At-home and at school learning resources from Learning for a Sustainable Future
Week 3: Step Outside: Bountiful Roadside Blooms
This week's theme focuses on the beautiful, unassuming blooms that populate our roadsides! These flowers (asters and goldenrods) anchor a diverse food web which includes Honey Bees, Wasps, Long-horned Beetles, Soldier Beetles, Ambush bugs, Monarch Butterflies, Goldenrod Spiders and Hoverflies, which mimic bees or wasps. Through the activities below, you will learn about local flowers, plants, and the many species that rely on them for survival. We also highly recommend taking some time to read through our latest guide: Step Outside Mid-September 2021 to find out who's mating, who's migrating, what's going on with the stars and the planets - and feel more in tune with what is really happening around you, right outside your door!
This book introduces younger students to flowers, their pollinators and their seeds. Students will discover the meanings behind such interesting botanical terms as angiosperm and stamen. They will also learn about the process of pollination and seed production. Finally, one of the most important messages this book communicates is that the world has an amazing diversity of plants, many of which benefit humans. We should all care about the remarkable plant species that provide us with much of our food and other products we use.



Activities
  • Listen to the story online. Learn more about the structure of a flower with this lesson plan which accompanies the book
  • Become a Nature Detective in the schoolyard or your backyard
  • Get outdoors and discover the value of camouflage with a Birds and Worms activity 
  • Play Dough Nature Walk – take a walk outside and use play dough to take imprints of flowers, leaves or tree bark. Share and compare your prints with a friend
  • Parts of a Flower Activity - Collect three or more different flowers for students to observe and dissect. Dissect a second flower to compare plant parts
  • Add or multiply with petals, leaves, or seeds. Make a pattern using leaves and petals
What did you think of The Reason for a Flower?
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Students walk through a designated area such as the schoolyard, their backyard, or a local park and choose a plant they wish to observe. After carefully examining the plant, they note their observations following the guided observation process presented in class. This process helps students focus on plant characteristics to enhance both their appreciation and knowledge of plant adaptations and plant diversity. The activity also helps sharpen students' observation and inquiry skills. Students who choose can take turns introducing the plant they have selected by presenting the highlights of their observations.


Activities
  • Get outside and have students choose a plant they wish to observe. Have the students complete the observation cards then take turns introducing the plant they have chosen
  • Students can also get to know a plant or two in their neighbourhood or backyard with Meet a Plant    
  • Go on a Texture Walk to notice there are textures everywhere. Note your observations and share what you have discovered
  • Make Texture Rubbings of various surfaces and patterns found in nature, leaves, bark, roots, rocks. Make a class collage or mosaic of all the rubbings
  • Complete the Sensory Exploration Activity and have students use their senses to complete observations about a plant of their choice
What did you think of Meet a Plant: Up Close and Personal?
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Grades 5-8
The bird-watching activity is a great first step toward getting students outside observing and learning. Students erect a bird feeder and create a viewing center to observe the birds without disturbing them. They watch and identify the birds that visit the feeder and record what each species eats. Through their observations, they identify different bird adaptations and habits. They collect their data in journals and include details such as the species' name, date, time of day and the differences and similarities among the birds.


Activities
  • Observe birds in your schoolyard or at a bird feeder. Get to Know Birds by recognizing their field marks. Keep a journal for recording your observations
  • Try these Eating Like a Bird experiments to explore the food preference of birds that visit your schoolyard. Note your observations on this Bird Food Data Collection sheet
  • Collect data to determine What a Difference a Beak Makes
  • Brainstorm a list of human and natural activities that can interfere with healthy habitats and cause problems for birds
  • Walk in the schoolyard or nearby community to discover what human activities, construction, developments etc., have occurred in the past year. Create a list of recommendations that could improve the conditions for the birds in your schoolyard
  • Take it one step further and Build a Bird and Wildlife Park in your schoolyard
What did you think of Bird Banquets?
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Grades 9-12
In this learning activity, students will conduct a model population census by taking advantage of "species" present in their local environment. They will explore different variables and factors contributing to population dynamics. Students will analyze and compare results to understand the complexities associated with species and ecosystem management.


Activities
  • Survey the school grounds or nearby park to assess the level of biodiversity of flora and fauna found within the area. Explain to students that they will be counting different species/objects to collect data about their schoolyard
  • Ask students to complete the same census at home and then compare the results to their original census. Students can also compare their at-home results and discuss contributing variables
  • Connect to a local park or conservation area and visit the site multiple times in the year to study biodiversity over the seasons
  • Engage in programs that observe and report on nature: For example, FrogWatch, PlantWatch, WormWatch, and MilkweedWatch
  • Engage your school in letter writing to city, municipal, or provincial government about the importance of protecting local biodiversity
  • Develop whole school campaigns to target school practices to reduce the school's ecological footprint
  • Draw connections between individual actions and impacts on the environment/biodiversity. Share your photos with us at #LearningInsideOut
What did you think of Population Dynamics?
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About Learning Inside Out

Above you will find a selection of activities, broken down by various grade levels. These guides will be released weekly and archived on our Learning Inside Out page, so you can always access the full catalogue.

All activities have been modified from resources on our R4R database, simplified and adapted for both outdoor learning in the school yard or at-home as needed. The activity descriptions above should contain all the information and links that you need!

If you'd like to view the full original resource on R4R, including curriculum connections for every province/territory, click the activity title.

We want this guide to work for you, so your feedback is invaluable to us.
Use the feedback button at the bottom of this Guide, or email us at info@LSF-LST.ca. We would also love to see photos of students engaging in the activities, please e-mail us any pictures or videos you have!
Let us know how this helped your learning and teaching from home or at school indoors and (hopefully) outdoors and what you'd like to see more of by filling out our brief feedback form!
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Please share widely with any parents and teachers in your life!
Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF) is a Canadian charity with over 25 years of experience working within the education system. Our Resources for Rethinking (R4R) database is an award-winning collection of resources that are peer-reviewed by certified teachers and connected to curriculum in all provinces and territories. R4R is recommended on many Ministry of Education websites.
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