Springtime events occur at different times in different places. Track Tulip Test Gardens to discover how different climate conditions affect plant growth.

• What is spring? When does spring arrive?
• Why do seasonal changes occur at different times in different places around the world?
• How could tulip bulbs be used to track seasonal changes across the globe?
• Where do you think tulips emerge and bloom first in the spring and why?

3. Preview vocabulary using Word Cards. Have students read aloud each word and share how the words may be related to the question: How do Earth's different climate conditions affect where, when, and how plants grow?

Read through the pages of the slideshow together. Stop occasionally to spotlight key words and ideas or ask questions. Encourage students to share their own questions.

1. Start planning your own Tulip Test Garden.

• About Tulip Test Gardens
• Step-by-Step Guide
• Parent Letter

2. Start a Tulip Test Garden Journal.
Preview journal pages that will help students reflect on their experiences with the tulip test garden project.

3. Define Spring
Have students find definitions of spring using a variety of resources. Extend the challenge by having them define: seasons, astronomical spring, ecological or phenological spring, equinox, solstice, and
phenology. Research the causes and timing of seasonal changes.

1. Observe and Wonder!
Take your students outside with notebooks and pencils. Have them look carefully at different places where tulips could be planted. Have them sketch details and wonder about how temperatures, sunlight, geographic location, and other variables could influence plant growth — and other seasonal changes that take place in the springtime.

2. Track a Sign of Spring with Tulip Test Gardens
Plant your garden, make observations, report to the map, and watch the wave of spring as it moves across the globe.

• Tracking a Sign of Spring