1. 1st Grade Newsletter
How are Plants and Animals alike and different?
During this unit students will explore the characteristics of plants and animals by experiments, research, and
collaboration with peers. As a result students will be able to identify plants and animals by the end of the project.
The students will describe survival traits of living things, including colors, shape, size, texture and covering.
They will also classify plants and animals according to their physical traits. Students will also learn and be able
to describe a variety of habitats and natural homes of animals that no longer exist. By the end of the
lesson, students will be able to know the stages of plant development and identify the different parts of a habitat.
The students will also be able to identify fossils and what the previous plant/animal that existed. The children
will learn so much during this unit! They will keep a journal of the different fossils we look at and also draw
pictures of what they look like. Your children will learn so much and have fun at the same time. Hopefully they
will share with you what they learn!
PBL, What is IT?
What YOU can do! Think about IT!
Project based learning is learning that
results in students demonstrating their
•Discuss different plants understanding of what they have
•What is the process of a plant’s life learned using projects. The students
and animals you see. cycle? can use art, technology, writing, or
• Take your child to the •What do plants need in order to grow? many other things to demonstrate their
•What can fossils tell you? learning. Project based learning is
zoo, park, or just around •Where can you find a fossil? using a hands on learning and
•What adaptations do plants and animals students tend to learn better instead of
outside. have? teaching students by the traditional
•How are plants and animals similar? approach. Benefits include an
increased amount of academic
achievement and an increased
amount of retention of information. It
Contact Us: firstgradeteam@elem.edu also includes children being able to
for questions /or feedback! critically think, communicate, and
collaborate better.