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How can you tell if a plant is poisonous?
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How can you tell if a plant is poisonous?
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
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Suppose you wanted to break this rock in two—and you weren’t in a rush. Instead of using tools to break it open, can you think of a way that a plant could help you do it?
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Drop a seed into a crack. Wait for a tree to sprout. Then wait another 20 years. As the tree grows, its roots will break the rock!
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Tree roots don’t just break boulders. Seeds can sprout between stone blocks in buildings too. Check out these ancient—and modern—buildings! I wonder what they’ll look like in 100 years!
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This brick sidewalk has an opening for a tree to grow in. What do you think the tree will look like as it gets older?
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Roots can grow into any crack. Over time, the cracks shape the way the roots grow.
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This isn’t a purple house. It’s a house covered in purple flowers from flowering vines! How long do you think it takes vines to grow?
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In just over a month, vines covered this little house. Why do you think the vines climbed on the house? Are they searching for something?
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Other plants, like trees, grow tall so that their leaves are closer to the sunlight. Vines need light too! So they get tall by climbing up trees and buildings!
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Trees may not seem like they are unstoppable. After all, you can just cut them down. But what happens to the stump after you cut down a tree?
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Sometimes, trees grow back! A tree’s roots may have enough food to create a new sprout, like these. Even when a tree falls over...
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...it can grow back! These fallen trees have roots in the ground. Their branches have grown straight up, each trying to become a tree.
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Someone thought it was a good idea to nail this sign to a tree. What do you think? Do you have any idea what might happen?
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Check it out! Trees are unstoppable! If something gets in a tree’s way, the tree might just grow around it! Weird! But that’s not all...
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Some people add googly eyes to make trees look like they are munching on the things that got in their way. Yum!
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Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Grades K-5

Current Events And Trending Topics

Plant Traits

Overview

In this mini-lesson, students will learn about a few species of poisonous plants and how to identify them.

Exploration

5 mins

Grades K-5

Current Events And Trending Topics

Plant Traits

Extend this lesson

Writing

Activity

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How can you tell if a plant is poisonous?

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