We used several sources for our website.  Below you find teacher materials and children's books that would be helpful in creating a unit on plants.  You will also find the core content that was used in this unit and some graphic sources used to create this site. 

Teacher Materials

Moore, Jo Ellen. Plants: ScienceWorks for Kids Series. Monterey, CA; Evan-Moor Corporation. 1998.

Scholastic Inc. Gardens. New York, NY; Instructional Publishing Group. 1991.

Bourke, Jane. Internet Quests: Plants.  Westminster, CA; Teacher Created Materials, Inc. 2001

Hale, Janet; McClay, Jodi; Morris, Elizabeth; Ray, Lucinda. Kid Pix Activity Kit: Plants. Westminster, CA; Teacher Created Materials, Inc. 1999.

Student Books

Heller, Ruth. The Reason For A Flower. New York, NY; Scholastic Inc. 1983.

Carle, Eric. The Tiny Seed.  New York, NY; Scholastic Inc. 1987

Ross, Bill. Straight From the Bear's Mouth: the Story of Photosynthesis.  Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 1995.

Krauss, Ruth. The Carrot Seed. New York, NY; Scholastic Inc. 1945.

Steele, Mary Q.  Anna's Garden Songs. New York, NY; Scholastic Inc. 1989

Core Content

Each of the core contents below are linked to the pages of this site that cover that content area.

SC-E-3.1.1     Organisms have basic needs.  For example, animals need air, water, and food; plants need air, water, nutrients, and light.  Organisms can survive only in environments in which their needs can be met.

SC-E-3.1.3     Each plant or animal has structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.  For example, humans have distinct body structures for walking, holding, seeing, and talking.

SC-E-3.2.1     Plants and animals have life cycles that include the beginning of life, growth and development, reproduction, and death.  The details of a life cycle are different for different organisms.

SC-E-3.2.2     Plants and animals closely resemble their parents at some time in their life cycle.  Some characteristics (e.g., the color of flowers, the number of appendages) are passed to offspring.  Other characteristics are learned from interactions with the environment such as the ability to ride a bicycle, and these cannot be passed on to the next generation.

SC-E-3.3.1     Plants make their own food.  All animals depend on plants.  Some animals eat plants for food.  Other animals eat animals that eat the plants.

SC-E-3.3.2     The world has many different environments.  Distinct environments support the lives of different types of organisms. When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce, and others die or move to new locations.

SC-E3.3.3     All organisms, including humans, cause changes in the environment where they live.  Some of these changes are detrimental to the organism or to other organisms; other changes are beneficial (e.g., dams built by beavers benefit some aquatic organisms but are detrimental to others).

Graphic Resources