Dandelions

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Dandelions
By Farrah

Hi! I just read a book to my class called Dandelions. I can't remember the author, but I ordered from Scholastic (Seesaw or Firefly?) It is an informational book about how the dandelion is grows. It has really good pictures.
I think dandelions would be a good unit to do becuase i didn't even know that the white dandelions came from the yellow dandelions. In the back of the book it lists ideas you can use. I think you can cook the leaves of dandelions.
Maybe you could review the senses (how do dandelions smell compared to other flowers)
Have the children write a class story. "What the seeds of

a dandelion see during flight" or whatever.
Make up a song and make some instruments to play while singing it.
Let them see if they can count the petals (quite a challenge) or compare sizes.
Use dandelions to measure the table, chair, etc.
Learn parts of a flower. Grow dandelions. Do an experiment. compare plants with/without water, with/without salt in the soil, with/without sunlight.
Let the kids act out the following drama:
(Crouch down in a ball) You are a tiny seed and your in the dark, cold ground. you can't see a thing and you are very cold becuase it is winter. (pause) Now it is spring. a gentle rain begins to fall. It feels wet and cool. Your seed coat (new vocabulary) pops open and you begin to stretch up through the moist, warm soil. (Start to raise up) Suddenly, you pop your head out of the ground. What is that bright, warm light? It feels so warm, you want to stretch up and up. Now there is something on the end of your stem. It starts to grow and grow until... POP! You're a flower!