Small Seeds, Big Potential - Clarissa Burrow

One of the most rewarding parts of being the Lead Education Intern at Project GROWS is seeing kiddos take what they have learned and apply it to the real world. I love being able to see the capabilities of the students as I hand them information and knowledge. This was especially true during a three day plant ID lesson that I taught! 

Before we get to that, let me lay out the scene. It's me, my pen, an idea and 40 students to think about. I am a botanist by trade and feel very passionate about sharing the world of plants with children and adults alike. 

Like kids, plants are often underestimated.

I wanted these students to see the magic and power behind these little stationary green things. Maybe by teaching a complex subject this could lend them the confidence to blossom themselves! I just had to set the conditions right, make sure the humidity was right, the temperature, water intake, and nutrients to see these students thrive. Much like a plant. 

If you have ever taught or interacted with children you will know, everything can be planned out on paper to perfection. But these little kids bring wonder that both excites and induces chaos! So there I am, pen in hand, and a goal in mind. The schedule is perfect, the lesson is perfect. I was nervous that this would all fail and my mission would be fraught.  

The time comes for judgement day where my lesson plans and teaching skills are put to the test. The students are sitting and waiting with wonder (and some boredom) in their eyes. I could feel the chaos brewing but I braved the storm and rode out into the darkness. 

I began to teach. 

Day one was learning the anatomy of the plants. I sat at the front of the table with a whiteboard as my assistant. Together we all walked through how to draw and label compound leaves, opposite leaves, leaf margins, palmate leaves, and pinnate leaves. Their little hands sketched out each line and many voices asked for spelling help. 

Lesson number one was a success! I passed judgement day. 

The next day was day two of the trials. This day was ‘dichotomous key’ day. I was not as apprehensive about this trial as I was previously. I had the comfort of knowing that these students had been exposed to dichotomous keys before. 

Or so I thought. 

To begin I asked for a show of hands to see how many students I have to fight with me in this battle.

A mere one hand rose to fight by my side.  

Not to fret! I had a plan. The students and I played a game where they were given seven living things to classify from least complex to most complex. As a team they would work together to classify these living things to then compare their answers to how philosophers classified them. 

Afterwards we talked about the history and development of dichotomous keys today. I had to mention my good old friend Carl Linnaeus, the father of binomial nomenclature. We wrapped up our final battle with a test. The students braved a dichotomous key themselves to identify a big cat and a dog on their own. 

Day two’s battle was won. The final boss is all that remained.

The Plant ID walk. 

We had an hour and one goal in mind. I was worried that the students' wonder would melt into chaos on our adventure into the woods. They were armed with their notebooks, tree dichotomous keys, a hand lens, and their water bottles. More than enough supplies for chaos to thrive. Regardless, we began our voyage. 

Stop one was at a native black cherry tree. The next visit was to a native honey locust tree. Then it was time for the students to face their own battles and venture into the world of botany. In pairs, each student found a tree of their own to identify. With just fifteen minutes to spare, the students sat down and began to work through their tree dichotomous keys. 

I stood in the crowd of focused students glowing with pride as the students asked very valuable questions. 

Is this a compound leaf? I don’t see a leaf node so I think it is a compound leaf. 

What is a bipinnately compound leaf? 

How big would you say this tree nut is? 

The questions continued and slowly one by one, the students won their own battles and with little to no educator help, they successfully completed the challenge of identifying their first specimens. 

I will be honest, I was not too sure about my ability and the kids abilities to grasp this complex subject. I underestimated myself and the kids, much like how people underestimate plants.