You Are a Writer for the Richmond Times Dispatch and Your

Plants

A Web Quest for 2nd Graders

Designed by

Vicky Hughes

Science SOL 2.4, 2.8

Introduction

You are a writer for The Richmond Times Dispatch and your

editor has given you an assignment to have ready for the Tuesday edition next week. Since it is spring, the editor has asked you to inform the readers about plants.

Task

You and your team of writers (2 other classmates) are to create

the Mini-Page section of the newspaper that comes out once a week for young readers. Your task will be to learn about plants and how they provide us with many important products. You are to find out and tell the readers how plants provide homes and food for many animals and how plants help prevent soil erosion. When you have completed your assignment your newspaper will be published for your classmates to read.

Process

You and your team of writers will research and find the information you need to report on plants in your newspaper. You will include articles your team writes, pictures, a wordsearch, and a crossword puzzle, You can click on the colorwords below to connect you with websites full of informationto read and research. Have fun!

STEP 1

What are the parts of a plant? Click plant parts to find out. You will label

the parts of a plant. Have your teacher help you print the picture to put in

your newspaper. Research and learn about the jobs of each part by clicking on the vocabulary below.

Stem, root, leaf, flower, fruit

What do plants need in order to grow? Write a sentence telling about each

part of a plant and its needs. Put the sentences together to make a paragraph. This will be an article for your newspaper.

STEP 2

Find some of the products we get from plants.

What parts of a plant do we eat? Are there many?

Make a list of foods we get from plants. Draw pictures and illustrate the information you found for your newspaper. You can ask your teacher to help you print some of your findings.

STEP 3

Plants go through changes to get from a flower to fruit. Discoverwhat happens to an apple tree. Take a quiz and see how much you

know. Make a quiz for your newspaper. Ask only questions aboutthe apple tree. Hide your answer on the back page, upside down

in the corner.

STEP 4

Plants are important in preventing soil erosion. Watch a slide showand see erosion. Write a paragraph about soil erosion to be includedin your newspaper. You can illustrate your findings.

STEP 5

Trees are very important plants. Read about the uses of trees.Choose how you want to inform your readers about this information.

STEP 6

Make a list of all the new words you have learned while researching plants for your project. Make a word search to put in your newspaper.

Click puzzlemaker. You will type the words in this website and it will makethe word search for you.

STEP 7

Choose a website from the resource section and print one of the crossword puzzles to go in your newspaper. Be sure to make an answer key.The team can research the other websites to see if you want to add a

game, pictures, or math fun about your topic.

STEP 8

Don’t forget to check out the book list in the resource section below. There are many interesting books in our library to help you find theinformation you need.

STEP 9

When you have completed all parts of your newspaper, yourteam will ask your teacher for a piece of tag board to glue all of your

parts on. Be neat and creative.

Resources

Crossword Puzzles:

- crossword puzzle on parts of plants

- crossword puzzle on the importance of trees

More Fun Sites to Explore:

print out to color of an apple tree going through the seasons

plant graph comparing growth

plant logic challenge work

plant products worksheet: use books to help find answers

Pictures showing what parts of a plant we eat.

parts of a sunflower

reading about plants and animals

game: make a salad, guessing parts of plants we eat.

Links:

Parts of a plant

root

stem

leaf

flower

fruit

what plants need

products from trees

parts of a plant we eat

chart showing parts of plants we eat

photos of plant products

changing of a tree through the seasons

research quiz on fruits and vegetables

explains soil erosion

soil erosion slide show

uses for a tree

uses for a tree

make a word search

Books:

From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons

Tops and Bottomsby Janet Stevens

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart

Nature’s Green Umbrella by Gail Gibbons

How a Plant Grows by Bobbie Kalman

From Plant to Blue Jeans: a photo essay by Arth L’Hommedieu

Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson

From Seed to Sunflowerby Gerald Legg

A Tree is a Plant by Clyde Robert Bulla

How Do Apples Grow? By Betsy Maestro

How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan

The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons

Edible Plants by Forey/Fitzsimons

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

Evaluation

The rubric below shows how you will be evaluated.

Fair / Very Good / Excellent
Quality of written reports / 1 / 2 / 3
Final project neat and appealing / 1 / 2 / 3
Works well with team members / 1 / 2 / 3
Uses time wisely / 1 / 2 / 3
Completed newspaper on time / 1 / 2 / 3

Conclusion

Congratulations! You are now an official newspaper reporter.

What was your favorite part of the job? What is one thing you learned you did not know before you started this project?