The goal of this project is to make first-year college students interested in, knowledgeable about, and appreciate plants through the use of Young Adult (YA) Literature. The highly-exciting, intricately-plotted, and meticulously-researched novel, Bloom by Kenneth Oppel can be used as a literary tool to motivate students when learning about critical plant science topics such as photosynthesis, growth and development, and invasive species. In many ways, Bloom encourages students to envision plants as active participants in the ecosystem and not as unliving or uninteresting organisms. Several before, during, and after reading activities task students with applying the botanical concepts learned in the book. Additionally, as students read about the 3 main protagonists of the story, the literary topics of belonging, fitting in, and personal growth are explored and discussed to help first-year students communicate their own anxieties about fitting in at college. To evaluate student understanding of plant concepts, several assessment tools such as vocabulary-through-context flash cards, posters, scaffolded supports for labs, and a pre-and post-student survey are included.

The following resources were developed by Dr. Erin Rehrig, Professor of Biology & Chemistry, Fitchburg State University and Dr. Katy Covino, Assc. Professor of English Studies, Fitchburg State University as part of a Plant BLOOME grant.

• Instructor Notes– Start here
• Course Syllabus– The example syllabus explains how this First-year experience course was taught, what assignments were required, and when each of the activities was done
• Supplies List
• Course Schedule– Daily class schedule at-a-glance. This shows the order in which each of the activities should be done
• “Thinking like a Plant Scientist” Flash Card Project– Flash Card Project  for learning botanical vocabulary
• Bloom Reading Logs– logs students use when reading the book to guide their thinking and take notes
• Invasive Species Canva Poster and Activities- This is part of a unit on invasive species.  Students read an article about invasive plants in the area.  The teacher gives a short lecture on invasive species and then takes students on a nature walk around the school to ID plants. Students are then assigned 1 invasive plant to investigate and create a wanted poster.  This parallels the “extraterrestrial/alien” species of plants from the book.
• Plant Secondary Metabolites lecture and activity
• Photosynthesis Lab- Photosynthesis lab handout, Photosynthesis notes
• Seed Dispersal Lab
• Podcast Project
• Time-Lapse Plant Growth Project- Activity prompt, movie example
• Author Seminar Reflection- Author question prompts, Alternative Activity
• Terraformed Classroom– After reading Bloom, students recreate the alien plant world that they visualized in the book and create life-sized artwork versions of the different alien plants
• Letter to First-Year Students– Students reflect on what they learned and write a letter to future students taking this course
• Pre-and Post- Student Surveys– Students take a survey about their perceptions and “awareness” of plants before and after the class.  This can be used as an assessment to determine if this course helped students become more aware and interested in plants in their environment.