Growing Students & Science
The Holden Arboretum started a unique program in September 2003 called Growing Students and Science: A Community Partnership to Build Interest and Ability in the Sciences. Students participate in the program for three years, starting in the third grade and completing the program in the fifth grade. Each year the students participated in two field trips to The Holden Arboretum and one classroom visit by Holden staff. By providing natural science programming, in the classroom and outdoors, Holden hopes to positively impact the students’ interest and proficiency in the sciences. All programs are aligned with Ohio's science standards and benchmarks.
Each year, teachers play an integral part in the Growing Students and Science project, attending various professional development workshops held throughout the year. The workshops provide them with tools to teach various aspects of the program to their students and provide additional activities to reach science standards. Teachers also play a key role in Holden's assessment of the project.
Third Grade: Plants and Animals in the Forest
Fall
The focus of the fall trip is the forest ecosystem, highlighting the ground level of the forest including the soil. Students
followed an interactive map, to help them practice their geography skills and to get acquainted with Holden. Students
sharpen their observation skills, and learned about the life cycles of two forest animals, chipmunk and wood thrush.
Students examine the components of soil and collect samples to take back to the classroom for a teacher lead
experiment.
Winter
Students are split into small groups with each group making a forest terrarium. The terrarium contain soil, a forest plant,
decaying plant material and a few pill bugs. A short lesson accompanied the making of terrariums, which included the
introduction to the terrarium ecosystem and pill bugs lifecycle
Spring
The focus of the spring trip is plants and animals in a forest community are interdependent, relying on each other in many
ways throughout their lives. The investigation for this unit started off in the classroom, where the teachers prepared the
students for their visit with various hands on activities. Students discovered ways in which animals use and depend on
plants, as well as the ways in which woodland plants depend on animals. Students learned that animals depend on plants
for food, cover, and homes. They also learned that plants depend on animals for pollination, seed dispersal and recycling
of nutrients.
Fourth Grade: Plants
Fall
The focus of the fall program is structure, function and diversity of plants. The program begins with the students
identifying the basic structure and function of plant parts including roots, stems, leaves and flowers. Next students learn to
classify plants into groups of herbaceous plants, trees or shrubs according to the plant’s characteristics. Students search
for seeds and classify the seeds according to whether they traveled by animal, wind or plant. After students visited the
wildflower garden to learn about fern and horsetail plant fossils. They compare the fossils with the present day plants.
Finally, the students wrap up their trip with a proficiency activity, dichotomous key, that classify plants by characteristics.
Winter
Students learn about flower structure and function. They select everyday items which match the function of the parts of a
plant and flower, to help construct a plant model. The students identify and explain the function of the flower and learn
about pollination. In addition students will start their spring unit by planting various seeds. They will record their
observations of plant growth over time.
Spring
Through an investigation that begins in the classroom and continues at Holden, students explore the pattern of change
that occurs during the life cycle of a plant. As a seed grows from a seedling to a mature plant, then flowers and ripens its
fruit, it produces a new crop of seeds. Students observe, measure and record these changes as they grow a variety of
plants from seed in the classroom. They explore the structure of a seed, dissect flowers and look inside different fruits to
compare the number of seeds each produce. At Holden students discover they can recognize growth stages such as
seedling, flowering and fruiting in a diversity of plants. They compare the different length in lifecycles of trees and other
plants, and discover these cycles are often dependent on interactions with pollinators. Through their experiences, students
build an understanding of a plant life cycle as a predictable sequence of changes that occur as a plant grows from a seed
to produce the seeds that start the next generation.
Fifth Grade: Ecosystems
Fall
The program is held at a Holden location called Strong Acres. Strong Acres was donated to Holden over 50 years ago by
the Strong family. The donated 151 acres went through many changes during Strong’s and Holden’s ownership. Students
study these changes by studying the two types of ecosystems, forest and field found on the property. They become
scientists and studied various living and non-living things in the environment. One of the things they study is that different
animals inhabit each ecosystem and how human interaction or natural disaster can change a ecosystem over time.
Winter
First person interpreter, Rachel Carson visits the classroom. Miss Carson was a famous biologist, conservationist and
author of “Silent Spring.” Students learned about Miss Carson's life and her studies the balance of nature as it is effected
by the actions of humans. She challenged the students to consider the consequences of human actions. She encouraged
them to be scientist by observing and asking questions.
Spring
During the month of May classes visit Holden to study a stream ecosystem. Students explore the living and non-living components of a stream ecosystem. They learn about the organisms that live in a stream and explore their relationships
to each other. Hands-on activities will include collecting stream macro invertebrates, playing an interactive stream food
web activity and collecting data to determine the health of the steam.
