How Plants Grow
There’s no need to wait until snow melts and warmer weather comes to see some “spring green”! Project Learning Tree’s activity “How Plants Grow” is a great way to encourage positive thinking AND discuss how plants grow. As an extension to this activity, invite a local greenhouse owner to talk about how he/she grows plants for sale, or an area gardener on how and why they grow plants. A field trip to a nursery or area garden is a great way for students to see how plants grow outside of a controlled experiment. Don’t have the funds for a field trip? Take your students on a tour of your school’s grounds to look for evidence of plant growth.
Start an outdoor classroom at your school. Apply for a grant from the Living Roadway Trust Fund.
Book List
Grades PreK-2
Aston, D. 2007. A Seed Is Sleepy. Chronicle Books LLC.
Berger, M. 1994. All about Seeds: A Hands-on Science Book. Scholastic, Inc.
Brown, R. 2001. Ten Seeds. Knopf Publishing Group.
Burnie, D. 2005. Plant. DK Publishing, Inc.
Carle, E. 1991. Tiny Seed. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Charman, A. 2003. I Wonder Why Trees Have Leaves and Other Questions about Plants. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Claybourne, A. 2002. Plants. Raintree Publishers.
Cole, J. 1995. The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book About How Living Things Grow. Scholastic, Inc.
Dixon, M. 1998. Plants around Us. Smart Apple Media.
Ehlert, L. 1992. Planting a Rainbow. Harcourt Children's Books.
Fowler, A. 2001. From Seed to Plant. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Gibbons, G. 1991. From Seed to Plant. Holiday House.
Hewitt, S. 1999. Plants and Flowers. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Hickman, P. 1996. A Seed Grows : My First Look at a Plant's Life Cycle. Kids Can Press, Ltd.
Jennings, T.J. 1988. Seeds. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Jordan, H.J. 1992. How a Seed Grows. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Kuchalla, S. 1990. All About Seeds. Troll Communications L.L.C.
Lovejoy, S. 1999. Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children. Workman Publishing Company.
Marzollo, J. 1996. I'm a Seed. Scholastic, Inc.
Moncure, J.B. 1990. How Seeds Travel: Popguns and Parachutes. Child's World, Incorporated.
Morgan, S. 2004. Plants and People. Thameside Press.
Morgan, S. 2004. Flowers, Fruits and Seeds. Thameside Press.
Murphy, P.J. 2004. Peeking at Plants with a Scientist. Enslow Publishers, Incorporated.
Pascoe, E. 2003. Plants with Seeds. Rosen Publishing Group, Incorporated.
Riley, P. 2003. Plants. World Almanac Books.
Rockwell, A. 1999. One Bean. Walker Books for Young Readers.
Roemer, H.B. 2006. What Kinds of Seeds Are These? T&N Children's Publishing.
Royston, A. 2001. Plants, Flowers, Fruits and Seeds. Heinemann.
Rubel, N. 2002. No More Vegetables. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Saunders-Smith, G. 1998. Seeds. Capstone Press.
Scrace, C. 2002. Growing Things. Franklin Watts.
Schaefer, L.M. 2003. Pick, Pull, Snap!: Where Once a Flower Bloomed. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Time for Kids Magazine. 2006. Time For Kids: Plants! HarperCollins Children's Books.
Wexler, J. 1988. Flowers, Fruits ,Seeds. Prentice Hall Books.
Whitehouse, P. 2002. Seeds. Heinemann.
Worth, B. 2001. Oh Say Can You Seed?: All About Flowering Plants. Random House, Incorporated.
Grades 3-5
Ball, J.A. 2002. Plants. Gareth Stevens Audio.
Bix, C.O. 1982. How Seeds Travel. Lerner Publishing Group.
Branigan, C. 2005. Flowers and Seeds. Smart Apple Media.
Burnie, D. 2004. Plant. DK Publishing, Inc.
Burton, J. and K. Taylor. 1999. Nature and Science of Seeds. Gareth Stevens Audio.
Farndon, J. 2006. Seeds. Thomson Gale.
Goodman, S.E. 2001. Seeds, Stems, and Stamens: The Ways Plants Fit into Their World. Lerner Publishing Group.
Greenaway, T. 2000. Plant Life. Raintree Publishers.
Jennings, T.J. 1989. Seeds and Seedlings. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Julivert, M.A. 1993. Life of Plants. Chelsea House Publishers.
Kalman, B.1996. How a Plant Grows. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Kalman, B. 2000. What Is a Plant? Crabtree Publishing Company.
Kirkpatrick, R.K. 1990. Look at Seeds and Weeds. Raintree Publishers.
Lauber, P. 1991. Seeds: Pop Stick Glide. Crown Books for Young Readers.
McEvoy, P. 2003. Plants. Chelsea House Publishers.
Meucci, A. 2002. Plants. Gareth Stevens Audio.
Robbins, K. 2004. Seeds. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Spilsbury, L.A. 2002. Plant Habitats. Heinemann.
Spilsbury, L. 2002. Plant Parts. Heinemann Library.
Stewart, M. 2004. A Parade of Plants. Capstone Press.
Stewart, M. 2003. Plants. Capstone Press.
Wyatt, V. 2000. Wacky Plant Cycles. Mondo Publishing.
Grades 6-8
Capon, B. 2003. Plant Survival: Adapting to a Hostile World. Timber Press, Incorporated.
DK Publishing. 1992. Plants. DK CHILDREN.
Bates, J.W. 1991. Seeds to Plants: Projects with Biology. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Howell, L. 2002. World of Plants. E.D.C. Publishing.
Pascoe, E. 1996. Seeds and Seedlings. Thomson Gale.
Patent, D.H. 2003. Plants on the Trail with Lewis and Clark. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Winckler, S. 2002. Planting the Seed: A Guide to Gardening. Lerner Publishing Group.
Grades 9-12
Farndon, J. 2002. 1000 Things You Should Know about Plants. Mason Crest Publishers.
Greenaway, T. 1999. Plant Kingdom: A Guide to Plant Classification and Biodiversity. Raintree Publishers.
Parker, R. 2003. Introduction to Plant Science: Revised Edition. Thomson Delmar Learning.
