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Plant Trading Cards (Print Shop Ensemble III)

Materials:
Print Shop Ensemble III or similar program.
Graphics

Background:
This lesson is part of a year long language/science/garden project.
The students had previously gone around campus photographing with a digital camera all the different plants they could find on the school grounds.

Objectives:
1. Design plant trading cards from photographs taken by the students of the plants around the school campus.
2. Use a variety of resources to find the information needed to complete a task (information on the plants for the back of the trading cards).
3. Use different features of Print Shop Ensemble III, such as inserting a photograph, inserting text, and changing/selecting or inserting a border.

Standards:
L.A.    3.4.3    Understand the structure, organization, and use of various resources such
                        as the encyclopedia, card catalog, almanacs, newspapers, and periodicals.
Science
L.S.     3           Adaptations in Physical structure or behavior may improve an organism's
                         chance for survival:
            a           Students know plants and animals have structures that  serve different
                         functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.
            b           Students know examples of diverse life forms in different environments,
                         such as oceans, deserts, tundra, forests, grasslands, and wetlands.

Estimated Time:
20 minutes with whole class. The students need between 30 minutes and an hour depending on how many cards they are working on.

Vocabulary:
Template, annual, perenial, seed packet, commercial, research, identification, genus, climate, zone, depth, sow, spacing, row, harvest, germinate, seedlings, diameter, variety, bloom, heigth, common name, scientific name.

Procedure:
1. Insert the photo in a template created by the teacher in with Printshop and resize to fit.
2. Select and insert a border.
3. Look up information on the plant in encyclopedia, Internet, and/or other resource book (Sunset Western Garden Book)(see lesson # 3).  Include as many as possible of the following: plant description, scientific name, sun/shade preference, watering preference, any other need specific to the plant, type (annual, perennial, etc.), and at least one interesting fact about the plant.
4. Type the information found on a second template for the backside of the trading card.

Assessment:

Rubric:

4 points   Completed independently
3 points   Completed with the help of a peer expert
2 points   Completed with the help of the teacher
1 point     Completed partially
0 points    Did not participate
 

Sites for researching plants:

Links to Plant Information http://geocities.com/graciesgifts/plant.htm

Botany Encyclopedia  http://botany.com/

Etera's plant Search http://etera.com/school/plants/default.asp?sp=186&Srx=1

Plant Encyclopedia  http://wildaboutgardening.org/en/growing/section4/

Plant Encyclopedia http://expertree.net/plantorder.html

Common Name Index  http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/comindx.html

Plant Search http://planetplants.co.uk/Products.htm
 Go to:   http://planetplants.co.uk/Products.htm#Online Plant Encyclopedia

Kid Info - Plants  http://kidinfo.com/Science/plants.html

Plant Tips and Facts  http://edelsoft.net/garden/plants.htm

Digital Librarian http://digital-librarian.com/gardening.html

NeoFlora Plant Database http://neoflora.com/