Fun with Character: Green Thumb Wisdom
For this activity, you will need to have a single potted plant to use for the demonstration. On index cards, write the following instructions or something similar, one instruction per card. You will need to have one index card per student. A download of cards is available.
Keep me in a closet.
Place me where I will get adequate sunlight.
Place me directly under a powerful grow light 24 hours a day.
Water me faithfully.
Water me whenever you remember.
Water me once, then never again.
Water me with fertilizer according to package directions.
Put fertilizer on me every day.
Water me with coffee.
Water me with orange juice.
Water me with soda pop.
Put me in the refrigerator.
Put me in the bathroom.
Put me right above the stove.
Keep me in the darkest spot in the house.
Put me outside in the winter.
Remove all of my leaves.
Water me every day until the water pools on the top of the soil.
Take me out of the dirt and let me lie on the table.
Only water me in February.
Place the plant where everyone can see it. Go to each student (or they can come to you) and let them choose a card, without seeing the instructions. Have them read the card (or read it for younger students). Ask them if it is a wise thing to do for the plant and what they think will happen to the plant if they do what the card says. If they don’t know, they can poll the rest of the class. In some cases, the plant will flourish, and in others, it will wither or die.
To process the activity, ask these or similar questions:
Have you ever done anything like these actions toward a plant?
Was it difficult or easy to determine if the action was wise?
If you had never done something, how did you determine if something was wise or not?
End by comparing the treatment of the plant to making wise choices for our body. Compare choices about nutritious food and getting enough sleep to the care of the plant and how our bodies react to the care decisions we make. Ask if our bodies react as quickly as a plant does.