In our opinion, learning about plants and the natural world should be a year-round pastime. Yet, this specific time of year allows us to focus on how we can observe and utilize the plants that surround us. School is back in session, and we can’t help but point out the opportunities to use plants in the classroom and at home to enhance learning.

There are several ways plants can add to the classroom or assist with driving the point home when working on homework. Research has shown that touching on three learning modalities--visual, auditory, and kinesthetic--will aid the student to internalize the material because it brings the lesson into the student’s physical world. The practice of utilizing all three learning methods in the classroom is known as multi-sensory learning.

With some lessons, it is difficult to find an object that uses the three learning modalities. Let plants do the work for you! Plants engage the senses and can be used in all types of subject matter. Here are a few of our favorite lesson ideas using classroom plants!

Multi-sensory Learning with Plants

MATH

Math is everywhere, including plants! Bringing math into the physical world is key to help students internalize difficult to grasp concepts. For example, plants can be implemented to teach basic mathematical principles like parts of a whole (a.k.a. fractions, percentages, and ratios). Utilize an orchid by having students count the number of open versus closed flowers on a single plant and calculate the percentages and fractions of both open and closed flowers. You can also have students calculate the ratio of open to closed flowers!

Bonus idea: Try teaching basic statistics with plants (mean, median, mode, range).

READING & VOCABULARY

Boost reading comprehension by bringing plants from the page to reality. Scientific plant names are full of Latin roots that we use in our language every day. Build your students’ vocabulary by breaking down plant names to discover meaning. For example...

Common name: Fiddle-leaf Fig

Scientific Latin name: Ficus lyrata

Meaning: Ficus (fig) lyr- (lyre) -ata (latin suffix added to nouns to form adjectives)

Explanation: Fiddle-leaf figs received their Latin name, Ficus lyrata, because of their unique leaf shape resembling a lyre and because they are members of the fig family.

Bonus idea: Try discovering plants in literature.

SCIENCE

The options for science lessons with classroom plants are virtually limitless! We picked our favorite multi-sensory science lesson that demonstrates the power of light in plants.

Provide two of the same plants to each student and let the students build an experiment, placing the plants in different light levels around the classroom or at home (direct, indirect, completely dark, etc.). At the end of the experiment, have the students compare their two plants and describe the differences that they observe after 1-3 weeks.

All interior plants are excellent examples to demonstrate the power of light in affecting plant growth and appearance! We suggest using the popular zebra plant (Tradescantia zebrina) because it is quite sensitive to light levels. The plant’s famous stripe variegation quickly disappears in light levels that are too high. On the flipside, zebra plants become long and leggy in light levels that are too low.

Bonus idea: Try propagation by seed or cuttings.

SOCIAL SCIENCE

The discovery of new plants has been ongoing since the beginning of time. Have each student pick a physical plant from a classroom collection to research. The sky's the limit!  They could research its native habitat, history of discovery, or even the botanist responsible for the discovery. For example…

Schefflera arboricola

The Schefflera genus of plants is named in honor of J.C. Scheffler, a botanist from 18th-century Danzig (Gdansk, Poland). Schefflera arboricola (Dwarf Umbrella Tree) is specifically native to Hainan and Taiwan.

Bonus idea: Try discussing the creation and curation of botanical gardens and then visit one!

As you can tell, multi-sensory learning with classroom plants can be engaging and interactive, connecting the concepts in a textbook to the physical world! Not only can you help a student internalize subject matter, but you can also bring more uplifting plants into your classroom, home, and life.

For more inspiration for classroom plant activities check out these blog posts: 6 Hands-On Plant Activities for Kids, 7 Indoor Plants Your Kids Can Grow, and Earth Day for Kids: How to Celebrate.