Home » All Products » Nature Study Made Easy » Defense Mechanisms of Plants
iPad image with green trim with pink and green thistle flowers in the middle. Cover for a curriculum about Defense Mechanisms of Plants.
Table of contents for Defense Mechanisms of Plants book.
welcome page in the Defense Mechanisms of Plants book.
Defense Mechanisms of Plants lesson explanations
Sample schedules from Defense Mechanisms of Plants curriculum.
Sample schedules from Defense Mechanisms of Plants curriculum.
Sample lesson from Defense Mechanisms of Plants curriculum.
Sample lesson from Defense Mechanisms of Plants curriculum.

Defense Mechanisms of Plants

$20.00

How do plants defend themselves from hungry animals and diseases? You’ll be amazed at their clever survival strategies! From sharp thorns and toxic poisons to stinky smells and self-destruction, plants are armed and ready for battle.

See Full Description

Spark curiosity as children explore the incredible ways plants protect themselves! This curriculum guide makes plant science engaging and accessible for 1st-8th graders, helping them uncover the surprising strategies plants use to survive.

Engaging Lessons on Plant Defenses

Through eight comprehensive lessons, students actively investigate the mechanical and chemical defenses that help plants fend off threats. From thorny barriers and toxic chemicals to stinky smells and even self-destruction, plants have developed an astonishing arsenal to outwit herbivores, insects, and diseases.

Topics Covered in Defense Mechanisms of Plants

  • What Are Plant Defense Mechanisms? Understand why plants need protection and how their defenses work.
  • Physical Defenses: Explore how bark, thorns, spines, and tough leaves create effective barriers.
  • Chemical Defenses: Uncover the secret weapons plants use, from poisons to irritating compounds.
  • Warning Signs & Mimicry: Discover how plants deter threats using colors, scents, and disguises.
  • Plant Disease Resistance: Learn how plants detect and stop infections—sometimes by self-destructing!
  • Symbiotic Relationships: Investigate how partnerships with animals can help or harm plant survival.

Real-Life and Cross-Curricular Connections

This curriculum goes beyond basic science by making connections to botany, ecology, and STEAM learning. As students explore plant defenses, they develop critical observation, research, and analytical skills that strengthen their overall understanding of the natural world.

Designed for All Learning Styles

With multiple entry points for different learners, this guide includes hands-on activities, nature journaling, video suggestions, and booklists. Whether your child enjoys exploring outdoors, watching engaging videos, or documenting discoveries in a journal, this curriculum provides a flexible learning experience.

Exciting Science Explorations for Curious Kids

Although lessons begin indoors, students naturally start recognizing plant defenses in gardens, parks, and even their own backyards. This curriculum includes diverse activities to enhance learning:

Teaching Points: Clear, engaging explanations of plant defenses.
Book Suggestions: Curated reading lists to deepen understanding.
YouTube Videos: Hand-picked recommendations for visual learning.
Nature Journaling: Fun prompts that encourage observation and creativity.
Hands-On Activities: Interactive experiments and investigations.
Kid-Friendly Research: Opportunities for independent discovery.
Nature Walk Ideas: Practical outdoor experiences to reinforce learning.

A Thorough Study in a Manageable Format

Designed to fit into a botany, ecology, or life science curriculum, this guide can be used over several weeks or as a deep-dive unit study.

Get ready! Once students start learning about plant defense mechanisms, they’ll begin spotting them everywhere!

Charter-Friendly

Format

PDF
Grade Level

1st-8th Grades
Is Printing Necessary?

No
Pages

32

Frequently Asked Questions

Each Nature Study Made Easy guide contains eight meaty lessons. Each lesson includes introductory material to read with the children. Follow-up learning for each lesson is based on the five “E”s – Extract, Explain, Engage, Elaborate, and Explore.

Extract – Books and YouTube videos are suggested for learning more.

Explain – This is a nature journaling activity.

Engage – This is a hands-on activity.

Elaborate – This is a kid-friendly research project.

Explore – This is a nature walk prompt.

It’s easy to pick and choose from the five “E”s to make the study as in-depth as you wish.

They are written with 1st-8th graders in mind and can be used with multiple ages together.

They can be! The unique thing about these guides is the amount of learning that can occur indoors—even though children are focused on nature study topics. Many of the activity ideas are also conducive to group work.

No, they work well for all types of homeschoolers. Because they are so flexible yet provide plenty of learning options, they can be used for almost any homeschooling situation. For example, some families may want to spend a week’s worth of morning time working on one small part of a lesson. Others may decide to use the lesson material as a full science curriculum. While others may decide to use the curriculum for a full day of nature club learning. The options are endless, but sample scheduling ideas come with each guide.

It’s entirely up to you and how you use it. One guide can last an entire semester if you open it once a week and work through most of the suggested material and activities. If you do a small portion of one lesson daily each week, a guide will last eight weeks. If you choose to cover one lesson per day (that would be really hard), a guide will last you eight days.

No. Because they rely heavily on indoor learning, they can be used worldwide. If you use the nature walk prompts, most can still be used wherever you live.

No worries! You can use 95% of the curriculum without leaving the house. The only exception is the nature walk prompt provided with each lesson. Otherwise, the rest of the learning is indoors.

Yes! They are religion-neutral and don’t discuss creation or evolution.

You can always email a picture or story to me at [email protected]. Better yet, share pictures of your adventures on social media and tag me @ourjourneywestward!

In regards to the downloadable curriculum and freebies on Our Journey Westward:

When purchasing a downloadable product, you are purchasing a license to use the product, not the product itself. The license is not transferable.

Each download is meant for single family use. You may keep a copy of the e-file on personal devices and print the file for personal use.

Please Don’t:

  • Share or link to the e-file directly; link to the blog post or product page instead.

  • Alter the e-files in any way.

  • Sell, distribute, or give away the e-files in any way.

  • Host an e-file on your website or upload it to a shared website.

A teacher of a co-op or classroom may use an e-file with her students. She may keep a copy of the e-file on personal devices and print it in its entirety for her use. She may make multiple copies of student pages as necessary.

She may not share the e-file with other teachers, even if they are team teachers. Each teacher needs to purchase her own copy of the curriculum file.

Please Don’t:

  • Share or link to the e-file directly; link to the blog post or product page instead.

  • Alter the e-files in any way.

  • Sell, distribute, or give away the e-files in any way.

  • Host an e-file on your website or upload it to a shared website.

Some folks enjoy creating additional notebook pages, worksheets, charts, etc., to accompany the NaturExplorers studies and other Our Journey Westward publications. The pages you create must only be used with your children and may NOT be sold for profit or shared with others (online or otherwise) as free enhancements, go-alongs, or otherwise.

While Our Journey Westward is pleased you enjoy our products and wish to create derivative materials, doing so without authorization violates copyright law. In other words, it is considered theft of intellectual property rights. We trust that you will understand the importance of this and thank you for your cooperation.

If you wish to create derivative materials for sale or as freebies, please contact us to discuss possible permission.

If unsatisfied with a PDF product, your entire purchase price will gladly be refunded. We only ask that you please request a refund within two weeks of purchase and delete the file from your computer. Thank you for respecting these terms. Please contact us for a refund that meets these criteria.

The following curricula meet the requirements of charter schools to remain neutral on religion.

The following professional development materials remain neutral on religion.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “Defense Mechanisms of Plants”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You might also like…