Lesson Plan
Read page 85 (Some of Florida’s native plants) to page87
Read pages 131-133 (stop before the section on birds).
Print the Botany Handbook for Florida and either have it spiral bound or place in a ring binder with page protectors as a reference guide for use during your nature walks or remainder of the study. Look through it with your student to familiarize yourself with the contents. Tag any pages of immediate interest for future study.
Print the Invasive and Noninvasive plant flashcards for your region.
Southeast Region
Southwest Region
Central Region
Northeast Region
Northwest Region
Look at them with your student and pull out any cards that you immediately recognize.
Watch Invasive Exotics video online
Discussion Questions:
What is a habitat?
Can you name two common native plants to Florida?
What does it mean when we say that a plant is a native species?
What is a bromeliad and can you name one?
Field Trip:
Take a nature walk with a botanist or naturalist and talk about the native plants and exotic species you see on your walk.
Additional Activities:
Using the Invasive and noninvasive plant flash cards go on a nature walk and see how many plants you can identify. Create a bar chart or pictograph illustrating how many native and non native plants you found.
Print Florida’s Native Bromeliads and see how many you can identify in your neighborhood or nearest nature preserve.
Draw a picture of an invasive and noninvasive plant in your nature journal.
Did you find a plant on your nature walk that you couldn’t identify for certain? Submit a plant identification request to find out.
Print out a few of the Florida Native Plant and Animal coloring book pages and using photographs of the plant and animal color them realistically for your notebook.
Online Resources:
Identification & Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas
Florida Plants Online
Download:
Plant identification service request form
Glossary of flower parts
Glossary of leaf shapes
Freshwater plant bingo
Botanical line drawings
Florida Native Plant and animal coloring book
