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Natashia, I am student teaching in a first-grade classroom as well, and while getting the students familiar with the four major plant parts (seed, stem, roots, and flower), we had them stand up and show us what the plant parts look like with their bodies. For the stem, the students stood up straight with their arms down to their sides, and for roots, they crouched down to the ground. For seed, the students simply made a round/almond shape with their hands, and similarly, for the flower part, they stood up straight and raised their arms up spread across their heads. You could also have them demonstrate what a plant would do when given water, sunlight and nutrients, and the students would begin as a seed crouched down and then slowly get up more and more until sprouting petals or a flower. It's a fun and interactive way for students to understand the parts of a plant and be introduced to the topic. Good luck to you!

Hi Natashia,

I am also a student teacher but in a kindergarten classroom. Like you, I am teaching a lesson on the life cycle of a plant. I really like your idea of putting the flowers back together. For my lesson, I am beginning by reading The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. If you aren't familiar with the story, here is a link to a summary.

https://www.shmoop.com/giving-tree/story-summary.html

Another thing I plan to do during my lesson is to let each student have their own small, potted plant that they can actually pull out of the soil for the exploration phase of my lesson. Good luck to you on your lesson!