Preview of Main Ideas

• There are many wild flowers in North Dakota. This lesson uses the Internet, encyclopedias, magazines and maps to process and report information on plant life. Students will identify wild flowers and will plot their location on a map.

• Grade 4; adaptable to all grades; Social Studies, North Dakota Studies, Art, Language Arts

• To identify, locate and develop an appreciation for wild flowers in the state of North Dakota.

• Students will explore resources to find wild flowers that grow in ND.
• Students will be able to identify wild flowers in four regions of the state.
• Students will investigate uses of wild plants.

• Standard 8. Knows the characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface.
• Standard 14.Knows how human actions modify the physical environment.

• Place, Human Environmental Interaction, Regions

• Four to five 30-minute class periods

• North Dakota topographical and outline maps, colors or markers, construction paper. Wildflowers of North Dakota, Paul Kannowski, 1989

• Have students brainstorm and list the names of plants they have seen in North Dakota. Explain that some of the plants are endangered and others are noxious weeds.
• Provide students with various North Dakota magazines and web sites. Together, locate wild flowers and make a list on the chalkboard. Do some grow just in Eastern ND? What time of year do the flowers bloom?

• Distribute a North Dakota outline map to each student.
• Chart the location of as many North Dakota wild flowers as they can find. Include a legend. Each student will choose a flower and look on the Internet for more information. They will draw a picture and write a report. These can also be displayed in a Hyperstudio stack. The report should include:
  • Name and date
  • Name of flower, description, location, and picture
  • Season
  • Uses (if any)
  • Sources of information

• Are there any patterns on the maps? Do more wild flowers grow in Eastern or Western North Dakota? Why is this so? When is the growing season? When do they bloom?
• Are any plants endangered? What are they and where are they located? Are there any noxious weeds in North Dakota? What is being done to reduce the danger of weeds that invade crop and pasture land?
• Draw the students' attention to what they have done in this activity. They have acquired information, processed it and reported the information to investigate plant life in North Dakota.

Assessing Student Learning

• Student reports will include the information listed above; must be in the student's own words; and should include personal awareness of plants, conservation and the environment.
• The drawing must be neat, with the appropriate use of colors.
• Or, the Hyperstudio stack will be presented to an audience.