Jefferson Elementary School

Sunday, April 19, y

Dear Parents of Ms. Lamberts 2nd grade class,
Next week we will begin our next unit in science in which
students will be introduced to the life cycle of a plant! Having an
opportunity to grow their own bean sprout here in our classroom over
the course of several weeks.
I have included this information below because it is important for you
to have an idea of what your child is getting out of each of the lessons
and subjects we cover in class. The big idea is the subject of our
lesson, and the content standard is what your child will have an
understanding of by the end of this lesson.
Big Idea: Structures and Functions of Living Organisms.
Content Standard: Plants have life cycles that include sprouting,
growing to full size, forming fruits and flowers, shedding seeds (which
begins a new cycle), and eventually dying. The details
of
the life cycle are different for different plants.
Why are your children learning about the life cycle of a
plant?
Plants are a great way to introduce what a life cycle is to 2nd grade
students. It is important to understand that all living things grow and
change as they progress through their life cycle. At the end of this unit
students will be able to sequence and label the stages of a plants life.
Over the course of the unit each student will be documenting the
growth of their plant in a daily journal. Students will summarize
observations of what they see happening, label the parts of their
plant, document height, and draw pictures of the changes taking place
to their tiny bean seed as it sprouts. This will help your child to
understand what is happening and in the end be able to see the entire
growth process unfold as a whole. Practicing keeping journal and
making observations is a tool students will use in almost all future
science classes.
What can you do?
Here are some websites that are relatable to this lesson and will be
helpful for your child to play with the different activities and games on
the sites. This little extra practice will go along way in class! Once on
these websites find the plant life cycle games on the pages listed
below.
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities.html
jr.brainpop.com
Yours in Learning,
Ms. Lambert
jasmine.lambert@email.wsu.edu - (123) 456-7891 - Please do not
hesitate to contact me with questions!