Botany Unit Study

A few years ago I put together a botany unit study for my boys.  We used a handful of books, a few DVDs, lots of Youtube videos, and plenty of time in the dirt.  Everything is listed chronologically in the order we did them.  Because we have long winters here we did this study over a summer.

Introduction

Read Introduction pg 6-9 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons

Plant Anatomy

• Read Cells, Tissues, and Organs pg 10-11 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Read The Stem pg 12-13 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• View plant slide samples under microscope
• Read Leaves pg 14-15 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Go on hike and find 5 types of leaves
• Experiment pg 7 Dig and Sow! How do plants grow?
• Read Roots pg 16-17 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Dig up a few plants and examine the roots.

Read George Washington Carver: An Innovative Life by Elizabeth MacLeod pg 4-9

Plant Physiology

• Read Photosynthesis pg 18-19 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch photosynthesis song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1_uez5WX1o
• Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo5XndJaz-Y
• Sprout seeds in a glass jar stuffed with wet paper towels.
• Read Plant Nutrition pg 20-21 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Read Growth and Development pg 22-23 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtK7w4F5GW0 Tree rings
• Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFCdAgeMGOA Time lapse growing
• Watch  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-FO8tZQGfk
• Watch Bill Nye on Plants https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiFA3lRFxjk

Read George Washington Carver: An Innovative Life by Elizabeth MacLeod pg 10-15

Plant Reproduction

• Read Reproduction and Heredity pg 24-25 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch Pollination, Plants, and Insects http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiwkJui2mh0
• Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVhH2GPlckE Big flower pollination
• Read Asexual Reproduction pg 26-27 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYpOoye1WCs Plant reproduction
• Read Artificial Asexual Reproduction pg 28-29 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Make cuttings of a few plants and put in water to encourage roots.  Plant in soil when roots are well developed.
• Watch how to graft a tree http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTtXmBVsolY

Read George Washington Carver: An Innovative Life by Elizabeth MacLeod pg 16-21

• Read Flowers pg 30-31 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch Bill Nye Flowers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P947-bgBwjU
• Go on hike to find several kinds of flowers.  Examine flowers to determine the parts.
• Read Fruits pg 32-33 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwCpQflmQG4 Fruit development
• Grow tomato and cucumber plants.  Once flowered take pictures every 3 days to document the change from a flower to a fruit.
• Read Seeds pg 34-35 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Seed dispersal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY4JFOSuqvY
• Seed dispersion – Walk around farm and gardens when ground is slightly damp.  At the end scrape off your shoe and place the scrapings in a container of soil.  See what grows.
• Cut open a bean + other seeds and examine the interior.
• Experiment pg 10 Dig and Sow! How do plants grow?

Read George Washington Carver: An Innovative Life by Elizabeth MacLeod pg 22-29

Ecology

• Read Physical Conditions of the Environment pg 36-37 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch soil types https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuafBZgPwwI
• Start a worm compost http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxhEQEA0GN8
• Read Plant Communities and Ecosystems pg 38-39 (intro to plant classification) Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Read Endemisms and Floral Kingdoms pg 40-41 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch saving plant species from extinction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70lFfmQhW8M
• Read Vegetation and Landscape pg 42-43 (review on ecosystems) Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Read Special Forms of Plant Life pg 44-45 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch parasitic plant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmlUuR33h84

Kingdom Protista

• Read Microscopic Algae pg 48-49 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch Blue-Green Algae Mitosis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRFICkSGR9s
• Watch Diatoms http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYB5529hDPI
• Take sample of aquarium water and examine it under a microscope
• Read The Higher Algae pg 50-51 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch Kelp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9eyK6C9nDA
• Watch Seaweed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsU6xRvGl8k
• Read The Lower Fungi (slime molds, algae-type fungi) pg 52-53 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch Slime molds  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkVhLJLG7ug
• Watch Why study slime molds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlJ0ElcOAv8
• Look at pictures of slime mold and hunt for it in a wooded area
• Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3mwrww_Ymc  Treatment of ich in fish tank

Kingdom Fungi

• Read The Higher Fungi (sac-type, club-type) 54-55 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch Truffle hunting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUcUX2oGgaU
• Watch Death cap mushroom http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCylKeLRXcg
• Read Parasitic Fungi pg 56-57 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch Apple Canker Orchard Walk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WrgmWTxuI8
• Take a hike and search for fungus
• Read Fungal Symbionts pg 58-59 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch Lichens http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te4qnLkHnS4
• Explore The Fungus Among Us http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/champignons-mushrooms/English/index.html
• Grow mushrooms http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Grow-Mushrooms-From-Old-Mushroom-Stem-Butts&id=2623916
• Watch lecture A Visit to the Mushroom Planet http://www.cornell.edu/video/?videoID=559

Kingdom Plantae

 Non-Vascular Land Plants (bryophytes)

• Read Mosses and Liverworts pg 60-61 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch Mosses life cycle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbSZbd02UEg
• Watch Liverwort http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz4ZTSJqQT0
• Watch Liverworts airborne sperm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALGDLzWcvnU
• Watch Liverworts time lapse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeA-W9c6OAk
• Watch Hornwort pest plant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgjwjPBZLqY
• Watch Hornwort in aquarium http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq7iZ2EjX1I
• Purchase hornwort and place in aquarium

Private Life of Plants Video – Seed Travelling

Vascular Land Plants (tracheophytes)

• Read Ferns, Lycopods, and Horsetails pg 62-63 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Watch Lycopod drying http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-g4jrsphQw
• Watch Fireball Steve Spangler http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAdElO1FCSM
• Watch Ferns http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4YtOT0Z6Ek

Private Life of Plants Growing

Seed Plants (spermatophytes)

• Read Plants with Naked Seeds pg 64-65 conifers Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons
• Pine tree cones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Se_9y68P0
• Watch Conifer reproduction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI8iy2wRJ0Q
• Extract seeds from pine cone http://www.ehow.com/how_8069652_extract-pine-tree-seeds.html
• Grow pine seeds http://www.ehow.com/how_4482519_grow-pine-tree-seed.html

Private Life of Plants Flowering

Angiosperms

• Read Dicotyledons pg 66-67 Essential Atlas of Botany by Barrons

Beech Tree

• Beech tree seed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rswfAzmLzHA
• Beech tree felling part 1          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXAqyPrlkYI
• Beech tree felling part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WaV4xx0SiA

Apple Tree

• How to sprout apples from apple seeds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRnBzn_ytQ4
• Apple varieties http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSWq8qI_cN0
• Store apple seeds in the fridge
• Taste test different varieties of apples

Peas

• How to plant peas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRhrC9VTF8c
• Time lapse pea growth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHaJhc-o–Q
• Plant peas

Watch The Queen of Trees – 60 minutes

Olive Tree

• Olive tree http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ROyelV_K4A
• Picking and oil making http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6BjChiieSA
• Watch olive oil being made http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IalTzb6z-YY

Grapes

•  Plant grape vine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyO_c6kIXCk
• Growing grape seeds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mf4-haI9ng
• Set aside grape seeds for germination

Carnation

• Growing carnation from seed after watching  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nHPBfmT0U4
• Draw carnation flower http://www.ehow.com/video_6198399_draw-carnation-flower.html
• Carnation experiment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMvEVnAFCNA

Rose

• Rose cuttings http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5qhp11rgYI
• Types of roses http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITuDKT5piww
• Start cuttings from roses

Clover

• Clover lawn and honeybees http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoO62dWLg-U
• Benefits of eating clover http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjiFfB2owzs
• Sprout clover seeds to eat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JCpJV78-OY
• How to find 4 leaf clover http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHYZ_EsufPY
• Search for 4 leaf clover

Alfalfa

• Grazing alfalfa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIPahL3tIwo
• Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29nnF1zst6o
• Chopping alfalfa crop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNW4bQkYiFQ
• Baling alfalfa http://www.youtube.com/user/dsimmons3#p/u/10/LEo28MB5H1o
• Bagging alfalfa http://www.youtube.com/user/dsimmons3#p/u/5/ZjM9ln1tzlA
• Alfalfa planting  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNq2K3-bCJc

Daisy

• Time lapse bloom http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nG5lsCZnBA
• How to find daisy seeds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5IALgUY1qI
• Harvest and plant Daisy seeds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySRAe2P8nxg

Cacti

• Different types of cacti http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL8mKGOlkLA
• How to grow a cactus plant http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Grow-a-Cactus-Plant-517026948
• Buy a small cactus plant and replant it in a larger pot.

Sweet Potato

• Sprout a sweet potato
• Plant when lots of leaves and roots appear.
• Sprout a sweet potato http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtgb5Vkgy2Y
• Sprouted sweet potato http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9BZIQ0YEmE
• Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oid9RgSvqfc
• Put 3-4 toothpicks in a sweet potato and rest it in a glass of water.  Put in a warm and dark place until roots appear and then move to sunny place.
• Cut 1 foot long slips and root them in water
• Plant the slips with roots in the ground.

Private Life of Plants the Social Struggle http://science.docuwat.ch/videos/?alternative=2&channel_id=0&skip=0&subpage=video&video_id=58