.1,2; 2.2
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Kindergarten - Math: 1.1; 2.1,4
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Grade 1 - Math Process: 1.1,2; 2.1,4; 3.2,3; 4.4. Math Content: 1.1; 2.4
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Grade 2 - Math Process: 1.1,2; 2.1,4; 3.2,3; 4.4. Math Content: 1.1; 4.2ab; 5.3
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Grade 3 - Math Process: 1.1,2; 2.1,4; 3.2,3; 4.4. Math Content: 3.1; 4.2ab; 5.2a
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Grade 4 - Math Process: 1.1,2; 2.1,4; 3.2,3; 4.4. Math Content: 4.4ab; 5.2
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Grade 5 - Math Process: 1.1,2; 2.1,4; 3.2,3; 4.4. Math Content: 4.3; 5.2a
Greens Activities
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PreK - Creative Skills: 1.4. Science Process: 1.1. Physical Science: 2.1. Small Motor: 2.1
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Kindergarten - Science Process: 1.2,3. Physical Science: 1.1. Visual Arts: 1.2; 3.1a. Small Motor: 1.1
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Grade 1 - Math Process: 1.2; 4.1,4; 5.1,2. Math Content: 5.1,2. Science Process: 1.1,2; 3.1,2; 4.3. Physical Science: 1.1,2
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Grade 2 - Math Process: 1.2; 4.1; 5.1,2. Math Content: 4.2b; 5.1,2. Science Process: 1.1,2; 3.1,2; 4.3. Physical Science: 1.1
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Grade 3 - Math Process: 1.2; 4.1; 5.1,2. Math Content: 4.2a; 5.1a. Science Process: 1.1,2; 3.1,2; 4.3. Life Science: 2.2
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Grade 4 - Math Process: 1.2; 4.1; 5.1,2. Math Content: 4.4b; 5.1b. Science Process: 1.1,2; 3.1; 4.1,3. Life Science: 3.2
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Grade 5 - Math Process: 1.2; 4.1; 5.1,2. Math Content: 4.4; 5.1abd. Science Process: 1.1,2; 3.1; 4.1,3. Physical Science: 1.1
Outdoor Classroom Activity
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Grade 1 - Science Process: 1.2; 3.1,2; 4.3. Life Science: 2.1,2.
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Grade 2 - Science Process: 1.2; 3.1,2; 4.3. Life Science: 2.1
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Grade 3 - Science Process: 1.2; 3.1,2; 4.3. Life Science: 2.1,2
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Grade 4 - Science Process: 1.2; 3.1; 4.1,3. Life Science: 3.1
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Grade 5 - Science Process: 1.2; 3.1; 4.1,3. Life Science: 2.1,2
Pi Day Activities
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Grade 7 - Math Process: 1.1,3,5,6; 4.1; 5.4. Math Content: 4.1b
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Grade 8 - Math Process: 1.1,3,5,6; 4.1; 5.4. Math Content: 3.1; 4.1,3a
Writing Prompts
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Grade 1 - Writing: 2.1,4,5; 3.4
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Grade 2 - Writing: 2.2abc,5; 3.4
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Grade 3 - Writing: 2.1,2,3ab,5; 3.4
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Grade 4 - Writing: 2.1abcd,2,3; 3.4ab
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Grade 5 - Writing: 1.1; 2.1,2,3,4
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Grade 6 - Writing: 1.1; 2.7,8
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Grade 7 - Writing: 2.8, 9
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Grade 8 - Writing: 2.8.9
Natural Dye
Fill a large pot with any kind of greens (Dandelion greens would work.) or clover and cover with cold water. Simmer for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat. Cover the pan, and steep the mixture for 30 minutes. Use a strainer to remove the greens. Provide each student with a square of unbleached muslin. Place the muslin in the pot and leave it overnight. Next day remove the squares and hang them to dry.