The following activity will help students understand different naming processes and familiarize them with the diversity
and unique attributes of species they plant during a native plant restoration project. Students will learn to closely observe the variety of patterns and shapes of plant parts. The next step can be applying names to what they observe in terms of plant structure. This activity could be a useful introduction to a plant unit, or it could be used as a creative and interactive “icebreaker” among a group of students who do not know each other well.
Pre-activity preparation Prepare a bouquet of plant species representing one or more ecosystems. You will need multiple samples of plants from a hand- ful of different species. Choose three to four species to use and determine the number of samples of each needed for members of roughly-small equal-sized number of students to each get their own sample of one of the plants. For example, a group of twenty students might break into four smaller groups of five, which would require five samples each from four different plant species.
Activity description
1. Mix the bouquet well and pass out one plant to each person. Those who already know the names of the plants should not share that information until the end of the activity.
2. With your plant in hand, find other students who have the same plant and form a small group. If you don’t know the other students, introduce yourselves to each other.
3. In your small group, come up with a creative description of your plant based on your close observations. Describe it in a way that would help others identify the plant.
4. Then, come up with a creative name for your plant. At this point, ask representative(s) from each group to present their plant’s creative name and description. If possible, ask one student to describe it in another language.
5. Once each small group has shared their creative name and plant description, find out if the larger group knows the names of the plant. If the name is unknown, share common and Latin names and a further description (especially ecological and human connections) of each plant.
After this activity, discuss as a group why plants have common and scientific names, as well as Robin Wall Kimmerer’s insights
about our relationship with plants. Robin Wall Kimmerer, an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and a Botanist, points out in her book, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, that “Latin names we give them [plants] are only arbitrary constructs. If I don’t know the official name, I give it a name that makes sense to me... What seems to me to be important is recognizing them, acknowledging their individuality. In Indigenous ways of knowing, all beings are recognized as non-human persons, and all have their own names. It is a sign of respect to call a being by its name, and a sign of disrespect to ignore it. Words and names are the ways we humans build relationship, not only with each other, but also with plants.”
Extensions • Select a plant, write its name and four observations, describe your plant in botanical terms, and explain where it lives and its role in the ecosystem.
• Visit the library to further research the plants used in this activity, their habitat preferences, and their human uses. Expand on the activity to include different plants and animals that would be found in the habitat you are restoring on your school grounds.
Assessments • Investigate a species with many common names. Find the origin of those names to discover what they have in common.
• Create a mobile with drawings illustrating various plants and their unique physical characteristics. Include the scientific and common names on the mobile.
• Write a short story describing a plant species used in this activity, the human uses of the plant (e.g., medicinal uses), common names, and the root words of the plant’s scientific name.
• Research a plant species. Describe its characteristics, the habitat where the species is most likely found, and common human uses. Make an oral report and conduct peer reviews.
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