School-wide Action Plan for Tulip Inquiry Dorothy Davis, 2nd Grade, Ashland City Primary Ashland City , Tennessee Dorothy Davis at Toyota Tapestry Booth. NSTA 2003 Dorothy Davis, 2nd grade teacher from Ashland City Primary submitted a proposal for a Toyota TAPESTRY Grant for a schoolwide tulip inquiry investigation called Tracking through the Tulips. Here are some of the exerpts from her project: In the fall of 2002, teachers at our school were expressing interest in finding new ways to teach science as inquiry—and I was looking for an interesting plant inquiry for my second-grade students. Journey North was the perfect vehicle to study plants, and not only for my students—it could involve the whole school in science inquiry! 2 Outside Gardens The idea was to create two tulip gardens on school grounds: a Journey North garden in which students would monitor tulips’ growth and report data to the Journey North website and an “Experimental” garden in which students could explore their own “what if? …” questions related to tulips. Plus Forcing Tulips Experiments In addition, during the winter, students at each grade level would conduct age-appropriate investigations on potted tulips they “forced” indoors using grow lights. Through these experiences, all of the students would practice science inquiry, develop understandings of what is necessary for plants to grow, and begin to make connections about temperature, light, and plant growth. Using State Standards The state standards for each grade level guided the kind of inquiries each class would do. The inquiries with kindergarten students would involve learning about the care and growth of the tulip and learning how to read a thermometer. First-grade inquiries would develop those skills but add the skill of teaching children how to measure the growth of the tulip with a ruler. Second-grade students would conduct more in-depth inquiries—exploring the interrelationship of the tulips with the soil, animals, insects, temperature, and sunlight. They would also track “blooming dates” on a map as the tulips bloomed in North America and report their data online. If you have tips you'd like to share, please write to Journey North: jnorth@learner.org Back to Teacher Tips Page Facebook Pinterest Twitter © 1997 – 2019 Journey North. All rights reserved.