School and Community Summer 2023

variables of light and water and analyzing how each affects plant development. First grade students identify how adult plants and their offspring are the same and different. Using trade books as teaching tools to connect ELA with science standards is simple and easy. Not only do the Discover Nature Schools curriculum units offer Read Togethers and Science Notebooks built into the Kindergarten and First Grade student books, but trained teachers also receive trade books in free, MDC-provided teacher kits to support the science content learned. Plants Can’t Sit Still by Rebecca Hirsch colorfully illustrates how seeds can move from one area to another and can cause the environment around it to change. The Dandelion Seed by Joseph Anthony is another classic to discuss the needs of plants, and how they grow and change from seedling to adult. Seize a beautiful sunny day, a tarp or blanket, and head outside to read either of these books to your students and give them the opportunity following the reading to explore the area around them! There are abundant opportunities to analyze the interactions of different types of pollinators with wildflowers and correlate to structure and function. Virginia bluebells ( Mertensia virginica ) are a fitting example. With their long drooping flowers, they attract hummingbirds in particular. Why would hummingbirds flock to these types of flowers? What other flowers are hummingbirds attracted to? Is there a pattern? Wild geraniums ( Geranium malculatum ) have a special method of seed dispersal through catapulting the seeds 10 to 30 feet! Flowers bloom from April to May, so it is recommended to keep the seed pods in a paper sack until all seeds have been released and then sow them immediately. Seedlings emerge again the following March or April. Bring this phenomenon to life with your students and explore seed dispersal as an engineering activity! Other common native wildflowers to look for include spring beauties (urban landscapes and woodlands; blooms February-April), downy phlox (prairie or open lands; April-May), Virginia bluebells (woodlands; April-May), and cut-leaf toothwort (woodlands; March-May). For more information, visit Grow Native! At www.grownative.org for resources for ordering, sprouting and maintaining native wildflowers.

Planting native wildflowers at a school from seedling

From top: Plains Coreopsis, Black-eyed Susan, Virginia bluebells, Longhorn Bee on Spring Beauty All Photos: Missouri Department of Conservation

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