Friday, October 04, 2013

Botany Scavenger Hunt



In the spring one of my favorite activities is to take out the students for a Botany Scavenger Hunt as a culmanating activity/assessment. I challenge them to find examples of: fungi, pteriophytes, bryophytes, gymnosperm, and angiosperm (both monocot and dicot). What is so difficult for me to understand is how little experience students have with the outdoors. Many are very unfamiliar with common types of plants which grow in their back yards. They love to ask to go outdoors but often complain once they get out there about the temperature, the sun, or the bugs. They are more apt to want to be on their phones texting their friends who are back in the building. I guess the more we get them outdoors the more adapted they will be. 
There are some who are genuinely interested in learning more about the world around them. When we returned indoors I had them mount their specimens onto paper and label. It was more amazing to see them arranging their samples and creating works of art - at least I think they are works of art. Here are a few examples for you to enjoy.




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